A Short Trip to Jakarta

This is is my belated update of my Jakarta trip 1st April 2008. I went on Air Asia’s maiden flight from Kuching to Jakarta with 3 of my girl friends. It’s was a real short trip as we flew back on 3rd April. Can’t do much with such a short trip but we still managed to have some fun window shopping and get on the cab travelling from one part of the city to another part and snapping some pictures on the road in travelling cars. That too was something.

It was an eye opener to visit Jakarta. It is the capital of Indonesia, located on the northwest part of Java. It covers an area 661 square kilometers and has approximately a population of 13,194,000 (44,283 people per square mile).The languages spoken in Jakarta are Bahasa and Betawi Indonesian. You can still get around with English although not widely spoken. Imagine the size and it is administratively divided into:

Central Jakarta – you will find National Monument. Presidential palace, Office buildings, hotels, Mangga Dua Shopping Center and Menteng Residential Area.

West Jakarta – these are where Jakarta's Chinatown, Museums, Trading Centers, Nightlife Entertainment Centers, Shopping Centers and Malls are located.

South Jakarta – you will find more Shopping Centers, Malls, Restaurants, Hotels, Nightlife Entertainment Center (Blok M), Senayan Sports Complex and Residential areas.

East Jakarta – these are where the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, Utan Kayu art community, Cibubur camping ground, industrial parks, Halim Perdanakusuma airport.

North Jakarta - Beautiful Thousand Islands, Ancol Bayfront City, and Kelapa Gading shopping centers.

Getting around Jakarta is a problem. The city layout is chaotic and totally bewildering and I supposed the traffic is the worst in South-East Asia with massive traffic jams slowing the city to a crawl during rush hour. It's a holiday so the jam is not a pain.

Since it was a short trip we managed to move around Central Jakarta. It was interesting to window shop and walk around Mangga Dua shopping center and you have plenty of choice on foot wear, genuine goods and imitation goods…Plaza Indonesia, where the shopping center is, happens to be really nice and you can find all branded shops here.

Despite the jam, the pollution I see her charms and I can rate it as one Asia's most exciting cities. There is plenty to do in Jakarta, from cosmopolitan shopping and also to the hippest nightlife scenes in Southeast Asia.


Best of all was the great company with my girl friends and having quality time eating, laughing and window shopping and getting on the flight together to see places. Can't ask for more for such golden opportunity.....

Mother's Day

Today is Mother’s Day, where many in the world celebrate in different ways to mark this day. Occasionally on Sundays, my siblings and I will have dinner with our mum. Today is a special day having dinner with mum because it’s Mother’s Day. She is 78. I am counting my blessings to be sitting next to her and enjoying being with her. She is delighted, not because it’s Mother’s Day, but because she can be with her children and her grandchildren.

I was recollecting what a great mum I have. All my friends talk and praise their mum. Everyone claimed their mum are super mum. Yes, indeed they all are. I felt more so for my mum

As usual, I received many “sms” wishing me Happy Mum’s Day. There was one nice sms sent by my best friend Phyllis, and I felt that that was how I felt about my mum.

” A mother is God's love in action. She looks with her heart and feels with her eyes. A mother is the bank where her children deposit all their worries and hurt. A mother is the cement that keeps her family together and her love lasts a lifetime. Send this to a good mother. I just did. Happy Mothers' Day.”

I was also pondering as to what my children perceive about the kind of mum they have. My eldest son Caleb wrote a card for me which read:

“There are many mummies, there are many mums, there are even many mamas, but there is only one mumsies and that’s you. Happy Mother’s Day, and I Love You.”

And another card Caleb’s girl friend wrote that reads: “There are so many things that I want to tell/talk/say to you but I can’t express it all these words. All I can say is thanks for treating me like your daughter. Thanks for fetching me home everyday, thanks for everything you gave especially your LOVE and cares.”

Another heart warming card from my second son, Joash, that reads: "Happy Mother's Day! TQ for just one thing.... being "mumsies".

And another warmer card from my third son, Darryl, that reads:"Happy Mother's Day! Thank you for what you have done for me like: buying clothes, pampering me, buying yesterday's toilet paper, caring about me, thoughtful about me, many many more.... thank you for everything"

To all the mums out there and I passing on this Mother’s Day Message:

A mum is a Rose whose petals are soft,
A mum is a lily whose stem is tall and strong,
A mum is a person who is never wrong.
A mum is a person you should love forever.
Trust her, believe her and never doubt her.
From one mum to another…..
Pass this to someone who you think is a good mum.
I just did. Happy Mother’s Day!

Let Go

Time flies unfelt. 2007 is gone and now we are embracing 2008 with new hope and plans. With each passing year, we set many resolutions. Some are fulfilled, some are left unfulfilled and some are carried forward. I did not post this article in January to join in the rat race to affirm my resolution but its timely now too because it is the 4th Day of Lunar Chinese New Year – the year of the Rat.

“Let Go” has being ringing in my ears and heart since last year. There are many things I have faced and gone through throughout the years; some pleasant and some unpleasant. I wish to cast off the excess baggage, both physical and emotional, to emerge leaner and meaner to face the New Year and each passing day. It is quite habitual for me come every end of the year to clear my office drawers, table and my own bedroom stuff. It is easier to let go of the “physical baggage” compared to the “emotional baggage”. Things that happened in the past may have influenced our current actions. We read and were told that we need to let go and dump the unhealthy excesses of emotional baggage. Unknowingly, these have often become our stumbling block which weigh us down and prevent us from being able to move on with our lives to find happiness and success in relationships, business and family.

In October last year, my best friend Phyllis gave me a book – “Self-Empowerment” - autographed by the writer Bridget Menezes. She passed it to me in the evening when we attended the talk by the writer. Towards the end of the evening I flipped the book and saw a bookmark which came with the book. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the bookmark entitled “Let Go”. It was just like a confirmation of my lingering thoughts that it was high time to “let go” of certain matters. Is it a coincidence? I believe all things happen for a good reason. I like to share the wordings on the bookmark.

Let Go
It is great to be in control, and it is great to let go,
Let go for your expectations and fixed ideas about how things should be done.
Don’t try to force things to happen.
Just do as you can, then step back and see what takes shape.
If you feel responsible for someone else’s mood or emotions let this feelings go.Relax and allow new positive influences and options to emerge.

Yes, a good resolution to think about and a good one… “Let Go”.