Visiting Jakarta Need Interesting itinerary
Nov 2nd, 2011, 08:21 AM
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Visiting Jakarta Need Interesting itinerary
We will be in Jakarta next June and though our group is being put up at the airport hotel, I assume a distance from downtown, we want to get to see some of the more interesting behind the scenes places within 20-30 miles of the city. We will hire a guide/driver for 9-10 hours a day that probably will cost 700,000Rp. We have visited Central and East Java last and earloier this year and seen a number of the major temples and palaces in those regions. We are not that interested in roaming through museums or visiting too many monuments but do enjoy unusual markets, little villages tucked in places out in the suburbs often forming a "cottage industry".. We do enjoy visited local emerging art districts where they exist but are not big shoppers of trinkets but are interested in 17th and 18th Century antiques but do not want to run around the city just to go to one place but prefer a district where several may be located.
Can you suugest what might be the places we should consider knowing our interests.
Thank you.
Can you suugest what might be the places we should consider knowing our interests.
Thank you.
Nov 3rd, 2011, 03:37 PM
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Stan, Jakarta doesn't offer a lot to the tourist. It is a big, sprawling, disorganized Asian city with a business/financial core and radiating residential areas -- rich, middle, and very poor. 20-30 miles from the city are still commuter suburbs. And don't underestimate the traffic. It is brutal!
There is no specific art area in Jakarta. Kemang in South Jakarta is the closest thing for interesting shops/galleries that are not in shopping centers, but you won't find many truly old pieces.
The National Museum offers a lot of cultural information on the whole archipeligo.
The old port area is interesting: the wooden sailing ships, the Dutch Colonial buildings, the puppet and maritime museums. The government is trying to make the area tourist-friendly, but it's a little thin on facilities.
If you want a day excursion out of town, I'd suggest heading to the town of Bandung, which is about a 2 hour drive. Some nice scenery along the way. It's a city more like Yogya -- but with Western Javanese culture. More accessible than Jakarta. Many people go there for outlet shopping, but it's also a pleasant former colonial town.
Bogor which is about an hour from the Sheraton is also an option. There's a spectacular Botanical Garden there.
You'll find some cottage industry in Bandung and Bogor, though not so much as in Central Java. Mostly metal works, wooden puppets, batik.
The palaces and sultanates of Central Java don't exist in Jakarta and West Java. This is the center of government, finance and business and it has a completely different feeling.
There is no specific art area in Jakarta. Kemang in South Jakarta is the closest thing for interesting shops/galleries that are not in shopping centers, but you won't find many truly old pieces.
The National Museum offers a lot of cultural information on the whole archipeligo.
The old port area is interesting: the wooden sailing ships, the Dutch Colonial buildings, the puppet and maritime museums. The government is trying to make the area tourist-friendly, but it's a little thin on facilities.
If you want a day excursion out of town, I'd suggest heading to the town of Bandung, which is about a 2 hour drive. Some nice scenery along the way. It's a city more like Yogya -- but with Western Javanese culture. More accessible than Jakarta. Many people go there for outlet shopping, but it's also a pleasant former colonial town.
Bogor which is about an hour from the Sheraton is also an option. There's a spectacular Botanical Garden there.
You'll find some cottage industry in Bandung and Bogor, though not so much as in Central Java. Mostly metal works, wooden puppets, batik.
The palaces and sultanates of Central Java don't exist in Jakarta and West Java. This is the center of government, finance and business and it has a completely different feeling.
Nov 6th, 2011, 05:37 PM
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Do you enjoy hiking? There is an excellent organization which you can find at: idguides.org
They offer half day hikes about an hour and a half outside of Jakarta, through rice paddies, lemongrass, cassava and little villages. No art or antiquing but beautiful beautiful countryside. It's a well run organization.
The Museum Nasional is an excellent if quirky museum. I would not miss it, even if this isn't usually your thing.
Jakarta is a tough tourist town.
They offer half day hikes about an hour and a half outside of Jakarta, through rice paddies, lemongrass, cassava and little villages. No art or antiquing but beautiful beautiful countryside. It's a well run organization.
The Museum Nasional is an excellent if quirky museum. I would not miss it, even if this isn't usually your thing.
Jakarta is a tough tourist town.
Nov 7th, 2011, 07:58 AM
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We do not hike do a bad knee but will make a stop at the National Museum.
marmot with a guide is a trip to Bandung and Bagor possibly based on their location in a day if we left the Sheraton at 8 AM and wanted to return by 6-7 PM with a 1/2 hour stop at the botanical gardens and a few villages? Maybe we might stop to see a village making wooden puppets though we did so last month while in the Solo area.
Marmot what do you mean by outlets? In the US, as you may know, we have outlet centers of name brand clothes made especially for outlets using lower grade materials and 50% of the "real" retail item or Factory stores selling clothing that was at the major stores at full price one or two seasons ago also at 50%-60% off.
marmot with a guide is a trip to Bandung and Bagor possibly based on their location in a day if we left the Sheraton at 8 AM and wanted to return by 6-7 PM with a 1/2 hour stop at the botanical gardens and a few villages? Maybe we might stop to see a village making wooden puppets though we did so last month while in the Solo area.
Marmot what do you mean by outlets? In the US, as you may know, we have outlet centers of name brand clothes made especially for outlets using lower grade materials and 50% of the "real" retail item or Factory stores selling clothing that was at the major stores at full price one or two seasons ago also at 50%-60% off.
Nov 7th, 2011, 02:39 PM
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Bandung is about 2.5 to 3.0 hours from the Sheraton Bandara. Bogor is about 1.5 to 2.0. To get to Bandung you'd go through some pretty mountain + rice paddy scenery. Bogor used to be a weekend getaway area for Jakartans, but now it's more of a suburb.
There are two big botanical gardens, holdovers from the Dutch era. One is right in the middle of the town of Bogor. The other is on the mountain road to Bandung in Cibodas. They are both beautiful, though like everything else in Jakarta not set up for foreign tourism.
Yes, these are apparel outlets in the American sense: they sell off price branded merchandise. Mostly jeans and athletic wear -- like Levi's, Nike, adidas, Gap. The quality and shopping experience is variable but serious shoppers always find good bargains.
I'm sure there are many craft workshops in the area but I don't have specific suggestions. Generally, West Java isn't as prolific in arts and crafts as the area around Yogya/Solo.
Good sources of information are the Indonesian Heritage Society and the American Women's Association. I'm sure if you email them, they would give you recommendations.
The Sheraton is only a few minutes from the airport, but don't underestimate the chance of running into traffic on the road to the airport. You might be better off staying in Jakarta, even though it wouldn't be as culturally interesting as the countryside and definitely not as scenic.
There are two big botanical gardens, holdovers from the Dutch era. One is right in the middle of the town of Bogor. The other is on the mountain road to Bandung in Cibodas. They are both beautiful, though like everything else in Jakarta not set up for foreign tourism.
Yes, these are apparel outlets in the American sense: they sell off price branded merchandise. Mostly jeans and athletic wear -- like Levi's, Nike, adidas, Gap. The quality and shopping experience is variable but serious shoppers always find good bargains.
I'm sure there are many craft workshops in the area but I don't have specific suggestions. Generally, West Java isn't as prolific in arts and crafts as the area around Yogya/Solo.
Good sources of information are the Indonesian Heritage Society and the American Women's Association. I'm sure if you email them, they would give you recommendations.
The Sheraton is only a few minutes from the airport, but don't underestimate the chance of running into traffic on the road to the airport. You might be better off staying in Jakarta, even though it wouldn't be as culturally interesting as the countryside and definitely not as scenic.
