jakarta, indonesia:

Aaaand we're back. A little before schedule, however, unfortunately Sarah and I had to return early to attend the funeral of our incredible grandmother :( 
Instead of two weeks in Indonesia and Malaysia we had about five days away, spending time in Jakarta and Lake Toba in northern Sumatra. Although short, it was still a great little break, and has got me very excited about returning in the near future. I did come away a little besotted to say the least. I'll be posting photos up of these two place in the next few days.


First up, Jakarta. 


Jakarta was really just a stepping point for us to get to Sumatra, however we were keen to get out and about, and try to discover a bit of this massive, sprawling city. It was actually better than I expected. The first thing that struck me was how green and leafy it was. All the streets are lined with beautiful tropical trees and plants (which I just adore). We stayed in the lovely Menteng area which  is full of gorgeous colonial homes and more leafy streets. It was a really nice area to walk around and explore. We then headed to northern Jakarta to check out the historical Kota area which is home to Fatahillah Square - an old square surrounded by old colonial Dutch buildings and then onto the Sunda Kelapa docks. All in all, Jakarta isn't a bad city to spend some time in, you just might need to dig a bit deeper to find some of its hidden gems. 


Next: stunning Lake Toba, Sumatra.