00:09we returned to dakarta with our children and their partners after 35 years
00:14mr august our guide and his extremely patient driver did an amazing job locating our old haunts
00:22and introducing our adult kids to the marvelous chaos that is dakarta we were extremely pleased
00:28that they modified the tour to include locating our old home which was no small feat another
00:35highlight of the tour was our visit to the makarama puppet studio our group was fascinated to see
00:41firsthand how the puppets are crafted and enjoyed the impromptu yankulit performance
00:46we also soaked in the ambience at fatahila square and the cafe batavia and marveled at the scale and
00:54serenity of eastakilol mosque jakarta has undergone an amazing transformation in the past three decades
01:01yet still had the same familiar feeling of being a large urban village we felt very fortunate to see
01:08the city anew with such a knowledgeable and personable guide as mr august taramaka sea
01:17fantastic experience the car was clean comfortable and air conditioned such a relief from the
01:24heat both the driver and guide were very polite and respectful even opened the doors for us
01:30such a polite and respectful gesture that we really appreciated as ladies the tour was just the right
01:37length not too short and not too long with clear and interesting explanations throughout our guide
01:44augusto was positive helpful and genuinely fun to be around he wasn't just nice to us but also
01:52incredibly friendly and outgoing with everyone we met along the way it felt like he knew everyone
01:58thanks to him we had such a great day and left with a really good impression of the country
02:04if you get him as your guide you're very lucky
02:09this is a good half day trip to orientate around old batavia jakarta my guide mr julfred was very
02:17knowledgeable and had lots of information on culture and history of west java and indonesia
02:23traffic is always bad so our driver expertly kept us on schedule
02:29the puppet maker was closed today so we had a longer walk around the central area
02:35the lunch was excellent quality and choice and i was the only european in an indonesian restaurant
02:41as place was used by local people which shows it was good the mosque and cathedral were good visits
02:49jakarta has a lot of infrastructure developments so traffic is always bad so be ready to be flexible
02:57thank you great service from joy and rami easy airport pickup and clean spacious car with air con
03:06first stop the old port then round the old town where i got some information on indonesia's colonial past
03:15we stopped at a puppet shop and had a talk about the different types of puppets and a short performance
03:21then a delicious and filling local lunch the cathedral and mosque
03:26finished up at the national monument and was dropped off where i am staying
03:30fun and friendly tour with excellent communication from the company the tour company and the tour leader
03:38were fantastic as was the driver very knowledgeable and good fun to be with great value for money trip
03:45advisor on the other hand hand were beyond disappointing no mention of the public holidays
03:52charges in usd even though we are no australia customer no contact available for trip advisor
04:00the tour company worked with us to add to our itinerary for attractions that were closed
04:06my advice book direct with the tour company
