Sore in Surabaya I: Terrible Transit

Remember my cancelled trip to Danang due to well-timed cyclone? To make up for that, KH arranged a trip to Surabaya at the end of November. The itinerary included waterfalls, and volcanoes. Nothing too strenuous he assured me. The night before our departure, KH notified me of some bad news. Surely it wasn't another cyclone! Batik Air had chopped our direct flight to Surabaya into a transit at Jakarta! Because of that, our arrival would be late, making our schedule a little more hectic. The check-in queue at the airport wasn't too bad. And there was small consolation of a check-in cutie in my line of sight. Tall Thai boy from the looks of it. Pretty good leg room on the Batik Air flight, and we were given a cheese bun, and a muffin. At 4PM+7, we landed at Terminal 3 of Soekarno Hatta International Airport. Thinking back, it was 19 years since my last visit, and that terminal didn't exist back then. Pretty large and empty, and for some reason the airport authority has a thing decorating each fire extinguisher point with cutesy murals. For quicker clearance, we had installed the Peduli Lindungi app, Indonesia's version of MySejahtera.  

Since the flight out from Cengkareng to Surabaya is a local flight, we had to make our way to Terminal 2 by way of Airport Train (another new addition). I was expecting the station to be inside the airport, but it was actually outside. Terminal 2 was really quiet, and the check-in took really long because the counter staff were just busy yakking away. Had a baso sapi dinner at A Fung, and later had some coffee at Kopi Kenangan (for some reason it doesn't taste as good in KL). Arrived at Surabaya at around 9PM+7, where we met up with Pak Sulaiman, our guide for the trip. Immediately hopped onto his car and made our way to Tumpak Sewu. Made a supper stop a highway R&R where we had A&W. Slow as molasses service as well. Zzz. 

Arrived at Yanti Homestay some time after midnight. The place was very dark and cold. All I could think about was a hot shower and the bed. Thus begins my great Indonesian adventure!