Most of the hotels in town have decent restaurants and serve cold beer. You could start chewing betel nuts. There are a couple coffee shops in downtown. There is one on each of the two roads making up downtown. They're good places to meet people. Sentani is nice. Kind of a pain to get to by public transport, but nice. There are some nice beaches in the area. You could hang out at KFC... Betel nut sounds like your best option....

Great lakeside restaurant some half an hour from Jayapura on the way to the airport - Yogwa Restaurant - great food for a decent money, they also arrange short boat trips on Sentani lake.

ok thanks. is there any specific locationwithin jayapura that you can recommend? like cafes, restaurants, expat-clubs, pubs, sports facilities or anything to pass time after work? thanks

Jayapura, founded on 7 March 1910 as Hollandia, had developed into a city with modern civil, educational, and medical services in 1962. Since Indonesian administration services have been replaced by Indonesian equivalents such as TNI (the army) replacing into Papua Battalion. The name of the city has been changed to Kotabaru, then to Sukarnopura and finally to its current official name. Among ethnic Papuans, it is also known as Port Numbai, the former name before the arrival of immigrants. Jayapura is the largest city, boasting a small but active tourism industry; it is built on a slope overlooking the bay. Cenderawasih University (UNCEN) campus stays at Abepura that is the houses of University Museum. Both Tanjung Ria beach, near the market at Hamadi (site of the 22 April 1944 Allied invasion during World War II) and the site of General Doughlas MacArthur's World War II headquarters at Mount Ifar have monuments commemorating the events. Sentani Lake: There is a settlement on the shore of this lake not far from Jayapura where one can observe local traditions as they are practiced in people daily lives. The short trip from Jayapura, pleasant as it is, offers a little foretaste of the province's magnificent sceneries. The Skyline Hills: Tanjung Ria Beach, known as base G by the Allies during World War II, is a popular holiday resort with water sports facilities. From Skyline in the hills behind the city, one gets a beautiful view of Jayapura, Jotefa and Humboldt bays and Sentani lake area. Places in the vicinity of Jayapura such as Skyline and Sentani Lake can be reached by taking a minibus. Biak has air and sea links with Jayapura. Sorong, is also served by air from Jayapura. Other destinations are reached by car or boat, or by light aircraft. Cheers! Glen http://www.flightnetwork.com