The Wonders of Go-Jek #sol18

Life changing. All-in-one. Takes laziness efficiency to the next level. Simply put, Go-Jek is amazing.

Prior to life in Indonesia, I’d experienced the conveniences of Uber and other ride-share apps as well as food delivery services like Sherpas in Shanghai and Food Panda in Bangkok. They definitely made my life easier, and when I was feeling especially lazy or I couldn’t be bothered to get out in the rain, they were definite lifesavers. But I’ve never experienced anything like Go-Jek until Jakarta. Go-Jek, an all-encompassing travel and delivery app, is cleverly named after ‘ojek,’ Indonesian for motorbike, which happens to be the main form of transport used.

Just today, I used Go-Jek to get home from work. My driver arrived in minutes and I jumped on the back of his motorbike (helmet on, of course!) for my ride home which cost a whopping 8,000 IDR ($0.58 USD!). Throw in a tip, and that’s about a buck to get home. Indian food on my mind, I decided to order something from a restaurant in the area. Go-Jek to the rescue again! I ordered and about 45 minutes later, I was chowing down on some spicy Korma, butter naan, and samosas, all for a delivery fee of about a dollar. Okay, I know what you’re thinking…Yeah, yeah, we can get a ride home and order some food to be delivered. Other than how cheap it is, what’s the big deal?!?

After dinner, I realized I was really sore from my workout yesterday and in need of a massage to work out the kinks. But, I was already home and in comfy clothes, and it looked like it might rain, and the traffic in Jakarta is the worst, so leaving my house wasn’t really high on my priority list. You might be thinking…She’s gonna Go-Jek a ride to the nearest massage place, isn’t she? If you are, you’d be wrong.

I told you Go-Jek is all-encompassing, didn’t I? Well I wasn’t lying. I simply opened up the app and ordered a Go-Massage, where a masseuse comes TO MY HOUSE to give me a massage! I got to choose the type of massage, length of time (60, 90, or 120 minutes), gender of the masseuse, and the time they would come. Let me tell you, having a massage in the comfort of your own home, where you can take a shower and go to bed afterward is a little slice of heaven.

After ordering my Go-Massage, a lovely lady showed up half an hour later and gave me a relaxing one-hour massage, the kinks and knots melting away. You might be thinking, this is amazing, but how much could that possibly be?!? I mean, the convenience of someone coming to your house has to cost big bucks, right? Wrong again. My one-hour massage cost 80,000 IDR (roughly $6.00 USD)! After leaving a very generous tip by Indonesian standards, I was out 12 bucks. FOR A MASSAGE IN MY HOME! I know, it’s crazy ridiculous, isn’t it?

In addition to these features, I have used Go-Jek for Go-Shop, where you literally put in the name of any shop and your shopping list and a personal shopper will buy it for you and deliver to your home for a nominal fee. A few times I’ve even used Go-Glam, a feature where you can have someone come to give you a mani/pedi in your home (or do your hair or make-up, both of which I haven’t yet tried). There are many other features I’ve still not tapped into either. Go-Jek has made me so spoiled and is a definite perk of living in Indonesia!