nomad4ever

Things happen for a reason in Indonesia. While I didn’t trust my eyes, when reading about Jusuf Kalla’s recent statements regarding Marihuana in food; the EU’s ban of Indonesian airlines flying into Europe didn’t come as a surprise at all.

After all the recent incidents surrounding Garuda Airlines, Adam Air and others, the EU probably wanted to show a strong hand – even though currently there isn’t a single Indonesian Airlines flying into Europe. Garuda was planning to take up again their Jakarta-Amsterdam route (which they suspended after the Asian Crisis) sometime in 2008, which would be a welcome competition for the current high-price trip serviced only by foreign airlines. Currently – prepare to pay anything above Euro 750 plus taxes, if you are planning to fly return from Europe to Jakarta or Bali for instance. No budget airlines in sight for long-haul.

written by Chris

Regarding the improvement of the safety of Indonesia’s airlines, there seems to be some consequences finally on the way.

Indonesia’s Adam Air, Wings Air and Dirgantara Air Service could fall into the Transportation Ministry’s lowest rating category when the results of a recent audit are announced, an official said.

“It is possible that those three airlines will fall into the third category of the rating,” the head of the directorate of airworthiness certification, Mr Yurlis Hasibuan, told The Jakarta Post. The directorate-general for air transportation is set to announce this week the ratings for 15 private and state-owned airlines operating in Indonesia.

written by Chris

After the recent air travel disasters in Indonesia, things get really tricky to evaluate the safest airlines in the country. Sooner or later you have to fly in or out of the country or will use a plane to travel between one of the 17.000 islands.

What are the latest scores?

• just today a Garuda Airlines Boeing 737-400 burst into flames when landing, killing 21 people in Yogyakarta
• a few weeks back in january an ADAM Air airplane (a 737-400 as well) simply disappeared from the radar screen on its way to Sulawesi, taking a 102 lifes with it

written by Chris

There are some rumours lately that the current Visa-On-Arrival scheme, which was put in place in 02/2004 will soon be eased in an effort to boost tourism in Indonesia.

Sounds too good to be true?

Currently citizens from most countries receive a Visa for a maximum stay of 30 days, when you arrive at any airport or port. Of course you have to pay USD 25 for it. When your 30 days are over, you have to leave the country and come back in to get a new Visa, which can be quite stressy in a country consisting of more than 17.000 islands covering an area bigger than Europe and Australia.

written by Chris

I was asked by Lizza from expatinterviews.com, if I could fill out their questionaire about people living abroad from their home country. While surfing their website, it’s really interesting to compare the different interviews of other people, who are in similar situations but have different experiences and encounters in countries around our globe.

On further thought, I felt it could be interesting for my own site as well, so here are the questions and answers I provided:

Where were you born?

I was born in Germany, in a small town which has no more than 20.000 souls and is located not far from Berlin in the eastern part of Germany.

written by Chris

Drugs are a no-no mainly everywhere. Death penalties are executed all over Asia, to foreigners too.

In Indonesia people do drugs sometimes, even though most of its 15.000 islands are muslim-oriented. Seems like everyone knows at least the famed ‘magic-mushrooms’ of Bali or the ‘E’-holes of Batam, just a weekend getaway in close proximity to Singapore.

Here, on Sepa Island, one of the ‘1000 Islands’ a few hours north of Jakarta by speed boat, the resort administration makes the rules clear for every traveller.

Don’t say, you weren’t warned about Ecstasy!

written by Chris

Travelling to Perth is sometimes imagined to be expensive, but with a bit of clever planning, this doesn’t have to be the case.

Flights to Perth are generally very affordable and you don’t have to wait long to avail them.

Here are three of the best tips for finding a great deal on flights to Perth.

1. Be on trend

The pricing of plane tickets is based on demand, with airlines trying to achieve as full a plane as possible without lowering ticket prices any more than they have to. Demand can be hard to predict, with ticket prices fluctuating wildly from week to week.

written by Chris

When living a while in one location, you establish a base, from where you can travel to other places. What mode of transport you prefer, is up to you, in Asia’s equatorial weather, for me the best way to get around is by motorcycle.

Driving 20.000 km around Bali and surrounding islands over the last 2 years, I used a Honda Vario 110ccm CBS, which was a great way to use as my day-2-day vehicle. So when Honda came out with the 2012 model, I naturally had to take a closer look. Here is what I think about that bike after using it for 1 month and app. 1.000 kilometer:

written by Chris