damai indah golf club at bumi serpong damai

"Bumi Serpong Damai" is a large real estate that dubbed itself as an independent city. It has its own water supply, telecommunication station, bus and small transport terminal, power supply station, large malls, several automobile showrooms, two large swimming pools, a golf field, asphalt streets, kindergarten, elementary up to high school facilities. It is lacking of a mayor and a city council. (I think)

Swimming in tropical country is always a treat. A few weeks ago I ventured out to "Bumi Serpong Damai" (BSD), about an hour drive from Jakarta. A careful research on the Internet and through a few phone calls informed me that there is a shuttle bus from "BSD" to Jakarta, it costs 6,000 IDR* but when I boarded into the bus, the fee was 8,000 IDR for one trip. It was a large air conditioned bus with a TV set. There are two routes that the shuttle bus served: BSD-Mangga Dua, which is in North Jakarta and BSD-Pondok Indah-Ratu Plaza-Senayan in South Jakarta. On Sundays and major holidays, the bus leaves BSD at 08:00, arrived in South Jakarta 45 minutes later and it goes every hour or so. The last bus from BSD to South Jakarta left at 16:30 PM.

The bus left BSD and entered the new toll road that connects Pondok Pinang and BSD, the Jakartans refer this toll road as "The Bintaro Toll" as it also connects another congested residential area in Bintaro Sub district. The toll road saves a lot of time as it only takes 30 minutes to go from Bintaro to BSD and vice versa. Beware, this "only 30 minutes" is only valid during major holidays, and only from Bintaro toll gate to BSD toll gate. Second beware, the BSD shuttle bus doesn’t stop by at Bintaro. Bintaro has its own shuttle bus and commuter train to Jakarta.

There are two Olympic size swimming pools in BSD. The first one is the old one next to the bus terminal and the modernized market. The second one is within the golf club and tennis complex, which is called "Damai Indah". The first one costs you 13,000 IDR during weekends and major holidays and 10,000 IDR during weekdays. It has two children swimming pools of 30cm deep and 50cm deep, if I’m not mistaken; then an Olympic pool of 1-2m deep. You don’t need an extra transportation cost to reach this pool as this is exactly beside the bus station.

The "Damai Indah" has two children pools of the same depth as the old one, two short curvy slides for children, an adolescent pool of around 80cm deep and an Olympic pool of 1-2.1m deep. The management put a pool divider in the Olympic pool along the 1m deep water. On the side of the 2.1m there is a jumping board and kick board. It costs you 21,000 IDR on weekends and public holiday and 16,000 on weekdays. The fee earns you a beach towel, swimming goggles, plastic for your wet swimming suit, clean shower, changing rooms and toilets with rubber mats plus locker facility. The pool has a cafeteria although I didn’t go into one. However, the "Damai Indah" pool is located a bit further off the big roundabout in front of the "Plaza", which is the modern mall and shopping area. If you do not have your own transportation, you can either swing your legs for a kilometer or so and this will cost you lots of eyes staring at you walking down the street to the pool’s location, since most of the people who go there have their own cars. Otherwise, take a motorbike taxi that costs you 3,000 IDR.

Here’s a breakdown of cost and facilities:
First pool
From Jakarta to BSD, shuttle bus: 16,000 IDR two ways.
Pool fee on weekend: 13,000.
Facilities: Cafeteria, shower and changing rooms, toilets, locker.
Extra transport: None.
Total: 29,000 IDR per person.

Damai Indah pool
Jakarta to BSD, shuttle bus: 16,000 IDR two ways.
Pool fee on weekend: 21,000.
Facilities: Cafeteria, shower and changing rooms, toilets, beach towel, swimming goggles, locker.
Extra transport: 1,500 from bus terminal to "The Plaza" roundabout; 3,000 for motorbike taxi from "The Plaza roundabout" to the pool.
Total: 41,500 IDR per person.

The reason for me to go to “Damai Indah” is simply because that was the pool that I spotted while I was learning to drive in “BSD”, I was not aware of the first pool. After checking out the first pool, I still wanted to look for the pool that I have spotted, which was the “Damai Indah” one. After walking for a kilometer downhill from “The Plaza” to the golf club area, I didn’t feel like hiking up the streets and went back to the first pool. So I decided to take a dip at the “Damai Indah” one for an hour an a half. Very bery refreshing indeed.

* IDR = Indonesian Rupiah. 1 US$ is about 9,500 IDR