Java in J: Indonesia With Saudia, Singapore and Garuda in Business Class
 

After reaching Flying Blue gold status with the epic Air France error fare flash sale last winter, followed by a couple of short haul TAROM flights in spring, I started to realise that I was suddenly halfway to platinum status. Not that I care too much about platinum in itself as the extra benefits aren't much to write home about, but it got me thinking that if I would reach it, it would be like an extra lifeline if due to circumstances I would not be able to travel as much the next year as I did this year. If I wouldn't requalify for platinum next year, I'd have a soft landing back to gold and thus still keep the important benefits for at least two years more. Of course, falling a level down from gold is much more painful and harder to recover from.

It was at that point that I saw again a post on FT on those great Saudia business class fares ex-Italy. Flying to Indonesia would easily get me over the top and to platinum status with Flying Blue. Coupled with the fact that I didn't yet have any real holiday booked in summer and never visited Indonesia, it was an easy decision to pull the trigger. For just 350 EUR I was booked in J class from Rome to Jakarta via Riyadh.

As I was unsure what to do with the return (and how many days I could get off from work for my trip) I only booked a one way ticket to Indonesia, postponing the decision how to return for a couple of weeks. In the end I should either have booked the return on Saudia straight away, or have waited even longer with the decision as just days after I finally booked my ticket back there was a great ex-CGK sale on Oman Air in business class. By that time, I unfortunately had my nonrefundable tickets home already booked.

Not that it was all bad: for 280 EUR I snagged a Manila-Taipei-Rome one way on China Airlines in economy - the cheapest I could find from any eastern Asian airport to Europe at that time. To bridge the open jaw, I did still have to travel between the island of Java and Manila. Luckily, I still had plenty of miles in my Aegean Airlines Miles+Bonus account which would suit my needs. One of the sweet spots of the Miles+Bonus is the gigantic Far East region, which stretches all the way from Japan and China down to Indonesia. One way flights in business class are an absolute steal here at 21,000 miles. I ended up booking Surabaya to Manila via Singapore on SQ, which besides the 21,000 miles was a mere 16 EUR in taxes. And what is not to like about trying out SQ's new regional business class product on the 787 and eating your first ever lobster thermidor in the sky?

After adding an affordable Garuda flight in business class between Jakarta and Yogyakarta, a cheap Wizzair flight from Bucharest to Rome, and a slightly more expensive flight on TAROM from Rome to Bucharest, I was all set, with the trip looking like this:

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Highlights to look forward to in this trip report include:
- Saudia's surprisingly good business class product
- Three great historic hotels on Java: the Hermitage in Jakarta, the Phoenix Hotel in Yogyakarta and the Majapahit in Surabaya
- The magical Borobudur and Prambanan temples
- SQ's new regional business class product on the Boeing 787

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INDEX OF THIS TRIP REPORT:
1. Bucharest (OTP) to Rome Ciampino (CIA) on Wizzair
2. A Day in the Eternal City
3. Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) and the Casa Alitalia business class lounge
4. Rome Fiumicino (FCO) to Riyadh (RUH) on Saudia in business class
5. Saudia Alfursan Business Class Lounge, Riyadh Airport
6. Riyadh (RUH) to Jakarta (CGK) Saudia business class
7. The Hermitage, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia
8. A day sightseeing in Jakarta
9. Jakarta Airport and the Garuda Domestic Lounge
10. Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta Airport (CGK) to Yogyakarta Adisutjipto Airport (JOG) on Garuda Indonesia business class
11. The Phoenix Yogyakarta Mgallery By Sofitel, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
12. Borobudur Temple
13. Prambanan Temple
14. Yogyakarta Tugu to Surabaya Gubeng by train
15. Majapahit Hotel, Surabaya, Indonesia
16. Surabaya, Indonesia and the Independence Day parade
17. Surabaya Juanda International Airport (SUB), Indonesia
18. Surabaya (SUB) to Singapore (SIN) on Singapore Airlines in business class
19. A quick look around Singapore and Changi Airport
20. Singapore (SIN) to Manila (MNL) on Singapore Airlines in business class
21. A short stopover in Manila – and the horrible NAIA Terminal 1
22. Manila (MNL) to Taipei (TPE) on China Airlines in economy
23. The China Airlines lounge at Taipei terminal 1
24. Taipei (TPE) to Rome Fiumicino (FCO) on China Airlines in economy
25. Rome Fiumicino (FCO) to Bucharest Otopeni (OTP) on TAROM in economy

Looking forward to this report. :-)

Will be flying SV in November to KUL and return from CGK, should be interesting. :-)

will see lots of familiar places in the island. subscribed!

IMHO it's certainly not a bad airline at all: average hard product [comparable with KLM or Turkish for example], the transit through Riyadh was super super easy, and the food on board was fantastic. The only disadvantage in my opinion is that service can be super slow and that it can take a long time just to get a drink as the crews just don't really seem to work logically and effective. It's a far cry from my SQ flights that's for sure, but I certainly would not hesitate to fly SV again on a mileage run. For the prices their tickets cost at times they are great and you can't complain really.

Part 1: Bucharest (OTP) to Rome Ciampino (CIA) on Wizzair
Flight W6 3141 - Airbus A321 - Seat 12A - 30 EUR
STD 6.05am - STA 7:15am (flight time 2h10m)

The summer adventure started with a flight on good old Wizzair, which is by far my favourite low cost airline. I never experienced any significant delays with them so far (*knock on wood*), crew strikes are unheard off as the FAs are actually happy to work for the airline, and prices are dirt cheap at times. I managed to snag a one way to Rome for 20 EUR. As it was an extremely early flight and I figured that knowing myself I would be extremely tired this early in the morning, I paid an extra 10 EUR or so for a window seat with extra legroom so at least I can put my head to the wall and sleep. I ordered an Uber at 4am for the 25 minute drive to the airport.

Security was again a big mess this early in morning as OTP sees dozens of flights depart in the early morning rush hour with both Wizzair, as well as TAROM and Blue Air having bases at OTP (plus most major European airlines who leave an aircraft overnight at OTP to operate a morning feeder flight to their European hub). Even my usual shortcuts to the lesser crowded security control lanes did not work this time as a Moroccan sports team flying back home on Turkish via IST managed to block my lane, with the person in front of me not understanding that you cannot take bottles of water and shampoo in your hand luggage. As they did not seem to speak any English I tried to help out with my limited French, but also that did not work as the guys just plainly refused to either check in the bag or throw away the bottles. After some twenty minutes the security guys of OTP finally had enough of it and asked the team to step aside as not to block the other people going through security. Despite the delay I still had some time to take a coffee and eat some breakfast before my flight.

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Boarding was again a big chaos as it usually is travelling with a LCC, with people not understanding the concept of queuing. Fortunately I could skip the chaos as I bought priority boarding with my ticket as it allows you to travel with two pieces of hand luggage. Given that I would be mostly flying in business class for the rest of the trip, I did not want to take any checked luggage so settled on my small trolley and a small rucksack. As usual with Wizzair, boarding was done my bus - which makes most of the priority boarding concept a bit useless as it only guarantees you a spot in the first bus. Yet I never had any problems placing my luggage in the overhead bin if coming from the first bus. It was a beautiful morning with a gorgeous sunrise, which promised well for the rest of the day.

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I absolutely hate the A321 of Wizzair as the seats are less comfy than the A320. And as there are more people on board you usually wait longer on arrival at passport control etc. There is however one major advantage, which is called seat 12A (and F) as you are seated directly behind the exit row and the seat in front of you is missing, giving endless leg space.

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Departure was on time and there were some gorgeous views out of the window as we did a full 180 degree turn once airborne. This gave great views back over OTP airport and its two runways.

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The flight was rather uneventful and I managed to doze off for most of the time. As we were kinda racing the sunrise to the west, it meant that also on arrival to Rome's second airport there were some gorgeous sunrise views through the morning fog.

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We landed on time and to my surprise there was no bus gate as we could walk on the tarmac towards the terminal building. Passport control was fast and within fifteen minutes after landing I was in a local bus to Anagnina, where I would connect to the metro to take me to the Vatican area where my hotel for the night would be.

In short: Wizzair again did the trick for a cheap and on time positioning flight. In this aspect, they are miles ahead of even many full service airlines in Europe.

Next up: A day sightseeing, eating and drinking in Rome

Thanks! I will have those chapters up before the end of the week.

I also absolutely enjoyed my stay at the Hermitage - beautiful hotel, and most of all some of the genuinely friendly and welcoming staff I've ever seen.

I wasn't fully sold on the Phoenix in the end - it had some great sides but also some (minor) negatives. The Marriott there indeed looks like a nice hotel as well - I didn't see it before as I booked at the Phoenix without comparing it to other hotels in the area as I wanted to focus on more historical properties. You enjoyed your stay at the Marriott in the end?

Ha! I fully understand it is indeed not everyone's cup of tea - especially given it is a dry airline and the abysmal human rights record of Saudi Arabia. For Sky Team mileage run purposes it is however a godsend :D

Part 2: A Day in the Eternal City
Hotel: St. Peter Bed In Rome, 50 EUR/night

As I have been to Rome quite a few times before, was travelling alone, and all I needed was a cheap bed at a good enough location, St. Peter Bed seemed like the best deal online for 50 EUR. There are cheaper hotels in the area around Termini station, but in my opinion it is not a nice area to stay in at all. This little hotel, on the top floor of an old apartment building on Piazza del Risorgimento just a stone throw away from the Vatican, did the trick.

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Piazza del Risorgimento

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Room, bathroom and view from the window from St. Peter Bed

I spent the late morning and early afternoon working from my room. Around 2pm I was finished for the day and decided to take a stroll around the Vatican.

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After waving hello to the Pope, I went looking for a nearby place for lunch. There are many bad-quality, overpriced touristic restaurants in this area (most of the locals won't ever go near the touristic sights for food) but I managed to find one nice looking place with good reviews, where to my surprise there were even plenty of Italian speaking people eating, which is always a good sign. Caffe Castello indeed did a very nice pasta all'amatriciana, which I washed away with a tasty local wine from the Lazio Province where Rome is located.

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As I was in the mood for a long walk, that was just what I did for the rest of the day. I put my phone and Google Maps away, and tried to see how much I remember from the previous times visiting the city (my last time was as a student a decade ago). To my surprise I managed very well to map a fun route in my mind taking me through random streets to the top sights of the city. First up: Castel Sant Angelo and some lovely views from the bridges over the River Tiber.

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Passing by the Supreme Court and through some small streets, my sense of direction brought me to Piazza di Spagna and the famous Spanish Steps. Even though I didn't forget about my knowledge of Rome's street network and topography, I did forget just how busy the place is in summer. So. Many. Americans. No offence meant, I generally love the colonials across the pond. Just I was surprised the huge amount of Americans dwarfed all other groups of tourists as during all my European city trips in prior years there were always at least equal amounts of Chinese, Spanish, Germans etc.

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Ten minutes walking distance from Piazza di Spagna I found myself at the Trevi Fountain for the obligatory coin toss into the water – a sign that you will return to Rome in the future.

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Next up was the Pantheon, a former Roman temple now used as a church. It is possibly my favourite building in Rome as the dome is just massive and it is so fascinating to think that this was built in 126AD. It is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome two centuries after it was constructed.

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On one of the squares in the area around the Pantheon I witnessed the Italian rozzers arresting a tourist for two crimes against the fashion code: wearing a fedora hat (a light offence which might warrant a warning only) and wearing white socks under shorts (a capital crime). What a contrast with the stylish Carabinieri uniforms! Heck, if I was Italian just that alone, and being able to drive in Alfa Romeo's with the gorgeous carabinieri livery, would be reason enough to join the force.

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Next up on my walk – which was becoming quite a long one – was gorgeous Piazza Navona.

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And somehow I had the energy to continue the walk to Piazza Venezia and the Altar of the Fatherland.

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Nothing however sums up Rome for me more than this picture: the Colosseum and the ubiquitous stone pines so common in this part of Italy. I just love the look of stone pines.

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I couldn't resist a small hike up the hill to the Capitoline Museums and a look over the Forum Romanum.

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When drinking the last sips from my bottle of water on this hot day, I decided I had walked enough for the day. I headed across the River Tiber to the lovely Trastevere neighbourhood to find a place for an aperitivo and some dinner. Instead, I came however across a recently opened craft beer bar. The barkeep was super chatty, as were the American tourists already in the bar, and I ended up tasting a wee bit too much in the end ;) it was jolly good fun however and some of the beers were actually very nice (meh quality IPAs but some very good tripels and other Belgian style brews).

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As I was tipsy I desperately needed something to eat. I went for a pizza place recommended by the barkeep. The pizza I ordered was OK, decent enough but I had many better ones in Italy. I took again a big detour walking back, stopping at a cool chocolate store in the city rome which had a chocolate waterfall on the wall.

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Even if I find Rome overcrowded with tourists in Summer and I've seen everything already, it still remains such a charming city just to wander aimlessly around. There are worse things than having to spend a day in the Eternal City before the start of your mileage run from FCO ;)

Next up: Rome Fiumicino Airport, the Casa Alitalia business class lounge, and my Saudia flight to Riyadh in business class.

Alcohol is not an issue for me, not intersted. I have indeed problems with their human rights record and theit "tolerance". But that´s no reason to crash a trip report.....

It's an interesting point actually - and for sure is something I can understand and respect. I once mulled with the ethical question myself, which goes much wider than this as it counts for many other things in travel as well (eg. is it ethical to visit a country like Burma? Is taking a cruise something which is ethical?).

For airlines however I personally find it a slippery slope. Arguably there are lots of awful human rights violations in the SAR. But is it worse/better than a country like China does concerning violations in Xinjiang and Tibet, and the horrible spying and social credit system which is also used to make life for dissidents impossible? It's tricky.

PS. Always welcome to comment or discuss, so no worries about crashing a TR! Whether it is about Saudi Arabia, or me discussing in a previous post with another FT'er which Yogyakarta hotel is the better one! Personally I think they are all very relevant questions/comments as I'm sure there are other people struggling with similar decisions (whether or not to fly an airline, which hotel to stay in etc.)

My husband would love that pub.

great trip report.

THANK YOU for this! I love those trees too - they're so quintessentially Italian, and often so elegantly shaped, and when I was in Rome a month ago for the first time in almost 20 years we were trying to figure out what they were called and nobody seemed to know. And now I do :)

As always, a great trip report. Since you clearly enjoy a tipple or two yourself I'm intrigued to discover how you passed the time on board Saudia...

Thanks!

And yes, the pub (it was only recently opened) was nice indeed. Veeery small - but I like it as it kinda forces you to talk to the barkeep and the other guests.

Frequent flyers and beer lovers would btw also appreciate Bergamo Airport, which some low cost carriers stupidly call "Milan" Bergamo Airport. Not only is Bergamo in itself a beautiful city to visit, but the airport has an awesome craft beer pub airside. Nothing more fun before a flight than drinking a few taster flights! (and a good idea if the real flying experience is on Ryanair :D )

I was again in Rome a few weeks ago for work (this trip report is from August) and I was actually wondering about the same thing: how on earth are those trees called?? So I decided to look it up ;)

As for how I passed the time on the Saudia flights - the first clues to that will be in the next post! Not that I cannot get without alcohol. Legend has it that once I did two weeks without a proper pint or glass of wine with my meal when I travelled through Pakistan. Although when more recently I travelled through Iran I did not manage that again as by pure chance (or divine intervention, inch'allah!) I happened to bump into two local bigwigs on arrival at the airport of Shiraz who toured me around in their SUV with built-in fridge full of gin and vodka :cool: