Lap of luxury

It was five hectic days of admin (setting up electronic billing and automatic payments) and purchasing (furnishing and decoration).  We were pleased with what we had achieved before leaving for our short holiday in Brunei.

But we had one last important thing to do.  I’ve been approached for a contract role at Vodafone, a company I had worked at a number of years ago when it was called BellSouth.  They wanted a video-call interview.  A few years ago, mobile internet wasn’t even available here but fortunately for me, it’s something that I’m now able to do bright and early before we went to the airport for our 1020 flight.  [Edit:  I actually ended up getting the role and with various extensions, I worked there for a little less than two years.]

Flights from Kuching to Brunei, over the years had trickled down and eventually became non-existent.  Like the Singapore to Kuching route, many people would take the cheaper domestic alternative.  In this case, it would be to fly from Kuching to Miri then cross over to Brunei by road.

We had organised a private car to take us on this journey when we landed at Miri at 1120.  The ride takes over two hours including the border crossing from Malaysia to Brunei, and waiting for a ferry to cross Sungai Belait on the Brunei side.

As for the purpose of our visit to Brunei, Kim had found this great offer for airline staff, for stays at The Empire Hotel & Country Club.  This is a luxury hotel sometimes used by visiting dignitaries to the country.  We booked for a three-night stay here, which is essentially two full days, in the lap of luxury.  Well, kind of … the hotel was very nice but the pool wasn’t like at the best resorts and the beach was so-so.  Not a complaint but only a description, especially when we were only paying NZD140 per room per night.