It's hard to travel light for anyone but especially tough if you're a royal. Just ask the king of Saudi Arabia.

He's arrived in Indonesia as part of a rare royal tour of Asia with nearly 460 tonnes of luggage and an entourage of 1,500 people, according to Indonesian officials.

Had King Salman been flying with a commercial airline he'd have needed 23,000 bags to split his gear into typical 20kg suitcases. On Easyjet that would have led to a £690,000 bill for excess baggage.

Image: Saudi Arabia's King Salman stands on an escalator as he arrives at Halim Perdanakusuma airport in Jakarta, Indonesia

Thankfully for the king his official jet was on hand to take him to Halim airport in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta.

Several other jets carrying his entourage and equipment also arrived in the country.


Among his baggage were Mercedes limousines and special escalators and lifts to help the 81-year-old descend from his plane.

His visit to Indonesia is the first by a Saudi royal in 47 years and comes as the world's biggest oil exporter looks to diversify its economy.

He was greeted at the airport by the Indonesian President Joko Widodo and a guard of honour before being escorted to the presidential palace in Bogor.

Tens of thousands of people lined the route to the palace as part of the official welcome.

The two countries are expected to sign 10 agreements during the three-day visit, in areas such as religion, education and science.

The king will then spend a further six days on holiday with his entourage in Bali.

King Salman has already visited Malaysia and is due to visit Brunei, Japan, China and the Maldives next.