mimpimanis
Sanurian, you mentioned in a recent post about getting your licence.
My international licence has expired and I have no plans to go to UK to extend it. Where is the office in Denpasar to get a SIM from and how long does it last for a bule on a KITAS? I have heard varying reports.
Also someone mentioned to me a licence bought in Bali can not be used on othere islands.... is this the case? I want to be able to drive in both Bali & Lombok if possible or will I need one for each?
Thanks :)
Gemma
Bert Vierstra
I can remember getting one at the "Pol-tabes" office, in DPS...
Normally the SIM, nation-wide valid, is valid for the duration of your stay permit AFAIK ?
And this is for Kitas holders, one year (need renewal every year for Kitas), but, I have one thats longer valid, and I know more who have a 5 year one...
I didn't "arrange" my SIM(s) myself, it was done for me, so I don't know procedures.....
Poltabes Denpasar
jl.Gunung Sanghyang ,Denpasar
Phone (0361) 424346 , 422323
mimpimanis
Thanks Sanurian & Bert
I have a valid UK licence so should not be a problem and 90 minutes is quicker than I was expecting.
Also very happy to hear I can use it anywhere :D
Sanurian
Hi [b]Gemma[/b]
The office is at
[b]Poltabes Denpasar
Jl Gunung Sanghyang, Denpasar[/b]
(also spelled Sanghiang)
It's close by a Chinese cemetery.
[b]Bert[/b] has given you some phone numbers.
My (car) licence is valid for one year.
[quote]...Also someone mentioned to me a licence bought in Bali can not be used on othere islands.... is this the case?...[/quote]
Various people have told me that, too, so I specifically asked the police about it. They said it's valid [b]everywhere[/b] in Indonesia.
The day I made mine, it took a total of about 90 minutes, (most of that time just sitting around and waiting). One other point - the cop I dealt with asked if I had a valid [b]normal[/b] driver's licence in Australia, which I do. I had to go down the stairs one last time to photocopy it. I'm not sure what, if anything, would be different if I didn't have one. Maybe pay extra.
I paid [i]Rp[/i] 350,000. I'm sure it can be got for less. I could see the look on the policeman's face when he gave me the final figure...it said, "[i]If you think that's too much, we can negotiate[/i]". He also alluded to the fact that the price included [b]not[/b] doing any kind of "testing".
:D
ronb
A few months back I asked about licenses on this forum and the price of Rp400,000 stuck in my mind, but I was slow to act. Then one day I had a visit from police who had a list of Kitas holders in Buleleng and were, I guess, on a fishing expedition. I had trouble locating my STM (SURAT TANDA MELAPOR), but got a copy emailed form our agent and took it into the police in Singaraja the next day. That was all OK so I asked about a driving license and they did it in about 30 min, asked Rp500,000 so I negotiated for the Rp400,000 that was in my head - no problems. The 30 minutes was waiting for someone to operate the camera/fingerprint equipment, then a bit longer to get the final bit of plastic. They did not ask for my current Aust license or my (expired) international license.
Sanurian
If little else, it's "clear" that the [b]actual[/b] price one is asked to pay, be it some kind of visa extension, driving licence, police report, etc, varies considerably.
I paid [i]Rp[/i]350,000 for mine about one month ago. And that was the starting price!
:D
mimpimanis
I'm waiting to find out if Im going to need a car or a bike licence before I go. I'm hoping it will be a car :D Should know in a day or two!
Bert Vierstra
Get them both!
mimpimanis
lol Bert - Well the good news is our finance application has been approved so I am getting a CAR after 11 years without one! Well one I owned. I have used freinds cars in that time when I returned to London. and i figure if I can drive there I cand rive anywhere but still.... I wont be going far to start, the idea of U turns on the bypass terrifies me I will be heading into the roundabout to Kuta when I want to turn around :lol: Im sure it wont take me long to get back in the saddle though .....and once I have a car... you wont find me out on the bike again! So a car licence is enough! Marty starts playgroup in July which is why I finally gave in... but have to say Im excited as hell now! I dont take him on the bike and there and back twice a day in taxi would juts be throwing money away.
Now there is a one - two month wait for the car..........patience is not my best virtue!
mimpimanis
I got my licence yesterday.
The cost was Rp350,000 and the whole process took about 30 minutes.
We were ushered upstairs to a small office rather than the main office where it all seemed to be happening. A policeman there filled in my application form, photocopied my kitas, passport and English licence. We had to wait there with him about 15 minutes and then when the paperwork was ready it was down to the main office, for the photo, fingerprint and to receive the SIM. Much less painful than I expected :)
BaliLife
i've been pulled over three times in the last month.. only one was for an actual violation, the other two were "random checks" - not being so random i suggest - a bule driving in surabaya may not be rare, but it's not common..
anyhow, whenever asked i just show my canadian (bc) driver's licence.. i've never been asked for an international licence.. the last dink kept asking me for an indonesian licence, to which i replied after the third time:
"loh apa seh pak? kok pak nggak ngerti? aku nggak punya.. aku cuma libur disini.."
to which he replied..
"ok, jalan aja.."
to be quite frank, and i'm often criticized for my views on just how corrupt indonesia is.. i don't think it would really matter at all if you didn't even have any licence, period.. if you can talk to a policeman, save your Rp 350,000.. that's 7 offences at Rp 50,000 a bribe by my calcs..
ct
Roy
[quote]i don't think it would really matter at all if you didn't even have any licence, period.. if you can talk to a policeman, save your Rp 350,000.. that's 7 offences at Rp 50,000 a bribe by my calcs..[/quote]
I hate to admit this, but you are absolutely right, at least in so far as driving around in Bali. My late “brother” Matt held firmly to that philosophy and got away with it for many, many years. Being a rather aggressive driver, and driving a rather noticeable beat up old Kijang, he was stopped fairly regularly...three times by the same cop in Gianyar.
On the third occasion, the cop told Matt to hop on his bike and he drove him to the police station in Gianyar, only to issue him a driver’s license. “Not bad”, Matt mused, “50K and I have a license now!”
Of course this story does not mean I am capitulating in any way to our previous discussions about corruption in Indonesia! :P
Sanurian
For [b]BaliLife[/b]
[quote]...i don't think it would really matter at all if you didn't even have any licence, period...[/quote]
[b]Maybe[/b]...[b]unless[/b] you're involved in a serious accident and then have to 'bribe' your way out of it, (without getting beaten to death at the side of the road first).
Supposedly, Bali traffic police have been instructed that 'collecting on-the-spot' fines is no longer to be tolerated. All 'infringements' are to be directed to a 'court'. I haven't had the pleasure or experience to test this, yet. If it's true, it [i]might[/i] be an improvement. No one should hold their breath too long about this...
:shock:
Roy
[quote]Maybe...unless you're involved in a serious accident and then have to 'bribe' your way out of it, (without getting beaten to death at the side of the road first).[/quote]
And what? Waving your legal Indonesian driving license in the air is going to get you out of THAT mess? :lol: :lol: :lol:
BaliLife
[quote=Roy][quote]Maybe...unless you're involved in a serious accident and then have to 'bribe' your way out of it, (without getting beaten to death at the side of the road first).[/quote]
And what? Waving your legal Indonesian driving license in the air is going to get you out of THAT mess? :lol: :lol: :lol:[/quote]
Haha.. you said it best Roy.. before seeing your post, I was about to type the same thing almost word for word..
Geez, we'll have to be careful - agreeing on so many things might take us both out of our comfort zones :P
ct
BaliLife
[quote]And one last note here. The numbers of very young children riding around without helmets, licenses and brains seems to be on the increase. Disasters just waiting to happen.[/quote]
I remember seeing a few years back, that things got so bad in brazil with the number of people being killed every year on the roads, the UN declared it a humanitarian crisis.. I forget the numbers, but they were horrific. I'm sure the national numbers for Indonesia would also be very disturbing..
mimpimanis
Hi Phil,
Reminds me of the first accident I heard (and went running to) near our home in Lombok. A truck and a bike. The unconcious man from the bike was heaved into a bemo and eventually taken off to the local puskas mas where I heard he died. Before hand I was frantically trying to tell Made about recovery postitions and not moving someone in an accident (I didnt speak any Indonesian back then) Made was just as desperately telling me not to get involved and if I did somthing and the person died - I might well be held responsible!
We are just over the crest of a hill and on a bend, so unfortunately we see many accidents. Luckilly most are not fatal but its sad that I should not be able to help incase of an accident for fear of recriminations.
chilli
Hi Mimpi,
I sent you a PM but i think your folder may be full..as it insists on sitting in my out box.
Just wanted to congratulate you on your new car.. you must be excited :D
enjoy your day,, Chilli
mimpimanis
I got your PM Chili - I think you just have a copy of it in your outbox.
Thanks :D
Sanurian
[quote]...And what? Waving your legal Indonesian driving license in the air is going to get you out of THAT mess?...[/quote]
No. But if one survives the beatings and winds up in a police station to "answer questions", it [i]might[/i] help to be legally licensed somewhere. Insurance companies like this.
It's an interesting take on Indonesian "law" that when an "enraged mob" takes the law into its own hands, that's "OK". When police become too frightened to do their jobs properly, that's a worry. Government rhetoric aside, this kind of "lawlessness" still happens frequently.
There was a bad "accident" in front of my house in Sanur a while ago. I went out to see what was going on. A small pick-up truck had tried to occupy the same space as a motorbike at the same time. All parties involved were Balinese. A Balinese woman in the truck had the misfortune of feeling what it's like to push your head through a glass windscreen. Seat-belts? What are they?
She was bleeding badly and the locals ripped her out of the vehicle and carried her to the [i]warung[/i] across the road. The number of spectators increased exponentially. Somebody had called for an "ambulance", and a taxi. Then some village pooh-bah arrived on the scene and went into high gear about this woman not being allowed to leave before the police arrived. She wasn't even the driver. She was then carried back to the smashed truck and plonked back into the passenger's seat. Way to go, right?
A taxi arrived...no sign of the ambulance. After a bit more bickering, they yanked the woman out of the truck and shoved her onto the back seat to be transported to hospital. (No police had arrived yet.)
I have no idea what happened to her in the end. I [b]do[/b] know that I was not going to get involved in any way, even though it went against the grain. Truly shocking, incompetent and all the rest.
Imagine if a foreigner was somehow involved in that actual "accident". My mind boggles. Nearly all the Balinese had no clue whatsoever about what to do in the emergency. Lots of "giggles" and half-suppressed "laughter" going on, a common way for Indonesians to express themselves inappropriately in the light of some tragedy or bad luck happening to somebody else. Some call it "denial".
For those who want to ask me why I didn't "intervene", here's a brief summary:
1) I'm not Balinese...it's not my "business"
2) I live in this area and am a foreigner
3) It would not be in my interests to go over the authority of local strongmen
4) If I did, there would be consequences for me
5) If I took the woman to the hospital. chances are I would have had to pay her bills
6) If she died, I'd probably have to pay for her cremation, ceremonies, etc
7) I would have to spend many hours. even days, in a police station making a "report"
I know this because I've done it before. Never again, if I can help it
Witnessing the unfolding madness as I did, I eventually turned my back on it in disgust and returned home. Of course, I didn't feel good about that. I'm not even sure that the guy on the motorbike was ever found...maybe he's still stuck in a muddy mound across the road pushing up banana plants. Wouldn't surprise me...
And one last note here. The numbers of [b]very[/b] young children riding around without helmets, licenses and brains seems to be on the increase. Disasters just waiting to happen. Even after the many years I've been living here, I am still baffled by this. I've seen them "ride" past police with immunity. What's going on?
:shock:
