Jakarta is Indonesia’s capital city and home to Javanese, Malay, Chinese, Arab, Indian and European cultures.
Jakarta is rarely considered by travelers to Indonesia. Most spend just a single night here before moving on to more popular Indonesian destinations.
When we began to plan the Indonesian leg of our Southeast Asian adventure, we planned to arrive in Jakarta and travel east towards Bali. Unsure of how much time to spend in the city, we asked for advice on various travel forums. We were surprised at the response. Most people told us to get out of Jakarta as soon as possible, claiming that it had very little to offer tourists and that the traffic congestion made it almost impossible to get around.
We heard similar advice about Bangkok and we spent 2 weeks there and loved it so we took this advice with a pinch of salt. As we were limited to a 30 day visa, we decided to book a three night stay before moving on. However, events out of our control forced us to change our plans.
Travel In Indonesia During Ramadan
We were due to arrive in Indonesia during Ramadan meaning that moving around the island of Java would more than likely be more difficult than usual. We were told it would be impossible to book trains around the end of Ramadan. This meant that we had to book all our hostels and train tickets in advance, leaving us less flexible with our plans.
Jakarta Riots
When we began researching, we discovered that central Jakarta, where we had booked a hotel, had been hit by riots just a couple of days prior to our arrival. Recent elections had divided the country and the people were making their feelings known. Hundreds of arrests, hundreds of injuries and 8 deaths were the result of the riots, in which buildings and vehicles were burnt and footage of police brutality was shared across social media. Fearing the worst, we shortened our stay to just 2 nights.
Riots in Jakarta
How To Get From Jakarta Airport To The City
We took an afternoon flight from Kuala Lumpur and arrived in Jakarta airport in the middle of the afternoon. From there, we took a train to Duri station. On the journey to Duri, the poverty in the city was more than evident. At Duri, it felt like we were back in India. We had to transfer onto another train to Stasiun Tanahabang. The train was packed and getting on and off was no easy task.
We arrived at Stasiun Tanahabang and we had a walk of around 20 minutes to our hotel. The walk took us through some tiny, narrow streets where local children tried their best to get money from us, shouting ‘Mr Money’ as we walked through their neighbourhood. Looking around at the rubbish piled up and how the locals lived made it easy to see why people here might be angry at their politicians.
Poverty in Jakarta
The journey was an interesting one but it was not helped by me having a really painful big toe! It had started to hurt the night before but was getting so bad, I was struggling walking. I was relieved to finally reach our hotel.
Where To Stay In Jakarta
CLICK HERE FOR ALL ACCOMMODATION IN JAKARTA!
These are some of the best budget hostels in Jakarta, according to user reviews. These are affiliate links to the Agoda web site. I found Agoda to be much better than booking.com in Southeast Asia. I receive a small amount for any bookings made through these links at no extra cost to you.
- Sleepy Raccoon Hostel
- Gang Remaja 19
- Inap At Capsule Thamrin Jakarta
- Teduh Hostel Kota Tua
- VK Pods PIK
- Wonderloft Hostel
- The Packer Lodge
- PINX’S HOSTEL
Green Apple
We booked a three-night stay at ‘Green Apple’ (map) but then shortened our stay to 2 nights.
On arrival, we found an empty check-in desk. After about 5 minutes, I went searching for a member of staff and finally found one who informed me that check in was at the OYO hotel across the street. By this point, I could barely put my foot down so this was not a good start. A simple sign on reception would have been useful.
Check-in was fairly straight-forward and we finally got to our room. The first thing we noticed was the smell. To try and hide the damp smell, the hotel had used those capsules you see in public toilets but it was overpowering. The room itself was ok (no sink in the bathroom) but we were glad we were not spending much time here. At least the WiFi worked.
Jaya Pub
Despite the painful toe, I decided I could make my way to a nearby pub called ‘Jaya Pub’ (map). It was not easy to locate but we were impressed once we did find it. It had the feel of a proper old-skool pub! They have live music nights but we were too early. The beer, however, was not cheap and was served in coffee cups so not a big serving. As we were only having a couple, this didn’t matter too much but it would be expensive to stay here for the whole night. We had food too and my ‘American grill’ was delicious.
American grill at Jaya Pub, Jakarta
What we didn’t like about the place was the ‘hidden’ charges. When we got the bill, we found a 15% governnment tax and a 6% service charge had been added. There was no mention of this on the menu. This was our first experience in Indonesia so we were not yet sure if this was common practice. The waitress, who had been very friendly, had the cheek to ask for an extra tip just for her. She didn’t get one. Asking for tips on top of the hidden charges did not sit well with me!
Visiting A Doctor In Jakarta
The next morning, my toe was much worse. I was convinced I had gout and decided to seek medical advice for the first time in my 7 months in Southeast Asia. After contacting a local clinic who said they could see me, I phoned a grab and hobbled downstairs to wait.
We had planned to get a taxi to the place where we could sort out data for our phones and then head to the clinic. However, the grab cancelled, as did a second one. A third one accepted but it took so long for him to navigate the narrow streets and find us, we had no time to sort out our phones. We couldn’t move to a more convenient pick-up point as we had no data and I couldn’t walk. It was a real low point.
Finally, the taxi turned up and we got to witness the notorious Jakarta traffic. We managed to get to the clinic bang in time for my appointment, 2 hours after we phoned the taxi!
The clinic, ‘Good Practice’ (map) were very good and, after blood tests and counts, they confirmed that I had gout. They gave me some pills and we were on our way.
Buying A Sim Card In Jakarta
We then went to sort out our phones. Everywhere else in Southeast Asia, we could purchase a sim at most shops and get connected. In Indonesia, you have to register your sim first with your passport and it took over an hour. It was now 3 pm and we still hadn’t had breakfast, never mind coffee!
Vegan Food In Jakarta
After a coffee stop, we discovered a vegan enterprise called ‘Burgreens Menteng’ (map). I had a ‘beef’ rendang burger which was delicious. They even gave us a sample of many of their bulk products, all of which were very tasty. It was more than appreciated!
Burgreens Mendeng, Jakarta
We then headed back to the hotel where I was to rest my poor foot. It started to feel better so I was able to head out and pick up some street food satay.
The next morning, we were headed to the airport for a flight to Yogyakarta. My foot was feeling much better and we enjoyed a coffee and croissant at ‘Kopi Wahid’ (map) before booking a grab to take us to the airport (no problems this time).
Is Jakarta Worth Visiting?
Despite our rotten luck, with the post-riots and the dodgy toe, and all the negative posts on forums, I feel that we could have enjoyed Jakarta, given more time. Beneath the grime, there are cool bars, coffee shops and restaurants to discover. I loved the narrow streets and the people were friendly. But that was all we had time for. We were heading for Yogyakarta, where I hoped we’d have a bit more luck.
