'Welcome to Indonesia'

I am a Dutchman, married to a lovely Indonesian lady. We planned a three-month trip to Indonesia to visit family and to explore the country.

For a three-month visit you need a visa, which we applied for in Holland. To our surprise we were only issued a two-month visa. The Indonesian Embassy told us that we could extend the visa in Indonesia without cost. But why not a three-month visa initially like other countries issue?

We flew to Jakarta. Our boarding card was marked "Welcome to Indonesia". We felt quite welcome during our trip. The people we met were friendly and hospitable. We visited Java, Ambon and Bali. We had to extend our visa in Denpasar. But by the time we got to enter the office, the security personnel prohibited us from entering the building, saying we were not properly dressed. I looked at the man in amazement. "What do you mean by not properly dressed?" I asked. "You're wearing slippers," he said. In fact, my slippers cost US$35 in Holland. Not properly dressed? Another man came up and ordered my wife to leave the building because she was wearing sandals.

This was not the end of the story. Finally, they asked for two photographs. We had none as no one in Holland had told us we would need any photographs. In addition, we were charged Rp 50,000 for the extension, which we paid, albeit a little surprised. The visa could only be collected in two days' time, which meant time lost.

Back to the slogan "Welcome to Indonesia". I think your government should do something to make this slogan a reality. Despite all the inconveniences we experienced, we did have a very nice trip afterward and the people of Indonesia made our visit so pleasant. However, the government must learn to be a little more lenient toward tourists. Or tourists will unsurprisingly stay away.

C. M. VAN MASTRIGT

Rotterdam,

The Netherlands