Day 2: BY FLIGHT - YAKARTA
Saturday, June 11, 2011
When we wake up, we look at the clock and see that we are only 2 hours away from the stopover in Kuala Lumpur of our flight Barcelona Jakarta. We only have a few hours left to be on our way from Jakarta airport to hotel.
When we land they tell us that we can leave the plane, but taking a "transit" card and going through the scanners again.
After the hours we have, we don't care what we have to do, we need to stretch our legs.
And there we go, this already smells different, we are no longer in Europe.
Here we begin to notice that we are on vacation!
We embark again and we only have less than 2 hours left to reach our destination. This time passes faster, with the nerves of the arrival and with the plans again as we had planned.
At 5.30pm we planted in Jakarta airport. We had read that the visa issue was very slow here, but we were lucky and in less than 15 minutes we had everything ready. We have paid 20 euros per person and ladies and gentlemen, we are already in Indonesia!!
Well, I would like to make a subparagraph before continuing, here we begin to see that football is the “big issue” that we will talk about every time we say we are from Barcelona. Roger loves this, but the truth is that it makes me a little angry. They only know us for that, it's already sad ...
We reach the area of baggage claim from Jakarta airport and we see that it is quite simple. To be the capital of Java, we expected something a little more modern. Although thinking it well, to pack suitcases, not so much technology is needed.
And so that we are going to fool ourselves, as always, despite never touching the lottery, my travel pessimism wins !!
After 15 minutes watching the tape go around without our backpacks appearing, we decided it's time to go to claims.
There we are more than 1 hour putting the claim and we begin to see what will be the first bribes.
We see the odd foreigner, accompanied by a local, dressed as a brush, who is ahead in line at the stroke of a ticket.
Until our turn comes, which is the tail of those who still do not have tickets to bribe anyone.
To our relief they tell us that the bags are located, they have stayed in Amsterdam, but that the next day they will have them and send them to Yogyakarta, which will be our next destination, to which we left tomorrow.
The truth is that before this statement so blunt I do not know whether to get more nervous or not, since the times they have told me that, then turned out to be the opposite. But trying not to remain pessimistic, I give a vote of confidence to the boy who has treated us so kindly without releasing a single rupee.
Before leaving in search of our transfer to hotel near Jakarta airport, we go in search of exchange offices.
They are right at the exit and although differently, they resemble those of Kenya. Handwritten posters with the change of the day. Visible calculators But here nobody tries to get our attention so that we can do “the business” with them.
They just look at us with curiosity. So we look at the change written on the boards of the 5 offices we have closest and we go to the one with the highest change. Before changing, we ensure the rupees they will give us, showing the number on the calculator and we emphasize that the operation does not carry a commission.
We changed 100 euros, little, because we have been told that the change at the airport is very bad.
So we think that tomorrow in Yogya, we will make the change for Java.
Currently and after many trips to the back we recommend, if you do not want to pay commissions when taking money from ATMs abroad and always have the current change, use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money in the ATMs They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.
The first thing I notice at leave Jakarta airport To the street, it is a familiar smell, cinnamon mixed with incense, which makes me relax after the nerves that I have whenever I arrive in a different country. This makes me feel at home.
The transfer of people is incredible. It is closed night and at the doors of the airport you can say that there is everything but tranquility.
We try to focus on the search for the bus, which has to take us from Jakarta airport to hotel, but I can't, every second, I look back and forth, looking for details, looks, things that make me realize that I am really already in Indonesia.
So as far as possible, although without luggage, we are very happy.
We try to forget a little of the first impressions and we get serious with the search for the transfer from Jakarta airport to hotel where we will stay tonight, the FM7 Hotel, a hotel near the airport.
And as always, we go crazy the first day we arrive at a new place.
We ask and there is no transfer boy. Nobody knows where it is and those who know it tell us that there is no transfer to the hotel, that at that time it is “closed”.
We know it's a lie, I'm sure it is, but let's see who is the handsome man who finds it.
We ask about 10 times and in those we go up and down the same place another 10 times. We feel totally newbies. Tired after the trip, we decided that we are fed up with so many laps and decided that it is best to take a taxi.
After haggling (in this, even if it's the first day, it doesn't catch us by surprise), we got one for 50,000 rupees, to the hotel.
And the experience of the first taxi cannot be more surreal. He explains that he belongs to a family of former missionaries and puts us a music CD, similar to Gregorian chants, I don't know how to define it exactly, but it looks very similar to a sung mass.
So in this way we make our first journey by car through Java.
I try to see something between the blackness of the night and although we are on a road with endless lanes, we try to look at how little we can.
More practical information to prepare your trip to Indonesia
- 10 essential places to visit in Indonesia
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Indonesia
Almost arriving at the hotel, we passed through an area with small establishments, with chairs at the doors. Later we would discover that these are the famous warungs.
At the moment we are not afraid of driving. We had read that it was suicidal driving, but so far, we are going quite calm.
They inform us that we are already arriving at hotel (In the end we have taken about 15 minutes) and before entering the parking area, security approaches and check the trunk and the bottom of the car. Operation that will be repeated later in each hotel of our trip to Indonesia where we stay.
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We check in at the FM7 Hotel and start to get an idea of what the hotels in Indonesia.
The hotel near yakarta airport It is huge and the truth is that the staff very attentive. It has some "macro-hotel" and at the same time you can breathe tranquility.
It is a rare sensation. Perhaps more than the hotel, the feeling is produced by the one we have been here for a couple of hours and we are 100% perceived.
It is no longer time for a spa or pool (and less without a swimsuit). So we left things in the room (huge by the way) and decided it was time to try Indonesian food, so we go straight to the restaurant for dinner.
We ordered a Sate Ayam dish (chicken skewers), with peanut sauce and one of breaded shrimp (I still don't have the head to learn the names of the meals, later I hope to put them as they appear in the bars and restaurants menus )
Our first Sate Ayam
We take advantage and ask for our first natural juices, from which we have read that they are true wonders.
Very good food and juices, although a little bitter, very good.
It's almost 10 at night so after all the "sensations" of today, we decided it's time to go to sleep and rest what we can. At the moment we do not know what the jetlaj will affect us !!
Tomorrow we have to be ready at 4.30 in the morning, because we have the transfer to the airport. From here we go straight to Yogyakarta !!!
Day 3YAKARTA - YOGYAKARTA
