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The much-anticipated day finally arrived, and I couldn’t contain my excitement for my first-ever flight to Indonesia, our neighboring country. I arrived at KLIA around 8:30 in the morning for my flight scheduled at 11:45 AM. While waiting for my friends to arrive, I grabbed breakfast with my family at the airport—a precious moment considering we wouldn’t see each other for the next 10 days. It was nearly an hour before the rest of the group arrived.
Once everyone was present, we headed to the self-check-in kiosk to print our boarding passes and luggage tags. As we waited to board the plane, we took care of one essential task: purchasing travel insurance to ensure our safety throughout our stay in a foreign land. Thankfully, it was a breeze to buy through the Touch ‘n Go app only RM55.00 for 10 days with protections up to RM100,000.00.
Alhamdulillah, our flight departed on time, and we safely arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport around 1:00 PM (WIB), just a little over an hour flight, barely reaching the two-hour mark. Upon landing, we queued up for immigration and customs clearance. Just friendly reminder for you guys that planning to travel to Indonesia, we are required to submit an Indonesia Electronic Customs Declaration (e-CD) prior to departure to go through customs clearance. The Indonesia e-CD form is mandatory for all travelers even if we do not have any restricted goods. Once submitted, we will receive a QR code to be presented during customs clearance. If you are planning to stay in Indonesia for more than 90 days, you have to register your phone imei no to customs..
With all the passengers lining up, we joined the queue, ready to go through the necessary procedures. Despite the crowd, the overall process was surprisingly ok, taking us less than 40 minutes to clear immigration and customs. We wasted no time and immediately called for a Grab car to take us to our hotel. Our hunger pangs led us to grab some bread as a quick snack before continuing our journey.
Continuing our Jakarta adventure, the journey from the airport to our hotel took about an hour and a bit—because, well, you know how Jakarta traffic can be, it’s like a perpetual traffic jam! We were prepared for the cacophony of car horns blaring at every turn, adding a lively soundtrack to our road trip. It was like being serenaded by a chorus of impatient vehicles—haha!
To add to the excitement, we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of election season (or should I say “PEMILU” season), similar to Malaysia’s PRU. Along the streets of Jakarta, flags fluttered proudly, billboards actively campaigned for various candidates—it was quite the spectacle! Talk about getting a taste of local politics while navigating through the city’s traffic mayhem.
As for our accommodation, we opted for a modest hotel in the Menteng area, strategically located near tourist hotspots like Plaza Indonesia and Sarinah. Sure, it’s not a luxury hotel fit for royalty, but hey, we’re here to explore, not to live it up in fancy suites. It’s all about individual preferences, but for us, practicality outweighed opulence. (hihi)
After settling into our hotel, we decided to take a breather before venturing out for lunch. We figured we’d give ourselves an hour to recharge before embarking on our culinary expedition. Stay tuned for the next installment as we dive into the culinary delights Jakarta has to offer! Trust me, you won’t want to miss it.
