Day 6 and 7: Jakarta, Indonesia

After the safari adventures at the Taman Safari Park in Puncak, we braced for the commute back to Jakarta. It's a two-hour travel from Puncak to Rambutan, and from the terminal there we took a cab to the hotel. We rode an ordinary bus and we've been seated separately. Bus travels here are almost like in the Philippines, bu gosh, cigarette smoking in public vehicles is not prohibited so by the time we get off the bus, we're fumed with nicotine all over! And as usual, the traffic is worse.

We'll surely miss these lovable elephants of the Taman Safari!

Our hotel for the remaining two days in Jakarta is called Hotel 55, Hotel Lima-Lima as the locals called it. It's not a luxurious room but could pass the three-star standard. It's clean, complete with the complimentary toiletries, slippers, and the coffee and tea making facilities is a-okay, enough for the four of us and more. 

Good thing that the hotel atmosphere is homey because it rained for the next two days of our Jakarta stay but it did not stop us from going out. We hailed a cab ( more of like the receptionist called for a cab for us, one of the perks). One of the places we checked out was the Taman Mini Indonesia in East Jakarta. It's a park with life-sized replicas of houses and buildings the shows the Indonesian way of living. Since it's raining nonstop, we took the shuttle van around the park for RP5000. Disappointed we could not get to see each one of the house models up close.

Back at the hotel, since it's raining, we'd busied ourselves with all the food and snacks we bought at the nearest Carrefour. No 7-eleven around but there's Carrefour in every corner. 

Alas, it's our last day in Jakarta! It's pasalubong shopping! But first, we checked out a J.Co cafe. Of course, we brought the flavors we want and Jen also tried their sandwiches. J.Co is from Indonesia so what better thing to do than try it in its origin country.

Checking out of Hotel 55 is bittersweet, yet there's a satisfied smile in all of us. 

While waiting for the cab that will take us to the airport

We've completed our one-week, three-country tour and our itinerary was checked, although not 100 percent. For me, it's always an 80/20 chance because we can't expect perfection when there's too many things to factor in.

Checking in at the airport, we bid our goodbye to Indonesia, with a thought in each of us that we may come back for more. Remember, there's Borobudur and Bali waiting...

Happy travels!

Day 5: Roar at Taman Safari Indonesia

It's Day 5 and I'm super excited. Today, we'll get to check out the safari park. But first, we have to ready ourselves, which is super hard, because it's super cold. Took a shower (thank God for the hot water) and got ready for breakfast before everything else.

After a heavy brekkie, we strolled first within the lodge premises and checked out the pool. It's a foggy morning with morning drizzle that made the surrounding a bit gloomy. Taman Safari, by the way, is at the top of a mountain.

Foggy morning at 7 a.m.

The pool area.

We then went to the safari park ticket booth to buy safari tickets. A ticket costs 200,000 Indonesian rupiah. It includes free entrance and a safari bus will take us around the park. We envied those with private cars because they've got their chance of feeding the roaming animals.

Our tickets to safari... and we don't understand a word!

Private vehicles get to feed the roaming animals!

Feeling safari with the river and mud.

We also got a chance to watch the elephant show even though we don't understand what the characters are saying. But we enjoyed it nonetheless.
I also got a chance to take some photos with a baby tiger, so cute!!!! There's an adult tiger for photo op but then I got scared, long claws and big teeth, scary!

Cute baby tiger

The house of the tigers

We enjoyed our day so much that even though it rained, we didn't mind. It's the awesomeness of feeling connected to nature that made our day. 

Happy travels!