Floods on Tuesday and Wednesday
Important news for anyone who plans to fly into or out of Jakarta on June 3rd & 4th (also June 5th), whether or not you're an American:
"The US Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, informs American citizens that the World Bank warned that a record high tide is likely to flood North Jakarta next week. The tides are expected to be at an 18-year high and World Bank experts predict that flood waters could be up to four feet deep on Tuesday, June 3, and Wednesday, June 4, 2008. A flood of this size is likely to cut off the highway to Seokarna-Hatta airport.
"American citizens are urged to prepare adequate stores of food and water and to expect that mobility may be significantly hampered. American citizens should stay current with media coverage of local events and be aware that the situation is likely to affect the entire city.
"The U.S. Embassy intends to maintain normal consular services next week, but may have to close on short notice if conditions prevent public access to the Embassy grounds."
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If you arrive at the airport and can't get into town, you do have a few options for a place to sleep. There's a decent Transit Hotel right inside Terminal 2 (where all international flights arrive); Bulai69 stayed there in February 2007 and had some good luck with the in-house massage girls who came to his room.
There's also a Sheraton Hotel located just off the airport grounds two minutes away, also a FM7 Hotel about 5 minutes drive away (this is a different FM7 hotel from the one that's near Taman Anggrek Mall near downtown).
There are a couple of alternative routes into the city, basically one-lane roads that wind through crowded low-income slums; these roads will probably be very crowded!