Inflight from Delhi to Kuala Lumpur, I managed to doze for about 3h with the aid of a sleeping pill. I woke up feeling much better. I thought my chest had improved in the dry filtered cabin air, as opposed to the mildewy rooms in the highlands or the pollution of Delhi.
I caught a glimpse of one of the senior crew in the galley, wearing disposable hotel slippers and his shirt out and tie undone. Not a good look. Some of the crew had been rather rude and offhand to the passengers too. I think it is a fact of life on flights to/from India on South-East Asian airlines and I have seen worse on Singapore Airlines.
On the other hand, the pilots were exemplary in their announcements. Unexpectedly though, there were a few quirks in the pronunciation. “Delhi” was “Del-hi” instead of “De-lhi”. Bay of “Bengal” was pronounced “Bay-ngal”. It’s a Malaysian thing which is natural even for me these days. For us, the correct pronunciation for “Singapore” is “Si-nga-por”. It gets amusing on the Australian flights where all the crew refer to “Brisbane” as “Bris-bayne”.
We arrived on time and I had a seamless connection to Kuching. Uber had a surge pricing when I tried to order a ride. I waited but it didn’t go away and paid more than normal my usual rate to my apartment. But it was still cheaper than a taxi. I’m back in Kuching again to spend time with family.