Indonesia immediately became one of my favorite destinations when I first set foot in the country last July. So I made sure to head for Jakarta after spending several weeks in the Philippines in December. I had gone through Pimsleur Indonesian 1 – 10, which didn’t cover much ground, and was ready to continue learning the language in its native setting. After two weeks, my ability had improved to where I could barely communicate a little—speak full simple sentences with the help of a dictionary for a word or two. Still, a long way to go, but the language is much easier than Thai or Portuguese (or English, for that matter).

I want to credit MongerX for his pioneering work (play?) in exploring Jakarta and posting his experience (and the pics, of course), and thank him for the help he personally gave me in navigating the city and the various venues. I hadn't seen Xenono's Guide since when he posted it, I was too busy mongering to read stuff in the Trip Report section. It’s also an excellent tool to enable newbies to land on their feet in Jakarta.

Arriving at the airport on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, I bought a voucher for Sparks Hotel at the KAHA desk. As I had expected in a Muslim country, it was pretty much business as usual, so I had no problems getting to the hotel. Except for having to bribe an airport cop. I went around the taxi touts, upstairs to the drop-off area, to catch a Bluebird taxi. But the cop wouldn’t let me load my suitcases until I offered him 10,000 Rp. (about $1). I think the taxista suggested it. Then, it was about 70,000 Rp. to Sparks. The taxista knew where Mangga Besar was, and I told him Sparks was near Hayyam Wuruk, so we found it pretty easily. You can see the big green “Sparks” signage looming above the hotel from down the street.

I wasn’t always so lucky. One time, coming back from the nearby Mangga Dua Mall, the taxista seemed lost. We passed by what I thought was the entry to Penjay, and I told him where I thought Mangga Besar was. I’m still not quite sure how he went, but we ended up driving a loooooong way down what looked like a back alley, no room on either side of the cab, inching along a bad road with cars in front and behind. Of course, I got a good look at the way Indonesians live, because it actually seemed to be a “main” thoroughfare with little stores and workshops as well as residences. It was an interesting (if uncomfortable) off-the-beaten-track experience, and the fare didn’t break me.

Finally, I started learning my way around a little, recognizing certain landmarks at last. The city is very confusing, and streets change names at various points. Hayyam Wuruk is Gajah Madah going the other way (so Millenium Disco is actually on Gajah Madah). I learned some short cuts, and saw some discos or clubs that I think I will be able to locate for a future visit.

And I learned one way to deal with the traffic—walk where possible (I’m not ready for the busses, although the Trans-Jakarta line could be an option—it goes right down Hayyam Wuruk to Blok M). For instance, leaving Manga Dua Mall in the afternoon, traffic was so congested it was much faster to walk up to the cross street (that was perpendicular to Mangga Besar), where traffic was much lighter. I walked about half a mile, with no real sidewalk (for some distance, I had to walk along a curb on the edge of a concrete channel filled with a foul liquid that you REALLY would not want to fall into—next time, it’s the other side of the street for me). This street (like much of what little I saw of Jakarta) was not pedestrian-friendly. Near my target street, I caught up with a Bluebird taxi, and hopped into air conditioned comfort, even though it was moving a lot slower than I had been on foot.

The Indonesians seem to really like gridlock. The drivers block intersections, preventing others from turning left or going through. No courtesy or consideration. IMHO, about 10,000 traffic cops would be necessary to fix it (traffic lights seemed to carry little authority). The local bules generally have drivers, one told me, and he prepares to spend however many minutes or hours the drive will take with a good book or the phone.

Anyway, MongerX was at Sparks, but he was sick and considering going home. Fortunately, he started feeling better enough to venture out the next day or so. He managed to wangle us (including Murasaki and I think Porker) corporate rates from his company, which were about the same as the KAHA desk—except for the few days around New Year’s where KAHA rates went from 30K Rp. to 90K Rp. The corporate rate was 40K. Let me take this opportunity to thank MongerX again for his help and hospitality, which I know was wearing thin after a while.

We went to the Marriott dinner buffet again, the best deal in town for 120,000 Rp. plus drinks—and a Coke is 30,000 Rp. All you can eat, from a sumptuous buffet comprising cuisines from several countries. Alas, they didn’t have the all-you-can-eat-seafood dinner promotion they had had last trip (for 160K, and lobster was on the menu). One day, I had lunch at the Grand Hyatt with a local bule friend, and he agreed that the Marriott was the best buffet in town. The Grand Hyatt buffet was OK but more expensive—the bill for two with drinks was about 500,000 Rp.

There were some places I went that I was familiar with from the previous trips, and a few which were new to me. But Jakarta is not lacking in venues for GFE experiences, although I certainly did not luck out with girls 100% of the time.

Most nights, I slept alone. The venues with which I was most familiar (and closest to Sparks Hotel) had LT barfines available, but they were expensive—around 750,000 Rp. for the Penjay bars. And most of those venues had girls under contract, indentured, or something similar, and often lived in dorms, so they had little or no ability to “slip out” after work. I didn’t go to My Bar and the hotel bars very often because I didn’t fancy the long taxi ride there alone, and those are the primary places I’ve found so far where freelancers are available for LT. But as I become more familiar with Jakarta and bahasa Indonesia, I expect to have more LT options for fewer Rupiah.