Ancol Dreamland Part 1 of 8


The following morning around 10:00, we flagged down a taxi to bring us to Ancol Dreamland, which is built on reclaimed beach land at the Bay of Jakarta. It took us only around 10 minutes drive from Novotel Hotel. Upon arrival, it was clear to us that Ancol is an incredibly huge place. No wonder, it is the biggest recreation area in Southeast Asia. The Ancol complex has an extensive range of attractions such as the Fantasy World, SeaWorld, Taman Pantai, Gelanggang Samudra and the Atlantis Water Adventure.

We eagerly went to Fantasy World first only to be told to return at 1:00 pm when the amusement park would open to the public. A little disappointed and since we didn't have a map, we followed a group of people who went to Taman Pantai.

We passed a small open-air market with some stalls selling garments and other novelty items while we could hear the loud Indonesian music playing. I must admit this kind of music sounded kinda weird maybe because I'm just not used to it.


There were already a crowd of picnickers, strollers, and sunlight gazers on the bay. But a number of kiosks and restaurants were still closed.


As we wandered, we did get the occasional curious glances from locals. Probably because were the only foreigners there and we obviously looked like a tourist since were carrying a camera.


Taman Pantai is an extensive bay area. I'm not sure how long it is as the coastal stretches for several miles.


Due to limited time, we only had a half-hour walked around the bay. I'm pretty sure there are still some places that we left unexplored.


Instead of taking the Gondola cable car ride, we decided to walk along the vast complex of Ancol, and slowly made our way to SeaWorld.