I went on holiday to Bali in December and from there I thought I would spend a week in Banyuwangi (East Java) just accross the water from Bali. On Wednesday 27 December at 9.00am I went to Bank Mandiri in Banyuwangi to cash some American Express travellers Cheques after giving the female teller my cheques and passport I waited and waited and waited for one hour for her to return. On her return she told me she could not contact American Express to verify the Cheques so she could not cash them. The phone number on the paperwork given to me by Westpac Bank in Melbourne had a phone number 001 803 44 0176 as the phone number in Indonesia to report stolen cheques and any problems, I telephoned this number only to get a recording stating that this is the wrong number but not giving any other number to ring. The teller in the Bank had two other numbers for American Express (0800 182 1777 and 021 521 6150) but when we telephoned these numbers nobody was the to answer the phone. The teller then told me to try another Bank so I went to Bank BRI where I was told to try again in January from there I went to Bank BCA where again I was told to try again in January (both these Banks where open and it was a normal day). I telephoned Westpac in Australia and was told "why do they want to verify the cheques if they have your passport" that was the help Westpac gave to me. I then telephone American Express in the USA where I was told to tell the Bank to telephone them in the USA but nobody in that Bank branch spoke English. I was left without money for five days untill I was able to borrow some money to pay the hotel. When I got home to Melbourne I wrote a e-mail to American Express at the e-mail address listed on the paperwork and you guessed it the e-mail address is no longer any good. Just be carefull if you are leaving Bali to go to Java.