I woke up at about 5:30 AM to the sounds of a coffee shop opening nearby. I slept better than I thought I would and managed to get about three hours of sleep.
After getting up, I saw some passengers who had already finished check-in and were waiting for their flights at the gates. I left the gate area, entered a coffee shop, bought an expensive coffee, and worked on my personal journal. Since everything at airports is expensive, I have kind of made it a rule to buy as little as possible while I am there.
Because I had not charged my phone or other electronic devices the night before, I moved to a different gate that had seats with power outlets. While my devices were charging, I took a short nap.
About an hour before boarding time, I headed to my assigned gate. I had to go downstairs, where it was packed with passengers. I think that if you are assigned to Gates 10 through 14, you need to go downstairs and take a short bus ride to the aircraft. That is what we did.
My assigned seat was an A seat, meaning I would be sitting by the window. Because of that, I made sure to use the bathroom before the other passengers sitting next to me arrived. I do not like bothering people by asking them to move every time I need to go to the restroom during a flight.
Fortunately, there was only one passenger in the far-right seat and nobody in the middle seat. I appreciated having the extra space beside me.
During the flight, I spent time reading a new backpacking book, Endless Horizons by Paul Neville. It is always interesting to see how other backpackers experienced countries and cities that I have also visited. Every backpacking book seems to have a Southeast Asia chapter.
I also took a short nap to try to catch up on some sleep.
After arriving at the airport, I needed to fill out the arrival form online and pay for my visa, which cost about $30. Immigration was quick because the line was short. The immigration officers were some of the friendliest I have ever encountered. Usually, immigration officers tend to be quite serious and unfriendly. I had already heard that people in Indonesia, especially Jakarta, are very kind, and I was beginning to see that for myself.
As taxi drivers and other people approached me offering transportation, I continued following the signs for the bus. After about a five-minute walk, I reached the bus station. I asked one of the staff members which bus ticket I needed to buy. He told me that I could pay later and directed me to another staff member. That employee simply told me to wait for the bus.
While I was waiting, I lost sight of the staff member, so I decided to buy a ticket and board a different bus. I went back to the ticket machine at the entrance and tried to buy a ticket. However, as soon as I reached the machine, one of the staff members came over and helped me. I showed him my destination, and he purchased the correct ticket for me.
The fare was 80,000 IDR (about $4.50). I need to get used to Indonesian prices again. I was glad that I could pay with my credit card because I did not have any cash yet.
Just a few minutes after I boarded, the bus departed. There were not many passengers. About ten minutes into the journey, a young woman boarded the bus and checked everyone’s tickets. If you do not have a ticket, you need to pay on the bus.
The ride was fairly long because of the heavy traffic in downtown Jakarta. My destination was Gambir Station, and the trip took more than an hour.
Since the hostel I had booked was still quite far away, I took a Grab motorbike. I think there may be even more motorbikes in Jakarta than in Hanoi. I was impressed by the riders’ skills. I kept wondering, “How is it possible that there are not more accidents?”
I checked into Wonderloft Hostel, located in Kota Tua, Jakarta’s Old Town. The front desk staff were some of the nicest hostel staff I have ever met. The receptionist gave me a locker key, and I stored my backpack in my room. Interestingly, each room had a different name.
After that, I headed out to find a BCA or BNI ATM where I could withdraw money with minimal fees. Although several ATM locations appeared on the map, some were already closed, and others did not actually have an ATM where they were supposed to be. I ended up walking for more than an hour before finally finding a BCA ATM.
Although I wanted to withdraw the equivalent of $200–250, there was a withdrawal limit. In the end, I withdrew about $150 worth of Indonesian rupiah. I felt a little bad for the people waiting behind me because it took me some time to figure out how much cash I should take out.
On the way back, I stopped at a coffee shop in Jakarta’s Chinatown and had some drinks and snacks. I was starving because I had not eaten since dinner at the VIP lounge in Tan Son Nhat Airport.
The dessert sandwich was unusual but surprisingly good. The toast contained chocolate inside and had cheese on top. I had never eaten anything like it before. The avocado smoothie was excellent.
For dinner, I bought some random food from a street stall and took it back to the hostel. I was a little concerned about the hygiene, but I wanted to try it anyway. I noticed many people sitting on the ground and eating with their hands. I would like to get used to that while traveling in Indonesia.
Fortunately, the vendor gave me a small spoon with the takeaway meal.
After returning to the hostel, I paid a cash deposit to get my passport back. Earlier, I had left my passport as a temporary deposit because I did not have any cash.
In the kitchen, one guest was cooking something that looked like curry. I enjoyed my street food meal, which cost only 35,000 IDR (about $2) and was enough to fill me up.
For the rest of the evening, I relaxed in bed. The guests staying at the hostel seemed very international. I went to bed at about 9 PM.
