August 12-20, 2011
First Steps, First words, First Day of school, First Kiss, First Love, First Date, First Job, First Paycheck, First Car… All the FIRSTs is important in someone’s lifetime. And this travel has a lot of my FIRSTS…
First Steps, First words, First Day of school, First Kiss, First Love, First Date, First Job, First Paycheck, First Car… All the FIRSTs is important in someone’s lifetime. And this travel has a lot of my FIRSTS…
August 12- First Airplane ride, Flight 5J759 MNL-CGK
At NAIA 3, me & my friend had some special moments,
First at the immigration counter He was questioned by the immigration officer
and just as I saw him being questioned a lot so I approached him, I was about
to ask the officer but luckily he was eventually allowed by the officer. On to
the gates, there was another inspection area. My bag got stopped and I was
asked to open it. I felt nervous, of course. As I opened my bag the guard just
said, “oh Bugks, Bugks lang (only)” Then he explained that it was because they
appeared black on the xray. So they let me pass.
So TIP for first
timers: Be confident with the immigration staff and yeah don’t bring too
much books in your bag! [I actually just had my Starbucks 2011 planner,
“Didache” (a Catholic daily reflection guide), and “Eat, Pray, Love” (by
Elizabeth Gilzberth)]
 |
| from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org) |
I know NAIA 3 is actually in the Philippines but why is it
called such. NAIA stands for Ninoy Aquino International Airport and sometimes
called Manila International Airport hence
the, IATA code MNL. Yes, it is
named after Ninoy Aquino, which some of you would know him as the father of
Pres. Noynoy Aquino, husband of the late Pres. Cory Aquino and the father of
Kris Aquino (which I believe is the worst way to know the person). Ninoy is
bigger than those “definitions”, he is a very intelligent and courageous man
who fought for the freedom of Filipinos. He was actually a journalist, youngest
war correspondent (22yo) and a politician, youngest elected senator in the
country's history at age 34 during 1967. He was a great critic of the Marcos
regime and exposed any anomalies he found out. He was held as a prisoner during
the Martial Law and was warned not to enter the country but he was eager and
that embarked the assassination, and he was shot as soon as he got off the
plane. Hence, the airport was named such.
August 12 –First Foreign Country
 |
| from Lonely Planet (http://www.lonelyplanet.com) |
You know the drill, now a short history of Indonesia.
Officially known as the Republic of
Indonesia, it is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands.
It encompasses 34 provinces with Jakarta as its capital city. Indonesia
comes from the Greek words Indós and nèsos, meaning
"island" which term dates back 18th century. Their national language
is Bahasa Indonesia, inhabitants are called Indonesians and their currency is
Ruppiah which has a conversion rate of 1 U.S. dollar
=11 363.6364 Indonesian rupiahs or
1 Philippine peso = 262.37500 Indonesian rupiahs (easy conversion
IDR/1000 * 4 = rough estimate in Php ). Indonesia
consists of hundreds of distinct native ethnic and linguistic groups and the
largest are the Javanese. Despite this difference in ethinic groups their
shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic
diversity, religious pluralism within a majority Muslim population, and a
history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesia's national motto, "Bhinneka
Tunggal Ika" ("Unity in Diversity" literally,
"many, yet one"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country.
We arrived 2345H @ Soekarno Hatta Airport it was almost
midnight and my aunt, uncle & cousins were there to fetch us. I know they
were tired because they came from school and probably had a very short nap. But
as we approached the gates I saw my two cousins and they were shouting, as soon
as we went out the gates they hugged me & I told them to say hi to my
friend also and they did. It took us about 0100H before we reached their condo
unit and I believe I was lucky to see Jakarta traffic free and on my first day
there.
 |
| from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org) |
Like NAIA, Soekarno Hatta Airport is named after
politicians. The airport is named after the first President of Indonesia,
Soekarno (Kusno Sosrodihardjo),
and the first vice-president, Mohammad Hatta. They struggled for independence
from the Netherlands and declared Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945.
The airport is also known as Cengkareng
Airport, Cengkareng a district northwest of the city.
That’s why the airport's IATA code is CGK. Jakarta 3 airports but
only two operational, Halim Perdanakusuma (HLP) and Kemayoran Airport with IATA
code JKT (usually used as a shortcut for Jakarta) had referred to the city's former airport which is
now closed.
My blog entry for this is a bit long since we stayed for a
week. So I decided to chop it down into portions. I posted my adventures per day (just click on the dates in the travel itinerary). Here is my actual Travel Itinerary for the
trip with some highlights bulleted… and below is the list of expenses we had
during the trip.
Travel Itinerary:
August 12= Flight 5J759 MNL-CGK Departure: ARRIVAL: 2345H
Taman Mini
Dinner @ Central Park
CIMORY
Taman Safari
Mall Hoping (Central Park, Taman Angrek, Mal Ciputra)
School Visit (pelangi Kasih)
Mall of Indonesia
Mal Artha Gading
Don Bosco Catholic Church
Ancol
Sea World Indonesia
Samudra
Bay
Senayan City Mall
Senayan City Mall
School Visit (ichtus)
Mall Grand Indonesia/Plaza Indenesia
City tour
Re-visit Malls
Arrival 0530H
Expenses:
Cebu Pacific Tickets PHP
8,396/2=4198
Travel Tax PHP
1,620
Airport User’s Charge PHP
750
Accommodation FREE
c/o my Aunt :D
Taman Mini
|
|
Entrance
|
IDR 9,000
|
Parking/Car Entrance
|
IDR 10,000
|
SkyLift
|
IDR 25,000
|
Train Ride
|
IDR 5,000
|
Individual Museum /Amenities
Entrances
|
~IDR 19,000
|
TOTAL
Day 1
|
IDR 68,000 roughly around PHP 272 |
Cimory
|
|
Strawberry yougurt (big bottle)
|
IDR 6,000
|
Taman
Safari
|
|
Entrance
|
IDR 140,000/person (locals) (IDR 250,000 for foreigners)*
|
Car Entrance & Parking
|
IDR 15,000
|
Elephant Ride
|
(I really forgot how much it was but it was roughly around IDR 50,000)
|
TOTAL Day 2
|
IDR 205,000 ~PHP 820
|
Lunch
Solaria @ Central Park |
~IDR 250,000/2= IDR 125,000
|
Bus
Fare
|
|
| Central Park to Mal Ciputra |
~IDR 2,500
|
| Snacks | |
| Starbucks Venti |
IDR 50,000
|
| Dinner @ Shabu Slim | IDR 112,000/person +service fee & tax (c/o Aunt) |
TOTAL Day 3
|
IDR 414,500 ~ PHP 1658 |
Snacks
|
|
Starbucks Venti
|
IDR 50,000
|
Lunch @ A & W
|
IDR 75,000 (for me & my lil cuz)
|
Arcade Games
|
IDR 50,000
|
Taxi
|
|
MOI to Pelangi Kasih
|
IDR 25,000 (with tip cause we confused the driver)
|
TOTAL Day 4
|
IDR 200,000 ~ PHP 800
|
Ancol
|
|
Entrance Fee
|
IDR 15,000
|
Car Fee
|
IDR 10,000
|
Sea World
|
IDR 60,000
|
Samudra
|
IDR 110,000
|
Dinner
@ Donner Kebab, Plaza Senayan
|
IDR 22,000
|
TOTAL Day 5
|
IDR 207,000 ~ PHP 828
|
Snacks
|
|
Rice Bowl
|
IDR 39,000
|
Drinks (Soda)
|
IDR 15,000
|
TOTAL Day 6
|
IDR 50,000 ~ PHP200
|
Lunch
@ Koi Oriental, Mal Taman Angrek
|
IDR 23,000
|
Snacks
for Plane
|
IDR
30,000
|
Shirt
|
IDR 35,000
|
Shoes
|
IDR 100,000
|
Water on board
|
PHP 50
|
TOTAL Day 7
|
IDR 188,000 ~ PHP 752 + 50= PHP 802
|
GRAND TOTAL (W/O PASALUBONGS) PHP 11,448
