Jakarta - The City With Bizzare Traffic

Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia, located on the northwest part of Java. If you can stand its pollution, and if you can afford to indulge in its charms, then Jakarta is one of the region's most exciting metropolises. Consider Jakarta the 'big durian' - the foul-smelling exotic fruit that some can't stomach and others can't resist. Once saddled with a reputation as a poverty-ridden hell hole, Jakarta mutated into an Asian boom town in not much more than a decade. Reduced by the 1998 riots to a burnt-out shell, it remains very much at the centre of political events re-shaping Indonesia. For Hotel Booking... http://hotelrates.com

How to Go by Air

International and nearly all domestic flights land at Soekarno Hatta International Airport [[2] (CGK) at Tangerang, Banten, 20 km (12 miles) to the northwest of the city. The unintuitive airport code comes from Cengkareng, a district near the airport.

The Soekarno Hatta airport has two terminals, further split up into subterminals, which are really just halls in the same building. Terminal 1 (A-B-C) is used by domestic airlines except Garuda, while Terminal 2 is used by all international airlines (D-E) and Garuda domestic flights only (F). A free but unreliable shuttle bus runs between the terminals; if you're in a hurry, it's a safer bet to take a taxi, although they'll ask for a rather steep Rp 50,000 for the service (not entirely unjustified, as half of this goes to paying their parking fees).

For many country's citizens, visas on arrival are available at the airport, see the main Indonesia article for the details of the rules. If possible, use exact change (in US dollars) and ignore any requests for bribes. ATMs and currency exchange services are available in the baggage claim hall, and Terminal D has a left luggage service.

To get to the city, the easiest option is to contact your hotel to pick you up in the airport, as many hotels in Jakarta provide free airport transfers. If you want to take a taxi, follow the "Taxi" signs out of the terminal and take a taxi from the Silver Bird counter; ignore the many touts. Silver Bird is a very reliable operator but pricier than the rest at around Rp 120,000 to the Golden Triangle (including airport surcharge and tolls). Other operators will charge you in the vicinity of Rp 70,000-90,000.

If you have more time than money, hourly DAMRI shuttle buses connect to Jakartan destinations Rawamangun, Pasar Minggu, Blok M and Gambir (Rp 15,000) as well as directly to the neighboring cities of Bekasi and Bogor (Rp 20,000).

The older Halim Perdanakusuma Airport (HLP), to the southeast of the city, is used by military, VIP flights, charter flights, helicopter leasing company, private jets, commercial pilot training and some smaller turboprop operators, notably Deraya's commuter flights to Bandung, and Merpati's flights to Cilacap (Central Java).