Saturday Night
Arrived at Jakarta’s SoekarnoHatta Airport at around 10.45 pm. Had a rather unfortunate incident at the Blue Bird taxi bay (after evading a trio of taxi touts!); the taxi driver was not helpful either; maybe he has gotten used to the scenes. Arrived at Novotel Mangga Dua close to midnight; we were lucky to be upgraded from Standard to Premier room. The Hotel lobby was spartanly equipped until we found out that the “proper’ lobby is on the fifth floor.
Day 1: Sunday
We woke up early; probably anxious to explore Jakarta! Since it was Sunday morning, traffic was sparse so we decided to walk to the Pasar Pagi Mangga Dua – thinking being a “Pasar Pagi” it must be opened early! I initially thought we could take a short cut behind Novotel but then realized there is a railway track blocking our way and we had to walk all the way to the railway crossing near WTC. After a 20-minute leisurely stroll we reached Pasar Pagi and discovered that it is only open around 9.30! Since it is still 8.00 am we decided to take a taxi to Tanah Abang (my earlier suggestion to take a bajaj was flatly vetoed by my wife!). A 25 minute drive brought us to the famous Block A, Tanah Abang. Although it is early some shops were already opened and we had time to survey the shops since there were not many people there yet. Shopping early has its advantage! We bought a number of things and being the first customer (or so they claimed) were given the “pelaris pagi” discounts! Maybe this is just a marketing ploy but the goods here are very cheap and of good quality. To my surprise there are also many outlets here selling handbags, bags, jeans, shoes and a host of other things. My wife was overawed by the range of goods available here and we ended with a number of bags containing mukeda/telekung, muslim ladieswear, kedurung/tudung etc. We then had an excellent lunch at the foodcourt. After a five-hour spree at Tanah Abang we decided to return to our hotel – we had to because there was no way we could carry so many bags around. By now – around 2pm the crowds had swollen both in Tanah Abang and on the streets of the city.
After leaving our shopping bags at our room we went to Mangga Dua Square which adjoins the hotel to book my Cipaganti shuttle van ticket to Bandung tomorrow. The Cipaganti booth was located on the first floor and the person attending to us were very helpful. We then took a 4 minute taxi ride to ITC Mangga Dua. It was 2 pm and the place was crammed with people especially on the ground floor where there are many many shops selling imitation bags, handbags, purses and wallets. We were told that this is the peak time of the week for shopping in M2 area. After jostling and being jostled we ended buying some leathergoods, toys and Jakarta “masa doloe” T-shirts before having a light meal at A%26amp;W on the third floor of ITC. We then crossed over to M2 mall but since this mall mainly contains shops selling electronics we decided to return to our hotel. After waiting in vain for taxis we decided to walk… I regreted this act because by now the roads are clogged with traffic and were very dusty and now you have many foodstalls springing by the roadsides, all those carts being pushed plus railway crossings that it made walking very hazardous (there are no pedestrian path!). After a 25-minutes walk we reached our hotel and took a short rest. It was 6.30 pm. I wish to inform fellow TAs that Novotel is not near to ITC, Pasar Pagi or Mangga Dua mall; you have to take a taxi from this hotel! Even a brisk walk on Sunday morning may take 15 minutes. At 7.30 pm we went down to Mangga Dua Square to check out Carrefour and other shops there and to have dinner.
Day 2: Monday
At 9 am we took a taxi to ITC M2 to get some more “Jakarta masa doloe” T-shirt and decided to check out Pasar Pagi. Pasar Pagi is an older complex and not fully air-conditioned. The goods on sale there were fairly similar to ITC’s. We then went to Tanah Abang (TA) again for some last minute shopping and lunch. The crowd is much bigger today. Surprisingly handbags at TA are cheaper and of wider range than ITC – I suppose the whole things depend on your bargaining skills and how many shops you want to visit. I restrained my wife from buying many handbags since we were yet to shop in Bandung (with Terminal Tas in mind). We had another excellent early lunch at the TA Foodcourt which is both clean and spacious.
We then checked out from the hotel at 1pm (we had requested a late check out earlier) and proceeded to M2Square to wait at Cipaganti’s booth from our 1.45pm shuttle van to Bandung. I bought some more DVDs there – they are really cheap at Rp6,000 each. The video quality is also very good.
We boarded the Cipaganti van on time and were fortunate since the ten-passenger van was not full- allowing us to put our big luggage (it had three more bags inside!) next to us. The ride to Bandung was uneventful except for the “heroic” driving we saw along the highway.
We followed the crowd to disembark opposite Bandung Trade Centre (BTC) at around 4.30pm – a good thing ‘cos otherwise we would have to carry our heavy bag from BTC to the taxi stand. A number of taxis were already there and we took one to our Grand Serela Hotel. The hotel reception counter was chaotic and noisy when we came in due to a group of Malaysian makciks wanting adapters for their notebooks, internet connections, then complaining because of the high connection charges and then lamenting that they must not miss the youtube version of their favourite sinetrons and then some are talking excitedly over what they have bought, also some complaining not given adjoining rooms. No wonder people said arranging a Wanita UMNO trip is a nightmare! Jokes aside we then checked in into our room; a deluxe double room. The room is adequately furnished though not spacious. Although it is only 5.30, we were already hungry and immediately proceeded to “Rumoh Raja Melayu” restaurant located some 100m from the hotel. Since it was still early there were only four people there and we were served quickly. The food is not impressive (maybe leftover from lunch-there is no a la carte menu) although it is still quite cheap.
We then started to go through the numerous Factory Outlets along the Jalan Martadinata (aka Riau) starting with the nearest FO Coral next Cascade then Heritage, Summit, Stamp, Formen, Osso, Terminal Tas, Branded Quality, Secret, Oasis, Renarriti (under renovation). We were the last customer at Stamp! This excursion is just to survey the goods and compare prices.
Day 3: Tuesday FO day
After an adequate buffet breakfast at the hotel we revisit Stamp (we were given two Rp50,000 voucher for this FO), Cascade and Summit (FOS normally open at 9am). We had earlier discovered that these last two outlets combined have the best prices or the best range. Bought four pairs of Nike Manchester United track shirts at Summit, Nike Manchester United t-shirts and various Armani, Bvlgari, Guess, Lotto t-shirts at Cascade. We also made sure we utilized the vouchers by buying Boss and Abercrombie pants at the stamp –where can you get free Rp100K!
We then took a Bluebird taxi (Bluebird taxi drivers normally stop to have their meals at a stall opposite Summit FO, so it’s very easy to get a taxi there) to the cream of FO – Rumah Mode. There was already a sizeable crowd there made of well-heeled locals and foreigners. Surprisingly (for me at least) the range of menswear there are fairly limited and the prices were above the other FOs. The setting though was superb and the eateries serve a wide range of food. After some shopping there we set down for lunch and drank the famed kopi durian. I was immediately hooked to this drink and ordered two more to kill the time as my wife continued her shopping.
We left Rumah Mode at 2.45 and only then realized that you have to wait for taxis outside the compound on Jalan Setiabudi. We then noticed a few more shops nearby – Donatello and Natural FO. I bought a pair of shoes at Donatello-locally made but well designed and crafted; and a pair of Umbro T-shirts at 50% discount at Natural. After a long wait for taxis we walked down the street to a more busy intersection, which to our relief we managed to hail a taxi to our hotel. We left some seven large bags at the hotel reception before taking that taxi again – our destination is the famous Jl. Ir Juanda (aka Dago).
Unfortunately the taxi driver was not well versed with FO outlets – we asked him to stop us at Rich %26amp; Famous but he strayed and when I saw Dago Sisa Ekspor (DSE) I asked him to stop. DSE is a four or five storey store and we bought Nike rain jackets and some more Abercrombe pants for my sons.
We then walked further up Jl Juanda going through a host of FOs – Uptown, Jetset, Blossom, Coconel, Glamour, Raflesia, M%26amp;M, Victoria, Pipperoo, Grande and a few other that I have forgotten; with a quick drinks and snacks at Kartika Sar. Most of these stores have the same goods although you could get some bargains and some hard-to-get sizes. By then 7.30pm we were so tired and took angkutan kota to the junction between Jl Juanda and Martadinata. Stop at Riau Junction for some groceries and had dinner at Riung Sari restaurant. The food there was disappointing and did not match the price. We then strolled back to our hotel.
Day 4: Pasar Baru
We went to Pasar Baru early after breakfast at the Hotel (the food served already look monotonous!) for some textile shopping. My hunch is that for Muslimwear Tanah Abang has greater range and prices. We had lunch at the foodcourt with Durian Es as dessert. At 3pm we left for Bandung Super Mall (BSM) to get some toys for my daughter and also books at Gramedia. BSM has a BOSS outlet and surely enough the quality of the jacket there is much2 better than those at the FOs. Had a late afternoon tea at JCo, and after buying some books we bought take away at the food court. Took a taxi to go to hotel but then decided to go to Amanda Brownies Outlet a t Jl Juanda. Returned to hotel around 8.45pm completely exhausted.
Day 5: Last day
Had last minute shopping around Jl Martadinata; more shirts for my in laws and nephews. Wanted to have an early lunch at Rumoh Raja Melayu but they had a private function and will only open to outsiders at 12. We quickly crossed the road to KFC for a quick lunch. At 12.20 a Transline van fetched us from the hotel to their pool point somewhere near Pasteur. The two of us were the only passengers to Jakarta Airport. This time round we had four bags! We reached there at 3.45 and after finding that a long check-in queue ahead of us, decided to have our meal at Bakso Malang booth. The bakso and es teller that I ordered were great. Rejoined the check-in queue and had to pay 10kg for excess luggage. By the time we reached Kuching we only have Rp10,000 from a total of Rp11,000,000 we started with! (not even enough to buy mineral water on the airplane!) .
5 day Jakarta/Bandung Trip experience
Great report!!!
Wanted to check with you, are those stuffs sold in FOs genuine? How do you check? Can you bargain for price?
Thanks
5 day Jakarta/Bandung Trip experience
Dear insane708,
For Factory Outlets, there%26#39;s no bargaining - all fixed price (';harga pas'; only). I reckon only about 30-40% of the stuff are really ';genuine Factory Outlet'; meaning those rejects, overruns, old stocks, seconds etc. Those who have been to DFO in Australia will be disappointed. The fun part here is to find those 30-40%! One way to identify these ';genuine'; stuff by seeing their labels being torn/cut off/blackened or those clearly showing ';made in somewhere';. The goods that I have seen/bought are made from all over the place - MNG dresses made in Turkey, Nike and Adidas made in Indonesia (most common), Disney also Indonesia, OshKosh - Philipines, Guess - El Salvador, Indonesia, GAP - Indonesia, Cambodia, Hugo Boss - Thailand,Indonesia, Asylum - Tunisia, Ashworth - India; some clothes are from Hong Kong, Vietnam and Brunei (surprise, surprise!)plus a whole host from China.
For leathergoods -except shoes, all are from China and Korea (Terminal Tas FO was a letdown!) You are better off buying these in Mangga Dua
I am not trying to dampen those shopaholics but simply stating the facts which not many have mentioned.
BTW, the Nike track suits I bought clearly showed Made in Indonesia but only yesterday I noticed the zip is YKK!
Dear all,
Forgot to mention that my trip was between 14-19 March 2009.
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