Articles in Sumatra
Tanjungbalai Immigration Nightmare – Final Chapter
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
At long, long last, I have my 30-day visa extension. In total, it took 14 days, countless hours, and incredble stress and frustration. But I got some valuable life lessons (assuming I needed to be reminded again that most of the world is inefficient and corrupt).
I went back to the government office first thing on Monday morning. I really had to push …
Fruit Juice, Dinner, and a Travelling Carnival
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Well, the dust has settled, and I have my 30-day tourist visa extension. It allows me to stay in Indonesia until February 10.
I wrote a summary of my terrible experience, and I posted it to a bicycle touring group on Facebook. It has gotten a fairly emotional response from both foreigners and Indonesians. I’ve had some other funny moments, too. I told …
Leaving Tanjungbalai and a Great Day in Kisaran
Sunday, March 6, 2016
It was finally time to load up the bike and head into the interior of Sumatra. I’d delayed so long that my tourist visa was about to expire again. It’s a bit of a pain that the extensions are for only 30 days. In a normal world, I’d just return to the Tanjungbalai immigration office to get the extension, but they’d made …
Relaxing and Good Food in Kisaran
Monday, March 7, 2016
6:30 a.m. Hotel Cahaya Asahan, Kisaran, Sumatra
Just a quick note to start my day. Today, I plan to ride to the town of Lima Puluh. It’s only about forty kilometers away, so I think I have plenty of time. However, I’d like to get on the road relatively early in the morning. Ideally, I’d already be loading up my bike and leaving. …
A Night at the Wismah Idola in Perdagangan
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
6:50 a.m. Wismah Idola, Perdagangan, Sumatra
I could have and probably should have gotten up earlier this morning. I was awake around 4:30 and probably well-rested (since I went to bed early), but I was enjoying my comfortable air-conditioned room too much, and I stayed in bed until later.
I’m awake now largely because of the strange habits of truck drivers. It’s the same …
Cycling to Siantar and the Hunt for Water
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
5:40 a.m. Room 7 on the second floor of the Tamariah Losmen, Siantar, Sumatra
Getting out of Perdagangan took longer than I expected, and I wasn’t on the road until after 10 o’clock. That really wasn’t the best idea, and I realized that very quickly as I started to ride. The sun was high in the sky, and I would be dealing with …
Visa Extension at the Siantar Immigration Office
Thursday, March 10, 2016
7:00 a.m. Room 7, Tamariah Losmen
Siantar, Sumatra
My quest to renew my tourist visa has not gotten off to a good start. I arrived in Siantar too late on Tuesday to make it to the immigration office. That was my fault for not taking the issue seriously. I should have left at 6 a.m. from Perdagangan, guaranteeing that I’d arrive in Siantar with …
Illness and Struggling with ATMs
Friday, March 11, 2016
8:10 a.m. Room 7, Tamariah Losmen
Sumatra
It’s a bit later in the morning for my journal session. That is because I have no need to go to immigration this morning. My passport is sitting in some pile somewhere in their offices waiting to be dealt with. Hopefully they put an extension stamp in it and then I can pick it up on Monday. …