#937321 by honey lamb
08 Aug 2017, 20:47
We had arrived in Jakarta at about 5pm and had found our way to the Garuda Indonesia lounge to await our flight to Melbourne at 11.30pm. We both had a shower to revive us before looking at the food options although neither of us was hungry having recently partaken of our “dog’s doo-doo” breakfast! There were four stations of food offerings around the lounge but they were mostly Asian food which didn’t go down well with Aer John and I wasn’t hungry. However in the fulness of time we discovered the bar tucked away, almost out of sight where we were able to partake of a G&T or six!

At one stage Aer John did an exploration of the terminal and reported that there were several Duty Free shops all in competition with each other and a similar foray by me confirmed the same! However we spent most of the time in the lounge which was freeeeeeezing! In spite of the fact it was 26C outside, most people were wearing heavy coats and when I mentioned it to the staff, they offered me a blanket! I suggested that turning down the aircon might be better but no…. I also noticed the First Class area of the lounge. It was a roped-off windowless area near the entrance which looked gloomy and I don’t think I would have opted to use it if I had been in First! While we were there I also noticed two guys who had been sitting across the aisle from me on the flight for LHR. They were also waiting for the Melbourne flight and confirmed that, like us, they too had found this Black Friday sale and agreed that they couldn’t pass it up!

Eventually the flight was called and we made our way down to the gate where they were still awaiting boarding. There was however, a separate area for Sky Priority just as there had been in LHR. Oh, and there had been a security check-point on the way to the gate but it had been very low-key. Shortly after we were boarded and on this flight business was a 2-2-2 configuration so that Aer John and I were side by side. Incidentally there was no First Class cabin on this flight and I should mention that we saw no members of First Class on the way to Jakarta - they entered and exited by a different door. (However given that there were no passengers ahead of us when we left the aircraft in Jakarta, it is entirely probable that there were no passengers in First on that leg)

We settled in 10A and C and champagne was rapidly offered and accepted. Aer John asked for and received a second glass of champagne but although I asked for a second it wasn’t forthcoming. However I did notice that the young lady was very attentive to my son and after we had arrived in Melbourne he complained that she was very “touchy-feely”! She obviously fancied him like mad!! Not that I need be jealous! There was a more “mature” male member of the cabin crew who looked like a (very) pale David Dickinson who insisted on serving me and called me “Madame Christina” at every hand’s turn! So there we were with two crew members dancing attendance on us and all we wanted was to eat and go to sleep!

The flight was approximately 6 hours long - roughly about the same time as the east coast of the USA to the UK/Ireland. We fully expected dinner and breakfast on landing and got a rude awakening when we found it was only a snack. We really had only had nibbles in the lounge and so were feeling a tad more than peckish. We both chose the chicken black pepper pie which was tasty and certainly suited me down to the ground.

We took off, following the namaste gesture from the crew and this time drinks orders were taken and honoured with both crew dancing attendance. As I said, the snack was tasty and following a nightcap (with both crew still dancing attendance) we both bedded down for the night.

I slept like a baby but at one stage, as I struggled to turn over, I was aware that the cabin lights were back on so heaved myself back to reality. Within minutes “David Dickinson” was at my side. “Madame Christina, what can I get you for breakfast?” I requested and received waffles and when Aer John woke shortly after, he was served the same from his paramour!

Shortly after that our descent began and following the now-to-be-expected namaste gesture we floated in to Melbourne for the start of our Melbourne adventure! As we were leaving the aircraft, “David Dickinson” bade me farewell saying “Goodbye, Madame Christina. It was a pleasure serving you!”

When we had visited Australia 10 years previously, our entry into Australia via Sydney had been horrendous! Aer John had brought his golf clubs which meant that we had had to go through Quarantine and it had taken us over an hour to get through to the extent that the car we had ordered had gone away and we had to call to get it back again from the hotel who really had been unsympathetic to our plight. That had really soured my experience of Sydney and I was dreading Immigration in Melbourne. The area was deserted and we were directed to the e-machines. Aer John said his passport wouldn’t work on them and indeed this was the case (even though he has the symbol on his passport - God knows what he’s done to it!) so he was sent to an agent while I went through the machine. Our customs form was checked and we collected our bags (having greeted the guys on the flight from LHR one last time) before joining the short exit queue. At this stage we were fully expecting to be sent for a secondary screening of our bags, but no! When we presented our customs document, we were directed straight through and off to the taxi line. Exactly an hour from exiting the aircraft we were at our hotel.

Next stop Auckland on Virgin Australia.
#937332 by hiljil
09 Aug 2017, 07:16
Thank you for your latest TR. When you are not describing exotic places you are informing about lesser known airlines so it is always such an interesting read.

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