how i survive in jakarta & bandung

1) Hotel 101 Bandung Dago Hotel was good, be it the room & amenities or location.. All is well for me & the breakfast was marvellous ( i dislike indonesian cuisine, the hotel breakfast was the only 'close to home' food that i had - the menu were almost similar to Malaysia & staying in Indonesia for 1 week, made me appreciate local cuisine ).. I'm not a fan of Maggi, so no stock of Maggi .. when it comes to food, i just grab whatever that the cafe /restaurants offer.. Back to hotel, my supir said that he can book 2 room at Aston Marina Hotel Apartment for RM200.. Suitable for a family / a gang of travellers.. I dont fancy apartment for 3 person because i care about safety most(scary if there were only 3 of us!).. The price for 101 Hotel is a bit pricy for me but that was okay because i paid just 1/3 of the total cost! Location wise, hotels in Dago were more expensive than other areas/roads because there were lots of Factory Outlet there.. If you want to save cost, better to stay at Jalan Cihampelas or Jalan Riau (Factory Outlet banyak jugak, cuma x sebanyak Dago).. But if you aim for XL-sized clothes, i think FOs were not suitable for you... most of the clothes are small & fit your body perfectly (i dont like that type of clothes!) In Jakarta, i stayed in Hotel 55 Mangga Dua, but frankly speaking, i dislike the environment.. Much like a typical budget hotel but the environment outside was similar to Chow Kit.. Stayed for 2 night there, for me was more to 'have a place to sleep & rest' since we came back to hotel late ..not recommended for fussy traveller & even if you are a backpacker, for me, better you choose a hotel with a safe environment like near shopping complex or nearby decent restaurants.. i cant complain much since i dont know where to stay in Jakarta & there were lots of bloggers stayed in Hotel 55, so i thought it should be okay.. Please take note that the decorations of hotel was full with Buddhist statues ( nampak patung mcm patung Buddha je).. Another alternative was to find a good deal/promotion at Traveloka, indonesian based website with no hidden charge.. My supir told me that it was a new website that always come up with fabulous & attractive prices for hotel.. 2) Simcard SIMPATI for 5 days was my choice but using too much internet lead to overuse of credit ( bila kuota internet habis, kuota untuk call ditelan).. So on Day 4, i was out of credit & hence, need to top up ( takut bila lost contact & xdapat hubungi sesiapa especially in emergency).. 3) money exchange My friend teach me about TT rate (telegraphic transfer) -, so that i got good deal.. However, considering the location, i cant apply it but I'm grateful because he shared this precious knowledge. Boleh cuba tukar duit dengan TT rate lepas ni bila nak travel oversea (dengan syarat bukan kat location yang tersangat strategik - mesti laa pengurup wang tu action & insist bagi normal rate bila ramai orang tukar dengan dia). In Malaysia, i change my money at UO Chow Kit (rate paling murah yang dijunpai di Malaysia lepas survey kat airport, area Chow Kit & Quill city Mall tapi x semurah di Bandung).. Golden Money Changer near Pasar Baru was my choice in Bandung.. That was the cheapest rate that i could find .. I think the company operated using TT rate because i got the same rate when i withdrew money from CIMB in Bandung ( i dont convert all my money to Rupiah because my friend said that some shop accept RM in Jakarta).. Bila Rupiah di tangan sudah habis tapi xsampai Jakarta pun lagi, memang terpaksa withdraw dari mesin ATM laa.. I activate my card the night before departing to Jakarta in case of emergency & it turned out to be useful.. Minus the RM10 charge for withdrawal through Atm, the rate was okay.. Baik withdraw banyak klu nak ambik thru CIMB sebab rugi charge RM10 tu.. Lagi untung tukar duit kat money changer sebab xde hidden charge.. Rate Jakarta agak mahal, jadi lebih baik tukar duit di Bandung.. But if you are rich & doesnt care about rate, just change your money at airport @ maybe use your ATM card at CIMB, request to dispense Rupiah currency ( ade mesin ATM khas untuk dispense dalam Rupiah, Saudi Arabia Riyal, Hong Kong Dollar, US Dollar, Euro & few other currencies.. 4) Food Choose the cafe or restaurant that you can tolerate rather than stall or masakan Padang (serve all sort of food, you choose what you want to eat & paid only for the portion that you eat@ choose few side dishes & not touch the side dishes that you dislike) to avoid risk of AGE/acute Gastroenteritis @ cirit birit(diarrhea) + sakit perut(cramp).. If you want to cut coat on food, avoid a well known restaurant.. Just choose a regular cafe.. I made mistakes by choosing few popular restaurants but the food wasnt up to my expectation... & talking about Kampung Daun restaurant in Bandung, i think it was overrated.. Lebih kurang Puncak Mutiara Cafe kat Penang je tapi harga mahal.. Environment? Lembang Floating Market & de Ranch offer better scenery. 5) Supir Pak Rudi in Bandung & Pak Nono in Jakarta were both good & dedicated to work.. In Bandung, there was another guide in Pasar Baru,Mas Gono (price already included in supir cost - s