Transiting Jokarta 16-17 December 2022

Catching up after two busy and stressful travel days.
I had to get the bus from the airport to Gambir Stesion in the centre of Jakarta; in order to buy my onward bus ticket to Yogyakarta in Central Java. Almost inevitably, there were no trains when I needed them, so I had to book for the following day (17th).
This is my second visit to Jakarta, and it hasn't improved much in the intervening years. Madly congested, a few more skyscrapers, but the grime and sense of a city not completely functioning pervade. The city somehow manages to fit huge, swanky hotels cheek by jowl with semi-slum buildings. My place for the night, Hotel. 35, is just around the corner from a Hyatt Regency Hotel. My room is din gy and not clean. The hotel appears to be a fairly grand old thing: carp in an indoor pond, interesting art on the walls. But the rain! Oh my giddy aunt, the afternoon rain is biblical.
However, I got on a de luxe 'Ekspress' train so things are brightening up.
In fact, I knew there were going to be 'down' days, unexciting and sometimes difficult days. The last two while I've been travelling from Singapore, into and out of Jakarta were like this. The flight itself went off without too many probs: bumpy for some of the way, especially the landing.
Hassle at the airport - the endless form filling, queuing and more officialdom. I wonder if the airfares are worth it. Maybe hopping right over Jakarta would've been a better idea.Read more