Jakarta Diary - Novotel, Moutai, & Biz

Recently, I accompanied my mother to Jakarta for some business and networking events. During our stay in Jakarta, we traveled around the area and visited some of our business partners. Eventually, we stayed at Novotel Magga Dua which is located in North Jakarta.

Novotel Mangga Dua is basically a 4 stars hotel offering family and business stays. It boasts proximity to points of interest around North Jakarta such as Ancol and Mangga Dua shopping districts. In this area, many of its visitors are from East-Asia and restaurants around also cater towards those demographics. If you enjoy a night out with beer and shaokao, or with a glass of Moutai, this area is perfect for you.

The room I stayed in has a bathtub and co-working space. It also has the free breakfast included which has an Asian and Western style buffet. One of my favorite parts about the room was the chair that was just great to sit and work from. Though, I didn’t get much done there but it was super comfortable and if I have a room, I would have designed it that way. The bathroom was nicely decorated and designed.

Other than the room that was just fine, it was the breakfast options and the coffee that fits my style. They also serve proper coffee and patrons can easily make coffee from the instant machine available in the place.

The view from our window was simply skyscrapers and we were at the 7th level of the hotel. The pool and other amenities are located on the 5th floor of the area. I got to check out the swimming pool during breakfast and it was so tempting to be swimming there. However, at the time, we still had some people and places to check out.

During the entire trip from Yogyakarta to Jakarta and back again to Madiun, Novotel was the highlight of my trip this time. It was comfortable and I had such a good rest. I love all the amenities and the convenience it offers.

Once we checked out, we traveled to a few more places until it was time for us to go back to another place where we would wait for our train. We stayed at my mom’s apartment, which made me just want to stay longer.

If I had the chance to work from Jakarta, I certainly would do that compared to working from East Java and Madiun. Somehow, I felt like Jakarta has advanced just like any other areas in Bangkok or Malaysia. Though there are differences, it isn’t that significant. A part of me is really drawn to the city and urban life where it never sleeps.

So, maybe in the future, despite how bleak the future might seem for Jakarta, I still would love to try to actually work from there and live from one of its high rise buildings. Not to mention, Jakarta is a lot closer internationally too and in hindsight, it isn’t that difficult to actually navigate around the place as long as we know how to get there and the salary is good enough to actually sustain life in this city.