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Article Archive for September 2016

Going to Immigration – A Complete Disaster

September 30, 2016 – 12:19 pm
Pematang Siantar Immigration Office

My trip to the immigration office was a complete disaster. It could not have been a bigger failure. The details might be confusing or boring, but bear with me. It’s important to note that I wasn’t doing anything unusual or complicated. It’s a standard procedure to get a 60-day tourist visa before entering Indonesia and then extend it for 30 days at a time if needed (up to four times for a total of six months).

“You stupid! You stupid! You stupid!”

September 29, 2016 – 10:48 am
bike-with-cyclone-optimzed

Today is the day that I go to immigration to apply for a 30-day visa extension. I hope it goes well. If there is a serious problem, I still have options, however. I wouldn’t be happy about it, but I could probably go back to Tanjungbalai and take the ferry back to Malaysia. Then I could make my way up to Penang and apply for a fresh 60-day visa. I’m confident I could get that. But it would be better at this point to get the 30-day extension locally.

Overnight Wackiness in a Wonky Hotel

September 28, 2016 – 6:08 pm
hotel-room-near-lima-puluh

I’m still in Sumatra. My current tourist visa is expiring in a few days, and I’m on my way to a town called Siantar to visit the immigration office and apply for a 30-day extension. This may or may not go well. You need official documents from a local sponsor in order to get a visa extension. I have a sponsor and the documents already prepared, but this sponsor lives in the town of Kisiran, not in Siantar.

Kisaran Life

September 16, 2016 – 10:00 am
Indonesia Olympus 027

Shivering bunny rabbits and Independence Day preparations in Kisaran, Sumatra.

Those Horns Will Drive You Crazy

September 5, 2016 – 9:58 am
Indonesia Olympus 046

Walking along the streets of Kisaran, Sumatra.