DAMRI Soetta-Kampung Rambutan

The Middle East Aroma in Terminal 3 Ultimate Soekarno Hatta International Airport

14 July 202216 July 2022travelingpersecond

DAMRI Bus Terminal Kampung Rambutan – Soekarno Hatta International Airport.

Saturday afternoon was very sunny. The impatience that had enveloped my heart since morning had already collapsed. A faint smile continued to hang in the corners of my lips after I got off city transportation and stepped onto DAMRI shelter, which was part of JA Connexion’s mode of transportation.

On 15:30 hours, after confirming that the fleet in front me was the fastest bus which would depart to Soekarno Hatta International Airport, I jumped into it through its front door and sat behind the driver in left seat coloumn.

After all the passengers entered, an officer of Kampung Rambutan Terminal entered and withdrew a retribution of a thousand Rupiah to all passengers. “How come the retribution isn’t just included in the ticket price,” I asked myself.

Shortly after, the bus departed….Slowly speeding out of terminal, briefly passing through a side of toll road and then entering the toll gate a few meters ahead.

At the beginning of journey in toll road, the congestion began to be felt, but I wasn’t really worried about that situation because I was on 4 hours 20 minutes before my flight. I also enjoyed the 50 km journey very comfortably.

An hour and a few minutes, I arrived at the drop off zone of Terminal 3 Ultimate Soekarno Hatta International Airport. Through Departure Hall Gate 3, I started looking for Malaysia Airline MH 724 flight status.

The flight number which had not been listed in the Flight Information Display System (FIDS), made me dare to ask a female officer at the information center desk and finally I got information that check-in desk C would be used to process administration of Malaysia Airlines flight MH 724.

Waiting seats at Departure Hall Terminal 3 Ultimate

Knowing this information, I decided to wait in the nearest seat with check-in desk C. While waiting for the check-in desk to open, I was stunned by the busyness of a pair of tour guides who were busy organizing their group, which I didn’t know where would they go? The two of them gathered the group and loudly conducted a briefing so that their voices could be heard by anyone around the corner waiting for Terminal 3 Ultimate.

An hour of waiting, finally the check-in desk opened and I immediately queued at C24 queue column to get my boarding pass to Kuala Lumpur. That time Kuala Lumpur would only be a stopover, because I would explore Kuala Terengganu, a city located 450 km north of Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Terengganu would be the fifth city in Malaysia which I would enjoy after Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Ipoh and Penang….. Ahhhh, that afternoon I couldn’t wait to arrive in Kuala Terengganu.

A visit to Kuala Terengganu was the intention which emerged after I met Mariya, a solo-traveler from Malaysia in Seoul. The charm of Kuala Terengganu told by Mariya had hypnotized my subconscious to visit it. It took three years to realize that dream.

But again, Kuala Terengganu was also not the only destination in my trip that time, because my target points were certainly in places which were further away, i.e countries in the Middle East region.

Back to Terminal 3 Ultimate…..

Now I was heading to the immigration counter to hunt for a departure stamp. In front of immigration area, I tried to complete immigration check process through immigration autogate but there was an officer who held me back and forbade me to pass through that route. I was directed to the immigration counter with an officer ready to check. Facing an immigration officer, I handed over my passport and boarding pass.

Immigration staff: “Return ticket, Sir?”

Me: “Here, Sir”, I handed over a print out of Philippine Airlines flight ticket with Doha-Jakarta route and transit in Manila.

Immigration staff: “Alone, Sir?. On what occasion?”

Me: “Solo-Backpacking, Sir”

The immigration staff was finally busy researching page by page details on my passport.

Immigration staff: “Where will you go, Sir?”

Me: “Kuala Terengganu-Kochi-Dubai-Oman-Bahrain-Qatar, Sir”

Immigration staff: “May I see the visas, Sir?”, his face was still cold and serious.

Me: “Just a minute, Sir”, I opened my zipper bag and took out India Visa, United Arab Emirates Visa, Oman Visa and Bahrain Visa, “Here, Sir”

The immigration staff checked that visas I was given one by one.

Immigration staff: “Ok. Be careful, Sir.”

I came out of the immigration counter with a sigh of relief and immediately put all my documents back in zipper bag. Now I would head to Terminal 3 Existing to prepare to fly with Malaysia Airlines.

Next Story—->

Air Asia AK 382 from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta

11 July 202211 July 2022travelingpersecond

<—-Previous Story

Flight Information Display System (FIDS) in front of sleep place.

Entering Friday, around half past five, when the dawn of Malaysia arrived, I sat down to awake from sleep in one of seat row in Transportation Hub located at Gateway@klia2 mall level 1. I was still rubbing my eyes when several other travelers were still snoring around .

I forced my feet to step into the 1st floor mosque which was located outside the terminal building in order to fulfill my obligations to “The Creator” who had given time and funds for an adventure through East Asia….Thank you, God.

My scheduled flight time at seven in the morning made me not dare to budget for breakfast time. I only bought two packaged chocolate buns at a convenience store located next to NZ Curry House as lunch in the plane.

At five o’clock, I went to the check-in desk in 3rd floor of Main Terminal Building to get a boarding pass to Soekarno Hatta International Airport. Shortly after, I headed to the immigration counter to get permission to leave Malaysia. As predicted, everything happened easily and quickly.

Half an hour before boarding, I arrived at the gate and found an Air Asia AK 382 nicely parked in front of it. Shortly after my arrival, the gate was actually opened. I started entering the waiting room after reporting my boarding pass and passport to the ground staff who checked every passenger.

A few minutes later….The pilot, co-pilot and several flight attendants entered the plane to preparing. The bustle of loading in the fuselage, filling avtur and loading inflight meal became a sight that caught my attention at every stage until everything ended well.

The boarding announcement filled the airport ceiling, I immediately queued, then entered the cabin through the aerobridge full of joy because soon my adventure would be over. I found a seat right at the tail of plane. Understandably, this was a cheap ticket which was purchased nine months before the flight.

Since the boarding process, demonstration of flight safety procedures, taxiing, take-off, airborne to cruising, I hadn’t even touched the Travel 360 magazine which was Air Asia’s inflight magazine. Of course I was bored, I had read it many times since the QZ 200 (Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur), AK 170 (Kuala Lumpur-Kaohsiung) and D7 505 (Seoul-Kuala Lumpur) flights. For more than twelve hours during those three flights, I had finished reading the inflight magazine.

After enjoying the packaged chocolate bread, I quickly felt asleep. A sleepless night on last night made my eyes no longer helpless to stay awake while in the air. I was sleeping….and hopefully not snoring……????

I was really asleep until the announcement of plane that would soon land at Soekarno Hatta International Airport woke my eyes. Leaving behind a bit of a headache and taking a little time to clear the eyes, I could see the streaks moving fast out there and watching from the window. The plane was landing…

Spoilers on the wings of plane seemed to stand to help contain the wind speed to stop the fuselage speeding down the runway. Shortly after, the plane started taxiing and stopped in the apron.

Ohh… It was over.

With a faint smile, I left the fuselage via aerobridge and entered the airport building. I immediately went to the immigration counter to certify my passport with an arrival stamp.

After that I immediately went to DAMRI Bus counter to go to the Kampung Rambutan Terminal and went home….

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

THE END

Lion Air JT 257 dari Padang (PDG) ke Jakarta (CGK)

17 July 20215 January 2021travelingpersecond

Ini bukan pertama kali bagiku menaiki Lion Air, pernah kunaiki maskapai ini pada rute Solo-Jakarta, Jakarta-Surabaya, Jakarta-Singapura, atau sebaliknya. Hanya saja, ini adalah kali pertama pengalamanku menjajal Boeing 737 MAX 8, jenis pesawat fenomenal, yang sedang “grounded “ semenjak kecelakaan ganda, satu di Indonesia dan kedua di Ethiopia, dengan penyebab yang sama.

Aku akhirnya berhasil mengeksplore Minangkabau International Airport dalam gerimis, tapi nanti saja kusampaikan. Aku masih menyimpan sebuah petualangan repetisi ke Padang pada sebuah business trip di awal tahun 2020. Jadi harap bersabar jika ingin mengintip keotentikan Minangkabau International Airport dari blog ala kadar ini.

*Drop Zone* di *Departure Hall* Minangkabau International Airport.

Aku diturunkan tepat di depan lobby keberangkatan oleh DAMRI berukuran tiga perempat, tetapi setelahnya, aku tak segera memasuki check-in area. Aku lebih memilih mengambil beberapa gambar ketika hujan sedang merubah fasenya menjadi gerimis lembut. Kulakukan hingga beberapa gambar menjejal di kartu memori Canon EOS M10ku.

Penerbangan lokal yang hanya mensyaratkan tampilan booking confirmation di layar telepon pintar serta kartu identitas biru langit bernama sama, memudahkan penumpang memasuki check-in area.

Harus kusediakan kesabaran karena selepas meninggalkan konter check-in, aku akan menunggu Si “Singa Merah” datang lebih lama….Delay, gaesss!. Aku memang telah bersiap dengan kondisi itu. Bukan perkara waktu, tapi perkara terjangkaunya harga tiket maskapai ini yang menjadi prioritasku.

Setelah menaiki escalator menuju Departure Gate, aku duduk sebentar di commercial hall yang berlokasi di sebelah screening gate. Membereskan setiap perlengkapan agar sedikit rapi dan nyaman ketika memasuki kabin pesawat nanti. Sementara backpack 45L milikku memilih berdiam di lambung pesawat demi menyelamatkan payung bermotif pelangi seharga Rp. 50.000 yang kubeli di Pelabuhan Tiga Raja lima hari lalu.

Kejutan tiba, saat menuju musholla untuk menunaikan ibadah shalat maghrib, aku bersua kembali dengan Boris, Tukang Pos dari Slovakia.

Aku : “Hi, Boris….What happen to your flight?”

Boris : ”Hi, Donny, It’s crazy…..Very long delay with Citilink”

Aku tak lama bercakap karena Boris sudah mulai memasuki antrian menuju gate, dia terbang ke Surabaya, lalu akan melanjutkan perjalanan ke Malang begitu mendarat. Stasiun Gubeng menjadi pilihannya untuk bertolak dari Kota Pahlawan. Informasi itu kudapat ketika berbincang di jok belakang Maestro Travel lima jam silam. Yang kuamati, botol air mineral pemberianku masih utuh terselip di sebelah kiri backpacknya….Hahaha, entah bagaimana air itu lolos dari screening gate.

Setelah menunggu lama, akhirnya penerbangan JT 257 mulai memanggil penumpangnya. Aku mulai mengantri dan bersiap melakukan perjalanan menuju Soekarno Hatta International Airport dengan penerbangan seharga Rp. 563.000. Tiket ini sendiri kubeli 11 hari sebelum keberangkatan.

Melalui aerobridge, aku memasuki badan pesawat, sebetulnya aku baru mengetahui bahwa selongsong terbang ini berjenis Boeing 737 MAX 8 setelah salah satu awak pemegang microphone menginformasikannya ketika peragaan standard keselamatan penumpang sedang dilakukan.

Selain gres, kesan pertama yang kudapat setelah duduk di salah satu window seat jenis pesawat ini adalah kelegaan dan tampilan futuristiknya. Pesawat sudah berada pada posisi terbaiknya untuk menyalakan mesin jet, pilot menunggu konfirmasi untuk segera mengudara. Beberapa menit kemudian aku benar-benar meninggalkan Padang.

Malam yang sedikit mendung membuat pesawat sedikit terguncang menubruki awan-awan rendah di langit Minang. Yang kusaksikan kemudian adalah sekuel-sekuel pertunjukan pelita bumi yang dipaksa bejeda oleh awan-awan hitam tipis sebagai bintang iklannya. Indah dan mempesonaku sebagai pengantar tidur. Detik-detik selanjutnya hanyalah

Gelap….

Geelaaap……..

Geeelaaap…………

Aku tidur berselimut rasa capek yang luar biasa setelah enam hari berkeliling tanah Sumatera. Sepertinya aku genap tidur selama 1 jam 45 menit, ekuivalen dengan waktu tempuh penerbangan itu. Terpejam sejauh 700 km lebih bersama halusnya performa pesawat milik maskapai swasta terbesar di tanah air ini.

Aku tiba di Cengkareng lewat tengah malam.

Maskapai yang telah genap mengudara selama 20 tahun.

Soekarno Hatta International Airport (CGK) adalah *mainhub* dari Lion Air.

Aku tiba dalam kantuk, lalu tergopoh menyetop kehadiran Bus DAMRI menuju Terminal Kampung Rambutan. Aku tiba di rumah dalam hantaran ojek pangkalan dan mensyukuri nikmat Allah atas kesempatan eksplorasi yang dianugerahkan yang menjadi bab kesekian dalam cerita perjalanan hidupku.

Saatnya menutup cerita perjalanan ke tanah Sumatera. Dan beralih ke perjalanan berikutnya.

Kemana ya????

Yes, SEMARANG…….

Aroma Timur Tengah di Terminal 3 Ultimate Soekarno Hatta International Airport

29 June 20214 July 2021travelingpersecond

Bus DAMRI Terminal Kampung Rambutan – Soekarno Hatta International Airport

Sabtu sore itu sangat cerah. Ketidaksabaran yang menyelimuti hati sedari pagi runtuh sudah. Semburat tipis senyuman terus menggantung di ujung bibir usai aku turun dari angkutan kota dan menapaki shelter DAMRI yang merupakan moda transportasi bagian dari JA Connexion.

Menjelang pukul 15:30, usai memastikan armada di hadapan adalah bus yang akan berangkat tercepat ke Soekarno Hatta International Airport, aku melompat masuk ke dalamnya melalui pintu depan dan duduk di belakang pengemudi sisi kiri.

Setelah semua penumpang masuk, seorang petugas Terminal Kampung Rambutan masuk dan menarik uang retribusi sebesar seribu rupiah kepada para penumpang. “Kok retribusi ngga dimasukkan ke dalam harga tiket saja”, aku bertanya dalam hati.

Tak lama kemudian, bus pun berangkat….Perlahan melaju keluar dari terminal, sebentar saja melalui sisi tol dan kemudian memasuki gerbang tol beberapa meter di depan.

Di permulaan perjalanan dalam tol, kepadatan mulai terasa, tetapi aku tak begitu mengkhawatirkan keadaan karena aku berangkat 4 jam 20 menit sebelum penerbangan. Aku pun menikmati perjalanan sejauh 50 km itu dengan sangat nyaman.

Satu jam lebih beberapa menit, aku tiba drop off zone Terminal 3 Ultimate Soekarno Hatta International Airport. Melaui Departure Hall Gate 3, aku mulai mencari status penerbangan Malaysia Airline MH 724.

Nomor penerbangan yang belum tertera di Flight Information Display System (FIDS), membuatku berani bertanya kepada seorang petugas wanita di information centre desk dan akhirnya aku mendapatkan informasi bahwa check-in desk C akan digunakan untuk mengurus administrasi penerbangan Malaysia Airlines MH 724.

Kursi tunggu di Departure Hall Terminal 3 Ultimate

Mengetahui informasi itu, maka kuputuskan untuk menunggu di bangku terdekat dengan check-in desk C. Selama menunggu check-in desk dibuka, aku tertegun pada kesibukan sepasang tour guide yang sibuk mengatur rombongannya yang entah akan menuju kemana?. Mereka berdua mengumpulkan rombongan dan dengan lantang melakukan briefing sehingga suara mereka bisa didengar oleh siapapun di sekitar pojok tunggu Terminal 3 Ultimate.

Satu jam menunggu, akhirnya check-in desk dibuka dan aku segera mengantri di kolom antrian C24 untuk mendapatkan boarding pass menuju Kuala Lumpur. Kali ini Kuala Lumpur hanya akan menjadi persinggahan, karena aku akan mengeksplore Kuala Terengganu, sebuah kota yang terletak 450 km di utara Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Terengganu akan menjadi kota di Malaysia kelima yang akan kunikmati setelah Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Ipoh dan Penang…..Ahhhh, sore itu aku tak sabar ingin segera tiba di Kuala Terengganu.

Melawat ke Kuala Terengganu adalah niatan yang muncul usai aku bertemu dengan Mariya, seorang solo-traveler asal Malaysia di Seoul. Pesona Kuala Terengganu yang diceritakan oleh Mariya telah menghipnotis alam bawah sadarku untuk mengunjunginya. Butuh waktu tiga tahun untuk mewujudkan mimpi itu.

Tapi sekali lagi, Kuala Terengganu juga bukan menjadi satu-satunya tujuan dalam perjalananku kali ini, karena titik sasarku tentu berada di tempat-tempat yang lebih jauh, yaitu negara-negara di kawasan Timur Tengah.

Kembali ke Terminal 3 Ultimate…..

Kini aku menuju ke konter imigrasi untuk berburu departure stamp. Di depan area imigrasi, aku berusaha menyelesaikan proses pemeriksaan imigrasi melalui autogate immigration tetapi ada seorang petugas yang menahan langkah dan melarangku melewati jalur itu. Aku diarahkan menuju ke konter imigrasi dengan petugas yang siap memeriksa. Menghadap seorang petugas imigrasi, aku menyerahkan passport dan boarding pass.

Staff imigrasi: “Tiket pulang, Mas?”

Aku: “Ini, Pak”, aku menyerahkan print out tiket penerbangan Philippine Airlines dengan rute Doha-Jakarta dan transit di Manila

Staff imigrasi: “Sendirian, mas?. Dalam rangka apa?”

Aku: “Solo-Backpacking, Pak”

Staff imigrasi itu akhirnya sibuk meneliti dengan detail halaman demi halaman pada pasporku.

Staff imigrasi: “Mampir kemana saja, Mas?”

Aku: “Kuala Terengganu-Kochi-Dubai-Oman-Bahrain-Qatar, Pak”

Staff imigrasi: “Boleh lihat visanya, Mas?”, wajahnya masih saja dingin dan serius.

Aku: “Sebentar, Pak”, aku membuka zipper bag dan mengeluarkan Visa India, Visa Uni Emirat Arab, Visa Oman dan Visa Bahrain, “Ini, Pak”

Staff imigrasi itu memeriksa satu persatu visa yang kuberikan.

Staff imigrasi: “Ok. Hati-hati, Mas”.

Aku keluar dari konter imigrasi dengan nafas lega dan segera memasukkan segenap file ke zipper bag kembali. Kini aku akan menuju ke Terminal 3 Existing untuk mempersiapkan diri terbang bersama Malaysia Airlines.

Kisah Selanjutnya—->

Air Asia AK 382 dari Kuala Lumpur ke Jakarta

23 June 20214 July 2021travelingpersecond

<—-Kisah Sebelumnya

*Flight Information Display System* (FIDS) di depan tempatku tidur.

Memasuki Jum’at, sekitar jam setengah lima, waktu subuh Malaysia tiba, aku terduduk mengumpulkan nyawa di salah satu deret bangku di Tranportation Hub yang berlokasi di Gateway@klia2 mall level 1. Aku masih mengucek mata ketika beberapa pejalan lain masih saja mendengkur di sekitar.

Aku memaksakan kaki untuk melangkah ke surau lantai 1 yang terletak di luar bangunan terminal demi menunaikan kewajiban pada Sang Pencipta yang telah menganugerahkan waktu dan dana buat berpetualang menembus Asia Timur….Terimakasih ya Allah.

Waktu penerbangan yang dijadwakan pukul tujuh pagi membuatku tak berani menganggarkan waktu bersarapan. Aku hanya membeli dua roti cokelat kemasan di sebuah minimarket yang terletak di sebelah NZ Curry House sebagai bekal di pesawat nanti.

Pukul lima, aku sudah menuju check-in desk di lantai 3 Main Terminal Building untuk mendapatkan boarding pass menuju Soekarno Hatta International Airport. Tak lama kemudian, aku menuju konter imigrasi untuk mendapatkan izin keluar dari Malaysia. Sesuai prediksi, semua berlangsung dengan mudah dan cepat.

Setengah jam sebelum boarding pun aku tiba di gate dan memergoki Air Asia AK 382 terparkir manis di depannya.Tak lama dari kedatanganku, gate pun benar-benar dibuka. Aku mulai memasuki ruang tunggu setelah melaporkan boarding pass dan paspor pada ground staff yang memeriksa setiap penumpang.

Beberapa menit selanjutnya….Pilot, co-pilot dan beberapa pramugari-pramugara memasuki pesawat untuk bersiap. Kesibukan loading di lambung pesawat, pengisian avtur dan inflight meal loading menjadi pemandangan yang menarik perhatianku dalam setiap tahapnya hingga semuanya usai dengan baik.

Pengumuman boarding pun memenuhi langit-langit bandara, aku segera mengantri, lalu memasuki kabin melalui aerobridge penuh rasa sumringah karena tak lama lagi petualanganku akan usai. Aku menemukan tempat duduk persis berada di ekor pesawat. Maklum, ini tiket murah meriah yang terbeli sejak sembilan bulan sebelum penerbangan.

Semenjak proses boarding, peragaan prosedur keselamatan penerbangan, taxiing, take-off, airborne hingga cruising, aku tak sekalipun menyentuh majalah Travel 360 yang merupakan inflight magazinenya Air Asia. Tentu saja bosan, aku telah berkali kali membacanya semenjak penerbangan QZ 200 (Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur), AK 170 (Kuala Lumpur-Kaohsiung) dan D7 505 (Seoul-Kuala Lumpur). Dua belas jam lebih selama ketiga penerbangan itu aku sudah khatam membaca inflight magazine itu.

Usai menikmati roti coklat kemasan, aku terlelap dengan cepatnya. Tidur yang tak lelap semalam membuat mataku tak lagi berdaya untuk terjaga selama di udara. Aku tidur….dan mudah-mudahan tak mendengkur……????

Aku benar-benar lelap hingga pengumuman pesawat yang akan segera mendarat di Soekarno Hatta International Airport membangunkan mata. Meninggalkan sedikit pening dan mengambil sedikit waktu untuk menjernihkan mata, terlihat garis-garis bergerak cepat di luar sana dan terpantau dari jendela. Pesawat sedang landing…..

Spoiler di sayap pesawat tampak berdiri membantu menahan laju angin untuk menghentikan badan pesawat yang melaju kencang di landasan. Tak lama kemudian pesawat mulai melakukan taxiing dan merapat di apron.

Ahhh…usai sudah.

Dengan senyum tipis, aku meninggalkan badan pesawat melalui aerobridge dan memasuki bangunan bandara. Aku segera menuju konter imigrasi untuk mengesahkan paspor dengan arrival stamp.

Setelahnya aku segera menuju konter Bus DAMRI demi menuju Terminal Kampung Rambutan dan pulaaangggg…..

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

TAMAT

Lion Air JT 257 from Padang (PDG) to Jakarta (CGK)

29 August 202028 August 2020travelingpersecond

Flight route JT 257 (source: https://www.radarbox.com/)

This wasn’t the first time for me to ride Lion Air, I have ridden this airline on its route: Solo-Jakarta, Jakarta-Surabaya, Jakarta-Singapore, or vice versa. However, this was the first time that I have experienced to ride a Boeing 737 MAX 8, a phenomenal type of aircraft, which had been “grounded” since double accidents, the first one was in Indonesia and the second one was in Ethiopia, with the same cause.

I finally managed to explore Minangkabau International Airport in a drizzle, but I’ll tell you later. I still have a repetition adventure to Padang on a business trip in early 2020. So please be patient if you want to peek at the authenticity of Minangkabau International Airport from this travel blog.

Drop Zone in Departure Hall of Minangkabau International Airport.

I was dropped off right in front of departure lobby by DAMRI airport bus, but after that, I didn’t immediately enter to check-in area. I prefered to take some pictures when the rain was changing its phase to be soft drizzles. I did it until several pictures were catched into my Canon EOS M10 memory card.

Local flights, which only require a flight booking confirmation display on a smartphone screen and a national ID Card with a same name, made it easier for passengers to entering check-in area.

I had to provide patience because after leaving a check-in counter, I would wait for the “Red Lion” to come longer….Delayed, guys !. I had indeed been prepared with that condition. It wasn’t a matter about time, but about affordability of airline tickets which be my priority.

After taking the escalator to Departure Gate, I sat for a while in commercial hall which is located next to screening gate. Tidying up every equipments, so that it were a little tidy and comfortable when entering aircraft cabin later. Meanwhile, my 45L backpack chose to stay in plane hull for keeping my rainbow-patterned umbrella which its price is USD 3,7 which I bought at Tiga Raja Harbor five days ago.

The surprise arrived, when I headed to the prayer room for Maghrib prayer, I met Boris, a postman from Slovakia.

Me : “Hi, Boris….What happen to your flight?”

Boris : ”Hi, Donny, It’s crazy…..Very long delay with Citilink”

I didn’t talk for long because Boris had started to enter a queue towards the gate, he flew to Surabaya, then he would continue his journey to Malang as soon as he landed. Gubeng Station was his choice to depart from “City of Heroes“. I got this information while talking in the back seat of Maestro Travel five hours ago. What I observed, mineral water bottles which I gave was still intact tucked into left of his backpack….Hahaha, how can, that water could be escaped from airport screening gate.

After waiting for a long time, finally JT 257 flight started to calling its passengers. I started to queuing up and getting ready for trip towards Soekarno Hatta International Airport with flight price for USD 41.7. I bought this ticket about 11 days before departure.

Through the aerobridge, I entered cabin, actually I just found out that this plane is a Boeing 737 MAX 8 type after one of its crew who holding the microphone informed it when demonstrated passenger safety standards.

Besides new, the first impression that I got after sitting in a window seats were its relief and futuristic appearance. Then, plane was in the best position to start its jet engine, the pilot was waiting for a confirmation to fly. A few minutes later I actually left Padang.

The slightly cloudy night made the plane slightly shaken and penetrated into low clouds in “Minang” sky. What I saw later were sequels to earth lamps show between thin black clouds. Beautiful and enchanting as a bedtime. And then….

Dark….

Dark……..

Dark…………

I slept under the cover of extreme fatigue after six days traveling around Sumatra. It looked like I slept for 1 hour 45 minutes, which was equivalent to flight time. Sleeping for more than 700 km along with the smooth performance of aircraft which was owned by the largest private airline in my country.

I arrived at Cengkareng on past midnight.

An airline that has been in the air for 20 years.

Soekarno Hatta International Airport (CGK) is the mainhub of Lion Air.

I arrived in sleepy condition, then hurriedly stopped DAMRI airport bus which was heading to Kampung Rambutan Terminal. Then I arrived at home by a motorbike taxi and thanked to Allah for giving me an exploration opportunity which was be an umpteenth chapter in the story of my life’s journey.

It is time to close story of my journey to Sumatra Land. And move on to the next trip.

Where am I going to ????

Yes, SEMARANG…….