This past weekend was a bit of a nightmare.
The visa offices for Indonesia were closed for the month of Ramadan so neither Jackie nor I have been able to receive our working visas. Which means we were forced to leave the country for a day after our 30 day visa expired. When we arrived at the airport we were forced to pay a fee because we had overstayed our visa by 1 day (July has 31 days... duh!). We got to Singapore and while trying to meet a friend were lost for over an hour. We then spent the rest of the day at Ikea while both of us were having stomach problems commonly associated with living in a 3rd world country. After a very long day we made our way to the airport only to find out that we would have difficulty reentering Indonesia due to the fact that we did not have visas. We tried to explain that it was impossible to have visas yet but Singapore and Indonesia are so different. Finally we were able to leave after a lengthy process of both of us having to prove our employment only to have our flight delayed by over an hour. Upon arrival in Indonesia we were forced to pay a "tax" (the special kind reserved for bule) on top of our normal tax to return. Our bags then took almost an hour to arrive as the baggage company had misplaced them. Needless to say it was a rough day and we were both exhausted and frustrated with Indonesian bureaucracy.
On top of all that I also learned that my Grandmother is fighting for her life and has ceased to breath unassisted. She is the last remaining member of my mothers family.. She is a wonderful woman of whom I have many fantastic memories. I am so grateful my fiancé was able to meet her.
The visa offices for Indonesia were closed for the month of Ramadan so neither Jackie nor I have been able to receive our working visas. Which means we were forced to leave the country for a day after our 30 day visa expired. When we arrived at the airport we were forced to pay a fee because we had overstayed our visa by 1 day (July has 31 days... duh!). We got to Singapore and while trying to meet a friend were lost for over an hour. We then spent the rest of the day at Ikea while both of us were having stomach problems commonly associated with living in a 3rd world country. After a very long day we made our way to the airport only to find out that we would have difficulty reentering Indonesia due to the fact that we did not have visas. We tried to explain that it was impossible to have visas yet but Singapore and Indonesia are so different. Finally we were able to leave after a lengthy process of both of us having to prove our employment only to have our flight delayed by over an hour. Upon arrival in Indonesia we were forced to pay a "tax" (the special kind reserved for bule) on top of our normal tax to return. Our bags then took almost an hour to arrive as the baggage company had misplaced them. Needless to say it was a rough day and we were both exhausted and frustrated with Indonesian bureaucracy.
On top of all that I also learned that my Grandmother is fighting for her life and has ceased to breath unassisted. She is the last remaining member of my mothers family.. She is a wonderful woman of whom I have many fantastic memories. I am so grateful my fiancé was able to meet her.
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