Renewing your Visa on Arrival in Indonesia

At the end of December, I came to Jakarta with plans to stay until mid February for an internship. Before coming, I went to go to the Indonesian Consulate in Melbourne to apply for a proper visa, but they said since the time period I would be staying was pretty short anyways (52 days), that I could just get a visa on arrival, which is valid for 30 days, at the airport and renew it again at the airport before it expired. They recommended going in a week before the VOA expired to renew it.
Being an excellent procrastinator, of course I didn't bother to go renew it until a few days before it expired. It was a Saturday, but when I called the airport they said that I would still be able to come in to renew my VOA. However, when I got there, I was ping-ponged back and forth between the airport and an immigration office near the airport, which was closed. When I called the airport service again, they assured me that it was fine, all I needed to do was go to the immigration desk inside the airport and that they would renew my visa. But as it turns out, you can't actually do that.
So, on the next Monday, I went to the South Jakarta Immigration Office in Mampang to get it all sorted out. Mind you, this was a day before the VOA expired, so I was becoming increasingly worried that I'd be deported or fined. Luckily, the immigration officials at the South Jakarta Immigration Office were very nice and helpful. They said it wasn't a problem that I was getting it renewed the day before expiry, and that since I had come in before it expired, I wouldn't be fined for overstaying my visa. They kept my passport and paperwork for 3 days, and I came to pay the $25 fee for visa renewal and collected my passport on the Friday of that week. Overall, it was a pretty smooth experience. I had a very difficult time with the immigration office in Aceh a few years ago, so this time around it seemed incredibly easy.
Some tips for dealing with renewing visas and Indonesian immigration offices:

• Don't go to the airport to renew your visa.
• Always arrive when, or soon after the Immigration Office opens for the day. I hear it can get very crowded later on in the day, and they are also unavailable for lunch break in the middle of the day. I arrived at 8:30 am both times, and each time I was never there for longer than an hour. During my Monday visit, I had to fill out some paperwork and get some things photocopied, but the whole process only took about half an hour. When I came to collect my passport on Friday morning (8:30), I paid the $25 for my visa renewal, but they said that my application had not been processed yet, and that I'd have to come back later in the day with my receipt of payment. I came back to their office between 3:30 and 4 pm, and it was a lot quieter than I had expected it to be. And when I came back that second time, I was literally in and out in 5 minutes. I asked if my visa had been processed, the immigration employee said that he'd check, and voila - I had my passport with renewed VOA in hand.
• Be nice to the immigration office workers. When I first arrived to fill out the paperwork, I met a really nice employee who helped me through the process. Because I am staying in North Jakarta, not South Jakarta, he said that I should have gone to the North Jakarta Immigration Office, and that a South Jakarta address was needed to process the visa. But since the location of my internship is in South Jakarta, it was more convenient for me to come to that office. Given that I was only one day off from my expiry date, he offered his address to put on my forms for smoother processing. They don't actually verify whether you are actually staying in these places, so a friend's address would also do. My immigration friend also offered to SMS me to let me know of anything else I would need to bring on my second visit, and let me know when it was good for me to pick up my visa. When I collected it on Friday afternoon, he was also working, so I'm sure I saved a few minutes of waiting time by having him get my passport. Dealing with the immigration office can be a needlessly stressful experience, so it's always good to have people on your side and willing to help you. Speak calmly, smile, and be polite in general. The thing about Indonesia is that if you ask nicely enough, chances are you'll get what you want.
• Bring small bills - You will need to get your passport and some other documents scanned, which in total don't cost more than a few Rupiah to get it done. They have an office where you can scan these documents and buy the correct envelope for your forms. They'll probably have trouble breaking a Rp.100.000,- bill for you though, so bring some Rp.5.000s or 1.000s along.

Day 6 - Final Day

During my final day in Jerusalem, I met up with another friend from the States who I met at a Model UN competition. He graciously gave me tour around Jerusalem, and we had tons of fun walking through the Shuk and exploring the streets and lane ways.

Now when I had gone to the Mahane Yehuda market previously, it was pretty much empty. This time, however, was completely different. On Fridays the market is full of people who are getting ready for Shabbat, which is the Jewish day of rest. It begins a few minutes before sunset on Friday until Saturday night.

Sabra - Israeli prickly pear. Sabra is also the term used to describe a native Israeli. Like the prickly pear, they are tough on the outside but soft and sweet on the inside.

People eating out in the Shuk

As we walked through the Shuk, I noticed a couple of stalls where some Orthodox men from the Chabad organization had set up and were offering to perform prayer services called tefillin. To humor my curiosity, my friend agreed to show me how it was done.

In front of the Chabad stalls

First, he had to put on a special kippa while our Chabad friend got these small leather boxes ready. The tefillin boxes contain scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. 

Next, one of the boxes was tied to his arm with a leather strap.

The last box went around the head.

Finally, they finished off with some prayers in Hebrew.

Tefillin is used as a reminder of God's intervention during the Exodus from Egypt. I've never seen anything like that done before, so it was fascinating from an outsider's perspective to learn about this ritual. 

Best line of the day was when my friend and the Chabad guy were speaking to each other in Hebrew. I don't speak Hebrew obviously, so my friend told me what was said after we left.

Chabad guy: Is she Jewish?

Friend: No

Chabad guy: Are you going to marry her?

Friend: Probably not.

Chabad guy: Thank God!

Kippas

After leaving the Shuk, we wandered around the alleys and lane ways nearby. 

We saw a synagogue

And an arts & crafts festival

And we stopped by an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian church. Israel has an Ethiopian population close to 120,000 and has experienced an increase in immigration from Ethiopia since 2009. 

Church gate

Inside the church

Our last stop was just outside the Orthodox Jewish neighborhood Mea Shearim, one of the oldest, most insulated Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem, whose residents adhere to a very strict religious lifestyle. We couldn't actually go in and walk around because I was wearing a tank top, and the sign outside warned passerby not to go in wearing immodest clothes. Proper dress would include long skirts and shirts that cover the arms and midriff. I was told of children throwing stones at people entering the area who were not dressed appropriately, so we didn't want to risk it.

Outside Mea Shearim

"Please do not pass through our neighborhood in immodest clothes"

We ended my last tour just in the nick of time. Since Jerusalem is a religious city, it completely shuts down once Shabbat starts. Luckily, I still had an hour or two to spare and was able to get a cab to the airport, where I began planning my next trip back.

My final day in Jerusalem was a wonderful end to an absolutely brilliant trip, and I'm so glad I was able to go around the city one more time and soak it all in. It was disappointing that I couldn't stay longer, but I'm looking forward to the next time I come.