I’m off to Kota Kinabalu for one night before flying over to Tawau then heading out to Mabul Island where I’m going to be for a week’s scuba diving. If only I could just transport myself there right now!!!
With the protests at the airport I’m heading to the airport earlier that I normally would. My flight is at 7.50pm. I checked on online a couple of days ago so after checking in my bags I should be good to go. Fingers crossed. Now for the airport express to arrive.
On arrival at the airport there are lines where everyone needs to show their passport and ticket / boarding pass to be let into the terminal. This is differently new. Terminal 2 is super quiet (as always) so it’s straight to the check in counters to drop off my bag then through security and immigration before getting on the train to take me to terminal 1. I would have preferred to walk (like I have in the past) but the lady at the check in counter told me I would need to go through the passport / boarding pass check again to get into terminal 1 and there will be more people. Yeah no thanks!
Pizza express is closed, buggar. So it’s Beef and Liberty I head to. After a short wait I have a table - I order before sitting down. Wine is needed and quick smart. It’s been a full on week.
4 minutes passed our scheduled departure time the pilot announces we are delayed (really??!) due to weather in the area as well as Friday night busyness. There is no mention of how long we’ll be. Time will tell.
A lady across the aisle from me has decided to watch something on her phone without headphones. I’m mean seriously!! How bloody rude. In the end I say something and what would you know, she gets her headphones out of her bag......OMG. Let’s get this plane up and out of here.
21 minutes later than scheduled we pull back from the gate. We are off, ye ha!
We land into Kota Kinabalu at 10.56pm, 4 minutes ahead of schedule. Got to love that. I passed the time by watching My Planet episodes on Netflix Let’s hope it’s a nice orderly departure off the plane and to immigration.
It’s nice to be out of the plane and stretching the legs.
At immigration there is no line. I join the APEC line after showing an airport employee my card. When it’s my turn the officer makes a comment which I don’t hear. She then starts flicking through every single page. Ummmm what’s going on? After what seems like forever she says I don’t have an exit stamp from when I was last here and that she needs to speak with her supervisor. Eeks alive!!! He’s nice and friendly and explains there is absolutely no record of me leaving the country back in November. Again eeks alive! I locate my travel blog to see the date I flew out and on reading remember the speed bump I had that day, ending up on the wrong floor. He then calls his supervisor. It’s decided they will let me in the country - thank goodness!! He informs me I need to get a stamp when I enter and exit the country, yes I know that. Who knows what happened last time?!! Off he goes with my APEC card and passport to take a photo copy. Right oh. Thankfully he returns with my passport and the original officer now processes my entry into Malaysia. Thank goodness!! They both tell me I need to ensure I get a red triangle stamp when I leave next weekend. You can bet your bottom dollar I will 100% be checking to ensure!!!!
Right breathing properly now. It’s off to find my bag.
Like last time I’m not able to get any money from the ATM; I made sure I had a good amount of HKD so I could exchange in case this happened.
As I walk out of the terminal to the taxi line I realize I’m going to be back here in 8 hours.....
My taxi driver is very friendly and chats away telling me I need to try Sting Ray and that’s its Durian season. He’s surprised this isn’t my first time to KK and that I’ve tried Sting Ray. Durian, yeah no thank you!
As we drive out of the airport I see Malaysian flags everywhere. The driver informs me it’s Independence Day tomorrow. There is an event that starts at 9am; as it’s in the city I should be aok going to the airport. Time will tell.
I notice a particular smell when I get out of the taxi but can’t place it; the driver then asks if I can smell something - yes - and informs me it’s Durian. Yuck!! Not for me thanks.
On arrival at the hotel there is an airline crew in front of me. Buggar. Finally it’s my turn to check in.
The hotel has the same thoughts as me on the Durian!
As I walk into the room I realize it’s the same one that I stayed last time, well the same layout anyway. It’s huge!
I woke at my normal witching hour of just before 6.15am. The alarm isn’t going for another 45 minutes. It’s been a very short night! I manage to doze for a bit longer and get up at 6.57am. Seriously need to rethink this late arrival and early wake up Business!!!
Yet again there is no hot water in the shower. Seriously!! Very unimpressed. In the end I just have to go for it. Brrrrrr.
Thankfully it’s only a few minutes wait for the taxi to come. As we get a few streets from the hotel I notice a huge line of cars with flags on; I’m told they are joining a parade. So cool.
The driver points out Mount Kinabalu - super clear view today.
I join the bag drop line and notice people are holding their luggage tags. Hmmm perhaps I’m in the wrong place. The kind people in front of me inform me I get the baggage tag from the kiosks around the corner. Right oh.
Of course the lines are long; organized chaos. Thank goodness the car ride was nice and easy. Next stop post dropping my bag is getting cash out. Let’s hope it works today!!
When I join the bag drop line again it’s much longer - let’s hope it moves quickly. I have cash to get out!
When it’s my turn to drop off my bag the airline staff helping me picks up my bag and takes it to a computer. Umm what’s going on?? A few minutes later he puts my bag on the belt and comes back to me with my boarding pass. On asking what happened he scans my boarding pass and points to the screen, on the screen it says I’m too late to add a bag. Right, perhaps if you had more lines this wouldn’t happen especially as I was here just after 8am. Anyway the bag is off and now I need to be.
As soon as I pass security I ask an airport worker if there is an ATM around; nope. Not helpful.
As I’m trying to find something for breakfast that isn’t sweet food I hear my flight announcing it’s starting to board. There has definitely been no time to muck around since I dropped off my bag.
I have a window seat, usually I’m not a fan but today hopefully that means great views of Borneo.
Well this is a first (might be a trip of firsts....), we are informed that as they are going to take a headcount we need to remain seated.
We pull back from the gate 12 minutes early, excellent!
Aah being out in the sun is glorious!
As soon as I walk into the terminal I spy Lauren :)
Once my bag arrives we head outside to locate our names - driver found. We are waiting for more people so have a bit of a wait. Thankfully there is an ATM that gives me money, as well as quite a few options for food. Some more appealing than others.
We depart Tawau terminal at 10.50am and drive through to Semporna, arriving at the Scuba Junkie office an hour and 15 minutes later. It felt like we were driving through a forest with all the greenery around.
We have a few admin things to do before being told we need to be back at 2.15pm to take the 2.30pm boat. Food is needed! We get a recommendation for lunch and within minutes are sitting down.
Pineapple fried rice with chicken and a chicken and vege dish are lunch. Both tasty!
From here we decide to wander the streets before heading back to the Scuba Junkie shop. We came across a local market selling meat, fish and veggies. It was amusing being offered the “best fish you will have tonight”. Needless to say we left empty handed.
Mabul Island, here we come!!
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