Bizarro World aka Singapore
I am in Singapore now and its my frist time out of Indo since I got there so long ago. Singapore is but 45 minutes from Indonesia but worlds apart. But I will start at the beginning...
I had to leave Indo becasue my visa was going to expire. I really didn't want to leave as I was having so much fun in Jogja staying with Sky at Sierra and Rachels house and spending the days watching movies and leaving the house to buy various yummy foods. It was a gloriuos time. A time I didn't want to end. But the government wanted me out. My visa was set to expire on the 27th of Aug so thats the day I had planed to go to singapore. Then I looked at my visa again and noticed that I was looking at the wrong number and I really had to be out of the country on the 21st, but of course it was after the 21st. The Lonley Planet says don't overstay your visa and just expect to get on your plane. Quite ambigious if you ask me. Suranto, the via field coordinator really wasn't sure what was going to happen but there was prob going to be a large fine and I prob wasn't going to be thrown in prison like I feared. So I took a flight to Batam - the island 45 minutes boat ride from singapore (Its like $30 to fly to Batam and $130 to fly to Singapore). I bought my boat ticket and anxiously handed my passport to the women at the immigration counter. She starred at it for a while and looked confused and then just stamped it. So yay for inefficency! And yay for Indonesia.
But now I am in Singapre which is like america in the future and cleaner. I spent so long starring at those buttons you press to cross the street. I haven't seen one of those in a long time. Everything is rational and orderly. And everyone speaks english. And all the signs are in english. They have ben and Jerry's stores and Subways. Even the menu at McDonalds lacks the rice and eggs found in Indo. It even has the sausage egg McMuffin (I slept too late today to eat it sadly). And I must reiterate this is but a 45 minute boat ride from Indonesia. I just can't believe it could be so different. They even say mind the gap in a british accent on the subway.
I also went to the best zoo in world (it was a night zoo with nocternal animals only open at night) where they had an avairy of fruit bats and another of GIANT FLYING SQUIRRELS!!! And they fly around the cage. It was awsome.
So I'm now traveling around South East Asia and so far so good.
I had to leave Indo becasue my visa was going to expire. I really didn't want to leave as I was having so much fun in Jogja staying with Sky at Sierra and Rachels house and spending the days watching movies and leaving the house to buy various yummy foods. It was a gloriuos time. A time I didn't want to end. But the government wanted me out. My visa was set to expire on the 27th of Aug so thats the day I had planed to go to singapore. Then I looked at my visa again and noticed that I was looking at the wrong number and I really had to be out of the country on the 21st, but of course it was after the 21st. The Lonley Planet says don't overstay your visa and just expect to get on your plane. Quite ambigious if you ask me. Suranto, the via field coordinator really wasn't sure what was going to happen but there was prob going to be a large fine and I prob wasn't going to be thrown in prison like I feared. So I took a flight to Batam - the island 45 minutes boat ride from singapore (Its like $30 to fly to Batam and $130 to fly to Singapore). I bought my boat ticket and anxiously handed my passport to the women at the immigration counter. She starred at it for a while and looked confused and then just stamped it. So yay for inefficency! And yay for Indonesia.
But now I am in Singapre which is like america in the future and cleaner. I spent so long starring at those buttons you press to cross the street. I haven't seen one of those in a long time. Everything is rational and orderly. And everyone speaks english. And all the signs are in english. They have ben and Jerry's stores and Subways. Even the menu at McDonalds lacks the rice and eggs found in Indo. It even has the sausage egg McMuffin (I slept too late today to eat it sadly). And I must reiterate this is but a 45 minute boat ride from Indonesia. I just can't believe it could be so different. They even say mind the gap in a british accent on the subway.
I also went to the best zoo in world (it was a night zoo with nocternal animals only open at night) where they had an avairy of fruit bats and another of GIANT FLYING SQUIRRELS!!! And they fly around the cage. It was awsome.
So I'm now traveling around South East Asia and so far so good.