Although I have a driver available, sometimes it is nice just to do your own thing.
I have been driving around without local license (i know bad bad bad boy) so it was time to get myself an Indonesian version of that thing. Main reason is that you want to give the cops as less reasons as possible to ask for any other fees (if you know what I mean).
So, I made the call to a friend who knows someone that can speed things up. (Yes, speed up in Indonesia does exist...and sometimes those things come in handy). Appointment set, so early morning I get my driver (uhh during the week the car is his domain) to drive to the main office for .....driving licenses.
Rather than going straight to a counter, we report into a ..... WARTEL, one of those phone shops. Me with my passport and thats it. Give the passport to a guy, guy goes out to the next shop, guy comes back with passport and pile of copies. Ok, now it is time for the real work.
We continue our walk into a massive office building and pass some of the gates and entrances.
Please sit, the guy runs off again and returns a little later with more copies, forms and other things.
From there we go further into the belly of the beast...through some more gates. The main thing I see is people waiting waiting and waiting.
We pass some more gates and office doors and suddenly there is the magic door. Our main guid sticks his head in the room, mumbles something and tells me to go inside. As I do, followed by sitting down and wait. The waiting was for the tools to become available. Tools to take your photo, finger print and another pic.
That took a few mins and voila... done., so lets wait outside. Within a few mins our guy returns with my passport AND tadaaaaa the drivers license!
So now we walk back to the exit, where just before we seperate paths. We get back to the car and just before leaving the guy walks off. Just realized that no service fee had exchanged hands.
Before we leave.....indeed a stop over at the wartel to finalize the transaction. The fee was only a little more than what the locals would pay for a normal or regular process time. In and out for me was now in just over 20min.
Not bad!
