If you're arriving in Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, there are many options on travelling to the city. My favourite is to hop on a Blue Bird taxi. It's affordable, safe and comfortable.
However, for first-timers in Jakarta, getting a Blue Bird taxi might be confusing. So here's how you can ease through the airport and hop on the taxi to your hotel in a budget yet comfortable way.
Upon leaving the arrival hall, you will see some booths on your right for taxi companies. You would be tempted but I wouldn't recommend them as they tend to be twice the cost of a normal taxi you might get.
To your front, you will see a lot of people waiting by the railings. Turn left and exit the building before the crowd. You'll see a lot more people waiting around outside too. Ignore all of them and just continue walking. You would walk past the toilets and just continue going that direction. There would be a lot of people approaching you, asking if you want a taxi. Just continue walking.
Look out for a kiosk. The kiosk will be a distance away from the Blue Bird taxi queue. On the kiosk, you'll see two buttons. Click on the Blue Bird taxi and get your queue number.
There will be a guy in the Blue Bird uniform calling out numbers for the taxis. Walk towards him and standby. There is also a TV with the queue numbers but when I was there, it was not working.
Once your number is called, wave your queue number at the guy in uniform and he will escort you into the taxi.
My taxi cost only 160,000 out from the airport to the city center, inclusive of tolls and airport charges. Half the price of what my friend got from one of the guys in the airport.
Montigo Resorts Nongsa has three variations to their villas and we picked the beachfront villa, thinking there was direct access to the beach. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the perfect view of the ocean that was unobstructed by other villas.
They had a shuttle to pick us up from Nongsa Ferry Terminal and we arrived at the resort slightly after 10. The staff were helpful and quick to explain the facilities in the resort to us. As there were rooms available, we were checked in to our villa by 11am, way earlier than the supposed check in time at 3pm.
The villa had a really huge air-conditioned living area with a tiny kitchen at the back. There was a tv and wii game console set. We borrowed two games from the lobby for the wii game console at no cost. However, they only had two wii controllers.
There was a tiny bar fridge with complimentary drinks. There was even a induction cooker with all the cooking equipment. However, I felt the refrigerator was a little too tiny. Would be perfect if they had a larger refrigerator.
The balcony door from the living area led to the personal plunge pool, what Montigo was known for.
It was a really nice place to sit and chill. I spent all my time here. When I was not in the pool, I was sitting by the edge, enjoying the serenity of the area.
There are two bedrooms on the second floor. Both rooms are equipped with their own bathrooms.
This is the smaller room with twin beds.
And this is the master bedroom.
The bed was huge and could easily fit three of us comfortably.
As we booked the room for 5, they had an additional bed in the room for us. However, the bed was definitely not as comfortable as the king sized bed so we ended up squeezing on the big bed instead.
There are a total of three bathrooms in the entire villa and this is the biggest bathroom.
There was a rooftop balcony and it was simply amazingly beautiful. We had the staff lay out the cushions for us and we laid there gazing stars at night. However, we could easily see the other hillside villas' plunge pools and it was quite awkward, which was why I preferred our beachfront villa as there was more privacy for our plunge pool.
Besides the villa, there are other areas that are accessible to guests.
This is the play area for children. There's a mini ball pit on the ground level and on the top level, there are plenty of games that can engage your children. A mini foosball table and lots of other activities to keep your children busy.
Montigo Nongsa has a famous landmark, their jetty. You may have seen this on many instagram feeds.
Next to the jetty, you can find a small shack that rents out water activities equipments, such as jet ski and banana boat.
Besides your own plunge pool, you can always hop into the bigger pool for a swim.
Or lay and bask in the sun while watching people play in the water.
The only downside of Montigo Nongsa is the availability of food choices. I was not impressed by the food or the price. There were mainly two kinds of choices at Tadd's, either the western or the Indonesian. We didn't go over to the Pantai restaurant as we already had our fair of seafood meal outside of Montigo for lunch. Moreover, the price at Pantai was definitely more expensive than the food we had outside the resort.
I guess, the prices are meant to extort Singaporeans. The bill ended up similar to a meal in Singapore and as the food wasn't outstanding, it was a disappointment.
Tadd's is where the complimentary breakfast is served. Contrary to the dinner, it was so much better. There is something for everyone for breakfast.
Cornflakes.
Pastries.
Bread.
And plenty of cooked food as well.
They even serve some Indonesian food for breakfast. No complaints here.
Besides Tadd's and Pantai, there's also Tiigo, a beach club that serves drinks and bar bites.
We had pizza from here before leaving for our ferry that afternoon.
There are also plenty of bar games you can indulge in while overlooking the people splashing in the water not far from the bar. And I really liked the design of the place.
Overall, Montigo Nongsa is definitely a paradise a sea away from Singapore. Though they have limited water activities (and basically any activities), it was a nice getaway for the family. I would definitely return.
