Cochin Duty Free

Fighting Anxiety at Cochin International Airport

18 May 202325 July 2023travelingpersecond

A concern came with the alertness of the Air Asia AK 39 cabin crew who were busy checking all passengers as a sign that the plane would soon be landed on the Cochin International Airport runway.

Air Asia’s six wheels even hit the ground before one o’clock in the morning, while my head was still full of questions.

“Will there be a passenger waiting room at the airport after the immigration counter?”

“If there is no such facility, is it true that I have to wait outside the airport building until the sun rises in Kerala?”

“Or do I have to carry out Plan B where I will sleep while sitting in a restaurant outside the airport terminal building?”….Yes, that was my final plan if there wasn’t a waiting room at the airport after completing immigration matters.

Never mind, I’ve prepared myself for all possibilities….

The beautiful Indian flight attendant smiled while signaling that it was safe for passengers to leave the cabin. I stepped along the aisle of the cabin confidently.

Took a Look at the Arrival Hall

Walking through the non-glass aerobridge made me unable to enjoy the situation around the apron. Because usually I would stand on the side of the aerobridge and take some pictures of the unloading activity around the plane. But I was still lucky because I was directed through the arrival hall corridor with glass walls, I thought the windows were wide enough and allowed me to enjoy the airport view facing the runway.

Cochin International Airport Terminal 3 starting corridor.

The duty-Free area before the immigration counter.

Came on, took a peek at the toilet….It was clean…

I stared at the eight-filled arrival card that the flight attendant gave me a moment before landing while continuing to rush along the floor without a carpet until I arrived at the immigration counter.

“Stupid….”, I cursed myself that apparently had lost the only pen to fill out the arrival card. At the tables where foreign passengers filled out the sheets, there wasn’t even a pen that could be used.

As a result, I had to go around borrowing pens from passengers who had finished filling out the arrival cards. Without hesitation, several passengers seemed to ignore me and chose to refuse on the grounds of being in a hurry.

But an unexpected incident came….The male passenger who sat next to me on the whole flight came over….

“For you….Just keep it”, with an Indian accent, he smiled.

“Thank you, Sir…”, I said

“Happy traveling….”, he smiled and walked away leaving me to immediately join the group of worshipers from the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple who seemed to be pushing towards the immigration desk.

Table?

Yups, this is the most unique immigration counter I’ve ever encountered.

At Cochin International Airport, the immigration counter is not in the form of standing counters, but a counter that is set very similar to an interview table. Every foreigner will be seated in front of the immigration officer and interrogated with several questions. It’s tense, but for me, the excitement side stands out more.

I took out my passport, eVisa, and Hotel Booking Confirmation while waiting for a European woman to be interrogated at the immigration desk. After that, I was asked to sit down and the officers began to interrogate me.

Two attendants stood by to question me at the counter, one sitting facing the laptop and one standing.

As soon as I handed in the documents, an officer sitting in front of a laptop immediately started looking for information about me in their immigration database.

Immigration officer: “Mr. Donny Suryanto? If yes, you’ve visited India once, haven’t you?”

Me: “Yes, Sir. New Delhi and Agra. Beautiful cities in your country”.

Immigration Officer: “How long will you visit Kochi?”

Me: “Two days”.

Immigration officer: “Oh, just two days. Why?”

Me: “This is just a transit trip to get a cheap flight to Dubai, Sir. Cause I’m a backpacker, Sir”

Immigration officer: “Clever…No matter for a very short vacation. Happy traveling, Mr. Donny”

Me: “Thank you, Sir”.

I very quickly and easily went through the interrogation stages at the Cochin International Airport immigration counter. Now I hurry and swing through customs and easily arrived at the exit door.

I was so happy when in front there was a small row of seats.

“Yeaaa….I’ll wait for the morning in that row of chairs”, my worries have vanished.

This was the waiting chair.

It was on my right-hand side that was where I exchange Dollars.

But before actually sitting down, I started hunting for Rupees for purposes while exploring Kochi. I approached the foreign currency exchange counter owned by Thomas Cook Change Currency.

Me: “How much is the minimum Dollar which can be exchanged here, Sir?”

Counter clerk: “100 Dollars, Sir”

Me: “Oh, I’m sorry, I just need to change a few dollars into Rupees”

Counter clerk: “No problem, Sir”

I left the counter to go to another counter that can serve exchanges under 100 US Dollars. Finally I was able to exchange 5 US Dollars and 5 Malaysian Ringgits to get 320 Rupees at the Weizmann Forex Money Exchange. That much rupees would even be left over for my two day adventure in Kochi. Very cheap right?…..

Meanwhile, for communication access, I decided to use an Airtel 4G SIM card. Because I bought it after exchanging US Dollars, I bought the SIM card with a 3GB quota using a 5 US Dollar bill.

“It takes four hours to activate your card”, said the seller to me as soon as I left the telecommunications counter.

Although in the end, I would never be able to activate the SIM card that I bought during my adventure exploring Kochi….Damn.

Several Rupees were in hand and communication access was in hand, now I could sit in a row of empty seats at the last end of the arrival hall. India was known for its cold air in January, so I feel grateful to be able to wait for the morning to come inside the airport.

It was still half past three in the morning when I sat on one of the benches…..

For more than five hours of waiting time, I could only witness the discipline of a soldier guarding the entrance gate to the area inside the airport. The soldier was never tired of combining sitting and standing movements for hours to check the traffic of airport staff, airline ground staff, and other officers when going in and out of the area inside the airport building.

Or witness the typical ritual when some guests pickers place their palms on the feet of the person being picked up as a form of respect. The rest I could never completely close my eyes in that waiting chair.

And so on, until exactly eight in the morning, I decided to leave the waiting room to go to the Royal Wings Hotel which was located 1.3 kilometers in the west of airport.

As usual, before I left the airport area, I took the time to explore all sides outside the airport building. Here were some spots in Cochin International Airport that I could show to you.

Cloak Room to the west of the Terminal 3 exit door.

If there were no waiting chairs in the airport building, I planned to wait at the Chili Restaurant which was open 24 hours.

The elegance of Cochin International Airport located in the Aerotropolis Nedumbassery.

Solar panels ground which was the main source of energy for Cochin International Airport.

Did you want to know the Departure Hall of Cochin International Airport?…I would show you later….Be patient.

Came on, explore!….

What’s in Kochi?….

Next Story—->

Second Chance to India: Air Asia AK 39 from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Kochi (COK)

3 May 202311 May 2023travelingpersecond

<—-Previous Story

Air Asia flight route AK 39 (source: flightaware).

Going to India always has a thrill in a side of my heart. The provocation of irresponsible information sometimes succeeds in making the guts tremble.

Gusts of news ranging from security factors, culinary hygiene, scam variations, and other gripping things began to cloud my mind that afternoon.

Therefore, before leaving for India, for five days I warmed my guts in Kuala Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur, hoping that by leaving them I would be able to carry courage. But that afternoon it seemed as if I was still building up the courage from zero again.

In the continuation of my adventure, India would be the prelude to my main destination, i.e. the Middle East. Why was that?…. The only reason was that India was always giving many chances to get cheap tickets to the main tourist city in the Arabian Peninsula, i.e. Dubai. In addition to tickets, India also provided a variety of starting points to jump into that city.

As for my adventure history, after New Delhi and Agra two years earlier, this time I chose another point of departure, i.e. Kochi, an exotic tourist destination in southwest India.

—-****—-

I enjoyed the soft texture of white rice at Quizinn by RASA after 24 hours of not tasting this idol’s food. The white rice at that time also represented the last Ringgit I had, starting the next day I was using Rupees.

Five minutes before the Air Asia Ak 39 check-in desk opened, I finished eating white rice with the last piece of fried egg.

As I stated above, instead of getting excited, my chest was beating fast…” Oh India, please make peace with my adventure this time”, I calmed my heart.

Rising from my seat in a corner of the food court on the 2M floor, I carried my favorite blue backpack. Stepping up to the Departure Hall on the 3rd floor.

“It turned out that the queue was long….”, my confidence to become the first queue fell.

The contortions of the queue, which was dominated by Indians, kept me in the bloated queue. After all, I remained calm, there was still a long way to the flight, still four hours away. I started taking out the zipper bag to prepare documents, i.e. passports, hotel booking confirmations in India, tickets to and from India, and free Indian e-Visa sheets.

“Do you have a Visa?”, the check-in desk staff firmly asked me.

“This is Miss”, I handed over all the documents I had prepared.

“Was Indonesia to India enough with e-Visa, Sir?” That female officer asked her senior colleague.

That senior staff confirmed and that female officer finally printed the boarding pass for me.

The first stage was over, I rushed to the International Departure Gate which was heavily guarded by several Aviation Security. In the front queue, there weren’t a few prospective passengers who were being held back due to carrying too much cabin baggage. In addition to Aviation Security, several Air Asia airline ground staff closely monitored passengers who cheated by carrying excess cabin baggage.

For me?….. It was easy, I pass through the gate without checking. Even with the inspection, I would still pass, because I had weighed the entire load of my backpack before heading to the check-in desk….Easy, only 6.5 kilograms.

“Where is the direction to gate L14?”, I asked myself.

I continued along the long corridors until I descended an escalator which at the bottom was already blocking several columns of the screening gate.

As usual, I always took off my shoes when I pass through the screening gate, it was all because I would feel lazy if I had to repeat the screening process when my shoes rang the screening door.

I easily pass it….

Now I only needed to continue through the remaining corridors to reach gate L14.

One of the corridors in the International Departure Hall is KLIA2.

Those are the directions to the Air Asia AK 39 departure gate.

A little after seven in the evening, I arrived at the gate in question.

“Hhmmmhhhh….An hour and a half to boarding”, I sat on a chair outside the waiting room which was still tightly closed.

I decided to perform the prayer and filled up drink bottles at the free water station. And in the remaining time, I just sit waiting until the waiting room door opens an hour before the flight.

Luckily while waiting, my boredom was dampened by the cute behavior of a little Indian toddler whose behavior was so adorable.

—-****—-

Waiting in the waiting room, I was again stunned by a large group of Hindu congregation. From the all-black uniform worn, I could identify the congregation as coming from the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, located in the State of Kerala, India.

The peculiarity of the Indian Hindu congregation was that they do not use footwear. Some Hindus in India believed that not using footwear was a form of respect for the Gods.

Dressed in black and Lungi*1) was also the religious appearance of the group. I had to sit mingled in the waiting room with their group.

While the view in the glass window was a perfectly parked Airbus A320 Twin Jet aircraft, dominantly white with a blue-red color combination and bearing the tourism promotion jargon “Sarawak More to Discover”.

Waiting patiently for it to end…

Boarding calls for Air Asia flight AK 39 filled the airport ceiling.

I immediately got up and prepared my passport and boarding pass to pass the final inspection of prospective passengers before entering the cabin. Ahhh….I couldn’t wait.

At half past nine I started boarding…..

Passing the aerobridge to the aircraft cabin.

Cabin situation while hunting for a seat.

Look at those Indian citizens…..Do you want to go to India or not?

Entering the cabin of the small-body aircraft, I looked for seat number 11E. On the next 3 hours and 40 minutes of flight, I would sit in the middle column, making it difficult for me to capture beautiful portraits of the earth.

When the boarding process was over, in my row there was only me and one of the Hindu congregation. Therefore, I decided to move to an aisle seat to get relief from the 3,000 km flight.

—-****—-

To my surprise, when I opened the Travel 360 inflight magazine, I found a self-portrait of a travel influencer that seemed familiar to me. I was very familiar with his surname….Groves.

I made sure it was a beautiful traveler from Aussie whom I had known a year earlier in Samosir, Eloise Groves. He once told a story under the Naisogop waterfall that he had a brother named Jackson Groves who was a travel influencer. Seeing the similarity in the facial expressions of the figure in the inflight magazine I was reading with the figure that often appears on Eloise’s Facebook page, I’m 100% sure it was her big brother.

And it was true, later I would get confirmation from Eloise that it was her sibling after sending a short message through the Facebook messenger application when I arrived in India.

Trying to close my eyes after flipping through Travel 360, I tried to sleep. But I didn’t sleep. That was how I was, never completely fell asleep every time I sat on the plane.

That was Jackson Groves in Air Asia’s Inflight magazine.

Arrive at Terminal 3 Cochin International Airport.

Finally, the awaited time has arrived….

At one o’clock in the morning, Air Asia AK 39 landed at Cochin International Airport, a magnificent airport in the State of Kerala in southwest India.

Thank God….

Now I was even further away from home.

Kochi which was nearly 9,000 km from Jakarta.

Let’s explore….What was in Kochi?

To get flight tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Kochi, you can search for them on 12go Asia Asia with the following link: https://12go.asia/?z=3283832

Next Story—->

Description of the word:

Lungi*1) = A long piece of cloth that is wrapped around the waist and is a typical Indian dress.

Melawan Gelisah di Cochin International Airport

31 October 202110 November 2021travelingpersecond

<—-Kisah Sebelumnya

Sebuah kekhawatiran hadir seiring dengan kesigapan cabin crew Air Asia AK 39 yang sibuk memeriksa segenap penumpang sebagai pertanda bahwa selongsong terbang merah akan segera merapat di runway Cochin International Airport.

Enam roda Air Asia genap menyentuh landasan menjelang pukul satu dini hari, sementara isi kepalaku masih dijejali banyak tanya.

“Apakah di dalam bandara nanti ada ruang tunggu penumpang setelah konter imigrasi?”

“Jika tak ada fasilitas itu, apakah benar aku harus menunggu di luar bangunan bandara hingga matahari bangun menerangi Kerala?”

“Ataukah aku harus menjalankan Plan B dimana aku akan tidur sembari duduk di sebuah restoran di luar bangunan terminal bandara?”….Ya, itu rencana terakhirku apabila tak ada ruang tunggu di dalam bandara pasca menyelesaikan urusan imigrasi.

Sudahlah, aku sudah bersiap diri atas semua kemungkinan….

Pramugari berparas cantik khas India itu tersenyum sembari memberi tanda bahwa penumpang sudah aman untuk meninggalkan kabin. Aku pun melangkah di sepanjang lorong kabin dengan penuh percaya diri.

Melongok Arrival Hall

Menyusuri aerobridge berbahan non-kaca membuatku tak bisa menikmati suasana di sekitar apron. Karena biasanya aku akan berdiri di salah satu sisi aerobridge dan mengambil beberapa gambar aktivitas unloading di sekitar pesawat. Tetapi aku toh masih beruntung karana diarahkan melalui koridor arrival hall berdinding kaca, kufikir kaca-kaca itu cukup lebar dan membuatku bisa menikmati penampakan bandara yang menghadap ke arah landas pacu.

Koridor awal Cochin International Airport Terminal 3.

Area *Duty Free* sebelum konter imigrasi.

Aku menatap arrival card delapan isian yang diberikan pramugari beberapa saat sebelum mendarat sembari terus bergegas menyusuri lantai tanpa karpet hingga tiba di konter imigrasi.

“Bodoh….”, aku menyumpahi diri sendiri yang ternyata telah kehilangan pena satu-satunya untuk mengisi kartu kedatangan tersebut. Di meja-meja tempat penumpang asing mengisi lembaran itu pun tak terlihat satu pun pena yang bisa digunakan.

Alhasil, aku harus kesana kemari meminjam pena ke penumpang yang telah selesai mengisi arrival card. Tak segan, beberapa penumpang tampak mengacuhkanku dan memilih menolak dengan alasan karena terburu-buru.

Tetapi sebuah kejadian tak disangka pun hadir….Penumpang pria yang duduk di sebelahku pada sepanjang penerbangan tadi datang menghampiri….

“For you….Just keep it”, dengan aksen India dia tersenyum sembari menggeleng-gelengkan kepalanya.

“Thank you, Sir…”, aku berujar….Dan entah, kepalaku pun ikut fasih menggeleng-geleng khas gelengen India.

“Happy traveling….”, dia tersenyum dan melangkah pergi meninggalkanku untuk segera bergabung dengan rombongan jama’ah dari Kuil Sabarimala Ayyappa yang tampak mulai merangsek menuju meja imigrasi.

Meja?

Yups, inilah konter imigrasi terunik yang pernah kudapati.

Di Cochin International Airport, konter imigrasi bukanlah berbentuk konter-konter berdiri, melainkan konter yang secara setting mirip sekali dengan meja wawancara. Setiap pendatang asing akan didudukkan di depan opsir imigrasi dan diinterogasi dengan beberapa pertanyaan. Menegangkan tetapi bagiku lebih menonjol sisi keseruannya.

Aku mengeluarkan passport, eVisa dan Hotel eBooking Confirmation ketika menunggu seorang perempuan Eropa diinterogasi di meja imigrasi. Seusainya, maka aku dipersilahkan untuk duduk dan mulai diinterogasi oleh petugas.

Dua petugas bersiap menanyaiku di konter, satu duduk menghadap laptop dan satu lagi berdiri.

Begitu menyerahkan dokumen, seorang petugas yang duduk menghadap laptop segera berseluncur mencari informasi mengenaiku di database imigrasi mereka.

Petugas imigrasi: “Mr. Donny Suryanto?. If yes, you’ve visited India once, haven’t you?”

Aku: “Yes, Sir. New Delhi and Agra. Beautiful cities in your country”.

Petugas Imigrasi: “How long will you visit Kochi?”

Aku: “Two days”.

Petugas imigrasi: “Oh, just two days. Why?”

Aku: “This is just transit trip to get a cheap flight to Dubai, Sir. Cause I’m a backpacker, Sir”

Petugas imigrasi: “Clever…No matter for a very short vacation. Happy traveling, Mr Donny”

Aku: “Thank you, Sir”.

Aku sangat cepat dan mudah melewati tahapan interogasi di konter imigrasi Cochin International Airport tersebut. Kini aku bergegas dan melenggang melewati pemeriksaan customs dan dengan mudah tiba di exit door.

Begitu riang hati ketika di hadapan sana terlihat satu blok kecil tempat duduk.

“Yeaaa….Aku akan menunggu pagi di deretan kursi itu”, kekhawatiranku sirna sudah.

Di sisi kanan itulah tempatku menukar Dollar.

Tetapi sebelum benar-benar duduk, aku mulai berburu mata uang Rupee untuk keperluan selama mengeksplorasi Kochi. Aku merapat ke konter penukaran mata uang asing milik Thomas Cook Change Currency.

Aku: “What is the minimum Dollar which can be exchanged here, Sir?”

Petugas konter: “100 Dollar, Sir”

Aku: “Oh, I’m sorry, I just need to change a few dollars into Rupees”

Petugas konter: “No Problem, Sir”

Aku meninggalkan konter itu untuk menuju konter lain yang bisa melayani penukaran di bawah 100 Dollar Amerika. Akhirnya aku bisa menukarkan 5 Dollar Amerika dan 5 Ringgit Malaysia untuk mendaptkan 320 Rupee di Weizmann Forex Money Exchange. Rupee sebanyak itu bahkan akan bersisa untuk dua hari petualanganku di Kochi nanti. Murah banget kannnn?…..

Sementara untuk akses komunikasi aku memutuskan menggunakan SIM card keluaran Airtel 4G. Karena aku membelinya seusai menukarkan Dollar Amerika, maka aku membeli SIM card berkuota 3GB tersebut menggunakan selembar 5 Dollar Amerika.

“It need four hours to activate your card”, begitu ucap si penjual kepadaku begitu aku meninggalkan konter telekomunikasi itu.

Walau pada akhirnya, nantinya SIM card yang kubeli itu tak akan pernah bisa kuaktifkan sepanjang petualangan mengeksplorasi Kochi….Sial.

Sejumlah Rupee sudah di tangan dan akses komunikasi sudah di genggaman, kini aku bisa duduk di deretan bangku yang kosong di ujung terakhir arrival hall. India memang terkenal dengan udara dinginnya di bulan Januari, jadi aku merasa bersyukur bisa menunggu datangnya pagi di dalam ruangan bandara.

Masih setengah tiga pagi ketika aku terduduk di salah satu bangku…..

Selama lima jam lebih waktu tunggu, aku hanya bisa menyaksikan kedisiplinan seorang tentara yang menjaga entrance gate menuju area di dalam bandara. Petugas itu tak pernah lelah mengkombinasikan gerakan duduk dan berdiri berjam-jam untuk memerikasa lalu lalang staff bandara, ground staff maskapai dan petugas-petugas lainnya ketika keluar-masuk dari dan ke area dalam bangunan bandara.

Atau menyaksikan ritual khas ketika beberapa penjemput menempelkan telapak tangan ke kaki orang yang dijemput sebagai bentuk penghormatan. Selebihnya aku tak pernah bisa sempurna memejamkan mata dalam kursi tunggu itu.

Begitu seterusnya, hingga tepat pukul delapan pagi, aku memutuskan keluar meninggalkan ruang tunggu demi menuju Hotel Royal Wings yang berlokasi 1,3 Kilometer di barat bandara.

Seperti biasa, sebelum aku benar-banar meninggalkan area bandara, kusempatkan diri untuk mengeksplorasi segenap sisi di luar bangunan bandara. Berikut beberapa spot di Cochin International Airport yang bisa kuperlihatkan kepada kalian.

*Cloak Room* di sebelah barat *exit door* Terminal 3.

Jika tak ada kursi tunggu di dalam bangunan bandara, rencananya aku akan menunggu di Chili Restaurant itu yang buka 24 jam.

Keanggunan Cochin International Airport yang terletak di *Aerotropolis* Nedumbassery..

*Solar panels ground* yang merupakan sumber energi utama untuk Cochin International Airport.

Mau tahu Departure Hall Cochin International Airport?….Nanti ya kuperlihatkan….Sabar.

Yuk, eksplore !….

Ada apakah di Kochi?….

Kisah Selanjutnya—->

Kesempatan Kedua ke India: Air Asia AK 39 dari Kuala Lumpur (KUL) ke Kochi (COK)

2 October 202125 October 2021travelingpersecond

<—-Kisah Sebelumnya

Jalur penerbangan Air Asia AK 39 (sumber: *flightaware*).

Berangkat ke India selalu saja menyematkan debar di sebuah sisi hati. Provokasi informasi tak bertanggungjawab terkadang sukses membuat gentar nyali. Hembusan kabar mulai dari faktor keamanan, kehigienisan kuliner, variasi scam, serta printilan mencekam lainnya mulai menggelayuti pikiran sore itu.

Oleh karenanya sebelum bertolak ke India, selama lima hari aku memanaskan nyali di Kuala Terengganu dan Kuala Lumpur, berharap keluar dari Negeri Jiran bisa menyandang nyali yang gagah berani. Tetapi sore itu seolah-olah aku tetap saja mulai membangun keberanian dari awal lagi.

Dalam kelanjutan petualangan ini, India akan menjadi pintu pendahuluan menuju destinasi utama, yaitu Timur Tengah. Kenapa demikian?….Alasannya hanya satu bahwa India selalu saja mengiming-imingi tiket murah menuju kota wisata utama di Jazirah Arab, yaitu Dubai. Selain tiket, India juga menyediakan variasi titik tolak untuk melompat ke kota itu.

Sedangkan bagi sejarah petualanganku, setelah New Delhi dan Agra dua tahun sebelumnya, kali ini aku memilih titik tolak lain, yaitu Kochi, sebuah destinasi wisata eksotis di barat daya India.

—-****—-

Aku menikmati sekali tekstur lembut nasi putih di Quizinn by RASA setelah 24 jam lamanya tak mencicip makanan idola itu. Nasi putih kali ini sekaligus merepresentasikan Ringgit terakhir yang kumiliki, mulai esok hari aku sudah menggunakan Rupee.

Lima menit sebelum check-in desk Air Asia Ak 39 dibuka, aku usai menyuap nasi putih dengan potongan telur kandar terakhir.

Seperti yang kuungkapkan di atas, alih-alih bersemangat, justru dadaku berdegup kencang…”Oh India, berdamailah dengan petualanganku kali ini”, aku menenangkan hati.

Bangkit dari tempat duduk di sebuah pojok food court di lantai 2M, aku memanggul backpack biru kesayangan. Melangkah ke atas menuju Departure Hall di lantai 3.

“Ternyata antrian sudah panjang….”, kepercayaan diriku untuk tiba sebagai pengantri perdana runtuh.

Liuk antrian yang didominasi warga India menahanku di antrian buncit. Toh aku tetap tenang, waktu masih panjang menuju penerbangan, masih empat jam lagi. Aku mulai mengeluarkan zipper bag untuk menyiapkan dokumen, yaitu passport, booking confirmation hotel di India, tiket menuju dan keluar India serta lembaran free e-Visa India.

“Adè Visa kah?”, petugas konter check-in bertanya tegas padaku.

“Ini Cik”, aku menyerahkan segenap dokumen yang telah kusiapkan.

“Indonesiè ke Indiè betulkèh cukup e-Visa, Pak Cik?”. Petugas wanita itu bertanya kepada kolega seniornya.

Petugas senior itu mengonfirmasi dan petugas perempuan itu akhirnya mencetak boarding pass untukku.

Tahap pertama usai, aku bergegas menuju Gerbang Pelepasan Antar Bangsa yang dijaga ketat sejumlah Aviation Security. Di antrian depan, tampak tak sedikit calon penumpang yang tertahan masuk karena terlalu berlebih membawa cabin baggage. Selain Aviation Security tampak beberapa ground staff maskapai Air Asia mengawasi ketat para penumpang yang curang dengan membawa cabin baggage berlebih.

Untukku?…..Itu mudah saja, aku melewati gate tanpa pemeriksaan. Dengan pemeriksaan pun aku akan tetap lolos, karena keseluruhan beban backpack sudah kutimbang sebelum menuju check-in desk….Enteng, hanya 6,5 kilogram.

“Kemana arah menuju gate L14?”, aku bertanya pada diriku sendiri.

Aku terus menelusuri koridor-koridor panjang hingga kemudian menuruni sebuah escalator yang di ujung bawahnya sudah menghadang beberapa kolom screening gate.

Seperti biasa, aku selalu melepas sepatu ketika melewati screening gate, itu semua karena aku akan merasa malas jika harus kembali mengulang screening process ketika sepatuku membunyikan pintu screening.

Aku lolos dengan mudah….

Kini aku hanya perlu meneruskan langkah melalui koridor tersisa demi mencapai gate L14.

Salah satu koridor di *International Departure Hall* KLIA2.

Itu dia petunjuk menuju gate pelepasan Air Asia AK 39.

Sedikit lewat dari jam tujuh malam, aku tiba di gate yang dimaksud.

“Hhmmmhhhh….Satu setengah jam lagi menuju boarding”, aku menduduki sebuah kursi di luar waiting room yang masih tertutup rapat.

Aku memutuskan untuk melakukan shalat jamak qashar dan memenuhi botol minuman di free water station. Selebihnya aku hanya duduk menunggu hingga pintu waiting room dibuka satu jam sebelum penerbangan.

Beruntung selama menunggu, kebosananku redam oleh tingkah lucu seorang balita cilik India yang tingkahnya sangat menggemaskan.

—-****—-

Menunggu di ruang tunggu, aku kembali tertegun dengan sebuah rombongan besar jama’ah Hindu. Dari seragam serba hitam yang dipakai, aku bisa mengidentifikasi jama’ah itu berasal dari Kuil Sabarimala Ayyappa yang terletak di Negara Bagian Kerala, India.

Kekhasan dari jama’ah Hindu India tersebut adalah tidak menggunakan alas kaki. Beberapa pemeluk Hindu di India memang percaya bahwa tidak menggunakan alas kaki adalah bentuk penghormatan kepada para Dewa.

Berbaju dan ber-Lungi^*1) hitam juga menjadi penampilan religius rombongan tersebut. Mau tak mau aku harus duduk berbaur di ruang tunggu bersama rombongan itu.

Sementara pemandangan di jendela kaca adalah terparkir sempurnanya pesawat Airbus A320 Twin Jet dominan putih dengan kelir kombinasi biru-merah dan bertuliskan jargon promosi pariwisata “Sarawak More to Discover”.

Menunggu dengan penuh kesabaran usai sudah….

Panggilan boarding untuk penerbangan Air Asia AK 39 memenuhi langit-langit bandara.

Aku segera bangkit serta mempersiapkan passport dan boarding pass demi melewati pemeriksaan akhir calon penumpang sebelum memasuki kabin. Ahhh….Aku sudah tak sabar.

Jam setengah sembilan aku mulai boarding…..

Menelusuri *aerobridge* menuju kabin pesawat.

Lihatlah warga-warga India itu…..Kamu pengen ga sih ke India?

Memasuki kabin pesawat berbadan kecil itu, aku mencari bangku bernomor 11E. Dalam penerbangan selama 3 jam 40 menit ke depan, aku akan duduk di kolom tengah, membuatku tak leluasa untuk menangkap potret indah bumi.

Ketika proses boarding usai, di barisku hanya ada aku dan salah seorang dari rombongan jama’ah Hindu itu. Oleh karenanya, aku memutuskan pindah ke aisle seat untuk mendapatkan kelegaan dalam perjalanan udara sejauh 3.000 km tersebut.

—-****—-

Begitu terkejutnya aku, ketika membuka lembaran Travel 360 inflight magazine, aku menemukan potret diri sosok travel influencer yang rasanya tak asing di mataku. Aku sangat familiar dengan nama marganya….Groves.

Sudah kupastikan itu adalah saudara bule cantik asal Aussie yang kukenal setahun sebelumya di Samosir, Eloise Groves. Dia pernah bercerita di bawah air terjun Naisogop bahwa dirinya memiliki saudara laki-laki bernama Jackson Groves yang merupakan seorang travel influencer. Melihat kesamaan raut muka atas sosok yang ada di dalam inflight magazine yang sedang kubaca dengan sosok yang sering muncul di dalam laman Facebook milik Eloise, aku yakin 100% itu adalah saudaranya.

Dan benar, nantinya aku akan mendapat konfirmasi dari Eloise bahwa itu benar saudara kandungnya setelah mengirimkan pesan singkat melau aplikasi facebook messenger ketika aku tiba di India.

Mencoba memejamkan mata usai membolak-balik Travel 360, aku berusaha tidur. Tetapi sesungguhnya aku tak benar-benar terpejam. Begitulah aku, tak pernah sempurna terlelap setiap duduk di selongsong terbang.

Itu dia si Jackson Groves di inflight magazine milik Air Asia.

Tiba di Terminal 3 Cochin International Airport.

Akhirnya waktu yang ditunggu tiba juga….

Pukul satu dini hari, Air Asia AK 39 mendarat di Cochin International Airport, sebuah bandara megah di Negara Bagian Kerala di sebelah barat daya India.

Alhamdulillah….

Kini aku semakin jauh saja dari rumah.

Kochi yang berjarak darat hampir 9.000 km dari Jakarta.

Yuk kita eksplore….Ada apa saja di Kochi?

Untuk mendapatkan tiket penerbangan dari Kuala Lumpur ke Kochi, Anda bisa mencarinya di 12go Asia dengan link sebagai berikut: https://12go.asia/?z=3283832

Keterangan kata:

Lungi^*1) = Sepotong kain panjang yang dililitkan di pinggang dan merupakan pakaian khas India

Kisah Selanjutnya—->