Above: Room service breakfast.
After a room service breakfast of nasi lemak, corned beef hash and poached eggs, we got ready for our journey to Singapore. Flights from Bandar Seri Begawan to Singapore are pricey so we are doing it the cheap and hard way.
We took a taxi back to Miri airport, a journey of about two hours including waiting for the ferry and clearing immigration. From there, we had a cheap ticket on a new budget airline AirAsia to Johor Bahru. They operate pre-loved Boeing 737-300s. It was a no frills affair and it’s strange not seeing Malaysia Airlines’ cabin crew in their gorgeous kebayas, instead seeing the AirAsia crew in bright red suits and a mini-skirt.
[Edit: Little did I know that AirAsia would grow to become such a big part of my life. I’d grab their free and nearly free flights every few months, paying only airport taxes and exploring so much of Asia and Australasia with them.]
Landing in Johor Bahru, we shared a taxi across the border to Singapore. The gentleman (and his wife) whom we shared with turned out to be an acquaintance of my late father. We stayed with Mum and step-dad for the night before flying to Auckland with them.
Flowers in jars; decor at a cafe near the arrival hall at Johor Bahru’s Senai airport.