Greetings fellow FT friends –

We are heading to Bali in March 2012, and after getting suitably spooked by all of the hit and miss horror stories about obtaining a VOA in Denpasar and the lack of consistent experiences with ‘VIP’ services, I decided to take the initiative last week and drove into downtown LA and see how easy/hard it was to obtain a single trip tourist visa at the Indonesian Consulate on Wilshire Blvd in LA. It’s only a 30 minute drive for me from Granada Hills in the Valley, so I figured it was worth the experience, and it could be something I could report to all of you who are in the area.

First of all, before you go, fill out the visa application online. Go to http://www.indonesianconsulate.us It’s simple – takes 10 minutes. Once done, you have two weeks to show up at the Consulate.

When you are filling out the application, you’ll need to have a 1x1 600 dpi photo ready to upload before you can complete it. I used Adobe Lightroom to create one from a photo taken of me at Disneyland. After clipping away Mickey Mouse, I created a nice pic. It worked no problem.

Upon arrival at the Consulate, there is lots of on-street metered parking along with a Parking garage around the corner. I was buzzed in by the guard in the lobby, and after signing in and handing over my driver’s license, I was directed up to the 4th floor. Note - the Consulate has very short operating hours M-Thurs until 1pm, Friday's close at noon.

I brought with me my passport, the application form coversheet you’ll print out, two passport photos taken from a convenience store across the street (behind the McDonalds), and ‘supporting’ information. For the supporting information, I printed out a copy of my airline reservation, a copy of my latest bank statement, and a copy of my employment status. I can’t say if all of this supporting info - beyond the airline eticket print out which is a must -was completely necessary, but the incredibly friendly desk agent who did NOT ask for this data (only the application, flight details and passport photos) said it was great detail and makes things a lot easier.

You need to bring $45 – cash. Once your application is processed at the consulate, and you pay your $45, they will take your passport and give you a receipt and a date it will be ready to pick up. I went there on the 4th of January, and it will be ready for pick up on the 10th. Not bad – six days. Once done I have 90 days to enter Indonesia and can stay up to 60 days.

My entire wait once getting to the lobby on the 4th floor was 10 minutes. The desk agent humbly apologized to me once I told him why I was here instead of simply waiting to get a VOA upon arrival to Bali, and said it is unfortunate that DPS has gotten such a bad reputation for problems, but assured me things are better now. I believe him. However, for me, just the idea of not having to wait on a ‘potentially’ long line to get a VOA, or use a VIP service - I think the idea of handing over my passport in a foreign country to a complete stranger is flat out nuts – is worth $20 and two trips to downtown LA.

Happy Travels, David