July 3 - Hello to Indonesia

July 3 Day 139

         We arrived in Jakarta in mid-morning and took our time leaving the airport.  The customs officer said that we were supposed to have an outgoing ticket but granted our visas anyway.  We got a new simcard, hit an ATM and had a nice coffee at a chain that specialized in fancy donuts.  We followed the advice of our guidebook, cousin and the customs officer and opted for a Bluebird taxi, which had its own line.  These are metred, reliable taxis that take the hassle out of using them that particularly annoyed us in Thailand.

         Traffic in Jakarta is legendary and the trip from the airport to our hotel took a while, but no longer than it would in Toronto at rush hour.  Our hostel was very friendly and out room was clean and windowless - a plus if you need a nap.  We did.

         We went out looking for dinner options and headed to a place recommended by the hostel.  Getting there was tricky as the y had ripped up the sidewalk and the street in front of the hostel was quite busy.  We ended up in a fancy place where they had a buffet table of food on display that they would finish cooking once you chose it.  We weren't comfortable with tepid food sitting out, even at a fancy place, and so went next door for okay fried rice and acceptable pizza.  This place did have great desserts (chocolate lava cake!) and coffee.

         Back at the hostel we booked a cab to the complex where Steve lived and it took about 45 minutes of very slow driving to get there.  The complex was sparkly and posh, with several pools and elaborate chandeliers everywhere.  We had drinks and a good chat outside.  He was getting ready to move back to Canada before heading to his next posting with the Canadian government in the Barbados.  He had lots of tips about travelling and made us reconsider Bali and Singapore.  His time was short because of the move but we were glad to have made touch with him and now Indonesia was our oyster.

         The cab back was marginally faster and we had a bit of energy so we explored the hostel.  It had a sound door separating the downstairs pool table/ movie area from the sleeping area.  There was a nice kitchen with fridge space upstairs.  Beyond another sound door was the rooftop bar which was thick with plants and nicely spread out.  It had a small gym area and a cool little tower which had the best view of the city from its bench.  Very nice.

         Back in our room we had no trouble falling asleep and so we did.

With Steve at his abode.