The AirAsia Experience to Kuching
As pointed out by many, five days in KL can be a bit of an overkill, so in order to pass time I decided to go on a little daytrip to the capital of Malaysian Borneo a.k.a Kuching on AirAsia.
After an early 6.00 wakeup and a hearty Indian breakfast at the Makan Kitchen, I left the hotel and headed for the nearby LRT station at 8.00 in the morning. After a quick transfer at KL Sentral, I found myself on the KLIA Transit bound for the notorious LCCT. The ride itself took a little over one hour, and I found the train to be a bit more comfortable than your average commuter train. There was free wifi onboard to pass the 30 minute ride. After a smooth transfer at Salak Tingit I finally arrived at LCCT just after 9.30. Traveling with just my small camera bag I was able to proceed directly to security.
A fairly packed departure lounge at the domestic part of LCCT.
The LCCT terminal is nothing more than a hangar with a few windows and doors. The place was crowded, loud and poorly ventilated. The place felt more like a bus terminal than an airport, and overall the experience was very underwhelming. I certainly hope that the new KLIA 2 Terminal will be a vast improvement.
At 10.00 boarding was called, and we were lead out through a covered walkway before reaching the aircraft.
All AirAsia flights board through airstairs.
In comparison to most LCC:s in Europe, I was quite pleased with the service on AirAsia. The aircraft was clean, seats comfortable, the crew were friendly and very attractive looking, and the onboard menu had a good selection of proper food available at prices that don’t require you to re-mortgage your house.
A rather light load on today’s flight.
I opted to try AirAsia’s signature Nasi Lemak. While it needed some re-heating, the dish was absolutely delicious!
With the load being at 30% I had the whole row to myself, but as misfortune would have it the gentleman in the seat in front of me decided to hit the recline button. And so did his wife… The flight passed quickly, and soon we were on approach to Kuching Airport.
Some nice cloud formations as we reach Borneo.
Coming in for our final approach.
Stepping off the plane in Kuching I couldn’t help but stop for a few seconds to inhale the fresh air. After spending nearly a week breathing nothing but heavily contaminated air in Singapore and KL it really felt nice to get some fresh air again.
The transport options from the airport to central Kuching were few. The airport can only be reached by taxi which is priced at a fixed fare of RM26.
The Kuching Bazaar. The place felt very similar to the Bazaars in Morocco, sans the hustling…
The Kuching Waterfront.
New Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building
Out of nowhere a tropical monsoon shower decided pull over and get me soaked.
Thankfully I was able to escape the rain at a nearby eatery, and enjoy some genuine Sarawak laksa. Very tasty and dirt cheap!
I spent a total of four hours wandering the streets of Kuching and as time progressed I came to regret not staying longer in there. The city certainly had its charm, especially with the rainforest right around the corner. At 17.00 I decided to call it a day and grab a taxi back to the airport, before boarding my AirAsia flight back to Kuala Lumpur. After a long and tiresome day, I arrived at my hotel just after 22.00 in the evening.