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Guide to Choosing Your Hotel in Jakarta [2024]

By Tibs →
In this guide, I will answer all the questions I received from readers regarding the best hotels to choose for a stay in Jakarta. What is the best area to stay in Jakarta? Pick any hotel located along or near Jalan Sudirman, between Plaza Senayan and Sarinah Mall. Read my full answer:  What is the best area to stay in Jakarta?

What To Buy in Indonesia: Souvenirs, Gifts and Cheap Stuff

By Tibs →
If you are visiting Indonesia as a tourist, you are probably looking for gifts or souvenirs to bring back home. You may also be wondering if there are some cheap items that are worth buying here more than in your home country. In this article, I will give you tips on what to buy, what NOT to buy, where to shop, and how to avoid scams.

What to do in Jakarta in 24 hours?

By Tibs →
Many tourists stay in Jakarta for only 1 night, usually before heading to Bali. If you are in the same situation, you might be wondering what are the best things to do in the city in 24 hours or less. To help you, I have written this one-day itinerary that covers the town's best attractions. It is a bit rushed but it is realistically doable in 24 hours. Of course, you can skip some of the steps to make your day more relaxed. Choosing the right hotel in Jakarta for a short trip A hotel near  Plaza Indonesia  would be perfect or, alternatively, near  Sarinah . To reach the airport faster, you could also stay near Semanggi, Taman Anggrek or Pluit, but then you would be further away from the attractions I will recommend below. You should be aware that every Sunday is car-free day in Jakarta. This means that Jalan Sudirman and Jalan Thamrin will be closed to cars from 6 AM to 11 AM. Recommend Hotel Near Sarinah/Plaza Indonesia for a 24-Hour Stopover in Jakarta → 5-stars (more than 150$/

11 Best Secret and Unspoiled Indonesians Islands [2024]

By Tibs →
The next Bali or the next Lombok is listed below. If you are a tourist considering going to Bali to enjoy a quiet beach holiday, just forget it. Bali is ridiculously overcrowded and it is starting to look no different than Jakarta: Clogged with traffic, disorganized and polluted. It is far from the paradise it pretends to be. The good news is there are 17,000 more islands to explore in Indonesia, with far better beaches and scenery. Sure, they require a bit more efforts to visit and you may not find 5-star honeymoon resorts so easily there. But once tourism will develop and change the authenticity of these islands, you will probably regret not making the trip earlier.

Living in Jakarta: Best Neighborhoods for Expats (2024)

By Tibs →
I previously wrote about the best areas to stay in Jakarta for tourists . You may want to read this article as well to get a first introduction to the city's neighborhoods. I wouldn't say that there isn't one best place to live in Jakarta, as the criteria for each person will be different. The most important factor when deciding where to stay should be the distance between your home and your work or, if you have children, between your home and their school.

12 Delicious Indonesian Soups (and Where to Eat Them)

By Tibs →
A common mistake of foreigners visiting Indonesia is to limit their knowledge of Indonesian cuisine to Nasi Goreng and Nasi Padang. Few will taste one of the dozens delicious soups that you can try everywhere, from classy Indonesian restaurants to popular food courts. Indonesian soups are typically made from some of these ingredients: turmeric, garlic, lemongrass, onions, potatoes, coriander, ginger, galangal, tomatoes and of course, coconut milk. Chicken is the most common type of meat, followed by beef, mutton and fish. Pork soups are very rare outside of Bali. Sop or Soto? It seems that even Indonesians are not so sure about the difference between "soto" and "sop". Some friends told me that "sop" are clear soups while "soto" are mixed with coconut milk. Wikipedia tells a different story: It says that traditional soups are called "soto" while modern, western-inspired ones are called "soup". If you know the differ

Where to Stay in Jakarta - Best Areas for Tourists (2023)

By Tibs →
If you visit Jakarta as a tourist, you are probably wondering about the best areas to stay in the city . Due to the horrible traffic and the lack of public transportation, I advise you to choose your location carefully. 1 kilometer in Jakarta is like 10 kilometer in normal cities. Just going to the opposite side of a street by car can sometimes take up to 30 minutes! If you don't have time to read my entire review , the following paragraph is a short summary: The best place to stay in Jakarta, either you are a tourist or a businessman, is around Plaza Indonesia or Grand Indonesia, for instance:  Kempinski ,  Grand Hyatt ,  Pullman ,  Mandarin Oriental . It is an expensive area though so if you are on a budget, you can stay near Sarinah Mall instead. You'll find backpacker hostels ( Jalan Jaksa ), 2-star hotels ( Favehotel ), 3-star hotels ( Holiday Inn  or  Ibis Tamarin ) and 4-star hotels ( Morrissey , Four Points by Sheraton , AONE or  Akmani ). Need more address

How to Buy Viagra or Cialis in Indonesia (Bali or Jakarta)?

By Tibs →
One of the questions I receive the most is how to buy viagra or Cialis in Indonesia, the two most common erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs available. It is actually very easy to buy them (at least in Jakarta or Bali), as well as some other "magic" pills like Levitra or Hammer of Thor. With 70% of Indonesian males who are smokers, it's not surprising that there is a lot of demand here for products that combat impotence. In this article, I will give you some tips on where to find them, how to avoid the fake ones, and how much they cost. Main differences between Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra Each man will have a different reaction to each of these drugs. That's why it can be a good idea to try all of them at different times to see which one is the best for you (of course, ask your doctor about it before taking anything). Generally speaking, though, these are the main characteristics of each: Viagra: Typically, you'll need a 50mg dose to get a