FlyerTalk Forums - Jakarta (CGK) - the ultimate Q&A thread

FlyerTalk Forums (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/index.php)

- Asia (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia-460/)

- - Jakarta (CGK) - the ultimate Q&A thread (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia/355898-jakarta-cgk-ultimate-q-thread.html)

hello,

could anyone please recommend travel agencies in Jakarta, specifically near Jalan Thamrin or Mangga Dua? In addition, how would one go about trekking to East Timor? Is it still via Bali?

Terima kasih

Jakarta's travel agencies are uniformly bad. Bayu Buana at least has the advantage of being big, so they're unlikely to go bankrupt overnight... but that said, they once sold a friend of mine a bogus ticket (which wasn't accepted at the airport) and then refused to accept any responsibility. I've also had some problems with them, but at least all tickets they'd issued so far have been valid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TJQuill

This thing has really turned into a restaurant thread - I thought restaurants in Jakarta were just places to kill time until 11 when the bars get going.

actually i find the food scene more interesting than the bar and nightlife, well at least there is more variety and less predictability..if you go back 10 years ago (pre crisis days) perhaps the nightlife is more interesting.. i really miss tanamur, the current line up these days are just too sterile ..cj's, bats and tiga puluh..what fun can these hotel bars can offer? boring live music on stage ?

I have just discovered this forum and thread, but will subscribe now and check back to throw in my two cents. I spend about half of each year in Jakarta so while I'm not going to be as expert as some of the true expats, I've got a whole lot of nights in different hotels and restaurants (and bars).

I have to admit that I am easily influenced by atmosphere over the food in a lot of cases, but I have hit most of the big names in town a couple of times. The one thing that I will say about Jakarta restaurants is that they are like much else in Indonesia - completely inconsistent. I've had a couple of great meals in Scusa, and a couple of very forgettable ones. I'll have to come up with my list of reviews on the next trans-pac.

look forward to that mate :D

Oontiveros - your handle is similar to the name of someone I met the last time I was out. We stumbled into a party at his house in Kemang, one of my mates jumped into the pool with a girl he had just met and who hadn't planned on going swimming, and my other drunken Aussie friend got himself locked into one of the bathrooms for half an hour. Even after all of that he was good enough to join us at the Aussie Rules Football Grand Final at the Ritz. Not you by any chance, is it?

I'll be back to Jakarta end of next week. Anybody have a contact at the Grand Hyatt for a smoking low rate for a long stay guest (60 days or so)? I've gotten nothing back from their general email address better than about US$110 a night. Otherwise it will probably be back to the Mandarin (not too bad if you are on one of the club floors) or the Borobudur (only because I can get a full apartment there for about $65 a night and they have a great gym). I want to stay in the vicinity of BH on north to keep my commutes down, but it would be interesting to see what kinds of deals the business traveler types have been able to pull down in the various 4 and 5 * hotels.

If you're willing to settle for a bit less service and pomp, you might wanna to try the Nikko accross the Grand Hyatt, there is a new wing and i am sure they are priced lower than GH or Mandarin. Another place near the vicinity would be serviced apartment @ the Ascott, the last time i stayed was nice, but there is a huge constructions going right now nearby..so it might be a bit noisy..

Anybody been to the Cazbar yet? How is it shaping up? I'm visualizing a place along the lines of Aphrodite but that is based on nothing but Bart's expat newsletter.

TJ

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tad's Broiled Steaks

i buy my tickets from Smailing Tour, they are big and quite professional. They even deliver tickets during off office hours..if you want to go east timor you need to check with local flights like Garuda or Merpati, i am quite sure they fly to East Timor :cool:

Cigar wholesaler

This should get the award for most random and narrowest interest post of the day - do any of you longtime CGK dwellers have a pointer for finding a cigar wholesaler here in town. A friend is starting up a cigar lounge and while this seems like one of the more basic tasks one would complete while doing so, the place has been up and running at full capacity for a few months now while buying their cigars from retailers.

Thanks, TJ

Sorry can't help you on that, TJQuill. Hopefully there are some others here who can.

Perhaps you can try talking to the guys in the cigar shop at Mandarin Hotel and Shangrila.

I understand they are importers of cigars, perhaps they will be willing to sell your friend at wholesale prices for bulk purchase. Good luck ^

Drum studios/ lessons

Yo everyone, just found u guys.

I'm going to be in Jakarta for 3 months, working in the Kuningan area. Am looking for a serviced apartment in the area. Any recommendations?

Also, am really keen to continue drumming while I'm there. Anyone knows of drum studios/ lessons available near the area. Know traffic jams are bad, and don't have car so prefer everything to be near. =)

Thanks all, and must say I'm impressed. Started reading from the top, and its been a long while since the thread has been up. Will be sure to come back more often.

Cheers!

Quote:

Originally Posted by juliana

I'm going to be in Jakarta for 3 months, working in the Kuningan area. Am looking for a serviced apartment in the area. Any recommendations?

Lots of people I know are staying at Bellagio there. Brand new, perhaps slightly too so, as the shopping mall downstairs isn't ready yet. Apartments are spiffy and fully equipped, but can be kinda small.

Ascott has several properties in Jakarta (www.the-ascott.com).
The Ascott Jakarta is very near to Plaza Indonesia/Grand Hyatt.

I saw a drum studio offering lessons near Permata Hijau...will keep an eye open for it...

Drums huh??

Depending on your budget and which part of Kuningan you want to be near, Somerset (Summerset?) Apartments just across the street from Mal Ambassador are comfortable and fairly reasonable, particularly if you can glom onto someone's corporate or embassy rate. Nothing really fancy and not brand new, but certainly nice enough and on par with most of the other places that I have been into.

If you will only be there for three months, you might look into some of the longstay hotel apartments as well. Towards your part of town I have done that at the Mandarin and had a nice stay (although the pool there is awful if that is important to you).

Hey thanks all for the recommendations. I checked out Mandarin and Somerset Apartments. Decided to go for Somerset apartments.

But still looking for a drum studio near the place. Had contemplated buying a set there but guess that's a little extreme considering I'll be there only for 3 mths, plus the complaints I might get for the noise pollution. =)

Btw, I am really into shopping. Is the shopping in Jakarta good? I'm praying hard its good, otherwise I'll probably just be surfing net all day...=P

Unfortunately Jakarta is way behind Singapore, which is way behind Hong Kong in terms of shopping. Having said that, the selection has been getting better over the past years, although at a premium compared to Singapore/Hong Kong.

I imagine that it depends on what you are looking for, but as far as I can tell there is nothing to do in Jakarta during daylight hours except wander through malls. (I'm not a shopper at all.)

At Somerset you are just across the street from Mal Ambassador which is mainly patronized by locals - everything from swap meet style fake rolex and DVD tables on the left to some not too bad boutique shops in the main mall. Good place for cell phones and jeans according to those who shop more than I do.

If you want high end - Plaza Senayan and Plaza Indonesia are as nice as any high end mall in Los Angeles, with Western prices to match.

If you want lower prices where you can haggle and some chaos, head to the Mangga Dua area (there are three big "malls" and a lot of smaller stuff there.

There are a ton of other malls in Jkt as well, with new ones being opened all the time. The huge new mall surrounding Hotel Indonesia will probably open while you are there.

Good luck.