The Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur is an interesting sector as there are a few airlines that cover this sector as 5th freedom flights. This gives travelers the chance to try short regional flight with non-regional airlines that normally would entail a long haul flight into a short 2 hours sector.
I decided to give Ethiopian Airlines a try as I have never flown them before and they operate the route with the B767's, an aircraft type that I have yet to fly on.
Booking was done online, it was simple and easy, so was the check-in. Turned up at BKK airport and was greeted by the friendliest group of counter staff. I was told that I was the only passenger joining the flight.
BKK departure level
Happy that they have checked-in the one and only passenger from Bangkok
I had time to quickly find the hidden and much recommended food court located at level 1. It was teeming with people.
The Magic Food Point Food Court
Once inside, went to the counter and purchased coupons. 100Baht of coupons should be enough for one person. Most meals cost between 50 to 90 Baht and I had a plate of fried rice noodles and a Bahn Mi sandwich.
Very busy with travelers and staff
Once done with security and immigration, I wandered around the huge duty free area before heading to gate F4 when I saw the aircraft taxi in about 20 minutes late.
ET-AMF
The aircraft, ET-AMF started life with Belgian airline Sobelair in 2000 until the airline ceased operations in 2004. It then moved to Hainan Airlines until 2007.
In 2014, it was operating Ethiopian Airlines flight ET702 from Addis Ababa to Rome when it was hijacked during the flight by the co-pilot .
The co-pilot waited for the captain to go to the toilet so he could lock him self in the cockpit. The flight continued to Geneva, Switzerland were it landed about 06:00.
The co-pilot then climbed down from the cockpit window using the emergency escape rope and surrendered to police. He was unarmed and requested asylum in Switzerland as he feared persecution in Ethiopia.
Gate F4
Once cleaning was completed, I was personally invited to board and I was, as expected, the only passenger to the join the other 18 to 20 other passengers who were on transit. Not a single crew welcomed me or said anything as I walked into the cabin and made my way to the back and my seat at 32A.
The aircraft was showing it's age of 15 years. The cabin had a musty smell and was hot. My seat, while it had great legroom, could not return to full up right position, so I changed to another seat 35A.
There was a safety card and an air-sick bag in the seat pocket, nothing else. No magazines, entertainment or duty free sale booklets. There however some left over amenity kits and headphone from the previous sector on some seats.
The content of the seat pocket
The crew offered newspapers, before the doors were close and announcements were made. The safety video was screened on the overhead monitors, before we took-off about 1 hours late.
The 4 ladies that were taking care of economy were unfriendly but were not rude. They just did or said what was necessary and nothing more.
I tried a few times to engage them in conversation but they seem uninterested and even refused request for a photograph except for one, which looked like the most junior.
During the flight a Cantonese movie was screened on the overhead monitors.
Meal service was the only saving grace in the whole flight. The meal was substantial with a choice of chicken served with rice or fish with a creamy sauce. The tray had a Thai salad, cheese & crackers, passion fruit mousse and butter & bread roll made up the rest of the meal. The fish sauce was a tad too salty for me but otherwise a good meal. The crew offered wines, soft drinks, juices and later coffee and tea.
Fish option
The only real minus for me was the rather old aircraft that wasn't well taken care of. The call chime and lights would go on and off repeatedly by themselves for up to 5 minutes a few times during the flight. The TV monitor screens were "off-colour" and the cabin had a musty smell. The seats feel like they have reached their "use by" date. The service by the cabin crew was reserved at best with no attempt at all to go beyond the required.
I was glad however to see that the crew were enforcing the safety requirements strictly.
Would I fly with them again? Maybe but they are not on the top of my list.
A video of trains passing the Bangsar LRT station in Kuala Lumpur. At this one spot you will be able to see KTM Intercity and commuter trains, the KLIA express trains from the airport and the LRT trains of the Kelana Jaya line
Last December 2014, the Malaysian east coast experienced the worst flooding in more than 4 decades which resulted in huge damage. One of the biggest lost was for the Malaysian railway company KTMB. The line which is referred to as the East Coast line or by tourist as the Jungle Line (my post about the jungle line) is currently closed for the next 12 months at least. Oddly the KTMB website does not have any notice in English for travelers about this closure. So if you plan to travel between Gemas and Tumpat, it's not possible at the moment.
photo by Hambali Parjan
photo by Hambali Parjan
photo by Hambali Parjan
photo by Hambali Parjan
photo by Mohd Rosdi Ariffin
The following stations were damaged or destroyed -
Chegar Perah, Merapoh, Gua Musang, Limau
Kasturi, Bertam Baru, Kemubu, Dabong, Bukit Abu, Manek Urai and Kuala
Krai. Besides the stations, tracks and bridges were also wiped out.
Eight locomotives, 19 passengers coaches, one buffet coach and four
power generation cars were also lost in the flood waters. I have re-posted
some photos taken from social media here to give you an idea of the
devastation
Photo by Inspektor Asraf
At the end of February recovery of the stranded locomotives and rolling stock began. They will be transported by road to the various workshops on the west coast for repairs.
Photo by Mohd. Hafiz Othman
More details of the repairs is not clear but I will post information when the line is reopen for the benefit of those who would like to make a trip on the the jungle line.
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.
