Favorite Place in Town

Jakarta is a city with the biggest number of mall in South East Asia even in the world, some surveys say. The number of malls in Jakarta as of 2010 is said to be 170 malls. I have been to Singapore and Malaysia before. These two countries indeed have malls, but not as many as Jakarta. Most of the malls in those two countries are located in certain shopping district, such as Orchard Road in Singapore, and Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur. In Jakarta, you can find malls in every area, South Jakarta, North Jakarta, East Jakarta, and West Jakarta. From a high class mall up to low budgeted mall, or commonly called ITC (Indonesian Trade Center). Mall is now no longer a place for shopping, but it has turned into recreational places. People bring their family to malls during weekend and enjoy all amusement centers that they provide. It is not their fault, but it is because local government do not allocate open space park to hang out during weekends. Consumerism in Jakarta is really frightening.

Anyway, I am one of the victim of this consumerism lifestyle. I love hanging out at malls. I have been to almost all malls in Jakarta. I can count the malls which I have not visited yet.in Jakarta (I dont categorize malls in suburb areas such as Depok, Bogor, BSD, and Bekasi).They are: Thamrin City, Kemang Village, ITC Cempaka Mas, Arion, Glodok, and Mall of Indonesia. That is so far I can recall I have never visited. So, I am quite a pro, am I? 

But there is one mall I almost visit every week, which is Pejaten Village. It is because I live in Cilandak, and this mall is very easy to reach. Only by Mikrolet 36 or Kopaja 20 in 15 minutes I can reach this place. I call it my second home. Why is that? Because almost every week whenever I am back from my office or whenever I want, I visit this place.

This is the building by the way:

I can spend hours if I am here. Sometimes for shopping or just window shopping  at Matahari. Eating out with friends at Solaria, Secret Recipe, or Ah Mei Cafe. I like to order Fu Yung Hai, Roti Prata, and also Tom Yum at these restos. Checking out new books in Gramedia. Grocery shopping at Hypermart. Karaoke-ing  at Inul Vista or in a small music box when I am broke. Watching movie at XXI. Or even just wifi-ing at JCo. 

The last activity is what I enjoy most. If people say Starbucks is the best wifi and coffee place, I choose J Co. The reason, of course because it is cheaper! I love the donuts and the yogurt too, actually. But I must say wifiing in J Co Pejaten Village is the best. I have ever tried once in Cilandak Town Square, but the connection is very bad and the place is too crowded. Here, I can spend hours doing this and the barista will never pay attention on me. Besides I have my cool spot here. Let me show you this:

On the corner, beside the plug: 

And here is my fave order, J Cool!

Here, I can blog, apply job, download music, or whatever I want. This is what makes my second home special. I think everyone needs to have a favorite place in order to run away from the daily activities and as a refreshment to release stress. The place you will miss when you are away. So, what is your favorite place to hang out?