Glodok,Jakarta's Chinatown area budget hotels

Glodok is the biggest Chinatown in old Jakarta with lots of traditional markets,hawker stalls and temples.

The locals tend to call it Kota which might be confusing.
The best place to purchase electronics gadgets in Jakarta is in Glodok Plaza or the Chinatown.

This plaza has clusters of electronic stores that sell the hottest electronics gadgets at lower prices. You can find a wide array of laptops, computers, digital cameras, cell phones and more.

Glodok Plaza is also known as the Mangga Dua Mall and is commonly described as the Technology Bazaar.

Earlier I landed in Grogol which was far to the west on the way to Tangerang in Banten Province whereas Glodok is in Jakarta Pusat Prefecture. Both names sound quite the same.

 From Sarinah Busway Halte,the TransJakarta busway fare was Rupiah 3,500 in a comfortable aircond ride will first take you to Harmoni Halte where you need to switch to the Glodok direction bus. It is advisable to look at the route map displayed at the exit doorway.There were staffs inside the station stop who were very helpful in providing assistance.

  At the Glodok Busway Halte,there was no overhead pedestrian bridge so one need to dash across to either side.
 Jalan Gajah Mada is in front while the other road near the Raja Mas Discotheque is known as Jalan Hayam Wuruk.

Jalan Gajah Mada is the main road leading from the beginning of Jalan Mangga Dua Raya southward up to Monas or Monumen Nasional.

Glodok is a popular place for the vibrant nightlife and redlight area of Jakarta.
 Raja Mas is a medium size disco and a hardcore techno funky house.







Hotel Grand Paragon
126,Jalan Gajah Mada. Tel:(021)2907 3333

 Mercure Rekso Hotel
123,Jalan Hayam Wuruk Tel:(021)6248 680

Malioboro Hotel and Spa
13,Jalan Gajah Mada Tel:(021) 6385 0000






Jayakarta Tower Hotel and Spa
126,Jalan Hayam Wuruk
Tel:(+62) 21 6496760

Club 36 Bar with Go-Go dancers.

Orchardz Jayakarta Hotel
44,Jalan Pangeran,Mangga Besar

 Orchardz Hotel
 8,Jalan Industri Raya.(on the Kemayoran area)

Apartment Mediterania Gajah Mada
174,Jalan Gajah Mada.
Two bedrooms one bath,size 45 square metres.
 Daily:Rp 350,000 Monthly:Rp 3,500,000.

Novotel Gajah Mada
1,Jalan Gunung Sahari Jaya.Mangga Dua
1.3 kilometers from Taman Sari ,6.3 kilometers from Central Jakarta, 15 kilometers from Jakarta Halim Perdanakusuma Intl. Airport (HLP) ,1.7 kilometers from Ancol Dreamland ,1.9 kilometers from Museum of Fine Arts and Ceramics, 2.0 kilometers from Jakarta History Museum ,2.0 kilometers from Puppet Museum (Museum Wayang) .








The Lindeteves Trade Center (LTC) near the Olimo TransJakarta busway station.
 One can find all kinds of hardware from the smallest machine part to entire machines used in industrial environments.

 Sun City Hotel and Luxury Club
Lindeteves Trade Center level 6
127,Jalan Hayam Wuruk Jakarta 11180
Tel: (+62)21 6220 1900






Crown Hotel.
Glodok Plaza Level 3-9,
No:1,Jalan Pinangsia Raya.
Golden Crown disco,nightclub,karaoke and massage spa most popular among locals,a mixed crowds.
 Free entry for ladies on Sunday Club valid for ladies who come before 14:00hrs.








MY Hotel
127A,Jalan Hayam Wuruk.Mangga Besar.
  Rates from USD30.

 Sanno Hotel
2,Jalan Pluit Selatan Raya.Glodok Kota Tel:(021) 660 6060
Rates from USD60-USD142

Swiss Belhotel Mangga Besar
57,Jalan Kartini Raya,Mangga Besar

Best Western Mangga Dua Hotel and Residence
111,Mangga Dua Abdad.
Rates from USD53









Hotel Metropole
39,Jalan Pintu Besar Selatan.Pinangsia,Glodok. Tel:(021) 6191 921











Mustika Hotel and Restaurant
193E,Jalan Gajah Mada.
Tel:(021) 633 5808
Having total 100 rooms.



  Mustika Hotel Restaurant rates:
Single Bed Standard:Rp 135,000 (including free breakfast) Transit 4 hours:Rp80,000 Deposit Rp:100,000
Maximum two person. exceeding two guest charge Rp50,000 Checkout time 13:00

  Live cobra snake for sale by a traditional medicine pedlar at one of the shop's sidewalk infront of Pasar Glodok.














Cobra snake being stripped naked of their skins and placed in a plactic container with ready buyers waiting.
These type of delicacies are more popular among the Chinese who always believe it has medicinal values.
 Medicinal extract from the cobra's parts were also on sale in capsules and liquid bottled.
According to the leaflet,he has many years of expertise in the cure of all sorts of old or new cronic sickness by using the cobra snake organ...

'Empedu' Cobra snake blood is not being used because it contains cholesterol and caffeine which can cause muscle cramps and blood flow problems.
The advantage of consuming the cobra organ mixture is the curing of diabetes,liver and coronary heart block,asthma,hypertension,kidney pains,rheumatism,hepatitis and lots more.

Whereas the Cobra oil and cream helps cure skin diseases.
Abon Cobra ( cobra skin) cures allergy while 'Tangkur dan Empedu Cobra Kering' in capsule form provides energy and stamina.

 He can be contacted at 50,Jalan Kota Bambu Raya,Kota Bambu Selatan,Jakarta Barat. Tel:021 56969262.





  Laros Massage(pijat) is one of the many massage parlours in Glodok to unwind your aching body.

 Diamonds Karaoke and Bar behind Mall Lindeteves,Jalan Blustru do have massage facilities as well.

 Monggo Mas Disco,Jalan Hayam Wuruk with lots of hookers.

Plaza Orion beside Plaza Glodok Jalan Pinangsia Raya.










Hotel Pancoran Jaya
38,Jalan pancoran Jaya
Tel:(021) 6385 6278 off main road Jalan Pintu Selatan
Deluxe:(Monday to Thursday) Rp208,000 Deluxe:(Friday,Saturday,Sunday):Rp 250,000 Ministay(6 hours) Deluxe:Rp168,000 Facilities:Airconditioned rooms,hot water bath ,parabola tv.Barber shop and Indonesian traditional massage parlour within the hotel.

Hotel Mutiara
71-71A,Jalan Pintu Selatan
Tel:(021) 6335808 email:cv_mutiara_indah@yahoo.co.id






Hotel Mutiara
Room rates:Rp 90,000 Aircond room,Toilet outside.
6 hours stay rates:Rp 60,000.












  A street vendor selling  handcafted baskets and 'dulang' made from bamboo.

 Beside Hotel Mutiara is a lane with many Chinese owned shops.














Hotel Mutiara booking reception counter inside this Shaxiane Xioche Restaurant which is quite packed at times.
'Xioche' is mandarin pinyin for small eatery.

Grogol a higher education hub

TransJakarta Busway western corridor starts from Grogol Halt via Jelamber,Indosiar,Taman Kota,Jembatan Gantung,Dispenda,Jembatan Baru,Rawa Buaya,Sumur Bor,Pesakih and ended at Kalideres Halt.

 Whereas Grogol 2 Halt Busway connects till Pluit Halt in the north while the south sector has interchange at Semanggi,Kuningan Barat passing Taman Mini halt and ended at Pinang Ranti.

Grogol Petamburan is a subdistrict of West Jakarta, Indonesia, roughly bounded by the West Flood Canal to the east, Angke Canal to the west and to the north, and Jakarta-Merak Tollway to the south.




 Grogol Busway 2 Halte has covered pedestrian walkways to either side of the terminal.













Mal Ciputra in the heart of Grogol,Jakarta Barat(west) is an ultra modern shopping complex having about 60,000 daily visitors while during weekends can exceed 100,000 visitors.

The locals called it Citraland or CL. Named after its President Director,Candra Ciputra who holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from University of San Francisco and his MBA degree in finance from Golden Gate University, San Francisco in the United States of America.

 PT Ciputra Development TBK is the flagship company first established in 1981 under the style of PT Citra Habitat Indonesia and was listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange in 1994.

Being Indonesia's leading property development companies,it specialises in large scale residential and commercial properties.
The first project was Citra Garden City in Cengkareng,West Jakarta in 1984.
Mal Ciputra and Hotel being the first commercial project in Grogol was launched in 1993 together with the company's first largest residential project in Surabaya,Citraland City in Jawa Timur(east).
In 1994 it launched Citra Grand City (now CitraRaya) Tangerang, a residential project with the largest development area (more than 2,700 ha).
In 1996 it was listed on the Surabaya Stock Exchange with an authorized capital of Rupiah 1,000 billion. The Company through a chinese joint venture plans to develop an integrated new township in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China over a 12 years period. Shenyang is located north east of Beijing, and is populated by 7.5 million.












View of Jalan Leftenan Jenderal S Parman from Grogol 2 Busway Halte pedestrian bridge which is a short distance from Grogol Busway Halte at Jalan Kyai Tapa.

At this Grogol flyover junction the vehicles are moving towards the Pluit-Tomang Toll Expressway.
In the horizon one could see the many modern skscrapers like Central Park Office Towers,Royal Mediterania Garden Residences,Mal Taman Anggerik and Plaza Telkom,Blue Dot Centre,University Sedaya International towards the left.






 Interior of Mal Ciputra.
The anchor tenants are Matahari Department Store,Hero Supermarket,Citra 21 Cineplex,Toko Buku Gramedia,Golds Gym,Playland and Fun City.

Mal Ciputra level 6 has a unique new concept food court known as Food Library.
There were more than 30 tenants each offering different kind of traditional food in a very cosy interior environment.
Food were quite cheap and one must not miss visiting this most unique foodcourt ever seen.








  Accomodations around Grogol.

Grand Tropics Suites Hotel,a 27 storey building with 198 rooms beside Tarumanagara University. Room Rates from USD66.

Gloria Apartments,off Jalan Kyai Tapa before Universitas Trisakti. Room rates from USD34.

 Kchrysant Hotel, No:63,Jalan Daan Mogot. Price from USD35.

 Hotel Ciputra, Jalan Leftenan Jenderal S Parman. Rates from USD95.

 Twin Plaza Hotel, Jalan Left Jend S Parman Tel:021 56960888

Grogol Inn 79,Jalan Daan Mogot. Tel:021 5673 523

 Hotel Grogol 2,Jalan Daan Mogot.






 Beside Ciputra Mall is the Tarumanagara University(UNTAR) along Jalan Leftenan Jenderal S Parman,Tomang Administrative District.
Banner showing academic session for year 2012/2013 intake is now opened for enrolment. Universitas Tarumanagara is one of the most reputable private university in Jakarta.
 Just across the main road is Jalan Kyai Tapa where another private instituition of higher learning,Universitas Trisakti

This was the epicentre of 'REFORMASI' that sends ripples throughout Indonesia in 1998. Vietnamese reform is Đổi Mới which took place in 1986.







Jakarta is too big to walk around so another option is to hop into these KOPAJA non aircond minibuses with hard seats.
The standard fare is Rupiah 2,000 and it covers areas not in the TransJakarta Busway route as well.
There were route signs on the bus so it won't be a problem. Near the corner of Ciputra Mall was the bus stop for buses heading towards the western part of Jakarta till Tangerang.
What I did was to hop into one of the minibuses and stay put throughout the journey till the final stop.At Tangerang when most of the passengers have disembarked,the minibus will continue picking up passengers along the way and return to Grogol.You just need to pay another Rp 2,000 for the return journey.








Horse carriage competing with the buses at the road junction that leads to CitraRaya housing area.
An innovative way of 'Horse Shuttle' replacing the shuttle bus to the housing estate but the disadvantage is passenger's face will be covered with thick sooth by the time reaching home and the lungs will be filled with carbon monoxide.

Citra Grand City(Citra Raya) in Tangerang. Located at Cikupa, Tangerang, west of Jakarta, the project can be easily accessed from Tomang - Merak toll road and from Tangerang city.
CitraRaya is equipped with various outstanding facilities, such as a large town park, family club, commercial center, schools, places of worship and a water park. This project mainly targets low to middle class customers.
With sales figures reaching 21,910 units by the end of October 2011, CitraRaya has been transformed to a self-contained city and become community center for its surrounding suburbs.








Students of SMk Cengkareng after school at 4:30pm.

Mosque with four pillars that have a design look like a pagoda.












 Traditional method of carrying a toddler around. This is more practical when it comes to breast feeding an infant baby.

  Daan Mogot Shopping Complex beside Lingkaran Luar Barat Expressway.

Daan Mogot roundabout.

Reindeers replica at entrance to Indosat (Indonesian Satellite)which is the third largest telecommunication company for mobile services in Indonesia (Matrix, Mentari and IM3)being established in 1967.

PT Satelit Palapa Indonesia (Satelindo) was established in 1993 and is a subsidiary of Indosat.

 The Indonesian Government deregulated the telecommunications sector by opening a free-market competition.

Thus, TELKOM no longer monopolize the telecommunications in Indonesia.

Indosat administrative office is at Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat,Kelurahan Gambir,Gambir.

Listed at New York Stock Exchange stock code:IIT.(PT Indosat TBK American Depository)current price:USD29.90 (Highest:USD34.54)(Lowest:USD25.76)  

Top Instituitional Shareholders as reported on Sep 30,2011.(cost in USD)

FMR LLC =98,700shares (0.09%) cost value: 2,818,872
OAKTREE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LP= 66,144shares (0.06%) cost: 1,889,072
DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LP= 48,212shares (0.04%) cost: 1,376,934
HSBC HOLDINGS PLC= 40,000shares (0.04%) cost: 1,142,400
CANADA PENSION PLAN INVESTMENT BOARD= 28,500shares (0.03%) cost: 813,960
Employees Retirement System of Texas= 21,010shares (0.02%) cost: 600,045
SATURNA CAPITAL CORPORATION= 20,000shares (0.02%) cost: 571,200
STATE STREET CORPORATION= 15,840shares (0.01%) cost: 452,390
World Asset Management, Inc.= 14,853shares (0.01%) cost: 424,201
UBS AG= 14,538shares (0.01%) cost: 415,205

Currently, the composition of ownership of Indosat is: Qatar Telecom (65%), Public (20.1%), and the
Government of the Republic of Indonesia (14.9%).

Beautiful architecture.

Dutch colonial building at Glodok.

Gedung Arsip Nasional (National Archives Building) off Jalan Gajah Mada near Hotel Grand Paragon.

The Dutch business community has helped in the restoration of an old Dutch East India Company's building which is a very valuable heritage site thus generating great interest among the general public as well as educationist.

Indonesia has little in the way of legislation for the protection of built heritage and as a result many privately-owned heritage buildings have been lost.

 Some government-owned structures, such as the National Archives building, have so far been spared demolition but need private funding sources to enable restoration efforts to proceed.

This is the former home of VOC Governor General Reinier de Klerk of the Dutch East India Company in 1777.

The Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC, "United East India Company") was established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia.

The Dutch nearest competitor is the British East India Company.
It is all about the rich spice trade especially pepper which has been the wealth of Indonesian archipelago and Banten in western tip of Java Island has been the main port.

In March 1599, a fleet of eight ships under Jacob van Neck was the first Dutch fleet to reach the 'Spice Islands’ of Maluku.
 From 1720 on, the market for sugar from Indonesia declined as the competition from cheap sugar from Brazil increased.
European markets became saturated. Dozens of Chinese sugar traders went bankrupt which led to massive unemployment, which in turn led to gangs of unemployed coolies.
 The Dutch government in Batavia did not adequately respond to these problems.
In 1740, rumors of deportation of the gangs from the Batavia area led to widespread rioting.

The Dutch military searched houses of Chinese in Batavia searching for weapons. When a house accidentally burnt down, military and impoverished citizens started slaughtering and pillaging the Chinese community.

This massacre of the Chinese was deemed sufficiently serious for the board of the VOC to start an official investigation into the Government of the Dutch East Indies for the first time in its history.

Olden days Dutch seal.

Discussion and conference hall.

Olden days sofa possibly made from teak or mahogany timber wood.

  Round dining table with chairs having rounded edges carvings.

Document and gold deposit vault.

Tengku Muhammad Timbang standing beside his long sword-'keris'.

Teukoe Panglima Muhammad Timbang,originated from the 'Shahbandar'elite group from Acheh Province in North Sumatra. During ancient Malay states, the official who supervised merchants, controlled the port, and collected customs duties are known as Shahbandar.

On December 1872 at Tanjung Pinang,Tengku Muhammad Timbang was part of the Acheh Delegates that met the Riau Resident Governor,D.W.Schiff for a meeting.

In mid-Februaray 1873,the Dutch Consul(Konsul Belanda) in Singapura(Singapore)informed the Dutch East India Company(Hindia Belanda)headquarters in Batavia(old name for Jakarta) that the Shahbandar Delegates were on the way back to Acheh and approaching Singapore having contacted the American and Italian Consulate and inviting them to attack the Dutch.

The Italian Consul has discussed on the possiblity of sending Italain warships to protect Acheh from the Dutch attack.






  Antique chest with a huge padlock.

The Governor's office with rosewood bookshelves wall cabinet.






Old mariners navigational compass.

Dutch Colonial fighters metal helmet similar to the Norman Crusade Helmet.

Olden days vintage antique piano in ebony wood furnishing.
The stool has a fixed swivel.

  Bell inside the garden.








Wood Carvings at door entrance.

Wooden carvings near staircase.

Reiner de Klerk’s residence was constructed as a compound of five buildings.
The main building is a stately two-storey, brick structure with a high pitched roof and features a grand entrance hall and a beautifully decorated light vent above the main doors.

The other buildings in the complex are smaller but are similar in style and were built as administrative offices and to house servants.

 

 Cupboard/Armoires

Over its history the complex has changed hands a number of times.
After the death of Reiner de Klerk the buildings were sold and later became an orphanage.

The complex was subsequently abandoned and was left to deteriorate until the Dutch colonial Government converted it for use by the Mining Department.

In 1925 the main building was renovated and became the Landsarchief (national archive).

When the Indonesian Government took over the building upon Independence in 1945, it continued to function as an archive and has since been known as ‘Gedung Arsip Nasional Republic Indonesia’ (the National Archive Building of the Republic of Indonesia).

The Indonesian Government expanded the compound with the addition of a two-storey u-shaped building, joined to the rear auxiliary building.
The building’s function continued until the mid nineteen-eighties when the archives were relocated to a more modern building.
The complex then became vacant and steadily deteriorated until restoration work began in 1997.
Prior to the conservation project the building was suffering from weathering and neglect.
 Because much of the site is below the surrounding ground-level, the buildings had been badly damaged by flooding over the years.
There was no natural surface drainage and drainage pumps were broken.
Rising dampness had damaged the walls and the plaster and paint work.
Furthermore, much of the timber in the buildings was infested with termites, including the roof beams.

Main entrance into the building.

Wooden carvings with flower petals depicting 'The Tulips of Amsterdam,Holland'