A Singapore visa run means running into other expats living in Indonesia. Often I see familiar faces on the plane or even in Singapore, other times I’ll run into expats living in other parts of Indonesia. Jakarta exapts are easy to spot, their lifestyle quite different from those living in Bali.
Yesterday while handing over my passport, paperwork and $170 Sing, to the ‘visa gent’, an Indian man, working from the McDonalds in front of Forum Plaza on Orchard Rd, I chatted with a British guy living in Jakarta. My outfit, consisting of cheap Crocs, shorts and t-shirt, contrasted with his more business-like outfit of dress pants, long sleeve shirt and briefcase. Most expats living in Jakarta have some sort of company job and do not have the outdoor lifestyle people in Bali enjoy. Bill (real name not used) said he was living with a local and had been in Jakarta for some years. “What are the highlights of Jakarta?” I asked. “Well I suppose its the nightlife,” he said, “the rest is just nightmare, with traffic jams, pollution, too many people.” Describing the nightlife scene he told me there are 20 or more big clubs, plenty of underground action, or whatever you’re looking for and of course a million pretty girls. Sounded a bit like Hong kong where I used to live.
Bill said he found the locals in Jakarta quite polite and friendly, like most Indonesians. Indonesian people themselves have told me the opposite. A recent article in The Age talks about Jakarta’s rising crime level. Bill asked me if I could recommend work for him in Bali. I told him most people either own their own local business, or are involved in exporting furniture, jewelry or clothing. Not so many company jobs in Bali other than large resorts. Still given the access to local culture, nature and beautiful areas, living in Bali has to be better than Jakarta, no matter how good the party scene is. If you are thinknig of moving to Bali and don’t have a job set up, take a galnce at the Bali Advertiser, which may have something of interest.
