About Indonesia Expat Expertise I am a foreigner from a Western country but have been living in Indonesia for the past 9 years. As a person living and working here, I am able to provide information on transport options and average prices within the country, as well as getting in and out of the country, general hassles people will come up against, visas, recommended homestays, honest and ethical people for legal consultation and private investigation, scams that foreigners should be aware of, safety considerations in certain areas, requirements of living and working here, information regarding leasing houses, apartments, some information on mixed marriages, where to find good medical treatment, jobs, housing, imported foods, cars, restaurants, etc.
Experience I have been living and working here since the beginning of 1999 and have traveled and lived in Lombok, Bali, Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Central Java and West Java.
Expert: Indonesia Expat Date: 8/4/2007 Subject: travelling alone to Indonesia
Question Hello, I was wondering if you would be able to help me. I'm a white 22yr old woman flighing to yogjakarta via Jakarta later this month. I will be alone during my journey but will be met by friends in yogjakarta. I'm just feeling a little nervous and scared about the travelling alone and having recently read about the safery of the Indonesian planes (i'm flighing with guruda from jakarta to yogjakarta)i know guruda has now been black listed by the EU so i'm now unsure about how safe that flight will be or how else would be best for me to travel from jakarta to yogjakarta remembering i will be alone.
I was also wondering if you give me any advice on how easy/safe it would be getting a taxi from the airport to the hotel in Jakarta i'm booked into for the night when i arrive, are they safe/reliable etc?
I would also appreciate advice on clothing and what would be best to wear to not cause offence or make me get anymore attention than i will already draw to myself being alone.
sorry for so many questions, I'm just desperate for some advice to calm me down and from stopping me cancelling my trip.
Any guidence appreciated!
Thanks and kind regards,
Martha
Answer Hi Martha,
The UAE also banned Indonesian planes from landing in their areas. That ban was lifted last week from Garuda. That being said, personally, I am in no rush to get on an Indonesian aircraft myself. I am flying to Singapore very soon but I refused flights booked on Indonesian airlines. Why? Not because of paranoia but because I know how slow Indonesia is to actually implement anything, even the most simple of things. So they (the Indonesian airline/s) may clean up their act for a month or even a few months, but I guarantee you things will go seriously downhill in the safety department again, soon. In addition, Garuda may have only cleaned up their planes/practices for flights going into the UAE, not the planes used for domestic flights or bound for other countries. The whole thing sounds 100% fishy to me.
My advice? Well, unfortunately, Indonesia's transportation safety record is appalling, whether it's bus/train/ferry/ship/hot air balloon. If it were me taking the trip, I'd maybe hire a safe driver and car or, another option, take an executive class train. It seems to be the economy and business class trains that have accidents the most often.
Taxi from airport: get only a Blue Bird taxi and let them see you writing down the taxi number/driver's license number. They will more than likely behave. It's flat rate from the airport to all different areas (dif rates for diff areas) and all rates are printed on the tariff card they will give you.
What to wear: Jakarta isn't a such a big deal as far as what to wear as you'll see from what even some of the local women wear. But if being started at makes your skin crawl, just wear long trousers/pants and a normal t-shirt, nothing body hugging. No matted what, because you're white and a woman, you'll get cat-called/stared at. If you're going into small villages in Yogya, keep covered up out of respect for the more conservative crowd and older folks.
No need to cancel your trip. Honestly, I've traveled around Indonesia/Malaysia by myself and have had minimal problems, after I learned to do my best to keep aware of who is around me and what they really want. Stay skeptical. Don't be naive. Don't be too overly friendly. Seriously, it will be seen as yet another Western woman being 'easy' or yet another kind foreigner ready to be taken for a ride. Don't believe for a minute that all the smiles you see mean good intentions, because they don't. Tourists/first-time visiting foreigners tend to idealize the people and the culture because of all the smiles they see and the 'politeness' people here seem to exude. There's an underlying motive to 99.5% of it. Usually there's hopes of the local person gaining something financially out of knowing or befriending you, as the economy here is dismal and all foreigners are viewed as wealthy. It is rare to find anybody here that will do anything for free. If it's free, very pessimistically question why that is. If you're very lucky, you may at some point come across somebody Indonesian who is 100% genuine. Be sure to keep in contact with that person while you're here and after you're gone.
I don't want to put you off your trip but I also want you to be aware of things I wish people had told me when I first came to Indonesia. It would have saved me a lot of grief.
