Our first glimpse of the second
largest city (area wise) in the world came through the small window of the
Korean Airliner as it banked eastward for its final approach in mid January.
Jakarta is a major shipping port in south east Asia and at no time was this
more obvious as when we neared the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at
about 10pm. At first one can easily confuse the vast amount of lights below as
part of the bustling city, but on closer inspection it becomes very clear these
are not lights of buildings or street lamps, they are from the huge collection
of cargo ships, all slowly converging on the thriving port. Busy sea lanes from
all over this part of the world are represented here and appear somewhat like a
floating city in themselves. A breath-taking sight indeed. Finally, when our
craft levelled out, the extensive illuminated urban coastline came into view
and Jakarta’s true size was revealed.
Entry
to Indonesia is much the same as any other country. You are asked the usual
questions by customs: “why are you here”, “how long are you staying”, “where
are you staying” etc. However, one difference of note is the fact that a
compulsory $25 fee is required for your temporary tourist visa, valid for one
month. Only dollars are accepted as, I suppose, this currency is of greater
value to them, so be sure to have some with you. Customs checks and security
are soon cleared and you exit the terminal. For us, we were to be met by a
driver from the school we were to work at and, from our correspondence via
email, he was going to be waiting at the arrival area of our flight. He was
not. After a fruitless search around for him, we began to wonder: had we had
been duped? Maybe he was late or, worse
still, maybe he got the time wrong and went home already. We were stranded in
an airport where no-one spoke English, we had no Rupiah (the currency), no idea
where the correct address was, no working mobile phone and exhausted from our
31 hour journey.
Exiting the airport the first thing that hits
you is the heat and humidity, even at 10pm at night. A mass of people then
approach you; taxi drivers, people trying to sell watches, people just trying
to talk to you (as it’s a rare occasion when a white westerner is seen there)
and of course potential pickpockets. I had read much about the potential for
pickpockets in these busy areas previously and quickly became paranoid.
Avoiding eye contact and getting into distracting conversations in broken English
was my priority as I searched through the throngs of people for our driver. It
must have been the hopeless lost look on my face however, that prompted my
first encounter with genuine Indonesian hospitality. After a few moments with
this man (I forget his name) all my previous inhibitions about everyone trying
to relieve me of my money, faded. This man helped me in every way he could.
Fortunately, his English was quite good and, after telling him our situation,
he quickly led me to the nearest currency exchange, where he negotiated a very
fair deal with the money changer, who could easily have screwed me over, which
is common practice. Next, he brought me to the nearest wifi location in the
airport so that I may email our employer. He even offered his phone to me to
call our driver (though we had no number for him) and searched everywhere with
us to find him, offering his cigarettes as we made our way. Thankfully, we
finally found him at entirely the wrong terminal. I assumed a tip was in order
for the man’s assistance but he promptly refused with an embarrassed smile. It
was done purely out of the goodness of his heart. I shoved a few notes in his
hand regardless, to show my appreciation. So we set off though the vast
cityscape and mind boggling traffic for our accommodation where we finally
settled down for the night amidst cracking thunder and the tropical downpour of
the wet season we had arrived in. Welcome to Jakarta.
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