From Japan (Centrair) via Hong Kong to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia

Day 1 — Across the equator to a tropical island nation

The starting point of this trip was Chubu Centrair International Airport. We flew Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Leaving behind KEN, who would join us a week later, the two of us, having just finished presenting our graduation theses, boarded the plane in high spirits...

But soon after boarding, Ooi realised his wallet was missing. He had split his money into two wallets, so he didn't lose everything, but it was an inauspicious start.

We arrived at Hong Kong International Airport. Like the dull, cloudy sky, Ooi's mood didn't clear. After all, he had lost 50,000 yen before even leaving the country. Hong Kong airport is simply huge. Just walking was quite a distance. And unexpectedly, the land around it wasn't flat but mountainous. We had about three hours until the next flight. By then we wanted some information about the lost wallet. To look up Centrair's phone number, we decided to use an internet terminal near a kiosk. You could use it if you bought something at the kiosk. Ooi bought an éclair. He paid in US dollars, so he got a little change back in Hong Kong dollars. They'll probably never be used. When we contacted Centrair, it turned out the wallet had been handed in to the police! We forgot to check what was inside, but praying it was all there, we continued our journey. Ooi's face was beaming.

Across the equator into the southern hemisphere. In Indonesia we would first enjoy diving on Lombok, then meet up with KEN. By rental car we were aiming for the equator on Sumatra, to the west of here.

Arrived in Jakarta! The arrivals lobby of Soekarno–Hatta International Airport didn't feel much like an airport; it was more like a station. After getting a visa ($25) and clearing immigration, we changed money into Indonesian rupiah. The rate was about 100 rupiah to the yen.

After changing money, as we headed outside, taxi drivers kept calling out, "Hey! Taxi, taxi!" The touting was intense. And though it was around 9 p.m., there were incredible numbers of people. Watching out for pickpockets, we looked for a rental car company to make arranging a car later go smoothly. A man from a rental company who called out to us led us outside the airport. Instantly, warm, muggy air wrapped around us. Hot...

The rental company man showed us lots of the rental cars lined up outside the airport. The mainstream model was a Toyota minivan called the Kijang. It isn't made in Japan, but it's about the size of a Voxy. When we asked the price, he said about 5,000 yen a day. That's about twice the price in our guidebook. Had prices gone up, or were we being ripped off? To have to negotiate like this as soon as we arrived... Very tiring. It was late anyway, so we stopped looking for a car at the airport and decided to look in the city tomorrow.

From the airport to central Jakarta we skimped and took a bus rather than a taxi. A fairly comfortable bus called DAMRI runs from the airport to the city for about 200 yen one way. Given that it uses the expressway and the distance, in Japan it would easily be over 1,000 yen; we were already feeling how cheap things were.

After getting off at the last stop, Gambir Station, we went to the Jalan Jaksa area, where cheap lodgings are said to cluster. First things first: securing a bed, so we looked for a hotel. We dashed into Borneo Hostel and asked, and they said there was just one room left. It had air conditioning, so it was the most expensive room (about 750 yen each).

After resting a little in the room, we got peckish and went to a nearby food stall. Even though it was around 11 at night, this street was very lively.

Our memorable first dish in Indonesia was the classic nasi goreng, in other words fried rice. About 70 yen a plate. The snack-like thing is krupuk, a prawn cracker, said to be essential with nasi goreng. Crispy and pretty tasty. As expected, the nasi goreng was quite spicy (the writer has a sweet tooth). While we were eating, a middle-aged woman and man started talking to us. English got through reasonably well, so the conversation livened up. Then suddenly they started shouting a filthy Japanese word! They must have learned it from other Japanese tourists.

To the next day