Jakarta 2026

Jakarta Wed 8 April - Sun 12 April 2026

It was a short business trip to Jakarta to present a paper at TNavigator Technology Summit at Ayana Midplaza Hotel, Jakarta on 9 April

Wed 8 April 2026

I had breakfast at the regional lounge. It was a 2 hour flight from KUL to CGK via MH at 10am. We landed on time at 11.20 am WIB, however there was a 1.5 hour wait for my colleague's luggage to arrive. I didn't check in my luggage though.

breakfast at regional lounge

regional meal includes fruits and bun

We took a standard grab from the airport terminal 3 at 1.15pm and reached our hotel at 2.25pm. It rained heavily on the way to the hotel.

room at Ayana Midplaza hotel

We only went out for dinner at 6pm at the nearby Citywalk mall, eating at Warung Leko. It was quite delicious. 

satay jamur, cah brokoli, sup buntut, ikan nila bledek, jus kedondong

Thu 9 April 2026

The next day was all business, and Partner In Crime arrived at the hotel at 7pm. We then had dinner at a nearby restaurant Sulawesi@Sahid Sudirman. I received a birthday cake from the hotel. 

birthday cake from Ayana hotel

terong sambal, sup, ikan sukang bakar

Fri 10 April 2026

On Friday, we checked out from Ayana and checked in at All Seasons Thamrin after breakfast. By the way, they serve jamu during breakfast, but I didn't have the stomach to try it. Since it was still early, we couldn't check in our room yet, so we left our luggage at the store room and took a grab to Thamrin City mall to shop for Indonesian batik.

We wanted to have lunch at Restoran Sederhana opposite Thamrin City, however it was closed for Friday prayers. So we made our way back to the hotel and checked in.

We ventured out later to a mall nearby our hotel, but couldn't find any interesting local reastaurant to eat, so we ended up withdrawing cash from an ATM, and made our way back to Thamrin City as our bank transfer through Wise earlier didn't make through, so we decided to pay by cash. Originally we ordered a grab, but the waiting time was too long due to bad traffic jam, so we cancelled the order and decided to walk instead.

It turned out not to be too far for a walk, so we went back to the shop to pay for the batik blouse, then went to Restoran Sederhana for late lunch. We again walked back to our hotel, and passed by Grand Indonesia mall on the way back.

Back at the hotel, we had our welcoming drink of orange juice and iced latte at the rooftop restaurant. I found out there is Warung Leko at Grand Indonesia mall, so we went there for dinner that night.

welcoming drink at hotel rooftop

Sat 11 April 2026

After breakfast at the rooftop restaurant of our hotel (nothing to be missed, opt out), we would be having lunch with my Indonesian friend Sarah at Amanaia Satrio restaurant. Poor Sarah, she was stuck in a very bad traffic jam as there was a road closure. 

nasi liwet, bakwan jagung, ikan gurame goreng kipas, ikan gurame bakar, karedok (like gado gado). bebek goreng not in picture

with Sarah and her niece at Amanaia Satrio

After lunch, Sarah brought us to a coffee place at Common Grounds Ground Zero at ASHTA District 8. Then, we ate again at Pempek Sari Sanjaya.

variety of pempek, pindang ikan patin, otak-otak (satar)

Sarah then dropped us off at Bendungan Hilir MRT and we made our way back to our hotel via the MRT, alighting at Dukuh Atas, 2 stations away. 

That night, we went to Grand Indonesia mall again and bought some local coffee beans from the supermarket and also kek lapis from Mako bakery.

Sun 12 April 2026

After breakfast, we walked to Grand Indonesia mall again to have early lunch at Warung Leko again, and bought some souvenirs at Alun Alun (better choices at the airport). We got a free late check out until 1pm, and then made our way to the airport.

Since it was still early and and we still had some cash, we sat for coffee at Fore Coffee (matcha too sweet) and decided not to check in our luggage as the check in counter is not opened yet at 2pm. 

After immigration and security check, we finished our cash buying kek lapis legit and keychains, before making our way to the Saphire Plaza Premium Lounge. The kek lapis legit and bakso there was delicious. 

bakso at the lounge

It was then time to board and we departed on time at 6.25pm. There was wifi on board, but it was intermittent. We landed earlier than scheduled at 9.15pm so we had to wait in the plane until our gate was cleared. 

We visited the regional lounge at arrival for short while, then made our way back home.

MCT - KUL

Sun 4/1/26

Today we had breakfast earlier at 6.30am to avoid the crowds. After breakfast, we packed and checked out at 9am and drove to Muscat airport, just 15 mins away and parked at P2 for rental car returns. The process went smoothly and we proceeded to the check in counter. We weren't aware there are separate check in counters for Business and First class and only realized this when Qatar airways check in counters opened at 9.35 am, there was no line for Business and First class. We were then directed to the correct check in counter 

Business and First Class check in area

Immigration and security check went smoothly and we then proceeded to the Prime Class lounge and relaxed for a bit before our departure at 12.35pm.

Prime Class lounge

The first leg of our flight from MCT to DOH was a short one for 1 hour and 30 mins so there was no amenity kit or pyjamas given. For the in flight meal, I chose chicken madrouba with Qatari butter and coconut and mango Bavarian for dessert. Arabic coffee was served as it was a day flight (it wasn't served on our night flight departing from KUL and early morning flight departing from DOH). Our MCT to DOH flight was on a A350. The movie selections were the newer ones and different from the flight from KUL. The flight from DOH to MCT was too early in the morning and we were sleepy so we didn't check the in flight entertainment.

MCT-DOH sector

arabic coffee

chicken madrouba with Qatari butter and coconut and mango Bavarian

We arrived at Doha on time at 1.10 pm and landed nearer to the Garden so we went to the Al Mourjan Garden lounge. Since we have a transit time of 6 hours and 30 minutes, I went straightaway to book the quiet room for 6 hours, and it was available.

booked quiet room for 6 hours

We showered, perform our prayers and also had lunch from the buffet spread. 

prayer room

shower

dining at Al Mourjan

Our return flight from DOH to KUL was also on time. The flight was on a B777 with the old 2-2-2 seat configuration, with Starlink wifi available for free. 

2J and 2K today

old seat but free wifi available

For starter, I chose the tuna nicoise with citrus vinaigrette, main course was orecchiette pasta with spinach and mushroom cream (too rich and creamy for me), while Partner in Crime chose chicken machboos which was a better choice; cheese platter and hazelnut brownie with warm chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream (also very rich).

tuna nicoise with citrus vinaigrette

orecchiette pasta with spinach and mushroom cream

chicken machboos

hazelnut brownie with warm chocolate sauce

For breakfast, I chose greek yogurt with banana pineapple compote and toasted nut granola for starters, cream cheese omelette with pan seared chicken sausage for main course and mango, coconut and passion fruit smoothie for beverage. Partner in Crime had fruit platter for starter.

greek yogurt with banana pineapple compote and toasted nut granola

cream cheese omelette with pan seared chicken sausage

fruit platter

We landed KUL on time at 7.45 am. Thank you Oman for the wonderful experience, we hope to be back to discover more.

Muscat

Fri 2 Jan 2026

Bimmah sinkhole

After breakfast of quroos and pratha bread, we packed, checked out and left for Muscat. On the way to Muscat, we stopped by at Bimmah sinkhole, which is now filled with water and some tourists were swimming in it. The entrance is free. We didn't spend too much time here, as we had already swam yesterday at Wadi Shab and the views at Wadi Shab were more spectacular.

Bimmah sinkhole

We then continued the drive to Muscat which took about 1 h 20 mins covering 128 km via the free highway. We drove straight to Ibis hotel Muscat (OMR 56.5 or RM 597 with breakfast) where we would be staying for 2 nights before going back home. 

our hotel room

We reached the hotel around 12 noon and luckily we were able to check in already. Since it was a Friday, shops will be closed during Friday prayers, so we refreshed and rested a bit in our rooms before finding lunch.

After refreshing ourselves, we drove to Africa Restaurant for Zanzibar food and had pilau rice with lamb and spinach dish for OMR 3.045 with chai (free). It was delicious, and we were also hungry.

pilau rice with lamb and spinach

After lunch, we went to buy strawberries (300 baisa or OMR 0.3 only!) at the supermarket and then bought some halwa (Omani sweets) at Al Diwaniya Omani sweets shop (OMR 8 for 3 boxes) which looks and taste a bit like dodol (chewy and sticky sweets) but with spices.

For sunset viewing today, we drove to Ghubra beach with free and ample parking. Since it was the weekend, many families were having picnic and camping by the beach and setting up barbecue sets.

sunset at Ghubra beach

Sat 3 Jan 2026

We had buffet breakfast at Ibis hotel which was already included in our room rate. Breakfast started at 6.30am, but when we came at 7am, there were many guests already so we would be going earlier at 6.30am tomorrow. The buffet breakfast spread consisted of Omani foul with pita bread and continental dishes, arabic coffee and dates. 

buffet breakfast

After a fulfilling breakfast, we drove to the largest mosque in Oman, the Sultan Qaboos grand mosque. Entrance is free with ample parking (also free). The mosque is beautifully decorated and also has a beautiful garden. The first hall from the entrance via the garden is the female prayer hall, while the men prayer hall is bigger and is in the second hall. We performed our prayers and then took some pictures. 

men prayer hall

women prayer hall

the mosque door

the mosque garden

From the mosque, we drove to Mutrah souq which is 20km away and took about 20 mins. We managed to find parking near to the fish market and parking is free during weekends. 

At the souq we bought some fridge magnets (3 OMR for 5 pieces), ladies robes (5 OMR each), a thobe (5 OMR) and Omani headgear (OMR 1 each) as souvenirs.

Mutrah souq

We then walked by the seaside to the corniche from the souq, but there was nothing much there so we walked back to the parking lot. We had lunch at Ghamdan Palace estaurant near the parking lot. We had lamb shuwa with rice and orange juice for OMR 4.5

corniche near Mutrah souq

fort at the corniche

lamb shuwa with rice

After lunch, we stopped by Al Fawaris bakery to buy some Basbousa and other local sweets (OMR 3.15) 

We also stopped by Qurum beach on the way back to our hotel to take some pictures. 

qurum beach

We had no further plans today so we went back to our hotel, stopping by to fill up petrol (OMR 5.3)

Around 4.30pm we went out again as Partner In Crime wanted to wash the rental car. Since the queue was long, I decided to go to Lulu Hypermarket next door, then went to Ikea and did some window shopping. Partner In Crime was still not done yet after an hour. Wow there were really many customers wanted to wash their cars during the weekend.

car wash

Car wash was finally done at 6pm (OMR 1.6) , then we headed for dinner at a nearby restaurant Mutrah food Palace. We had lamb chop with bread, orange juice and rice pudding for OMR 5.1

lamb chop for dinner

After dinner we went back to the hotel to pack our bags for departure tomorrow and called it a day.

Wadi Shab

Wed 31 Dec 2025

It would be a long drive today, making our way from Bahla to Wadi Shab, a journey of 335 km and would be taking 3 hour 20 mins, with a stop for lunch at Muscat.

After breakfast, we packed and checked out from the lovely heritage hotel and drove towards Wadi Shab. We stopped at a petrol station to fill up (OMR 3.5) on the way and stopped for lunch at Nahdi Mandi restaurant in Muscat. The highway was free and there were speed cameras all the way.

on the highway to Muscat

Mr Driver

After having lunch of meat shuwa with rice (OMR 6.5 big portion for 2 pax) we continued the drive to Wadi Shab and arrived by 3pm. It was very windy today and it looked like it was going to rain, but it didn't.

meat shuwa with rice

the drive from Muscat to Wadi Shab view

Our guesthouse (OMR 42 or RM 447, paid by cash) is located next to the sea but there is no direct access to the beach. 

We then walked to Wadi Shab, which took about 15 mins to check out the area for the hike and swim tomorrow. It seemed not too long a walk, so we decided we would just walk from our guesthouse tomorrow to avoid any issues with parking and traffic, tomorrow being the New Year so it could be crowded.

the ocean at Wadi Shab

Thu 1 Jan 2026

We woke up at 5 am in the morning and caught the sunrise by the sea from our guesthouse at 6.30am. We left the guesthouse at 7am and walked to a nearby restaurant to have breakfast of pratha bread, shaksouka, vegetable curry, coffee and karak chai (OMR 2.3) 

sunrise view from our guesthouse

breakfast today

After breakfast, we walked to the Wadi Shab boat jetty and rented 2 life jackets and a water shoe (1 OMR each X 3). Although I could swim, I rented the life jacket anyway as a safety measure. We then took the short boat ride to cross the river (1 OMR return boat trip per person)

short boat ride

The hike at Wadi Shab to the swimming location took us about 1 hour with many stops for taking photos. The views along the canyon and wadi was beautiful. It was a mostly flat hike, with rocky surfaces so I hiked with my hiking boots and brought along my water shoes and water bag.

views of Wadi Shab

the pool where we would be swimming

more beautiful views

After admiring the views and taking photos, we took the plunge into the water and swam towards the cave with a waterfall inside. The entrance to the cave is very narrow and you would have to dive into the water to pass through. I didn't take pictures here though. Some of the other visitors climbed up the ropes provided at the waterfall and jumped inside the water.

going into the pool

swimming

swimming

We spent about an hour in the water and then rested to dry up while eating dates and bananas. We then made our way back via the same route but there it was really crowded by now at around noon. Every space at the cave wadi pool has been taken up so some visitors swam at other different pools instead.

resting after swimming

sunny today at the beach

We walked back to our beach house, then took the car and drove to a nearby restaurant to have lunch of beef masal with rice and orange juice (OMR 2.6). After lunch, we drove back to the our guest house to shower and rest.

lunch nearby 

We ventured out again to find some snacks, first we went to a grocery store, and on the way back we saw a stall selling karak chai and samosas so we bought 2 beef samosas and karak chai for 300 baisa (OMR 0.3), very cheap. We enjoyed the snacks by the sea front at our guest house while waiting for sunset at 5.30pm

enjoying samosa by the sea

Fri 2 Jan 2026

For breakfast today, we went to the opposite restaurant from yesterday's lunch place to have Omani pancakes (quroos) and pratha bread with curry for OMR 1.9

quroos and pratha

After breakfast, we packed, checked out and left for Muscat