wandering_fred

And those seem to be located at the curb?

Happy wandering

Fred

Zolex

Try Uber next time, do mind that you will have to speak a little bit of Indonesian though

IAN-UK

au contraire I generally get drivers happy to practice their English.
It's the big differentiator between Uber and regular taxis.

gpeso8

Sure, once in the car they are happy to practice but I've experienced some headaches with Uber here in Indonesia. I've also had some incredibly friendly Bluebird/Silverbird drivers who also don't mind practicing English if you engage.

At CGK and SUB I've had drivers not understand the general layout of the airports. I've had to talk them through step-by-step instructions (in Indonesian) of getting to my exact location, it could be a challenge but not impossible if you don't speak Indonesian, most of the drivers will eventually find you, but be prepared to wait.

I've had no issue getting Ubers in Hotels, Malls, and Hospitals (a new one this week!), but some neighborhoods tend to be a challenge for drivers who don't seem to understand how to follow the pin, speaking Indonesian helps immensely in these occasions.

Zolex

The challenge is indeed indeed communicating so the driver can find out where you are waiting. Once you are in the car it's simple, Google maps and: "Kiri" (left) "kanan" (right) or "lurus" (straight ahead)


Once you know some Indonesian, Uber is the best transportation method within Jakarta in my opinion.

Jaimito Cartero

I would say that having some Bahasa Indonesia is important if you often take Uber or Grab, and a local phone number for them to call. Many of of the FT posts that I've seen about Uber problems were because of the lack of these items.

Zolex

I don't know how it works for the driver, but if you call the driver from the Uber app now it seems you call to an Uber telephony server which automatically connects you through to the driver. So maybe it might not be such a big deal now to not have a local number. Never tried though since I do have an Indonesian number as well.

Jaimito Cartero

I'd guess this is a recent development, to keep their drivers from getting hassled.

There are some taxi drivers out there trying "get" Uber drivers, so keeping their number private makes sense.

In Bandung, when picking up or dropping at the airport, the drivers now turn their phones off 1/2 km away, so people using the app can't see them approaching.

DeepUnderground

There was a story yesterday that the GOI is going to make rideshare drivers use a special bumper sticker. That should be interesting.

mmamminna

Total Jakarta stay according to my plan suggestions?
Flying via Tokyo and only a night layover which I plan on wandering the streets and boarding in the morning. Arriving at Jakarta, planning on JW as its only 15K/night and I am in a burning mode (have very little though lol). Next flight to Yogyharta to visit Borobodur and maybe other attractions and then arrive at Bali for a planned stay.
I am looking for suggestions on how many days to stay in Jakarta i what to see, as well as how many days in Yogyharta, where to stay and what to see. I have 7 days in total. Was thinking of 2 in Jakarta and rest, but given the long flight maybe 3, however friends said there is nothing interesting in Jakarta. Any recommendations are welcome. TIA

DeepUnderground

Two things I have enjoyed in Jakarta are visiting Kota Tua and Pelabuhan sunda kelapa.

At Kota Tua (Old Town) you can visit cafe batavia which I love to go with my kids. http://cafebatavia.com/

There are also nearby museums and street performers.

Pelabuhan sunda kelapa is the older port used to haul mostly domestic freight on tradional wooden phinisi boats. Taxi can take you there and there are guides that will walk you around the port and even onto one of the ships. Pretty interesting.

Other than that, there are good malls I suppose.

mmamminna

Thank you for the suggestions, those are good ones. Not interested in malls, we have plenty of those in the US, I want to explore and to learn more about the culture. I decided 2 days should be enough depending on the flight to yogyharta tops 3 nights.

Zolex

Well you can visit Monas (monumen nasional) as well, Istiqlal mosque and you get Jakarta traffic experience with it for free

DeepUnderground

The mall is stop number 1 if you are looking to see Indonesian culture...

Jaimito Cartero

Kota Tua is fairly interesting, especially on weekends. Lots of giggling teenage girls riding rented bikes around the square, and tons of requests to be in pictures with you, if you're a westerner.

For the ultimate Indonesian experience, drive from CBD Jakarta to Bandung on a Friday afternoon, 5-6pm departure time. Extra points if it's a three day weekends.