Arrival at the airport
Inbound flight: You could try to take an onward flight to Yogyakarta. You could be lucky to get a seat, price can be 460.000 Rp (8/2000).
Booking a hotel: There are several touts offering you hotels. It can be a good deal but bargaining is essential. Koen managed to book a room at the Jayakarta Hotel for 60 US$ instead of the normal price 125 US$ (5/97). Nowadays, price should be much less though (2/99).
Taxi: - You will get several unofficial offers for a taxi, but ignore them all. Take an official taxi, they will pass a gate were somebody speaks English and he will translate your directions to the driver. Latest price I got was 65.000 Rp + 12.000 Rp for the tollway (7/98).
- BE CAREFUL: There have been reports recently on muggings of passengers in taxis in Jakarta. The taxi "brakes down" at a certain place, and then the passenger gets robbed by criminals. The main taxi firm guilty of these practices is "President", recently renamed as "Prestasi". The taxis used to be red and yellow, but have now been repainted in light blue, this in an attempt to look like the trustworthy "Bluebird" taxis (12/98).
Bus: A cheaper option is to get an AC Damri bus. Price is 4.000 Rp (10/98), it goes every 30 minutes and it goes right away to Gambir station which is 500 metres from the Jalan Jaksa area (tourist hotels and restaurants).
Hotels
The 5-star
Jayakarta hotel: For 60 US$ you can have a double room including brea
kfast. The hotel is on Jl. Hayam Wuruk 126, tel. 6294408. It's not really centrally located (5/97).
If you need a hotel near the airport, the
Hotel Bandara Jakarta is at 10 minutes It costs 150.000 Rp including breakfast. It's good and clean (7/98).
A cheaper option is the
Hostel Bloem Steen at Kebon Sirih Timur I, 174 (tel. 323002), in a side street from Jalan Jaksa. The hotel is OK for 20.000 Rp for a double, common bathroom. Rooms are small but quiet.
What to see?
The old port and Batavia : not really impressing. We also went to a slum nearby, quite a shock.
Travelagency
A recommended agency is Aneka Kartika tours. They have an extensive fleet of 50 minivans, experienced guides (English, Dutch, German, Japanese or French speaking) and are specialised in inbound or outbound travel. They work together with several European and American travelagencies. They can arrange a custom tour for you. Can be handy if you are short in time or if a place is difficult to reach. They have two offices, one in Jakarta and one in Surabaya.
For more info have a look at their website :
http://www.aneka-tours.co.id/
Getting away
At the Gambirstation, you can take a train to Bogor. Trip will last about one hour. Try to avoid the peak-hours when the train can get be crowded.
Go on to "Cianjur - Cipanas page" If you have questions on Java, please
e-mail Steven Buvens
