Hello Mrs. Ananka from Scotland, Madam Mary Kirkland from the US, Mrs. Irina from Russia, and all my fellow international bloggers that I recently visited. How are you all doing? It is Saturday. Happy weekend to all of you!
Today is Saturday evening, May 16. I would like to share a little story about my failed plan to visit Jogjakarta. I had planned to visit my one and only daughter, who has just finished Junior High School in Jogjakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. Our trip was supposed to be on May 14, based on our ship ticket. I always travel by sea. I will explain why I could not make it. !
For those who do not know where Jogjakarta is, the Special Region of Jogjakarta called “Daerah Istimewa Jogjakarta” in Indonesia is located on Java Island. I live in Pontianak, the capital city of West Kalimantan Province. If you want to visit Jogjakarta, you can travel either by sea or by airplane because we are on different islands. If you travel by airplane, the flight takes about one and a half hours. If you travel by ship, it takes around one and a half days. !
The Failure of My Sea Voyage!
My son and I already had tickets to travel to Jogjakarta. The schedule was on Thursday, May 14, at 13:00 WIB (1 PM). All bags and personal belongings were packed perfectly, and we were ready to go. !
Suddenly, the Dwikora Port sea traffic administration announced that our ship was delayed. The departure was moved to the next day, Friday morning at 10 AM. Even though I was shocked, I calculated the timing and felt that we could still arrive in Jogjakarta on time. !
Unfortunately, a few minutes later, we received another delay notice. This time, the new schedule was Friday night at 22:00 WIB (10 PM). The first delay was acceptable, but the second delay was too much. I was upset and disappointed with the unorganized system of the Dwikora Sea Traffic Administration.
You may read : When it the best time to visit Indonesia?
I felt something was not right. I even suspected that the delay happened because there were not enough passengers, so they postponed the trip until the ship was full. If that is true, it would be hilarious and unprofessional. !
In the end, I decided to cancel my trip with KM Kelimutu. I asked for a refund, but I only received half of my money back because there was a penalty for canceling before departure. !
Delays can happen in any kind of transportation air, land, or sea. But receiving two delays in one day was very frustrating. By the way, the ticket price for KM Kelimutu (economy class) from Pontianak to Semarang is about 350,000 rupiahs, which is around 20 US dollars (based on the current rate of 1 USD = 17,460 IDR). !
I cannot upload an image of KM Kelimutu because I do not own the photo. I have a rule to only upload photos that I take myself. You can search for the ship on Google if you want. !
Story of My Personal Belongings!
Even though my sea trip failed, I want to share a story about some items I prepared for the journey. I have included one original photo for you to see. !\
Today is Saturday evening, May 16. I would like to share a little story about my failed plan to visit Jogjakarta. I had planned to visit my one and only daughter, who has just finished Junior High School in Jogjakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. Our trip was supposed to be on May 14, based on our ship ticket. I always travel by sea. I will explain why I could not make it. !
For those who do not know where Jogjakarta is, the Special Region of Jogjakarta called “Daerah Istimewa Jogjakarta” in Indonesia is located on Java Island. I live in Pontianak, the capital city of West Kalimantan Province. If you want to visit Jogjakarta, you can travel either by sea or by airplane because we are on different islands. If you travel by airplane, the flight takes about one and a half hours. If you travel by ship, it takes around one and a half days. !
The Failure of My Sea Voyage!
My son and I already had tickets to travel to Jogjakarta. The schedule was on Thursday, May 14, at 13:00 WIB (1 PM). All bags and personal belongings were packed perfectly, and we were ready to go. !
Suddenly, the Dwikora Port sea traffic administration announced that our ship was delayed. The departure was moved to the next day, Friday morning at 10 AM. Even though I was shocked, I calculated the timing and felt that we could still arrive in Jogjakarta on time. !
Unfortunately, a few minutes later, we received another delay notice. This time, the new schedule was Friday night at 22:00 WIB (10 PM). The first delay was acceptable, but the second delay was too much. I was upset and disappointed with the unorganized system of the Dwikora Sea Traffic Administration.
You may read : When it the best time to visit Indonesia?
I felt something was not right. I even suspected that the delay happened because there were not enough passengers, so they postponed the trip until the ship was full. If that is true, it would be hilarious and unprofessional. !
In the end, I decided to cancel my trip with KM Kelimutu. I asked for a refund, but I only received half of my money back because there was a penalty for canceling before departure. !
Delays can happen in any kind of transportation air, land, or sea. But receiving two delays in one day was very frustrating. By the way, the ticket price for KM Kelimutu (economy class) from Pontianak to Semarang is about 350,000 rupiahs, which is around 20 US dollars (based on the current rate of 1 USD = 17,460 IDR). !
I cannot upload an image of KM Kelimutu because I do not own the photo. I have a rule to only upload photos that I take myself. You can search for the ship on Google if you want. !
Story of My Personal Belongings!
Even though my sea trip failed, I want to share a story about some items I prepared for the journey. I have included one original photo for you to see. !\
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| Photo by Asep Haryono |
You may read" Things foreign tourist always ask about Indonesia
All these items help me make simple documentation when I travel. The selfie stick helps stabilize my camera when recording video. I prefer Bluetooth headphones over wired ones because they are simpler to use. My cellphone does not appear in the photo because I used it to take the picture, haha! If I had two phones, I would have placed one on the table!
Now take a look another photo I took for you!
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| Photo by Asep Haryono |
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The photo shows several 50,000 Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) banknotes placed on a table. Beside them, on the right side of the image, there is a black wallet. !
Indonesia issues various denominations of Rupiah banknotes, ranging from the smallest to the highest: 1,000 – 5,000 – 10,000 – 20,000 – 50,000 – 75,000 – and 100,000 IDR. We also have coins in denominations of 100, 200, 500, 1,000, and 5,000 IDR. !
Each type of Indonesian Rupiah banknote features one of our national heroes, and many also showcase elements of our culture, hospitality, and natural beauty. !
You can get real Indonesian Rupiah banknotes at your nearest bank or local money changer by exchanging your currency for ours in your own country. Likewise, I can obtain foreign banknotes here in Indonesia simply by exchanging my Rupiah for the currency I want. It’s quite simple, right? !
Final Question!
My friends, that is my story for today. Have you ever experienced delays while traveling by air or sea? How did you feel? Would you also be upset if you received two delays like I did?
The photo shows several 50,000 Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) banknotes placed on a table. Beside them, on the right side of the image, there is a black wallet. !
Indonesia issues various denominations of Rupiah banknotes, ranging from the smallest to the highest: 1,000 – 5,000 – 10,000 – 20,000 – 50,000 – 75,000 – and 100,000 IDR. We also have coins in denominations of 100, 200, 500, 1,000, and 5,000 IDR. !
Each type of Indonesian Rupiah banknote features one of our national heroes, and many also showcase elements of our culture, hospitality, and natural beauty. !
You can get real Indonesian Rupiah banknotes at your nearest bank or local money changer by exchanging your currency for ours in your own country. Likewise, I can obtain foreign banknotes here in Indonesia simply by exchanging my Rupiah for the currency I want. It’s quite simple, right? !
Final Question!
My friends, that is my story for today. Have you ever experienced delays while traveling by air or sea? How did you feel? Would you also be upset if you received two delays like I did?
A Message From Asep Haryono
"Thank you so much for your time here. I really appreciate your precious moment here as well. Please leave any comment down below. Let me hear from you. Greetings from Indonesia"
Oh that's not good and only to get half a refund! I suppose it's better than nothing. You certainly were all prepared! You could be right about them delaying as the ship wasn't full, bit cheeky though! But these days money is tight everywhere so from a money point of view does make sense to the company but not to the passangers. I think I'd be upset with it too. I find these days companies don't care about their customers from transport to food to clothing. They all what the money in and there is no loyality or caring from them.
ReplyDeleteI get seasick, so have to take pills when I am on a boat. I have my in ear headphones which help a little. I also get travel sick on most forms of transport apart from a plane and when I am driving. I am terrible on trains journeys. Did a 4 hours trip once and was sick so many times! Thankfully my daughter was fine!
I also only upload photos I have taken. I'd never use any others. I will put a few links in my posts though, for information on things.
I got a new phone, upgraded to the Samsung S26 Ultra. Only had it since Friday so need to play about with the camera. I only get a phone for the camera. The best camera phone I ever had was the Sony Ericsson C905, do you remember it? Basically a camera with texting and calling. Way before Android and touch screen phones! I loved that phone so much.
Have a good weekend Asep :-D
Hello Ananka,
DeleteThank you so much for your thoughtful comment. Yes, losing half of the refund was quite disappointing, but as you said, better than nothing. I was really ready for the trip, and my bags had already been packed. That second delay honestly made me lose my mood completely.
I understand companies also think about money and operational costs, especially nowadays when everything is expensive. But I agree with you — sometimes customers feel less appreciated these days. Good service and clear communication are very important.
Oh dear, you really have terrible travel sickness! Four hours on a train and being sick many times sounds exhausting. Thankfully your daughter was okay during the trip. I rarely get seasick, but long sea journeys can still feel uncomfortable for me sometimes.
I smiled when reading about your new Samsung S26 Ultra. Congratulations on the new phone! I know you love photography, so I am sure you will enjoy exploring the camera features. And yes, I absolutely remember the Sony Ericsson C905! That phone was legendary at the time. The camera quality was amazing for its era. You are right — it really felt more like a camera that could also make calls and send texts, haha.
Thank you again for visiting my blog and leaving such a lovely comment. Have a wonderful weekend too, my friend from Scotland :-D
Greetings from Pontianak, Indonesia.
— Asep
Hello, Asep Haryono! I'm so sorry you couldn't visit your daughter. Your daughter graduated from high school and would have been happy to see her beloved father and brother.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't understand why the girl doesn't live with her family and lives so far away.
It's unfair that you only got half the refund you paid for the two tickets.
Hello too Mrs Irina
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for being concern. I really appreciate it. Even though I could not visit my daughte, however I was sending her elder brother to pick her up and return home in Pontianak
I can see why you don't understand why the girl doesn't live with my family and lives so far away. There is a tradition in our culture especially for any parents to let their children stay far away from their home for further studies or searching for settle down. Once they have completed their studies then they could go home for further or higher education
Some people might think that is absolutely unfair that I only got half the refund I have paid for the two tickets, however there is term of service that all passengers should comply with stated at the back of the ticket including a statement that getting only a half of the ticket paid for any cancellation
I stopped doing any traveling about 20 years ago because it's such a hassle. Delays are a big hassle, and they only gave you half a refund? That seems illegal even if you cancelled before the trip it was because of their delay. They should have refunded all of your money.
ReplyDeleteGood evening, Ma’am. It is 20:04 local time here, or 8:04 PM GMT.
DeleteI still remember quite well that you mentioned you stopped traveling about 20 years ago, and I can understand that.
Yes, I guess many people would think that Dwikora Port Transportation is taking advantage of passengers by only giving a half refund to those who cancel their tickets, even when it is caused by scheduling issues. However, all passengers cannot deny the consequences of losing nearly half of their refund because it is officially stated on the back of the tickets.
I obviously agree with you that all passengers, including me, should receive a full refund under any circumstances.