Indonesia Nights

Another solid performance by Cathay Pacific delivered me to Jakarta’s Soekamo Hatta Airport well fed and rested at around 12 am local time. An early touch down cut short my viewing of the early 90’s classic “The Paper” which was quite regrettable. I was fully engrossed in the plot and the movie once again proved the timeless adage that the only sure way to guarantee box office success is to cast Michael Keaton in a lead roll.

First impressions were a tad crispy if you will and I knew instantly I was up against a city that was substantially rough around the edges. I waited for close to half an hour on the immigration line only to find out when I got to the window that I needed to stand on an alternate line on which I could fork over the $25 that it costs to collect an Indonesian landing visa. I went without protest and proceeded to wait another 10 minutes on the visa line only to have the opportunity to return to the immigration line which by that time was at least as long as it was when I had originally started. It was all part of the experience and in the end it resulted in an hour wait and the gathering of the most coveted stamp of the trip thus far.

Bags were gathered and wits were sharp as I pierced through the sliding doors into the stifling heat. It took 15 minutes to flag down a ‘Silver Bird’ taxi and once in I pre-paid the 100,000 rupiah it would cost me to get to the Grand Hyatt in the heart of the Indonesian capital. Most of the communication occurred through hand-signals as the driver did not speak a word of English, which was fine by me as in all fairness to him, my Indonesian has always left a little to be desired. We rode in silence the 20 minutes or so that it took us to reach an imposing roundabout that marked the center of town. The Grand Hyatt bordered on the north side and as we inched into the parking lot we were stopped by 4, armed Indonesian soldiers. The men aggressively flanked the sides of the taxi and began to open each door. I proceeded to step out thinking this was all part of the hospitality that the Indonesians are so famous for, but was abruptly nudged back into my seat. I was confused and I seized the chance to figure out what was going on by passing an inquisitive look and a shrug of the shoulders towards the driver. In return I got a curt smirk and a gesture that indicated that the men were looking for explosives.

And why not? The city did go through a nasty string of these types of incidents with Muslim radicals back in 2009. Now it was apparent that they were prepared to take extra precautions going so far as to perform an inspection each and every time a car enters an establishment. In addition, prior to entering any building in the city, one gets a thorough pat down and an obligatory pass through a metal detector. It slowed things a bit, but any and all delays were copasetic with me. I don’t like nasty surprises and I was pleased that the powers that be in Jakarta don’t either.

Early the next morning, I showered, grabbed a quick breakfast in the lobby and then met my colleague from Singapore in front of the hotel. We had a busy schedule over the next two days which included 8 client meetings and an industry conference all inconveniently spaced within about a 30-mile radius. We lucked out that the driver we hired really knew what he was doing behind the wheel. You see, if you can drive a car in Jakarta, you can drive a car anywhere. By comparison, NYC plays more like a lazy Sunday cruise through the countryside than it does resemble the challenge navigating this city presents.

It isn’t so much the lane-less highways and non-existent speed limits that makes the driving difficult. In fact, it’s quite paradoxical, I find, that the lack of structure has forced drivers to adapt to an underlying and shared ebb and flow of the road. The real problem lies in the fact that motorcycles outnumber cars by at least 3 to 1. Now, granted I have no deep seeded desire to get on one myself, but in general I have nothing against motorcycles so long as there is a mutual respect and understanding about how the road is to be shared. The fearlessness and nonchalance with which the motorcyclists on these roadways execute each aggressive move violates that respect, even though albeit quite remarkably. Criminal in the States you see… but remarkable nonetheless, and common here as nothing more than getting ‘A to B'.

The meetings ended, my colleague left for the airport and I was left to make the best of my last night in Jakarta. I had been warned by the doorman earlier in the day that unless I felt as though a stroll outside the hotel was worth the risk of getting skewered, one of the restaurants in the Hyatt was my best bet for dinner. This was ok by me as there didn’t seem to be anything particularly interesting within walking distance of the hotel and I had been bird-dogging a nice looking steakhouse in the lobby since walking in two nights earlier. They seated me right away, and it didn’t disappoint…the price was modest, the steak was delicious and the service was excellent

With check settled, my original plan of heading to bed changed on account of catching faint sounds of music in the foreground of the hotel. When I strolled over to investigate I discovered two Indonesian gentlemen playing some of the most competent acoustic guitar I have ever heard and a vacant seat not but 20 feet from the stage they occupied. There was definitely a degree of enjoyment in the applause that the men received after each number. They played all tunes you’d recognize (…check that, all tunes I and the geriatric crowd would recognize) and even took requests from people in the lounge. They kept me entertained for an hour or so before I finally wised up and retired for the evening.

The following morning I met the car I had reserved in front of the hotel at around 6am and we sped off towards the airport. Even at that time of the morning the roads were a free-for-all, but I made it to the gate unscathed and not devastated to be leaving Jakarta in my rearview mirror. I boarded the plane…we took off…I fell asleep. Little did I know that the world would forever be changed by the time I landed…