We've found our house!

Yippee!!! We've found our house! My first experience house-hunting in Jakarta was quite tiring as we saw as many as 15 houses in 2 days and most of them did not suit our needs. It was either too large or too little or more frequently, something wrong with the kitchen. I don't cook very well, I'm still learning how to cook well enough to feed my husband but I do like a nice kitchen. The one house I did like was not in a gated compound and company regulations decreed that we had to live in a gated compound for security reasons. Sigh. Back to square one.

Luckily, my friend S called me and said his cousin had just moved to Jakarta and had found a lovely house in a gated compound in Kemang. I told Dear Hubby right away who contacted the agent. Unfortunately, that was the compound we'd tried to see in our first visit because we'd really liked it and were told that no houses were available. Just when I was wondering when we would ever find our house, the agent called up again and said there would be a house available in said compound but only in July. Did we want it? Did we ever!


On my most recent trip to Jakarta, Madam Top Monkey finally got to see her new home. Here we go! This is what you guys will see when you come to visit me, just drive in straight from the main entrance and make a left turn. We're in the first house on the right.

(Clockwise, L-R: Our unit, road leading into the compound, our neighbour, our unit again)

Let me show you the ground floor. First, ze kitchen... where I will be cooking for Dear Hubby. He doesn't get to eat very healthy lunches at office, so I have decided that I will make him lunch. Then, the hall. Please excuse the agent's presence in the pic. At the bottom is the entrance to the house. You can see a room just off to the side, that is a small room that can be used as a study or home office. Last pic shows the garage, known as a carpot here. The maid's quarters and storage areas are located behind the carpot and they have a completely separate entrance from the main house.

(Clockwise, L-R: Kitchen, living + dining, main door + stairs to 1st floor, garage)

The first pic on upper left is the study room. The current tenants have left it empty except for a chessboard inside. They are Japanese you see, so I think this must be their interpretation of Zen decor. Another look at the hall and then we go upstairs where there is a family hall. We're thinking of turning it into a mini gym. The last pic is the master bedroom.

(Clockwise, L-R: Study, living, family room, master bedroom)

Finally... the pool! And a rather unusual tenant! The pool is shielded from prying eyes by high walls, so those of you who visit and wish to skinny dip are able to do so. Just warn me first please. Those are the doors leading to the er.. patio.. is that what you call it? - where you can sit and sip your margeritas and watch people frolic in the pool. And guess who's sitting by the door? A lovely dog! S/he belongs to the current tenants and she was very friendly. What a smart dog. She doesn't come with the house though.

(Clockwise, L-R: Pool, hall, doggy, pool again)

So there you are. A tour of my future home and perhaps your future holiday hotel. There are three bedrooms in the house + study room, so we'll be able to accomodate at least 4-6 guests at any one time. Plus if we really need to, some people can always sleep in the family room which is large enough to sleep at least 4 on the floor.

What I like about this place is the security and that I'll be able to take walks around the compound without fear. When the little one comes along, we can both take walkies in the compound and go say hi to everyone else. I also like the pool. I'm thinking that I'll be as large as a whale further along in my pregnancy, so it will be nice to have a pool to exercise in as the water can help take some of the weight. Plus it's in Kemang which is a very lively area and it's close to the Malaysian restaurant, so if I get homesick for nasi lemak (I don't see this sold anywhere in Jakarta? Sobs!), I can just pop over and gorge myself silly.

What I don't like about the place is that to get there, you have to squeeze through a narrow-ish lane. But most houses in Jakarta are like that anyway. It always amazes me, the juxtaposition of haves and have-nots here.

And guys... the pool isn't big enough to really swim in. Dear Hubby said three strokes is all it would take for him to do a lap but then again, he is 6'2". Hehe. We 5'++ mere mortals may be able to squeeze in more strokes, I'm sure. We'll have floats and water toys, so you can just splash about and it will be a nice place to do a BBQ party in the evening.

So I hope you've liked this little cybertour and I'll be very happy to show you everything in 3D once you get here. Just let me get some furniture in first and then the Top Monkey Hotel will be open for business!