A Change of Pace

If there’s one thing that is true in Indonesia, it’s the idiom “never a dull moment”. As expats, things get complicated when, for example, one’s employment contract runs its term. You see, in Indonesia, like in most countries I would imagine, the key challenge to being a long-term expat is remaining legal. It’s something you don’t think about when you’re on a 2-week trip somewhere, but typically you can’t just “live” in a country indefinitely without the legal paperwork. Ask Trump about that! J

Indonesia is no exception, and is quite the opposite, almost to the point, some might say, of being anti-foreigner in its tangle of visa procedures. Nothing is quick and easy. In a nutshell, your residency permit is glued to your employment permit. No job, bye-bye. Someone between you and your spouse has to have a legit full-time job with a registered Indonesian company, otherwise you’re a tourist (who, upon arrival, have 30 days to leave).

So, when my contract with the employer who brought me over here, ran its course in February (i.e., 7 months ago), things got interesting. In Indonesia, when one loses one’s job, one is presented with a piece of paper euphemistically referred to as an “Exit Permit”. In other words, you are “asked to leave”, i.e., the country – and you have 5 whole days to clear out. So that’s when the fun began!

The story, the whole gory story, is far too long and bloody for this blog post. It has indeed been a roller coaster “zero to hero to zero to hero to…” ride, and a rather stressful one – a somewhat twisted tale of lies and deceit, as the saying goes. But that story, my friends, can only be adequately told over good beer and fine wine. Suffice it to say, I have found alternative forms of employment/income, and I am currently pursuing whatever I can get my hands on in the environmental consulting field (i.e., what I do). The fun just never stops!

As an interesting aside, Amy, who came to Indonesia as the token tag-along spouse – and was in the “gee, I hope there is something for me to do all day while my husband is working” category – has ironically been the steady force of nature here in Indonesia. Prior to arriving, Amy applied for a local teaching job, got the job, and continues to this day to dominate the expat teaching scene as the infamous “Miss Amy” at her school. Most importantly, she currently provides the legal means for us to be here (remember that “job” thing I mentioned earlier….she has one!).  

So ya, for the past 6 or so months, my life has changed from one of a routine daily bike commute to my little office job here in Bogor, to a convoluted mix of downtown Jakarta missions, meetings, working at home, and flying back and forth to Singapore on visa runs. What’s a visa run, you ask? Recall the “Exit Permit” requiring one to leave the country. Singapore is the closest international destination to us (1.5-hour flight), meaning that’s where we (by “we” I mean pretty much every expat in Indonesia) go to “leave the country”, then come back in under another visa situation. It’s a thriving business for Singapore visa agents, not to mention the airport vendors and duty-free stores. All very complicated, all very stressful, all very crazy.

On the flipside, I have become much more acquainted with downtown Jakarta, in all of its polluted and congested glory. Like all places around the world, anyone who’s anyone, and the lion’s share of the business action, is smack downtown in the biggest city in the country. Jakarta, Indonesia, is that place. A 35+ million mass of steaming humanity, Jakarta is one of the most densely packed places on the planet, and has the traffic jams to prove it. Mix in 30+ degree heat and 100% humidity on a daily basis, and it is indeed a pressure cooker. It is however, a thriving center of global business, and is bursting with tall shiny office buildings, 5-star restaurants, and air-conditioned Starbucks in every marbled ground-floor lobby. 

The "other" World Trade Centre

No one you will meet, would ever say they love Jakarta (haven’t met one yet). But it is a place you get used to. And that, I have. It’s kind of growing on me. My usual mode of transport into the big smoke is via commuter train from Bogor. At a whopping 60 cents per ride, the 1.5-hour journey into downtown JKT could be one of the world’s best transportation bargains. It does however, come at a physical cost. Standing-room-only does not begin to describe the rush-hour concentration of humans jammed into these tin boxes on rails. Claustrophobics need not apply. Again, something I have gotten used to, but definitely an experience in horizontal compression like you have never experienced. Ahh, the fun of it all! Interestingly, I have yet to see another bule on the train. Just me and rest of Indonesia. I get a lot of “what is that white guy doing here” looks J It’s that 60-cents thing….I’m a sucker for a bargain.

 So ya, into the big smoke for meetings, nice lunches, après-work beers, and of course a chance to use the printer and photocopy machine. Jakarta ain’t that bad actually when you hop from air-conditioned venue to air-conditioned venue. Amy is secretly sort of jealous of my new city-slicker life J

 Another fun aspect of life in Jarkata is getting around town using one of Indonesia’s most brilliant inventions: the go-jek. Go-jeks are essentially motorcycle taxis, that work under the same ride-hailing app technology as Uber. It’s basically an Uber motorcycle taxi. Jakarta is crawling with them. If a bridge were to collapse in Jarkata, dozens of them would be squashed. At about a dollar to go anywhere in Jakarta on the back of a motorcycle screaming through midday traffic, it’s the only way to fly baby! More fun!

So where is all of this going? We’re not sure yet. For now, we’re just enjoying the ride J

They love their big shiny buildings!