Want To Know What’s Peculiar About Jakarta? Read This!

Jakarta is a vivacious city, the heart and soul of Indonesia in terms of crowd, culture, nightlife and commercialism. If you are visiting the city for the first time, you are most likely to be overwhelmed by its clamorous streets and swamped up traffic. However, apart from the psyched up locals and booming noises, you will encounter some peculiar yet interesting things while you are in town.

Let’s begin right from the moment when you land in the airport. It is vital that you are on your toes as soon as you land at the airport. Here’s why.

Travel Smart

If you are arriving from a foreign nation, you will be landing in Soekarno Hatta Airport. Availing international airport transfer Jakarta is the tricky part if you don’t know where to begin. Take a deep breath because right at the arrival gate, you will be approached by a hoard of taxi drivers who will be literally on to you. Politely ignore them and move ahead!

Hiring your own rental is your best bet if you wish to travel to the city safe and hassle free. There are several car rental services for Jakarta airport, you can go for Zoe Car Booking Services. If you are here not more than a weekend, they are your best bet to tour the city without wasting time switching local transports.

Moving on! While you are here for the weekend, you are most likely to be out on the streets for a leisure walk in the evening. Now, don’t be surprised if you notice few peculiarities here and there.

Beware The Spotlight If You Happen To be Caucasian

You will be met with many stares by Indonesian locals if you are a Caucasian. Poor locals would most likely fall on your feet, ask you to bless them with a picture or two. They will hover around you wishing you may grace them with with your magical white touch and bless them with a couple of white dollar bills. You will encounter such behaviour anywhere, be it on the streets, malls or even at a local pub.

City Of Massive Malls

They are everywhere! They pop out of nowhere like the motorbikes in the city! Some of them even host apartments on top floors with malls on the lower floors, imagine your convenience if you wish to shop for a pyjama, just take the lift downstairs! And these aren’t just any malls, they are gigantic marble floored extravagant malls. There are around 200 malls all around the city, so you may end up shopping any day even if you didn’t intend to!

Cigarette Ads Everywhere

Indonesian citizens are heavy on smoking, so don’t be dazed if you spot someone smoking inside a restaurant, it’s allowed! When out in the streets, you will spot cigarette ads literally on every other billboard and banners here and there with disclaimers at the bottom that aren’t really making any impact clearly. So, good for you if you are a smoker, otherwise you might have to get used to passive smoking while you are around.

Things Are Unusually Cheap

Rupee 100 equals US $0.084, so get the idea how cheap things can be. So, shopaholics, Indonesia is the city of your dreams! Whether you plan to buy stuff from the streets or from flamboyant international chain stores, everything is so affordable, you might have a hard time carrying your bags around. Eating out at chic diners and restaurants isn’t a big deal too! And the food is obviously to die for! So enjoy every bit of it when it gets this cheap! 

How To Get Around In Jakarta For The Weekend?

Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia is a city with contrasts. Its traffic can be overwhelming for first timers with privatised public transport systems everywhere. If you are here for the weekend, you will be in here for a lot of surprises. On one hand, the city boasts of a terrific nightlife and on the other, terrible traffic.

If you wish to spend an entire weekend to explore the city, you should be familiar with the kinds of transport available and the one that is most comfortable and accessible that can take you around the nooks and corners of the city.

Jakarta Airport Transfer

If you are coming from outside Indonesia, chances are you will get down in Terminal 2 or 3 of Soekarno Hatta Airport, often called CengKareng Airport by Indonesians. Now, as soon as you get out of the airport, taxi drivers will approach you relentlessly. However, be polite and ignore them. 

The city is 25 miles away from the airport; however it may take 40 minutes to up to 2 hours to arrive there depending on the traffic. Now, there are few transport options to reach there. And we will mention them all and suggest the best option.

Shuttle Buses:

Shuttle buses run on an hourly basis from the airport to the city center and other parts of the city. The buses that terminate at the Gambir station passes through the city center. They charge you 40. Rp and if you take one of them, you will have to get down at the city center and take public transport for further travel.

However, if you are traveling in a group, sharing a taxi would be better as it would cost you the same and will take you to the exact spot.

Rental Car Package Jakarta

The main way to reach the city is through cabs. If you are here for the weekend and and want a hassle free experience,we’d say the best option for you would is to to go for a rental car package that would be at your service right from outside the airport.

Opt for Zoe Car Booking, they provide pick up, drop off, in town and out of town service, and you can customise your itinerary according to your time and need.  Their drivers could get you around the bustling city in no time with ll time experience that they have. And you won’t need to change transports every now and then. You can check their rates at their site.

Bajajs

Once you are in the city, one of the best ways to explore the city and take on an adventure on your own or with your partner would be to opt for the three wheeler bajaj, devil on the wheels. It is ideal for short rides for two people. They could get pretty noisy and rattling, but if you could get used to that, you could pick one. A ride for a couple of blocks i.e. 10- 15 mins ride would cost you around 4000 to 5000 Rp.

Ojeks

There are other rides such as Ojek, that is basically a motorcycle,usually found near shopping malls and market areas.  However, taking one for a ride could get pretty risky as they squirm and cut in turns without warning. There are few bike lanes, so don’t really expect to be in the clear. Plus, they are an expensive ride.

Metro minis, Angkots and Kopajas

These are mini buses that run on specific routes and you can tell them by the numbers on their vehicles. Regardless of distance, they cost you 2000 Rp and you can hail them from anywhere and jump off anywhere you want. Just signify them by tapping on their doors and windows to get in or get off. Beware of pickpockets while you’re on them.

Now that you know all the modes of transport, choose your pick and go explore jakarta. For a trouble free experience for the weekend, we would suggest you hire your own cab.