Originally Posted by
PaulDeee
Thanks, that's what we thought. We are flying out of Sorong a day earlier.
On topic, how can we (middle-aged+) couple make the most of an afternoon and early-ish evening in Jakarta? Given the time frame, we would mostly be interested in people watching with a bit of culture. Also, given that we will have time to get to the airport in the morning, any recs for a really good hotel? Good service, reliable transport to airport, safe to walk, etc. For one night, $200-300USD. Cheaper is better of course!
You can stay near Grand Indonesia Mall. There are plenty of hotels in that area. It might seem funny coming from the West, but people watching and culture in Indonesia is at the mall. There are two large malls there, Grand Indonesia and Plaza Indonesia across the street. Air conditioned of course, a godsend in this city. Plenty of food choices in the mall of course too and there are even loads of street food vendors outside. The airport train stops very close by at BNI City station, which is a very convenient and traffic-free option to get to CGK. If you walk north about 15 minutes to Jl. Agus Salim, that is probably Jakarta's most well known street food area. There is a goat fried rice vendor there that is *chef's kiss*. Another 15 minutes walk north is Monas, the National Monument, where locals love to hang out all day and night and is one of the few open areas in the city.