and you don’t need to pay up to 100,000 for food… if you are good enough in picking your menu, you could spend less than 20,000 for your lunch

but i’m not against your theory though. we still need to spend money everytime we look for leisure, albeit not to a large extent as the Rp200,000 you suggested

I’ll be in Jakarta for a short stint after being away for almost 2 years. Now, after reading your story, I am so looking forward to breaking my wallet when I am there… NOT. I’ll stay away from shopping malls and eat instant noodles then..

By the way, kali malang is where I (read: my folks) live too

Mangaranap’s last blog post..21 Months of Good Life (Part 1)

I groom my dog by myself, so it saves money that way (meaning more for myself mwahahaha)

Welcome to my blog and welcome back to Indonesia Please don’t eat instant noodles, they are bad for your health LOL. Your folks live in Kali Malang? I bet they know all about the crazy traffic then, and can explain it to you better! It’s simply INSANE!

Thanks for visiting my blog, Senol Glad you liked it!

Kalimalang is the street that I have to pass every day, but since the government never fixed that for almost a year, so for the past 9 months I have to change my route and add another IDR 1.5k to pay the toll road (now they have fixed the street after someone wrote in Surat Pembaca Kompas).

My gassoline cost me IDR 100k for 2 days

But everywhere is the same, unless we move to Bali or Cirebon, where the cost of living are lower than Jabodetabek.

Hey girl.. I know EXACTLY how you feel. Kalimalang road is just right in front of my housing area, and passing that road alone is enough to put the stress on me – there are simply too many motorbikes that are not following the regulations, which makes me think that people in Jabodetabek area are simply selfish mothereffers.

If you don’t mind me asking, what sort of car are you using, because Rp.100k for 2 days worth of petrol is A LOT!! I hope your company reimburses you back

I think Indonesia will be just as crowded everywhere you go because the population has doubled enormously and the government aren’t doing anything to control it.

My morning starts with taking my dogs to Sanur beach or Renon city park for early morning walk, where I spend Rp 1,000 for parking (flat rate). Fresh air, sunrise, beach or grass all free of charge. On my way home I pick up nasi kuning in tiny portions for breakfast, Rp 3,000 per bungkus. Then at 9AM I ride my automatic motorbike to go to my temporary job, spend Rp 4,000 for nasi jinggo (nasi campur). The gasoline costs me Rp 15,000 for five days. At 3PM I’m already home again, play with my dogs at our rented pavillion with huge garden, lots of space and clean air. The art institue is just behind us so we hear lovely gamelan music every afternoon. Hubby or I take turns cooking dinner, our maid buys the ingredients from the market – we eat mostly veggies at home so one meal would cost less than Rp 10,000 for both of us. The only thing we splurge on is beer or wine.

A few weeks ago I was in Jakarta, just for three days, and I was shocked at how fast the cash in my wallet would go. Seriously, I was leaking money! In Bali I only have about Rp 50,000 in my wallet at any one time, and normally it can last for about a week, sometimes more.

Yuk yak yukkkkkk… pindah ke Bali

Do pray for me that it will happen to me sooner than later! We definitely must meet when I visit Bali!