"The only way Indonesia can stabilize the currency is to take all discretion away from the Bank Indonesia," "It has no credibility whatsoever." That is a pretty harsh statement and came from American economist, Steven Hanke of Johns Hopkins University and was part of an article discussing the 'dollarization' of Indonesia.
The Indonesian rupiah took a beating this week against the US$ and brought back memories of 1999, when the Asian Economic Crisis hit the country really hard. Former President Suharto was ousted after a 30 year rule by a population that had been angered by his attempts to control the economy. Once again the whole fuel subsidy issue comes into play and its something President SBY has to grapple with.
In a Bloomberg article, columnist Andy Mukherjee asks 'what's the good of having a monetary authority when it can't protect the purchasing power of the currency it issues?' I don't know the answer, but you've got to remember where we are. A lot of things that go on here have no rhyme or reason. Adopting the dollar, or some kind of other foreign currency will never happen in Indonesia. There is a control mentality here and even if it makes economic sense it would represent a huge loss of face. Saving face and waving the nationalistic banner is important over here. Just look at the VOA. Fancy charging your customers to get in! That's what it amounts to. Fancy making it harder for Americans and other people to come over and spend money on holiday, just because they raised their visa requirements. Its tit-for-tat and not about common sense.
Anyway I think it is also interesting that economists also mentioned that Bali already has an informal dollarization. Its true that the VOA must be paid in $US. Plane tickets and certain other things are in dollars. People know where they are with a fistful of greenbacks. Surf school and hotels for instance often charge in dollars, or at least accept them.
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Sorry, I am unfamiliar with the term VOA…I know it is not the Voice of America radio station. Can you tell me what that refers to? Thanks
25 bucks for VOA is not bad when compared to the cost of getting the US entry visa for Indonesians. These poor dudes must pay $100 visa processing cost to the US embassy. If they don’t get the visa for whatever reasons, they loose the money for nothing. Bad heh!!?
Steve Hall, VOA is visa on arrival for tourist only. It is $25.00 for 30 days.
I agree with Tom Y, it costs a lot for Indonesian to obtain visa to go to other countries, that if they ever get one…
it costs more than 25 dollars for me to taxi from my house to the airport on my way to bali.
many countries in asia have exit fees - like manila has a 500 peso exit fee (10 bucks).
it’s not that material.
If I didn’t know that the 25 bucks was just going into some wankers pocket, I would think that it gives me an opportunity to enter the country - and will be used for good like renovating the airport and paying the staff etc [haha yeah right]
The cost of $25.00 is just regular visa that we can obtain at the airport instead of applying for one in your country.
As US Citizen, we do not need visa to go to Europe, but we need visa for Russia (we have to pay a lot!!!)and some countries in Middle East.
Does Australian need visa to come to US?
Tony wrote: “So what if Indonesians have to pay $100 for a visa to get in the US. It’s a poor, third-world country. Who knows what their intention may be. Someone coming from a western country isn’t going to stay behind as an illegal immigrant.”
My response: Oh really ?, Sherlock! Which is doing more harms? entering a country with intention to be an illegal or to be a drug dealer like that what-her-face oz girl? Or even worse, to be paedophile?
Speaking about illegals, how come you know so much?. Your parents might have been one of those WOPs.
I agree with y’all that $25 VOA should be scrapped for it creates ill-wills among tourists.
But, what y’all need to know is that the indo government introduced it only after similar price gouging on visa processings by many western countries. From their point of view, they feel that they have every doggone rights to charge us some fee on entry. It sucks but it could be worse.
Think of it as the price of admission into the country.
It’s a pretty small price considering the roller coaster that you get to ride 
fredg,
You got a good point there pal. If Boloney heads like Tony Soprano can not afford $25 to enter a country, then they should all stay home and do nothing for fun but scratching their balls until they all shine like buffed-up bowling balls. Forgive my French.
Intan, Thanks for the response.
Intan, Thanks for the response. I have paid the fee and had forgotten doing so. It is well worth the expense.
I can afford the twenty five bucks for a 2-3 week visit. But the point is, I may not be the typical traveller. Think of an Asian family of 5 considering Phuket, or Sabah, or Hong Kong, or Bali. For them, that’ll be a 3 nighter or so trip and it will be an extra US$125 to go to Bali. This family will opt out. And they will tell their friend why. And Bali will suffer.
Rich,
I believe travellers from 10 ASEAN countries are exempted. So your typical Asian family doesn’t have to pay a dime.
Any way, if you are travelling with that many in tow, you got to expect to spend a lot. $25/person extra is not going to make a whole lot of difference in your total expenses. Also, with every thing being so cheap in Bali, you’ll soon forget about that silly VOA fee.
The typical Asian traveller in Bali is not from ASEAN but from either Taiwan or the PRC. And if you have so much money that you think $25US per person isn’t going to make that big a difference, please mail me a check for $150. Thanks!!!!
Hey guys,
It is very simple. You don’t like to pay USD25.00 for visa then go somewhere else.
Bali has its own cultures just like other places.
They are not the same.
Also with USD 25.00 you can see other islands in Indonesia, not only Bali.
Indonesia has about 13,000 islands and many, many, many cultures.
So please do keep your USD 25.00 and SHUT DA FUCK UP.
Ay dio Mio…pardon my French.
Hi Tom,
I believe visitors from Hong Kong and Macao are exempt. And Chan is right, Bali is a huge destination for PRC and “Free China” (ha, sorry!) Taiwanese visitors. Hey, culture and all that is great, but travellers from these regions are looking for a quickie tour trip, and the extra visa fee will simply help to drive them out, because they make their travel decisions based on agents’ recommendations–which are tied to the bottom line. Hey, that’s fine with me, mind you–I like Bali much better since the bombing, SARS, chicken flu, the Tsunami, Corby/drugs, you name it–the fewer touristos there the better, in my opinion–I’d be happy being the only guy there. But I’m not Balinese and don’t know how the locals think about that….
Hi Tom,
I believe visitors from Hong Kong and Macao are exempt. And Chan is right, Bali is a huge destination for PRC and “Free China” (ha, sorry!) Taiwanese visitors. Hey, culture and all that is great, but travellers from these regions are looking for a quickie tour trip, and the extra visa fee will simply help to drive them out, because they make their travel decisions based on agents’ recommendations–which are tied to the bottom line. Hey, that’s fine with me, mind you–I like Bali much better since the bombing, SARS, chicken flu, the Tsunami, Corby/drugs, you name it–the fewer touristos there the better, in my opinion–I’d be happy being the only guy there. But I’m not Balinese and don’t know how the locals think about that….
how much rupia money would you get in bali for 1 australian dollar?
please tell me i have no idea and i need to know
Never been to Bali before, arriving in march, can i pay for my VOA in rupee, you all only mention $dollars, please help with my querie, leaving for OZ from UK.this week do i need to get dollars. thanks
keep in mind nick, the VOA price point is a relatively small price to pay to get into the country - it costs me 1100 to fly there, i’ll spend another 2K on hotel food and booze…what’s another 20,30, or 50 bucks (whatever it is).
you’re right though, indonesia will never adopt the usd for the exact same reason you point out - loss of face.