[ JKT to KOR / Pandemic]3.Arrival in JKT

*** Your memories make your destiny ***

 

[03.Dec.21~21.Dec.21] #3. Arrival in JKT

On this occasion we would like to share our experience of arriving to Jakarta, Indonesia after travelling from abroad (South Korea).

We travelled when news of Omicron Virus was at its peak, which was on December 2021. Government of most countries impose some travelling restrictions, as well as varying scale of other types of social restrictions.

 

1. Prepare  

To prepare for our arrival to Indonesia, we prepared mandatory documents beforehand.

These documents include:

1. Proof of vaccination

2. Proof of negative PCR test result from country of origin (maximum 72 hours before time of departure)

 

[Reference]

Don't forget "Maximum 72 hours before time of departure"!! Very important

--> This information is different up to countries' rules.

For example,

1) Maximum 72 hours before time of departure

2) Maximum 48 hours before time of departure

3) Maximum 72 hours before time of getting PCR samples

3. Proof of hotel booking (QR codes & proof of registration from the hotel association)

 

Our arrival was 4 days before Christmas. We were told that we were lucky as the airport was not as crowded as the previous days.

 

2. First check point

We arrived at 8:20PM Jakarta Time in an exhausted state after a 7-hours flight. We were hit by the hot & humid air of Jakarta, and quickly took of our jackets. Before we could start queueing for document checking, airport staffs held all the just arrived passengers. Perhaps they wanted to split the queue for passengers coming from different flight.

 

1) Notice Board

 

2) Passengers from the same flight waiting for first check point

 

3) Queue in the fromt of the first check point

4) First check point; Medical documents

We waited for approximately 20 minutes to finally meet the clerk in the first stall.

Here they checked the mandatory documents related to our proof of health condition (proof of vaccination & PCR Test Result) as well as proof of identity,

i.e. passport and KITAS for foreigner. The clerk attached a QR sticker on the back of our passport before letting us move along to the second check point. It took less than 5 minutes in this check point and there was no interview as was informed to us earlier.

 

2. Second check point

At the second check point, we presented the same documents again to a different clerk. We were not sure what it was that they check here, but we were happy to just move a long to next procedure, since we were starting to feel more tired by the minutes.

 

3. Third check point & Immigration

At the third check point, again, a yet different clerk re-checked all of the similar documents. She then assigned us for a PCR test which include nasal & throat swab. There were about 8 PCR booths, each with a medical staff on standby. We did not need to wait at all, since there were many vacant booths. The document checking usually required much longer time compare to the swab itself.

 

After we were done with the PCR test, a staff directed us to the Immigration Gate. It was just a part of the usual procedure for people coming from abroad.

 

After passing the Immigration Gate, we collected our luggage. We then passed the customs, which seemed to be less stringent than the usual time. The custom staffs let us go without so much as a fuss, despite our luggage containing alcohol, perfume, and other valuable things very close to the limit allowed.

 

4. Wating and Pick-up by Hotel

Finally, after spending almost 1.5 hours, we were able to leave the internal part of the airport (the part which is reserved for passengers & airport staffs only), and entering the common waiting area.

There were two gates which divided us into two categories. Those who had booked the hotel for 10-days quarantine (independent payment) and those who opted to be quarantined at government facility / Wisma (free of charge / government assisted payment).

Gate to Common Waiting Room

We did our homework a week before our arrival and secured a place at a 5-star hotel in the heart of Jakarta. We heard many disheartening stories about quarantine in government facility, which explains our choice to stay in the hotel despite the exorbitant price.

 

The common waiting room looks like this.

Common Waiting Room

Once we were out, hoteliers swarmed around us, asking whether we already have a booking with us. They were calling a PIC of our hotel, and quickly someone came running to greet us. The PIC told us to wait until we got the PCR result and saying he would take care of us from that moment on until we safely arrived at our hotel destination.

We waited amongst the crowd.

We were thirsty but the only food stall still opened is Auntie Anne’s (selling pretzel, lemonade, and mineral water).

When we needed to go to the toilet, we must go back to the internal part of the airport, near the luggage conveyor belt, more than 300 meters from the common waiting area. This is a major downside and not a very thoughtful gesture of the airport staffs.

There was and old man almost took off his pants, while looking for the toilet. We also saw small cockroaches roaming cheerfully in the toilet, without showing any fear to the human (not just one or two… At least there are four small roaches, the toilet is positively infested in roaches).

At this moment, we were fully realized that we were really at home, in Jakarta, Indonesia. A country when nature sometimes claim back its rightful place. :’) ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ…

At 11:00PM, we were finally on the way to the hotel on a hotel-chartered car. Total waiting time since our airplane landed until we get in the car was only two and a half hours. This was exceeding our initial expectation. Seeing some dire news and testimonials in the social media, we set our expectation at the lowest (We thought it would be lucky if we could leave the airport at 00:00).

Nevertheless, we are sure that there are rooms of improvement for the whole arrival experience in Soekarno Hatta Airport. All we want is speedy process, efficiency (especially regarding document presentation), cleanliness, and clearer and unambiguous instruction.