Go Home…………….

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Finally this semester is over and it means the time to go home to Malang. I wanted to go by plane this time and got a cheap ticket booked from www.airasia.com several months before. The price was a big deal with only Rp 238.000 for Jakarta-Surabaya route (compare it with the bus ticket for Rp 230.000).

June 11,2008 was the time. I woke up late since I went to bed too late and missed the 6.30 Parahyangan train to Jakarta. After calling several numbers finally i got the ticket for Primajasa bus with the route Bandung Super Mall(BSM) – Soekarno Hatta Airport, Jakarta with the price Rp 75.000. (last time I bought it was only Rp 60.000, maybe due to the increasing price of oil)

Things that i like from this Primajasa bus is its punctuality and discipline. I have traveled with this bus twice and is always depart on time. The bus will only pick up and drop the passengers either at BSM or the airport. You won’t be dropped at any place although you force the driver to do so. The travel time from Bandung to Jakarta is about 3 hours. The bus departed on time at 9.30.

Around 12.30 the bus entered the airport area and I dropped at Terminal 1A. Terminal 1A is a domestic terminal for Lion Air and AirAsia. Since my check in time is 13.00 i decided to go to the waving gallery to watch the activities of planes at the second floor.

In that waving gallery, I only able to watch several Lion Air planes and a China Air Cargo. In this waving gallery, we can see the runway 25L/7R, the other runway is 25R/7L, can only be seen from terminal 2. I watched several planes taking off and landing at runway 25L. The word “25″ means the plane heading west during landing and take off (or azimuth 250 degree). If the plane heading east, it will use runway 7.

Because i don’t like high temperature, i decided to go to the check in area and checked in. I found the check in gate empty and checked in directly without queuing.

Since there are 2 more hours for departure, I and my friends decided to take a walk around the airport. I walked through terminal 1A,1B,and 1C. Terminal 1C is at the corner end of this terminal 1. There are only few people at the terminal C since Adam Air stopped its operation. This terminal is now only operated by Mandala Air and several small airlines. The situation was totally different from the last time i went there several months before when i found this terminal crowded by passengers mostly Adam Air’s passengers.

From terminal 1C, i got to the free airport bus to go to terminal 2. Terminal 2 is newer than terminal 2 and is less crowded and more comfortable. The pre check-in area is air conditioned. There are 3 parts of terminal 2. Terminal 2D, 2E, and 2F. Terminal 2D and 2E is for international flights, and terminal 2F is for Garuda Indonesia and Merpati domestic flights.

Like I did at terminal 1. I took a walk around this terminal till reaching the far end of terminal 2F. It’s been an hour now since i checked in and we decided to get back to terminal 1A using the same free bus. Upon arriving at terminal 1A we felt hungry and decided to eat at a Padang restaurant which cost us a lot. Just a plate of rice and an egg they cost me Rp 12000. (

Then i headed to our assigned gate, which was gate A6. I found the gate crowded by people which i later found that half of them were Lion air passengers which has been delayed for an hour and was expecting another 1 hour delay(something you will often find when flying Lion Air). We then praying dhuhur and 20 minutes prior to our departure i saw the plane was ready outside.

Informations regarding the plane:

Type : Boeing 737-300

Age : 18 years old

Registration : PK – AWO

10 minutes later, the boarding announcement commenced and people were in rush to be the first to get to the plane after the X-Press Boarding holders permitted to go first. This is what i don’t like from airlines having free seat policy.

Later, we took off on time and i found the journey not interesting since all i could see were only clouds blocking the land view. The journey took only an hour and we landed at Juanda airport of Surabaya around 16.00 local time.

After claiming our baggage we took a walk for a while and then met with my friends who is now a ground staff of Sriwijaya Air. Then at 17.00 we went to the Bungurasih Bus Terminal using Damri Bus by paying Rp 15000 for connecting to Malang with another bus.

During my

journey to Malang, we were trapped by traffic jam in the Lumpur Lapindo (Lapindo Mud) for about an hour. I still wonder when will this be over and the government decided to relocate the road, or the people travelling Surabaya-Malang and Surabaya-Bali route will be trapped by traffic jam forever????

I arrived at my home at 19.00 and I’m glad to see my family once more..