The infamous traffic that made me panic whether I will make it to my return flight to Singapore or not. I prayed real hard and thank God I managed to reach the airport just in time for boarding!

After my experience from this trip, traffic in Jakarta is really beyond worse. It's highly unpredictable and terribly bad. I feel sad for the locals who have to endure two hours or more (on average) of traffic condition just to reach their destination on a daily basis. Too much waste of time and energy is an understatement for that.

A restaurant that has a catchy name - Deja Brew ( a play on the word deja vu).

Some of the local foods that my colleagues made me try from this restaurant:

Except for its high level of hotness, I generally like Indonesian food. They love to use spices and this enhances the taste of the dish to a great extent. The abundance of soupy dish is also something to like about. The Sotos are amazing. For the adventurous foodie, Jakarta is a perfect place to let your palate explore. 

I just got back from a short business trip in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. It's my first time to visit the most populous city of Southeast Asia. Likewise, it's my first time to travel on a budget carrier via ValuAir - Jet Star. Inspite of the fairly good reputation that some budget airlines have struggled to establish in recent years, I'm still not comfortable travelling on these carriers. Maybe because the word "budget" somehow exudes an element of doubt on the safety of their operations. But after this experience, it's actually not bad at all especially if it's only for short distance trips. My flights to Jakarta and back to Singapore were both on-time. Also, service from the airline is relatively ok.

On our first night in Jakarta, me and my colleagues went to Plaza Senayan Shopping Centre for dinner. The choices of restaurants inside the mall are quite limited. Since we have a Thai colleague with us, we ended up in Long Grain Restaurant. The menu initially caught my atttention as it's presented in a cook book style. As I perused it, it's like browsing through a typical cook book with good food shots. The food here generally tastes good. Almost all that we've ordered were consumed with much gusto. Some however, were slightly far from being authetic as told by our Thai colleague. Nonetheless, it'll keep you filled and gastronomically satisfied.
Chicken in Pandan Leaf

Hofan Noodles with Shrimps & Vegetables


Hot & Spicy Chicken with Basil Leaves

Batam Island is one of the nearest islands to Singapore. Due to it's geographical location, it's a popular day tour destination for visitors and locals of the lion city. I've been intrigued by this island for I heard numerous nice talks about it. That actually gave me enough reason to pay a visit. When we reached the place, momentarily I felt like I was in one of the towns of Batangas in the Philippines. The ambiance is pretty much the same. However, I would attest that we have far better beaches back home. All at once I missed those powdery, white sands we used to enjoy. With regards to the day tour, I have mixed opinions. There's really not much to see in the island. In fact, a day is more than enough to explore it. Anyhow, the typical itinerary will include a visit to the Buddhist Temple, Spa, Dried Fish Market, Shopping Mall, Outlet Stores (buy only RL as it's the only guaranteed authentic brand), Golden Prawn Seafood Restaurant and the Village for Miniature Indonesian Houses. I really appreciated the later hence, I'm sharing a few shots of those cute, little houses in this post. I'm looking forward to seeing the real ones next time.