Bangalore to Jakarta - 2

Indonesians are warm people, usually soft spoken. I'm not just getting this notion from the deluxe hotel where I was treated nicely, but in my opinion, everyone whom I met here was nice to me! My experience only strengthened this notion.

Even the newspaper that I read regularly (Jakarta Post) did not use very strong words. Criticisms, if any was also mild. (I could not avoid comparing our country's very aggressive media!)

Despite devoutly following their own religion(s), people do not show up their religion or spirituality. Not just that, they also show curiosity in other religions and cultures and that is a commendable behaviour. (The majority people are Muslims, but Christianity has good presence and so is Hinduism, though restricted to a few places like Bali).

Before coming, I read in many travel websites about the Taxi drivers at the Airport who would chase you to go with them. Of course, so many drivers/people asked me if I need there service. But what surprised me was, when I politely declined, they just gave in and went away.

There are many taxi companies, but the most reliable ones are Blue Bird and Silver Bird both operated by the Blue Bird Group. SilverBird is the executive taxi. BlueBird is the economical and good one. I'm not familiar about the other modes of transport, as I always took a BlueBird.

At the first sight, Jakarta is very attractive, big city and has good roads. But I heard from the locals that frequent traffic jams and pollution are major problem.

Cars and Motorcycles are the most common vehicles found on the street. I found that we can even hire a motorcycle (with a rider, as we would hire a taxi), but I never tried it. I did not see many trains. I heard that they have long distance trains too, but no sleeper coaches.

Food is the only problem I had in this country where vegetarianism is not very well understood. I am "lacto-vegetarian" (that is, can eat vegetables and dairy products). So every time I had to either literally plan my meal or starve (Thanks to my local colleagues/bosses, who took care of me as if I were one among them and made sure that I get good food when I was with them. But the side effect was that they also had to learn what it takes to be an Indian vegetarian).

Also there were some contrasts. In my opinion, the people dress in a conservative way, however they tend to be very modern in their outlook. Before arriving, I also heard that Jakarta and the surrounding regions are densely populated, which I mistook as very crowded. Yes, it is, but not as much as the Indian cities.

I found another thing that is different from India: only one language (Bahasa Indonesia) is used for commercial and official communication, at least in Jakarta. English is used to only with people from other countries. It is very difficult to find boards or even signs in English. While Indonesia also speaks hundreds of languages, I could find that the nation is somehow unified with Bahasa. I obviously had language problem, but most people seem to understand some English (And whenever I had tough time asking/explaining something, I would make some gestures to make them understand and the other person and I thoroughly enjoyed it!).

(To be continued)

Bangalore to Jakarta - 1

I haven't updated this blog for long. I recently visited Jakarta on business and I'm going to use that as an excuse (and opportunity) to update the blog!

(I originally wanted to make a dozen posts about my visit, then it occurred me that, it should not become an excuse for people to go away from my blog, so I'm going to do only three!)

While I have travelled to US a couple of times, I've never visited any Asian country. Not even Singapore which people from India often visit. So, with some pre-conceived notions about my destination, I was sitting in the flight to Thailand (The country of my transit).

After an easy flight, I landed in Bangkok. However, the big terminal confused me. While immediately heading for transfer, I was misled by a Monitor Display and went to a gate where I should not have reached before getting a boarding pass. So, I anxiously returned to my starting point but alas..I got lost and ended up in a different place! It was a Posh Business Class Lounge. With only short time before my next flight, I went here and there before somehow managing to locate a correct queue for "Transfers"!

I hope that Bangkok, while opening their state-of-the-art Suvarnabhumi Airport, also put up clearer signs (For instance, instead of just saying "Transfers" and opening multiple counters without any signboards, put signs like like, All Thai Airways Flights or All Flights to Jakarta etc.)

Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport is not as big as Bangkok, but it looked very different from any airport I have ever seen.

Getting an Indonesian Visa was a breeze. I didn't have a visa before my arrival. Indians are allowed to take a Visa on arrival (you pay $25 for a 30 days tourist visa, Business visa is not any different, except that it is safer to bring your documents - like invitation letter etc.). Once immigrated and clearing customs, I entered this fascinating country...!

(to be continued)