Hello Kota Kinabalu

The start of May took me on a journey to Kota Kinabalu. This would my last flight using the Low Cost Carrier Terminal or LCCT. I must say I am glad to see that tin shed go. The flight on AirAsia was on time with a good load that morning.

It was an uneventful flight with a good set of crew. I pre-booked my meal of Roast Chicken with cream sauce and as usual I was not disappointed.

The rosemary potatoes were so good!

 The only complaint was the coffee. AirAsia now serves fresh coffee in "bags". While the idea of serving something other than instant coffee is good but the problem is to get a good brew, coffee must be immersed in hot water of the correct temperature and for a certain amount of time, both of which cannot be achieved on a plane. To put it nicely....it was disgusting. A better option would be to get a good instant coffee brand like the ones by Starbucks....not the best but sure is better than this.

Horror in a cup

 So the best thing to do for the rest of the flight is look out the window and enjoy the blue skies.

On finals for Kota Kinabalu

 We landed a good 10 minutes early only to be greeted by a huge crowd at immigration that spilt on to the apron. Three flights had landed at the same time, from Hong Kong, Manila and ours from Kuala Lumpur. Terminal 2 is too small and really can't handle the amount of passengers from AirAsia.

The chaotic scene at arrivals

 

 

Thankfully the line moved fast and I made my way to Eden 54 where I would be staying for the next few day. It's a small and homely hotel with a hand full of rooms but its very highly rated on Trip Advisor.

 Clean and well appointed rooms with a spotless bathroom. Clean sheets and towels are my main priority and this place met the target at an affordable price.

One thing I can always count on in Kota Kinabalu, is great sunsets and views of the waterfront.

The other sure bet is good seafood......

After 4 days I was done and it was time to head to Terminal 2 again for my flight back.

My ride home

 One of the quirks of Airbus planes is the air-conditioning system on ground and in this particular aircraft it was so "foggy" that you could not see where you are going!

 

 

 

Passengers emerging though the "fog"

We departed ahead of scheduled and this time with not so enthusiastic crew. Not rude or anything but just robotic.

 

Best bloody Briyani in the sky!

Ok I will be the first to admit that I always order the Chicken Briyani. Hell it's delicious! Plus I was so hungry that I ordered the Mee Mamak too....Hahahaha The verdict? The noodles didn't survive the reheating on the plane....so not ordering that again.

 

 As we entered Peninsular Malaysia, the skies grew darker and the clouds menacing. We hit really bad turbulence while we were in a holding pattern over the Selangor/Pahang border.

a very quite cabin as we were having a rough ride

We landed about 5 minutes late but as we turned off the runway, I saw what was chasing us from behind, a black wall of a storm. By the time we reached the parking bay, the storm was in full swing and we ended up waiting for about 30 minutes for the rain to die down and it was safe for us to disembark.

The wall of rain that we flew through

This was my last arrival at the LCCT as AirAsia moved to the brand new KLIA2 terminal a few days later. Thanks for dropping by and hope that you enjoyed the blog!