Melng, it's been many years since I was last in Jakarta, but I really enjoyed my stay. As Marmot says, there are some lovely hotels and restaurants, but the handicraft shopping was fabulous!. I visited several places that had contemporry handicrafts from all over indonesia and ther was a small street with antiques where I found some real prizes. Enjoy your visit to Jakarta!

PS, Olympic was certainly one of the worst airlines I've ever flown! I'd have to think hard to decide whether it was the worst.

Thanks Kathie - I'm going with some seasoned Jakarta shoppers, so I think I'm in good hands.

Garuda and the three other Indonesian carriers - Mandala, Premiair and Airfast - were removed from the list a few days ago

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/...ap6652293.html

That's good news, thanks, brussels!