airport

It’s been a month

It’s been a month since I posted things from Medan, my home city. In that time, I’m joining Pelatnas 1 TOKI 2013, the first selection that will eventually select 4 best students from all over Indonesia to represent Indonesia at 2013 IOI in Australia. That Pelatnas thing was held in Bandung.

First thought looking at Bandung from the sky: not as big as Medan. When we landed, the airport was so much inferior to Medan’s Polonia, I think if I would compare Kualanamu, Medan’s airport in-construction, with Bandung’s, it will be something like a skyscraper with a flop-house. Why? It just took a few steps from our aircraft to the airport building exit gate.

Bandung, the first day I came, around evening, it comes the rain, a heavy one. The weather pattern was somewhat the same all the month: sunny morning, cloudy afternoon, rainy evening. One thing for sure: when it rains, it rains heavily.

Also, Bandung air temperature was nice, in some cool-and-rainy days I could see my breathe condensates in the air, i.e. a cloud! Ha-ha. The temperature here was comparable to that of Brastagi.

Enough said about Bandung, next time I’ll write about my life there.

2 September 2012: OSN 2012 (1)

2 September 2012

On this day, I woke up before 7 am, which my alarm rang at 7. After cleaned myself and had breakfast (instant noodle). After all preparations were finished, suddenly my luggage’s code changed unexpectedly. My dad’s do the linear search from 000 to 999, luckily get it at around 500 and changed it back to where it supposed to be. Now it was around 8.45, we were told to get there before 9. Well, I arrived on time, meeting the others, and also the guys from North Sumatra’s Ministry of Education and Culture. They asked us to sign a legal document showing that we received the ticket for the aircraft and the money for the taxi which in reality we didn’t even use any taxi.

Around 10 we were called in to the check-in room, taking some photos, and to waiting room. We boarded the aircraft, which was Garuda Indonesia Airlines. Wow, it was very cool! Every seat was occupied with a touch-sensor monitor. The safety demonstration was screened on it. Also, every seat is provided with a headset. The monitor also provides music, film, books, etc. In this flight, I choose to watch “Assasins” but before finished, I switched to listen to Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto album which makes me very excited that time. The in-flight meal was okay, I got “fish noodle”, with Wall’s ice cream and free drink (a cup of bottled guava). Well, I also use the lavatory at the rear side, as usual, the lavatory was nice, haha.

The song “Don’t Let It Break Your Heart” ended the flight, after the song ended, the monitor was automatically turned off for landing process.

After landed at Terminal 2, we took a photo, which we are told to use the batik that were given that time. Next we picked up our baggage and went out to rendezvous with Bram and Jason. At a bench outside the terminal building, we were told to wait for a bus to take us to our hotel.

Waiting and waiting, I’m very thirsty, I went to A&W after gained permission from the guys from MoEnC  and bought a small-cup of coke.

The bus came, we took the bus, first it stopped at Terminal 1 to pick up another OSN participant from other region. The journey took a long time. My father telephoned me, wow it was around 3 pm already, asking me about my conditions, etc. First the bus stopped at Hotel Kartika, which are for the participant of maths, physics, chemistry, and biology subject; then the bus stopped at Hotel Kaisar which are for the rest (computer, geoscience, economics, and astronomy).

We directly went to the second floor which the re-registration process was held. It took a little wait because the participant of computer subject from Jakarta just arrived and just in front of our queue. Well, the consists of 9 students; while ours just 2. After these things, we were given a room to stay. I got room 639, the same room with Vincent Immanuel, from SMAK BPK Penabur 1 Jakarta; while Peter got room at fourth floor (room 426) with Raja, from Middle Java. (pun: sleep at Hotel Kaisar with Raja; sleep at Caesar Hotel with King; haha)

Then I and Peter went to 7-Eleven to buy stuffs (I bought 2 1,5L-bottle of water). Well, the 7-Eleven is just in the opposite of the hotel. When we went back we met Jason and Bram.

I went back to my room just to find that my roommate wasn’t there, I was told to wait his return at his friend’s room at 637. There I met his friend, Arnold Ardianto, from Kolese Kanisius, Jakarta. Time passed and my roommate found me at 637. I quickly took a bath then went out to met the others at the 2nd floor.

After the quick dinner, I, Peter, and Jason waited for the others at the lobby but they didn’t show up so we went up to search them. In front of the room happened a crazy action by Peter called “Pendekar sandal terbang”: he threw his sandal to the air from one of his foot with his foot and caught the sandal by one hand. He did this to show his angriness to Juliana’s inconsistency: she decided to join with us and then cancelled the joining. Haha, at last she and Vina joined us. We went to 7 Eleven (again). There I met Vincent, Arnold, and their friends paying at the cashier and intended to go back to the hotel. There, I bought Slurpee (small) for the first time; nah… the second time, but this is the first time I did it correctly. Before this, I had bought it in Singapore long time ago, I think it was in December 2006. My brother bought one for himself and my father asked if I wanted one, I agreed and just taken one that was not ready to serve, the result is: the delicious Slurpee was just a regular coke.

After I, Peter, Juliana, and Jason bought what we need, we had a table outside the store. Here we shared many things including our personal feelings about others. We chatted until around 8. We went back to the hotel cause Jason worried about Bram. In the lobby, we continue the sharing. I felt that I wanted to sleep and went back to my room and again, Vincent hasn’t got back. I phoned him but got no answer. After some time I went back to the lobby and find out that Chalvin had joined us. After some time, I found out that 3 of Indonesian IOI 2012 team (TOKI 2012; Irvin, Nathan, Aji, and Cakra; I recalled that Cakra didn’t came) had visited the hotel, Peter went to greet them. Around 9.30 I found out that Vincent had got back and passed us, I told him to wait me at our room.

Around 10, I have arrived at 639. Inside there was Vincent and Arnold. I overheard them talking about Irvin (TOKI 2012) and Sharon Lynn (another participant from Jakarta) ever been in a relationship and Irvin that night had obliged to meet her. Well, after some time Arnold went back to his room accompanied by Vincent, for I had to sleep. Around 11 if I’m not mistaken, I heard Vincent went back to our room and slept.

 

Singapore (day 6)

11 July 2012

This was the day which we went back to Medan. We woke up around 6, cleaned ourselves and had breakfast fast. At 7.45 we have arrived at the coach station that took us to the airport by a free shuttle bus. At 8, it departed. Before 9, it had arrived at Budget Terminal in Changi Airport. We checked in through the counter and then waited, and drank very much water which were taken from the hotel, as those water wouldn’t be allowed to get in to the waiting room.

Around 9.30 we went there; with the water bottles emptied out :P There were computers with free Internet access, but they were all occupied. Around 10, I got a chance to go online for a while, before it, I just turned on my laptop and then fixed the wordings of the drafts of these post. We went to our aircraft at 10.30, after queuing in a long line. Before leave, we took photos in the aircraft parking area; but then we were prohibited by the guards, a.k.a. auxiliary police.

Arrived in Medan at 11, when walking through the immigration, I turned on my cellphone and then texted my friend that I’ve arrived in Medan. In the immigration, the queue was terrible, it was a stack! Not queue. (for those who understand) After finished going through the immigration, took our luggage, got out from the terminal; we took taxi that cost us Rp65,000 to our home; well the tariff was “cheap” compared to that of in Singapore; just from Marina Bay Sands to NUS UCC, or Jurong Point to Marina Bay Sands; or Clementi Mall to Marina Bay Sands, it cost around SGD11. remember the facilities of the taxis. In Medan, the taxi’s AC was not as cool as those in Singapore; but maybe it was here it was still hot afternoon. Also it was unmetered, so we need to talk of the tariff before we get in. Around 12.30, we arrived home; the traffic jam was also very terrible. But in this terrible city, I love it very much. There was no way you could see one plants a tree, yes, a tree, at their home.