Karawaci, also known as Lippo Karawaci, is a planned community (new town) west and southwest of Tangerang, in the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area, in Indonesia. It serves as a satellite town for nearby Jakarta, with huge residential areas as well as shopping malls and recreation facilities.
Understand
Karawaci is a company town built from ground up for Lippo, a giant Indonesian conglomerate with interests in everything from property to banking. By Indonesian standards it's a near-utopian corporate suburb that looks like a misplaced chunk of Singapore, with spotless, leafy streets devoid of hawkers, corporate towers and golf courses. This town is quite popular among Koreans. 40% of Lippo Karawaci residents are Koreans that work around Tangerang.
Get in
Karawaci is to the west of Jakarta (at the edge of its sprawl), directly off the Jakarta-Tangerang highway. Lippo Karawaci is located 30 minutes drive from Jakarta. It is also close to Anyer Beach and Carita Beach (about 2.5 hours drive). It takes 3.5 hours drive to Bandung, and 2 hours drive to Puncak mountain resorts.
Get around
See
If you like nature, you can jog or even bike along the pedestrian in the early morning, and it's refreshing because the air is still clean and cooler than Jakarta. If you like shopping, check the shopping section. If you like sports, check the facilities of Imperial Aryaduta Country Club (awesome...!!!) If you like foods & hang out, enjoy yourself in Benton Junction, Coco Walk, etc. If you prefer to be quiet & relax, have fun in Celebrity Fitness Yoga Classes.
Do
- 1 Imperial Klub Golf. Designed by Desmond Muirhead.
- Imperial Aryaduta Country Club. A Balinese-style country club
- Speedy Karting. Drive go-karts like a pro.
- Clubs. Indulge all your hobbies, from snooker, art & craft, painting, biking, etc.
- Celebrity Fitness. An energetic & fun fitness center. They also have sauna & steam room.
- Cinemaxx Maxxbox Lippo Village. A great place for movie mania with choices of regular, Ultra XD, Gold and Junior cinemas.
- The Premiere. A sophisticated luxurious deluxe cinema.
- UPH Central Library. A 3-story library with a cozy atmosphere.
- Timezone. An family entertainment center (arcade/amusement) targeting the whole family.
- Amazone. An amusement center targeting kids & teenagers, as well as adults.
- Various Bookstores. You've just to name it. Lippo Karawaci has lots of bookstores for you to unwind yourself. From small bookshops such as: Juniper books & Open books (in Supermall Karawaci) to mega bookstores such as: KInokuniya, Gramedia, and Times bookstore. If you're book lovers, you'll love these places!
Buy
- 1 Supermal Karawaci, Jl Boulevard Diponegoro. The largest shopping mall in Karawaci, featuring the Timezone indoor theme park.
- Matahari. The local branch of the department store chain.
- Hypermart. A huge hypermarket that sells A to Z.
- Gramedia bookstore. A perfect getaway for book lovers, but with a limited selection of English media.
- Ace Home Center. One stop shopping from hardware to BBQ; a branch of Ace Hardware USA.
- Index Furnishings. An IKEA look-alike shop.
- Debenhams. A famous department store from England.
- E-Center. Electronic & Computers' heaven.
- Batik Keris. Home of the Indonesian traditional's art & craft, including batik & wayang.
- Times Bookstore. A cozy & relaxing bookstore that sells all kind of books, from children to adults. One of the biggest Times Bookstore in the world!
- Kinokuniya Bookstore. A Japanese chain bookstore that sells various books, including English and Japanese.
- Mu Gung Hwa. A truly Korean supermarket.
- Hanil Mart. Another Korean supermarket.
Eat
- Cafe Taman Permata. Lies on Taman Permata Sport Club, 5 minutes from Supermal. A lot of choice on the menu, from seafood to Nasi Ayam Semarang. Open 5PM-11PM.
- Cafe Taman Ubud, behind Ruko New Asia. Open 6PM-11PM, various food stalls with tents.
- Taman Sari, Opposite Supermal Karawaci. Open 10AM-10PM. Serving various food in an ethnic environment.
- Benton Junction, Alongside the Supermal Karawaci. Open 7AM (selected venues) to 12PM. Numerous restaurants & cafes to choose, from: Coffee Bean & Tea leaf, Lau's Kopitiam, Istana Nelayan, Batavia Kitchen, Daichii, etc.
- International Food Hall, inside Supermal Karawaci. Open 10AM-10PM. Variety of restaurants & cafes, such as: McDonalds, Icyblue, Texas Chicken, Saboga Bakso Tahu, Yoghberry, Fiesta Steak, Yogen Fruz, Shokuyoku Teppanyaki, Sederhana Bintaro Padang Food, Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks (Halal), A&W, MM Juice & Noodles, Bakmi Gang Kelinci, Bakmi GM, KFC, Solaria, Red Bean, Wendy's, Hoka Hoka Bento, Pizza Hut, Takigawa, Cing Wan, Ta Wan, Hanamasa, Ichiban Sushi, Starbucks, Ya Kun Kaya Toast Cafe, Sour Sally, JCo Donuts & Coffee, Chewy Junior, Rice Bowl, Secret Recipe, Imperial Kitchen & Dimsum, MOS Burger, Grazia Cafe, Penang Village, BreadTalk, Jesslyn Cakes, BreadLife, Clairmount, etc.
- Coco Walk, inside Supermal Karawaci/facing the streets. Open 10AM to 11PM. Another hang-out place for food lovers. You can find trendy restaurants/coffee shops/bookshops/small outlets in this spot, such as: Dante Coffee, Oh La La Bistro, Jitlada Thai Restaurant, Yong Tau Foo Singapore, The Pancake Parlour of Australia, Kazoku Japanese Restaurant, Waroeng Kampoeng Indonesian Restaurant, Rotiboy of Malaysia, Steak 21, Duta Suara Music & Cafe, OpenBooks Coffee & Books, QbiQ Coffee & Donuts, Simply Sugar Cane & Healthy Drinks, Red Bean Chinese Restaurant, RyouZen Sushi & Teppanyaki, and so on.
Drink
- UNO Restaurant & Bar, in Menara Matahari, near the University of Pelita Harapan complex, Lippo Karawaci. Has live music daily. Open 10AM-12PM.
- RJ's Bar, in Imperial Aryaduta Hotel. A funky sport-addict bar that hosts international football/soccer match nightly. Open 6PM-2AM.
Sleep
- Imperial Aryaduta, ☏ +62-21-5460101. 401 Bulevar Jend. Sudirman. A convinient relaxing four-star hotel aimed squarely at business travellers & also families who might enjoy a spot of golf on the side, as well as shopping and medical check-up in Siloam Gleneagles Hospital.
- Grand Oriental, ☏ +62-21-55656579. 1012 Permata Sari, Lippo Karawaci. A budget hostel that provides a safe & homely environment.
Study
- University of Pelita Harapan. An elite university with more than 10,000 students. The university is located opposite of Supermall Karawaci. This university is equipped with hi-tech facilities.
- Maple Leaf Tutors. Full service tuition center concentrating in primary and secondary tuition for students in the Lippo Karawaci area. For more info contact darin.bicknell@gmail.com or call +62 813 1855 1306.
- Sekolah Pelita harapan. A National Plus Christian School that has about 1,000 students. The school is built in 1993 and it is the building in Lippo Karawaci. The school is under the IBO System.
Stay healthy
- Siloam Gleneagles Hospital. A 5-star facilities hospital with some well known doctors.
- Jade Leaf Reflexiology. Located in Supermal Karawaci. A perfect place to unwind and relax.
- D'relax spa & reflexiology. Located in Permata Sport Club. A splendid journey to peace of mind.