Hotel Name: RedDoorz Plus @ Thamrin. Address: Jl Blora No 23 RT.2 / RW.6, Menteng, Thamrin, Jakarta, Indonesia. I stayed at RedDoorz Plus @ Thamrin in Jakarta, Indonesia. I booked online at the rate of 242,355 IDR ($15.89 USD) per night, and I booked it for its price and lacation in Jakarta. RedDoorz Plus @ […]
Where to stay in Jakarta : The best areas for visitors and best hotels
A guide for where to stay in Jakarta – finding the best areas that are close to transport, entertainment, and major tourist sites. Jakarta is the biggest city in Southeast Asia, and finding a place to stay here can be an overwhelming experience when confronted with the map of the city. Despite its size and […]
Jalan Jaksa – The slow demise of Jakarta’s backpacker street
On my first trip to Indonesia in 2009 I travelled from Medan to Bali by ferry, bus, train, and plane. Midway through that trip I arrived in Jakarta with a copy of Lonely Planet Indonesia in hand. The Book directed me to Jalan Jaksa – the backpacker street of Jakarta. I don’t remember where I […]
Notes on Jakarta – Metros, moto apps, an airport train, and a giant seawall
Jakarta has been making headlines in 2019, and not always in a good way. In August the Indonesian government announced that it was planning to move the capital of Indonesia to a location in the jungles of Borneo. This news, coupled with high-profile reports that the city is sinking, has led news agencies around the […]
Notes on Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta in Central Java makes for a handy base to explore the surrounding region. The city is nearby to the world heritage sites of Borobudur and Prambanan, as well as the perpetually-smoking Gunung Merapi volcano. It’s also a great place to just hang out for a few days. There are plenty of interesting sites, and […]
Kopi Joss – The charcoal coffee of Yogyakarta
When I’m on the road I’m always on the lookout for interesting cafes and new coffee experiences. On my trip to Yogyakarta I found an unusual brew called Jopi Joss: charcoal coffee. [Kopi Joss – it tastes better than it looks.] Kopi Joss preparation starts off in the usual Javanese style, with loose coffee grinds […]
Notes on Pangandaran, Indonesia – An alternative beach destination to Bali
[Pangandaran Beach, Java – Indonesia] Up until a few days before I arrived I had never heard of Pangandaran. This fishing village on the south coast of West Java is a popular beach resort (if you can describe it as that) for domestic visitors, but like much of Indonesia beyond Bali, it is not on […]
Notes on Kota (Old Jakarta)
Kota (Old Jakarta) is the area around the old port area of Jakarta. [Remnants of Old Jakarta] The remaining heritage buildings here are remnants from the Dutch colonial era when the city was known as Batavia. [Jakarta History Museum] Like seemingly every big colonial city in the region Batavia was an “x of the east” […]
Prambanan – the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia
Prambanan is a complex of Hindu temples near Yogyakarta in central Java. It is the largest Hindu remnant in Java and it is billed as “the Tallest and Most Beautiful, Largest Hindus Temple in the World”. While I haven’t been to enough Hindu temples to vouch for it’s most beautiful claim, it certainly is grand […]
Borobudur: The biggest Buddhist temple in the world
Borobudur Temple Borobudur Temple is the biggest Buddhist temple in the world, which is impressive considering that it’s not in a Buddhist country but in Central Java, Indonesia. [Borobudur Temple] It’s a temple that ranks with Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and Myanmar’s Bagan as one of the great religious monuments of Southeast Asia. What is more […]