Visas:

Visa requirements recently underwent significant changes. Most but not all ISMIL participants either do not require a visa to visit Indonesia, or can obtain their visa upon arrival at the entry port to Indonesia, for a fee. However, participants are advised to check with their travel agent, or with the Indonesian consulate at their country of origin. A reasonably good source of information concerning visa regulations is the website of the Indonesian Embassy in Australia.

As of early 2005, the situation is roughly as follows. Nationalities not requiring a visa for Indonesia include Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Macao, Philippines and a few others. Nationalities requiring a visa obtainable on arrival include Australia, New Zealand, several major EU countries (but not the Netherlands), USA and Canada. Citizens of the Netherlands and of a few other countries are required to obtain their visas in advance, before arriving in Indonesia. Basic tourist visas, as well as visa-free entry permits, are generally valid for a 30-day stay.

It should be noted that visa-free and visa-upon-arrival facilities are restricted to specific ports of entry to Indonesia; otherwise you need to get a visa before leaving home. However, these ports of entry include most of the ones likely to be used by ISMIL participants: the airports of Jakarta and Padang, and the seaports in Batam, Tanjung Balai and Dumai (but apparently not Pekanbaru).

Money:

The local currency is the Rupiah. In the beginning of 2004, the rate of exchange was around 10,000 Rps to the Euro, which means that to convert Rps to Euros you simply knock off the last four digits. All the zeros are a bit confusing at first, but by the time you're ready to leave Indonesia you'll get the hang of it.

When coming to Indonesia, bring your credit and bank cards, and a small amount of cash for emergencies. If you are bringing cash US dollars, make sure that they are of the most recent design, and also crisp and new, without any wear and tear; otherwise they may not be accepted, or they will fetch a lower rate. (This constraint does not apply to Indonesian money, which is often grubby, and falling apart in your hands.) Travellers cheques are no longer widely accepted.

Moneychangers will exchange all major world currencies. However, whereas for US Dollars, Singapore Dollars and Malaysian Ringgit this is a reasonable option, for other currencies, such as Euros, Japanese Yen and Australian Dollars you will probably get a less attractive rate. Also, for most currencies, higher denominations fetch higher rates than lower denominations. For example, a 100 US dollar note might get a 5% or 10% better rate than a 20.

The most convenient way of paying for everyday things in Padang is with cash, which you can easily obtain from one of the many ATM machines available all around town. Most ATMs in Padang will accept bank cards from most major companies around the world. (In fact, I find it easier to access my Leipzig bank account in Padang than in Leipzig.) If you are at the Bumi Minang hotel, there is an ATM machine outside on the street to the right. ATM machines generally limit the amount you can withdraw in a single transaction to 600,000 Rps, 1,000,000 Rps, or some such amount; however, if you are in need of more cash you can simply keep on withdrawing the maximal amount that the machine allows, over and over again, until you hit the limit imposed by your own bank.

Major credit cards are also widely accepted, and are especially convenient for larger payments, for example accommodation at an upmarket hotel such as the Bumi Minang. However, you should try and avoid using your credit cards too liberally in Indonesia, as credit card fraud is more common than in many other places.

Health:

Like other tropical locations, Padang presents certain health risks to travellers from more temperate climates, but with minimal precautions is as safe and unthreatening a destination as any. One common risk is heatstroke and dehydration: people should not exert themselves during the heat of midday. Another frequent affliction is stomach bugs: tapwater in particular should be avoided. However, dehydration and stomach bugs can be beaten in one fell swoop by "aqua", which is Indonesian for bottled mineral water, and is safe, cheap and ubiquitous. Also, fear of an upset tummy should not be a reason to avoid trying the magnificent local cuisine, which is said to contain enough hot peppers and spices to kill off any nasty bugs.

As for Malaria, the WHO website says that "Malaria risk exists throughout the year in the whole country except in Jakarta Municipality, big cities, and within the areas of the tourist resorts of Bali and Java." (http://www.who.int/ith/countrylist06.html#97). According to this, malaria prophylaxis is not required for participants arriving in Padang (which counts as a big city) by air from Jakarta or from outside of Indonesia. However, it is recommended for participants arriving in Padang by land or sea, and for participants going on the conference excursions out of Padang, though in the latter case the risk is extremely low. Participants in doubt should seek advice from their regular physicians.

Participants should make sure to have health insurance before travelling to Indonesia. In case of emergencies, the local medical facilities leave much to be desired; the best course of action is to seek immediate evacuation to Singapore, which has excellent medical facilities.

Weather:

The ALT VI conference is right in the middde of the hot season, which lasts from January to December. Daytime temperatures will be in the low 30s, nighttime temperatures in the mid 20s. Heavy tropical downpours are a possibility, but they usually don't last long. Visitors should behave like the locals, not like the proverbial mad dogs and Englishmen, and should avoid strenuous activities in the midday sun. Early morning or late afternoon are the best time for a walk. The Bumi Minang hotel is fully airconditioned, as are most hotels in the 10-15 Euro / night and up price range.

Dress:

Dress as lightly as possible, to keep cool, while keeping in mind local sensibilities. People attach greater importance to clothing in Southeast Asia than they do in the west, and tend to judge people more by how they're dressed. So you should dress just a tad more formally than in most parts of Europe and North America. Remember, too, that this is a traditional Moslem society. Men need not wear suits and ties, but they should avoid shorts and trousers with frayed holes in them. Women should keep their shoulders and knees covered. No thongs (flip-flops, slippers, or whatever they are in your dialect of English) except on the beach. As for going swimming, men and women will probably feel uncomfortable wearing any kind of western swimwear on any beach in Padang. If you can't resist the lure of the Indian Ocean, go to one of the resorts catering specifically to foreigners, or go into the water like the locals, fully dressed. Or, if you're male, find a more secluded beach and wear loose, baggy and not-too-short shorts.

Communication:

In a nutshell: phone service is great, but internet service anything but.

Almost every street corner in Padang, and for that matter everywhere else in Indonesia has a wonderful institution called a wartel: a blend formed from warung 'stall' and telepon 'telephone'. You simply go in, dial home to Coolangatta or Calgary, and then pay at the desk. Wartel rates are usually much cheaper than calling from your hotel room, where you'll probably be slapped with hefty surcharges.

Indonesia has a higher penetration rate than most western countries for the henpon, a loanword from Singaporean English handphone, which most ALT particpants will recognize as their 'mobile' or 'cellular'. Like most of the world but not the USA or Canada, Indonesia belongs to the GSM network. What this means is that your European or Australian mobile should work in Indonesia, provided you have registered appropriately for international coverage. Of course, you pay accordingly; for example, if one Dutch vodaphone SIM card in Padang calls another one in Padang, the caller will pay the rates from Indonesia to the Netherlands, while the recepient will pay the "roaming" charge for the call to be forwarded back to Indonesia. Whereas for text messaging this is not so bad, for voice phonecalls it quickly becomes prohibitive. The solution, for serious users, is to purchase a local SIM card in Indonesia. Such cards usually cost around 100,000 Rps (about 10 Euros), and come with your own Indonesian phone number. Once you have your Indonesian SIM card, you buy prepaid "top up cards", in units of 50,000, 100,000 or 150,000 Rps.

If you know what a wartel is, you can guess what a warnet is: a place where you can go in and check your email, or your local online newspaper. That's the good news; the bad news is that the connections are often so slow that it sometimes seems it would be faster to fly all the way home and back while the page is loading. Probably the best approach to the problem is to assume that you won't have any internet access while in Padang, and then, if you're lucky, be pleasantly surprised.

Airport:

Tabing airport is located to the north of town, about a 15 minute drive from the centre and the Bumi Minang hotel. It is a rather rustic and chaotic facility. Among its major features are a single ATM (Bank Mandiri) where you can withdraw cash from most major banks worldwide, a row of small Nasi Padang eateries, and, hidden around the corner, a rather musty executive lounge run by the Bumi Minang Hotel: not the best of advertisements for the hotel itself, which is much better than the airport lounge would suggest.

Like in most domestic airports in Indonesia, baggage trolleys are often hard to find, and those that are present tend to be hogged by the porters. Indonesian passengers usually hire porters to push their luggage trolleys, and westerners who are resistant to the idea have to go scouting for a trolley without a porter. But eventually you should be able to find one. Another quirk of Indonesian domestic airport arrivals is that once you've picked up your luggage and are making your way to the exit, you will be asked to show your baggage claim tickets as proof that the luggage is yours and not somebody else's. So have your baggage claim tickets handy, or else be ready to plead hot sweaty jet-lagged stupid-foreigner ignorance, which usually works.

To get from the airport into town, you can buy a taxi coupon before emerging from the terminal building: the standard fare (to the Bumi Minang hotel or anywhere else in town) is 25,000 Rps (about US$ 2.50). Alternatively, you can go out into the taxi parking lot and bargain for a somewhat lower rate. Or, for hardcore shoestringers, walk out to the main road and get on a shared oplet for 2,000 Rps or less.

Click here for some photos of Tabing Airport.

But all of this may soon be history, as the new Minangkabau International Airport, located about a 40 minute drive to the north of town, is scheduled to open "sometime in 2005". Further information will be posted here as it becomes available.