belly bali lembongan

Jakarta ain't easy

JKT black and white

     a view from Kalibata City estate, South Jakarta

    secondary school students, Kota, Central Jakarta

    motorbikes take every free space, here Kota, Central Jakarta

     Kota station, Central Jakarta

     plastic bottles are source of extra, if not the only, income for less fortunate, Central Jakarta 

     cadets leaving mess after lunch, Marunda, North Jakarta

    a man sleeping in Kota Station, Central Jakarta

how to win with indonesian immigration office?

1. Be patient. As you can see from picture below, visa extension is a long beaurocratic process. In my case it took four visits, even though the whole thing could be done within two visits (I know it, cos for first extension I had go exactly twice).

 
2. Come, smile and have solid backup, such as one of STIP (abbreviation of school I teach in) uniformed teachers by your side. A uniform is definitely on of your bests friend in Indonesia!

3. Speak Bahasa, otherwise you're lost, unless you go to Kantor Imigrasi Jakarta Utara, where charming Lukito does his best to serve non-Bahasa speakers.

4. Or just forget about hassle with immigration office, book unbelievably cheap tickets (20 quid round-trip!) to Singapore or KL and then get a Visa On Arrival, which costs exactly same as visa extension.
 

Done!

olympus mju II JKT