Above: Penang is connected to the mainland by two bridges, one of which is seen from my flight.
Flying to my nightstop at KLIA
I ordered a car at 0800 by the Maxim app and had trouble finding a driver that would accept. I switched to Grab and had an instant acceptance. I then realised that Grab is popular here unlike in Kuching where Maxim is the leader.
At Penang airport 2h prior to my 1040 flight, check-in queue was short. I was impressed by the Malaysia Airlines staff who checked my bag through to Kathmandu despite the 22h layover in Kuala Lumpur, re-seated me in an aisle seat on a full flight and checked my return flight from Kathmandu on her system to ensure I was compliant with visa requirements.
The flight was short, sweet and on-time. Arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), it was another 2h before I could check into the airport hotel, Sama-Sama (formerly Pan Pacific). I killed some time walking to explore my lunch options then sat down to do an hour’s work on the computer.
With lunch afterwards, I got to the hotel a little later than I had hoped, but bang on their 1400 check-in time.
This nightstop hotel is beyond my usual budget so I made the most of the stay by going to the gym then the pool.
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- Penang is connected to the mainland by two bridges, one of which is seen from my flight.
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- Garden in the hotel.
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- Hotel pool with control tower in the background.
Eating at KLIA2
Having already eaten a few meals at KLIA (Terminal 1) this trip, I decided to take the train to KLIA2 for dinner. It was the right decision as the terminal is attached to a two-storey mall which passengers are forced to walk through and it is full of eating options. I think there are more places now than pre-pandemic.
I joke that I never have to go to KL anymore. Just come to KLIA2 to eat and fly back out!
Boo arrived from Kuching and got to the room around 2300. We depart tomorrow morning for our big adventure in the hills of Nepal.