Back to Jakarta! After Bandung, I'm headed to Jakarta for another 2nites. Again, checked in at Le Grandeur, Mangga Dua (M2) of North Jakarta. First I wanted to stay somewhere in Central Jakarta since I've stayed at M2 last year... but totally can't resist the shopping temptation...Goshhh! wonderful, awesome & fantastic!!! :-)
If I stayed at Central Jakarta it means I'm wasting my time travel & stuck in trafic jam because no matter how I'm still need & must go to M2 :-) and I've made a wise decision by staying at Le Grandeur, M2 (again). Same as Bandung, Jakarta also is in wet season now. Raining heavily almost everyday..but again it was not a problem since Le Grandeur is interconnected to a computer mall & with other famous shopping centres in this area such as Mangga Dua Mall, ITC Mangga Dua and Pasar Pagi Mangga Dua. So, you don't have to go accross the street :-)
Mangga Dua is one of the most paced up and packed up area in Jakarta. The Mangga Dua district has a lot to offer if you show that you’re really up to it. Beneath its dusty air and ferocious traffic, there are many hidden treasures to find. It's for die hard shoppers! Forget about all the bigscale shopping malls & expensive branded things at Central Jakarta - don't waste your time, u can get all those here in KL. It's someting else that is so different & interesting in Mangga Dua yet very cheap...Yeah!
I left Bandung for Jakarta via Xtrans at 11.30am. One day prior to my departure, I've call the Xtrans (station at Cihampelas Road) & placed my reservation via the phone & my desired seat in the coach- as simple as that :-) The 2hrs trip was very smooth & comfy. My stop at Jakarta is at Blora station. From there I need to get a cab to my hotel for another 30minutes depending on traffic condition (Jakarta traffic flow is really bad!). Fortunately the Xtrans staff were so helpful. Two of them carried out my 5 luggages and look for a taxi for me...fuhhh! "Makasih Pak"I gave them tips for the assistance and within 5 minutes i was in the taxi headed to my hotel.
My room was at 15th floor with a very great view of M2 area. Nice! One thing I like about this hotel is the security. They have 24hrs security guards at the hotel entrance, lobby, restaurants and using lift to access desired floor, we need to swipe room's keycard...and as an added security, the reception will call your room everytime you request room service just to inform that their staff is already in front of your door...bagus kan? jadi, takder lah kita suka2 hati open the door for a stranger ;->
Room view
Lobby
The door at the lobby that connected to the computer mall
Breakfast was great. Basically I have no problem about food in Jakarta as they served Halal food and I do love Nasi Padang & Sunda food...yummmyyy. Here back in Kuala Lumpur, if sometimes really feel nak makan Sundanese food my fav resto is Sundanese @ KLCC. Delicious!
M2 is wellknown for its China Town. Most of the resident here are Chinese & they speak Bahasa Indonesia as their daily language. At first it was a bit difficult to differentiate Jakartan Malay & Chinese women. They all look a like. Fair, gorgeous and curly long sexy hair...hemmm so pretty. During my stay, hotel was full with local especially Chinese and hardly seen any foreigner or Malaysian except me :-P. Many business people since Le Grandeur is a 4star business hotel. Nearby hotel is Novotel (on top of Mangga Dua Square) but u have to take a ride or 15minutes sweaty & dusty walk to the malls that connected to my hotel.
On my first day, I tried the buffet dinner with live performance..Actually wanted to go to Restaurant Garuda for nasi padang but due to heavy rain and difficult to get a taxi (precisely Blue Bird), then I decided to have dinner at hotel...sumptious Indonesian buffet spread just at Rp60k (RM22) with free drink.
Sampai lah kita ke bab Shopping - sajer jer tak nak citer mula2...sat gi ketaq lutut :-D 
..and another tempat wajib to go is ITC Mangga Dua. Warning for ladies! Bring out your credit cardss :-) Segala macam handbags available...But of course not original..tetapi with 1st grade quality..not cheap ok.. The price range between Rp700k - Rp1.5mil ..It's about RM250 onwards...Beside that ada jugak yang murah like Rp50k-Rp100k/each (RM20-RM40)... but still good if you know how to choose. 
On my departure day, it was raining heavily in the morning. Fuh, takut jugak kalo2 terjadi banjir..sbb Mangga Dua ni nearby to beach area, Ancol. It's a low land area. Lagipun on my way back from Tanah Abang, dah ada "genangan air" (local name for Banjir) but still ok for traffic...but that was the day before...huh!
Photo news about thunder flood somewhere in Jakarta due to raining season.
Tips - Do carry your foldable bag (red) with you as it is so useful. My luggages...huh! but no excess weight woooo :-P (not like my Bali trip)
Finally, I was on flight back home on time. Tapi satu jer tak puas hati mesti komplen kat Abang Tony as the staff never mentioned to me that I need to wait at separate hall for express boarding (JKT-KL)..nasib baik aku tanya! chitttt...
