Some thoughts on Indonesia
First impression was at the airport. It wasn't much to look at but it did have character to say the least.
I arrived into Jakarta airport a little bit sleep-deprived as the Singapore Air A380 I was on had just too many entertainment options. Knowing that I was tired (and tiredness causes me to make mistakes) I was on my guard. On top of that the instructions we received from the soon-to-be husband and wife were kind-of-vague. They had arranged for someone to greet me at the airport and take my girl and I to the apartment hotel called Kuningen.
To my surprise, the person sent to greet me was waiting directly within the arrivals corridor - i.e. an area that's closed off to the general public unless they have a boarding pass. I found this to be quite odd. My greeter spoke English quite well and was dressed nicely enough but wasn't wearing a uniform. I recognised him as he was holding out a sign with my name.
I started wondering if this was some kind of scam and then alarm bells started going off in my mind the moment we reached the customs desks. Instead of lining up to get my passport inspected, he requested that I hand it over to him and beckoned for me to go straight out without any formal checking. To my surprise, none of the security staff at the customs desk battered an eyelid as I conveniently bypassed the long line of arrivals.
I nervously waited for what seemed like an eternity whilst my greeter disappeared into an adjacent office with my precious document in tow.
I arrived into Jakarta airport a little bit sleep-deprived as the Singapore Air A380 I was on had just too many entertainment options. Knowing that I was tired (and tiredness causes me to make mistakes) I was on my guard. On top of that the instructions we received from the soon-to-be husband and wife were kind-of-vague. They had arranged for someone to greet me at the airport and take my girl and I to the apartment hotel called Kuningen.
To my surprise, the person sent to greet me was waiting directly within the arrivals corridor - i.e. an area that's closed off to the general public unless they have a boarding pass. I found this to be quite odd. My greeter spoke English quite well and was dressed nicely enough but wasn't wearing a uniform. I recognised him as he was holding out a sign with my name.
I started wondering if this was some kind of scam and then alarm bells started going off in my mind the moment we reached the customs desks. Instead of lining up to get my passport inspected, he requested that I hand it over to him and beckoned for me to go straight out without any formal checking. To my surprise, none of the security staff at the customs desk battered an eyelid as I conveniently bypassed the long line of arrivals.
I nervously waited for what seemed like an eternity whilst my greeter disappeared into an adjacent office with my precious document in tow.