Travelogue XXXVII: Bali, Here We Come! (March 23, 2009)

For those who would like to read my Indonesia travelogue from the start, click these:

 Day 1: Jakarta Arrival & Taman Safari Tour

Day 2: Jakarta Mall Tour

 ~~~oOo~~~

And Off I Fly Again

As usual, pre-departure time made me anxious. All flights do, especially when Peter is not by my side. Our flight was at 10:30 am via Air Asia so we made sure to be checking in an hour before that. The flight turned out to be uneventful, thank God! I was asleep the whole time coz…well… I had to be! Otherwise, all these gory images of  turbulence & plane crash will just keep popping in my head. *gasp!*

Come touchdown, I started feeling excited. Oh my God! I’m almost in Bali!  The view of its surf was awesome!!! It’s one of my dream beach destinations and I was finally there! Thug, thug, thug… my heart went.

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Travelogue XXXVII: Jakarta Mall Tour (March 22, 2009)

For those who would like read my Indonesia travelogue from the start, click this:

Day 1: Jakarta Arrival & Taman Safari Tour

~~~oOo~~~

Back to School

Sunday was spent lazily checking out the hip and happening malls around Jakarta. But before we did all that, Lora showed me the school where she teaches grade 2 students, Sekolah Mentari.

Her classroom was very big and colorful (Lora is an artist after all!) and was very reminiscent of  the classroom I used when I taught prep boys at Ateneo Grade School ten years ago. Hers is just much bigger though. Like she said, it is her  happy little kingdom and she’s the queen. She even has her own toaster & small pantry! ^_^

How Grand is Grand Indonesia?

Afterwards, we proceeded with our mini mall tour. Grand Indonesia was our first destination. It was huge alright but according to Lora, there’s a much bigger mall than this one which we will visit in a while. I accompanied  her first to STRIP, a salon where she gets her brazilian wax. How appropriate, huh?!   If only I didn’t have my period then, I would’ve loved to do the same thing. Lora told me that they do it with chocolate and it’s not as painful. Coolness! At least, they offered me free Indonesian tea which tasted like salabat (ginger). Is that what Indonesian tea is? Teehee. We have lots of that at home. I can even make my own too. Still, it was sweet of them to offer me  a cup which I graciously accepted.

This posh place is a mall?

We then went to Pacific Place where I saw lots of designer shops, and designer bags and shoes being worn by filthy rich Indonesian women. This mall even has a check-in security system similar to what we have at airports. I was so amazed! Well, considering that loaded people go to this place to shop, they really ought to have strict security. 

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Travelogue XXXVII: Jakarta Arrival & Visit to Taman Safari (March 21, 2009)

Diary Entry March 20, 2009 11:45 pm

I’m here sitting on my designated seat in an airplane that’s bound for Jakarta. I am trying to calm myself down, given the fact that I just had my period which makes me an emotional wreck, at the moment, listening to some random songs on my ipod and missing Peter a whole lot.

Earlier today, I thought I can handle traveling alone. Well, I guess I am surviving it coz I’m here right now typing these words while  I am 3000 feet above ground, right? But it’s not as easy as it looks. When I asked Peter to rationalize why I am on the verge of panic earlier this evening, he replied that it’s because I was so used to having him around anytime, anywhere. He’s been my partner in  everything, especially when we’re traveling. He’s been my baggage boy, my guide, my yaya (or is it yayo?), my driver, my bodyguard,  my best  friend, my hubby.  Peter is definitely my all-in-one package kind of man. I feel simply lost without him…

 Diary Entry March 26, 2009 at home

 I am proud to say that I survived all that. Thanks to my girlfriends Lora and Jowi for showing me a great time around Jakarta and Bali. I will definitely come back with Peter in tow. ^_^ 

                                                                                      ~~~oOo~~~

Good bye Manila, Hello Jakarta!

I arrived at around 12 m.n. of Saturday, March 21 in Jakarta (which is an hour behind Manila time).  Lora and her foster father, Tito Milton picked me up at the airport. Landing in Jakarta for the first time didn’t make me feel like I’m in a foreign land at all. For one, the weather feels pretty much the same as Manila (hot and humid although they told me that it’s not even summer there yet) and the people pretty much looked the same as us Pinoys, being Malays and all.

JM let me use his room for two nights. Thanks JM!

The moment I got to Lora’s place, I immediately settled in JM’s room while catching up with Lora, of course.   I was excited about the itinerary she prepared for the whole trip. I already knew that everything would be so awesome! Before catching a few zzzzs, I went online to check how Peter was. Thanks to Skype video, Peter and I didn’t feel as lonely being apart. Anyway, my vacation was just for six days. I know it’ll be awesome and we’ll be able to survive the distance.

I can never last one day without going online.

 To Cilandak Townsquare

My first day in Jakarta was spent with Jowi and Lora. Lora rented a van for the whole day. It cost us Rp750,000.00 (that’s almost Php4000). Wow! According to  to Lora, almost everyone in Jakarta (those who can afford it) either rents a cab/van or has a driver to bring them around town. Seldom does she see people driving their own car and rarely does it happen that a woman drives her car. Indonesia is mostly of Hindu religion. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with this kind of practice but I bet it has a huge influence. True enough, during my stay in Jakarta, that’s what I saw too. Furthermore, I noticed that a lot of them were FILTHY RICH! Lora says so too! Why? Coz I saw many of them go out of Louis Vuitton  and Hermes store carrying new purchases costing millions (maybe even billions and trillions of Rupiah!).  I believe that Indonesia, even when its considered to be a third world country like the Philippines, is still far more rich. Aside from the fact that their country is huge (imagine, just to go to Bali from Jakarta, it already takes 2 hours of flight) and is rich with natural resources,  they also have their own huge businesses which offer job opportunities to many and produces huge incomes for their government. There aren’t even any call centers around! This means that they don’t depend on foreign businesses for their GDP. Aside from the fact that most of them don’t know how to speak good English, it’s not even encouraged showing how nationalistic they can be. And that’s a good thing, right?!

 L: Lora calling Jowi; R: Jowi strutting her way towards us.

Anyway, going back to my trip, we all first met up at Cilandak Townsquare where we had to buy some carrots for the animals we’re going to feed at Taman Safari. Then  we headed to the outskirts of the city.

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The Sexy Nomad is Back but is Busy as a Bee

Ola!!! I’m back and I’m uber tanned!!! I arrived evening of April 3 and I was sooo over fatigued that I instantaneously slept for 16 hours the moment I hit our bed. The next thing I know, I was preparing for Isa’s birthday bash at Route 168 and now I’m again preparing for another party (graduation lunch party of Kai) at Trinoma. So many things have happened and I can’t wait to share them all with you! From my amazing trip to Jakarta, to the beautiful beaches in Bali and of course to our very laid back vacation in Boracay. Oh, and there’s still a few other gorgeous posts I’d like to do on RED LOGO plus my very first personal lingerie fashion shoot. Teehee. Hopefully, I can start blogging again very, very soon. See yah and enjoy your summer!!!