Soon, in about a day, I’ll be stepping foot in my twentieth country, the land of orangutans. I’m looking forward to this adventure with excitement and delight… Wow, I have to pinch myself for all the experiences and challenges I’m going to face.
Borneo, my planned route through island
Roughly an hour after departing from Changi Airport in Singapore, we touch down in Jakarta, Indonesia, at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. It’s pitch black outside, and the time is approaching 11:30 PM. My flight to Pontianak on Borneo is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, so I’ll be spending a good chunk of time at this airport.
But first, I need to go through passport control, and the first thing I see when I enter the hall is a big sign obove my head that reads ”VISA on Arrival.”
There’s no line, so I approach an officer and inquire about how to apply for an extension of my already-granted 30 days. I don’t think 30 days will be enough to explore the island. He tells me that I need to purchase a card or receipt for $30, which, starting from today’s date and before my initial 30 days expire, should be presented to an immigration authority in one of the cities I’ll be passing through.
Then I’ll automatically get an extra 30 days on Borneo.
I pay the fee directly to the officer and then proceed across the hall to passport control, where I show both my passport and the newly acquired VISA card.
The woman says the same thing as the officer on the other side of the hall, that I should later present my passport and VISA Receipt in the city where I wish to extend by 30 days.
I receive my passport stamps and head towards baggage claim. There’s a sign that says ”Claim 6,” so I make my way there.
The suitcases start coming down the conveyor belt just as I arrive, and I load them onto a trolley.
I notice that my bike box is a little further down and steer the cart in that direction. Just as I’ve loaded the box onto the trolley, I realize that one bag is missing.
It’s the red North Face bag with a complete tent, mattress, liner, pillow, and silk sheets inside.
The belt has stopped, meaning no more bags are on their way. I find a service staff member and am advised to go to Garuda’s service office to file a loss report.
Using the stickers on my boarding pass, we note that a bag is missing, indicating that it’s the airline’s fault, not mine.
The luggage was checked in correctly in Singapore, as confirmed by my stickers.
I provide my mobile phone number, WhatsApp number, my address in Pontianak, and the man behind the desk takes note of everything. I receive a receipt for my report.
The receipt also contains their WhatsApp number and a reference number I should mention when calling.
I’m afraid it might be more than one night in Pontianak, I definitely want to get the North Face bag with the tent back before I continue.
I then push the trolley cart back towards the exit and take the escalators two floors up to terminal three and Gate F.
Up here, I’ll try to find somewhere to rest. I find a booth with the sign ”Scandinavian” above it, it fits me perfect
Inside the booth, there’s a sofa with a upright back, two light green armchairs, and a table. I try to get into a relaxed position so I can get a few minutes of sleep, but it doesn’t take long before the travelers start walking around, so I didn’t get much sleep.
Good night, it started off well with Indonesia…!!
See Yeah from Pontianak, Borneo
// P-G The Global Cyclist 1719
