Loka Indonesia

Curiosity sparked by a radio commercial brought us to Alam Sutera to pay this bright yet kids friendly supermarket a visit.

Our Story
My first impression with the visit is how this supermarket reminds me of the ones I found abroad. The bright-colored trolleys and baskets take us by surprised and get Dudu excited. Even better, it comes in children size. Without hesitation, Dudu goes with his favorite green. 

Holiday Inn Express Semarang

While Semarang is our second hometown, it's always hard to find a place to stay.
This time we decided to go for something new.

Our Story
We arrived at 9 AM and the hotel check in is 12 PM, but the receptionist let us put our luggage up front so we're free to walk around. The hotel is 5-minute walk to the city center (Simpang Lima), and it was early enough to explore the city without the traffic and the heat. We returned in the afternoon, to find the room beyond our expectation: It was bigger and nicer than expectation. The view is actually great, but the development next door obstruct our view to Simpang Lima.

Jakarta Kids Run 2014

Our second participation sees more excited kids, more enthusiastic adults and a crowded route.

While the first Kids Run was awesome, the second was a little disappointing. We're super excited to know that the registration has opened and signed up right away. The fee had tripled from last year, but we thought it was worth it. The T-shirt has brighter color and the medal is a lot nicer. I picked up the race pack without Andrew and was excited with the fresh orange uniform. It matches Andrew's shoes too.

The Biggest Timezone in Indonesia

Game center has always been one option to go on a date with Andrew. We usually visit the small one near out house. But this time, we decided to go take the toll road and visit the biggest Timezone in Indonesia, located just off the Karawaci exit.

Our Story
I used to visit this mall when I was a kid and Jakarta traffic jam wasn’t this horrible. The Timezone apparently got a revamped back in March and turned an indoor theme park. The shoe-shaped roller coaster is still there, but now there are more fun things to do than just the indoor roller coaster. Andrew had fun. 

Jakarta Toys and Comic Fair 2014

This is our second time going to such event, and this time we know better to come before the gate is open and on the first day. 

We lined up at 9, and got our ticket at 10. Apparently it was faster to buy the ticket on the spot rather than pre-order it at Indomaret. The line was shorter. We go around pretty quick and settled on a booth where all toys are discounted. It’s a little hard to shop because you have to ask for the price every time you want to buy something. The space is small too and the cashier is manually done.

Tanamera Thamrin

A small coffee shop hidden behind the city's skyscrapers turns out to be one of the best place to do homework.

Our Story:
In the boredom of chain coffee place, a friend of Mama suggested Tanamera. We visited the place right away and arrived on a quiet Sunday afternoon when the crowd was just leaving the place. We sat in the middle, right across the food bar and ordered drinks. Unfortunately, we just came from late lunch so we didn't try the food (next time for sure). Free lemon-infused water are served along with the drinks.

Star Hotel Semarang (Previously Best Western)

Visiting the rooftop pool is a must. It gives you a different perspective of Semarang.

Rooftop View at night

(update 2016, on my recent search, I found out that the hotel has taken out the "Best Western" out of its name, so here I updated the name and contacts so not to mislead guests. None of the review below are altered.)

Bedroom

Adventure Time Christmas With Finn & Jake

We visited the playground on its last weekend on Gandaria City (thanks to a Twitter quiz for the free tickets). 

Land of Ooo Playground - it's FUN!

We didn’t get a chance to experience the meet and greet of Finn and Jake, but we did try  the playground. It’s not as big as we had expected and there are only three items on the playground: the pink-colored princess bridge, the ball-throwing game and the slide area. I thought my son was too old for that.