BootsnAll Travel Community

Right after Schapelle Corby leaped into the headlines she was followed by 9 other young Australians, all vying to be drug-runner of the year.

The Bali police guided by the AFP caught 5 people trying to leave Bali airport for Australia with 8lbs of smack ( that's enough to kill a rhino!) and 4 more in a hotel room, licking their chops no doubt.

Bloody oath, where did those young fellas get their dirty hands on that gear?

Who know. What we do know is this incident is likely to cause some uncomfortable moments for both the Australian and Indonesian governments.

What is your take on this case and what should the proper outcome be?

These guys are idiots for sure and their sense of timing is just amazing. I was just checking something on NineMSN here in Australia and it made pretty sickening reading. It was a poll; in fact three questions put in 3 polls over the last couple of months.
A majority just over 52% at this stage (the poll is still active) support the death penalty for convicted drug trafficers. However when asked whether they trusted judges to hand down sentences that fit the crime 87% said NO. When they were asked on Corby issue whether she was a victim of drug smuggling operation 79% said yes. So..if convicted by judges they do not trust on circumstances they do not believe occured, a majority saying the death penalty is appropriate. (!)

Well they had it on them so there is no saying it was planted so I guess it must of been a risk they were willing to take.

Now on this note as an Australian heading to Bali I can say that not to many people want to go to Bali that I know in Austrlia now.There is a large group going for this wedding I am going over for as well and some are pulling out and just about most do not want to go but are for the sake of the bride and groom.

We hear stories of corupt police and customs people and it makes everyone worried about going there as once there its like all rights we have in Australia are gone. I had heard from a customer of mine today that his friend and wife just went over there and got stripped searched and his wife was treated rather bad. They cancelled there stay and hoped on the next plane out. I have also heard now from others that they are treating Australian a bit hard and searching all Aussies in a rude manner at the airport. This seams to be the word spreading around from anyone I talk to and this has stopped a few and made them cancell.

On the other hand I hear the locals are very nice people and will treat you great but if the 1st and last thing we see when visting is a customs officer/police treating us bad it wont leave a good feeling of Bali for us. I hope this is not the case when we get there as I heard it took a while for Bali to get over the bombing and get tourists back and now all this drug stuff will not help any. If on top that Australian feel they get disgriminated against more well I could only guess numbers will drop going there.

I am happy to have a full search as I have nothing to hide but a strip and cavity search is not my idea of a good time.

Any Australians just back from Bali with any news on how they went with Bali customs officers/police ?

Bad thing but with luck it will all get sorted out and we can move on.

Whatever rights you have in Australia are a moot point once you enter another country.

Also, third-hand hearsay is not a reliable source of travel information.

You will have a great time in Bali, just don't listen to the naysayers.

Hope your right and so does my backside (strip search) lol

yes there is a lot of chatter around on all this at the moment and I am sure a large portion is all false. Just not been out of Aust' and all this on my 1st trip is a little hope you are right and its not a problem at the airports.

I have not heard about Aussies being strip searched or being treated rough.

Yes the immigration guys do ask for a 'tip' once in a while but that's all they're looking for. Balinese are not on a macho trip and I'd say as long as you come over like the nice bloke you are no worries.

cool hope thats the case then as I am looking forward to the get away as it sounds like a nice place to kick back with a brew and have some fun

Nick, if it's likely the immi guys will look for a tip, what do you think is reasonable? It seems an odd question, I know.

Depends what the situation is. If you are just a regular tourist on holiday with all your paperwork in order you do not have to pay anything. If they ask just loudly reply 'I DON'T UNDERSTAND, ARE YOU SAYING YOU WANT ME TO GIVE YOU MONEY?'

If you don't have an outgoing ticket, don't have 3 months left on your passport, or have some other technicality, then you can help things with some cash.

The best thing to do is to preempt trouble showing them you know the ropes. For example a friend of mine was once taken out of the line and charged $50 for not having at least 3 months left on his passport. Maybe slipping 100,000rp inside the passport would of prevented that.

Likewise when I enter Bali they always see multiple stamps in my passport and use that as an excuse to razz me. "Where you live boss, what's your business, what are you up to?". I slip in 100,000rp an get no questions. Same goes for someone with no outward ticket.

Sometimes I lose my exit tag (its not stapled in and during the visa extension process it goes missing). I put 20,000rp inside the passport on departure. No worries.

We're not talking huge amounts and its better to head off trouble than let them think you don't know the ropes. Do not worry about letting other people see the money in the passport, actually its better to be obvious. Last time I came in I folded the bill inside the passport and kept it well hidden. The officer found it and asked in a stern voice "Is this meant for me?" . Being used to the US I automatically said 'I don't know." We did this little back and forth, me trying to figure out whether he was trying to trap me, before I realised he was just making sure I knew the cash was in the passport and meant it for him. After we got that straight it was all good. Best thing to do is actually leave the end of the bill poking out so he can see it immediately. If you ever run into trouble (unlikely ) make up some story about thinking there was an extra 'service charge' you had to pay.

Thanks Nick, your experiences are handy to know. Better to be fore-warned and fore-armed as it were. I've been to Bali a few times in years gone by and never been approached for anything. The girl I'll be travelling with in August, while more travelled than I, is quite concernedm given recent events. I'll make a point of having some currency on arrival, just in case.

Love the Blog, by the way, it's been interesting and very helpful. We'll be coming in late and we'll be looking to have a quiet one before settling down for the evening, perhaps we can look you up before we head off to Java?

MP

Yeh thanks for the info Nick.
I will post here when I get back on how it all was. I have not spoke to a person yet over here in Australia yet that thinks it's a good idea going over at the moment but can't let that wreck my break and my mates wedding

Even the guy at quantas airlines and our travel agent told us there is a good chance they will pull you aside and might give you are hard time as we are young male Aussies.
If they ask me to drop my pants and bend over my wallet will be coming out with money flowing there way quick smart lol

Ahh should all be good as you say go there and and be prepared maybe with a little fee in my passport for them (its called save my backside fee lmao)