From the farcical to the sublime

. Don’t take the Bluebird desk taxi manned by uniformed attendants. It’s a fixed fee . Cross the lane until you find the metered line up of Bluebird taxis. About IDR 220,000 (£10)into downtown Jakarta. Fixed price is treble that

Welcome back to Jakarta Lotus - @Lotus Eater

Monorail and train- Better, faster, and no queues

. Don’t take the Bluebird desk taxi manned by uniformed attendants. It’s a fixed fee . Cross the lane until you find the metered line up of Bluebird taxis. About IDR 220,000 (£10)into downtown Jakarta. Fixed price is treble that

Welcome back to Jakarta Lotus - @Lotus Eater
Monorail and train- Better, faster, and no queues
- @Fred

Really? No queues at the Bluebird taxi rank. Does the Monorail/train take you directly to your hotel Fred? Precisely 🙄

It's a train so generally it runs on tracks. That means it's less likely to drop you at the hotel lobby.

However, it does stop at the BNI station where you can grab a taxi that will take you to the hotel.

@Fred

I forgot to mention that I was carrying a bloody great suitcase.

Silly me for assuming you knew that.

@Fred
I forgot to mention that I was carrying a bloody great suitcase.
Silly me for assuming you knew that. - @Lotus Eater

I use backpacks.

However,  the monorail and trains have good luggage spaces,  and everything is designed to make life easy for travellers such as your good self.

Hardly any walking and big lifts . Also no long taxi queues.

You might like to try it next time.

Flew into Soekarno-Hatta international on Wednesday and the arrival process has been transformed from the ridiculous to the sublime.Did the tourist evisa online this time along with the online Indonesian customs form. No queues at the egates - read my UK passport on first attempt. Priority baggage collection with Etihad worked a dream - 10 minute wait at the carousel. There was a Telkommsel hut next to carousel 1 where a charming ( actually she was incredibly cute but I digress) lady sorted out my SIM card. Went through the customs egate with my QR hard copy page printed out by passing the Gen z rs faffing around with their mobiles unable to locate the code: modern technology. For newbies to Indonesia on exiting the terminal be careful of taxi touts. The layout has changed. Don’t take the Bluebird desk taxi manned by uniformed attendants. It’s a fixed fee . Cross the lane until you find the metered line up of Bluebird taxis. About IDR 220,000 (£10)into downtown Jakarta. Fixed price is treble thatWelcome back to Jakarta Lotus - @Lotus Eater

As an Indonesian, I’d like to apologize if some locals still struggle with using technology. Unfortunately, tech education is still limited in certain areas. For example, where I live in West Bogor, many people may be financially well-off as traders or business owners, but digital literacy is still low.

A simple example : my wife has a close friend who always carries cash for daily transactions. Once, when we went to Aeon Mall Sentul, she had trouble with some cashless payments & had to ask my wife for help. We don’t mind helping & we try to slowly educate them along the way.

Regarding taxis at the airport, it’s not easy for them to operate there. They have to pay fees to the airport, which might seem negative at first, but there’s a positive side too. Airport taxis are generally safer than regular taxis because they go through strict screening. Cleanliness of the car, driver etiquette & following rules are all checked. If they don’t comply, they can be banned from entering the airport.

So in a way, you get what you pay for. The service is usually better. When I’m on a business trip, I usually choose official taxis, and by “official” I mean taxis or ride-hailing services that have a special sign or designated pick-up area, such as Grab, Go-Car, Blue Bird, or DAMRI. Try to go to their official locations at the airport. They will help you find a car & driver that follow all the airport rules. If I want to save a little, I go with the DAMRI bus.

Hope you enjoy your stay and have a smooth trip around Jakarta! 😊