Easier tourist visas needed

Easier tourist visas needed

This letter is in reference to the visa restrictions placed on
non-Asean tourists to Indonesia.

Recently another Canadian and I vacationed in Indonesia. We
started in Manado, went to Ternate, through Ambon to the Bandas,
to Yogyakarta, and then to Semarang (while my friend went to
Bali) before returning home to Thailand.

We had a wonderful time, and the highlight of the trip was the
Bandas. So beautiful, pristine, and the people so friendly. We
would have loved to have stayed there a second week, but due to
our stay in Indonesia being restricted to only one month with no
possibility of in-country extension, we could not. I much wanted
to go with my friend to Bali, but I couldn't do that either if I
wanted to see Indonesian friends living in Yogyakarta and
Semarang, both places where I used to live years ago.

Why have these visa restrictions been introduced when
Indonesia should be trying to increase tourist-arrival numbers,
not cut them? I tried for a two-month visa while still in
Bangkok, but I did not have a plane ticket yet (as I intended to
fly from Kuala Lumpur), and so I was refused. After acquiring the
plane ticket, I went to the embassy in Kuala Lumpur, filled out
the forms, and then I was arbitrarily refused re-admittance
because an embassy guard thought I was improperly dressed (I was
dressed in the same clothes I had on when I went to get the forms
at the embassy earlier that morning.)

So we only had a month. We both had lots of extra time and
extra money that we would have spent in Indonesia, had we been
able to stay longer.

Look, the government of Indonesia needs extra income? Fine,
charge for visa-on-arrival:
One month, pay $25, as at present? Fine, no problemo.
Six weeks, pay $50? Fine.
Two months, pay $100? Well, okay.

Hey, that's the way to get the income. Make it easy for people
to come and make it easy for people to pay, no problemo! Forget
this embassy "visa two pictures, wait at least three working days
to get it" business.

One other point: I have only one complaint about the
corruption that Indonesians and others say is endemic in
Indonesia, as I was not affected by it, except in one situation,
that is. Every single collector of the airport-user fee (five of
them, with the sole exception of the one in Semarang) tried to
hoodwink us into paying more than the set fee by:
1) Taking a large bill and then acting as if our transaction was
finished; or
2) Giving back too little change for a large bill and only
remedying that when the "mistake" was pointed out; or
3) Not having a sign out on how much the fee was and trying to
charge a larger fee.

PETER BURGESS
Prachuab Khirikhan
Thailand