While we’re in the capital city area, it’s easy to get the visa process done in person. No need to send the passports via post, no need to wait for them to come back. The Indonesian embassy surprised us positively by being so very efficient with the visas. We took our passports there on last Thursday, and on Monday when I called, they were ready.
The amount of paper was not overwhelming, they just needed the digital copies (this is unheard-of sometimes even in Finland, that a digital copy of something would suffice!) of the recommendation letters from Indonesia plus the scan of the identity card of the person who wrote the letters, our tickets there and away from the island, and the receipt that we had paid the visa fees.
But of course, there’s a catch. The visas are only valid for 60 days, and our training takes twice as long. What this means is that we need to renew the visas while there, but the good thing is, we have the dive school people to help us with the process. Having natives to help you is a huge bonus, and I’m pretty sure we’re not the first ones to extend their visas while in the country.
Talking of embassies, the Finnish honorary embassy in Indonesia is in Bali, so in case of emergency there’s help to be had. Not that we plan to have cases of emergencies, we plan not to have any.
Not too long now…
The packers-and-movers will be here on Friday, and we’re moving to the hotel on Thursday. So basically all we need for survival in Finland needs to be packed in the luggage, as well as stuff we’re contemplating to take to Bali. Just the thought of packing again feels slightly dreadful, although I do know that this is just another leg on our long trip.
It’s not all bad. The ‘hotel’ we’re moving to is Oakwood, where Heikki stayed before moving in to RT Nagar. They have a swimming pool and a gym, and the best restaurants are in the same building. (sushi, anyone? pasta, pizza…?) They also have a net connection, which is always a plus. (geek? who, me?) We have a bit less than a week there, and then it’s back to the winter wonderland of slush and darkness. Here’s hoping Finland gets more snow soon, so it won’t be so damned bleak.
And then we get to live in other people’s houses once again. Hopefully not for too long, and hopefully not in the same place for the whole time, but chances are we won’t be setting up our own home there – chances are that we’re gone before that.
So what to do meanwhile? Thus far I’ve sewn myself two shirts and read an innumerable amount of pages on the ‘net. I’m planning to stitch up a pair of pants while I’m at it. I’ve also played on the Xbox, drunk countless cups of coffee and chai and learnt some yoga. Three sessions to go before take-off. I also managed to get a crick in my neck so that my head wouldn’t turn to the right during the weekend. Luckily it’s heaps better already. I expect to do some serious swimming now that I have the chance and read some more, on and off the net.
… and try not to stress about things I can’t affect. Just chill.
Malapascua was just fantastic, but unfortunately my health wasn’t. During the first flight I caught a cold of some sort and spent the rest of the trip more or less moving by ibuprofen ja adrenaline. I couldn’t just let the opportunity pass and skip the diving while there, so I chose medical CPR instead and did 17 dives during the past seven days.
I’m writing this in one of the pay lounges of Hong Kong international airport since our trip arrangements are a bit less than efficient: the flight from Philippines landed at 15:10, while the connecting flight leaves around 22:20 – more than seven hours later. Not having to spend all that time on the benches near gates was well worth that 500 Hong Kong dollars (around 40 euros). Nice armchairs, electricity outlets, free internet access, drinks, food, showers and massages should make the wait much less painful.
I’ll post some photos later, but here’s a teaser:
I think it’s a sweetlips, but I may be completely wrong. Please let me know if you can identify the species 
Edit: my second guess would be striped dogface pufferfish, but still not sure. I’m not exactly brilliant in biology, so help me out.
So here I am, ready to hit a plane to Frankfurt. Besides the 20 kilogram luggage allowance I have my biblically heavy backpack and a receipt for 300 euro overweight charge for 10kg extra. If I got reimbursements at the same rate every time I’m under the 20kg limit, I could stop working a become a full-time traveler anytime. I guess they have to get their profits up somehow.
It’s my last five hours in the civilised world for quite a while. No drinkable tap water, no 3G connections, no peaceful open spaces without hordes of people and, what personally hits me the most, no closeness and companionship of my dear wife. Luckily I have my friends, diving trips and Skype to help me stay sane.
Thunderbirds are go!
Back here again. Wappu was really really good and got even better when I got to do some lumberjacking in the weekend. I still prefer a chainsaw over dumbbells whenever I need slow-paced strength exercise.
My Indian contact has been arranging my accommodation for more than a week now, with less than outstanding results. The preliminary reservation was for a serviced apartment in Koramangala, further away from the office than Diamond District. Seasoned readers may remember DD being biblically remote from anything, but that’s not all: my contact person for the apartment would be from the same company that I had problems with before. Yes, they did something about it, but to me it looked more like a show and I don’t want to take the risk. So I asked him to find another one.
Well, no.
It doesn’t seem to strike anyone that I may want different things than some other expat, so I got told all over again how other families have had trouble with “other apartments” and “they do well in this one“. It may be that some people like it in the middle of nowhere, but I want to live close to the place I go to five times a week, especially when traffic conditions are as horrible as in Bangalore.
We’ll see if the message goes through this time and I get to live somewhere even remotely acceptable. I would like to see some results before I leave Oulu tomorrow evening.
Edit: some e-mails later I got what I asked for, so I’ll be having a studio apartment closer to the office.
I have really been on the fast lane since Monday. During office hours I have been running after visas, flight tickets, tax counselling and so on, while the rest of the days I’ve been packing like crazy. Somehow I’ve managed to stuff an ocean liner worth of furniture, stuff & things into my 76 square meter apartment and it takes forever to get everything out. Now it finally seems that yes, it’s going to happen.
I also wrote a couple of rental agreements today and it seems that I will have some extra income during my visit in India. Still I would need some extra for my apartment loan payments in Finland, and it sounds like transferring money from India to EU can be a bit tricky. I hope to find a feasible solution when I get there.
Apart from being really tired, homeless and dirty, all is well for me. Tomorrow is practically the last day of work in Finland for me. I have the coming week off from work and I’ll spend it by having an utterly biblically fabulous Wappu once I’m still here. Hopefully I can keep my feet unbroken this year
My stuff & things are now on their way towards Helsinki and should arrive somewhere around early June. Luckily I have my new laptop for surfing, blogging and storage of photos, plus my 20 kilograms of luggage allowance for establishing a life in the jungle. Before that I have a bit more than two weeks to kill in Oulu, but I’m in luck: Wappu is coming! Maybe a couple of days off, a few cold drinks on the patio, driving around in Wesibussi and some well-deserved time off. We’ll see.
This actually isn’t the first homeless Wappu for me: some years back I gave up my apartment before the celebrations and moved in to the new one after all the parties and other mandatory ceremonies. This year I’ll take it easy and just relax – I’ve already seen all the wild stuff of it.
Now I’ll try to clean up this place, make it ready for the next occupant and find myself a place to stay. Does anyone need a digital TV box for cable network?
No, not the blog, but my stuff. Suddenly I found myself arranging the move for next Monday, meaning that my things should be in Bangalore around early June. This also means that I will have to do without my desktop computer for two months, and my Acer Aspire One really needs an update before it’s usable. Oh well, at least I have my work laptop for reading and writing.
I have quite a lot to handle for my move, but I’m still on top of things. Visa application are almost on their way, travel dates are almost fixed, flight tickets are almost confirmed and so on. I still need to rent out my apartment, rent out my bike, plan my packing, attend a funeral and so on, but all in all everything seems to be going on as planned. We’ll see when the first catastrophe strikes…
In case you need me in the end of May, here’s where to reach me:
View Larger Map
So today I got my last shot of hepatitis B administered. I still need to get three shots of Japanese encephalitis and get tested for various diseases. So needles, and more needles it is. Good thing I’m not scared of being stung.
I also got the promise of Malarone for malaria medicine (the first thing the healthcare tried to give me was Lariam, which is not very effective and has huge side effects), so all is good. Not that Bangalore would be an area where malaria is a problem, but it’s good to have the pills in case of travelling. And travel – it seems – we will.
It’s hard to concentrate on my job at hand as I’m still halfway in India in my mind. Yes yes, it’s hot and crazy and chaotic, but theres a certain Something to the country. I’m waiting for the move very enthusiastically, it’s going to be a huge adventure.
Talking about the move, it seems it’s possible I’ll have my own set of transportation for my stuff to Blore, which is nice. Not that I’m taking much with me, but the mere essentials will take some room. Later on I’ll post a great deal of stuff that will be for sale / given away, as soon as I make up my mind what to take and what not to take. I would like to take my futon with me, but I’m not sure if it’s worth it to drag it all the way there and back again.
Can’t really believe I won’t be going until September, but then again summer comes and is over before I know it. Waiting is like sitting on a pincushion… of vaccines…
This is my first trip to India and I’m eagerly waiting for the first impressions.
Air France has served us well so far, and the very first trip as a married couple has gone beautifully. This is of course saying less than 24 hours into the trip, we’ll see what happens later on.
They say all sorts of things about travelling with your loved ones, but this time I think it’s pretty easy.
At this phase I’m just watching the third movie for the flight, sipping on some white wine (Couleurs du Sud Chardonnay 2007) and waiting for what’s yet to come. Bring it on…
