airport

The Terminal

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Greetings from the Land Below The Clouds! I’m in KKIA (Kota Kinabalu International Airport) right now, doing a Tom Hanks. smirk

kkia

I’m just staying here for the day though unlike the unfortunate protagonist in the movie. Anyway, I’ve been wondering around the airport and discovered an interesting thing. You CAN buy duty free goods despite flying domestic but it’s limited to perfumes only.

There are plenty of duty free stuff to buy over here.

Stuff for me

alcohol

A variety of ethanol based beverages including the new Absolut Acai Berry. It has replaced the Flavors of the Tropics Travellers Edition as their latest version. I was like a kid in a candy store. I like checking out the higher end single malts that I know I cannot afford. One can drool though. :p

Stuff for the kids

chocolates

Chocolates galore! It’s much cheaper than what you would get from retail prices. There’s large range to choose from. Actually it’s not just for kids, a lot of adults enjoy chocolates too. Except Aud.

Stuff for people who need therapy

perfumes

Britney Spears? Geddit? Okay, sounded a bit lame over there. :p

ck miniatures

Actually, they have a wide range of perfumes, and I got a CK miniatures collectible perfume.

Stuff for me again!

liquor chocolates

No prizes for guessing what kind of chocolates I like. Heh!

In addition to duty free, there are a lot of other items you can get like jewelry.

couple rings

This woman was trying to get me to buy a couple ring. She offered me 70% off the price tag which is a very, very good deal…

…except I don’t have a girlfriend. Heh!

888

I was quite tempted to get this RM 888 bracelet though…you know, since the proprietor was kind enough to slash off the price and I might need it as a gift to me future girlfriend. smirk

jewelry

Okay, I’m off to get a massage right now.

Hmm…that doesn’t sound right. Future girlfriend segueing into a massage…

Let me clarify – it’s a foot massage! Foot reflexology so I can…er, learn techniques to get brownie points with the other half. smirk

KLIA Golden Lounge Domestic review

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gc klia domestic

I took a Business Class flight on my plane back to Kuching from KL and managed to enjoy the fine facilities the KLIA Domestic Golden Lounge has to offer. There are two Golden Lounges at KLIA – the more discerning International one and the Domestic one.

gc klia ticket

The Domestic Golden Lounge is meant for domestic flights like KL->KCH and access is validated through the boarding pass at the main reception area of the Golden Lounge which is manned by a MAS airlines staff.

gc klia lounge

The interior of the Domestic Golden Lounge is full of boring business types (myself excluded ;)) reading the papers and other journals that this Golden Club class lounge provides. There is also a TV tuned into CNN.

gc klia food area

The best thing about the KLIA Golden Lounge (and other Golden Lounges) is the food. Everything is free inside the Golden Lounge from the OJ that you drink to the TP that you wipe your ass with. Perhaps that’s not quite subtle imagery, but you get what I mean.

gc klia bread

There are endless supplies (the staff refills them) of sandwiches, baguettes and pastries of any denomination you can think of.

gc klia buffet

There are toasters and bread with deli cuts for denominations you can’t think about. There is also a small buffet area of cooked food down the end of the photo.

gc klia drinks

The drinks are free as well and there is orange juice, milk and a selection of canned beverages.

gc klia plate

I helped myself to the free food…

gc klia food

…and went for seconds.

gc klia flight menu

I ate again on the plane and I like it how they trust you with proper porcelain and cutlery at 35,000 feet when you’re riding Business Class/Golden Club Class.

gc klia flight menu open

I think I rather approve. 😉

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The Kuching International Airport (KIA) Smoking Room

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kia sibu plane

I’m stuck at the Kuching International Airport while my 5:30 pm flight back to Sibu is being retimed to 6:05 pm. It’s like a cascading effect, once one flight gets delayed, the others get retimed and I would hate to think that this is another reoccurrence of one of those gnarly 9 hour constant re-times that MAS is fond of doing as of late [sixthseal.com]. I’m on a business class ticket and the worst thing is the business class lounge is UNDER RENOVATION so I lack the privileges my premium ticket affords me, leaving me no choice but to sit here with the rest of the sardine class proletariats. 😉

I’m kidding…

Anyway, I’m on a lot of opiate agonists now and also a (too) liberal dose of benzodiazepines and I think I took too much alprazolam (Xanax) and midazolam (Dormicum) coz I’m seriously nodding off now…

kia smoking room sign

…and I need a smoke. Where the fuck is the smoking lounge?

kia smoking room door

Found it…

kia smoking room

…just to discover that it’s just a small room with just ONE ashtray. Sheesh…

Oh well, at least the ventilation is good, unlike KLIA.

I read a blurb in the papers (NST p.21) – some feedback “Letter to the Editor” column about “Malaysian Lab Rats” addressing the recent announcement that Malaysia is keen on pharmaceutical companies conducting trials here due to the racial diversity that we’re blessed with for more accurate cross-culture data.

kia nst column

The person who wrote in wasn’t too keen about it, something about “using Malaysians as lab rats”. Hey buddy, speak for yourself…some of us would love to get into those pharmaceutical clinical trials. I’ll run to get the nearest pen and sign the liability waiver for any potential side effects and you don’t even have to pay me for my time.

I wouldn’t mind being one of the the first people in the world to check out the latest benzodiazepine or opioid during the clinical trial stage before it even applies for FDA approval and patents and way before the potential pharmaceutical hits the commercial market. It might never even get that far and I’ll be one of the first to experience a research only substance.

Hell, I’ll give an arm and leg to get into the trials.

Anyway, I’ll be in Sibu for the long Labor Day holiday…

Have a great Labor Day weekend, everyone! =D

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Kuching International Airport upgrade

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kuching international airport new

Kuching International Airport (affectionately dubbed KIA coz flights gets delayed all the time) has just upgraded the upper concourse so all departures have been diverted to the second (third?) floor check in counters. It looks remarkably similar to KLIA…

kuching international airport customs

The Customs checkpoint has also received a hefty upgrade, with more personnel and detector wands and scanners that can actually SEE through the tangle of cables in your notebook carrying case and isolate the prescription medication that you have a legitimate script for. The previous old X-ray machines didn’t have the resolution (or penetration) to see through the Cables of Obscurity (Wearer gains +6 in concealing stuff).

kuching international airport boarding

The similarities between Kuching International Airport and KLIA ends at the boarding gates – Kuching International Airport has merchandise counters inside the boarding gates.

Capitalism at it’s very best! 😉

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Planes (no trains) and automobiles

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Here’s a quick summary of today before I promptly fall asleep. I
shall do a proper post and reply all comments tomorrow, for I fear that
I’m too sedated to do that now.

kch checkin ld

I checked in at Kuching airport. The place was uncharacteristically full.

airport air mata kuching

I figured it would be appropriate to quench my thirst with a cup of Air Mata Kuching before boarding.

fokker 50

The plane was a Fokker 50. It’s one of them relics that do short
haul flights and pack you like sardines. It has been dubbed the Fucker
50 due to this unfortunate seating arrangements, though I don’t use
that term myself. It was related to me when I flew to Penang with some
other classmates and a teacher when I was 12 for a national quiz.

ld air shot

There were twisty artsy (fartsy) designs when the plane was in the
air. Nothing new, was just perfecting the shot to get an optimal one
depicting Rejang River and the outlet to the sea. Yes, I do this every
time I fly.

ld welcome sibu

I arrived at Sibu, picked up my gf, dropped in to check on my
pharmacy friend, acquired some lormetazepam (not lorazepam, this one is
different), ate some of them, drank beer and had dinner with gf, and
now I fear that the hypnotic properties of lormetazepam (Noctamid) has
been potentiated with some red wine from a Chinese New Year hamper I
found in the store (which automagically makes it mine, since I’m the
only drinker in the family and no one else would drink it anyway).

I’m afraid I shall have to continue this tomorrow. Good night, dear
readers, sleep tight, and don’t let the bed bugs bite. Oh, and roll to
your side, just to be safe.

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