British Embassy Website for Indonesia

Some help and a moan about help for Passport renewal from Indonesia. The changes have been made only this week.



The site http://ukinindonesia.fco.gov.uk/en/ has undergone some kind of enhancement and improvement process by which all information regarding passport renewals goes to this page:

https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports ,

where it will give you 3 boxes to check and then provide the forms for you. So its quite friendly, however what it omits to tell you is whether you still need to just copy the page in your existing passport containing your photo and details and just send that.  The old site used to. The reason it used to advise that is because if you are in Indonesia you are likely to be stopped and your passport is required for proof of legal entry here. This information is sort of crucial and is missing.

Also the link http://ukinindonesia.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/  takes you to a page with the link http://ukinindonesia.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/passports/ which has another link in blue http://ukinindonesia.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/passports/# WHICH DOES NOT WORK and even if you copy it onto the browser and press enter it will take you to exactly the same page.

So if you want to go any further you need to go here:  https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports and follow the  instuctions already mentioned.

From some frantic searching if you go here it very simply tells you what you need to send (your passport is not apparently required according to this site but dont blame me if it is)

http://uk-passport-service-guide.com/british-passport-hong-kong/

So here is what I am doing as I need to renew my passport.

I have completed the relevant C1 forms. I have had them checked by another Englishman who recently sent off for his renewal to make sure they are correct. I have new passport photos following the advice https://www.gov.uk/photos-for-passports neither of which are counter signed as they are just for renewing my passport.
I have filled out the credit card payment form and signed, this can be found on the overseas-passports site along with the C1 (this is called the blank application form) the online one can be used if you have Adobe reader but I do not.

I will copy my details and slide it all into an envelope, take it to DHL pay around 300,000 for recorded post and send it here:


British Consulate-General
RPPC - 5th Floor
1 Supreme Court Road
Hong Kong

and wait at least 4 weeks for a new one to be delivered to me.

So really quite a simple process.....

My next challenge is to get a list of train times from Jakarta to Bandung out of the Kereta APi website. Wish me luck!

A storm

Not the perfect storm by any means, but a storm that was strong enough to flood parts of the city, bring it to a standstill and clear up the air a little. The bulk of it lasted for an hour but it finally stopped raining around 7pm. Now its all clear skies and stars...

 Before as the clouds move over the city

 Heavy rain is spreading

 The view is starting to disappear with the sheer volume of rain falling

 And the rain has blocked the view completely with in 30 minutes of it starting to rain

 But after another twenty minutes the rain has passed and the buildings become visible again

Until the view is pretty much back to normal

This is what I can see on a clear sunny day

Been a while since I have seen a storm like that although I know I have been in far too many but I am normally working when they happen and just look out of the window and then move on.

I am sure the result of the storm has been pretty bad for many but I am also pretty certain that it will be seen as a blessing with Chinese New Year tomorrow.

   

Work

I get the odd comment from people that I lead the lifestyle they can only dream of. One which appears to include little work, lots of photos of blue skies and palm trees and presenting a positive picture. Which on the whole it is. Mainly because I live in a tropical country which has an awful lot of blue skies and palm trees. I also work 50 hours plus a week. That bit perhaps is not so widely known.

I work for English First Indonesia and my centre is in Puri Indah, west Jakarta. I have worked for EF for 6 years now and despite some western peoples opinions I enjoy the work, the environment and the lifestyle it affords me. 

The reception area of my centre at Puri Indah

I start work somedays at 8 and some at 11 and never finish before 7 as a rule. I also work almost every Saturday morning. I don't complain about that because I understand that is something that is required of me and I agreed to doing it and enjoy it so why moan? I also travel through the city every day on a motorbike to get to work and back and that normally takes around 45 minutes each way. The reason I live so far from work is purely a personal one for my wife and a decision which I made. The journey by bike is pretty straight forward except experiencing life of death moments every day and due to the pollution I am sure the air I breathe is the same as smoking 30 cigarettes a day. 

My work is always fun, never dull, always challenging and teaching and training always has its rewards and so I am never bored. Just lke working anywhere else in the world, there are good days and bad days but every day is different as are the people I work with. 

My team is a mix of western and Indonesian teachers and staff. I have worked with teachers from many western countries and backgrounds who are here for many different reasons which adds to the fun. 

Working for the worlds largest provider of English language teaching also has its merits, such as its ability to provide new and exciting courses, training, promotional opportunities and so on. 

However, working and living in Indonesia for me is different to working and staying in Indonesia. The difference being the lifestyle and the responsibility. Now being married with a child on the way, life is more real for me, in the sense that there is very little difference to how it used to be for me back in England (except I was not married nor expecting a child) but the rest is the same. Bills, Shopping, making ends meet etc. These things are the same throughout the world. 

So, when I do get the opportunity to post photos and comment about how wonderful it is out here, it is exactly that. I am fortunate that I can if I choose go somewhere in a country of islands and be on a paradise island with in a couple of hours. That is something I am grateful for and which makes living here so much better. I am also in the middle of a city of 20 million people and that also has its rewards and fun bits. 

With a family to support now, the trips are less frequent. Moving to the house we are in now in a way helps make up for that. Why? well this is the first time I have been able to blog outside in the cooler evening air, with blue skies and whispy white clouds above, looking out at the tall and not so tall buildings to the north and listening to some guy at the local mosque telling us all something before its prayer time. 

Sitting here is exactly what I need now and I shall continue to enjoy it for a long time coming.

Why complain about that?

Moving House

Moving house is never easy however for me it was not hard. The rent was up on the place we called a house. The house which was burgled, ran out of water, was built on top of an ants nest, had water running out of the walls and was never really that great, but it was our first home and finally it was empty again as the rent was up and we had no desire to stay another year.

Back in October we put a deposit down on a house further into Mampang. It was still being built and it will be ideal for the baby which will be arriving in May. 

Unfortunately I had to work away upto Friday and so the majority of the packing was left to my wife and the maid. Also we had to pay the money to the landlady upfront before Saturday and so by the time I arrived home from the conference and we got to the bank, we were unable to transfer it electronically but took the cash instead and popped round to pay and get the keys.

After walking through our new house, we notice the roof was leaking and a few other issues which left me a little miffed but the landlady lives next door and has stated she will sort out all the problems and she is being good to her word. So we left to go back to finish the packing.

Goodbye to that

Hello to this

Saturday morning came and by 8.30am we were ready and all we needed to do was wait for the truck and the men we had hired to do the dirty work.

They arrived and 3 trips later all was moved and the old place was locked and the very unenjoyable task of unpacking began. First thing first, fridge on and beer back in! priorities. 

Then some cleaning and sort the bedroom out. After a good few hours, It was all clean, done and put away. All we needed then was Indovision to come and reinstall the TV and it was like we always had been there.

During the day, workmen were on the roof sorting that out, and they have assured me it wont leak again. It is raining hard now so its a good time to check. One of the ACs was leaking and they have fixed that, and now they need to come back and do some painting. 

Sunday saw us going Ace at Tebet Green to get some bits and pieces for the house. So we choose the furniture and other things we needed. We asked for delivery and they said Wednesday at the earliest. They then asked us if we were member and we said no and so they said no to delivering the things we wanted to buy. After more discussion they then said that they could deliver but it would cost us 150,000 idr or 10% of the purchase and still Wednesday. After asking if I could pay with my Permata debit card and they then saying no, I left. No deal, left the things on the counter. Walked out vowing never to return.

The wife then called her neighbour who's truck we used on Saturday and got him to take us to Ace at Pejaten. This time, armed with credit cards and a truck we bought more there than we would have and had no issues with service or anything and was done within an hour. The cost of the truck was 2 pizzas for him and his family. A far nicer delivery charge.

So now we have more furniture and the place is coming together nicely.

The balcony, my favourite place

Tuesday we woke at 4am to the notion that there was a power cut only to find it was just our house which had no power. After 8am we spoke to the landlady who told us the house used Pulsa top up for electricity so off we went to buy some and then typed in the code in the meter and the lights came on and the water ran. Now that we know, we can budget the electricity and spend our time sat in the dark saving money. 

And finally, Indovision came and erected the satellite dish and we have HBO and rubbish TV again. Joy. 

So its taken a week and few stresses to get in and settled but we are. It is a lovely house with a great view, big rooms and space to put things. It is modern and new. It has big gates at the front and is in a far safer area than the last house.  There is a Padang restaurant around the corner and a coconut store opposite as well as everything else within walking distance including an ATM so it is better located. Taxis will have to be booked  but at least they will come. The local mosque does scream a bit during call to prayer but it cant be heard in the bedroom and after this long it liiving in Indonesia the call becomes more background noise than anything else.

Some panoramic views

We still have to get more things for the house and also start getting things for the baby so I guess by this time next year we will have got it all sorted. I am hoping we wont have to move again for a good couple of years. Whilst not that stressful, I can think of better things to do over a weekend. 

Trip to Anyer

Recently as part of a team building exercise all the staff from my centre at EF Puri went off to Anyer for a weekend of socialising and games and relaxing. This is the second time I have been to the west coast of Java and it was a nice break from Jakarta.

We set off in a big rain storm and passed through the countryside of Java which is mainly fields and trees and small villages with big industries in the distance and by 4pm we were somewhere near the coast.

Anyer is close to Jakarta and it is a popular get away from the city and only 3 hours from the city. You take the toll to Cilegon and then head off the toll past the huge industrial plants of Kracatau steelworks and then over a bumpy road you eventually start seeing hotels, villas,beaches and the sea.
The coast line is not really that amazing as the beaches are small and the sea is wild but the sea is reasonably clean and on a clear day you can see the islands where Kracatau (Kracatao volcano) used to be and where the new island is forming deep in the Sunda Straits. You can also see the tip of Sumatra as well.

The trip to Anyer was pretty much an uneventful affair as the bus hurtled along the toll way. We did pass some flooded fields and went through some very heavy rain but that was pretty much it. We stopped at some Indomart for a toilet break and some snacks and then headed off to the beach resort that is Bulakan Beach.

We arrived there at 5.30pm and once the rooms were sorted out (29 of us into 4 rooms) time was our own until 7.30pm when we were to eat. So, we all wandered about taking photos and chatting.
After dinner, the need for some beer took over and so a few of us wandered off out of the resort to find some. We were shown to a small hut that sold stuff. It took a while to find as there was a power cut and so the whole place was pitch black. The small hut did indeed sell beer but at 23,000 for a can of Anker we decided to search elsewhere.

This is where I slept

This is involved a 2km wander down a pitch black pot holed road in the middle of nowhere dodging the holes in the road, cars, motorbikes, motorbikes with no lights and trucks carry huge excavators and stuff. Eventually a small bus trundled past and stopped a little further down the road. The driver locked rather stunned when 3 western men climbed on from nowhere and then got off again 600 metres later as we had found an Indomart and so happy once more. It did not sell beer.

At the end of the pier

The whole pier

The beach

Views of the beaches and coast

night time lights

waiting to eat

Leaving there armed with coke and more snacks we walked back in the relative safety of random lights as the power had been restored and once we eventually got back to the resort, went and sat in on pier refusing offers of durian from the locals there.
Around 9.30pm, there was another power out and then it decided to start raining. Not just a little drizzle but a full on storm. So in the dark, with the waves crashing below, the rain belting down and the thunder crashing  over head we stayed on the pier for over an hour because we could not see the way back, and wind, rain and waves made it a little more impossible to do so. Once the rain had died down however we were treated to an amazing lightning storm which was very impressive. We eventually got to the villa at 11.30pm.

The next morning the storms had waned and blue skies started breaking through. I wandered about taking photos before breakfast and then after breakfast we had some team building games which were, er, fun.

It was quite nice once the sun started shining

The best bit was when the boss instructed everyone must swim in the sea and no-one was exempt. Throwing in the admin staff into the sea was very satisfying, although I did apologise for getting her veil wet but she seemed not to mind and swam off!

The swimming and larking about lasted for a few hours and with the sun out and the air clear, sunburn hit a few of us.

Finally blue skies

Teachers and staff

Where we stayed

Once we had all showered and sorted ourselves out, we ate in the restaurant opposite the hotel and then clambered back on the bus for the return trip home, which like the trip to Anyer was rain filled and quick.

It was a good weekend away from the noise and chaos of the city and a fun time was had by all. Next year I think we will go to Puncak.

For more information about the place we stayed go here:

http://www.bulakanbeach.com/
http://placestostayindonesia.blogspot.com/2013/01/bulakan-beach-house-carita.html

Flooding 2013

When I arrived in 2007 into Indonesia, the city of Jakarta suffered its worst flooding for 5 years with some parts of the city 4 meters deep in river, sea and sewage water. Living in the west of the city near the airport made it near impossible to get into the city however also being new to the city I knew very little of it anyway, Jaksa, Senayan, Grogol and that was about it. So yes the floods were a disaster but never really affected me.

Due to its geographical location, Jakarta has basically been built on marsh and swamp or reclaimed land from the sea. There are 13 rivers which pour through the city all being fed from the hills and mountains in Puncak, through the over populated city of Bogor then into the urban sprawl of Greater Jakarta, through the city and then into the sea. However with the urbanisation of flood plain, river banks, lack of planning, drainage, control, rules, care etc this has meant that the city now floods into a great big mess resulting financial and personal loss and the further disruptment of already disrupted people.

However, like 2007, this year I missed the majority of the flooding because happily enough as the rain was coming down in buckets I was heading to the hills and a conference in Bogor so, all I got to see was the new paper reports and pictures and the wife telling me the roof was leaking in the house.

For many alas, it has not been so simple. The city to the west (where I used to live) is still under water as it is in the north.

The map below gives a good idea of the size of the floods, use the zoom key to explore it better

Some one once told me it was wise to live on a hill, not at the very bottom but on a hill nevertheless as you will never experience flooding. And so I have always done that. Saturday I moved house and I moved again to a street on a decline into a small river so there is no chance of flooding, plus my drive or car port at its very highest is at least 80cm higher than road.

The floods here have been terrible for rich and poor and I do feel sorry for almost everyone, except this perso below n in his car. A roller here can cost over a $1 million USD more than 95% of all Indonesians will earn in their entire lives, so driving it through the floods and then getting stuck, what were you thinking?serves you right. The driver even had a policeman to help get him out of trouble.

These people above however show how the rest of the affected had to deal with getting to safety. I am sure the girl is being helped by an emergency rescuer. Good for you. And I hope they get the help they need. 

That said. Since I have arrived back in the city on Friday, the trains have begun to run again, the Transjakarta busway is running almost normally with the exception of a couple of routes and where I am the city is hot and dry. I hope the last few days is the only very bad rain the city gets. But as it has not stopped raining in Puncak behind Bogor for over a week, the rivers will continue to be full and the chances of it all going away are limited for the next few days to say the least.

Some links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Jakarta_Flood

http://www.google.org/intl/en/crisisresponse/2013-jakarta-flood.html

http://www.thejakartapost.com/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21055978