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...Continued
My lord, what are we to do?! We have another 6 plus hours before our flight to Kuching. Argh, could this get any worse?! We got off at the central bus station, only to find that we were the only ones left after the bus drove off. Five strangers at 3 in the morning, surrounded by alien buildings and iniquitous looking people. We crossed the road as mum and my brother had to find a toilet. While waiting, Mark and I were approached by 4 or 5 illegal taxi drivers, asking where we wanted to go. If they could only read my mind, they’d be wiser in approaching me.
After everyone returned from the toilet, we got into two taxis and made our way to KLIA. Unfortunately, having five people meant that we had to requisition two cars as opposed to one. Malaysian domestic road laws blindly allow more than five people in a single vehicle. However, the laws are more stringent with commercial vehicles.
At KLIA, we were so early that no retail outlets were open and our flight wasn’t even listed on the departure screens. It’s going to be a very long day. We made our way to an island of connected seats and decided to make nest there. My sister, brother and mother took a set of seats each and slept for the next three hours. Mark and I, however, were not that adaptable and walked around, smoked at least a packet of smokes, and jumped into every store as they opened for the day (just for something to do).
An hour before our flight, we checked-in and leisurely made our way to our departure gate. With fifteen minutes before our official boarding time, the AK plane had not yet arrived. Passengers were filling in the lounge but still not plane. The day keeps getting better.
Mum started chatting with a lady sitting next to her, a first time visitor to KL. Being a local of Kuching, she gave us plenty of information about our next point of destinationre: tourist attractions to visit and those not worth a peep, good restaurants, etc. A wonderful lady who found it entertaining just listening to us whine on.
Our plane finally arrived 15 minutes late, but with the tight turnaround, we were on-board and took off within 35 minutes. This is the first true low cost carrier that I have flown. Being a Qantas frequent flyer, I rarely take the opportunity to fly Virgin Blue, but the comparison between Virgin and Air Asia is vast. The AK plane appeared rather tired, with seats that had definable battle wounds. Whereas Virgin has allocated seating, AK has free for all – indication of a true LCC.
Apart from the general ambience and aesthetics of the aircraft, I was most struck by the poor attitude of the flight attendants. Three F/A had been allocated to this flight, one in the galley and two serving on-flight sales. Personally, I found them rude, obnoxious, with general malaise only LCC (and Lufthansa) F/A seem to fall into.
It was a two hour flight and was struck by hunger pangs 40 minutes out of Kuching. Requesting sandwiches and a drink proved more difficult than I first thought. I stood up, made my way down to the serving FA and asked for their Asian sandwich pack and a coke. “Why didn’t you buy anything during our first pass?”
“Well, I wasn’t hungry then was I? I am now.” Having to explain my request to this poor sod took the hunger out of me and I told him not to worry about my order.
We landed 20 minutes behind schedule, with the group of PAX for the plane’s return to KL already waiting at the departure lounge. When the door opened, there was an almighty rush towards the exit. The five of us decided to hold back before we were trampled to death.
Kuching airport was small and antiquated, much like what Penang Airport was a decade ago. Signage and information limited to the bare essentials. Lining up at the immigration booths, proved time consuming and painful. Having already waited 20 minutes for our turn, upon reaching the immigration officer, we were asked for our arrival/departure forms. We explained that we only flew in from KL and were not from an international flight. He did not speak or explain any of the requirements to us, instead, merely pointed to a black melamine table against a far wall. Confused and exhausted, we quietly walked to the table, filled out the forms and rejoined another line.
With immigration formalities behind us, we collected our luggage from the carousels and made our way to the airport taxi stand. Once again, we got two taxis to the Hilton and asked both drivers to get us there as fast as feasibly possible. Mark and I so happened to have come across the ONLY driver on Malaysian roads who stuck to the road laws. He actually kept to his lanes, kept to the speed limit, allowed others to cut in front of him, etc. He would have been a really good driver in Australia, but not for Malaysian roads. In a country where road rules are as bent as the cops, unless you are as aggressive as the next driver, you’d be eaten alive. As a result, we got to the hotel 20 minutes after the others arrived. They weren’t incredibly impressed as they couldn’t check in…as the rooms were under my name. Opps.
This hotel paled in comparison to the Gurney Hotel. Staff were not as gracious and the concierge was definitely less knowledgeable than his counterpart in the Gurney. Our rooms were adequate, but definitely lacked the quality and shine of other Hilton establishments. The highlight of our stay at the Hilton Kuching was the exceptional waiter at the in-house bar. He proved very responsive, intuitive and courteous. He remembered us every night and would identify as by our names. On the third evening he served us our drinks just as we were seated (scotch and coke for Mark and a Heineken or Grolsch for me), without any directions from us. Brilliant.
We didn’t really do much in Kuching as we only allocated 4 days. One the third night, my sister was struck ill (couldn’t breath) in the middle of the night and am ambulance was called. Mark and I had no idea any of this had happened till my brother came up to our room and informed us that they were all heading to the hospital. The ambulance left, just as we got to the foyer. The front desk manager informed me that she sent a security guard in the ambulance and would help them with anything they needed.
Neither Mark nor I could get any sleep till we received word from the hospital. The security guard called and detailed that my sister had a very severe reaction to the poor quality of air (due to the burning from Indonesia and a volcano which erupted only three weeks before we arrived).
We took it easy that day as she was still feeling very fragile. We asked to have our checkout time extended as we wanted to spend as little time out in the open as possible. They were very accommodating with our requests and even organised a van to take us to the airport. Incidentally, not familiar with how the Malaysian health system works, but we did not have to fork out anything to pay for the ambulance. What we assumed was that the Hilton foot the bill. If so, they definitely get a sticker from me.
Our return flight with Air Asia to KL was, once again, uneventful. The plane arrived and departed on time. Service was improved dramatically on this flight. The FAs were friendlier and proved more accommodating. I was able to finally get my can of coke and Asian sandwiches. Believe it or not, but it was well worth the wait. It may have something to do with the fact that I was hungry, but the three finger sandwiches were divine.
The interior of this aircraft appeared to have been better looked after (or could have just been newer). Seats were leather and was surprisingly comfortable on my posterior. The landing was one of my smoothest landing to date. Much respect to the captain.
As the five of us were relatively close to the front of the plane this time, we all wanted to get off the plane first, instead of being almost trampled like our first AK flight.
Without any hesitation, I stood up and blocked the path so that no one else could get beyond me. This gave everyone else enough time to collect their things and flee the angry mob. Haha, reminiscent of the opening scene of Van Helsing. Yes, I won’t deny it, I can be a pr!ck sometimes.
After collecting our luggage, we made our way to the taxi stand to organise transport to the Crown Princess Hotel. While making our way to the pickup points, we were incessantly bombarded by illegal taxi drivers. Like crows to a rotting carcass. If only I had my BB.
The Crown Princess lacked the brass and polish of an international 5-star hotel but easily qualified as a superior 4-star establishment. Services, amenities and room aesthetic met all expectations, except for one. The view from my room. It would have been perfect had my room been on the other side of the hotel, facing the Petronas Towers. I guess we can’t have it all, can we?
Sheridan, the concierge, well and truly proved his merit. Not unlike the concierge from the Waldorf Towers, Sheridan exceeded all expectations. He detailed the most notable KL locations to visit, and recommended excellent restaurant and hawker stalls to tempt our taste buds (on two occasion, walked out of the hotel and helped us cross the main road and led us to the point of destination). Nothing a run of the mill concierge wouldn’t be able to handle.
On the evening before we left, I asked Sheridan to organise bus tickets for my mother, brother and sister for their return journey to Penang. The next morning, at the front desk, we were informed that Sheridan’s father had passed away that morning. As a result, he would not be in for another two days. An important note about Muslim funerals, the body has to be buried on the same day of the death. As a result, Sheridan had to make a dash from KL back to the other side of Malaysia to attend the funeral. However, before he left, he arranged the bus tickets to be delivered to mum, a free taxi to the bus station, a bunch of flowers for my sister and a fruit basket for them to enjoy on their journey!! Plus, he actually called mum’s mobile(Dad leant us a prepaid sim card which he bought the last time he was doing business in Malaysia and Singapore) just before they boarded the bus to confirm that everything was satisfactory. Simply brilliant. Above and beyond the call of duty.
While my family were heading back to Penang, Mark and I caught a taxi back to KLIA for our flight to Changi Airport, Singapore. An hour taxi ride was reduced to 40 minutes with our speed peaking at 170km. Brilliant. Not at any stage did we feel our safety was compromised. The driver and vehicle appeared to be working fully within their capability and got us to the airport almost as quick as the KL Express, but at 3/4 of the costs.
Seeking out the MAS check-in counters, we approached the mixed first and business class lanes (would have been nice to have dedicated 1st class lanes like MAS International). The check-in agent was puzzled as to why we wanted to check-in 2.5 hours before our flight. All we had to say was ‘MAS First Class Lounge’ and he quizzed us no more.
Making our way through immigration was painless as there were very few flights out of KLIA at that time of the morning. Having already used the Golden Lounge numerous times in the past, we instinctively drifted there. We were greeted at the foyer by two lovely MAS ladies. They validated our passes and waved us to the doors on our right. Another group of four were puzzled as to why they were waved to the left, while two young guys were waved to the right. “First class, darling!!” (for a one hour flight, almost seems a waste, but it wasn’t)
Not having had breakfast, we sat at the closest table to the servery. Mark ordered a latte and I had a cappuccino. Before I could cancel my order, I had a coffee with a perfect head infront of me. “Darn, I saw a jug of pink guava juice in the fridge!” Mark just laughed. He was just happy to be having a good cup of coffee after 2+ weeks.
Having assimilated into the Malaysian spirit, I piled a lovely MAS china dinner plate with nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan), ikan bilis, peanuts, chicken curry, prawn sambal, a sliver of egg and a few cucumbers. Being the pig that I am, I gulfed it down in record time and went back for a second plate, this time piled with smoked salmon, roast beef and roast turkey canapés. Mark also had a plate of nasi lemak but could only second a muffin and cheese for dessert.
We both had to use the little boy’s room so made the long journey to the other side of the lounge. This first class lounge could easily fit 100 – 150 people quite comfortably but, at the time, we were only 2 out of 4 people using the lounge. The workers outnumbered us.
We next popped into the smoking room and quite comfortably puffed away 3-4 cigarettes with a scotch for Mark and a cognac for me. It was a most trying day.
With half an hour before boarding, we decided to do a little window shopping and leisurely made our way to the gate. When we finally made it for boarding, we were greeted by an Airbus 330. In my humble opinion, one of the best looking plane in the skies. Not wanting to start a Pro-French Vs Pro-American thread here, just my opinion that the Airbus330-340 series are just very handsome looking aircrafts. However, I am also very much taken by the gentle giants 747.
Anyway, back to the report. There were two gates, A for premium passengers and B for economy. A general call was made for all passengers to start boarding. Naturally we both headed towards gate A. Before long, we were accosted by a surly agent demanding that we return to gate B. We were confused as we were under the impression that boarding had commenced, “You two boys must enter through Gate B.”
Then it finally dawned on me. “I am XX and he is XX, so we are hardly boys. Secondly, we are flying first class.”
“Show me your tickets and IC/passports.”
With not a breath of an apology, he waved us through and walked away. The interrogation and lack of sympathy really put a scar on the entire experience. If I could have been stuffed, I would have reported the treatment we received. Then again, I don’t imagine KLIA or MAS could have done anything.
Like sweet custard cleaned off a spoon, upon entering the aircraft my concerns and worries were washed away. The flight attendants were uniformly excellent in service and anticipation. Of course, I was served a pink guava juice.
Push back, taxi and take off was all on time. Upon reaching cruising altitude, the seat-belt sign familiarly pinged off and was instantly offered hot savouries. For this segment, we were served tea/coffee, a small fruit salad, meat balls, congealed meat-mass (?? Seriously had no idea what it was, tasted good though) and a spinach and cheese pie. The fare was not as oily as our initial serving on our KL – PEN flight. Once again, I had no idea what the PAX in economy were served. It would be interesting to note how their meals compared to what we were served.
Strangely, on this flight, my right eye started twitching uncontrollably and with decent felt, started to physically hurt. Very strange as I am accustomed to flying, having to partake in short-medium-long hauls for work regularly. In fact, I will be back in Singapore within a matter of months to install a new server for a client.
Landing was like any other, executed with experience and authority. A text book landing IMHO. Beautiful Singapore. How I am glad to be back again.
To be continued...
My lord, what are we to do?! We have another 6 plus hours before our flight to Kuching. Argh, could this get any worse?! We got off at the central bus station, only to find that we were the only ones left after the bus drove off. Five strangers at 3 in the morning, surrounded by alien buildings and iniquitous looking people. We crossed the road as mum and my brother had to find a toilet. While waiting, Mark and I were approached by 4 or 5 illegal taxi drivers, asking where we wanted to go. If they could only read my mind, they’d be wiser in approaching me.
After everyone returned from the toilet, we got into two taxis and made our way to KLIA. Unfortunately, having five people meant that we had to requisition two cars as opposed to one. Malaysian domestic road laws blindly allow more than five people in a single vehicle. However, the laws are more stringent with commercial vehicles.
At KLIA, we were so early that no retail outlets were open and our flight wasn’t even listed on the departure screens. It’s going to be a very long day. We made our way to an island of connected seats and decided to make nest there. My sister, brother and mother took a set of seats each and slept for the next three hours. Mark and I, however, were not that adaptable and walked around, smoked at least a packet of smokes, and jumped into every store as they opened for the day (just for something to do).
An hour before our flight, we checked-in and leisurely made our way to our departure gate. With fifteen minutes before our official boarding time, the AK plane had not yet arrived. Passengers were filling in the lounge but still not plane. The day keeps getting better.
Mum started chatting with a lady sitting next to her, a first time visitor to KL. Being a local of Kuching, she gave us plenty of information about our next point of destinationre: tourist attractions to visit and those not worth a peep, good restaurants, etc. A wonderful lady who found it entertaining just listening to us whine on.
Our plane finally arrived 15 minutes late, but with the tight turnaround, we were on-board and took off within 35 minutes. This is the first true low cost carrier that I have flown. Being a Qantas frequent flyer, I rarely take the opportunity to fly Virgin Blue, but the comparison between Virgin and Air Asia is vast. The AK plane appeared rather tired, with seats that had definable battle wounds. Whereas Virgin has allocated seating, AK has free for all – indication of a true LCC.
Apart from the general ambience and aesthetics of the aircraft, I was most struck by the poor attitude of the flight attendants. Three F/A had been allocated to this flight, one in the galley and two serving on-flight sales. Personally, I found them rude, obnoxious, with general malaise only LCC (and Lufthansa) F/A seem to fall into.
It was a two hour flight and was struck by hunger pangs 40 minutes out of Kuching. Requesting sandwiches and a drink proved more difficult than I first thought. I stood up, made my way down to the serving FA and asked for their Asian sandwich pack and a coke. “Why didn’t you buy anything during our first pass?”
“Well, I wasn’t hungry then was I? I am now.” Having to explain my request to this poor sod took the hunger out of me and I told him not to worry about my order.
We landed 20 minutes behind schedule, with the group of PAX for the plane’s return to KL already waiting at the departure lounge. When the door opened, there was an almighty rush towards the exit. The five of us decided to hold back before we were trampled to death.
Kuching airport was small and antiquated, much like what Penang Airport was a decade ago. Signage and information limited to the bare essentials. Lining up at the immigration booths, proved time consuming and painful. Having already waited 20 minutes for our turn, upon reaching the immigration officer, we were asked for our arrival/departure forms. We explained that we only flew in from KL and were not from an international flight. He did not speak or explain any of the requirements to us, instead, merely pointed to a black melamine table against a far wall. Confused and exhausted, we quietly walked to the table, filled out the forms and rejoined another line.
With immigration formalities behind us, we collected our luggage from the carousels and made our way to the airport taxi stand. Once again, we got two taxis to the Hilton and asked both drivers to get us there as fast as feasibly possible. Mark and I so happened to have come across the ONLY driver on Malaysian roads who stuck to the road laws. He actually kept to his lanes, kept to the speed limit, allowed others to cut in front of him, etc. He would have been a really good driver in Australia, but not for Malaysian roads. In a country where road rules are as bent as the cops, unless you are as aggressive as the next driver, you’d be eaten alive. As a result, we got to the hotel 20 minutes after the others arrived. They weren’t incredibly impressed as they couldn’t check in…as the rooms were under my name. Opps.
This hotel paled in comparison to the Gurney Hotel. Staff were not as gracious and the concierge was definitely less knowledgeable than his counterpart in the Gurney. Our rooms were adequate, but definitely lacked the quality and shine of other Hilton establishments. The highlight of our stay at the Hilton Kuching was the exceptional waiter at the in-house bar. He proved very responsive, intuitive and courteous. He remembered us every night and would identify as by our names. On the third evening he served us our drinks just as we were seated (scotch and coke for Mark and a Heineken or Grolsch for me), without any directions from us. Brilliant.
We didn’t really do much in Kuching as we only allocated 4 days. One the third night, my sister was struck ill (couldn’t breath) in the middle of the night and am ambulance was called. Mark and I had no idea any of this had happened till my brother came up to our room and informed us that they were all heading to the hospital. The ambulance left, just as we got to the foyer. The front desk manager informed me that she sent a security guard in the ambulance and would help them with anything they needed.
Neither Mark nor I could get any sleep till we received word from the hospital. The security guard called and detailed that my sister had a very severe reaction to the poor quality of air (due to the burning from Indonesia and a volcano which erupted only three weeks before we arrived).
We took it easy that day as she was still feeling very fragile. We asked to have our checkout time extended as we wanted to spend as little time out in the open as possible. They were very accommodating with our requests and even organised a van to take us to the airport. Incidentally, not familiar with how the Malaysian health system works, but we did not have to fork out anything to pay for the ambulance. What we assumed was that the Hilton foot the bill. If so, they definitely get a sticker from me.
Our return flight with Air Asia to KL was, once again, uneventful. The plane arrived and departed on time. Service was improved dramatically on this flight. The FAs were friendlier and proved more accommodating. I was able to finally get my can of coke and Asian sandwiches. Believe it or not, but it was well worth the wait. It may have something to do with the fact that I was hungry, but the three finger sandwiches were divine.
The interior of this aircraft appeared to have been better looked after (or could have just been newer). Seats were leather and was surprisingly comfortable on my posterior. The landing was one of my smoothest landing to date. Much respect to the captain.
As the five of us were relatively close to the front of the plane this time, we all wanted to get off the plane first, instead of being almost trampled like our first AK flight.
Without any hesitation, I stood up and blocked the path so that no one else could get beyond me. This gave everyone else enough time to collect their things and flee the angry mob. Haha, reminiscent of the opening scene of Van Helsing. Yes, I won’t deny it, I can be a pr!ck sometimes.
After collecting our luggage, we made our way to the taxi stand to organise transport to the Crown Princess Hotel. While making our way to the pickup points, we were incessantly bombarded by illegal taxi drivers. Like crows to a rotting carcass. If only I had my BB.
The Crown Princess lacked the brass and polish of an international 5-star hotel but easily qualified as a superior 4-star establishment. Services, amenities and room aesthetic met all expectations, except for one. The view from my room. It would have been perfect had my room been on the other side of the hotel, facing the Petronas Towers. I guess we can’t have it all, can we?
Sheridan, the concierge, well and truly proved his merit. Not unlike the concierge from the Waldorf Towers, Sheridan exceeded all expectations. He detailed the most notable KL locations to visit, and recommended excellent restaurant and hawker stalls to tempt our taste buds (on two occasion, walked out of the hotel and helped us cross the main road and led us to the point of destination). Nothing a run of the mill concierge wouldn’t be able to handle.
On the evening before we left, I asked Sheridan to organise bus tickets for my mother, brother and sister for their return journey to Penang. The next morning, at the front desk, we were informed that Sheridan’s father had passed away that morning. As a result, he would not be in for another two days. An important note about Muslim funerals, the body has to be buried on the same day of the death. As a result, Sheridan had to make a dash from KL back to the other side of Malaysia to attend the funeral. However, before he left, he arranged the bus tickets to be delivered to mum, a free taxi to the bus station, a bunch of flowers for my sister and a fruit basket for them to enjoy on their journey!! Plus, he actually called mum’s mobile(Dad leant us a prepaid sim card which he bought the last time he was doing business in Malaysia and Singapore) just before they boarded the bus to confirm that everything was satisfactory. Simply brilliant. Above and beyond the call of duty.
While my family were heading back to Penang, Mark and I caught a taxi back to KLIA for our flight to Changi Airport, Singapore. An hour taxi ride was reduced to 40 minutes with our speed peaking at 170km. Brilliant. Not at any stage did we feel our safety was compromised. The driver and vehicle appeared to be working fully within their capability and got us to the airport almost as quick as the KL Express, but at 3/4 of the costs.
Seeking out the MAS check-in counters, we approached the mixed first and business class lanes (would have been nice to have dedicated 1st class lanes like MAS International). The check-in agent was puzzled as to why we wanted to check-in 2.5 hours before our flight. All we had to say was ‘MAS First Class Lounge’ and he quizzed us no more.
Making our way through immigration was painless as there were very few flights out of KLIA at that time of the morning. Having already used the Golden Lounge numerous times in the past, we instinctively drifted there. We were greeted at the foyer by two lovely MAS ladies. They validated our passes and waved us to the doors on our right. Another group of four were puzzled as to why they were waved to the left, while two young guys were waved to the right. “First class, darling!!” (for a one hour flight, almost seems a waste, but it wasn’t)
Not having had breakfast, we sat at the closest table to the servery. Mark ordered a latte and I had a cappuccino. Before I could cancel my order, I had a coffee with a perfect head infront of me. “Darn, I saw a jug of pink guava juice in the fridge!” Mark just laughed. He was just happy to be having a good cup of coffee after 2+ weeks.
Having assimilated into the Malaysian spirit, I piled a lovely MAS china dinner plate with nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan), ikan bilis, peanuts, chicken curry, prawn sambal, a sliver of egg and a few cucumbers. Being the pig that I am, I gulfed it down in record time and went back for a second plate, this time piled with smoked salmon, roast beef and roast turkey canapés. Mark also had a plate of nasi lemak but could only second a muffin and cheese for dessert.
We both had to use the little boy’s room so made the long journey to the other side of the lounge. This first class lounge could easily fit 100 – 150 people quite comfortably but, at the time, we were only 2 out of 4 people using the lounge. The workers outnumbered us.
We next popped into the smoking room and quite comfortably puffed away 3-4 cigarettes with a scotch for Mark and a cognac for me. It was a most trying day.
With half an hour before boarding, we decided to do a little window shopping and leisurely made our way to the gate. When we finally made it for boarding, we were greeted by an Airbus 330. In my humble opinion, one of the best looking plane in the skies. Not wanting to start a Pro-French Vs Pro-American thread here, just my opinion that the Airbus330-340 series are just very handsome looking aircrafts. However, I am also very much taken by the gentle giants 747.
Anyway, back to the report. There were two gates, A for premium passengers and B for economy. A general call was made for all passengers to start boarding. Naturally we both headed towards gate A. Before long, we were accosted by a surly agent demanding that we return to gate B. We were confused as we were under the impression that boarding had commenced, “You two boys must enter through Gate B.”
Then it finally dawned on me. “I am XX and he is XX, so we are hardly boys. Secondly, we are flying first class.”
“Show me your tickets and IC/passports.”
With not a breath of an apology, he waved us through and walked away. The interrogation and lack of sympathy really put a scar on the entire experience. If I could have been stuffed, I would have reported the treatment we received. Then again, I don’t imagine KLIA or MAS could have done anything.
Like sweet custard cleaned off a spoon, upon entering the aircraft my concerns and worries were washed away. The flight attendants were uniformly excellent in service and anticipation. Of course, I was served a pink guava juice.
Push back, taxi and take off was all on time. Upon reaching cruising altitude, the seat-belt sign familiarly pinged off and was instantly offered hot savouries. For this segment, we were served tea/coffee, a small fruit salad, meat balls, congealed meat-mass (?? Seriously had no idea what it was, tasted good though) and a spinach and cheese pie. The fare was not as oily as our initial serving on our KL – PEN flight. Once again, I had no idea what the PAX in economy were served. It would be interesting to note how their meals compared to what we were served.
Strangely, on this flight, my right eye started twitching uncontrollably and with decent felt, started to physically hurt. Very strange as I am accustomed to flying, having to partake in short-medium-long hauls for work regularly. In fact, I will be back in Singapore within a matter of months to install a new server for a client.
Landing was like any other, executed with experience and authority. A text book landing IMHO. Beautiful Singapore. How I am glad to be back again.
To be continued...
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