Getting There & Away

Cebu Pacific

I flew Cebu Pacific from Manila to Jakarta. Since I booked my ticket in AC and deleted the confirmation e-mail, I can’t quote the exact price. But flying into Jakarta shortly after Ramadan and booking the flight at short notice made the ticket rather pricey.

At The Airport

Visa on Arrival

An Indonesian visa on arrival is available for most nationalities:

- 10 USD for 7 days
- 25 USD for 30 days

Change is always given in IDR (at lousy exchange rates). Some Arab prick was complaining about that when he paid with a 100 USD bill. Bring correct change!

ATM Machine

A Bank Danamon ATM can be found right after immigration, as you’re walking towards the baggage claim area. It will give you 2M IDR per transaction.

Taxis

All taxi companies have reserved parking spaces, with the name of the company displayed on a sign. MongerX recommended Blue Bird and Taxi Express, as they’re the cheapest and are honest.

Late at night, neither was available, so I took a more expensive Silver Bird taxi. Including 5000 IDR toll and 8000 IDR airport surcharge, the total fare to Kota came to 95000 IDR.

Accommodation

Mercure Rekso

For the first 3 days, I stayed at the Mercure Rekso on Hayam Wuruk.

http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-2013-mercure-hotel-rekso-hayam-wuruk-jakarta/index.shtml

For most Jakarta hotels, the best deals are available through the KAHA hotel counter at the airport. For hotels from the Accor group, better rates are available online, according to MongerX, who made my hotel booking. I paid 360.400 IDR/night.

The hotel location is perfect, with many of the Kota ST bars within easy walking distance. The rooms are of a high standard, as you can expect from a Mercure property.

Novotel Mangga Dua

The rest of my time in Jakarta was spent at the Novotel Mangga Dua. Once again, MongerX handled the reservations. I paid 431.800 IDR/night.

http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-5704-novotel-mangga-dua/index.shtml

Personally, I wouldn’t rate the Novotel higher than the Mercure. The Novotel offers more closet space. But the Mercure has large flats-screen TVs, better lighting and a softer bed. The Mercure is also better located and cheaper.

The Novotel is within walking distance of the Pen J bars (20-30 minutes). The huge complex includes a shopping mall with a Carrefour supermarket. But poor signage means you’re likely to get lost in the maze. Finally, there’s a row of outdoor restaurants just outside the hotel. Being mainly a carnivore, the Steak Joint was my favorite.

Laundry

Kota is littered with laundry shops, but they’re all laundry agents. They send your laundry to the actual laundry shops on the outskirts of town, and it takes 3-6 days before you get it back!

Only hotels provide 1-day service. Depending on the star rating of your hotel, they charge just an arm, or an arm and a leg!

The lack of decent laundry options in Jakarta is a total nuisance. Then again, Jakarta is not a tourist destination. Only businessmen and the odd sex tourist visit Indonesia’s capital.

Transportation

Blue Bird taxis are often recommended, as they don’t have rigged meters. But if you know what the fare should be, it may be cheaper to negotiate the fare with a taxi driver from a different company.

For short hops, tuk-tuks are a cheap alternative to taxis. Tuk-tuks don’t have meters, so the fare should always be negotiated in advance. Aim to pay less than half of what a taxi would cost.

SIM Card

SIM cards are available everywhere and there are no formalities to buy an Indonesian SIM card. My simPATI card cost 35.000 IDR.

ATM Machines

Kota is littered with ATM machines, which accept both debit and credit cards. Just as in the Philippines, HSBC ATM machines have higher limits per transaction than any other bank (4M IDR). Bank Danamon ATMs will give you 2M IDR per pull.

Loso