Asia

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Quarantine routine

My view I woke this morning and fully appreciated the view that I have from my room.  It was dark when I arrived last night.  I have a view of the Sarawak River and the Tua Pek Kong temple below me.  I’m very happy with my room and the view. Text continues after this gallery. […]

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My quarantine

Landing in hometown I landed into my hometown Kuching around 1600, a few minutes behind schedule. We queued up for temperature checks and you guessed it … more forms to fill. But once they knew I was an international arrival, the form was no longer required. Having applied for and received an approval to return […]

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High-security transit

Arrival We landed a few minutes after our arrival time of 0840. I have 5h25 of connecting time before flying home to see family in Kuching. I had read reports of lengthy waits in the arrival/transfer processing. Seated in the front of Economy I was amongst the first off the plane. I walked briskly towards […]

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Big day by car

Inland Temples Today I had booked through Traveloka a 12h rental car-and-driver for IDR130K (USD9.50) plus petrol and driver’s lunch allowance of IDR50K.  I had the itinerary all decided and it was all within their “In Town” zone. With a pickup at 0930, I lay in bed and decided to check the zonal map once […]

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Back to Bali

Leaving Singapore I tried to spend some time with my aunt in the morning as it was a very short visit on my part.  At her age and with her special condition, she keeps to a certain routine.  It appeared she wasn’t too fussed with my presence so I didn’t push it. Heading to the […]

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Museum, lunch and massage

I had a leisurely morning at the museum.  Pekanbaru’s museum is named after Sang Nila Utama, the prince from the broader region that founded Singapore, changing its name from Temasek to Singapura (which the English later changed to Singapore). It was a simple museum where I learnt new things about the familiar, things that I […]

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On the road again

Leaving hometown Today I make my way from hometown Kuching to Pekanbaru via Kuala Lumpur, so that I’d end up in Singapore and then Bali in a few days time to get back to New Zealand.  The Pekanbaru stop was brought about by some frequent flyer points which were expiring.  So why, not?! My departure […]

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Finally, arriving

Long awaited arrival We descended into Bali airport and landed at 0050 with the cabin lights dimmed rather than off.  It was still plenty bright, just like during take-off some six hours ago.  I wonder if there is a maximum permissible brightness.  Other airlines I fly with simply turn the lights off completely. There was […]

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Playing host

Today I pick up friend Michelle from New Zealand who will visit and stay till my departure.  She arrived yesterday morning and will leave five minutes before me next week. I had asked her to stay in town for the first night and given her some sightseeing tips to start off her stay before I […]

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Killing another day

Cruising the Bosphorus Today I have to kill the entire day before my flight to Kuala Lumpur at 0135 tomorrow morning.  I stayed indoors after breakfast to attend to admin before checking out at 1130. My rough plan was to hop on one of the ferries.  At one station, they were going to Hydarpasar which […]

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