The blog posts suggest that we always see and do beautiful things easily. But unfortunately this is not true, there is a huge logistics apparatus behind it.
It starts with the pretty questions: Which countries do we want to see? What are we looking at? In the beginning it was easy: Iran, India was clear to us. After that we thought harder – Indonesia – and after Indonesia? The decision was very difficult for us. Of course we also check how much money we will spend at a place and how much the flight there will cost. And away from there again. 🙂
And unfortunately, interesting countries like the Philippines, in which I have already worked, we had to skip for security reasons just like Pakistan and Papua New Guinea. The Federal Foreign Office advises against these countries. I think that’s a pity, because the countries are beautiful, but you can’t go without worrying.
Once the “next country” decision has been made, the visa regulations are checked to see if we can get in there easily. That’s usually easy with a German passport. But some countries require an onward flight upon entry and so you have to plan more in advance than you actually wanted…
Before booking we always check if the airline is listed on the EU commission’s air safety list. To book the safer flights was no problem until May, but towards the end of Ramadan everything gets more expensive, the long-distance flights in June, July, August over the Pacific reach into the holiday season of the Canadians and Europeans and are then partly already fully booked. So you also accept flights that seem less comfortable, with eternally long waiting times at airports at night, you name it.
If the Internet works. Here in Indonesia booking a single flight from A to B may take more than 1.5 hours. That doesn’t sound so bad, but four flights for the next destination multiplied by 1.5 hours… Yay!
Why so long? Firstly, because the Internet does not work, secondly, because the airline’s page cannot be accessed, and so on. But if both work, we must not forget to hide our IP address. Because if we want to pay online with VISA card, our bank will kick us out when we log in from Indonesia. If we forget that, that means re-entering everything. Possibly again without stable Internet. Everything all over again. If we then click BOOK, then our bank sends us an SMS on our German mobile phone. If the SMS arrives within 10 minutes, we can almost celebrate. Internet crashes are possible at any time. In the meantime you can sing many mantras or simply practice patience over and over again. It bothers me so much that Matthias now mostly books flights. “Shit, I forgot to consider the required 24 hour distance between our last dive and next flight when booking.”
I have specialized in finding and looking for accommodation. Matthias doesn’t feel like it at all. The booking.com website makes him aggressive. “The last accommodation in this price category was booked two days ago”… Google Maps shows you accommodation that is not listed anywhere, but that is sometimes much cheaper and more beautiful. Also here you sometimes have to be extremely patient with very slow Internet. Ommmmmmm. Meanwhile I have found a good middle ground between pre-booking if necessary and walking in and looking if possible. If it’s not sizzling hot, I think it’s better spontaneously anyway. You can choose a room and surroundings and bargain. With reviews and photos of the accommodations on the Internet, everything has become a bit boring, because it’s so predicable. “Shit, I forgot to look for mosquito nets at the accommodation. This is a Malaria Tropica region.”
And then there are the other things that need to be organized. A visit to the dentist in the First World, visa extensions, letters to Germany and also sometimes a fast internet for downloading movies and series. And so we recently visited Kuala Lumpur again and then flew back to Indonesia for a second time. Because like India, Indonesia has so much to offer: more than 17,000 islands, infinitely diverse culture and many languages. A trip to another big island is like a visit to another country. Almost. The geckos with their funny smooching noises are everywhere. And I missed them in Kuala Lumpur. It’s good to be back, Indonesia.
