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| No standing on the toilet! For those used to squat toilets/holes in the ground |
I'm still formulating my opinion of Cilacap, so I will start with our flight. Our hotel advised us to leave around 7:30 am to get there in time for a 10:00 am flight at the domestic airport because of traffic. Well, we definitely beat traffic and got to the airport in no time. A porter met us at the car drop-off- usually we refuse their services but here in Indonesia, they are fairly pushy about helping and really we have SO much more baggage than most people in the airport that it is nice to have a porter. Anyway, the porter helped us through the first round of security and to the check-in desk- all in the same room. In fact, the luggage conveyor belts at the check-in went directly outside to the tarmac- we could hear the planes through the holes in the walls very clearly! Anyway, no agent is at the Suzi Air desk when we get there about 8:30. Austin checks a flight board and it states that our flight doesn't leave until 11:40/ Landon at this point was running around this check-in desk room and generally wreaking havoc. I wanted to at least get back to wait at the gate before I pulled out the entertainment. After communicating in sign language with our porter, he took Austin back to the Suzi Air office, where they told him the flight would indeed be at 10:00, they hadn't gotten around to changing the board yet. Also, the agent would be out to check us in after 9:00. Well, after a few more minutes of waiting, we were first in line to have our checked luggage, carry-on luggage, and ourselves weighed on the scale at check-in. I'm glad that they wanted to make sure that the plane was not over weight, but it was a little unsettling because I have never had to be weighed before a flight before!
After getting all checked in, we figured out there were no seat assignments- it was first come, first served. We paid the airport tax at a separate booth, went through another round of security screening, and waited for our airplane. Landon and I went to the bathroom and I just had to take pictures of these awesome signs.
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I'm sad I got the image from the inside of the door, but you get the picture!
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| Ready to go! |
While I was taking these pictures, there was an announcement that we were ready to board the aircraft. They unlocked the gate doors and everyone presented their tickets and then walked across the tarmac to the airplane. The inside was bare and plain- I wish they had told us that there was not any room for carry-on luggage. Anyway, we got on and realized that we needed the 3-person bench seat in the back of the airplane. Two Japanese guys had already sat back there and it took some doing on Austin's part but we finally got it across that we needed that back seat so Landon could have a seat belt. Turned out to be a good idea because the turbulence during the flight was no joke!
The pilot got on last and gave us his schpiel about airplane safety, and told us to not be alarmed if there was water vapor coming out of the air conditioning vents. That was a good warning. We could see into the cockpit and through the front of the airplane which was freaky but also pretty exciting to see the runway coming up when we landed.
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| Don't be alarmed! It's water vapor filling the cabin! |
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| Volcano peeking out of the clouds... |
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| Leaving Jakarta... |
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| Safety first, Landon! He studied this card for awhile before going to sleep |
Landon had a hard time for the first part of the flight. He was tired and wanted to be held/look out the window, but certainly didn't want to wear his earplugs they had so generously provided for us, or sit buckled in his seat. The car seat was not fitting on that airplane, that's for sure! After awhile it became apparent that he was going to fall asleep for we loosened his belt and he laid on my lap for the rest of the flight. It was more relaxing to not have to worry about him bouncing off the ceiling with turbulence, and it gave Austin and I a chance to look at the scenery below more closely. Near Jakarta, it was pretty dry and ugly. As we moved further southeast, it became more mountainous and green, although it was much more populated than I thought it would be. We saw a few volcanoes and aside from some turbulence on the way up and down it was an uneventful flight.
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| The pretty river |
As we came in to the Cilacap area, I saw a winding river snaking through green. It was beautiful to see. I also saw the runway coming to meet us as we landed. We taxied to the front of the "airport". Turns out 2/3 of it does not have a roof right now- there was a lot of bamboo scaffolding and construction going on though, so maybe it will be more done next time. We struggled with all our junk into the finished part of the airport building and looked around for the van the hotel was suppose to send. Turns out they forgot, so Austin called and a car came right away. The airport just happens to be at least 20 minutes away from the hotel!
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| If you look really closely on the left side of the picture you can see the part of the airport building without a roof |
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