Jakarta, Indonesia

Jakarta, Indonesia,  Southeast Asia

By. Tyara P Hansel

The City
As a capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta sure has a lot of interesting to offer. Whether you’re an
adventurous traveler, party traveler or just looking for a new destination or your next family holiday, you will always find anything you want in the city. Jakarta is divided into five areas; Central Jakarta, West Jakarta, South Jakarta, East Jakarta and North Jakarta. Each area has its own uniqueness. Central Jakarta is popular for its business district, but it has also abundant of historical sites and museums. South Jakarta is possibly the hippest area of the city with numerous shopping centers (Pondok Indah Mall, Plaza Senayan, Senayan City, Lippo Mall Kemang and Lippo Mall Kemang –just to name a few), restaurants, bars and interesting hang out spots.

If you love some outdoor or aquatic activities, North Jakarta is the best place. From Ancol, you can take a boat ride to some beautiful islands of the city. Yes, you read that right. Jakarta has several islands that worth the visit, it’s called Kepulauan Seribu (Thousand Island), with many islands to discover including Tiger Island, Pramuka Island, Pari Island, and Tidung Island. If you’re looking for a nice object to shoot, spend a day at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah –a miniature of the archipelago- in East Jakarta, or if you want to shop for more, take a cab to two humongous malls in West Jakarta: Mall Taman Anggrek and Central Park, I’m pretty sure you won’t leave the mall empty handed.

The Food
If food is your main concern, then you can relax. The city has a wide range of food available for every pocket –from modest street hawkers to an exclusive fine dining restaurant, so you’ll be good. If you don’t have sensitive stomach, you can try some of the low budget streetside food stalls, as they offer local dishes in a very affordable price. Soto Betawi (coconut milk soup with gravy, mixed beef, lungs, liver, tripe and celery, usually served with rice and emping crackers), Kerak Telor (traditional spicy omelette dish made from glutinous rice cooked with egg and served with fried shredded coconut, fried shallots and dried shrimp topping), Nasi Gila (sausage, chicken, meatballs and lamb ladled liberally
over white rice and garnised with a handful of crackers) and Gado Gado (traditional salad consist of vegetables, tofu, potatoes and peanut sauce dressing) are a must-try. Or else, you can just point at any international restaurant in the city –from Chinese, German, Korean, Thai, American, French, Middle Eastern, Indian to Japanese food, Jakarta got it cover. One thing though, never drink the tap water anywhere.

The People
People are mixed, some are nice and friendly, and

Kampala, Uganda, Africa

Invitation to Kampala -my city.

Kampala is the capital of Uganda and the largest city in the country.  
Location:

Kampala is located in Uganda East Africa and the city’s coordinates are: 00 19N, 32 35E.
Brief History

Kabaka Mutesa 1 had chosen the area that was to become Kampala as one of his favorite hunting grounds. It was made up of hills and wetlands. It was a bleeding ground for many game animals particularly the Impala. When the British colonialists came they named one of the hills the hill of Impala. Due to the large number of impala. The Baganda used this reference in their local language (Luganda) - 'Akasozi K'empala. So K’empala became 'Kampala due to repeated usage, and when the colonialists wanted a name for the city they adopted Kampala.

Major Attractions:
The are several major attractions in Kampala but the main ones are; Kasubi tombs which are located on Kasubi hill 5 kilometers from the city centre. It is a burial ground for 4 kings of Buganda and it is therefore significant for the loyal family and the entire Buganda kingdom. Then we have the Rubaga cathedral located on Rubaga hill. Many religious people come to the cathedral to warship and are one of the landmark buildings in Kampala. 
The Uganda museum is the oldest museum in Uganda formerly it was locate at Fort Lugard on old Kampala hill and now it is on kitante hill.
The bahai Temple located on kikaya hill 4 miles from Kampala city centre. It is the mother temple of Africa.


The Namugongo Martyrs’ shrine is situated 12 kilometers from Kampala city centre in Namugongo.

 It is where the Uganda martyrs were executed by Kabaka mwanga due to their failure to withdraw from their new adopted faith –Christianity. Namugongo shrine has been visited by many people Notably Archbishop Robert Runcie of Canterbury in 1984 and in 1993 pope John Paul II. In the whole country including the city Kampala June 3rd is a public holiday in honor of the massacre of the Uganda martyrs.

Food and accommodation
The hospitality industry in Kampala is well developed as evidenced by the CHOGUM 2007 conference and several international conferences that take place here every year. We have international hotels like the Sheraton hotel, Serena hotel, and Hilton hotel which is now under completion. We have several hotels which have achieved international standards, hotels like Speke Hotel, Emin Pasha Hotel, Fairway Hotel, Protea Hotel Kampala, Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort, and Golf Course Hotel, Grand Imperial, Mosa Court Apartments, Kabira Country Club and several others.
 When it comes to food there are many choices depending on the occasion you can enjoy dinner from a 5 star restaurant you can spend from 50cents USD to your highest limit. In fast food we have international brand like Nandos and Steers both on Jinja road, we have Domino's Pizza and several others.  There are a variety of restaurants to pick from Ugandan and the other available are Belgian, Chinese, Japanese, French, Turkish Mediterranean and Indian.

Night life and partying
Kampala has a very active night life from a slow and quite Ugandan bar to the fire of capital pub past 2: AM Kampala night life does not end well past the next day. I think there are very few cities across this continent that can rival our night life. We have several bars that include Al’s bar in Kansanga, Capital pub in Kabalagala, Rock Garden at speak Hotel, Bubbles O’Leary which is an Irish pub, steak out in Wandegeya; we have several night clubs which include Club Silk and Ange Noir.
Transport

In Kampala there are several means of transport which include bus, Taxi. Here we have to types of taxis one is a 14 sitter and the other we refer to it as special hire taxi. You can also use Bodaboda (Motor bike). You can also get a car from car hire services around the city for a self drive.
Security
Kampala is generally safe both day and night. We Ugandans are some of the most resilient people in the World:  We have seen wars, overthrows, dictators; bombing attacks come and go but for the last 27 years there has been stability in Kampala save for the 2010 terrorist attack.
Welcome to the city that never sleeps.