I was not happy, as I had just received my visa and had already reorganised my schedule around the trip. We made a spontaneous decision to get ourselves to the beach as we were both in need of some sunshine I had been stuck at home recovering from an operation. We settled on Belitung because it was the closest and relatively cheap. As soon as I got home I booked my flight on tiket.com to speed things up. We were scheduled to fly on June 12th, 2012 at 9:20 a.m. The day before, Nina suggested we get to the airport early, have some breakfast before the flight and avoid the madness of Jakarta's rush hour traffic. So we arranged to meet at 7:30 a.m. at SoekarnoHatta Airport, Terminal 1C.
I called my regular taxi driver to ask him to pick me up at 6:30 a.m. He had been taking me back and forth from the airport for two years already, and agreed to collect me in the morning. Sorted! I packed while watching football on the TV.
June 12th, 2012. 5:30 a.m.
The alarm on my phone went off. Because of the European Cup game between England and France I'd had only a few hours' sleep and was still exhausted. I reset the alarm to 6:00 a.m. to catch some more sleep. Half an hour later, I got up, showered, dressed, and tidied my room.
6:30 a.m.
The taxi should have been here already. He usually waits right outside the gate, getting some sleep himself. But I had just realised I forgot to pack my goggles so I was searching through a cupboard for them. I had also decided to bring my Acer Ultrabook in the hope I would be in the mood to do some writing in Belitung. In the end, I was repacking my bags.
6:45 a.m.
I went outside the taxi driver had not arrived yet! This was unusual. I called him but he didn't pick up. I called him again, but still no answer. I guessed he must have overslept. I called and texted him for the next 15 minutes but still heard nothing back. Damn! Wake up, will you!!
It was time for a backup plan, so I called a taxi company to order another cab. "Sorry, we can't take any more orders before 8:00 a.m. because we are fully booked." I was not about to lose hope. I picked up the phone and called another company. But the answer was the same: no taxis! I searched online for other taxi companies, called them, and still no luck! Nightmare!
With no taxis, the next failsafe was to call my regular ojek driver. He could hail a cab on the main road and send it over to my house. My house is down a tiny dead end street and right next to a graveyard, a full two kilometres from the main road. There was no way I could walk all the way out there carrying my bag, especially with the stitches still in from the operation. I called him... and called him... but he never picked up!
So, for the next back up plan I ran upstairs to wake my mother and ask her to drive me out to the main road so I could wave down a cab myself. Well, that didn't work either. She had already left the house at dawn. No!!!
7:00 a.m.
The next plan was to call up an ojek company: "Mas, I want to order an ojek, but I want him to find me a taxi!"
The man on the other end was a bit surprised. "Mbak, we've never received an order like this before. We just take people where they want to go or deliver documents."
I begged him. "Please, Mas. This is really, really urgent, I need to be at the airport now" He seemed to be feeling sorry for me. "Okay, Mbak. I will look for a driver to try and help you. I think one should be here within half an hour."
HALF AN HOUR?! Well, I guess I had no choice.
7:30 a.m.
My mother arrived home. She was immediately in a panic because I had not left yet. She offered to drive me out to the main road. The ojek driver was still out hunting for a taxi. I was not sure how else I would get out there unless I took her up on her offer.
The phone rang. Nina was calling to tell me she was already at the airport. I was still at home! I really wanted to kill my taxi driver! This was all his fault!
8:05 a.m.
I sat in the garage waiting anxiously. Then I saw the most absurd sight in front of my house: my mother running, closely followed by an ojek, and a taxi arriving right behind that! Apparently my mother had run out to the main road, paranoid that the ojek driver would not be able to find the house. Finally! I jumped into the taxi, "Pak, to the airport as fast you can! I am about to miss my flight!"
8:30 a.m.
Twenty minutes before takeoff and I had only just made it onto the airport toll road. The taxi driver was driving absolutely as fast as he could, his alarm going off nonstop to let us know he was well over the speed limit. I was weak at the knees, my heart was pounding, and I had a cold sweat. I was still muttering prayers to myself.
Nina called. "I am having breakfast in the lounge. So what are we going to do if you miss the flight? See you in Belitung, yea?" So mean!! This was only the third time I had missed a flight. I had the money to buy another ticket, but it would be a shame to waste the time. And I was embarrassed: real travelers don't miss flights!
I was beginning to accept my fate though. What else could I do? I was obviously late. I changed the content of my prayer. "Dear God, I forgive my regular taxi driver for not making his appointment with me this morning. It's okay if I am late, as long as I arrive safely at the airport."
9:15 a.m.
I jumped out of the cab and ran across the road to the airport entrance, without any real hope that I might get lucky. I quickly scanned for the check in counter with the shortest queue. In front of me was a family about to have their luggage weighed in. One of the airline staff shouted out, "Pangkal Pinang! Pangkal Pinang!" I knew that wasn't where I was going, but I put up my hand and was waved through past the family straight to the counter. Their luggage was pulled off and replaced with mine. I showed my ticket to the girl behind the desk.
"This is Tanjung Pandan, not Pangkal Pinang!" she said.
"Sorry! I thought you were asking for tickets to Tanjung Pandan because I know we are already about to take off. Please help me, Mbak, pleeease!" "Relax. The flight to Tanjung Pandan is delayed 45 minutes!"
Haha!
My smile was ear to ear. I have never been so happy to have a flight delayed! All the morning's drama getting to the airport ended in this sweet, sweet anticlimax. Only in Indonesia!
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