Air Asia it was

I have to confess that the recent day hop to Kota Bharu was my first on Air Asia. I have been hearing mixed experience from those who have been on one before. Air Asia was efficient, straight to the point and basically you pay for what you get.

I was not sure how to categorise my recent experience. On the whole, it was not bad. However, flying off from the LCCT have one drawback however. Traveling to the terminal from KL was a pain as I usually take the KLIA Express from Sentral. There were bus service from Sentral but being buses, I can't assume that it would be as efficient as the 27 minutes travel time you get from the train service. You would also enjoy the convenience of being able to check in your luggages from the Sentral Air Terminal. And since I was able to travel on Business often, there were no such service on Air Asia - disclaimer, I do not pay for my travels usually. Cost was never an issue. The reason for taking Air Asia on that occasion was the timing of the flights. But due to the hold-up which I would mention later, I could have used MAS instead and still reach my house at about the and time.

I decided to drive to LCCT rather than call for a cab and parked at e public space just in front of the terminal. I was only charged RM 27 fees for parking from 7am to 6pm. Open car park though, so your car would bee losers to the elements. The roofed space was located a furthers walk back and I was on a rush then. The terminal would also take you an extra 20 minutes travel from the KLIA main terminal - I almost missed my flight that morning since it took longer than I expected to get to the LCCT.

Landed in the rain, and finally allowed out of the cabin after 30 minutesThe second issue was the fact that we could not disembark or board in heavy rain. According to the crew, opening the cabin door was the main problem as the rain will get into the cabin and make the floors wet. Practical excuse I thought. It would cost the airline tons of money to leave the jet idle on the tarmac, so I was sure they were not making it up.

So the bottom line, would I take Air Asia for traveling with my precious brats? Definitely no. They would go berserk at the terminal. But traveling on short hops like I did last time, I would definitely do it again but if the schedule was tight and I couldn't afford a delay, then definitely I would have prefer MAS.

Waiting game

I have just landed at LCCT at KLIA following a day trip marking papers at Kota Bharu. I started off very early as I drove there and parked the car at the airport. The journey was fine, but upon landing, we were greeted with a heavy downpour and had to stay in the cabin until things settle down. We have been on the ground for a good 20 minutes now. To make things worst, the air conditioning system started fogging up the cabin, not to mention the amount of money AirAsia would have lost with the airline lying idle on the runway.

That was probably one of the major drawback with LCCT, as there were no terminal connecting the cabin and the main building. The other was the fact that it took liger to reach the place compared to KLIA proper if you plan to drive there. It took me a good 20 minutes from KLIA to get here this morning, worrying about missing the flight. Finally, upon arriving, I just parked my car at the main carpark, not having the chance to find an alternative one. Maybe in the future, given the choice for a business trip, I might just prefer MAS instead - if I was not paying for the flight o course.

KB - the flight out

Idlan at the loungeTruth be told, that was the boys first ever flight. We were all apprehensive. Puan Anita was not keen to endure the now -dreaded 10 hour drive from Kuala Lumpur to KB. By he time we reach Bentong, we were tearing our hair out already. A couple of our cousin’s were getting married - yes, to each other. Gulp! Therefore we had no excuse but to return to KB. It was doubly nice to make the journey to visit the extended family before Puasa as well.

Idlan with his Tok AbahGrumpy travellerAfter finishing my clinic on the Friday morning, I made the short hop to KL Sentral via taxi, checked the boys in, and took the ERL to KLIA. The boys were EXTREMELY excited. I sat with Irfan while Puan Anita had Idlan with her. My father-in-law also took the same flight. Weather was great. We got them stuffed at the lounge, and they had some more food and attention by the stewardesses on the flight. It was a smooth one. No drama. In fact, Irfan cannot stop chatting through-out. The whole cabin can hear his voice.

So, what was Adik up to? - Ferraro RocherHow about Abang? - More Ferraro RocherWe reached KB just before 4pm, and quickly settled into our hotel room. My mum-in-law came by road with the maids, and they arrived just before 5pm. Perfect timing. The boys quickly got themselves acquainted with the facilities. After tea, he went out later that evening for dinner at one of our auntie’s house. Food and Kelantan has always been great friends - so, needless to say, the food was gorgeous - we had nasi ulam that evening among other things.

Idlan with his first ever boarding passDid the boys retire early that evening? - No way!

Happy Birthday to Me

090620 KL Butterfly Park 12, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

I had a long day yesterday. Woke up early to send my maid away from the LCCT in Sepang. SHe is going home for around 10 days to visit her family before the coming Ramadhan. Got back home just in time for Jumaat prayers. Luckily there were no delay.

It was the first time I have been to the LCCT. It certainly was .... low cost. Completely different to the grandiosity of KLIA, it more resemble a branch of Tesco for a lack of a better description. Bear in mind that you are there just to catch a flight, not doing anything fancy at the lounge or duty-free shops.

The rest of the day were filled with answering emails, SMSes and facebook messages. Many thanks for those who took the time to write. I have tried answering all of them, but I am sure I missed a fair few. I will try to get round yo that. We went to dinner, just the four of us after Idlan's music class.

Today, we had a celebratory lunch with my father-in-law. Due to some freak coincidence, he was also born on the 10th of July. I guess that's how I manage to get her daughter's hand for marriage you see. We had a Chinese at Corus Hotel. I must say that this meal was better than the one we had here for Idlan's birthday. I guess it was because this being a lunch rather than dinner, and there were no other guess. Food was excellent and the waiters looked after us very very well.

Thanks again for the warm wishes.

This is what I call a weekend

This is what I call a weekend, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

Spent Sunday mostly at home. My Dad was flying off to Shanghai in the evening, so while she went out to shop and pack, Nana, my niece spent the day with us, keeping Idlan and Irfan occupied.

As planned, Najib was admitted earlier in the day for the op Monday. His brother is due for circumcision the same day, so you can imagine the chaos that is due tomorrow. This is more of a lull before the storm really.

Mowed the lawn, cleaned the fountain. Then in the evening, I sent my Dad off to KLIA. A really fruitful day all around really.

Idlan appropriately chilling for the weekend