Enabler in Jakarta

Jakarta reminds me of a third-tier Chinese city. One street, there would be the Ritz-Carlton and a multitude of other 5 star hotels of the most extraordinary wealth. One street, there's nothing but poverty. Buses so old that they are crumbling, yet poor Indonesians squeezes into every open space. It reminds me of China 20 years ago, corruption runs rampant to get things done. However, it doesn't mean it doesn't have its perks. 

I got off my flight from Jakarta and to my surprise, the hotel driver, met us right at the exit gate. I never knew people can cross security to pick up guests. My driver told me, "we come to our guests, we don't let our guests come to us." It seems like the Dharmawangsa Jakarta, a local 5-star hotel with excellent rooms and facilities, have an exclusive agreement with the airport. In addition to being able to get into security, he seemed to have had all the connections in the airport. There was a long line at immigration after I finished purchase my visa on landing (in Indonesia, one can buy a 30 day visa for US$25 on landing), there was a long line at immigration. This man, Adun, the enabler, led me to the diplomatic line, where there was no line, asked me to hand him my passport, and told me to go ahead. At first, I was worried: "did I just leave a stranger I just met 5 minutes ago with my passport after blatantly breaking all immigration rules?" 2 minutes later, he came out, showed me the stamp, and said, "your car is right outside." Tips to ALL business travelers to Jakarta, just go stay at the Dharmawangsa Jakarta and get a hotel car, it's worth the 30-45 minutes you'll wait in line for the immigration.