Spilling Thoughts

Despite Turkiye is one of the country to be checked on my wish list, I was thrilled to challenge myself to go abroad in solo mode. I always like flying. For me, the customer experience in airports are well designed and enjoyable--worth the long saving price. 

Digitalization makes us, passengers have more control of our journey and less worry. When I transited in Dubai, I tracked my flight status using the DXB passenger website, and it was indeed accurate. Of course I knew after checking twice on the public screens. Still a little trust issue. They also provide list of stores and detailed locations inside the airport. I could save energy from going to the wrong direction to find my desired restaurant, Shake Shack, which I decided to go for since some stores has franchise in Indonesia and others are just too expensive. I regret not trying Nutella cafe, hoping to visit during my returning flight but was not convenient then.

In one of my flight, the seat was filled with jamaah Umrah from Indonesia. Some ibu-ibu who does not speak english and jokes around with other jamaah loudly. Every time the flight attendants asked between two offered meals, they would probably go for “Chicken” because its familiar or they'd hilariously answer “Yes yes”🤣 Its a very common embarasing moment that you can actually prevent. Every commercial flights have planned their in flight meals before departure and now these informations are accessible for passengers either from the airlines website or mobile apps. The next time you are boarding with your parents, please check the meal plans in advance. It helped me and my parents to pick different menus that we could taste them all for an experience.

But still, I could not decide every single thing that will happen throughout the journey. Like when I had to take my boots off while getting scanned to enter Dubai Airport. “Did you say about my shoes?” I unbelievably asked the security. Turns out, platform shoes or boots were not recommended to wear in long flights. Perhaps it can be misused to hide unwanted things. Hence, I did not use my other shoes because its more comfortable anyway.

It was my first Airbus A380 flight experience that I have to mention. This double deck aircraft is huge, with more than 500 passengers capacity. Considering the size and weight, it does not land in all airports. Indonesian airports doesn't welcome them. The giant requires solid runway and separate boarding gate for the upper deck entrance. Imagine how many airports in the world needed to upgrade just to land the A380. It would cost a lot and probably the reason why Airbus has stopped producing them. 

Substantively, I departed alone from home but soon met my parents at the airport. Most of the time there was spent with them. It was kind of an intergenerational family trip afterwards which made the experience rather unique. Being digital native allowed me to (virtually) see the city before arriving so that I was less surprised upon my arrival--in any destination--. Unlike these boomers who gets wonderstruck easily.

I bought Turkish number in Indo, aiming to get instant internet connection once I arrived. It was before I discovered that Turkiye has eSIM service and my phone was compatible. Thanks to Airalo, no physical sim card was needed and the price was cheaper.

I did not use travel agents to arrange my tour so I wasn't too ambitious in planning my 3 weeks stay. I saved destinations using google maps' feature, but only went to the most accessible places. The good thing is, I get to experience Istanbul as locals (and became in love with their public transportation).

After touching down in Istanbul Havalimani (Airport), there are buses called Havaist. You just need to know your route, find the right bus track, pay the cost, and get on the bus. There are some helpful staff at the airport who speaks english too. If you're a socially anxious person like me you can download the app beforehand though the ticket purchasing feature doesn't feel usable for tourists.

Istanbul is located in two continents; Asia and Europe. I stayed in the Asian side, while most of the attractions are in Europe. For our daily mobility, we used metrobus (iett), metro (tram), marmaray (subway), and ferries. Once we have Istanbulkart, we can access all public transport. There are top up machines in every entrance gates. Make sure to have cash.