Losari Hotels Travel Tips

Monas, National Monument, Jakarta, Indonesia

Happy Independence Day Indonesia!

In the celebration of the 66^th Independence Day of Indonesia, we would like to feature the symbol for the fight of Indonesia’s independence.

“Monas”, National Monument in English literal translation, was opened to the public in 1975 and today is one of the must see places of interest in Jakarta.

The entrance to the Merdeka Square or the garden surrounding “Monas” is free. Families, children and couples could be seen spending their day leisurely here.

More official and detailed information on Monas could found at the below links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Monument_%28Indonesia%29

http://indonesia.travel/en/destination/424/the-national-monument

Monas is a bit of drive (we dare not specify time due to traffic jam syndrome of Jakarta) from Losari Blok M Hotel, Losari Roxy Hotel and Thamrin Condotel Jakarta.

BIG Thank You to Netty Sari and Agus Gusmayadi for this blog post.

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Monas, National Monument, Jakarta, Indonesia

Happy Birthday Indonesia!

In the celebration of the 66^th Independence Day of Indonesia, we would like to feature the symbol for the fight of Indonesia’s independence.

“Monas”, National Monument in English literal translation, was opened to the public in 1975 and today is one of the must see places of interest in Jakarta.

The entrance to the Merdeka Square or the garden surrounding “Monas” is free. Families, children and couples could be seen spending their day leisurely here.

More official and detailed information on Monas could found at the below links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Monument_%28Indonesia%29

http://indonesia.travel/en/destination/424/the-national-monument

Monas is a bit of drive (we dare not specify time due to traffic jam syndrome of Jakarta) from Losari Blok M Hotel, Losari Roxy Hotel and Thamrin Condotel Jakarta.

BIG Thank You to Netty Sari and Agus Gusmayadi for this blog post.

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Cakes at Dawn “Kue Subuh”, Jakarta, Indonesia

“Kue Subuh” Cakes at Dawn gets its name from the time when they are being sold from early 2am to 7am in the morning. One of the places where they could be bought is Block M Square. There are various places such as Central Jakarta, Senen Area, West Jakarta and many others.

The prices of these cakes are around Rp. 1.000,- to Rp. 5.000,-* per piece (USD 0.10 to USD 0.50* per piece) but it all depends on the type, shapes and variation. Some of them include Lapis Legit (Thousand Layers Cake), Bunga Matahari (Sunflower Cake), Bolu Kukus (Steamed Cake), Kue Mangkok (Bowl-shape Cake), Arem-arem, Dadar Gulung, Onde-onde, Kue Soes, Lemper, Keroket (Croquette), pastel and Bika Ambon. The price could also go as cheap as Rp 800,-* per piece (USD 0.08* per piece) with purchase of 6 pieces and above.

The locals living around Block M area usually buy these cakes and cookies for their daily consumption. But these cakes and cookies could be produced to cater for big events such as weddings, religious events and many others. They do need to be ordered in advance and they could be personalized to have different colour shapes, sizes or according to the buyer’s requests. Please note that the delivery is also from 2am to 7am since these are the times when they are in operations.

These cakes and cookies are usually made by the housewives living in the surrounding area.

Cakes at Dawn “Kue Subuh” sold at Block M Square is only 100 meter, about 2-3 minutes walk from Losari Blok M Hotel Jakarta and a bit of drive (we dare not specify time due to traffic jam syndrome of Jakarta) from Losari Roxy Hotel and Thamrin Condotel Jakarta. Block M is also called Blok M in Indonesian.

*Price could be changed without prior notice. Please bargain whenever possible.

BIG Thank You to Agus Gusmayadi, who roams around and knows well Block M area for this blog post.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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“Putu”, One of the Many Street Food of Jakarta, Indonesia

Let us start our first official Jakarta post with something sweet. For the sweet tooth, beware “Putu” could be quite addictive. “Putu” could be found in many places as the popular street food of Jakarta.

“Putu” is made of ground rice flour with melted palm sugar in the middle and wrapped in coconut leaves. There are also variations of Putu shape around Indonesia, one could be found in small saucer shape or for this particular “Putu Bamboo Mayang”, it is tubular in shape and steamed in bamboo.

Most importantly, this steamed combination of rice flour, coconut, palm sugar costs around Rp 3,000,-* per piece (around USD 0.30* per piece). Watch as they are being made fresh at the vendor cart!

More technical explanation could be found at:

http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1750_2011-01-05.html#

Other variations of Putu shared by our neighbours in Asia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putu_mayam

This particular “Putu Bamboo Mayang” vendor could be found in Pluit area, which is a bit of drive (we dare not specify time due to traffic jam syndrome of Jakarta) from Losari Roxy Hotel, Losari Blok M Hotel and Thamrin Condotel Jakarta managed by Losari Hotels Indonesia. There are also many other street foods around there.

*Price could be changed without prior notice.

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“Putu”, One of the Many Street Food of Jakarta, Indonesia

Let us start our first official Jakarta post with something sweet. For the sweet tooth, beware “Putu” could be quite addictive. “Putu” could be found in many places as the popular street food of Jakarta.

“Putu” is made of ground rice flour with melted palm sugar in the middle and wrapped in coconut leaves. There are also variations of Putu shape around Indonesia, one could be found in small saucer shape or for this particular “Putu Bamboo Mayang”, it is tubular in shape and steamed in bamboo.

Most importantly, this steamed combination of rice flour, coconut, palm sugar costs around Rp 3,000,-* per piece (around USD 0.30* per piece). Watch as they are being made fresh at the vendor cart!

More technical explanation could be found at:

http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1750_2011-01-05.html#

Other variations of Putu shared by our neighbours in Asia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putu_mayam

This particular “Putu Bamboo Mayang” vendor could be found in Pluit area, which is a bit of drive (we dare not specify time due to traffic jam syndrome of Jakarta) from Losari Roxy Hotel, Losari Blok M Hotel and Thamrin Condotel Jakarta managed by Losari Hotels Indonesia. There are also many other street foods around there.

*Price could be changed without prior notice.

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Jakarta, Indonesia

As Losari Hotels Indonesia starts to develop in other cities, namely Losari Blok M Hotel, Losari Roxy and Thamrin Condotel Jakarta, we are also moving to Jakarta for this time in our blog post and proudly introduce Jakarta.

Though Jakarta, the Capital City of Indonesia is notoriously known for its unending traffic jam, it has much more to offer, from its nightlife, food, and shopping arenas.

Recommended to go to Jakarta for travelling during national holidays to avoid the traffic jam.

Some important and official links about Jakarta could be found below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakarta

http://wikitravel.org/en/Jakarta

http://www.jakarta-tourism.go.id/

For our next post, we will jump right into the food!

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Jakarta, Indonesia

As Losari Hotels Indonesia starts to develop in other cities, namely Losari Blok M Hotel, Losari Roxy and Thamrin Condotel Jakarta, we are also moving to Jakarta for this time in our blog post and proudly introduce Jakarta.

Though Jakarta, the Capital City of Indonesia is notoriously known for its unending traffic jam, it has much more to offer, from its nightlife, food, and shopping arenas.

Recommended to go to Jakarta for travelling during national holidays to avoid the traffic jam.

Some important and official links about Jakarta could be found below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakarta

http://wikitravel.org/en/Jakarta

http://www.jakarta-tourism.go.id/

For our next post, we will jump right into the food!

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Samalona Island, Makassar, Indonesia

On the way to Koringareng Keke Island (previous post at http://losarihotels.posterous.com/kodingareng-keke-island-makassar-indonesia-be ), one could actually stop over at Samalona Island.

The boat also departs from Kayu Bangkoa Wharf. The boat ride from Kayu Bangkoa Wharf to Samalona Island is about 20-30 minutes. And the further journey to Koringareng Keke Island would take about 15-20 minutes.

There is plenty of marine life nearby the island and the coral is also about 5-10% alive and so snorkeling is still 5-10% recommended.

This island is inhabited by the local fishermen and there is even a list on the families living in the island. Getting to know the local could be on the itinerary to do. They do provide food and drinks at a cost for fried banana, yam to charcoal grilled seafood at around Rp 10,000,- to Rp 50,000,- (USD 1 to USD 5)*.

Sunbathing, swimming and others are definitely on the list. The island is nearby and therefore often visited by the locals unlike the Koringareng Keke Island. So, the island hopper could pick either the quiet or the more lively island.

Kayu Bangkoa Wharf is only 5 minutes walk from Losari Beach Hotel and Losari Beach Inn Makassar or around 5 minutes drive from Losari Metro Hotel Makassar (walking would take around 20 minutes).

More on the details of Samalona Island, please also explore:

http://indotour.org/coastal-tourism/samalona-island

The cost of renting a boat has been explained at the previous post Koringareng Keke Island:

http://losarihotels.posterous.com/kodingareng-keke-island-makassar-indonesia-be

*Price could be changed without prior notice. Please bargain whenever possible.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Samalona Island, Makassar, Indonesia

On the way to Koringareng Keke Island (previous post at http://losarihotels.posterous.com/kodingareng-keke-island-makassar-indonesia-be ), one could actually stop over at Samalona Island.

The boat also departs from Kayu Bangkoa Wharf. The boat ride from Kayu Bangkoa Wharf to Samalona Island is about 20-30 minutes. And the further journey to Koringareng Keke Island would take about 15-20 minutes.

There is plenty of marine life nearby the island and the coral is also about 5-10% alive and so snorkeling is still 5-10% recommended.

This island is inhabited by the local fishermen and there is even a list on the families living in the island. Getting to know the local could be on the itinerary to do. They do provide food and drinks at a cost for fried banana, yam to charcoal grilled seafood at around Rp 10,000,- to Rp 50,000,- (USD 1 to USD 5)*.

Sunbathing, swimming and others are definitely on the list. The island is nearby and therefore often visited by the locals unlike the Koringareng Keke Island. So, the island hopper could pick either the quiet or the more lively island.

Kayu Bangkoa Wharf is only 5 minutes walk from Losari Beach Hotel and Losari Beach Inn Makassar or around 5 minutes drive from Losari Metro Hotel Makassar (walking would take around 20 minutes).

More on the details of Samalona Island, please also explore:

http://indotour.org/coastal-tourism/samalona-island

The cost of renting a boat has been explained at the previous post Koringareng Keke Island:

http://losarihotels.posterous.com/kodingareng-keke-island-makassar-indonesia-be

*Price could be changed without prior notice. Please bargain whenever possible.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Kodingareng Keke Island, #Makassar , #Indonesia ( #beach )

Kodingareng Keke Island is one of the many small islands dotting around Makassar. This island is so small that one could complete running around it for 10-15 minutes and it is uninhabited and could be considered “your own private island”.

Coral life is around 5-10%, snorkeling is 5-10% recommended, but there are plenty of others to explore. Sun-bathing, swimming, fishing and many others are still on the list.

Getting to Kodingareng Keke Island by boat takes 30 minutes from the Losari Beach with departing from Kayu Bangkoa Wharf.

Our recommended boat could be chartered through Daeng Sore who lives in Lae Lae island (another island, off course for another post).

Daeng Sore could be contacted through +62 852 5565 6586. The boat could be hired for around Rp 500,000,- per day (USD 50/ day)*. He needs to be informed in advance which islands to be visited.

For further trips to further islands, we do not recommend the wooden boats.

Before going on the island journey, do not forget at the nearby the wharf to get the “Yellow Rice” Nasi Kuning which consists of rice cooked in special yellowish spices, some meat and some vegetable, wrapped in banana leaves. Nasi Kuning is around Rp 9,000,- (USD 1)*.

Early morning at 7am is probably the best time to start on the journey before the sun gets too burning. Bring plenty of sunscreen.

For cat enthusiast, this particular island is inhabited by two cute kittens which could have been brought by the fishermen from other islands. Though they are well “maintained” by the fishermen, please feed them as well.

Kayu Bangkoa Wharf is only 5 minutes walk from Losari Beach Hotel and Losari Beach Inn Makassar or around 5 minutes drive from Losari Metro Hotel Makassar (walking would take around 20 minutes).

More on the details of Kodingareng Keke Island, please also explore:

http://www.sulawesitourism.com/marine/kodingareng-keke-island-makassar.html

*Price could be changed without prior notice. Please bargain whenever possible.

BIG thank you to the island hoppers/ marine enthusiasts Rini Kumala, Martin Hertanto & Amri Tjahjadi for this blog post