Saturday, August 16, 2008

Thursday, 21 August

I am afraid we won't go anywhere on Thursday.

The last few weeks have been a bit difficult. At first, our plans to holiday in Bali were on and off for a variety of different reasons. Then, as August came, we weren't sure about going to Bali because we were supposed to be going to Singapore at the end of the month. We are on a kind of visa that is good for six months, after which we are supposed to leave the country. Through my university, we are working on getting a different kind of visa that would allow us to stay for a year before being renewed. However, getting this different visa has been complicated. The short, and polite, version of the story is that our situation is now so convoluted we aren't certain what will happen on Thursday.

One scenario has us leaving the country, on Thursday, for Singapore because our visa expires and we need to renew it out of country. We would stay in Singapore getting a new visa of the same kind we have been on so far in Indonesia. But we would also be doing all sorts of medical checkups, for which we have already made appointments. This is high season for Singapore so we have booked flights as well as hotel rooms. We would then return on 26 Aug. This is the scenario we have been planning for months. The downside of this scenario is that when the process for getting the different visa is complete, most likely by the end of September, we will have to make the trip to Singapore again. We don't necessarily mind visiting Singapore, but the trips are expensive, even though we don't pay for them.

Another scenario, one which we became aware of almost by accident in the last few days, is that my university manages to somehow get a special dispensation for us, allowing us to overstay our visa by one month. The university has told us that we don't need to go to Singapore until the end of September, at which time we will be able to get the new kind of visa. However, it isn't certain that this special dispensation will be granted, and we won't likely know until Wednesday. (Monday is a national holiday.) The university is confident it will work out, but we have never heard of anyone getting this sort of dispensation.

This leaves us not sure what will happen on Thursday, but having to make plans as though we will be traveling to Singapore. If we have to go to Singapore, we have plane tickets and hotel rooms. However, if we don't go, we are thinking of going to Bali. But this is high season in Bali so getting flights and rooms is difficult. But we can't book flights and rooms in advance because we might be going to Singapore. So we might not have to go to Singapore and not be able to go to Bali because we can't get flights or rooms.

I fear that on Thursday, we won't go anywhere.

Phil

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