RTW TP Run in Jan 2026: Day 16 – Jakarta (CGK) to Hong Kong (HKG)

By Nige on February 2, 2026 at 10:26 pm
Type: Post
Story: Round the World Tier Point Run in Jan 2026 Category: Travel
Tags: CGK | Hilton | HKG | Hong Kong | Jakarta | Skycity

The ride back to the airport was very comfortable. It may have cost me double what I’d hoped to pay — thanks to having to book a Grab Premium — but given that it still only came to around £5, I wasn’t going to complain too loudly.

The drop-off area was spotless, as was every public space I encountered in Indonesia — at least based on my admittedly limited experience.

I headed through security using my mobile boarding pass and had a good laugh with one of the security staff: laptops in or out? Liquids in or out? Don’t forget your belt!

Once through security, I ran into a small hiccup with an automated passport kiosk that refused to scan my passport. I tried twice, gave up, moved to another kiosk — and it worked first time. Odd.

I emerged into the (immaculately clean) departures area and, this time, knew exactly where I was going.

After heading down the escalator, I doubled back and walked towards Gate 6, where I found the excellent Sapphire Plaza Premium Lounge.

This time, I asked the staff about the differences between the various unconnected lounge areas. Apparently, the section I’d sat in previously was the Priority Pass area, while the crazily busy space I’d seen the other day was the main lounge — assuming you could actually find a seat.

Now I knew. A shame I wasn’t planning to come back any time soon.

The popular swivel seats facing the window — overlooking a car park — were all taken. Several appeared to have been “reserved” with hats and other personal items while their occupants wandered off elsewhere.

It reminded me strongly of Germans reserving sunbeds on holiday.

Am I still allowed to say that?

Another issue with many of the seats was that they either didn’t have power sockets, or the sockets didn’t work. I waited patiently until one became free — luckily an end seat next to a wall, complete with a functioning socket. Perfect.

At this point, no gate had been assigned for my flight back to Hong Kong. All I knew for certain was that I’d be enjoying the newer 1-2-1 business-class layout with a full lie-flat seat, meaning I could sleep as much as I liked.

Once I’d secured my seat, I dumped my things and headed out to Starbucks, about 400 yards away. On the way out, the lounge staff confirmed they had no issue with me bringing my coffee back in. Very good to know.

After enjoying my Starbucks back in the lounge, I faced the age-old dilemma: I couldn’t travel around the world and not bring something back for the love of my life.

I supposed I’d better get something for the Vickster too.

So began the mission. There was no point buying something I could get anywhere — it needed to at least suggest it might have been made in Indonesia. It couldn’t be tacky, couldn’t be too big, and ideally needed to fit in a bag.

Crikey, Mango. You are a difficult girl to buy for.

To quash any silly speculation: there were no diamond shops in the airport.

Eventually, I found something I thought was quite cute — and it was very well wrapped. The phrase “bubble wrap” clearly exists in Indonesia too.

I then headed down to Gate 8 for document checks and to collect a printed boarding pass. I still much prefer having something physical in my hand when boarding an aircraft.

Boarding began thirty minutes before scheduled departure and was exceptionally well organised, with proactive control of the gate area. A textbook example of how it should be done.

I settled into seat 14A. The aircraft configuration was technically referred to as A33J, which for me meant a 1-2-1 layout with full lie-flat seats.

This was the slightly more exposed version of the newer business-class seat, thanks to the absence of a suite door, but it was still vastly superior to the older 2-2-2 recliner configuration.

I received a warm welcome on board — and, to my surprise, two pre-flight drinks.

I explored the in-flight entertainment system. The screen was relatively small by today’s standards, and nothing under Movies or TV immediately grabbed my attention.

In the end, I decided to give One Battle After Another a try, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

The captain announced a flight time of just 4 hours and 15 minutes — not long if I wanted to fit in drinks, dinner, and some sleep.

We pushed back early, and take-off was smooth from what I could remember.

The standard drinks and nuts service followed promptly, with dinner service beginning soon after.

For starter, I was served a tray containing a small portion of limp salad — improved considerably with a balsamic dressing — alongside a beef salad thing, which was very enjoyable.

For main course, I chose chicken rendang. Excellent. Rich, flavoursome, and thoroughly satisfying.

Dessert was mango ice cream, which was lovely, along with the standard cheese plate.

The film itself was… odd. I had to look up a plot summary online to understand what was happening. Without that, I’d have been completely lost.

Bob is a washed-up revolutionary who lives in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited and self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil nemesis resurfaces and Willa goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her as both father and daughter battle the consequences of their pasts.

I became more engaged as the film progressed, but the lure of a lie-flat bed was too strong. I didn’t make it to the end — perhaps I’d finish it on a later flight.

Despite the short duration, I managed about an hour’s sleep, which I was happy with.

The flight was quite bumpy overall, with long stretches of seatbelt signs illuminated.

About an hour before landing, I raised the blinds to find it already pitch black outside. The sun had clearly wasted no time in disappearing.

I was looking forward to my third stay at the SkyCity hotel. The rooms might be small, but they were clean, comfortable, and — importantly — familiar.

Landing was smooth, and although the taxi to Gate 67 felt lengthy, we still arrived ahead of schedule.

I was first off once the air bridge was attached and simply followed the now-well-rehearsed routine.

I knew exactly where to stand on the train for the fastest exit, which side of immigration moved quickest, and how to walk through the Airport Express train at AsiaWorld-Expo to minimise the distance to Exit A — where I could buy my ticket — before exiting via Exit B.

The only spanner in the works was a lengthy check-in queue at the hotel.

Next up: A gallery of photos from Day 16 of my Round The World trip of a lifetime.

---

Round the World Tier Point Run in Jan 2026