Jakarta 2014 - Wisma Tobana and nearby area (Bintaro)

In Indonesia there are many of this houses that are up for rents for short term, known as 'rumah kos'. After some googling and trying to decipher Bahasa Indonesia my friends and I then settled for this place.

The rental was 100,000 rupiah for 2 weeks for a really big room which included two bed rooms with 2 king sized beds, 2 other small beds in the living room which we never used and some other commodities. There was no washing machine in the room but the owners offered laundry service at a really cheap price.

The only downside was there was only ONE air-conditioner in the whole unit. Therefore it has to be turned on to full power most of time to keep the whole unit, especially the rooms cool. There is, however, suction fans located at the top of each rooms to suck in the cool air, so it's not that warm and bearable. Fortunately the air-condition did not explode at the end of our stay. 

Small and cosy living room + dining table 

Comfy bed

Throughout the 2 weeks the owner was renovating the swimming pool so we did not get the chance to use it. There was also a bar next to it. A really innovative move to convert a whole house to be rented out like a mini hotel.

Sunset view

A major problem around this neighbourhood is shallow and small drains, which makes the area extremely prone to flood during a heavy rain. Fortunately the situation was not that serious although there was once that we could not get back to our house after flood caused by a heavy downpour and we had to take a huge detour. Mosquitoes can also be seen growing in large numbers in the drain. =/

Nice house 1 

Nice house 2

The stall that I've never tried despite passing by countless times

On a side note, perhaps just in my area, I feel that the people here take security pretty lightly. Just next to my house, there's a row of houses literally without any fences at all! Technically it's a gateless community and anybody could just enter the front door. Heck, even the front door is not locked for some of the houses (like the one I accidentally entered).

This concept can only be seen in upscale areas in KL such as Valencia where there is already a heavy security presence at the roads leading to the housing areas. But here, it's just all open. Quite amazing. Perhaps people living in this area are relatively rich (from the looks of the various houses). 

Here's to hoping that one day Malaysia's crime rate will drop till a level that a gateless community is realistically possible. Hopefully that day can be achieved within my lifetime lol.