Catching up on Jakarta Life

My blog has taken a rather political side track in recent weeks, so let me bring it back to its main purpose and provide some updates on Jakarta life:

Sunday, 14 March. The last Sunday before our visitors departed, we left the babies with the nannies and took the older kiddies to Lollipop’s at Senyan City mall. Lollipop’s is an indoor playground extraordinaire. I think the target market caps out around ten years of age, maybe a little younger.

The main attraction is several large slides and a multi-level climbing house. You can generate some significant speed on these, even going airborne over some of the humps (even adults can have fun on these, if you have a pliable back). In addition to the slides are a gyroscope ride, a zip line, and bungee-tramps which have the lighter kids hovering in the air on bungee cords while a worker pulls them down, allowing them to spring back into the sky. Heavier (older) kids jump on the trampoline and get extra bounce from the bungee cords. It also has a restaurant, a toddler area, a small gift shop, and a Wii.

Both girls had a great time. Even I got into the act sliding down the slides with them several times. My velocity carried us past the safety mats and onto the carpet, which is much further than I think the playroom architects anticipated. I’m sure we will return.

Saturday, 20 March. I spent the day in Singapore while the rest of the family remained in Jakarta. I left my house at 4:30 AM for a 7 AM flight, arriving in Singapore around 9:30 AM. My eye doctor appointment was at 11 AM and, after taking the MRT from the airport into the city, I arrived for my appointment at 10:45 AM. A long two hours later, I left with a prescription slightly modified from the one I received from my doctor in the US before moving (and vastly different from the one provided by the Jakarta doctor), and plans to return in two weeks to pick up my new contacts.


After the doctor’s appointment, I had about five hours to kill before I needed to return to the airport for my flight back to Jakarta. It was lunchtime, so I went to Clarke Quay and dined on the riverfront. Our favorite restaurant – Tapas – was newly renovated, and completely empty, so I moved on. I did find a new Mexican restaurant, called “Muchos”, that we will have to visit when we all are in Singapore in two weeks (we're planning to go there for the Good Friday holiday weekend).

After lunch, I took the MRT into Chinatown, intending to buy traditional Asian formalwear. Reservations about how I would take possession of a properly fitted outfit, and the knowledge that I would be returning in two weeks, and likely making a long weekend out of it, changed my mind. I left Chinatown with nothing.

My wife sent me to Singapore with a shopping list, so I took a cab from Chinatown to the supermarket at Great World City. I arrived in Singapore with nothing more than the clothes on my back and an envelope for the eye doctor. I left Singapore with rolled oats, frosting, chocolate pudding, dried fruit, and a new book: “Black Swans”. I thought I would need the book at the airport, but the subway ride back, and subsequent check-in at the airport left me with a mere 30 minutes before boarding the plane. I ended up reading no more than the prologue and first chapter.

Sunday, March 21. Saturday is usually the day we take our daughter out on a fun activity. Sundays we like to stay home and relax. Because I had spent Saturday in Singapore, we spent Sunday at Fantasy Land in North Jakarta’s Ancol. Ancol, also referred to as Fantasy World, is a Disney-esque play land. There is a large Waterbom water park, Seaworld (not the same brand), a beach (too dirty to swim at), a resort hotel, entertainment, and the Fantasy Land amusement park.

The “Lonely Planet” guide referred to Fantasy Land as a place they are surprised has not been sued by Disney for copyright infringement. Having now been there myself, I disagree. Fantasy Land is a B-grade amusement park, though still quite fun for the kids. There are not nearly the amount of rides you’ll find at Disney, or other major US theme parks. While most of the rides are of the State Fair caliber (house of mirrors, bumper cars, etc), it does have the obligatory merry-go-round, a Ferris Wheel, a small roller coaster, and a 4-D movie experience based on the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth.

My daughter is at the age where the majority of rides she can go on – merry-go-rounds, and rides like the Flying Dumbo’s at Disney – just don’t hold her interest, and the rides she really wants to go on, she doesn’t meet the height requirements. The river raft ride is a happy medium and was by far her favorite ride. It reminded her of the slide she called “The Loop” at Singapore’s water park.

We spent four hours at Fantasy Land because we had to be home for an appointment my wife made to buy some furniture from a departing expat and we wanted to eat at Hacienda on the way back. Luckily, because we never had to wait more than a few minutes for any ride, four hours was enough to get to do almost everything. I don’t know if we chose the right time of year, the right day, or if we just lucked out. The crowd was sparse and the ride times were much longer than they are in the US.

Our next activity will have to be Waterbom, the big water park in Ancol. Between Safari Park, Kidzania, Lollipops, Seaworld, Fantasy Land, horseback riding, Playground 72, and Waterbom, we are starting to establish a good list of Saturday activities that we can rotate through each week at varying cost and varying energy requirements. If Jakarta could add large, clean, open grassy areas for kids to run around in, I would call Jakarta a very kid-friendly city.