General Info

[Buc Punter]

I am planning a 3 nights stay in Jakarta next week and wanted to make sure that there is no Holidays etc Happening? On my lasy visit on the eve of Ramadan I found just about everything closed! Would really appreciate if somebody who lives in Jakarta could confirm that next week is a "normal" week?

Thanks

You should be fine Mr. Oz. Enjoy your stay.

[J Jason]

Hi JD,

Come on over, there are no holidays next week.

[J D Cooper]

I am planning a 3 nights stay in Jakarta next week and wanted to make sure that there is no Holidays etc Happening? On my lasy visit on the eve of Ramadan I found just about everything closed! Would really appreciate if somebody who lives in Jakarta could confirm that next week is a "normal" week?

Thanks

[One Tree Hill]

If you want to vist a few places in Asia this is a great deal on CAthay Pacific..you can litterally hop scotch all over if you like for $1099

check it out: http://www.cathay-usa.com/offers/aap/subdefault.asp

[Mighty Spearsman]

Depending on your passport, if you do not obtain a visa ahead of time, and you do not come from one of the "visa upon arrival" countries, you may find it difficult or even impossible to fly to Jakarta.

I know of a recent case where a woman with a passport from a black African country (who lives in the USA and has a green card) first travelled to Hong Kong with no problem (didn't need a visa for Hong Kong as she comes from a Commonwealth nation). Then she went to the Hong Kong airport on a Saturday morning to fly on Cathay Pacific to Jakarta; she did not have a visa for Indonesia, as she assumed that her green card would qualify her for the "visa upon arrival" service, especially if she paid an extra cash "fee" at the Jakarta airport.

However, Cathay Pacific refused to let her on their flight. She was told to go to the Indonesian consulate in downtown Hong Kong (near Wanchai) on the following Monday and get a visa first, then Cathay Pacific would let her fly with them. Which she did, but it delayed her travel plans by a few days.

I agree with xxl that the whole process of obtaining visas is ridiculous and often a joke.

[1Ball]

XXL, good story. I have often found myself landing at DPS, at the same time as 3 other int'l flights have landed, and the arrival hall is packed. I normally get a 6 months multiple entry business visa, which costs 75 US$, and it takes about 1 week from the time I send it off, to the time I get it back. It does take up an entire page in the passport, but then everyone knows that the smaller the country's economy, and power on the world stage, the more officious everything looks. My 10 year passport lasts me about 3 years, due to all these annoying official looking visas.

Anyway, upon landing, I typically walk over to the area marked "airline crew", hand over my passport with a 50K bill placed directly on top, and am out into the steamy heat within 15 minutes of the wheels having touched the ground. I used to stand in line for up to 1 1/2 hours in the past, but I would rather spend the 50K, and be fucking my girl, within 40 minutes of landing


1ball

[XXL]

ah, bribery and corruption it's just the ticket!

I wouldn't be surprised if you could "buy" your way in without any visa. However, I would advise against doing that because you don't know what will happen when you leave the country. The risk then is not only getting sent back on the same flight, which is bad enough, but getting arrested. The cops know the stakes are higher and they would then try to exact a much higher bribe. It's a warning I remember reading about in one of the (otherwise useless) Lonely Planet guides: never boast of getting into a country without the required visa because it's getting out that difficult, not getting in!

By the way, upon arrival in Jakarta airport did you notice one room to the right side of the checkpoints where a few cops always seem to be chatting and idling around? Well, long ago before the introduction of visas, the room what pointed to me by an English expat. If you didn't feel like queuing like the rest of the passengers, he said, you just went in there, threw in banknote and they would stamp your passport and wave you through at once. Apparently, that's what the idle policemen were there for.

I also resent having to procure a visa, not only because it uses up passport pages but because of the paperwork, the waste of time and the non-zero probability of a cock-up by consulate staff. If only Indo consulates would provide for multiple entry visas: you could then pay double (or triple) the fee and get a credit of so many days to be used up within the next three months or so. They have multiple entry visas, but only for special purposes and they take ages to get because they require authorisation from Jakarta!

[Dorman]

I hold two passports, British and Irish, the UK is a VoA country so it's no problem but the Irish aren't eligible (something to do with Irish support for the East Timorese I think) so I had to get the visa for it in Bangkok, it took a couple of days but was valid for 60 days. My girlfriend has a good friend who used to work for the Indonesian immigration department and he has arranged to get a year long visa for me. This allows me to stay for 60 days at a time without having a new visa stuck in every time I travel thus saving me space in my passport (as well as giving me an excuse to visit Thailand every two months). I suggest getting one of these if you can.

For a variety of reasons when I came back into Indonesia the last time I decided to use my UK passport, I got the visa stuck in my passport ok but when I presented myself at the immigration desk the official wanted to see my return ticket back out of the country which I didn't have and which was required for a VoA. The guy looked at me, glanced over at his colleague sitting beside him who gave a little nod, and asked me what I was going to do. Well what could I do? Fly back to Singapore to get a return ticket? He just looked at me and mumbled something I didn't quite make out, he then said 'do you understand what I mean?', 'Oh', I said 'I understand' and I slipped my hand into my back pocket where I had some US dollars, I discreetly palmed a $20 bill to him and he stamped my passport. As he handed it to me he smiled politely and said 'Sorry about that problem sir', 'Not at all officer, you're only doing your job' I replied,' 'Ok have a nice day' 'You too' as we went about our business, ah, bribery and corruption it's just the ticket!

I wish the Indonesian govt. would just go back to the way it was two years ago, and instead of using up a page and a half in visas they would just have an in and out stamp like Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.

[Mighty Spearsman]

xxl,
i also live in one of those countries you mentioned. but i think the best way to get a visa is not on arrival, but beforehand in your own country. imagine, queuing for ages (you must be familiar with the speed of things happening in indonesian offices) after a flight of hours!

i have a u.s. passport. i've visited indonesia twice during the last six months (last august, as referred to in my dec. 24th post below, and this past month). in both cases, i purchased my visa upon arrival at the airport. last august, there were two people in line ahead of me (but the line moved quickly), while this past month, there was no line at all.

both times, i received the visa within 1 minute of being waited on - the passport official entered the information into the computer, then the visa was printed out on the spot. i was pleasantly surprised at the speed of the process!

the only potential downside to this is that the visa is only good for 30 days. since my next visit to indonesia in july is scheduled to last 35 days, i'll be getting my visa for that trip at the indonesian consulate in the us ahead of time.

[Menteng]

XXL,

I think, that in the country you and I live, a registered mail is safe.
About queing, I've heard different stories. Besides, the more countries, the more people will be waiting to get their visa at the windows ;-).

[XXL]

Menteng,

OK, if you live in a capital city or in a city where you can go to the consulate to arrange you visa and physically collect your passport later. But if, like me, you have so send you passport through the post, it's another matter. The risk of a passport getting lost is not zero. It's an uncertainty factor I could do without.

As to queuing for ages, I think it's not like that most of the time. I've travelled with someone from one of the VOA countries. He has been through customs nearly as quickly as I.

xxl

[Menteng]

Scotty,

If you're still interested, it is very, very easy to get Viagra in Jakarta. Near all the "hot" places you will find stalls selling them without prescription. And they are cheap. Some stalls also sell Levitra and I also happened to see one selling Cialis in the Kota district.

[Menteng]

xxl,
i also live in one of those countries you mentioned. but i think the best way to get a visa is not on arrival, but beforehand in your own country. imagine, queing for ages (you must be familiar with the speed of things happening in indonesian offices) after a flight of hours!

[XXL]

This is something I've just read on the web (updated Feb 2005):

"Countries Expected to be Added: Based on recommendations made to the Government by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the following 11 countries may be added to the list of nations able to arrange visas on arrival: The Netherlands, Sweden, Russian Federation, People's Republic of China, India, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Belgium, and Portugal"

As a citizen on one of the above countries, I eagerly await these new additions.

If anyone on this forum is in the same boat as I, let's keep each other informed.

xxl

[Nuts M]

Maybe I shouldn't post this but,
"12-17-03 at 19:07 #7
XXL
Senior Member
Posts: 159 Scared of Indonesia

When I say I'm not in the least afraid of traveling to Indonesia, I'm not telling the whole truth. An earthquake is something I'm really apprehensive about." and he goes into further detail, this is from page 5.