Yesterday evening on the way home from the concert I finally got clarity on how my Southeast Asia trip will continue and where it will end as planned. I'm glad it all sorted itself out in my head, otherwise I would have had to will the decision. Because there is a decision compulsion in the near future that I cannot avoid: The visa for Indonesia. I want to enter there on a basic tourist visa. This is only valid for 30 days. Actually, I wanted to take the ferry to the Indonesian island of Batam tomorrow. Now that won't happen until February 24th. Now if I move to Indonesia then the only sensible International Airport is Jakarta. On February 21, I'll leave there, I've decided. I even booked the flight with Emirates. It costs a little over 500 euros. That is cheap. I flew from Frankfurt am Main to Bangkok in December for 800 euros.
Unfortunately, only after booking the flight did I realize that I could only stay in Indonesia for 30 days. So if I enter Indonesia on January 22nd, my visa expires one day before February 21st, because January has 31 days. Aggravating. I could easily have taken that into account and moved the flight forward a day. So now I have to postpone my entry into Indonesia. At least by a day, but I'm going to play it safe and won't be arriving until January 24th.
I bought my ferry ticket from Singapore to Pulau Batam/Indonesia on the very first day in Singapore. Departs February 22nd at 11am. So now I'm going back to Harbourfront to the ferry port and have the ticket changed to February 24th. It works smoothly and costs nothing. My accommodation is different. Here, too, I have to take care of two additional overnight stays. But it's the eve before the Chinese New Year and all the hotels and hostels must be fully booked. But the Indian-born receptionist at my capsule hotel is on my side. She looks up on her computer when something is still available in the house and then explains to me what I have to enter on the booking site Booking.com so that I can book it as cheaply as possible. However, I pay 120 Singapore dollars for two nights, which is 84 euros and more than I have previously invested in accommodation.
In the evening, the Chinese New Year makes itself felt, because in the food court in the Funan shopping mall, where I sat down with my laptop, I get kicked out at 5 p.m. because they close. Back in my capsule hotel I deposit my backpack in my "honeycomb" and look for something inexpensive to eat on the party mile Circular Road. I'm in the mood for Indian, because I won't get that as easily as here in Indonesia. I find a simple shop that has all sorts of fresh curries on display. I'll stick with a vegetarian option. A very light dinner but so good I'll be back tomorrow.
