Jakarta

[QUOTE=Smoothy;1660904]That's why you have to take many of these posts on price with a grain of salt. There are girls who will go with you for 400 k. But if you want a true hotty, you are going to need to pay more than that. When people post a report with no photo, you can pretty much disregard it because you have no idea what the girl looked like. Even if the guy says the girl was a 9 or a 10, that means nothing without a photo. I've seen guys rate a girl a 9 who I would rate a 3 or 4. Then again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But the more popular girls are going to cost more than the less popular ones. There is not a set rate. 1 million (or more) is pretty much the standard these days for a stunner.[/QUOTE]On this note, some of the Blok M bar waitresses are of course up for it, most of them are not that hot, as previously discussed, but they seem to feel it is their right to charge 1 juta or more because they are a waitress, not a worker.

Yeah right. Not that I go with these girls but hang around enough in Blok M to here them talking amongst themselves about this topic, with the usual added exaggerations.

So if you bump into any of these girls, stick to your guns on the rates.

Cheers.

[QUOTE=Ceegee;1661051]I posted more about that either in this forum or the Philippines forum. Basically use a webcam to ensure that the pictures are of her and are recent. Be upfront with them and tell them if they try to scam you (bait and switch photos, or photos from 20 years / kilograms ago) they will quickly be shown the door with no $$ for their efforts.

Can also meet them in the lobby/restaurant of your hotel, if they are not genuine just walk away. Don't tell them your name or room number.

If they get to my room and I have blown my load and don't want to spend another minute with them, an urgent yet confidential business call that I have to make right then and there sees them out the door with the agreed upon bundle of rupiahs in their hand.[/QUOTE]My way of dealing with this kind of situation is as follows. Get her mobile number and then arrange a meeting in a public place. Ask her what she will wear to make it easy for you to find her. Be on the location 10 minutes before the meeting is scheduled. Watch the entrance and if a woman / girl enters and wears the kind / color of clothing your date told you, make a call to make sure she's the one you were to meet. If that person answers and you like her, proceed. Don't you like her, cancel the meeting!

My wing man and I are going to Jakarta for the first time. We are also taking separate flights that are supposed to land around 11 pm.

Seeing as how we have never been to this airport before & our phones won't work we are trying to think of a good place to rendezvous in the airport.

The best we have come up with is the check in departure desk at one of our airlines.

Any of you Jakarta vets know a better place / landmark inside this airport that neither of us can miss?

[QUOTE=WorldJockey;1661618]My wing man and I are going to Jakarta for the first time. We are also taking separate flights that are supposed to land around 11 pm.

Seeing as how we have never been to this airport before & our phones won't work we are trying to think of a good place to rendezvous in the airport.

The best we have come up with is the check in departure desk at one of our airlines.

Any of you Jakarta vets know a better place / landmark inside this airport that neither of us can miss?[/QUOTE]The airport is not a good one generally. Not like Bangkok's or Singapore's, for example.

To access the checkin desk area you are supposed to show your outgoing airplane ticket with a flight out that day. So that is not going to work unless someone can suggest a reliable work around, which I doubt would be 100 percent.

Although not ideal, I would suggest meeting outside at the Silver Bird taxi sign next to the curb. You will have to look for it but it won't be so hard to find once you leave customs and immigration and go out the door to the outside. Hopefully, you will arrive close in time as you would basically need to stand up where the sign is, and tell the Silver Bird attendant you are just waiting for a friend. Note though there will likely be a number of hawkers trying to get you to their taxis when you leave the airport building. Some may say they are with Silver Bird, but are not as Silver Bird doesn't solicit this way. If you ask someone where the Silver Birds are and they start walking with you somewhere, they almost certainly will not be taking you to the Silver Bird stand.

One other thing is immediately after going out the first door from customs, there will be an indoor Silver Bird counter, where they you can purchase a Silver Bird ticket; this is unnecessary as the Silver Bird drivers take both cash and credit cards. I am not suggesting that you wait by this counter as it is possible there is more than one of these (at each of the two (exits), but rather pass by it and go outside to the Silver Bird sign next to the curb where the Silver Bird taxis depart from.

Of course, you could agree to meet at a different taxi stand, but the Silver Bird would likely be a less congested location, and should not be too difficult to find. I am assuming you are both arriving internationally; if one of you is arriving on a domestic flight, things would get more complicated.

One of the Jakarta hands on the board could probably confirm there is only one Silver Bird departure stand at the international arrival building. I am pretty sure this is the case, but wouldn't want to mislead you. Also, someone else may have a better suggestion as to where to meet, but at least my suggestion would work if there is not a better suggestion.

[QUOTE=WorldJockey;1661618]My wing man and I are going to Jakarta for the first time. We are also taking separate flights that are supposed to land around 11 pm. *snip*
Any of you Jakarta vets know a better place / landmark inside this airport that neither of us can miss?[/QUOTE]I am guessing that neither of you have an Indonesian visa; if so, you will have to buy one before going to the immigration lines. That would be the place to meet. You may have as many as a couple hundred people queued up at the (multiple) windows, but it is the one place where neither of you will be going anywhere until completion.

The other option would be at baggage claim. If you know each other's flight numbers, arrange to meet at one of the luggage claim carousels, whether or not you checked baggage.

I would not recommend leaving the immigration / baggage areas until you hook up. The chances for a miscue outside are way, way too high. There are two exits from the international arrival, which complicates everything. Hope this helps! TTG.

[QUOTE=TimTimGuy;1661746]I am guessing that neither of you have an Indonesian visa; if so, you will have to buy one before going to the immigration lines. That would be the place to meet. You may have as many as a couple hundred people queued up at the (multiple) windows, but it is the one place where neither of you will be going anywhere until completion.

The other option would be at baggage claim. If you know each other's flight numbers, arrange to meet at one of the luggage claim carousels, whether or not you checked baggage.

I would not recommend leaving the immigration / baggage areas until you hook up. The chances for a miscue outside are way, way too high. There are two exits from the international arrival, which complicates everything. Hope this helps! TTG.[/QUOTE]The visa on arrival area would work, but note they may have visa on arrival windows on both the left and right sides of the hall as seen from when you are approaching the area. I say "may have" because over the last few years it seems they change their configuration every now and then and it is possible the visa on arrival counters on the left side aren't used as such these days, or aren't always used as such.

Also, FWIW if you are getting a visa on arrival, having $25 US in exact change may make things easier although I have seen a bit more flexibility in this regard lately.

[QUOTE=LAGuy5;1661719]The airport is not a good one generally. Not like Bangkok's or Singapore's, for example.

To access the checkin desk area you are supposed to show your outgoing airplane ticket with a flight out that day. So that is not going to work unless someone can suggest a reliable work around, which I doubt would be 100 percent.

Although not ideal, I would suggest meeting outside at the Silver Bird taxi sign next to the curb. You will have to look for it but it won't be so hard to find once you leave customs and immigration and go out the door to the outside. Hopefully, you will arrive close in time as you would basically need to stand up where the sign is, and tell the Silver Bird attendant you are just waiting for a friend. Note though there will likely be a number of hawkers trying to get you to their taxis when you leave the airport building. Some may say they are with Silver Bird, but are not as Silver Bird doesn't solicit this way. If you ask someone where the Silver Birds are and they start walking with you somewhere, they almost certainly will not be taking you to the Silver Bird stand.

One other thing is immediately after going out the first door from customs, there will be an indoor Silver Bird counter, where they you can purchase a Silver Bird ticket; this is unnecessary as the Silver Bird drivers take both cash and credit cards. I am not suggesting that you wait by this counter as it is possible there is more than one of these (at each of the two (exits), but rather pass by it and go outside to the Silver Bird sign next to the curb where the Silver Bird taxis depart from..[/QUOTE]Thanks for exposing the fatal flaw in our departure desk plan! That possibility didn't occur to us at all; as in the states one has access up until the security check. Thanks for the taxi info as well. We are both arriving internationally. After RTFF is appears Silver bird is the gold standard of Jakarta taxis.

[QUOTE=TimTimGuy;1661746]I am guessing that neither of you have an Indonesian visa; if so, you will have to buy one before going to the immigration lines. That would be the place to meet. You may have as many as a couple hundred people queued up at the (multiple) windows, but it is the one place where neither of you will be going anywhere until completion.

The other option would be at baggage claim. If you know each other's flight numbers, arrange to meet at one of the luggage claim carousels, whether or not you checked baggage.

I would not recommend leaving the immigration / baggage areas until you hook up. The chances for a miscue outside are way, way too high. There are two exits from the international arrival, which complicates everything. Hope this helps! TTG.[/QUOTE]Yep you would be correct; neither of us have a visa. I'm guessing the setup is visa immigration baggage claim ground transportation? Considering our flights are about a half hour apart and we would want to secure our luggage before it grows legs; it seems like baggage claim is probably most well rounded option. Thanks for the double exit tip too! That probably would have thrown us for a loop.

I'll be sure to let you all know how I made out with the logistics in my Jakarta newbie report.

[QUOTE=LAGuy5;1661782]Also, FWIW if you are getting a visa on arrival, having $25 US in exact change may make things easier although I have seen a bit more flexibility in this regard lately.[/QUOTE]The Visa on arrival is $35 now. You get the same $25 paper but there is a hand stamped note saying the price is now $35 according to such and such a law. I gave the woman in the booth $40, expecting $5 to be returned, and instead she gave me 50,000. When I looked surprised she shooed me away in the direction of immigration. Not a big problem. The extra money is interesting for them. Plus these places are used by people who want USD to take black money out of the country.

[QUOTE=LAGuy5;1661782]

Also, FWIW if you are getting a visa on arrival, having $25 US in exact change may make things easier although I have seen a bit more flexibility in this regard lately.[/QUOTE]It's $35 US nowdays.

[QUOTE=UsPete;1661898]It's $35 US nowdays.[/QUOTE]Thanks for correcting me on the cost of a visa on arrival. I was last there in June when it still was $25. I now see it went up to $35 in July.

I do have a question related to this. In looking at the Washington DC Indonesian Embassy website, it states you can extend the visa for another 30 days for an additional $35. It also states you have to state how long you are going to be in Indonesia when you arrive. [URL]http://www.embassyofindonesia.org/wordpress/?page_id=188.[/URL] Does this mean it is possible to get both the 30-day visa on arrival as well as a 30-day extension at the time of arrival? Or do you instead have to renew the visa at some office around the time the first 30-day visa expires (as I previously thought was the case)? It would make things a lot easier if you can get both on arrival, although it would seem they could then simply offer a 60-day visa on arrival for $70 for those who wanted to stay more than 30 days.

[QUOTE=LAGuy5;1661782]Also, FWIW if you are getting a visa on arrival, having $25 US in exact change may make things easier although I have seen a bit more flexibility in this regard lately.[/QUOTE]US 35 Dollars now the VOA.

[QUOTE=Bartle;1661887]The Visa on arrival is $35 now. You get the same $25 paper but there is a hand stamped note saying the price is now $35 according to such and such a law. I gave the woman in the booth $40, expecting $5 to be returned, and instead she gave me 50,000. When I looked surprised she shooed me away in the direction of immigration. Not a big problem. The extra money is interesting for them. Plus these places are used by people who want USD to take black money out of the country.[/QUOTE]Thanks for that cost update. Yeah you got to have exact change with them. When getting a VOA in Cambodia; my buddy asked the attendant for change. The look he received in return was like he asked him what color his boxers were.

[QUOTE=LAGuy5;1661906]Thanks for correcting me on the cost of a visa on arrival. I was last there in June when it still was $25. I now see it went up to $35 in July.

I do have a question related to this. In looking at the Washington DC Indonesian Embassy website, it states you can extend the visa for another 30 days for an additional $35. It also states you have to state how long you are going to be in Indonesia when you arrive. [URL]http://www.embassyofindonesia.org/wordpress/?page_id=188.[/URL] Does this mean it is possible to get both the 30-day visa on arrival as well as a 30-day extension at the time of arrival? Or do you instead have to renew the visa at some office around the time the first 30-day visa expires (as I previously thought was the case)? It would make things a lot easier if you can get both on arrival, although it would seem they could then simply offer a 60-day visa on arrival for $70 for those who wanted to stay more than 30 days.[/QUOTE]I'm sorry to confirm that you will get a VOA for 30 days only. You can get an extension, but depending on where your location is, you have to take care of that at one of the immigration offices. Usually in the vicinity of those offices are persons who can take care of that for you. But, why not apply for a 60 days tourist visa in your home country when you know beforehand that you are going to stay that long in Indonesia? Besides, there are people in, o. A. Places, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur that can take care of the latter in one day.

[QUOTE=Menteng;1662171]I'm sorry to confirm that you will get a VOA for 30 days only. You can get an extension, but depending on where your location is, you have to take care of that at one of the immigration offices. Usually in the vicinity of those offices are persons who can take care of that for you. But, why not apply for a 60 days tourist visa in your home country when you know beforehand that you are going to stay that long in Indonesia? Besides, there are people in, o. A. Places, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur that can take care of the latter in one day.[/QUOTE]That is what I thought unless something recently changed (for example, at the time of the cost increase), which it apparently hasn't. Since I go on business often, a tourist visa is not an option (a VOA works for business) and in any case I don't live in a city that has an Indonesian consulate, meaning having to deal with a visa service in another city, which can be a hassle in itself. So VOA it is, and on those rare occasions when I have meetings scheduled over more than 30 days, I'll just use a few free days for a side trip and then come back for a second VOA.

Thanks for the clarification.

[QUOTE=HaggisMan;1661910]US 35 Dollars now the VOA.[/QUOTE]That is for 30 days. In Batam there is the option to choose also the VOA for 7 days which costs only 15 $.

Only in Batam? I think in all ports of entries where VOAs are issues.