Welcome to Indonesia!!! Enjoy it with no drugs!!!

The minute the Luftansa airplane landed at the Jakarta Airport, I observed that Indonesia was different. Unlike all the airports I had seen in my life, Jakarta's airport looks very cultural from the outside, with red roofs that point to the sky. The color combination of the floors and the walls inside the airport provided it with an exotic look also.

As soon as we passed customs, taxi drivers and money exchangers tried to get our attention by calling or following us, some street vendors attempted to sell watches to some of the students.

The Grand Hyatt Hotel, the hotel where the group is staying, sent a bus and a driver to pick the group up at the airport. The driver waited for the McIntire Group right outside immigration and guided each one of us from immigration to luggage area and then through customs. What a great service!!! As soon as all luggages were put in the bus (that itself took 30 mns. believe it or not!) and all of us were on board, we were en route to Grand Hyatt. On our way to the hotel, we saw many funny quotes including : "Welcome to Indonesia. Enjoy it with no drugs". I feel very welcomed!!

The drive to the hotel was long. The minute we got off the airport, we were stuck in traffc. Honestly, Indonesia does not need any traffic lights because car congestion on the roads impedes cars from going at more than 30 miles an hour. The lucky ones are the thousand motorcycle drivers who make their way between lines of cars. Traffic is an awesome chaos in Indonesia!!!! kind of refreshing even, different from the order that I always experienced in the U.S or Singapore.

As we approached the hotel, we were surprised by the wealth in Indonesia. We saw many high quality brands such as Zara, Louis Vitton, Calvin Klein, etc.... Even more high end brands than I saw in Singapore. Surprising in a sense for a country where half the population lives in less than $2/day.

Our arrival to the hotel was interesting. We were dropped off at the mall located at the bottom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel. We made our way to the hotel and were surprised by the many security devices that are in place in front of the hotel. As soon as we went in though, we emitted so many 'oooo' and 'aaa's' that we attracted attention. The entrance of the hotel and the whole first floor is made out of marble and dark wood. We were all invited in a room where there were nice white seats and where we waited patiently to get our keys. We had a group of about 12 employees welcoming and offering us towels and sweet tea. You can see in the picture how happy we were to receive the tea. That tea was just so delicious!!! We were pampered!!!!

Once I got the key to my room, I took the elevator up to my room (I have a room to myself this time). Once in my room, I quickly took out my camera to take pictures (I do not want to forget a single thing). Both windows from my room overlook the hotel pool and tennis courts, as well as part of the city and the mall next to the hotel. I have the nicest view ever and at night, I cannot differentiate the view from what I would see at night in New York. Beware of emerging countries!!!! Well I hope you enjoy the pictures and again I will try to have you enjoy Indonesia as much as I am enjoying it.