Jakarta

Day 63 – Jakarta, Indonesia

I left Kuala Lumpur a bit worried because the Wi-Fi connection of my smartphone is acting up, refusing to stay on. It’s a bit difficult to download the map to Jakarta without that connexion. So I studied how to get from the airport to my hostel on my computer in details and how to buy a SIM card in Indonesia, and felt more or less ready.

My journey to the airport was really easy, I was one station away from the airport shuttle. I arrive a little more than two hours early, and for once the queue for check-in was intensive -though once I arrived at the counter, it took all of five minutes.

Airport controls are less and less similar the more I travel: some airport will scan all your luggages as soon as you enter the building (Istanbul…), some will scan your luggages just after checking them in and asking to wait to make sure (Bangkok), some don’t scan them where you see it. At Kuala Lumpur, after checking my backpack in and going to the security controls, I got first a visual passport and boarding pass control, then the official passport-because-leaving-the-country-control, then I crossed the airport in search of my gate (and I must have walked at least 20 min, if not more, to get there), then I passed the final bags controls. I’m more used to have these control at the beginning.

It left me only 30 min before boarding at my gate.

The flight was uneventful, I was alone on my row (yeah!), that was nice. (I did pay for a seat with extra legroom.)

Indonesia is back on the same time zone as the rest of Asia, that was the flight was really two-hours long and not one. I have to look up if Malaysia, with its one-hour time difference, UK-style power outlets, and its propensity for everyone to speak English, doesn’t have more leftovers from being a British protectorate than I thought.

After getting off the plane, I walked again what seems like miles, then I jumped on the first ATM available, passed quickly the visa on arrival control (free! I’ve got 30 dollars that were earmarked for my visa to use!), and waited maybe five minutes for my backpack to arrive.

Do you know where the Asian Games that just happen to be this month will be held? In Indonesia! I really chose my timing well…

Now, when arriving at the airport, I had two very specific goals: withdraw money at the ATM (2,500,000 roupies, or just under 150 euros, I love being a millionaire), which I did, and buying a SIM card. My search on internet seemed to promise a profusion of kiosks at the airport waiting only to snap bedraggled tourists for a quick sale.

Well, I was herded to the way out, without passing in front of a likely kiosk or, worse, any mention of the bus I would be taking after.

So I walked a bit, got directions to the right place, found another arrival terminal (probably domestic), asked around a bit, found a kiosk to buy my bus ticket and a phone kiosk from the network I had marked as the most likeliest to suit me. 

Here as in many countries (not Vietnam), you must register your SIM card; it is fairly recent and most telecom kiosks may not be equipped to do it. I was lucky to be in a main kiosk in a major airport, and got everything squared away in a short time.

There is a certain ease of mind in having any information at your fingertip, so that if you have a question, hesitate, must make a decision, you can find answer quickly and not depend on the advice of interested parties.

It certainly helps find your way to your hostel.

There are several types of buses in Jakarta, and the most modern lines have dedicated lanes, an electronic ticket (you pay 40,000 roupies the first time, 20,000 for the pass itself and 20,000 in ticket credit; a ticket cost 2,000 or 3,000 roupies), and the bus stops… ah, the bus stops…

They are elevated. You tap your pass when entering the station and not the bus itself. You walk up the ramp, choose your doors; if several lines pass at the stations, either the doors are in common, or you walk to the right set of doors. The step between the platform and the bus may be a bit difficult, as if the bus stops a bit far from the platform, you have to mind the step. One employee at the front door of the bus will announce the next stop, help you step in and out if necessary, and so on. All that cheap and pretty efficient, seeing as the traffic is horrendous.

The bus stops are pretty far apart, I read somewhere that they are in average 1 km apart, so you can appreciate travelling 4 km in 4 stops.