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Blog 3
Wednesday March 3 2023
The journey
We're here! But before we finally got here... And of course we can't complain, but the trip to Bali was as comfortable as a nearly 24-hour trip can be. Lots of waiting, a fair amount of customs checks, two flights and just a little short of food, drinks and sleep. Our first flight from Amsterdam to Bali, which took 6 hours, left almost an hour late. The advantage of this was that we didn't have to wait as long at the aiport in Qatar, where we had our transfer. We arrived there about 1 a.m. local time and our second flight was scheduled to leave at 3 a.m. Normally we would wander around the airport a bit, but since it had been bedtime for us in the Netherlands as well we sat down in a corner. Two hours of nodding off feels like quite a long time then. Our second flight left on time and took another 9.5 hours. But it was worth it! See below the route we took and where we are currently on the world map.
Visa...
Well, we still didn't have it yet when we arrived. Dion started applying for our visa weeks ago. We were told that this would be arranged within 2 weeks. As explained in my previous blog, we need a 'single entry visa' to stay in Indonesia for more than 2 months. Unfortunately, our application wasn't approved the moment we left home. Our sponsor, Dion's diving school, told us that it would be all right. We would probably get the approval during our trip and find it in our mailbox once we arrived. If not, we could just enter Bali with a normal tourist visa, which would be converted later. When we arrived at the airport, however, we were told that we could indeed get a 'visa on arrival' like everyone else, but that it could not be converted just like that. When this tourist visa expires after 60 days, we will have to leave the country and return to Bali so that we can enter on the new 'single entry visa'... Of course we were not very happy with that news, but at that point there was nothing more we could do. The diving school also had no control over this. So there is no other option than to leave Indonesia at the end of April and return for another month in Bali. We just make the best of it and book a weekend trip to one of the nearby countries. Although the thought is really nice, these are some unforeseen costs.
Single entry visa
Coincidentally, we did received the visa this morning and now we are sure that we can stay in Indonesia for a longer period of time. Yay! However, the above plan remains unchanged as we still have to leave the country. So to be continued!
Saying goodbye, flying, waiting and arriving at our apartment
First Days
Well, we survived everything in the end and we are now enjoying our time in Bali. The first week of our sabbatical is now over and the main thing we did was relaxing. We did do some things to make life here our own. For example, we have rented a scooter for the next 3 months, so that we do not have to look for transport every day. Next to the area, we also explored the supermarkets and checked how expensive (or cheap) our life will be here. We have a budget for everything and I keep a daily overview of our expenses. After a month we will see whether the budgeted amounts have been realistic.
Also very important is the VPN connection that we have purchased. Of course we have to be able to watch Formula 1!! For those unfamiliar with VPN: With this connection, your phone or laptop thinks it is at a certain location. In this case the Netherlands. This allows us to use Dutch apps and websites such as Viaplay and Ziggo anywhere in the world.
Renting a scooter, grocery shopping, keeping track of our budgets and watching F1
This week we brought Dion's diving gear to the diving school, personally met the team there and bought some important diving accessories. Yesterday Dion started his course and hopefully I can follow this closely by occasionally go along diving and record everything. I will of course tell you about this in detail. I'm now member at the local gym and will focus on my health the coming months. In between I will keep myself occupied and share with you all the stories about our daily life here.
See you again soon!
Love,
Diana