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. 

Day 5 - End of the Conference

The last day of the conference consisted of implementation workshops where we worked with groups to solve hypothetical international human rights emergencies. The exercises were a lot of fun, and it was great to use some of the things we had learned throughout the conference.

And of course, it wouldn't be a conference without an amazing closing ceremony and festive dinner. The ceremony was held at Beit Shmuel , which, like a lot of the places we visited that week, had yet another amazing view of the city. It was a bittersweet ending to a remarkable week. We were all so sad that it was all over, but grateful for the experience and connections we made. 

Beit Shmuel

View from the top

After the closing ceremony, I met up with a friend from undergrad who is undergoing a Masters program in Jerusalem. She generously let me crash at her place, and showed me more of the Jerusalem nightlife. We went to Ben Yehuda Street, which is a popular pedestrian mall area with both locals and tourists.

Ben-Yedhuda Street

We ended up at Mike's Place, a well-known sports bar. It had a great atmosphere, wonderful service, and a friendly, lively crowd. While we were hanging out, we made a couple of new friends - two Modern Orthodox guys from New Jersey who were studying at a Yeshiva, which are religious schools that focus on the study of the Talmud and Torah. We had such a great time with them - they were hilarious, and I got to learn a bit about Modern Orthodoxy.
The best line from that night was when one of the guys lightheartedly shoved the other, causing his kippa to fall off his head and onto the ground. I was curious as to whether there was any moral significance to taking it off, like if there were religious penalties or something like that. So, when I asked them what happens when they take their kippas off, they said "Oh, we lose our magic powers."
So good.

Posing with our new boyfriends

Day 4 - Student Hospitality

On our fourth night, we all were hosted by different students from the Hebrew University. My hosts were so sweet and hospitable; they even cooked me a delicious dinner! Salad, fried eggs, an eggplant dish, toast, and of course - hummus. We had a wonderful time talking, joking, and getting to know each other. They were all so interesting and fun, and I'm glad we were paired up together. 

After dinner, we made our way to a club where the rest of the delegates were and danced the night away! It was an awesome night with amazing people.

The spread

My lovely hosts!

Dinner is served!

Jerusalem Day 3 - Geopolitical Tour

Our third day consisted of an especially exciting and full schedule. We started off with a geopolitical tour, where we visited various debated locations. We started off by going to a hill overlooking Jerusalem, where our guide, Col. (Res.) Miri Eisin, explained its history and current affairs. 

View of Jerusalem!

Zooming in on the Old City!

Once we finished hearing Miri give us the rundown on Jerusalem's history and current political climate, we made our way to the Separation Fence between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The Fence was constructed as a reaction to the casualties in the Second Intifada and intended to prevent similar events from happening in the future.

Vehicle checkpoint

Thousands of West Bank residents pass through the inspection points on a daily basis

After touring the Separation Fence, we went to a neighborhood in South Jerusalem which overlooked the Fence and West Bank.

West Bank

Bethlehem

Following our informative and engaging geopolitical tour, our next stop was at the Supreme Court of Israel. Because Israel is a fairly new country with no constitution or bill of rights, and because there is no precedent for every case that comes before it, the Supreme Court will draw on international law to make decisions.
The Supreme Court is built in a contemporary design influenced by traditional Middle Eastern motifs, and is set up to create an attractive interaction of shadow and light. It was great to look around. We even met a few Supreme Court justices and listened to them speak about adjudication and other aspects of their jobs.

Walking up to the Supreme Court

The dome

The library

Inside a courtroom

Courtyard

Our final destination was the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where we had a question and answer session with Ambassador Arthur Lenk, who served as the Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan and is currently the Director of the Department of International Law.

Couldn't get a shot of Ambassador Lenk that wasn't blurry, so this is me standing behind a podium.

We ended the evening with some exciting sessions of Israeli karaoke! It's like regular karaoke, except with a band. And everyone sings together, which makes awkward, tone-deaf solo performances a thing of the past. It was so nice to mingle with the other delegates and bask in their camaraderie, while listening to the music and joining in the singing. It was really the perfect end to our day.

Excited for karaoke!

The band

Jerusalem Day 2 - The Old City

After our first official day of the conference hearing about theory and practice from a number of fascinating and engaging speakers, we went to the Old City to see the Night Spectacular at the Tower of David Museum. The Tower of David is an ancient fortress, which also used to be the palace of King David.

Walls of the Old City

They have a nighttime light show here which, true to its name, is indeed spectacular. The walls serve as the stage, and the show traces Jerusalem's long history up until modern times in the most dazzling way. The story of Jerusalem was displayed before us through enormous, breathtaking audiovisual effects and dramatic music in a celebration of sight and sound. It is truly remarkable, and one of the most captivating shows I've ever seen.

The entrance

Upon our arrival, we walked through the garden and saw an assortment of projector images displayed on the walls, ranging from farming and garden scenes to people playing chess. After we made our way to our seats, the show started, executing an enthralling performance. I was hypnotized for 45 minutes as Jerusalem's history unfolded before my very eyes.

The stage for the light show

When the Night Spectacular ended, we walked around the Old City and made our way through the Arab, Christian, and Jewish quarters.

We ended at the Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall. It is situated at the western end of the Temple Mount and is the most sacred site for the Jewish faith aside from the Temple Mount itself, and has been a site of Jewish pilgrimage and prayer for centuries. The area surrounding the Wall is split into two sections - one for men and one for women.

Torahs

There's a great quote which describes praying at the Wall as if one "has prayed before the throne of glory because the gate of heaven is situated there and it is open to hear prayer". Visiting it was the most intense part of the whole trip; chills ran up and down my spine during my entire time there. When I entered the women's section, I could feel the energy radiating from everyone praying, and could almost see it whizzing around in the air. All around me women were muttering prayers, their heads bowed and eyes closed. Many were crying, wailing, as they read from their Torahs and touched the Wall itself. I have never seen anyone express their faith in such a heartfelt, impassioned manner. It was beautiful and emotional to be around so many people displaying such a strong spiritual connection.

This was definitely one of my favorite days of the trip. Not only was it an incredible cultural experience, everything - from the relations formed with other delegates, the speakers we heard from, and of course our night tour - went along swimmingly and without a hitch.