Jakarta & Bangkok

Feels great to be on leave today.

Had a terrible flight back from Bangkok and suspected that i was down with gastric flu, sore throat and fatigue. I must have been in such a terrible state coz. i slept through the journey from hotel to airport, at the airport while waiting for the gates to open and the flight back. I was so tempted to ask the staff if i could board the plane first since i wasn't feeling well. Didn't coz. i was too weak to get out of the chair. Anyway, hit the bed the moment i reached home.

Woke up the next day with zero appetite & in a bad shape. Was in bed the whole day trying to nurse my terrible back-ache. Thus, am glad that i am almost totally well today.

About Jakarta
It must have been more than 10 years ago when i was in Jakarta for just afew hours. I was with my auntie & cousins onboard either sun cruise/star cruise and the vessel stopped over @ Jakarta for a couple of hours. The guide brought us around and i hated the place. The air was terrible, pollution everywhere with plastic bags flying in the sky, people everywhere and traffic was really bad. In summary, it was chaotic.

My counterparts asked if i have been to Jakarta and after relating to them after my little experience, she told me that the place/port which i've been is about 1.5hours away from the city (which was where i am). Jakarta today is a modern city and i'm amazed that they have all the major brands in the shopping mall. For once, i thought i was in Paragon. I did little homework on my end by asking my indonesian friends where i should go and do. Sisy told me to check out "EX Mall" which is just about 5 - 10 minutes walk away from the hotel which i was staying. The building design is interesting.



Beng Yu said his friend recommended him to check out "Sari Kuring", the indonesian restaurant. The food is superb.

If u happen to be in Jakarta, do check SARI KURING out.
(komplek BE) dekat gedung arta graha ELECTRONIC CITY) masuk dari jl jend sudirman

One thing which have not changed much is well, the traffic jam. I've amazed that the traffic conditions is bad.Surprisingly, it was quite smooth at nite. I thought Bangkok was bad. But well, someone commented that Manila is worst. The evidence is here (view from hotel room):



About Bangkok
Bangkok needs no introduction to all. But well, it was the first time landing at the new Suvarnabhumi Bangkok International Airport which was just opened on the 28 Sep this year. Can't remember how to pronounce it. Design wise, it resembles very much of the aiport in Hong Kong. But the colour is very dull and cold. Everything is grey. But shops wise, they carry alot more major brands as compared to our Changi airport.

View of the aiport from the plane. I thought it resembles Singapore Expo at first. Ha Ha! Maybe centipede or caterpillar. My colleague says it resembles Esplanade. Well ... u decide!



View from the plane


Anyway, my counterpart who's Singaporean but based in Bangkok was asking me how was my roadshow in Jakarta. After that, she singled out the difference between the indonesians and thais to me. Indonesians are not shy and they will ask questions if they are not sure. But thais, they are shy people. If there's any questions, they will not ask me (who is not a local). They will just ask the thais.

I wonder how true this statement is. But really, there wasn't any questions posed after my presentation. Only two came foward (after the whole thing has ended). On the otherhand, the indonesians were more engaging. Cultural difference?? Hmm ... let me ask Chayanid, my thai friend from cg and Sisy, Fiona & Anne from Indonesia. I need to do a survey and get some feedback.

Till then, my next destination update ... well, it'll be on Manila. Do look out for it. (For once, i felt like i'm a free-lance journalist. Maybe i should ask my media friends for contacts if i could be a free-lance travel writer. That would be fun. Ha ha!)