Bogor - an Indonesian adventure..

just back from a couple of days adventure to Bogor with Karen, Yolande, Trupty, Nitin, Victor and myself

Nearly everything we learned about Indonesian culture  over the last 3 months, we experienced in the last 48 hours.

Early Saturday morning we headed off on our journey, little did we know what was ahead of us. A 140km journey, which should have taken 4 hours max ended up taken 10 hours.

On the road to Bogor, all was going well until we got to within 1 hour of our destination and hit a road block. Turns out they close the 2 lane road in one direction every  2 to 3 hours for 2 to 3 hours, and allow cars to drive in both lanes in same direction. Still can't figure out the logic behind it, but had to wait twice

Victor and Trupty at the front of the road block, our car was only 10 cars back from avoiding a 2nd 2 hour wait.

During the first wait our driver Deny brought us to the most amazing and beautiful flower garden. "Taman Bunga Nusantara", at the end of approx 10km on the narrowest, bumpiest road you could imagine.

Finally arrived at our destination, exhausted and relieved. But the adventure doesn't end there. Turns out that our online reservation and confirmation means nothing. They didn'y have the rooms we booked , They said the Jakarta office never contacted them about the booking, whatever that's supposed to mean. Luckily they had a house available that we could use.

Next morning we had a guide arranged to take us on a walking tour of rice fields and local villages. That's what we thought anyway. Instead, the guide joined us in our car and we drove around the mountains. The only time we stopped was when one of us suggested it to go to a shop or take a photo of  a nice view

In the afternoon we  headed back to Bandung, thankfully it only took 3.5 hours. Throughout the 2 days  kept asking Deny "Is this normal". with a shrug of his shoulders and a smile he calmly said yes..

If you're planning anything here you need to bear in mind that time and distance mean nothing due to the sheer volume of traffic and that Indonesians tend to be very quiet.  But they are always so friendly, welcoming. remain calm and always, always have smile,

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Photos of Pusdalisbang Team

PUSDALISBANG - Centre of Data and Development Analysis 
Trupty, Nitin, Victor, Ibu Ani and Dave

Hard at work :-)

and Pak Andhy, Pak Rudi, Ibu Ani and Ibu Maej

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Welcome briefing and first day

On the morning Monday 25th we we had our welcome briefing and kick-off meeting in the local Government office of Bappeda Province of West Java, in Bandung.

Over 2 hours we were welcomed by the secretary Ir. H. Husain Achmad, and other members of the local government. we also spent some time introducing ourselves and sharing a little information about our experience.

 In the afternoon we visited a local library, where IBM  and the local Government arranged for 50 school kids to participate in some games and competitions. These games were organised by Santi Diansari  Sarino (Senior CC&CA Specialist) and Hartini Haris  (Country Marketing Mgr and CC&CA leader) from IBM, and included drawing and KidSmart.

Throughout the day we couldn't have been made feel more welcome by our hosts from Bandung and especially the children who all want our autographs and photos taken with us. :-)

It was a very exhausting day, but so rewarding too.






Tuesday 26th, we started working with our local teams. The day consisted of introductions, and starting to share information relating to our assignment. The rest of this week will be spent gathering information, understanding our client requirements, and agreeing on a set of achievable deliverables within the time period of the assignment

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Our first day in Jakarta ....

Link to our Team blog - 1st day in Jakarta...


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Good bye Winter :-) ....

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Only 3 weeks to go

Over the last month a lot has happened.  It's hard to believe but our assignment begins 3 weeks from now. 


ABV:
All the logistics of our assignment are arranged by ABV ( Australian Business Volunteers ) 

ABV works with the IBM CSC program to identify potential clients that will benefit most from the IBM CSC program, and work with the clients to select us as best they can based on matching skills with clients requirements.  It is up to us then to utilize our skills and expand our skills as best we can too, to work as a group and to contribute to other teams as well, to deliver best solutions to our clients. Last week we received details of our assignments. We're split into 3 teams. I am working with Victor, Nitin and Trupty.

Flights:
Through ABV my flights have been arranged and paid for. Unlike other IBM travel, no need to pay using my own credit card and expense later.

Visa Application:
I successfully applied for my 60 day Single Entry Business Visa to Indonesia. There is no Indonesian Embassy in Ireland, so I had to send my application to the embassy in London.

I had to include a completed application form,  my passport, 1 passport photo, 2 sponsor letters - 1 from IBM and 1 from Client in Indonesia (ABV supplied both these letters), Bank account statement to show I had sufficient funds to look after myself in Indonesia (no idea how much sufficient is, but I must have had enough), £35 Sterling Draft Visa fee +£10 Sterling to cover cost of return postage.

Unlike some who had to go back to their embassies more than once, thankfully it was successful first time for me

Accommodation:
For 4 weeks we'll be staying in Magnolia Bed and Breakfast



The adventure begins....
On Thursday 21st February the adventure begins.  Flying via Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, arriving in Jakarta Fri 22nd. We have 2 nights in Jakarta, visiting the IBM Indonesia office for meet and greet and security briefing followed by dinner on Sat 23rd. The next day, Sunday,  we travel to Bandung to be ready to meet with our clients on the Monday


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Bandung’s Kawah Putih - Beautiful....

Only 35 kms from Bandung Kawah Putih Volcano

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Our home for 4 weeks ....

Magnolia Bed and Breakfast

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Bored here :-) More Blogs ...

• Karen's Blog - http://karengoeseast.tumblr.com/ 
• Yolande's Blog - http://www.yvacsc.blogspot.nl/  
• Flavia's Blog - http://faleixoscscjourney.blogspot.com.br/
• Manuel's Blog - http://missionbandung.tumblr.com/ 

And our Team Blog http://teamcscindonesia4.blogspot.com/

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Who is on the team?....

There are 10 of us on the 4th CSC team to visit Indonesia:

From India: Trupty Gautam & Nitin Garg

From USA: Karen Freudenberg &Theresa Marshall

From Netherlands: Yolande Van Alphen

From Canada: Manuel Francois-Saint-Cyr

From Italy: Sergio Bernardi

From Mexico: Victor Manuel Gonzalez Yanez

From Brazil: Flavia Aleixo Gomes da Silva

and last but not least....

From Ireland: myself :-)


#ibmcsc Indonesia