I am in the middle of travel planning. The Wiki travel page got me worried.

According to Wiki Travel: Departing Bali to overseas destinations can be a fraught experience. Is it true?


Departing Bali to overseas destinations can be a fraught experience. Corruption is rife (the most corrupt airport in Indonesia by far) and immigration, customs and airport officials operate a large number of scams aimed at relieving departing passengers of as much of their remaining cash as possible. The most common scam is to claim that souvenirs require export licenses (you can choose to fill out the supposedly necessary paperwork but there's so much of it you would miss your flight were you to complete it all. Fortunately the happy scammers have an easy solution - hand over lots of money [a few hundred thousand rupiah might be enough if that's all you've got in your wallet but amounts asked can range up to millions of rupiah/hundreds of dollars] and the license problem can be miraculously sorted out.) No license is required for anything other than antiques. Or it could be that you will be told of an excise duty that is payable. Other scams include removing alcohol from luggage, individuals charging departure tax (its payable at a booth and a receipt is stuck to the boarding pass), refusal to accept unwrapped checked luggage (meaning you have to pay to have your luggage wrapped in plastic shrink-wrap), and, on the way in, demanding cash deposits for expensive goods to ensure that they won't be sold (but, of course, there's no way to reclaim your deposit when you leave).

http://wikitravel.org/en/Bali

I've not experienced any of these. It doesn't mean that some unwary traveler hasn't been scammed in this way, but neither I nor anyone I know has experienced this.

I'd take this wiki page with a large helping of salt.

I have no doubt that all of those things happened to somebody, sometime, but I can assure you that they're not common or frequent.

You could always go on Letterman to complain about immigration harassmment like Taylor Kitsch. Unfortuately he thought he was in the Philippines.

I have been to Bali multiple times and NEVER experienced anything like what you've described. I don't know who you've been talking or listening to, but if you're that afraid that something like that will happen to you, maybe you should rethink your travel plans.

mike...Indonesia is absolutely rife with corrupt officials waiting to pounce on foreigners, imho. Having said that, usually the corrupt officials only try to scam foreigners when there is a better than average chance of not being caught and also not having to share the spoils with others! Just be aware of the scams and protect yourself accordingly. i.e. wear a helmet when riding a motorbike. Carry a motor bike licence. Get an international drivers licence from your local A.A. Don't flaunt wealth. Don't buy antiques or Buddha images unless from a reputable retailer or wholesaler. Ask your hotel for recommendations. And don't pay anyone anything when asked, at the airport, except for excess baggage or departure tax! Get a receipt for any excess baggage or shrink wrapping. Ask for it BEFORE you pay. Only use Bluebird taxis and check they use the meter. Don't believe everything you are told! These scams are usually targeted at clueless, naive travellers. Turn up your B.S. meter. And enjoy yourself!

I have never had anything to that extreme. The only problem we had was coming into the country when we had purchased duty free alcohol from Australia to take to Bali and they wanted us to either give up the alcohol or pay them to allow us to take it in. Between the 7 of us we gave them $50 AUD and that kept them satisfied. I guess it all depends on the day you arrive and which staff member you strike!

nonesense

I just looked at the article in question, and like the others above I have to say..take it with a huge grain of salt. It's a long article but is filled with inaccurate information and over-stating problems like the one you mention. (eg. they say pre-paid taxi from airport to Ubud would range from 105,000 to 265,000...

I have indeed heard of problems with customs as you are leaving, but it's been almost ten years since it has happened to me personally. (I live in Indonesia and fly in and out very frequently) And it was for something that actually was a real law....to export larger amounts of things like jewelry you need to get a "form A" with details and have it stamped by the export department in Denpasar. Ultimately, they examined my stuff and let me through with a warning....I even offered them a "tip" of rp 20,000 (USD 2) for their help, which they refused.

There have been some well-publicized incidents where travellers were asked by customs for special bribes..but they became very famous because the travellers reported them to the airport officials and the cases were heard all the way to the central government in Jakarta. Joseph Kalla even dressed down one corrupt immigration official and stripped him of his job in front of the entire airport, and it was widely publicized. (oops...just realized that incident is reported in a white sidebar to that article...)

As others have said, just make sure you are really complying with all the laws...no drugs, no extra liquids, all the pages in your passport, make sure you keep your arrival card safe, have at least 6 months left on your passport, and so on. If anyone gives you an unjust hard time just ask to see a supervisor and go up from there. The people at the airport are now afraid of losing their jobs and the last 4 or so years at immigration and customs has never been easier.

One pointer which might help you at any airport in SEA..if you get your lugggage off the carousel and it was a white or yellow chalk X on it..take a wet tissue and unobtrusively clean it off.

And if you look nervous, that's one of the way customs officials target people for closer examination. I learned that by watching "Border Security" which is filmed in Australia!

Whew, what a relief!

What is with the white or yellow chalk X mark??

They mark your baggage (after X-ray) with chalk so they can identify bags that require further inspection. Maybe an extra bottle of something that should be "confiscated" or "subject to extra duty".

Actually, I believe the chalk mark (in Indonesia) is just a random marking. I get it frequently, even when I have only t-shirts and no bottles or food inside...

When you arrive you have to hand the customs inspection form to the officer. If he see the X he might ask for you to open the bag and they examine the contents. I never bring bottles or anything special but it slows down the process so I would just as soon avoid it. But I have nothing to hide.

Based on three departures on Cathay Airlines, the last two in 2010 and 2011 I have not had nor witnessed any problems that you duiscribe. Safety locks are good but a crooked inspector anywhere in the world will break it opn.