Author archive
11 June 2024
My sis and bro-in-law were still in Kuching when I left today, and they kindly ran me to the airport. Actually, I drove but they drove back. Traffic was unusually heavy and the journey took an hour. Just as well we allowed plenty of time. I flew Malaysia Airlines’ 1335 flight to Kuala Lumpur with […]
4 June 2024
We arrived into Singapore around 0300, ahead of schedule. It had been an excellent flight but it got so cold that I had to put on my puffer jacket. I had taken two sleeping pills and slept most of the way, having found that one didn’t quite work. The variety that I’ve been given is […]
3 June 2024
After two days catching up with my aunt, three cousins and a friend from Yemen days separately, it was time to fly back to my hometown. I had secured a Scoot ticket for AUD200 from Melbourne to Kuching via Singapore with a 3h connection. About half of that was taxes. I had paid for a […]
31 May 2024
Arrival into Melbourne was as good as it can get. We had probably the nearest gate to the immigration hall. All formalities were so fast that I was kerbside waiting for the Skybus within 20 mins of arrival. With the 2245 scheduled arrival, I couldn’t afford any delay of more than an hour as I […]
31 May 2024
Leaving early I try not to escape from New Zealand so early in the year as the cold and wet doesn’t normally set in till later. But this year, I couldn’t wait to get away as it has been horribly wet in late May. My early departure was prompted by Air New Zealand suspending flights […]
27 March 2024
I slept around 5h30 or maybe even 6h on the flight. It was nearly empty midship and I had moved up from the aft zone to grab an entire row there. Dennis had fallen asleep upright next to me, upon take-off so I couldn’t get him to move up with me. Despite wobbles due to […]
26 March 2024
Internet connection; the enabler As my previous trip to China was 9 years ago, this is my first visit since the country went largely cashless. I came prepared and everything worked like a dream. I didn’t use any cash or my credit/debit cards for any travel-related expenses during my whole stay! An internet connection is […]
26 March 2024
Above: At the next massage table. My turn next. Massage and cupping Our flight back to New Zealand leaves at 0230 “tonight” (technically tomorrow morning) from Haikou. We have the day to kill before taking the train from Sanya to Haikou airport before killing more time there. I opted to skip breakfast and take brunch […]
25 March 2024
Today we had agreed on an excursion to Binglanggu (Betel nut valley) Li & Miao Cultural Heritage Park, about an hour out of town. It is somewhat of a tourist trap but how bad can it be after yesterday? At least here, we will get to learn about the native people of Hainan. I opted […]
24 March 2024
Visiting Nanshan I woke at 0600 today and fell asleep till 0750. I quickly messaged Swee and Chen to make arrangements for breakfast a few doors away, where I had a lean pork and century egg congee. Apart from the beaches, there’s not much to do in Sanya. Many of the attractions are out of […]