Cebu to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) to Medan (Indonesia)

Let's continue my stories on this trip out of the new Mactan-Cebu International Airport Terminal 2. Not that there is anything to shout to the whole world about -especially since I prefer to tell only stories on Philippine travel. But I do have notes from here and there, that might be useful to dear Pinoy Travelers.

Such as: aircraft used by Air Asia on their Cebu~Kuala Lumpur flights, are Philippine registered planes (just like those on their domestic flights), meaning owned by Philippines Air Asia, with IATA Code Z2.

This started with a curiosity why my flight number was "Z2 7110", not "AK 7110" - because I knew long ago that the two-letter IATA code of Air Asia, Inc. (a company based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is AK.

On top of that, my connecting flight from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia to Medan Indonesia also on Air Asia, had "QZ 125" as flight number, not "AK 125". Curious, I also searched that, and I learned that the airline is Indonesia Air Asia, Inc., IATA Code QZ. So the plane is Indonesian, not Malaysian. New knowledge!

Thus, judging it from the flight numbers alone, it appeared that I was riding 2 different airlines Z2 and QZ, but both are named Air Asia that has its own code AK. Ah, maybe they're affiliates or subsidiaries?

So, ano ngayon? How can I use that new knowledge? Well, in this particular case, I knew kailangan ko ng extra dasal along the way hehe! Why oh why? Well, yung Air Asia na bumulusok sa karagatan nung December 2014 was an Indonesia Air Asia flight QZ 8501 from Surabaya papunta sana ng Singapore.

Ibig sabihun... if I was to make duda about the safety record of my flight/s... ah..., kulba oi!

The Cebu to Kuala Lumpur flight takes some 3hrs 45mins. But this time, I did not eat on board. Why?

Because I ate a BK Burger while seated at CBTL, remember? Eh bitbit ko pa yung supot containing my leftover burger. Yun ang tinira ko! Truth be told the reason I had to eat something at the airport, even if I was not yet that hungry, was: I thought this plane would be the Malaysian AK, awsus Pinoy pala (Z2).

So, lesson learned: by just looking at the flight numbers, we may be able to predict what sorts of food we can eat on board! If it's a Z2 flight, me kare-kare, minsan tapsilog and so on! Kung AK, Nasi Lemak!

What if its a QZ? Hmm, let's talk about that a little later!

Meanwhile, flight arrived at my hatest modern airport, KLIA 2! Many of you already know that, right?

Mind you, KLIA 2 is the largest LCC (Low Cost Carrier) Terminal in the world. Malaki nga, napakahaba naman ng lalakarin mo, dahil kulang ng walkalators, while passing at empty spaces in so many levels.

In fact, this is the only airport in the world, where, upon exiting the airplane, you climb to a floor above the departure level, take a long walk, then go down to arrival level, located below the departure level.

Ka-tonto ba la 'no?

Transit but cannot be transit. Another "issue" but I think this has something to do with budget airlines, than not the airport nor the immigration authorities. If you have connecting flights, you must still land.

Note that "land" here is used both as a noun and a verb as in "landing"!

My bookings said I arrive at KLIA 2 at 10:50AM via Air Asia, and depart from KLIA 2 at 3:55PM also on Air Asia. That was 5 hours transit at KLIA 2. And no need to go through immigration, right? No! Wrong!

Not that I was surprised, since I already knew abut this. But let me just share this information to those of you who may have purchased Air Asia to Air Asia connecting tickets via Malaysia or anywhere else. It doesn't cut nor shorten anything! You must still go through the normal arrival process as if you were "landing" into Malaysia. Then go up to their departure area, and check-in as if you were from Malaysia.

That's the escalator going up to departure check-in area, coming from arrival area. As you would most probably know, this is inconvenient to many passengers, especially those who have a lot of luggage or traveling with little children and the elderly. But, I had to endure this, may maikwento lang ako sa inyo!

Okay, Cebu to Kuala Lumpur travel ended, Kuala Lumpur to Medan started here - as I go to check-in.

Check-in? Eh di ba I already did my web check-in (see boarding pass above KUL to KNO)? Regardless! Parang sa 'Pinas din. Pupunta ka pa rin at pipila sa check-in counters (for document verification daw).

You can't even just re-print your boarding pass at the automated check-in kiosks, dahil ito ang sagot...

If you go straight to immigration counter, using just your web check-in boarding pass, sa pinto pa lang, they will send you back to the check-in counters. Yes, guards there will tell you "for documents check".

So, even if like me, you don't have check-in baggage, go ka sa check-in counter, yun ang patakaran, eh!

Paano kung walang tao! Maghintay ka hahaha! Usually, there'd be someone at the 1st counter (V1), go there, though V2 & V3 are the dedicated counters for checking of documents. They'll also re-print your boarding pass - immigration looks for that paper boarding pass naman pala - not the e-boarding pass!

Oist one more thing. Some of their check-in counters have computers facing passengers (see counter V2 up to V4, yung iba kasi natatabunan ng pasahero). I asked a grumpy agent what those are for. Ang sagot was a curt "for check-in". Obvious ba? I didn't say anything anymore, baka mapa-away lang ako!

But I am really curious how those things are used. Paano yan, as you check-in, may I pindot si staff sa computer nya, tas ikaw pasahero, may I dutdut ka rin sa tapat nya? Pwede ba Mobile Legends diyan?

Zoom the above pic to counters V2, V3 and V4 to see what I mean. I haven't seen it being used here. I haven't also seen anything like that in the Philippines yet! But all have KLIA 2 logos. So airport-owned?

A new research assignment hehehe!

You will also notice, the rest of their check-in counters (Air Asia lang ha?) are labelled "Baggage Drop". You won't anymore see anything that says "Check-in". Why is that? Ah, masalimuot ang meaning nyan!

It's like this: In Malaysia, Hong Kong and Brunei (and more locations coming, I was told), there is what they call the Air Asia Counter Check-in Fee. Yes, you got that right, there's a fee if you go to physically check-in at any of the check-in counters! 30MYR (international) and 20MYR (domestic) per passenger is not cheap ah! That's 360PHP! It's even 80HKD in Hong Kong and 13BND sa Brunei, mga 600 pesos!

All because pumunta ka sa check-in counter nila! Aw they told me, that is to encourage all passengers to use digital check-in facilities at their website, phone app or airport kiosks. Really now?! Eh kelangan din naman pumunta sa check-in counter para mag-documents check, so para saan pa ang mga iyon?!

Wheh! Whatever! Basta, pag sa 'Pinas nila ginawa yan, mag-ra-rally ako, kahit mag-isa hahaha!

After that 'regular check-in', as if I was not a transit passenger, I went to immigration (sa loob nito):

First thing the officer asked me was "when did you arrive Malaysia"? I said "about 11AM this morning"! I knew she already knew that, because I saw her check the "tatak" (arrival stamp) on my passport, yet she still seemed surprised (halata sa mata nya)! Next question: "what did you do here"? Sabi ko 'wala'!

With a smile (but I think sarcastic), I said "nothing, I'm in transit going to Medan". A bit smiling too, she didn't say anything and continued to stamp my passport. I looked around, konti ang tao so I dared ask her if it was necessary for me to "land", then come up here to "depart". Her reply was very educational!

She said something like this (parang insik ang english): is okay you stay at transit area, the government of Malaysia has no concern, especially you are ASEAN Citizen going to ASEAN Countries, no problem la. But, it depends on your airline. They have many rules, sometimes overacting or weird. And we laughed!

So there it was, I learned something new again. It depends on the weird rules of airlines pala! Kasi nga naman, the standard rule among governments is, if you are transiting 'not more than 24 hours', you do not have to "land" but just stay at the transit area. It depends on the airline pala. Buti 'no visa required'!

Why would an airline do that? I asked around and received a number interesting information.
One says: instead of giving service to passengers, Air Asia instead defined and clearly display on their booking website, a thing called "self-transfer". They don't offer service, they only want us to pay extra.

Another friend said: yan ang gusto mo, budget airline di ba? magdusa ka! Aray, ang sakit ng truth!

Another one said: no government requires it, so they don't do it. that's how they make tickets cheap.

Okay, awat na, surrender na! So, ayan, nararanasan ko na rin ang real value ng budget airlines. Oo nga, remember my transit on Cebu Pacific from Naga to Manila to Cebu? Okay, "budget airline 101" lesson!

Wait. It's not over yet! A friend employed at Air Asia txtd me saying "pero meron din kaming FLY-THRU service on selected sectors that transit through KUL and BKK. Malay mo, soon baka meron na sa'tin"!

Heh, I did not answer that any more! Alam ko, me extra bayad yan!

Now now dear children... for those who may have been wondering why my flights had a gap of about 5 hours just to transit at this KLIA 2, you probably grasped the reason, right? Better to have more time to waste, than stress yourselves rushing and running to catch connecting flights! Ayaw natin haggard!

I've been describing KLIA 1 and 2 in previous stories, so tama na yan. Just search this blog!

To answer a previous question "why prayer rooms are always near the toilets", I now have an answer!

Somebody I asked inside that toilet told me that, it has something to do with the practice/requirement of Muslims, that they wash themselves before praying. Aw I remember, that's called "wudu" (ablution)!

It's a ritual washing of the body before praying, to "get rid of minor impurities". And they're expected to wash in a certain order: first their hands, then mouth, nose, face, hair, ears, and finally ankles and feet.

Thus, it is just practical that Muslim prayer rooms be near comfort rooms. Yun pala yun!

Oh... I think I already mentioned this in my previous stories about KLIA 2, the Smoking Room!

This room is just a little bit wider than that of CEB's new T2, but darker due to the wood material. First time I entered though, that there was literally no one inside (it's usually packed)! This was Friday, 2PM.

Okay and well, I'm not sure I've mentioned this before, nor have I shown pics of any of these (I think):

There is a Movie Lounge in this airport hehe! It actually is nothing but a corner where there's a TV that plays movies (not your choice) and there are sofas and chairs facing it. Ganun! Then just beside, there is what they call a Sport Lounge. It's the same setup where the palabas is a sports channel. Yun lang!

Yes, very far from what Changi has. But, at least meron silang ganyan. Eh sa atin, ano'ng meron, aber?

There's a Kids' Zone, there is also an Internet Lounge but I couldn't take photos as there were children and youngsters everywhere! Tip: if you're looking for a place to charge your gadgets - all of the above! Mind you, since the movie and sports lounges usually have no people, I lower the TV volume and rest!

All the above 'amenities' are at what they call the "Satellite Building" where the P and Q Gates are. You probably will not walk this way (300 meters from immigration), if you are not assigned to those gates!

Alright, let's fly! At 1609H or 4:09PM we were airborne for my 1 hour flight to Medan, Indonesia!

That's KLIA 2. The control tower you see is "Tower West" and was "the world's tallest air traffic control tower" at 133.8 meters, until 2017 when it was "over-towered" by the tower at Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) which is 136 meters tall. Pang-asar lang 'no? Tinaasan lang ng 2.2 meters!

I don't know if there's a technical advantage of having a tallest "ATC" (Air Traffic Control) Tower, other than nasa Guinness book of world records ka heheh! Since we're on the topic, if you want to know, the 3rd tallest control tower is at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) - 132.2 meters tall.

Ah eto pa, the 4th tallest control tower in the world is also in the picture above! Look intently towards the horizon. You will see another tower, that's what they call "Tower East" of KLIA 1, at 130 meters flat!

Ayan... bagong kaalaman, for whatever its worth hehehe!

Okay, back to my flight from Kuala Lumpur to Medan. I did not eat, but I checked the inflight menu!

As expeced, this being a QZ (Indonesia Air Asia) flight, the food on sale are of Indonesian prices. Note thousands yan (tatlo ang zero)! Coke is IDR20,000 (about 74PHP) while the rice meals mga P200 yan!

By the way, there was one lovely detail about this flght: Departure was 1555H and Arrival was 1555H! Can you believe that ever happening? This wasn't a system glitch or an error on the part of the airline.

Imagine, my flight departs at 3:55PM, travels for one hour, then lands at exactly 3:55PM per schedule. But in fact, we left on time, but the flight was fast, it took less than an hour, and we landed at 3:48PM!

Naunsa ni oi? The plane left at 3:55PM, traveled for only 53 minutes instead of an hour, then landed at 3:48PM of the same afternoon. Did anyone turn back the hands of time? Bumalik ang oras? Nabuang!

Cute di ba? It has something to do with time zones between these parts of Malaysia and Indonesia:

Can you see the red dot? That is my approximation of Kuala Lumpur. Ah, see a zoomed version below:

Okay now you see it, right? As you would probably already know, Malaysia (and even Singapore) are at a GMT+8 time zone, like us. We also know, it is their choice, even if they should technically be GMT+7.

However, this part of Indonesia, North Sumatra, where Medan is, follows the internationally suggested and agreed convention, that this longitude area is GMT+7. There is therefore a 1-hour time difference between Kuala Lumpur and Medan, even if they are in the same zone, because Malaysia uses GMT+8.

Look at the light-blue and the light-olive colors in the map to understand the differences better.

Now therefore bapor... if it's 3PM in Kuala Lumpur, it is only 2PM in Medan. Thus, if I left Kuala Lumpur at 3:55PM, it is actually only 2:55PM in Medan. After 53 minutes of traveling, it should already be 4:48 in Kuala Lumpur but only 3:48 in Medan.

But there's one very important convention (that means agreement) that everyone in the travel industry must follow, that is: write all reference to departures and/or arrivals in local times (time at that place).

Thus, if a ticket says ETD KUL 1555H that means the Expected Time of Departure is at 3:55PM, Kuala Lumpur local time. And if it says ETA KNO 1555H that means Expected Time of Arrival at Medan is at 3:55PM, Medan local time, at wala na tayong pakialam kung anong oras pa yan doon sa Kuala Lumpur.

Okay? So yun ang cute doon!

If you remember, this twilight zone, aw I mean time zone thing was also our topic sometime ago when we discussed why the sun's still brightly up at 7PM in Langkawi. Do you remember that? Read it here!

And by the way, don't let me explain na, basta GMT and UTC are just the same!

Oh, for those of you who are OC (obsessive compulsive) with your image filing systems, this crossing between time zones will be a little annoying, and I don't know if there's even a handy solution to it yet!

It's like this... when you take photos while your plane is in the air, the 'metadata' automatically created by your phone/camera are based on which local time was it when you departed - which is but proper, right? And as you know, that metadata is even the basis for image file names (unless you changed it).

However, because we live in a technologically advanced world where our phones automatically detect time and location, it makes photos taken about an hour later look like they were taken an hour earlier!

Example: the menu pictures above were taken at 4:19PM (while AirAsia was airborne). But before and after that, there were pictures of me inside the train from Medan Airport going to city center, followed by pics from the plane's window. I was puzzled why the train photos appeared to have been taken at a time that I was still flying! Then I realized the phone detected the local time and place and used them!

So, my pictures were named, filed and arranged by my phone like this:
   -20180727_161836.jpg my selfie inside the train business class
   -20180727_161936.jpg photo of train luggage rack and the train aisle
   -20180727_161937.jpg photo of menu (above) with softdrinks and Balihai beer
   -20180727_162016.jpg photo of menu above with the rice meals
   -20180727_162043.jpg my selfie at a train aisle with passengers in the background
   -20180727_164713.jpg photo of plane wing and engine above the city before landing

Hahaha nagsurusaragol na an before and after landing! Makapungot gamay ay!

Anyway, flight landed at the Kualanamu International Airport, Medan. Welcome back to Indonesia!

My first time to be in this (fairly new) airport, opened in 2013, replacing Polonia International Airport.

Hmmm, gangway and bridge area pa lang, mukhang olats na ang 26-days-old Mactan-Cebu T2 natin!

Carpet yan 'pre! And this is just an airport of a far-flung province of Indonesia! Eh, sa atin, ano meron?!

I had to take a glance at the tarmac... aba maayos, malinis, very orderly! Sa atin? Ambot lang!

Arrival concourse, the way to immigration and baggage claim areas...

It's also bright (maaliwalas), direct to where passengers need to go (not climbing so many floors as at KLIA2), with clear international standard signages, plus touches of their cultural identity on the sides!

And this is why any airport in the Philippines will be shamed by this small Sumatran airport...

Right in front of the arrivals exit is the Airport Railink Services station. To the left is the Taxi Stand and parking area, to the right is the Public Bus Station and more parking slots. Real seamless connection!

Of course I took the train!

This train station is clean, cozy, not crowded, with a look and feel like it's an extension of the airport!

And the train coaches are of world-class standard - mas maganda pa yata sa KLIA Express!

About 30 minutes on 27.5 kilometers of safe and cozy travel, with views of a picturesque countryside for only IDR100,000 or about PHP300? Not bad, since that is the same distance from NAIA T1 via the entire length of EDSA all the way to Monumento, kumaliwa ka pa to Monumento LRT1 Station. Pwede!

That ride brought me to the city center (Medan Station) on top of which is/was the hotel I stayed at!

More stories coming up. Promise!

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