All right folks, we’re off to the next country! We’ve picked up our passports from the Russian Embassy, now with shiny new visas. We’ve said goodbye to our friends and packed up our backpacks once again. It’s time to go.
We tap onto to the Sydney metro system for the last time, bound for the airport. Since we’re heading into the city when everyone else is heading out, our train is pretty empty. The airport is likewise quiet, unsurprising when your flight is the 11 pm redeye.
Our first flight takes us from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, where we’re laid over for six hours. In the usual sleep-deprived state, we find restrooms and food, and settle down for the wait.
Despite being a budget airline, AirAsia serves us food on both of the flights. On our Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta leg, we get these tasty little pocket-pies filled with curry. They taste great for airline food.
We land in Jakarta and deplane to face the first country where we DEFINITELY don’t speak the language. Before leaving, we downloaded Google Translate’s Indonesian dictionary, but we’re not sure how much it’s going to help us. Thankfully, immigration doesn’t have many questions for us and they speak English, and they’re more excited than anything else that we’ve come to Java as part of our year around the world.
After clearing customs and finding the ATM, it’s time to find transportation into the city. We’ve heard that taxis here are affordable, but we still prefer the bus. The station is outside the terminal and to the left, a collection of kiosks surrounding rows of plastic chairs that serve as waiting area. Through Google Maps, our gesturing, and the patience of the ticket-seller, we get tickets and soon we’re bound for Jakarta’s district of Glodok.
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