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Sarawak, Brunei,
Sabah,
Kelantan and Terengganu
Part 4
22-
23.8: Munich -> KL
24.8: KL -> Kuching
25.8: Kuching
26.8: Kuching
-> Bako NP
27.8: Bako ->
Kuching -> Miri
28.8: Miri ->
Mulu NP
29.8: Mulu NP
-> Miri
30.8: Miri ->
Belaga
31.8: Belaga
-> Sibu -> Miri
1.9: Miri ->
Bario
2.9: Bario
3.9: Bario ->
Brunei
4.9:
Brunei -> Mt Kinabalu NP
5.9: Park HQ
-> Laban Rata
6.9: Laban Rata
-> Mt Kinabalu -> Kota Kinabalu
7.9: Kota Kinabalu
-> Kota Belud -> Kota Bharu
8.9: Kota Bharu
-> Perhentian
9.9: Perhentian
island
10.9: Perhentian
island
11.9: Perhentian
-> Redang
12.9: Redang
-> Kuala Terengganu -> KL
13.9: KL ->
Ayutthaya
14.9: Ayutthaya
-> Munich
Continues
from Part 3
5.9: Mt
Kinabalu NP HQ -> Laban
Rata resthouse (3300 m)
Accomodation:
heated bed in 10-bed room in Laban Rata resthouse, shared (hot) showers
and bathrooms, RM 32.60
Weather: sunny
in the morning, then there is a mix of blue sky and clouds; weather
improves
towards the evening; night with stars
I'm ready with my bags in the Mt
Kinabalu NP HQ at about 10:15am. By chance I run into a group of
(young)
people who also will do the climb. We agree to share the guide. This
brings
down the cost of guide and transportation to RM 14 per person (70 RM
for
the guide + 40 RM for the minibus to the Timpohon gate divided by
eight).
At the Timpohon gate there is a first
checkpoint (we are all wearing ID-badges with our names around the
neck),
where our names are checked with a list. The climb starts then at
11:10am.
The group (five guys, three ladies) is quite fast, with the first
climber
reaching the Laban Rata resthouse after three hours and the last after
4:20 hours. I reach the resthouse after 3:40 minutes. After that I have
three meals (noodle soup, fried rice) in the resthouse restaurant. Food
here is relatively expensive, as everything is carried up on the back
of
porters.
In the evening there is a wonderful
sunset and the weather improves even further. I go sleeping at 8pm
planning
to get up at 3:40 am the next day and start the climb at 4am (I'm
planning
to reach the summit a bit after 6am - last time I did the climb the
sunrise
happened at about 6:30am). This way I won't arrive too early on the
summit
and be stuck freezing in the darkness.
6.9: Laban
Rata resthouse (3300 m) -> Mt Kinabalu
(4100m) -> Kinabalu
NP HQ
-> Kota
Kinabalu (KK)
Ruby hotel,
KK, 70 RM for a room with A/C, bath + hot shower, TV, telephone,
fridge;
I first check in at the Kinabalu hotel (KK) but check out half an hour
later when it turns out that the telephone is not direct dial
(impossible
to download the emails with the computer)
Weather: great
sunrise, spotless blue sky on the Mt Kinabalu summit in the morning;
sunny
with almost no clouds the whole day
GSM coverage:
in Kota Kinabalu coverage by Celcom, Maxis, Digi and TMTouch
I'm woken up at 2am by the other
climbers who get up and prepare for the climb. I continue lying in the
bed until 3:40am then get ready and finally start the climb at 4:05am.
On the way to the summit I run into several members of our climbing
group
- everybody is more or less on his own, with the exception of the three
girls who climb together with our guide. There is a second checkpoint
at
the Sayat-Sayat hut where our names and group-Id are noted down. Looks
like they want to make sure that only those who have payed the RM 100
climbing
fee make the climb. I reach the Km 8 table at 5:37am - surprisingly
early.
Since it's still dark and I don't want to freeze on the summit waiting
for the sunrise I slow down a bit. I reach the summit at 6:05am - two
hours
after I started. At the same time the sun rises - earlier than in my
previous
climbs. Perhaps in August the sun rises earlier in Malaysia.
There is a HUGE crowd on the summit.
People are queueing up to take photos. Later I'm being told that there
was also a huge crowd at 3am, when the majority of the climbers
started.
People queueing up along the path to the summit. By the way, a freezing
wind is blowing. I didn't experience that last time.
I stay on the summit until 7 something
am, then go down and am back at the Laban Rata resthouse at 8:15am. I'm
very tired by the way. After a breakfast I pack my things and leave the
resthouse a bit after 9am. Going down turns out to be even more
difficult
than going up, as my leg muscles aren't trained at all. In any case I
manage
to be down at the Timpohon gate at 11:45am. Brian, the Speedy Gonzales
and fitness freak of our team, rushed down from the resthouse to the
Timpohon
gate in 1:50h.
I then get back by bus to the Kinabalu
park HQ, where I have some lunch. After packing my things, at 1:30pm I
walk to the road and wait for a bus or minibus to KK. After one hour
finally
a minibus picks me and two other people up. We arrive in KK before 4pm.
Then I look for a hotel (see above), download my 500 emails and have
dinner.
7.9: Kota
Kinabalu -> Kota Belud
-> Tunku
Abdul Rahman NP -> Kota
Bharu
Hotel: I check
out of the Ruby hotel at 5pm and they charge me another full night for
that (!). The guy at the reception refused to give me a half day
rate.
In Kota Bharu:
Star Hotel; budget hotel, 45 RM for a room with A/C, bath, TV, cold
shower.
Weather: sunny
the whole day with some small clouds and a very thin high altitude
clouds
layer
GSM coverage:
Kota Kinabalu see above, Kota Bharu: TMTouch (and the other networks
also)
I manage to get up at 7:15am and
leave the hotel at 8am, heading towards the minibus station. After
checking
the buses it turns out that there are no buses leaving for Kota Belud
and
there is just a minibus, which however leaves at 10am, according to the
driver. So I look for a taxi and after some price negotiations (we
agree
on RM 70) we leave for Kota Belud at 8:25am. It takes 1:10h to reach
the
market in Kota Belud. Along the road to Kota Belud there are some rice
paddies.
According to the Lonely Planet the
Sunday market in Kota Belud is a very special event with people from
all
over Sabah meeting for trading goods. And in fact the market is nice
and
interesting, but not that special - at least not for somebody who has
already
seen plenty of markets in Malaysia. The Bajau horsemen are missing.
There
is some horse shit every now and then, so I'd guess that by the time I
arrived (9:35am) the show must have already finished. In any case
nobody
knows anything about Bajaus and horses.
After about one hour I go back or
let's say start looking for a way to get back to KK. The trouble is
that
of all minibuses present at the market none is going to KK (!).
Somebody
tells me I have to go into Kota Belud city and fetch a minibus there.
So
I walk into town (already very hot at 11am) and manage to find a
minibus.
We leave at 11:05am and reach KK at 12:20pm. The ride costs only RM 5.
Surprisingly there is also a Sunday
market in KK (could I have stayed in KK and saved myself a lot of time
?). After lunch I walk a bit around KK and take some photos. Then I go
to the waterfront and look for a boat to show me around the islands of
the Tunku Abdul Rahman NP. I find a boat and negotiate a price of RM
100
for a trip to four islands (about one hour). When we leave at 1:45pm,
the
sea is a bit rough. The islands have nice beaches, with almost white
sand
and crystal clear water. We are back in KK at 3:15pm.
In a KFC restaurant I cool down a
bit after over an hour in the strong sun and have a snack. Then I go
back
to the hotel, download my emails, take a shower and pack my things. At
5:15pm I take a taxi (RM 15) to
the airport. After checking in I enquire at the MAS office about
changing
the booking of my flight from Kuala Terengganu to KL on Friday (I'd
like
to get back to KL earlier). Seems like all flights from Kuala
Terengganu
to KL on Thursday and Friday are fully booked. Then I go to the
departure
gate.
The flight from KK to KL is not that
great. I'm cramped in a tiny seat in the last row of the plane. Next to
me a very smelly Indian guy who eats with the open mouth making noises
and after that cleans his nose with his fingers.
All of a sudden a flash fires. Surprise,
surprise, the lady in the other row just took a photo of me. Yesterday,
while I was waiting in front of the Kinabalu park HQ for the bus, four
locals took a photo of me (with them next to me). It's kind of funny -
I take photos of locals and locals take photos of me.
When we arrive to KLIA airport I
have to go again through immigration. Compare that with the EU, where
in
the seven countries of the Schengen zone there are no border controls,
while within Malaysia there are. At 10:30pm the flight to Kota Bharu
(KB) takes off. We arrive at 11:20pm. The taxi into town is RM 17. In
Kota
Bharu it is again difficult to find a hotel. The school holidays
started
and many hotels are fully booked. After some searching I find a room in
the Star hotel.
8.9: Kota Bharu (KB)
-> Perhentian
island
Coco Huts,
Perhentian Besar island, RM 60 for a bungalow with A/C, fan, bath with
cold shower, not much else, but very nice (on the beach); two
cockroaches
in the room
Weather: partly
sunny, partly overcast in KB in the morning, quite hot; overcast in
Perhentian
GSM coverage:
TMTouch in Kota Bharu (as well as the other major GSM networks);
coverage
with TMTouch on the road KB - Kuala Besut and on the beach in
Perhentian
Besar; also coverage with Maxis; Celcom appears on the screen, but I
cannot
connect through it.
In the morning I wake up at 8 something
am, still tired of the Mt Kinabalu climb. I still have difficulties
walking.
I manage to get out of the hotel at 10:30am and walk into KB downtown.
Kota Bharu is the capital of Kelantan, which together with Terengganu,
is the most islamic of the Malaysian states. You notice it on the
streets,
as almost all women follow the Islamic dress code and many men have a
beard.
I have some lunch in an AW restaurant,
then walk to the taxi station. An A/C taxi to Kuala Besut is 35 RM
(without
A/C 28 RM). At 11:50am I drive back to the Star hotel with a taxi (huge
traffic jam - it takes us 25 minutes to reach the hotel). After getting
my bags and checking
out of the hotel, we drive to Kuala Besut. It should take only one hour
to get to Kuala Besut, but because on this Monday morning there is so
much
traffic in Kota Bharu we only reach the jetty in Kuala Besut at
1:30pm.
The speedboat to Perhentian (30 min.)
costs 60RM (return ticket) and leaves at 2:30pm. From Perhentian the
speedboat
leaves at 8am, 12pm and 4pm. The slow boat takes about 1:30h and costs
40 RM (return ticket). From the office of the Perhentian Pelangi travel
agency (where I bought the boat ticket) I make a booking to Coco Huts
(I
chose it from a list of places they gave me in the Pelangi travel
agency
according to location and price).
After a 30 minutes very bumpy boat
ride (luckily the harddisk of my notebook survives) we reach
Perhentian.
There is now kind of a floating jetty on Perhentian Besar island, so
that
you don't have to walk into the water to reach the beach anymore.
All in all it looks like the beach
facing Perhentian Kecil where I'm staying has undergone some
development
since last time I've been there (in 2000). IBI's no longer exists and
at
its place there is now a new resort called Tuna Bay with good A/C
bungalows
for RM 160-250. There is now an imposing - and completely useless and
out
of place - building called "Perhentian marine park administrative
centre".
Luckily it's hidden behind the palm trees and doesn't disturb too much.
There is a board saying "... all visitors engaging in activities in the
marine park must pay a RM 5 fee...". How funny - pay where ?
I take a bungalow at Coco huts for
RM 60/night (see above). After settling down I have a walk on the
beach.
Cozy chalets is now abandoned - a pity, as its bungalows were in a very
good location. There are several boats on the beach, suggesting that
Perhentian
is now more commercialised. Surprisingly there are very few foreign
tourists
(the rooms of Coco huts are almost all empty). There are several
Malaysian
tourists however, probably because of the school holiday week (7-14
September).
The sea water seems a bit less clean
than last time. When I walk into the sea for a swim I am greated by a
swarm
of small tiger fish who like Piranhas start biting my legs checking if
there is something eatable. It nerves a bit, but it is also cool to be
among exotic fish. The coral is very close to the beach, making
swimming
difficult. Lots of coral pieces lie on the northern part of the beach -
probably this coral has been destroyed in the past years.
I'll probably stay on Perhentian
for three or four nights and visit Redang and Lang Tengah as a day trip
by boat (the boat should cost RM 200 and in any case less than RM 300
according
to the Coco Huts manager). I'll skip Kenyir lake.
In the evening I call Shirley. She
tells me that... she is pregnant. Now this is GREAT news! It will be
our
first baby (we got married last year).
9.9: Perhentian
island
Coco Huts
(see above). In the meantime I found another cockroach in the room.
Weather: sunny,
blue sky with a few clouds in the morning and until about 3pm; very
heavy
shower at 3pm lasting about 20 minutes; lighter (brief) shower
afterwards
and rain again in the evening
GSM coverage:
see above; coverage only on the beach facing the mainland
I basically spend the whole day not
doing much. I get up at about 10 something am and have some kind of
late
breakfast/lunch. Then I shoot some photos of the beach and after that I
walk along the coast to the north, towards the Coral View resort. The
nice
tall palm trees which were lining the beach three years ago are now all
gone. It looks like the monsoon grabbed them away in one of the
previous
winters. A few palm trees have survived and are growing upwards again.
At the Coral View resort (rooms for
RM 150 - 280) I have a late lunch at 2:20 pm. Then at about 3pm, when
I'd
like to take a boat to Long Beach on Perhentian Kecil (the smaller of
the
two Perhentians), the sky suddenly gets very dark and it starts raining
like hell for about 20 minutes. Since the sky is still heavily clouded
after that, I realise that basically the day is gone and walk back to
the
Coco Huts.
I spend the rest of the day swimming
in the sea, editing my photos and just hanging around. In the evening
the
receptionist tells me that no boatsman is willing to do the trip to
Redang.
I'll probably go by boat to Kuala Besut on Thursday and from there
fetch
a taxi to Merang and then another boat to Redang.
10.9: Perhentian
island
Coco Huts.
Tomorrow I'm moving out of here - tired of sharing the room with the
cockroaches.
Weather: sunny,
blue sky with a few clouds in the morning; more or less overcast in the
afternoon but still no rain; in the evening at 6:45pm, very sudden,
extremely
heavy rain which lasts for about 20 minutes
GSM coverage:
as above; on Long Beach (Perhentian Kecil) no network; but on the side
of P. Kecil facing the mainland there is coverage - as in 2000.
Day spent not doing much, just walking
around the Perhentian Besar and Kecil islands. I get up around 10am and
after a late breakfast I start my day at 11 something am. I walk along
the beach towards south, shooting a picture every now and then. Later,
when looking at the photos on the computer, the pictures look like in
those
commercials where they show the perfect tropical island. A perfectly
blue
sky with crystal clear sea water, perfectly green palm trees, wonderful
colours etc. The camera makes this island look even better than it is.
Or perhaps Perhentian is really that great - and indeed it's Malaysia's
most beautiful island, light years ahead of anything you can find on
the
west coast.
I walk towards Flora bay. At one
point it gets impossible to continue along the beach as rocks block the
way. There is a small jungle path which leads to Flora bay. It takes
about
25 minutes to get to Flora bay, walking across the hot, steamy jungle.
Flora bay has a relatively long, white sand beach. There are four or
five
resorts. It is easier swimming here as there are no corals near the
beach.
The sea water is a bit less clear here, probably because the bay
hinders
the water exchange (the beach of Coco Huts faces Perhentian Kecil and
in
the channel between the two islands there is a moderate current, which
kind of flushes away all dirt).
After half an hour in Flora bay I
take a taxi boat to Long Beach at 1:35pm (RM 13). Long Beach, as the
name
says it, is a quite long white sand beach. The sand here is really
white-greyish,
while the sand on the Coco Huts beach is slightly yellowish. It's a
nice
beach, but unfortunately overdeveloped and there are too many boats.
This
beach was more quiet three years ago.
I have some lunch and then start
walking across the path which crosses Perhentian Kecil and connects
Long
Beach with the beach on the opposite side of the island. At one point
there
is a monitor lizard blocking my way. He is probably heating up in the
sun
and refuses to run away, no matter how close I get. I take several
photos,
including a macro shot of the head (!). Finally the monitor lizard has
got enough of so much attention and moves away.
The beach on the opposite side of
Perhentian Kecil, well... sucks. The sand is yellowish and there is a
strong
smell of rotting stuff (rotten eggs smell). I then go back to Long
Beach
and at 4pm I take a boat back to Coco Huts. The rest of the day is
spent
not doing much - swimming in the sea, having a first look at the
pictures
I shot, having dinner etc. By the way, my body is red like a tomato. I
probably was exposed too long to the sun today. I'll have to avoid the
sun tomorrow.
Tomorrow I'm taking the boat to Kuala
Besut at 12pm. Then I'm taking a taxi to Merang and from there a boat
to
Redang. Will have a look at the island.
11.9: Perhentian -> Kuala Besut
-> Merang -> Redang
Ayu Mayang
Resort, Redang, Pasir Panjang Besar beach, RM 180 for a smallish double
room (A/C, two beds with warm blankets, bath + hot shower; breakfast
included)
in a resort on a large beach: The room is kind of decent but overpriced
at RM 180. The toilet needs to be repaired. Again I find cockroaches -
this time in the toilet. Good restaurant (but not cheap).
Weather: overcast
the whole day, no rain, not so hot. In the evening the clouds cover
opens
and some blue sky appers. Heavy showers at 11:30pm (just started while
I'm writing this).
GSM coverage:
very weak signal of Maxis and Celcom on Pasir Panjang beach; TMTouch
coverage
on the part of the island facing the mainland
In the morning I get up before 10am
and am ready with my things packed at 11am. After a brunch at 11am, I
wait
for the speedboat. This arrives at 12:20pm and reaches Kuala Besut half
an hour later.
I check my email in the office of
the Perhentian Pelangi travel agency (where I bought the boat ticket to
Perhentian). Then I fetch a taxi (A/C, RM 60) to the jetty in Merang.
By
the time we reach the jetty, 1:20 hours later, it's 2:45pm, too late
for
the last boat which left at 2pm. The only option is to charter a boat.
The boatsman asks for RM 250 (one way), explaining that a ticket to
Redang
costs RM 40 and a boat usually leaves full. Some discussion, I explain
that RM 250 is way too expensive. In the end we settle on RM 100 (one
way).
The sea today is surprisingly calm
- very few waves and the ride is relatively smooth (compared to the
very
bumpy boat ride from Kuala Besut to Perhentian). We first go to kind of
a harbour
in Redang and I wonder if this is Redang. Where are the beautiful
beaches
? But it turns out that the boatsman just wants to bring home his
friend
who is also on the boat. After we continue the boat trip and -
voilà
- the wonderful beach appears. Actually we pass a series of smaller
beaches,
all quite nice, on the eastern side of Redang, and finally land on a
long
and large beach of white coral sand called Pasir Panjang Besar. It's
3:45pm
and the boat ride took almost one hour, including the stops.
Pasir Panjang is a beautiful beach,
split in two lagoons. There are several resorts, many boats and many
tourists.
Most tourists here are Asian (probably almost all Malaysian). Finally I
have found out where all Malaysians have gone for the school holidays.
It's interesting to note that the Lonely Planet I have (Ed. '99) only
has
one page about Redang, while it as several pages about
Perhentian.
It appears to me that Redang has
more to offer than Perhentian: nowhere in Perhentian is there a beach
nice
as Pasir Panjang (even Long Beach is not as nice) and there is a huge
number
is small islands and rocks near Redang, making it an ideal destination
for divers. On the other hand, Perhentian is less developed and more
wild,
while Redang is more upmarket, expensive and has higher class resorts.
I think Shirley would like Redang. A pity I haven't been here
before.
There is a resort, the Laguna Redang
Island, which looks quite elegant and endowed with several facilities
(including
a pool). They have all-inclusive 3 days/2 nights packages priced quite
attractively, considering what they offer.
After exploring the area I swim in
the sea. Near the rocks there is some small jelly fish. In the evening
I have a dinner in the Ayu Mayang resort where I'm staying. The nice
atmosphere
and very good food make up for the mediocre room. A feeling like being
in Sanur in Bali.
12.9: Redang -> Kuala Terengganu
-> Kuala Lumpur (KL)
Concorde Hotel,
KL, 140 RM for a double room with A/C, bath and all extras; at night I
freeze as the A/C is too cold and the blankets are too thin
Weather: sunny
& hot with clouds layer in the morning; thick cloud layer in the
afternoon
and rain in Kuala Terengganu at 4pm
GSM coverage:
for Redang see above; all major networks in Kuala Terengganu and KL
After getting up at 9:20am and having
a breakfast at 10am I pack my things. At 11am I start a walk around the
beach which now is less crowded than yesterday. The island now looks a
bit less impressive than yesterday - the Pasir Panjang beach is still
beautiful,
but overall it's a bit too developed. I'm kind of missing the wild
beauty
of Perhentian.
Almost all tourists are Asian, only
very few western. In fact it's surprising to meet Asian people on a
beach,
as (fair-skinned) Asians such as Chinese and Japanese for instance are
very concerned to keep their skin fair and avoid the sun. The Asian
ideal
of beauty is a fair skin.
At 12:15pm I check out of the room
and have lunch in the resort restaurant. I then edit my photos until
about
2pm, when the ferry to Merang is leaving. There will be a taxi waiting
for me in Merang. The boat to Merang is almost totally filled with
(Malaysian?)
Chinese tourists - I'm the only western tourist.
The boat leaves the beach at 2:15pm
and takes only 30 minutes to reach Merang. After some waiting the taxi
arrives and at 3pm we leave for Kuala Terengganu. Since in fact there
is
not too much time left to see Kuala Terengganu I ask the driver to stop
at the airport, which is on the way. I'm planning to check in my
luggage
so that I have more time in Kuala Terengganu. Unfortunately it's only
3:40pm
and the check-in counter won't open before 4pm - and the taxi outside
is
waiting. So I simply leave the luggage at the information counter (the
bag and the ticket - I ask a guy to check in the luggage for me). Then
I leave with the taxi and about 15 minutes later we are in Kuala
Terengganu
at the Zaidin mosque.
The town is pretty much deserted,
as it's Friday, the Muslim prayer day, and many shops are closed and
very
few people are on the streets. To top it all it soon starts raining
quite
heavily. Luckily, smart me, I brought the umbrella with me and my small
backpack has an integrated raincover. In any case there isn't too much
to see in Kuala Terengganu - and I can't find the market anyway. I get
some take away food at a KFC restaurant and am then in a taxi at
4:50pm,
on the way back to the airport (RM 20 for the taxi).
The 17:55 MAS flight to KL is pretty
much under Japanese control, as a selection of pupils of the Japanese
school
in KL is onboard - 105 Japanese children to be precise. They are on
their
way back to KL from a three days/two nights trip to Kota Bharu, Lake
Kenyir
and Kuala Terengganu. The flight lands around 6:40pm in
KLIA and very speedily I manage to get my luggage and proceed to the
exit.
I take the 7pm KLIA express to KL. In the evening I have a dinner with
Shirley, her sister Sara and her mom in Chinatown (and have to drag all
of them there, as they don't want to go to such a touristy place).
13.9:
KL -> Bangkok Airport -> Ayutthaya
Krungsri River
Hotel, Ayutthaya (Thailand), 1760 Baht for a nice double roomm in a
elegant
hotel on the river
Weather: sunny
in KL in the early morning, then overcast the whole day; almost no rain
GSM coverage:
all major networks in KL
I wake up at 8:20am. Didn't sleep
well last night as the room was far too cold and the blankets too thin.
So I just stay in bed until 9:30am, then manage to get ready for
breakfast
at 10:15am. Shirley has already had breakfast and is going to see a
doctor
this morning. I take a taxi to the Citibank in
Jalan Ampang and get some cash. Then, with the same taxi I drive back
to
the hotel (actually I get out at the Monorail station next to the
hotel).
The Monorail, whose construction began several years ago and was
interrupted
for a couple of years, has been completed last year and finally started
operating this year on September 1st. It is currently open only between
10am and 3pm. The ticket price is RM 1. The trains run approx. every 10
minutes. When I get into the monorail (at noon) is jam packed with
people.
At the Bukit Bintang station
I get out and go to the Sungei Wang shopping complex. There I make my
way to the
consumer electronics / IT section. I find nothing too interesting -
just
some tablet PCs and some desknotes (mix between desktop PC and notebook
computer). I buy some CDs in a shop and then have lunch at the Japanese
Teppanyaki restaurant. Then I go to Kimarie's for a haircut.
When I get out again of the shopping
complex it's already 3:30pm. I go to the Delifrance in the Lot 10
shopping
complex and have some food. At 4pm I take a taxi back to the Concorde
hotel.
Time to say good-bye to Sara and Shirley's mom. After checking my email
I pack my things - we'll check in our luggage until Munich and spend
the
night in a hotel in Thailand. Shirley bought a stylish, huge suitcase
after
I told her that her old ones were not nice. No idea if we'll be above
the
weight limit.
At 6pm we check out. Checking out
and organising a taxi takes us 20 minutes. We reach KL International
Airport
at 7:15pm. It's no problem checking in the luggage until Munich. The
total
weight is 46 Kg - within the tolerances. No need to use the cargo
option.
Since it's already late we proceed directly to the departure gate. The
flight leaves on time. While in the plane I get the idea
of spending the night in Ayutthaya and do some sightseeing on Sunday
morning
before leaving for Munich.
We reach Bangkok at 9:30pm local
time. We then check if it is possible to get a boarding pass for Munich
already today. It turns out to be impossible. But the lady at the
counter
tells me that if the flight leaves at 12:40pm it is sufficient that we
check in at 12pm since we have no check-in luggage. I then try to make
a reservation for some decent seats on the plane, but the Thai airways
office is already closed. So I head to the taxi counter and get a
voucher
for a taxi to Ayutthaya. Quite expensive at 1200 Baht. But hey, we get
a Mercedes limo for that.
Ayutthaya lies about 60 km from the
airport and the taxi driver needs only half an hour to get there. It's
now 11pm and we check in at the Krungsri River Hotel. Tomorrow we'll
take
a taxi at 9am and do some sightseeing before driving to the airport.
14.9: Ayutthaya
-> BKK Intl. Airport -> Munich
Weather: cloudy
and hot in Thailand with some rain in the morning; sunny and quite
fresh
in the evening in Munich
GSM coverage:
all major Thai networks in Ayutthaya and BKK intl. airport
After getting up at 8am Thai time
and having breakfast I leave the hotel at 9am with the hotel's car and
driver. Until about 10:40am we manage to visit seven temples. It's
cloudy
and in between it starts raining. The weather couldn't be worse for
photo
taking - well yes, it could be worse: it could rain even heavier and
there
could be a storm. In any case I manage to shoot about 100 images before
getting back to the hotel. By the way, the car + driver for Ayutthaya
for
the ride back to the airport costs 1900 Baht.
At 10:45am Shirley and I leave finally
and drive to BKK international airport. We manage to reach the airport
in a relatively short time - just a bit over half an hour later. We
immediately
check in (I had booked some good seats calling from the hotel before
leaving
for the temples tour) and proceed to the departure area. There we spend
the last Baht on some food (dried fruits, banana-coconut pastries
etc.).
The flight leaves on time at 12:40pm
Thai time. There is not much to do on the plane, except watching the
movies
and eating something every now and then. I start editing and sorting my
images, but the battery is finally empty after about three hours.
We land in Munich at 6:45pm German
time. Then it takes forever to get the luggage (around 40 minutes).
Outside
it's really cool - it's quite obvious that the hot summer is over. We
take
the S-Bahn (local train) to downtown Munich. The S-Bahn today only
continues
until the central station. Then, since it's already after 9pm and we
are
tired, we just fetch a taxi back to Unterhaching (the suburb of Munich
where we live). We are finally at home at 9:40pm. Seems that nothing
unexpected
happened during our absence. We sleep by 10:40pm.
Copyright (c) 2003
Alfred Molon
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