I set the alarm for an early wake-up and went to the gym. Hotel gyms aren’t that great but it’s better than nothing. We had gotten sweet-talked into the buffet breakfast by the hotel receptionist at check-in. It was MYR35 instead of MYR50. The spread at the poolside terrace cafe was a very comprehensive selection of Malay, Chinese, Indian, Western and Middle Eastern. However, the quality wasn’t the best.
However, the staff and management were good. The GM came round and chatted with guests as he cleared tables. So did the Executive Assistant who offered a late check-out. We took up her kind offer and extended by an hour to 1300, meaning we could follow-on breakfast with time under the casuarinas trees and a long dip in the pool.
We packed up and checked-out before 1300 and missed the 102 bus to the airport by minutes. We then realised that it goes approximately hourly and with the multiple stops along the way, we wouldn’t be comfortable about making it to the airport for our 1640 flight to Kuching in time, especially with a big festival (being Hari Raya Puasa or Eid-ul-Fitr) tomorrow.
Taxi drivers there quoted MYR70 fixed and said the meter would be similar. We thought we’d take the more-frequent 101 to town then change to a taxi. But before the bus arrived, a taxi driver came up to us. He accepted MYR60 so we did it.
It was an easy traffic-free ride to the airport. The queues for bag-drop was long but we mistook a gap in the queue to be its starting point and cut short the waiting time accidentally. We managed to get into the lounge here courtesy of our credit card; they had complimentary food whereas the one in Kuching had free drinks but pay-food.
The aircraft arrived in early but we left 5 minutes late with the full-house crowd. We landed on time though and was promptly picked up by my brother Poh Hui. We had dinner at the Sarawak Club’s bar with his family before being dropped off at our apartment.
The night sky was ablaze with fireworks as we drove home, and as we gazed out the apartment window. Fireworks are illegal but somehow they sneak into the country. These fireworks are big ones which are normally let off by authorities for public enjoyment; I don’t know how the everyday person manages to get them! A thick layer of smoke hung in the night sky as I retired.