We moved to Jakarta at the end of July. It’s been only two and a half weeks since we arrived, but it feels like we have been here much longer. We’ve seen a lot and I have survived the first two weeks thanks to my dear friends, especially Kara and my new friend, Anne-Marie. I don’t know what I would’ve done without them. Kara has graciously taken us under her wing and made sure our transitioning into our new environment was smooth and comfortable. That meant a world to us.
Here are some photos taken in the first couple of weeks of our life in Jakarta. To be honest with you, I’ve lost momentum for posting entries on my blog as often as I did before our big move. I’ve lost energy to take photos, too. It was quite overwhelming at first to arrive in Jakarta and not knowing anything about this city, not to mention the language. I didn’t feel this way when I moved to Dakar, Senegal or Okinawa, Japan and I wonder if it was because I speak the languages spoken in those cities. Other than the language, there are many unknowns that jumped into my life which kind of makes you feel vulnerable. It is usually that way when you move to a foreign country. However, besides feeling overwhelmed at first, I am nothing but thrilled to be in this city. You know what? I started to feel much more at ease after having realized I should not get tense since many things were out of my control and all I needed was to take it easy. I keep reminding myself that time will tell and no need to rush. I don’t want to be a hamster spinning in a wheel.
Monumen Nasional (Monas) / National Monument
Indonesians like to shorten words. They call Monumen Nasional (National Monument) “Monas”. We went up to the top of the tower that overlooked the city of Jakarta and we had a chance to do this only 2 days after our arrival. It was amazing and unreal.
Istiqlal Mosque / National Mosque
We had a tour inside the National Mosque. It was huge and very tranquil. The women in our tour group wore scarves as jilbab (another term referring to hijab/Muslim headscarf in Indonesia). It wasn’t necessary for kids to wear headscarves, but our kids wanted to try. The national mosque of Indonesia was built to commemorate Indonesian independence. That’s why the mosque was named “Istiqlal”, which means independence in Arabic.
Batavia is an old name for Jakarta. We went to this very famous restaurant in the heart of downtown. I hear that it’s very well-known for the night-time as well. We had some Chinese food and it was pretty good. There were tons of framed photos everywhere. Even their menu comes on the back of a frame with photo in front. I’ve never seen menu like that before! The powder room was quite interesting, too.
Cafe Batavia
Taman Fatahillah
Jakarta-Kota, Indonesia
Tel: (62) 021-691-5331
http://cafebatavia.com/
Wayang Museum / Indonesian Puppet Museum
Wayang means theater in Indonesian, but it is used to refer to the traditional Indonesian puppet show or puppets themselves. We went to the Puppet Museum. We figured our girls might enjoy seeing the paper puppets. One day I would love for us to see the Indonesian puppet show. How fun would that be!
Jakarta Old Town / Kota Tua Jakarta
We hang out at the market for a little while. Our friend got her daughter and our daughter a stick with a long piece of tissue paper attached to one end. My daughter absolutely loved playing with it. It’s actually one of the best toys.
Lollipops (Kids Playground) in Senayan City
This kids play area is in gorgeous Senayan City Mall and is called Lollipops. It’s a fun place for both small kids and bigger kids. You’ll have to pay and it’s not so cheap, but it was definitely worth paying to be there to let our kids run around in a safe place. My friend, Kara, took me there with her daughter. We had a blast.
Sour Sally / Frozen Yogurt
This frozen yogurt was so yummy!! We went there after Lollipops. I love the characters of the store. You should go check out Sour Sally’s home page. It’s super cute and entertaining!!
Food Hall
We stopped by at a nice, fancy grocery store. I love going to grocery stores in new countries. It makes me happy!
View From Senayan City
I took this photo around 2:00 in the afternoon. There is always traffic all over the city whenever you get out except for Sundays when many drivers take a day off. It’s just a life here to get stuck in traffic and you have to relax. You’ll get to your destination when you get there.
I hope you enjoyed taking a peek at our new life. I cannot wait to see how our new life will unfold in front of us in Jakarta. I’m already anxious to find cheap stores to shop!!
I truly hope you don’t get tired of blogging about Indonesia! These photos are fascinating, I love seeing it through your eyes, Kaho! The girls look like they’re taking it all in stride, and that yogurt looks like Yogurtland here in Oki! I love groceries in foreign countries too- they’re so telling. And tell us, is it super hot there? Like Okinawa? I know it’s a hard transition with the language – you’re amazing and I just know you’ll adjust quickly. I can’t wait to hear what your favorite foods and places are in Jakarta.
Thanks, Aviva!! The girls do take it all in stride. I’m so proud of them. I never had a chance to Yogurtland. I love frozen yogurt!! It’s not too hot here. It was much hotter in Tokyo in July than it is here.
Oh My God! Everything you show me is making me plan our trip to where you are!!
Can’t wait to see more 🙂
Oh, you are so welcome here!! We have a guest bedroom for you!!
I remember Kara well from my Beijing time. You have many good friends dane.
That’s right! I forgot about that!!! I love it when my friends from different places meet.
Kaho,
I love the first photo of your daughters. and I like seeing through your eyes your adventures in your new city. I have also felt the same way lately, not really wanting to blog ( I think it’s the heat here that we just want to be at the beach) and also I’m trying to transition to wordpress and it’s so difficult. it takes alot of researching and I’m deciding just to pay someone to set up my website. so that has left me feeling frustrated. But then I remind myself that one day I will want to remember what Beli was doing on the summer of 2010 and I would like to remember these wonderful days.
Its wonderful that you have someone showing you around, it’s always comforting to have that one person you can count on.
everytime I get a reminder in my email from your website I smile and anxiously click over to read about your life there and your daughters seem to be adjusting well, you are showing them lots of fun places.
sorry for the long rambling comment.
Elisa
Elisa! Thank you for the sweet comment. No need to apologize since I LOVE it!! It’s so true that it is comforting to have familiar faces and someone I can count on when you move to a new place. It makes the whole experience so much easier emotionally. I feel the same way as you about blogging. I find it important for me to document our life so that not only can we always come back here to remember, but also my kids can see what I documented about their lives once they grow old enough to read.
When I read that my blog notification made you smile, it made me feel so happy that it was worth my efforts to do this. Thank you…
Kaho,
What great pictures! It looks like you are settling in. It’s always such an adventure to start over in a brand new place. And, so amazing how well our kids adapt. They certainly have much to teach us! Though, from the looks of it, you appear to be doing well with it all yourself. And, Lollipops looks simply amazing. What a wonderful tour ahead for you and the fam.
Lots of love,
Al
Alisa! Thanks for leaving a comment for me!! It’s true that it is an adventure to start over in a new place and I do learn a lot from my kids. I do go through ups and downs, but I always try to see the upside. I hope all is well with you and your fam. Can’t wait to see more of your photos!
Kaho,
I love peeking into your life in Jakarta! What a fascinating place you’re in. You sound great and, as always, up for anything. Love to you all!
Love,
Joanne
Thanks for visiting! We miss the playdates with you guys. Hope all is well with you and your fam. Our big girl started kinder and she’s loving it. Hugs to your kids!
I’m so excited to see pictures of Jakarta finally! Hope you guys are settling in — the girls look like they are taking it all in stride. I can’t wait to hear all about your adventures. Hugs to P, Y&Y!
Thanks!! The girls are doing great. Our first girl just started kinder and she loves it!!
I love seeing Jakarta through your eyes. It looks like a lovely and interesting place! I would love to visit all those places one day. Thank you so much for sharing a bit of your life 🙂
And thank you for joining my Linky Party – it wouldn’t be the same without you!!XOL
Came here from the Expat Linky Party. Great to have discovered your blog. You have really done the expat life in a big way, haven’t you? You’ve lived in so many places! Good for you!
I just read your blog and i love it! This posting, kind makes me think, ‘hey, Jakarta looks so good in this pic!’. because i live in Jakarta for years and i still don’t have a chance to go to Monas. See your pics here make me want to go there..^_^
Thanks for the compliments!!!
Hi Kaho (^o^) I accidentally got to your blog when i was looking for “Birdcage” review, and your blog is somehow very interesting for me, so I continued reading. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Ario, I’m Indonesian, an IBC (Indonesian Born Chinese), haha, it’s usually ABC, isnt it? I have read the “about me” section and I found it amazing that you have to live in different countries every two or three years. And who knew that you would moved to Jakarta?? If I’m not mistaken, it’s already been a year in Jakarta for you, and you must have gotten used to live here. Well, just wanna say a belated warm welcome for you ^^