Entertaining Eamon - Part 1, Inside Fun

Six weeks in a hotel is a long time for an active 3yr old, especially when the hotel is right in the middle of a city of 20-some million people. Out the front gate are shopping malls, garbage canals and busy roads with no parks in sight. Suffice to say we've had to innovate in order to avoid insanity - or the worst of it anyway.

Since we are by no means the only parents bemoaning dearth of green space and outdoor play space the malls, in true capitalist fashion, have stepped into the void with a multitude of indoor playgrounds and activity centres of varying quality and entertainment value. Our current favourite is Lollipops at Gandaria City in South Jakarta where for between $8-12 (depending on the day) Eamon can run himself ragged in the five levels of netted play space, slide down huge inflatable slides and challenge himself on a high ropes course (complete with helmet, harness and flying fox). If that tires him out, he can then enjoy the quieter side with rides on those things we always tried to avoid paying for in Canberra shopping centres, a turn at air hockey or even fishing for goldfish to take home (something we've thankfully avoided so far!). There's also a toddler play area for the smaller folk that I'm sure Rory will love to explore now he's mobile.

 
Eamon on the high ropes course at Gandaria City - he handled the balance beams incredibly well despite being 3-4m up, and even paused to yell "Cheese" down at me!

We've also spent a fair bit of time at the carnival-style entertainment district in Grand Indonesia - primarily because it is the nearest place to escape to from the hotel. Unfortunately it's less of a place to run and play and more focussed on rides, but Eamon hasn't complained! We've been rather surprised to see him quite confidently tackling not just the high ropes course above, but also the rides below with no fear at all, and a great deal of enthusiasm. A different side of our usually fairly cautious little boy!

Eamon checking out the rides at Grand Indonesia. He happily rode the apple and bouncy camel by himself but took dad along for the flying butterfly bicycle thing to help with the pedalling (the more you pedal, the higher you go).

During the recent school holidays, many of the malls had special exhibits or events on to assist harried parents in entertaining their children. One even added a zoo to its fifth floor along with petting area, butterfly house and fishing! Another had marvellous displays and wonderful trees made of thousands of (artificial) butterflies, the purpose not entirely apparent, but the result quite spectacular. We even found a small squadron of full size sailing boats alongside one set of restaurants/cafes, complete with blue sky and clouds painted on the ceiling.

While I would never have considered myself a shopping mall kinda gal, I have begun to value these monstrosities, not for the shops, but for the desperately needed distraction they provide, for the air conditioning, and for the space to walk Rory in the stroller. The novelty is beginning to pall, even for Eamon, but with 73 shopping malls on my tourist map of Jakarta, I am hopeful that I can find new amusements to occupy us all until we can get a place of our own.

PS. for those thinking we have given up on outside time altogether, part 2 of this is about outside areas we've found to play.