Family Vacation Part 2 (Kembali ke Alam Nyata!)

My family and I arrived in KUL at approximately 14oo hours today. Well all I can say was it was truly an enjoyable trip. My wife and I went shopping in Tanah Abang, a place where you can find cloth and materials (as well as head scarf and embroidered clothing) dirt cheap! My wife and I also pamper ourselves with facial treatment, body massage and reflexology at a price that was beyond value for money, and our kids got to attend a two-hour tennis coaching lessons (together with ball-boy services) at a mere RM35. To top it all, we got ourselves to stay in a Grand Deluxe room and a mere one-third of the published rate. Man, do we live like king in Jakarta! In the end, all of us came back with glee, probably the after effect from the 'euphoria' we experienced.

The family having a good time at DuFan (Dunia Fantasi)

The thing is, I am quite impressed with Jakarta. My wife was a bit apprehensive when I mentioned to her that I wanted to take the whole family to Jakarta for a vacation. In her mind, she always thought that the place is unsafe, dirty etc a.k.a not worth visiting. I don't blame her because she did not have a pleasant experience the first time she went there back in 2000. But to me Jakarta is far more interesting to visit than KL - hands down.

The kids frolicking at the hotel's bath tub

Apart from being able to enjoy the luxuries at a mere fraction of a price here in KL, the workmanship of the people is impeccable. and meticulous. For example, the masseuse are more skilled than those in KL. I can really compare this based on my first hand experienced. In fact, I was very impressed with the progress of my kids tennis skills after just a 2 hours session with the local coach. I was surprised to see Nique being able to strike the ball clean after just being coached for 10 minutes. This I can compare with the results I got when I tried to coach them myself.

Luke, Nique and Ash at Tennis Coaching Session

Now we are back to the real world. As I write, my kids were sleeping, clearly exhausted from the trip. In my mind, I am already planning my next visit.

At the hotel

Note: There are still things that you need to be wary of when visiting JKT. Thus, you should always seek advice from people who visit the place regularly.