My visa run is coming up shortly and as usual, all the cheap seats to Singapore are fully booked. I can hear the travel agent’s voice, ringing in my head from the previous years here in Bali…25th FULL, 26th FULL, 27th FULL, 28th FULL” and so on. Prices also get jacked up during any type of holiday, whether it be New Years, Idul Fitri, July European holidays, whatever. This time I’m going to Singapore by another route, Batam.
A Balinese friend told me last year I could fly domestic to Batam via Jakarta, then catch the 30 minute ferry to Singapore. This puts me in Singapore on the same time frame as if I flew Garuda via Jakarta. The cost of doing it this way depends on which airline you want to use. Adam Air is cheap, but right now I’m not to excited about taking them. Mandala is another carrier as is Batavia. The round trip ticket is $180, cheaper than going international with Garuda.
My deal with the visa run is I need to get to the Indonesian Embassy downtown Singapore before 12 midday, otherwise I cannot hand in my passport. Once before I made it via Yogyakarta and Jakarta with 5 minutes to spare. Having to spend an overnight in Singapore isn’t the worst thing, last time I shopped for a camera, and there is all kinds of good food served at street-side cafes and food courts.
The travel agent I’m using is Dana Yoga Tour & Travel (0361)766145) located across from Bamboo Corner on Poppies I in Kuta. The staff hussled on the phone, exploring all options to get me a flight. They can handle Bali tours, domestic and international travel. Also immigration services are offered. Let’s see what this Batam place is all about and how convenient its is as a route for visa purposes.
Will be interesting to go another way and especially to see how smoothly the transfer to the ferry is.
