Well, what can I say about Jakarta? I had the luck to spend three nights in Jakarta last month and I must say I wish the good people of Indonesia all the best and a lot of patience but most of all..mental health! I mean who can explain me why there are not thousands of roadkills, people going bezerk, furious madness in the streets of Jakarta? I swear to God, I needed one and a half hour just to leave the airport parking area because of the chaotic car situation..it took me 2 1/2 hours to get to the hotel..luckily I was picked up by our partner there but I really felt sorry for the poor guy. He said he was used to it but how can you get used to such a nightmare? Anyways, I had a reservation at the Double Tree Hilton, which turned out to be a splendid hotel. Service was top notch. Breakfast was great and the rooms were always tidy. The only minus point I could mention was the difficulty to find the entrance of the hotel. It was hidden in a side alley and a bit complicated for taxi drivers to find it. My customer took me to dinner in a fish restaurant and the food was extraordinary. I am not a big fish-fan (neither the band nor the food :-)) but the shrimps, different dishes in sauce they were all delicious.
I knew about the whole massage culture in Indonesia but I wasn't really comfortable because I didn't want to end up in happy-end massage parlour when my customer suggested to have a massage. But to my surprise the massage center was in a modern shopping mall and it was quite cheap. One hour massage for 25 USD was acceptable and the massage was very relaxing. And no happy ending by the way. It was a very clean and professional place so my worries were needless.
I have to say that I was disillusioned with Jakarta. There wasn't much to see. Tall buildings, shopping malls and crowded streets. But the food was great. So I caught my next plane to Ho Chi Minh-City curious to see what Vietnam was like.
