Wandering Around Jakarta Less Than 24 Hours

If we compare Jakarta with other exotic cities in Indonesia, it might be a little bit dull. But as an international entrance gate and capital city, Jakarta will be your transit point before you depart and explore the other part of Indonesia (such as Aceh, Bali, Borneo, West Tenggara, or even Papua). If you have to transit for couple of hours or have a chance to explore this city for all day long, I will tell you what you can do in this city in 24 hours.

1. Monumen Nasional (Monas)

This is most famous and a-must-see landmark of Jakarta. There's a little museum inside the building and you can also going to the top of this monument on certain hours and limited time. This is going to be the best way to embark your journey, since there's a direct transportation from airport to Gambir.

How to get here: From Soekarno-Hatta International airport, take Damri (official bus owned by the goverment) and get off at Gambir railway station, and then take a walk to Monas within 5 minutes. Bus fare is about Rp. 40,000.

2. National Museum

I love this museum, simply because its architecture. It's located across Monas and definitely you can get there by foot from Monas. Entrance ticket is Rp. 5,000/person.

3. The Old Town of Batavia

Long time ago, Jakarta (formerly known as Batavia) was under the Dutch colony and no wonder you will see some old buildings with Dutch architecture influence here. If you love history, museum, and vintage atmosphere, you will love this area. There are also Fatahilah Museum, Wayang Museum, Bank Indonesia Museum, and Bahari Museum.

http://missnidy.blogspot.co.id/2014/09/kota-tua-atau-pasar-kaget.html

How to get here: From Monas, take transjakarta busway (coridor 1). Get off at Kota Tua station. Old town of Batavia is walking distance from Kota Tua station. Bus fare is about Rp. 3,500.

4. Sunda Kelapa Harbour

This is the old harbour of Batavia. If you want to see or capture phinisi boat with your camera, this is a great place. Just in case you haven't known about phinisi, this is traditional Indonesian sailing ship that originally made by Buginese a long time ago and still used for cargo or fishing purposes.Go there at early morning to see the boats docking.

http://missnidy.blogspot.co.id/2015/05/sundate-ke-pelabuhan-sunda-kelapa.html

How to get here: From the old town of Batavia, you can rent bicycle that you'll find around Fatahilah Museum and do your own cycling tour. It's so fun, but watch out your belonging!

5. Grand Indonesia Shopping Mall

Yeah I know this is not backpacker thingy, but sometimes you need to chill out from hustle bustle of Jakarta and its humid weather. You can enjoy movie theater (Blitzmegaplex) for around Rp. 40,000 on weekdays or maybe grab some food.

How to get here: Take Trans Jakarta busway (coridor 1), and get off at Tosari station. GI is walking distance from here.

6. Jalan Sabang & Jalan Jaksa

This is most famous backpacker area in Jakarta. There are several night clubs and food street vendors. As for my self, I went here for the food. I'm not into night club. :p

If you like to taste food street here, I recommend you to go to Soto Pak Gendut and try their soto ranjau. There are also some nice coffee shops around here, and I recommend you Kopitiam Oey.

How to get here: Take Trans Jakarta bus (coridor 1), gett off at Sarinah station. Jalan Sabang located behind Djakarta theater, and Jalan Jaksa is one block away from Jalan Sabang.

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That itinerary only focused on places that reachable by Trans Jakarta Bus since I think that's the easiest and affordable transportation in Jakarta. Hence I suggest you to avoid rush-hours (when all the workers get home), around 4 pm - 7 pm. You'll need electronic money to pay the bus. It costs about 20k IDR/card, but don't worry because you can use one card for your whole group.

If you want to try another option to wander around Jakarta, you can try these:

1. Bajaj

Bajaj (bah-jai) s three-wheeled vehicle which can accomodate 2-3 people inside. It look like tuktuk in Thailand. This transportation doesn't allow to through the main street (Jalan M.H. Thamrin, Jalan Jendral Sudirman, Jalan Gatot Subroto, Jalan H.R Rasuna Said). I don't know the actual reason, but I think it's for safety purpose because it's such a small transportation and the worst thing is they produce so many carbon dioxide. However, experiencing Jakarta with bajaj still worth it, tho. Go find bajaj with blue color, it's wider and more comfortable than the orange one.

Before you get on the bajaj, you should knock off the price with the driver. They only take you to your destination not more than 10 km, and it range start from Rp. 10,000 - Rp. 30,000.

2. Taxi
If you go along with friends, you can share the taxi fare together. This is the easiest and comfortable transportation. As same as another country, ask the driver to turn on the meter. But be careful to choose the taxi company. I suggest you to find Blue Bird company (with blue color and a bird logo on the roof, indeed). I think that's the most reliable taxi company in town. There are also Uber car and Grab car for online taxi option.

3. Ojek
Ojek means motorcycle taxi. I thinks this is the most effective transportation to through the traffic jam in Jakarta. It has the same system with bajaj. You have to haggle before you get in. But nowadays, there's a brand new ojek company that you can rely on. Go find GO-JEK on android or iOs, and download it. So whenever you need ojek, the driver will come to you and you'll know the price before you get in without haggle. It's easy!

I have a love-hate relationship with this city. There're some times when I get crazy with the traffic jam, but still I love Jakarta somehow. I was born here, took collage, get a job, and now I live my life in Jakarta. No matter how far you're going, you'll coming back home, right?