Jakarta - a short trip from Perth

When I used to fly to Europe on a regular basis, once a year at least I was offered the option of stop-overs in cities like Bangkok, Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. For some explicit reason I always preferred Singapore over the other cities. With the exception of Jakarta, I have visited these cities on a number of occasions and whilst I have been meaning to visit Jakarta, a trip has never eventuated.

With the advent of budget airlines such as Air Asia, Tiger, Zoot and Jetstar; the possibility of a short trip is suddenly an option. Is Jakarta really on my to do list? Nah, not really. From all reports, Jakarta is a dirty and over-populated city without much going for it. So why then? Well, Indonesia is Australia's closest nation and an important trading partner.

Regardless of the state of Jakarta, it is an important regional city and I would like to visit all the important areas some time in my life. The same could also be said of Bangkok and Manila and I actually enjoy visiting Manila; once you know your way around and you become aware of the dangers of the city then traversing the city becomes more enjoyable. The only real question is when?