Hola, Mon Ami! I hope you’re well.
I’m back with my perfunctory monthly post. I wanted to share something I’m happy about: I managed to go to another country, Colombia, the 30th country to visit! Who would’ve thought, right?
Well, you know I have been teaching at a university there. Earlier this year, I was invited to speak at their international conference this year. I felt so elated. I immediately said yes, no reason to say no. I wouldn’t be able to afford the expensive tickets myself if I had to go on my own initiative. I was even willing to pay some of the costs myself if it could help with the budget. I had always wanted to go, so I was really happy to be given this opportunity. Though, yes, at first, I didn’t want to expect much, because there was a possibility they changed the speaker, or maybe they cancelled the conference, or maybe there was another problem that would stop them from having me. So I really kept my expectation low, even ready to eventually not go. I didn’t dare to share it either because I wouldn’t know what to do if everyone knew I was going but then ended up not going. I did my “homework,” though. Reading the papers, drafting the abstracts, preparing the presentation slides, etc. I wanted to give my best. I didn’t want to disappoint them. That might have been because in my own country, I didn’t really work at the university even though my work got me to work WITH some schools and universities, both students and teachers. It’s not that I wasn’t qualified; I got my Ph.D. with a perfect GPA, ok? But somehow, sometimes, maybe I didn’t deserve that chance…
But well, forget it. Early August, they bought me the tickets! It got more real! I was truly excited. I knew it’s going to be a very long flight, but I didn’t mind. I’d happily take the same routes again. I didn’t really want to transit in the US ’cause as an Indonesian passport holder, I’d still need a transit visa even though I didn’t plan to leave the airport. What a pain in the ass, right?
So yeah, let me TRY to sum it up as briefly as possible. (Keyword: TRY)
Departure (Indonesia-Colombia): I left home Friday night, just after having a session with one of my students. My flight was Saturday morning around 7am. So yeah, it took that long, because you see, the govt sucked, the transportation system sucked, so yes, so much time wasted on road.
At Juanda: Arrived before dawn, stayed at some available seat. A woman who traveled with me from my hometown suddenly approached me asking if I had the driver’s number because, apparently, she left her mobile phone in the car. Thankfully she recognized that we used the same travel agency. And it felt so good to be able to help her, ’cause it must have been frustrating. I knew had I been in that position, I must have hoped someone would help me too. So why not become that someone, right? Sharing it here because, I think – and I believe, one of the blessings in life is the opportunity, ability, and willingness to do kind. Sometimes we got the chance, we could help, but weren’t willing. Sometimes we got the chance, wanted to help, but couldn’t. And sometimes we didn’t get the chance at all. But ok, this have been deviating from the main topic: traveling to Colombia. My apologies, but I’m not sorry…
Still at Juanda: Check-in and boarding time. It’s Garuda! Gosh, I felt so rich! Usually I used LCC to travel abroad. LoL I took my small luggage – one I got from Umrah back then – ’cause I brought some souvenirs for my friends in Colombia. Initially I planned to check it in all through to Colombia. I thought I could do that because the ticket wasn’t separate. But nope, the lady said she could only check me in for my flight to Singapore, and I’d need to check in again for the next flights and boarding passes. So I didn’t check it in and just took it as a carry-on. In the immigration part, they used autogate. Wow. When I went to China earlier this year, there was no autogate for departure, only for arrival, so wow, great! The staff just asked where I went, for how long & what purpose, where I worked, etc. and that’s it. They didn’t even bother looking at my ticket & invitation letter when I offered to show them. I scanned my passport, and off I went – waiting for my in-flight meal. (It’s Garuda!) LoL But dang, how I love this airport. Probably one of my favorites. It’s simple and pretty straightforward.
At Changi: It was a very long layover. I arrived around 10.30am, and my next flight was after midnight (i.e. Sunday). Initially I planned to leave the airport, exploring places I hadn’t been to in Singapore, even putting them in my Gmap, but nope, the weather wasn’t nice, cloudy + light shower, while the places I planned to visit required a lot of walk, so I decided to stay indoor in the airport. Catching up with One Piece. LoL Then I checked in for my next flights. The guy was like trying to make sure that I wouldn’t fall victims to human-trafficking. He asked where I would go, transit, for what, for what purpose. He asked where I worked and asked me to show my teacher ID, which I didn’t have. But luckily, I had my certificate of employment from my workplace in Indonesia, one I prepared for my China trip earlier this year. I also showed him my contract with the Colombian university, the official invitation letter, roundtrip ticket, etc. Fortunately I also brought my old passport – with powerful visas in it (Schengen, UK, Japan, Canada, etc.). He took a look at those visas and stamps in my passports, made some calls and told his boss I once went to Europe some years ago. Earlier I told him I would just stay at the airport for the transfer in Amsterdarm and that I didn’t need a visa for short stay in Colombia. And eventually he printed out the boarding passes for my next flights. Phew! Thank God for my visas and stamps in my passports (one of the reasons I don’t actually love autogate because I WANT THE STAMP!). Anyway, I couldn’t check in my baggage because I checked in from inside the airport, but no problems. Here came a very long flight.
At Schiphol: “No” drama. It’s just a short layover. I just needed to use the toilet because I didn’t get to use it during the flights. And bam! Another uncivilized country – no bidets in their toilets. Hfftttt But no worries, I was always prepared with my own tissues (both dry and wet). But ugh, the lady before me didn’t flush the toilet. But I had no time to move and wait again, I really needed to pee. So I just cleaned the seat, did my business, and gosh, it couldn’t be flushed. Apparently the flush was broken. But thankfully it wasn’t so obvious, so I left the stall with some guilt (and humiliation) and walked to my gate. And off I went for another long flight.
At El Dorado: Finally arrived in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday afternoon (it’s already Monday in Indonesia, though, so I was actually traveling to the past 😌😆). I queued where people queued just to find that I didn’t need to do that. LoL Went to toilet before going to the foreigner line at the immigration. Dang, the line was so long. I panicked because I had another flight to catch. I didn’t want to miss it, but I knew I’d miss it. I saw another Indonesian (I knew ’cause he was wearing exactly the same bag as mine: Eiger Azurite D-Explorer!). The immigration officer took so long to interview him, even until I got called, he wasn’t done yet. I thought I would experience the same. I was worried because I didn’t really have the proof of hotel reservation with me. But thankfully, it’s super short and easy for me. I just showed my passport and all the documents (tickets & invitation letter for the conference) and that’s it. The lady officer said, “Welcome to Colombia!” YESSS! I felt welcome indeed.
Still at El Dorado: Earlier I WhatsApped my friend about the possibility of me missing my flight to Monteria due to the long line at the immigration. I told her she didn’t have to pick me up at the airport if it would conflict with her time. I was surely panicking. But thankfully, they didn’t make it difficult for me. Shout out to Avianca airline! I just came to the counter, explained the situation. They asked me bout my previous flights. And that’s it, they gave me a boarding pass for the next flight. I didn’t have to pay extra or such. Man, I don’t know, but I feel like if it happened in my country, they wouldn’t care, they’d just ask me to purchase a new ticket for the next flight. I can’t be sure, though, ’cause the only time I missed my flight in Indonesia was for a domestic flight because I was late coming to the airport (yeah, it happened, I had my day too!) and nope, I couldn’t get on the next flight for free. I needed to buy a new one. But maybe if it’s for a transfer, it’ll be different? Who knows. So I was really happy when they made it easy for me in Bogota airport. I was actually ok and willing to pay. They had already covered everything for me, so I was more than willing to spend some money to get to the conference. But luckily I didn’t have to.
Still at El Dorado: The airport provided free wifi for 30 minutes (you’d need to log in again every after 30 minutes), so while waiting for my next flight at around 7pm, I did some work, checking emails, replying to emails, etc. So diligent – and responsible, wasn’t I?
At Los Garzones: Finally arrived in Monteria around 9pm. I texted my friend, and shortly she came. Gosh, I missed her. So happy to finally see her in person again. We hugged, spoke, and headed for the hotel. She said it’s one of the best hotels in town. Deep inside, I said, “I knew. I checked. It’s so expensive.” I didn’t say it. LoL But really, they didn’t have to book me a fancy or luxurious hotel. Even if I had to stay at my friend’s place to save their budget or at a cheaper hotel, I wouldn’t mind at all. I was simply happy to come 🙂
At the hotel: I found that I had to pay for the first night only because it wasn’t covered. They booked me for Mon-Fri. I arrived on Sun. So yeah, but I had to pay for one night. But no problems at all. I could pay with my card too. I would’ve had to spend more had I not been sponsored. So yeah, payment done. Handing the souvenirs. Getting the local simcard/provider my friend bought for me. I told her I needed one and I’d pay her back but she said it’s a gift. I am so blessed to know her 😉
After getting settled in my room, now that I had my stable (and safe) internet connection, I did some work. It’s not that I was a workaholic, no. But I only took half-days off. I told my supervisor at work that I was helping a friend who organized a conference and workshop for her students. I was honest, wasn’t I? 😌🙏 Then I just slept, slept, and slept. Really, I spent the first day resting at the hotel, not going anywhere. I guess I was so tired – and probably also jetlagged. It’s 12hour time-difference, after all. And it’s been such long long flights! One incident on the first day: when I asked the staff to make sure whether my reservation included lunch and dinner, they said only breakfast. But fortunately I still had some leftover bread from my flights. LoL And it’s quickly resolved too. I told my friends because she said all meals were included. And the next day, the staff called me, apologized, and explained that, yes, they were covered indeed. Yay!^^
In Monteria: Actually I didn’t get to explore too many places. Gosh, I didn’t know that traveling for a conference would be so packed – and hectic! I really spent the day for the conference, going to campus, socializing, going to dinner invitations, meeting my students, their students, etc. At night, I still worked for few hours before finally rested. I got to explore probably only on Friday, my last day in Monteria – and Colombia.
Well, on Tuesday, my friend picked me up and we went to the university. I was invited to meet the rector/president, got some gifts/souvenirs, attended some presentations, and delivered the workshop. Then, back to the hotel, rested, joined dinner, worked, went to bed. On Wed, I went to campus early to attend the opening ceremony. Gosh, it’s so festive! Many dances and musical performances. And in a way, perhaps similar to Indonesia, i.e. it was scheduled to begin at 7ish but got delayed until 9ish and surely affected the whole schedule. Turned out it’s because the someone from higher up came late. Well, …
I got interviewed, not just by the uni/local journalists but also by some students. When meeting some students (and their students), they asked me for pictures, gosh, I felt like a celebrity. Pardon me, but allow me to savor the moment I was being famous or popular in my life. (But really, probably because I stood out. I looked different. I was really the only one wearing hijab.) Anyway, my plenary presentation was actually scheduled in the afternoon, but when I was back at the hotel for lunch, they informed me it was cancelled due to student strike. It was rescheduled to the next day. Phew. But that’s ok. I got more time to prepare because to tell you the truth, I was nervous. The auditorium was so big and spacious. But the next day’s venue/room was smaller, but it was packed so I felt more at ease. Hhe
Anyway, on Thurs, after my presentation, I got sent back to the hotel because, again, there was a threat of student strike. They were worried about my safety. I browsed and asked my friends why the students were striking and what they were demanding, but it wasn’t clear. But one of my students said it’s probably because the current rector wanted to run for the election again when he has already served two terms. And the students didn’t want or like that. So they suspected there might have been “paid actors” – not really students protesting but people paid by the rivals. But well, they took me back to the hotel for safety reasons. I met my student’s students in the evening. I skipped the farewell dinner invitation from the university (rector?) and chose to come to my friend’s place. We talked, and she took me back to my hotel. Worked. Slept.
Finally Friday. Another colleague – another friend – took me out. I got to go to downtown and the First Avenue (they always mentioned this place! 😂🙈). The day before, another colleague actually took me around the same place when he was taking me back to the hotel. But seeing things from a moving car was surely different from actually getting off and walking around on foot. I also got to get on “Planchón” to cross El Sinu river. It’s like a boat, but it’s tied to a rope and didn’t actually use any “fuel.” So it’s purely mechanical, making use of the strong stream. So awesome! And the fare was quite cheap too, around COP $1200, around IDR $5k. My friend paid for me ’cause I had no cash. He also bought me magnets and some local snacks to bring back home. But no worries, I gave him some Indonesian cash (complete collection) ’cause he said his son loved to collect them. Hhe I got to visit the cathedral too. It’s beautiful. But too bad my friend had a meeting at 11, so he dropped me off at Buenavista to pick a card and left.
And, oh my God, my friends have already told me that postcards are not a thing in Colombia, they didn’t even have a national post office anymore. But I was stubborn, right? I browsed and some people said I could send a postcard via 4-72 so I thought I could give it a try. It never hurts to try. So I went to the ATM to get some cash. Previously I went to ATM with my friend but it wasn’t successful. I thought as long as they had the Visa and Mastercard logo, it would be fine. But it’s more difficult to find such an ATM. Alas, I had to walk back to the hotel, the the receptionist told me there was actually one in the mall (one I had been from), and so I walked back to that mall to find another ATM (now the right one – with the logos) to withdraw some cash.
I actually installed this Maxim app (Yes, I was surprised to find that this motorbike-online-taxi also existed here. All these times I had always thought it was a local company in Indonesia. LoL). I registered using my Colombian number and thought I could connect my card for payment. But alas, I could pay only by cash. So yeah, the only agenda remaining was actually trying to send the card. It’s not a postcard because I couldn’t find one, so I just picked a random card I could send. My friend said the Spanish writing on the card means “I’m happy.”
So as soon as I got the cash, I ordered one and went to the nearest 4-72 in the map, only to find that it wasn’t there. I walked back and forth while looking at the map on my phone just to make sure, but nope it wasn’t there. I asked some people there (using Google Translate because I couldn’t speak Spanish. Dang, I should’ve learned more Spanish!). They couldn’t help but and suggested me to ask the police. So I did. Man, Colombian police officers were so handsome, nice, and kind – in addition to looking young. LoL Still, they had no idea. They said there used to be 4-72 there, but it’s no longer there. They helped me ask other people until finally there was a driver who said they knew the place and could take me there for COP $5k. And gosh, I was so happy.
But alas, when we arrived, they were closed for lunch break. They’d open again at 2. I said I’d wait there until they’re open but they insisted that it’s not safe, that the area was dangerous and I could be robbed or even killed. Man, I’d never thought of this posing danger before. When I told one of my Indonesian students I was going to Colombia, he was surprised and concerned because he thought the country wasn’t safe. But all I felt was excitement. I had friends too, so I was really not worried at all. So when they told me to go back to where I was and came again at 2 because it wasn’t safe there, I refused because 1) I didn’t pay another $10k to go and then come again 2) It’s only 50ish minutes so, nope, I’d just wait there. I understand their concerns, though. I was a foreigner, a female, alone. Their worries were genuine, I believe so. So the driver suggested I wait near a clinic/store nearby to be safe, and I did.
At 2, I walked to the 4-72 office, when they just re-opened, but guess what? They didn’t have stamps, and they said it’d cost COP $123k to send that card to Indonesia. It’s really2 expensive. But at that moment, I thought that’s fine as long as I could pay with my card. But they said “cash only.” All these conversations happened with the help of Google Translate, of course! Cry cry cry.
The thing is, I had no time. It’s nearly 3. My colleague would pick me up at the hotel at 3 and take me to the airport. My flight was at 4.43pm. So yeah, I decided to not send the card. The kind guy at 4-72 actually told me that I could go to the ATM and be back before 5pm, but again, I had no time. So I ordered another maxim ride to head back to the hotel. Went to the airport. Flew. Arrived in Bogota again.
No counter for my airlines, so I just auto checked-in using the available machine to print my boarding pass. They printed all my boarding passes all the way to Indonesia. And oh, while waiting, finally I saw one girl with hijab. She said Assalamu’alaikum, and so did her family. I answered, nodded, and smiled, though they might not be able to see it ’cause I was wearing a mask. But it made me so happy 🙂
Leaving Colombia was easy. I just needed to scan my passport, enter my flight number, and take a pic (I guess it’s the eyes?). When boarding, they only confirmed when I entered, and that’s it. Then off I flew to Paris. Finally I got to read the book I brought while waiting to board. LoL From Charles De Gaulle airport at Paris, France to Changi, Singapore, and then to Juanda, Indonesia. Gosh, I was so happy during my Singapore-Indonesia flight because I could finally eat Indonesian food. It’s nasi goreng ayam. LoL I was so happy because previously it’s just vegetarian pasta (’cause I couldn’t possibly pick non-halal food, vegetarian menu is the safest option!) I arrived in Indonesia Sunday night, scanned my passport at the autogate, scanned the allindonesia QRcode and filled out the arrival form, passed the custom, and waited for the travel agent/driver to pick me up. And as usual, though they picked me up quite on time, it took forever to pick the other passengers. Again, so much time wasted for waiting. Finally I arrived back home Monday morning, before dawn I guess. Washed up. Rested a bit. And back to work – full mode :’)
So, well, in short: I LOVE COLOMBIA! I love the people, I love the place, I love the food (though of course, Indonesian food is still the best for me. Haha Sometimes I wonder if I’d love it the same had I been born and growing up at another country…). Well, in some way, Colombia and Indonesia are similar, i.e. the heat, the humidity, the motorcycles, etc. Oh I forgot, wearing helmet seems optional in Colombia. Like, the police really did nothing when encountering motorcyclists with no helmets. When took the Maxim taxi ride, the drivers didn’t offer any helmets!!! But Colombia doesn’t seem to have a lot of fish. My friend said it’s perhaps because Caribbean sea was too hot for the fish to breed and grow. But in some way, Colombia is better, the current govt, teachers’ salary, and in some ways less messy. So yeah, I especially love the people, the hotel staff, the police, the students, etc. They’re so nice, warm, kind, and helpful. They made me really feel welcome and want to come again. I really want to come again 😉
Alright, now this has gotten so long if not too long, but at least I tried to keep it shorter. I just didn’t want to forget some important details. LoL
PS: Some people say I might find my Mr. Right when I am traveling. Where???
