Decisions, decisions
Our 60 day visa for Indonesia is about to run out and tomorrow we’re due to fly to Darwin and spend a few days there and in Brisbane. We were going to return to Bali on a 30 day visa before flying to Laos beginning of December. However, the immigration authorities here in Indonesia have thwarted that plan by deciding to change the rules 🙂
Two days ago we found out that, in order to curb the number of people working illegally on Bali, visa runs are being clamped down on. From 20th October to 31st December anyone who’s visited Bali two or more times in a one year period will be denied entry on landing – oops, that’s us!
After the initial surprise, excitement has set in. Where will we go instead ? We still haven’t made up our minds. Probably end up flying from Darwin to Singapore (there aren’t many countries you can’t fly to from there) and then make a decision.
Now, with only limited time left here on Bali, we’ve realised that we’ve become a bit spoilt and are taking the beauty of our surroundings for granted. For example, here’s the walk from our place down to the beach (takes about 10 minutes):
and our reward:
The coldest beer on the beach
The end of the dry season is fast approaching and even though it hasn’t rained in months (and there’s no rain in sight) trees and plants still look amazing:
The news has been full of stories concerning the terrible smog and haze caused by widespread burning used to develop pulpwood and palm oil plantations here in Indonesia. This year it’s even worse than ever before and is now being recognised as an ecological disaster. We’re reading about schools being closed in Malaysia and flights being cancelled even in Thailand. The photos look horrific:
We’ve been very fortunate in not experiencing this foul air so far. Bali has remained smog free and it seems that steps may finally be taken to hopefully put an end to this form of deforestation and the subsequent pollution.
And finally, just to show how easy it is to get into trouble 🙂
Permanent Tourists 
interesting post. You have taken the visa rules very well, visas are however the worst policy mankind has conjured up.
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You’re right Mukul. How great would it be if there were no such things as visas? – Still – they force us to move on, which is sometimes a good thing 😀
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A world without borders, an Utopian dream.
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Good that you found out before you entered Indonesia again : ) Nice pictures and stories : )) Look out for the crocodiles in Darwin…Enjoy ; )))
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Hi Mark – no worries with the crocs – Dave goes in the water first!
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Glad life is still fun, just back from 5 weeks in Ethiopia and Gabon. Lovely to travel but still nice to come home.
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