A year ago

13th of March 2014, the day i travelled more than 10 hours ALONE from Melbourne to Balikpapan. It's been exactly a year!

Living in such a beautiful city of Melbourne for 4 years really means a lot to me. I've learned so much and I'm sure I've grown more as a person. The day I leave Melbourne was unforgettable.

Melbourne City views from Eureka Skydeck 88 Tower

Here is my little story about the journey...

A year a go at 6.00 AM. When the day was still dark I went to the airport. I brought 2 luggages with each luggage weights about 20kg, one backpack that weights about 7kg and one carry bag that contains food (I brought pizza and kebab with me the whole time and it's still eatable for the next 2 days. Haha). Honestly I was really scarred, because I had to travel alone. As I arrived in the airport, I quickly weighs my belongings again just to make sure (cause if weight is over than it should be, i have to pay a fine). Me and my dad waited about an hour or 2 before I checked in. After that, I had to say goodbye and go through some checking (bags, passport, etc). It was a long queue line. I had no idea what to do. I watched and I learned. I threw all the drinks that I had in my bag. I got thru, then a guy checked my passport, asked me to take off my beanies. Everything went okay. Done with the checking, I claimed the 10% tax from some gadgets that I bought. Finished with everything, I walked around, there was like a shopping centre inside the airport. I looked around the store since I've got nothing to do and still had 2 hours more time before the flights. Bored, I decided to wait in the waiting room playing with my phone using a wifi. I spent some times to call my dad and friends too. When it's finally 10:50 AM I heard someone was talking over a microphone saying that my flights from Melbourne to Jakarta would be delayed. Wasn't a good start. I think it was about 1 or 2 hours delayed. When I finally got in to the plane, I accidentally slept within a journey (I swear I wasn't planning to sleep while traveling 7 hours alone in a plane). I probably wake up 30 mins before the plane landed. On my way out from the plane, I could feel a very contrast and different atmosphere. It was stinking hot and the air was weird, I could barely breath for 30 seconds. Adjusting myself with the condition travelling from country to country. And the worst part is, I had to walk a lot not knowing where to go, asking a lot of securities along the way, went ups and downs a lot of stairs. Luckily, I didn't have to bring my 2 luggages with me. I checked in not long after. Again, my flight was delayed another hour. I was very lost. I can't even contact my mom about the delayed, because my Vodafone card doesn't work in Indonesia and there is no any wifi in the airport (not surprised, really). I only have the "When Dogs Cry" book by Markus Zusak (also the writer of The Book Thief) as my friend throughout the journey. All I can do is read, read and read. Around 6:30 PM I got into another plane that took me to Balikpapan. I sat beside the window as always. I didn't sleep this time. The weather wasn't really good at that night. The cloud was very thick and I saw thunder. I was scarred, really scarred. The seatbelt lights on the top of my head was never off. The plane kept shaking. I stopped reading for a while and pray to God for my safety. Two hours later, the plane landed nicely, smoother than I expected. I was very happy but confused at the same time. "Where is my family?!" "Are they waiting for me?!" I wondered. But before I had time to look for them, they found me right after I got my luggages with me. So, that's the end of my journey. From that day, my life has changed. Again.

I hope one day I'll go back to Melbourne. And surely will find the way to be back no matter how.