Argo Parahyangan is such an exotic name for a train. Argo means Mountain in Indonesian and Parahyangan or Priangan or Preanger is the mountainous region in West Java that includes the city of Bandung. This service between Gambir station in Jakarta and Bandung departs just about once every 2 hours in each direction connecting these cities in around 3 hours.
Train tickets
The one way ticket in Eksekutif class cost Rph115,000 which around RM32 for an adult. I tried to purchase on-line from the Kereta Api Indonesia web site http://www.kereta-api.co.id/ but somehow it does not accept non-Indonesian issued credit cards. So you would need to go yourself to purchase at the station. During both trips, the trains were hardly 40 percent full so advanced purchase might only be needed during peak holiday periods. I understand that the number of passengers have fallen since the opening a new highway which cut travel time to just one and a half hours by road.
For the seats with a view make sure you ask for seats C/D going to Bandung and seats A/B to Jakarta. Eksekutif class is like our KTM second class 4 seats in a row but it is the most expensive seat on the Indonesian railway.
The route from Gambir to Bandung
Gambir station in Jakarta is located next to MONAS which is the Indonesian National Monument, a 132 m tower in the centre of Merdeka Square built to commemorate the struggle for independence.
The Gambir station is located to the right of this photo
The trains that departs from here are the express "Eksekutif" class trains. The other slow "Ekonomi" trains and other local and commuter trains depart from the Jakarta Kota station in the old part of the city. While commuter trains pass through Gambir station, they do not stop so you have to use a taxi to get here.
Entering Gambir station
You most likely will be dropped off at the South Lobby. It's not large but it's compact with everything you need. There is a KFC, Starbucks, many other F&B outlets and convenience stores for you to stock up on supplies before the trip.
The south lobby
There is a security and ticket check before you enter the passenger only area. If you need to use the toilet, use the one after the ticket check counter as there are not toilets in the waiting area and platform. You now have to head up with the escalators to the 1st floor which is the waiting area. It has seats, few cafes and shops, plus a mobile phone charging station. It has no air-con but is cool and airy. You could wait here until you train is announced.
The platform is another floor up. This time there are only stairs so if you have a lot of luggage, use the lifts or better still use the porter service. The porters cost about Rph30,000 to 40,000.
The station is very well signed to guide you to the correct platform for your train plus the location of your coach.
The bright and airy platforms of Gambir station
I find it perfectly nice to just wait for the train up here on the platform as I get to watch the trains plus a nice view of MONAS and other sights around the station.
This is a busy station so there are a lot of chances for train spotting of long distance express trains arriving and departing plus Commuter trains passing through. The commuter trains are an interesting sight as they are all ex-Tokyo/ JR metro trains.
The Argo Bromo Anggerek departing for Surabaya
Former Tokyo metro trains
About 15 minutes to departure, the in coming Argo Parahyangan from Bandung arrived and after a quick turnaround of the locomotive we departed about 5 minutes late in heavy rain that suddenly started pouring.
Coach number 1
The coach was not new but had been well maintained and clean. The seats came with a pillow each, a foot rest and magazines by Kereta Api Indonesia in the seat pocket.
Great legroom
Foot rest
Plastic bag for rubbish and the magazines
A newsletter with transportation related stories
KAI magazine
Each seat had an electric socket so your phone can be charged through out the trip, plus it also had airline style reading lights above the seats. These are nice touches to the overall comfort and convenience of the passengers.
One socket per seat
Reading lights overhead the seats
On this service there were 4 Eksekutif coaches, 1 Buffet/Restaurant coach, 2 Bisnis Class coach and a Power Generation Car. The Eksekutif coaches had different designs.
These had leather seats instead of the fabric one in my coach
Bisnis Class Coach
There were one toilet at each end of the coach. They were clean and had liquid soap, toilet paper but were of the Asian squat type.
The name, photo and mobile number of the customer service officer for the train was place at each coach, which impressed me.
As the train pulled out of the station the Customer Service Officer began the welcome announcement in Bahasa Indonesia and English. Besides the usual information about the the journey, he also announced the names of all the crew on board from the restaurant crew to the security officers and even the maintenance officer. Later as we approached the Cikubang bridge and the Sasaksaat tunnel, announcements were made informing of the significance of them and some historical facts which was wonderful for visitor like me. On the return journey the PA system in my coach was out of order so the Customer Service Officer personally came to me to inform of the approach of the bridge and tunnel as I had asked him earlier about it. I found that outstanding. Just before arriving he also stood at the front of our coach, apologised for the faulty PA and the late arrival in Jakarta and finished by bowing to us. Now that is customer service!
After the tickets were checked, the crew came around with a menu to take orders for food and drinks. They continued to do this every once in a while offering juices and snacks.
Nasi Timbel on the Gambir to Bandung service
The lovely crew taking orders for meals
Nasi Goreng on the Bandung to Gambir service
The first 1 hour of the journey from Jakarta, I passed the city and the outskirts of the huge city which eventually made way to agricultural land. The final hour of the trip is where it gets interesting. Look out for Plered station and get your camera ready. The train starts it's slow climb from here and soon it will be crossing valleys and hills to it's final destination. The view is breath taking and the bridges scary!
Photo by Johanes Christian
As we hug the sides of the hills we sometimes get to see the bridges ahead of us
The Cikularang highway that links Bandung and Jakarta is just as spectacular as the rail route
Valleys of rivers and paddy terraces
Food, drinks and a great view...priceless
This is a video I made of the ride from Padalarang to Plered during the return journey. I just wished I could have had an open window to take better shots but do enjoy.
For an outside view of these bridges here is an excellent video by Probo AK
I must return to take video of the train like the video above!
After 3 hours, the train pulls into Bandung station which is a nice small and quaint station.
You get to walk across all those railway tracks to reach the station north lobby and waiting area
Looking at the platforms from the waiting area of the station north entrance
The Bandung station north entrance and it's car park
The locomotive that hauled my return train to Jakarta
The very good signage in 4 languages
For the most part, the platform is very much lower so metal stairs are pushed to the coach doors
I would travel by train again in Indonesia in a heartbeat. Excellent
customers service with affordable prices makes the train a great option to
traveling in Java.
The route between Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta is not only a busy one but also well served by a whole list of airlines both full-service and low-cost. They include the national carriers of both countries, Malaysia Airlines and Garuda Indonesia, European airlines like KLM and Lufthansa, Middle-eastern airlines Kuwait Airways and Yemenia (KUL to CGK only), Low cost AirAsia, LionAir and Malindo Air. I have used Malaysia Airlines, KLM, AirAsia, LionAir and Malindo Air for this route and finally I decided to try Garuda Indonesia. This would be my first international flight with Garuda as all my previous trips with them have been domestic flights between CGK and DPS and those flights were very good.
Booking was done online and ticket purchased for RM389 return. Internet check-in was available 24 hours before departure which I took advantage of, using it to secure an aisle seat on what was to be a full flight. I will review the inflight service of both flights as one. This first part of the trip report will just cover pre and post flight.
FLIGHT: GA821
AIRCRAFT TYPE: B737-8U3
REG: PK-GMA
Check-in was handled by Malaysia Airlines. Arrived 2 hours to departure and there was hardly a line at the check-in counter with the whole transaction taking less than 5 minutes.
Took my time to get to the satellite terminal gate C11. The aircraft was already at the gate when I arrived but was shocked to see the very slow and long line for security check.
PK-GMA has been with Garuda for more than 5 and half years
The security screening was very slow
By the time I cleared security, boarding had already started.
Arrival in Jakarta was on-time but we were parked at a remote parking bay and were transferred by bus to Terminal 2.
Remote parking bay at CGK
What happened next was the only complaint I had about both flights, the agonizing 50 minute wait for baggage. To be fair this is a problem that all airlines face at Jakarta airport, but the long distance from the remote bay to Terminal 2 made it even worst.
FLIGHT:GA818
AIRCRAFT TYPE: B737-8U3
REG: PK-GMR
I used mobile check-in this time and it only gave about 10 seat options indicating what I thought was once again a full-flight. I picked an aisle seat 29H. Arrived 4 hours before departure and check-in was smooth and took less than 2 minutes.
I arrived at the departure gate 1 hour before STD and was surprised to learn that it was in fact a very empty flight with only 80 passengers. The ground staff kindly assisted in changing my seat to the back of the aircraft where I could have the whole row to myself.
PK-GMR has been with Garuda since September 2010
Departure and arrival was on-time with baggage wait at KLIA not too long. Below is the video of the push back, taxi and take-off.
BOARDING
On both flights the pursers were at the door welcoming passengers with their "Salam Garuda Indonesia" which is placing their palms together at chest level and bowing. Along the aisle, there were crew welcoming and assisting passengers.
Crew standing by to assists and welcome passengers
Newspapers were placed at both the door and also at the rear bulkhead for passengers to help themselves.
Newspapers available through out the flight at both sides of the rear bulkhead
Once seated, the usual welcome announcements were made in Bahasa Indonesia and English. While this was going on, something unheard of on the other airlines flying this route, welcome drinks of orange juice were served to the passengers in economy class.
Welcome drinks being served on ground
Welcome drinks served once all boarded
This was followed by the safety video in both Bahasa Indonesia and English. A nice touch was at the end of the safety video the crew lined up along the aisle and once again thanked us with a "Salam Garuda" bow.
SEAT
The seat pitch was a comfortable and generous 32", the same as Malindo and better than MAS and the low-cost carriers.
Each seat comes with a pillow. The headrest has adjustable height and the headrest "wings" can be adjusted too for additional support. The colours of dark and light brown accented by the turquoise headrest covers and pillows add that pop colour to brighten the feel of the cabin.
Excellent legroom
Each seat pocket has a safety card, air sickness bag, Colours which is the inflight magazine, Arcade their inflight shopping catalogue, Stars the inflight entertainment booklet and Holidays the Garuda holiday package catalogue. The headphone were also placed in the seat pocket.
Each seat also a touch screen TV monitor for inflight entertainment and information. While not as extensive as Emirates it is alright for a short flight like this.
Pillows are provided at every seat but blankets are available on request.
INFLIGHT SERVICE
About 15 minutes after the seatbelt sign is switched off, meal service starts from the front, middle and back of the aircraft. This is also where Garuda excels, providing far better than the sandwich or sad meat roll from Malaysia Airlines. Plus it is a welcome to have metal cutlery in economy class. The meals comes with 2 choices of main course, a salad and a desert. A bread roll with butter and a selection of coffee & Tea, juices and wines complement the meal. On the flight to Jakarta it was a seafood noodle or a very tasty Chicken with a satay like sauce and on the return flight, Chicken with potatoes or a beef rendang served with yellow rice.
An Asian coleslaw and a lemon mouse with chocolate and raspberry base.
Chicken with a peanut satay like sauce
Metal cutlery and a wet tissue are a nice extra touch
A carrot salad and butter cake
Beef rendang with nasi kuning
Once all the meal trays were distributed, they crew returned offering drinks again. They then returned to clear the trays and kept checking the cabin to collect the bit's and pieces.
The toilet was kept clean by the crew checking and cleaning after passengers vacate the toilet. The toilets also come with hand lotion and eau de toilette.
When the landing announcement was made, the crew once again lined up on the aisle to bow and extend their thanks to the passengers which I thought was a very special and humble gesture.
Garuda reminded me of how MAS was in the 90's, a great product with friendly and hard working crew. They may not operate with the precision efficiency of the likes of Singapore Airlines, but the casual charm and friendliness of the crew make them so much more better. Garuda is certainly an airline to look out for and I will certainly fly with them again.
