More and more airports, even in the developing world, have set up kiosks in arrival halls to purchase preordained fixed taxi fares to banish the rapacious taxi touts. Not here! We step out and face the wall of humid heat to the full on gamut of taxi madness. I always plan ahead, Google advises the appropriate price. I download the appropriate ride sharing app for Indonesia and what could go wrong? Firstly, the app reverts to Indonesian language upon landing. Secondly my bank’s credit card will refuse to pay on the app without a certification code which arrives late or not at all. Eventually after turning down the tout who quotes four times the going rate for one who settles on double the rate.
We have one day here and book a 3 hour walking tour. We are at the meeting place as the monsoonal rain teems down. We wait patiently and after 45 minutes abandon the trip and set off independently. The guide arrives an hour late and tracks us down. We are not in luck as she seems to be manic and difficult to understand. Her online reviews are impeccable but we had to excuse ourselves early and head off home.
My advice to any would be tourists here is not to bother with Jakarta. If you find yourself stuck here the highlight is the mosque which is apparently the third largest in the world. On returning to our luxury hotel booked, of course, by my life partner we found the rooftop bar and the best view we have seen all day enjoyed over a cocktail.
