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So you’re in Bali, or anywhere in Indonesia, and you just can’t get enough, or maybe you just don’t want to go home just yet, or even at all, so you need to get a new visa to stay in the country. Yes, you can get a what’s called a “social visa,” but I won’t get into that in this video, and instead, tell you exactly how I did a visa run to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.
My goal was to go cheap. As much as I’ve always wanted to see Kuala Lumpur, I was on a mission, so I booked my entire round-trip airfare and hotel via AirasiaGo, which is a travel website and App. With one hundred and eighteen US dollars, I was able to get round -trip airfare on Airasia, and one night in a hotel. This was exactly the “cheap” that I was looking for, so step one, done.
Of course, make sure you have your passport and travel itinerary with you, and pack a small bag to carry on the plane. Just enough to carry past the immigration officer when you arrive so that it’s at least a fraction less obvious that you’re only on a visa run. Besides, Kuala Lumpur is a bitchin’ city with a great skyline to grab some photos there while you can anyhow, and if you choose the hotel that I did, then the WiFi is superb, so bring your laptop or tablet along for the ride too.
If you’ve already been in Bali for a couple months, then I need not tell you that the taxi drivers are hustlers and will massively over charge you, and should be avoided entirely. I made friends in Bali and got a ride to the airport for free, but you can best take a Grab car, at least for the drop off, as I’m not certain about the pick-up.
Know as you head out of Bali that Malaysia is very strict about drugs and other contraband coming to their country, so whatever your poison is, leave it in Bali. Make sure your prescription drugs are in properly labeled bottles as well, just to be safe.
Here’s a quick tip about booking the flight, by the way, assuming that you will be flying with Airasia. If you know what to look for when booking, you can ensure that you will fly a wide body Airbus A330-300, because if not, you’ll be on a smaller, single aisle, Airbus A320 instead. Their A330’s seem to be newer and have fewer maintenance issues than their aging A320 fleet, plus it’s just nice to have a more spacious jet on a flight that’s near three hours. Being someone who love’s to fly, albeit a Boeing fan, I made sure to book the A330 out and the A320 back, for a little variety, but that’s just me. Also, remember that you’re on a mission, and cheap is the name of the game, so don’t bother with the flight add-ons like seat selection, meals, or checked baggage. In fact, I always ask for a window seat at the check in counter and they’ve never not given it to me. Keep it bare bones, and eat when you get to Kuala Lumpur instead of at the airport or on the plane. Know also that your favorite tea that cost 5000 rupiah at your favorite local merchant in Bali, will cost you 20,000 rupiah in the airport, so manage your hunger and thirst accordingly.
Expect the flight time to be about 2 hours and 40 minutes, which is actually less than the stated time on your booking. However, you’ll likely get in the air about 20 minutes late anyway, causing you to break even on the arrival time. During my first visa run, as per my video embedded below, I had a two hour delay on my return flight due to Airasia’s top notch maintenance. However, please don’t take that as a complaint, but more so as a likely failed attempt at humor. Also, don’t worry, because flying is safer than driving, and if you’ve ridden a scooter in Bali, then you’re already a daredevil. The way back will likely take closer to 3 full hours, probably due to head winds in that direction.
When you land in Malaysia, you will see that the airpot is pretty damn big, so expect to walk quite a bit to get through the myriad of impediments to the exit. When you get to the immigration officer, be kind, smile, and ask how he or she is doing. They will ask you one question, typically “what are you doing in Malaysia?” I replied simply, “I’m traveling around Southeast Asia and I’ve always wanted to see the twin towers.” Then you’ll get your two index fingers fingerprinted electronically. Then, they’ll stamp your passport, and you’ll be on your way to customs.
The customs line may look long, but it passes quickly. Unlike the useless, for profit shit show that is the TSA Transportation Safety Authority in The United States, other countries are far more efficient at any type of check point. I made it through here with my one carry-on bag going through the scanner quite easily.
Now, welcome to Malaysia. You’ve completed half the part of the mission already. Since we’re staying on the theme of cheap as we do this visa run, here’s how to save on transportation costs to your hotel in Kuala Lumpur, and have a little fun in the process. You’re going to need some Malaysian money by the way, so find an ATM and grab at least 200 Ringget, which will be close to fifty bucks American. Find the bus counter, which I believe was near “Exit 2 parking area,” and buy yourself a 10 or 12 Ringgit ticket to downtown Kuala Lumpur. There are a few bus companies to choose from, so I tried a different one on the return trip to the airport, and I can tell you that they were both efficient and comfortable. Then head outside, board the next bus, and off you go with your bad self. The bus is comfortably air conditioned and quite comfortable, I mean, for a bus. Put some rock and roll in your head phones and enjoy the nearly hour long ride and the view out the window. You’ll also pass three tolls on the way (or maybe it was four.) Also just for a little side note, take a look at just how many new sky scrapers are being built in Malaysia at the moment. It’s easily over 100. Quite amazing expansion, and makes you wonder where they get that much steel, not to mention the the amount of construction workers that must be in Malaysia.
When you arrive at the bus terminal, there will be a taxi near, so talk to them, be friendly, and use your negotiating skills to get the best deal for a ride to your hotel from there. Depending on how well you pull this off, and how far your hotel is, congratulations, you’ve just saved yourself money on getting from the airport to the city.
Now it’s time to check in to your hotel. There are so many to choose from when you do your booking via AirasiaGo, but if you want the amazing luxury that I showed in this video at a price that’s a steal, I highly recommend SETIA Sky. You can book SETIA Sky via the AirasiaGo Website and App along with your airfare. If you do happen to stay there, and you get building “D,” then maybe you will meet Anne, who was the most kind, sweet and professional young lady you can hope for.
Now back to business. Hopefully you’ve booked a flight around 5pm, so you can check out of your hotel, get a taxi back to the bus station, get a cheap 10 or 12 Ringgit bus ticket again, and as per the departure time on the ticket, you’ll be on your way back to the airport. Make sure to get off at Klia 2 (terminal 2) if you’ve booked Airasia, because if you end up in the first terminal, you’ll need a ten minute shuttle ride to get all the way to the correct terminal. The airport is so big and spread apart, that it almost feels like two different airports. The shuttle ride to Klia 2 literally involved getting on and off of a freeway. On a side note, that shuttle is free and runs every tens minutes, round the clock, so ignore the taxi drivers who will so dare to highball you and ask for 25 Ringgit just to get you to the other terminal… Really.
Check in for your flight, and head to your gate. You will get your passport stamped as you make your way to the gate. Congratulations, your now half done with the visa run.
Before the plane lands back in Bali, be sure to grab a customs declaration form from the flight attendant, and have it filled out and ready, to save you time when you arrive. You will need to present that form to pass customs in Indonesia, but of course, if you’re on a visa run, then you probably already know this from the first time you flew into Bali.
Here’s the part to really pay attention to. When you follow the path of international arrivals, you will notice that most people head straight to the many open counters where you can get a free 30 day visa stamp. However, since you are likely planning to stay in Indonesia again for more than the free 30 days, head to the left instead of straight to the immigration, and you will see the counter where you need to purchase an extendable visa. This will cost you $35 dollars cash in US dollars, or just about 500,000 rupiah if you are only carrying rupiah at this point, and it is also good for 30 days from the date of the stamp. Be mindful of this important detail before you make this visa run, so that you are prepared with the proper money on you to buy this extendable visa. After you have purchased this, they will stick it in your passport and send you to line number two, where you then continue along the process of getting your passport stamped. For whatever reason, the immigration agent asked to see my “boarding pass.” I pretended to be dumbfounded, and showed him the boarding pass for the flight that I just got off, and he sent me right through, no problem. I was hoping he didn’t mean proof of my next flight out of Indonesia, because I didn’t have that, at all.
Now just follow the path, get yourself through customs, and then congratulations, because your back in Bali for another 30 days at least, extendable again up to 60 days. You’ve completed your visa run.
Another quick tip for you. If you will be extending this visa at the Imigrasi in Bali, the procedure has just changed again, just about two weeks before I wrote this blog. Instead of making that first of three trips to the office to turn in your information packet and surrender your passport for a few days, you must now begin the process via their website instead. Here is the link: Http://izintinggal.imigrasi.go.id
As a quick reminder before I conclude this, setup your own means of transportation back to your apartment of living space in Bali so that you need not be swarmed by taxi drivers on the hustle.
My first visa run from Bali to Kuala Lumpur was a very easy success, and I hope yours is too. Good luck, and of course, have fun! You’re seeing the world!!