Jakarta Jan/Feb 2024

[floridarob]

Flew Nonstop on Thai Airways in Business class, old 777-200 tired plane, but still the best, friendliest service going.

I did my e- Visa on arrival while in Bangkok and so angry at myself for not noticing an error on my passport expiry date. It self populated from the scan of the passport, but while I scrolled down, I must've changed the date without knowing.

The immigration guy was super nice and great English...when he said there was a problem, I thought it was I entered my hotel address as Bali, because in my mind I was going to Bali first. But that wasn't it, was the wrong expiration date of my passport. My option was to do it online again, go to the VOA counter and he said if I had exact Indo cash, I could pay there. He seemed surprised I had IDR, I paid him...I thought it was a scam, but he gave me an official printed receipt and was easy without having to line up again. It was 500,000 IDR ($30usd) cheap mistake but still mad at myself for being so careless.

I had forgotten how much time from the airport into Jakarta, 1 hr. Grab was about $20usd. 

By the time I got into my hotel and unpacked, it was raining, I just watched some youtube and chatted on some apps and went to sleep.

Next day I was looking on Grindr and someone in the same hotel on a work trip hit me up...a nice 25 yr old guy sent me his pics, but since he was with a large group of people from his job was really shy about meeting, be we did have fun.

The thing that is annoying here, since it's a Muslim country, most everyone is deeply in the closet. Using fake profile pics or old pics. When they do send you a pic, it's always an expiring one....Lots of free action and massage guys. 

One guy asked for a million and I laughed at him, everyone else was 400k-500k.$25-32usd.

Did a live chat with a 26 yr old, looked latino to me and we made plans to come over.

I'm staying at the DoubleTree and they have an executive lounge with free drinks....he's not a big drinker but had 2 beers and got tipsy, cheap date!

He gave a 2 hr amazing massage and GREAT sex....he came about a liter, or so it seemed. He said he hadn't had sex in a long time. This is the advantage over Thailand, where sex is like a job, here it's a treat 😁

I ended up going with him again 2 more times...why keep searching when you found something so good?  No expensive drinks, no crazy off fees but not as convenient as Thailand.

The gay disco Apollo that I went to last time here, has closed, Covid victim. He said there are a couple of places frequented by gay guys...the cover is about $15usd , is a little far from my hotel, no thanks.

Indonesia is so affordable....I had a fat attack and wanted McDonald's, the food was piping hot and fresh, a double cheeseburger combo mean and a filet o fish sandwich was $5....that would easily be $15 is Thailand or USA.

One Grab motorbike ride was 35 cents USD and another was $1,01.

While walking in the street, almost everyone looks at me, like I'm an alien, kind of strange, but there aren't many westerners here, especially walking in the streets.

Tomorrow I'm taking the luxury executive train to Surabaya, even fewer westerners I'm told. Is an 8 hr tip but in a business class type lie flat seat. The sights look nice from the videos I've seen, but I'm sure a couple of hours into it I'll be thinking, why the fuck am I doing this, lol
 

[macaroni21]

15 hours ago, floridarob said:

I had forgotten how much time from the airport into Jakarta, 1 hr.

Only one hour? Count your lucky stars. I've experienced much worse.

[Olddaddy]

Great report, thankyou I'm wanting to go to Jakarta in July just I'm a little nervous, thanks again 👍

I await your next report 

[Shax]

Oh wow, Apollo closed down? I was just there in May 2023. But to be honest, I'm not a big fan as the music's a little too loud for my liking.

But there are plenty of hot guys to meet on the apps.

[AsianExplorer]

Is Jarkata even more affordable than bangkok?

Ive been to bangkok millions of time but never been to indo

[floridarob]

1 hour ago, AsianExplorer said:

Is Jarkata even more affordable than bangkok?

I think so...is a different experience....no bars/go-go's to spend your money in, to speak of. There are a a few "straight" bars visited by gays, but with high cover charge for me to justify, I haven't been.

Grindr kept me bus ($25-30usd) , and all the other things I wrote about....not much to do touristy, except malls, sex and movies and sex....since it's not so commercial like BKK, I think the sex was hotter....because it's not their main job and "another day at the office" routine.

[Marc in Calif]

18 hours ago, floridarob said:

not much to do touristy, except malls, sex and movies and sex

Spoken like a true sex tourist! 🤣

[Shax]

On 3/19/2024 at 3:35 AM, AsianExplorer said:

Is Jarkata even more affordable than bangkok?

Ive been to bangkok millions of time but never been to indo

Personally, I feel that it might be a little more affordable but not that far apart.

And like @floridarob mentioned, there's no gay gogo bars like those in Thailand but the apps are full of guys offering their services. The rates are generally cheaper compared to Thailand, with the few exceptions.

Jakarta city might not have much in terms of tourist attractions but the food/cafe scene is better than Bangkok, for me at least.

I do alternate between Thailand and Indonesia often, just for a change in scenery (and types of guys I'm looking for).

[Marc in Calif]

On 3/22/2024 at 4:09 PM, Shax said:

Jakarta city might not have much in terms of tourist attractions.... 

I'm not sure what type of "attractions" you require, but I've definitely been busy every time I visit Jakarta. 

My first visit was in 1971, and my last was in 2022.