SURABAYA ~journeys 2010: journal with pfotos~Mar.22-25

~ where to next? ~

Mon. Mar.22. Heads off mid-morning. Being on a bus in the heat of the day is generally a good strategy. Off to the Terminal Bis in an becak...bicycle taxi after a soto daging, at the usual place, for the usual price. Thinks of saying that he's leaving and goodbye but doesn't. Decides to take only videos on the bus trip from Sumenep to Surabaya. Some of them are very interesting. Getting more adept at shooting moving pictures? Makes it all just more than another bus ride...through towns, across countryside and along coastline that passed unseen the night in from Surabaya. Great day trip. Arrives Surabaya without incident. Meets a friendly student on the bus who points out the right city bus to the Paviljeon hotel. Just as well. Would've got very lost without him.The cheapest rooms at the central, very clean and acceptable Paviljoen Hotel are Rp.88k/US$9. Relatively expensive. But this is the centre of the second largest Indonesian city. Checks-in hot and tired then showers and briefly rests. After that, strolls down the street for coffee and cigarettes. On trips on local buses it's no problem smoking. He's not making up for 'lost' smoking time...getting his nicotine levels back to normal, as like coming off a plane. More about getting out and about and meeting the locals. On down along the 'river'. Stops at a stall for more coffee and some of the deep-fried, greasy, sweet things. The locals are astonished. It's the kind of stall that is remembered from earlier visits to Jayapura, Irian Jaya. There, such places are always run there, by friendly and jovial Javanese and Maduran trans-migrants. Then it's on round to Tanjungan Plaza supermarket for supplies and back to the very comfortable room.

Tues. Mar.23. Today's early morning music consists John Mayall, St.Flavas, Reggae Hits and Jonny Lang. About 8.30am it's time to head out and about on foot. Needs to check out a visa extension. There's a local immigration office near Gubeng Train Station. Taking the long way walks round other side of river past graffittied walls tries to find the Surabaya backpacker's 'institution' called Bamboe Denn. Once upon a time it was renowned as the only traveler's place in town. Maybe it's a Chinese language school these days. Heads on towards the train station, sticking to river along walkways with graffittied walls. Opposite there's a maritime park with it's shark and crocodile statue (what's that about?) and the Pasopati submarine. On Jalan Kayoon, where the immigration's supposed to be, comes across an English First language school. Walks in and has a long talk with Jules who he sees outside having a smoko break. Jules's is from England and has been working for them now for 5 years. He's got a local wife and is a good source of information. He explains how to find their head office to make inquiries about a position. He pulls in about US$800 a month for around 20-25 hours/week. Accommodation or an allowance for it is thrown in. But there's a 1 year contract that's not so easy to renege on without paying your way out of. 'The authorities' won't let you out of the country without the schools' permission here in Indonesia! All-in-all..not my cup of coffee!

Not ready and don't have the need to stop and work again just yet. Walks past the inadequately indicated immigration office, realizes this. Doubles back. It's getting hot by now. It' 11am. The immigration officer tells him flatly: “This visa no extend”. Should have asked to see the boss! Now needs to go see the main office out near the Juanda Airport a long way to really find out what the real story is. But it's been a good exploratory walk. Overheating. The body's never really gotten used to the heat, even now after almost 14 years of tropical living. Just gotten used to the discomfort of constantly perspiring and doing a lot of washing!

Back at the room helps himself to cups of delicious tea provided in a thermos by the hotel. Hotels generally give you a snack for breakfast too, “a light breakfast” some would call it. This is a convenient Indonesian hotel custom. Even in the cheapest. The snack is often a couple of slices of bread with rancid margarine and the old chocolate 100s and 1,000s to sprinkle on top! But not here. It's rancid marge all right, overlaid with a kind of marmalade...not bad! Or maybe it's just the thought that they do this for their guests that makes it taste lovelier. Predictable siesta. What to do next crops up...again. Visa, ticket out of the country, passport with one page left. Where to from here? Inquires of the friendly hotel-staffer the cost of flying out to Tarakan in north-east Kalimantan. Tarakan's close to the Nunukan/Tawau border with Sabah, Malaysia. Thinks if he heads there soon he'll have about a week to explore a little of Kalimantan and still be able to get out in time to avoid overstay if he doesn't extend the current one month on entry visa. It could be possible to acquire the required extension in Tarakan, possibly with or without a booked and paid for ticket out. So the basic decision is to stay another 30 days after April 03...current date of visa expiry...or not. Needs to resolve this dilemma quickly and sharply and not spend a lot of time and energy. Out again late afternoon. Leaves the solution to the problem 'til the morrow. Round to the riverside stall he was at yesterday. He eats the sweet, greasy things again and drinks coffee. Has no meal today and has spent US$15 all up. Takes home some more of the deliciously greasy cakes. Fools around writing up and re-viewing today's pfotos...listens to music...and the rain which hits heavy at 10pm with accompanying 'donner und blitzen'...and a strong wind too. A real tropical downpour. But for how long? And not anyway, anywhere like as fierce as those experienced in PNG, or back in Karamea, NZ, for that matter.Out of Indonesia directly from Surabaya strikes Dave as a likely option too. Perhaps to Sabah directly! The old days' free sixty day visa, which at the time seemed too short a time to really explore this large county was a lot more user friendly. But then again, the world has changed quite a bit since the '90s.

Wed. Mar.24. Impressions of Surabaya do not imbue Dave with intentions of staying here longer. Up and at it. Today's focus is on booking a plane seat to somewhere! Heads out, by bus, to Pasopati Travel and in the end books a ticket to Tarakan, for tomorrow via Balikpapan with Sri Wijaya Air. Costs R900k or about US$90.