Jakarta Birthday Trip- Girls' Night Out in Jarkarta 16 December to 18 December 2007

This year's birthday is a special one. Arlina and Weichean suggested going somewhere out of Singapore to celebrate my birthday.

Though it was a really short weekend trip, we still managed to maximise our time in Batam and in Jakarta, doing all the "girlie" stuff, going for spa, shopping, eating and roaming the streets. We stayed in a squeaky clean guest-house in Jalan Jaksa. The trip was short, but nonetheless memorable and fun.




10 things that made this trip memorable

1) Weichean getting oogled at by the Indonesian men on Day One when she wore her sexy tube top and Day Two, when she wore her see-through lacy dress which left much to the cheekopeh Indonesian men's imagination.
2) The walk around the slum-area near the railway station on the last day in Jarkarta. Unfortunately, Wei Chean couldn't come along coz she was running a little fever. The slum area serves as the home for many Indonesians who left their villages to come to Jarkarta in search of greener pastures. There, we met a green chick and a pink chick, literally, two children from Papua New Guinea, friendly residents.
3) Three grown-up gals sleeping together in a king-size bed in the ultracheap yet squeaky clean guesthouse (S$12 per night).
4) Yummy Cemara gado gado which is best served cold, with bitter keropok, cucumber, beansprouts, "longtong rice", nicely immersed in fragrant cashew nut sauce.
5) The talented musician-beggar who sang beautiful Indonesian folktunes outside the shop while we enjoyed our authentic gado gado
5) The spa treatment which costs about S$80, including one-hour massage, milk bath and a cup of hot ginger tea. Weichean and I shared a tub, while Arlina enjoyed her privacy in the room next door.
6) The unforgettable meal at the roadside stall. It was a meal of excitement and loads of activities. Indonesian teenagers suddenly surrounding us with their make-shift instruments and drum-sets, singing enchanting Indonesian songs with their loud and powerful vocals. A beggar lady, with a baby slinged over her shoulder in a sarong, poking Arlina on her back asking for money as she ate her satay. Another uncle carrying stacks of books and travel guides from table to table, trying his luck for a potential buyer to bring the books home.
7) The bright pink and green chicks we chanced upon in the slum area. These poor chicks must have been "dipped" into the agar-agar colouring that the Indonesians use to make their jelly.
8)Roaming the little lanes in Blok M, the residents' shopping paradise with Arlina and Weichean
9) Taking the domestic flight (Lion Air) from Batam to Jakarta at about S$270. The wordings on the plane- Fly is Cheap.
10) Taking the little transport vehicle which is the equivalent of the tuk-tuk in Thailand.

Thank you girls, for making this year's birthday an unforgettable one as I neared the big three-zero.