I had only booked today’s 1120 flight to Kuala Lumpur a few days ago, after reviewing my plans and opting not to travel with Saudia to Spain. I opted for a nightstop to avoid an early start on Christmas day and to de-risk the plan.
I got to the airport about 3h before the flight, due to a good run with traffic. Despite Christmas tomorrow, the check-in area was quiet. I had to wait briefly for the Batik Air Malaysia counter to open to drop off my bag.
After breakfast in the lounge, I boarded the flight which departed on-time and landed 25 mins ahead of schedule. Having had only 5h sleep (of good quality) over the last several nights and very little last night, I had my eyes shut virtually the whole time we were airborne. It was all I had needed to perk myself up again.
It wasn’t so good after that with a wait for the luggage and then for the bus to KL Sentral. All-in-all, it took me 2h30 since touchdown to get to the Double M Hotel.
For an overnight, it seemed like quite a hassle to stay in the city compared to at the airport. But with the incoming and outgoing flights not in the wee hours, it was OK. It’s far cheaper staying here than at any airport hotel, even after adding on the cost of transport.
I had two things on my mind. A haircut and a massage, in that order. But with a downpour as I stepped out from the hotel, I noticed that there was a blind massage place a couple of doors away. It is one of many in the area.
So, I had a 90 min oil massage, having been dissuaded from the oil-free pressure point one. It was so good I regretted not doing 2 hours.
I had to wait, seated in the queue, at the Indian barbershop but for some reason they let me jump the queue a few positions.
Having only had brunch today, I took an early dinner on the street at an Indian eatery. It was cheap and good.
I finished the day with a walk in the mall. The Malaysia Airlines office wasn’t too busy, so I dropped in to ask how my flight was looking. It seemed pretty good on both the flights to Jeddah tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
I returned to the room to wash my clothing, which had absorbed some oil from the massage. Damn!