Quick trip to Asia from SYD

[dajop]

In Jakarta currently and have been here a number of times and if I’m honest with you there isn’t anywhere near as much to see as many other Asian cities. I enjoy it but I can see why some people hate it as it is a very congested sprawled out mess and the smog can often be near unbearable.

Aaah, Jakarta, Jakarta, Jakarta. A city I've been to perhaps 8 or 9 times, but never really felt like I've been there at all. Whereas Bangkok smacks you in the face every time you leave the hotel, I get the feeling you have to put some effort to get the essence of Jakarta, especially if staying in 4-5 star hotels. I've never really bothered, as I've been exposed to plenty of Indonesian culture in visits to other parts of the archipelago.

 

[Cardinal]

I asked my colleague who was born in Jakarata about his views. He was bemused anyone would visit the city as a tourist destination for a few days. Where are you
trending towards in terms of a destination ?

 

[SYD]

I asked my colleague who was born in Jakarata about his views. He was bemused anyone would visit the city as a tourist destination for a few days.

The place is sinking but not fast enough…

 

[Cardinal]

I've ended up committing to a weekend in Jakarta. Going to spend up - anyone have views on Club access at the Ritz Carlton versus Langham

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Thought that SYD's mentioning Jakarta was sinking was proverbial, turns out to be true!

 

[OZDUCK]

Thought that SYD's mentioning Jakarta was sinking was proverbial, turns out to be true!

Yep - and said to be part of the reason that they have commenced building a new capital city on Borneo.

Nusantara – New Capital City of Indonesia

Indonesia is planning to move its capital from Jakarta in Java to a new city named Nusantara in East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. The move is in part to relieve pressure on traffic-clogged J…

futuresoutheastasia.com

 

[leadman]

Writing this from Siem Reap, and it's worth coming for two days. I've been here working for three weeks and can assure you three days is enough. Then off to Kucking/KK. Problems with East Malaysia are the flights. MAS cut their direct flights from KUC to KK a while back, which I find a bit staggering, but AirAsia still does the leg. Suggest REP before both of these and you can hub it out of SIN.

 

[jase05]

Writing this from Siem Reap, and it's worth coming for two days. I've been here working for three weeks and can assure you three days is enough. Then off to Kucking/KK. Problems with East Malaysia are the flights. MAS cut their direct flights from KUC to KK a while back, which I find a bit staggering, but AirAsia still does the leg. Suggest REP before both of these and you can hub it out of SIN.

Has MH put their LCC arm Firefly back on those routes yet?
I remember some talk a while back that they wanted to turn BKI into a secondary hub of operations

 

[leadman]

Yes, Firefly has taken a lot of routes MH had done previously. KUC to BKI in J was a great SC builder as there were some great specials, like RM380 (~AUD130) for 40SC. The MH website doesn't seem to default back to Firefly and quotes you KUC > KUL > BKI.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Kuching is KCH!

 

[AIRwin]

Kuching is KCH!

Meow! Trust a pooch to sniff that out...

 

[leadman]

Yes, laziness on my part. Will check it out when I'm there Tuesday, eating at Top Spot, one of the great outdoor eateries. Also known as Cat City.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

For Airwin, there is an airport code for KUC, Kuria on Kiribati, (or Kiribas).
You don't want to mis use codes.

 

[Cardinal]

Writing this from Siem Reap, and it's worth coming for two days. I've been here working for three weeks and can assure you three days is enough. Then off to Kucking/KK. Problems with East Malaysia are the flights. MAS cut their direct flights from KUC to KK a while back, which I find a bit staggering, but AirAsia still does the leg. Suggest REP before both of these and you can hub it out of SIN.

I will make both Siem Reap and Kuching work for me next time. I have 3 AirAsia flight in SE Asia. Punishing MH for credit they put an expiry date on.

 

[Cardinal]

Writing this from Siem Reap, and it's worth coming for two days. I've been here working for three weeks and can assure you three days is enough. Then off to Kucking/KK. Problems with East Malaysia are the flights. MAS cut their direct flights from KUC to KK a while back, which I find a bit staggering, but AirAsia still does the leg. Suggest REP before both of these and you can hub it out of SIN.

Will be interested in your views on Kuching. Kuching and Mulu are about the two last places I want to go to in Malaysia before I start getting off the beaten track.

 

[leadman]

A pleasure. I have been working/consulting with a company in Kuching for the past 25 years, so know it well. It has changed over that time, and Covid certainly knocked it around. They are putting the final touches to a new Sheraton downtown now, so it might help to revitalize the centre. Like most places, once shopping centres out-of-town get built, the centre sufferers, and KCH is no different. It's still a great place around the centre, but the halcyon days are a bit over. Food is wonderful, and you have to try Top Spot, which is a group of open-air restaurants on top of the car park near the Pullman. If you like Laska, try Kuching Laksa, which I find superb. It's not SIN or KUL, but like a big town. You can spend some lazy time around the river where there is a lot of tourist/visitor activity, or be crazy like me and walk the trails in Kubah NP. (Not for the faint-hearted!)

Recent trip I did also included Kota Kinabalu KK and Sandakan. KK was for work but Sandakan was all about birding and beer drinking. I stayed out at the Jungle resort at Sepilok as it was close to the rainforest centre. Superb! No room internet, TV et al., it was great to really wind down. And again, some of it not for the faint-hearted; pulling leeches off after walking through parts of the jungle may not be everybody's "cup of tea" but ready to do it again soon as you can see the rewards in the photos.

If you are not into the tourist/travel trappings KCH/KK/SAN will certainly leave a great impression. Just ask and I will clarify. Sorry I've stopped taking beer-drinking photos, as they have a tendency to get blurred!!!!!!

 

[OZDUCK]

My Kuching experiences is nowhere near as recent, last trip 2009, or in-depth as Leadman but I will offer some thoughts.

As Leadman said the food is wonderful. Kuching Laksa is my favourite version. It seems to be a bit 'richer' than other types I have had. Top Spot did have a very good range of foods. I enjoyed the Ais Kacang all through Kuching - made with old style manually powered ice shavers the size of an old Singer sewing machine. Another different food there is a meal of Midin a jungle fern. It is very tasty and the way they prepare there makes it is one of my favourite vegetable dishes. It is illegal to import into peninsula Malaysia as it is a ferocious grower.

Midin Fern – local dish unique to Sarawak (crunchy vegetable is actually a forest fern) | Oze Marketing | Memo Plus Gold Memory Enhancer

oze.my

The city itself does have a 'big town' rather than a metropolis feeling. It seemed, in those days at least, to have a bit of a split personality. One side of the river was very much 'little Singapore' while the other side was very Malay. I know from looking at YouTube there has been a lot of development around town. Walking along the riverfront, especially in the evening, was very pleasant. The people are very friendly and we had no language problems. Though it did help that, as usual in that neck of the woods, my wife had relatives there, who took us to some nice places.

We didn't get to Mulu but did hire a car to drive on the Pan Borneo Highway to Miri and return. Miri is a very wealthy city - oil money - but on weekends it becomes busy with Bruneians crossing the nearby border to sample frobisdden fruit. It is an interesting couple of days drive through jungle, but unfortunately also with a lot of Palm Oil Plantations. We stopped at nice places like Sibu - a very Chinese city and Sarekei a river port on the Rajang River. In those days the highway conditions varied from excellent to very poor. The main problem was the huge number of slow moving Palm Oil trucks.

 

[Gg1]

A 3-day trip to Ho Chi Minh City sounds great! It's a vibrant place with lots to explore. If you're looking for alternative destinations, you might consider Bali, Indonesia, for a short getaway. It offers beautiful beaches, cultural experiences, and is just a short flight from Singapore.