Singapore in the morning

Tommorrow at 6.30am I fly out to Singapore, to renew my Business visa. Last week I picked up paperwork at Arjuna Immigration in Kerobokan, for 2m rp. I’ll file this at the Indonesian Embassy in downtown Singapore and get back here the next day.

You never totally know where you stand with the Indonesian immigration, as they don’t like communication. New rules are released and we read about them in the press. I’m still on a Multiple Entry Business, which works out well. Arjuna took a copy of my old passport, with a previous Multiple Entry Business, stamped in. I was told people who had previously had them can continue, newcomers get a Single Entry Business visa. Take this with a grain of salt, it could be nonsense.

Singapore is a good place to do a visa run; close, efficient, easy to get around, has some budget accommodation downtown, people speak English, non-corrupt (we’ll get to that later) and I know my way around.

The flight tommorrow goes through Jakarta to Singapore, then direct back. I should be in Singapore at 11.15am or so. Processing paperwork at the Indonesian Embassy is real easy. I have the number of an Indian guy, Mr Wahid, who is an ‘agent’. You’ll always find him at the desk right outside the embassy, fiddling with a stack of passports and paperwork. I’ll pass him my paperwork plus a small fee, he’ll jump the queue for me and get the passport back asap. That can mean within 2-3 hours, assuming I can get it in before 12 midday. I’ve cut it as close as 5 minutes before and if I miss, I could have headaches with my return flight. This time I’m staying overnight, put it in on tuesday, and pick it up that day or wednesday morning.

My friend Fauzi knows I’m coming, so I hope to hang out with him for a while. For people who have never been to Singapore, it has to be one of the easiests places to travel in, with speedy, no-hassle immigration, ATM’s, and a bus garage in the basement.

Reports fro, Singapore will be coming, plus my shopping for a new camera.