There's no such thing as a free lunch...Or is there?

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It's official. The next president of Indonesia is former army general Prabowo Subianto. Quite how the next five years will pan out is anyone's guess but hopefully the foreign pundits who always bring up his dodgy human rights record will be proven wrong. Nonetheless, on policy making, Prabowo's popularist move to literally offer the poor 'a free lunch' every day of the week does not augur well for the future. Such a policy - if it ever came to fruition - would cost a phenomenal amount of money and likely lead to huge inefficiencies (food waste) and poor incentives (make people lazy). Another concern is Prabowo's strong nationalist bent. Thus, in the possible event that he finds himself with his back against the proverbial wall in the face of stern economic challenges, there is a big chance that he will simply scapegoat foreigners. But he will have to be careful. Construction of the new capital city, Nusantara, for example, is highly dependent on foreign in
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Soekarno Hatta Statue, Jakarta airport

The Jakarta International Airport is named after the first President of Indonesia, Soekarno, and the first vice-president, Mohammad Hatta:

Soekarno Hatta Statue, Jakarta airport

The airport was built back in the 70s, and is a far cry from the glitzy high tech airports of Singapore or even Malaysia.

As airline traffic has exploded in recent years, the airport now passes a striking resemblance to the Blok M bus station in south Jakarta.

Designed to handle up to 25 million passengers per year, the airport already welcomes over 55 million passengers annually at its two domestic and one international terminal!

Each day the airport handles around 1,200 flights.

Scams abound. Be especially wary of unscrupulous porters and taxi drivers.

To avoid being ripped off, only take Blue Bird taxis. You may have to wait a little while but it’s worth it for the peace of mind you get.

If you are on a budget take one of the airport buses. They go to various locations including the Blok M terminal in south Jakarta and Gambir train station (which is only a short walk from the backpackers’ street of Jalan Jaksa).

To reach central Jakarta from the airport will take 45 minutes at 3.00am but considerably longer if you do the trip during the rush hour frenzy.

Wifi is free but sporadic. Fill up on fats and sugars at the usual fastfood restaurants and cafes.

Good luck!

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