The Perhentian islands were great with the best part being the journey getting there. Once you leave the airport you catch a taxi to Kuala Besut and from there a speed boat. As it was getting towards the afternoon the sea was quite choppy yet the boat did not slow down leading all of us to get extremely wet – lucky it was hot outside. Mrs J. thought it was like the scene in Miami Vice where they take the speed boat to Havana. I was just happy it only took half an hour.
On the islands one can snorkel with turtles and sharks and every night a fresh seafood BBQ was offered with lobsters, prawns and fish all at low prices.
After two days we were back on our way to the airport. We had a 3pm flight with AK 6325 and had to get from the island to the airport within two hours. Now I know that island time is always slower than city time and it was very touch and go for a while but we made it to the airport 14:15 just in time for check-in. On our way to the airport we gave a lift to another fellow Brit who had a much later flight but tried unsuccessfully to change her flight. According to the check-in staff the flight was full (which we found out on board was not).
KBR airport is small as the only flights that day were KUL flights going back and forth either with MH or AK.
AK 6325 KBR-KUL 15:00-15:55
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Air Asia apart from the cheap tickets they were selling. Boarding was divided in two with those with children and the elderly boarding first. As I am neither a child or too elderly I was in the second group boarding which turned out to be a very small group as most of the passengers were either old or with children.
Another point Mrs J. noticed was that the only people talk to her is to ask her if she is married and if she has children. As an experiment she gave differing answers and got different responses. For example, being married for a while without children = sympathy. Not married = shocked. Married with children = a smile as if you are one of us.
Ok back to the journey – with boarding I noticed that the plane looked old and tattered from the outside. Lots of patches on the wings and joints as if makeshift repairs had been made. Inside was not much better with a few broken lockers, paint peeling, bits of broken plastic and flickering lights. The plane itself was a 737-300 I cannot guess how old it was but I can tell you it has been well used. Now Air Asia is in the process of upgrading their fleet to A320’s and also looking to buy a few long-haul planes for their new service to the UK. However, we got unlucky and were on one of the old planes they had leased with the start of operations.
The configuration is 3 3 but the seats were very tight for me and I stood most of this short flight talking to the stewards in the back. The flight did leave on time and of course no hold-up as we were the only plane at the airport. During the flight I chatted with the steward and he told me that AK are looking to expand internationally and also looking to retire the old planes that were left my the middle of this year. He even went as far as to suggest that these planes should not be used in their current state. Though I always think that with good maintenance planes can last a long time.
The flight itself was super quick only 35mins and the usual crap were offered for purchase on board. I did notice that many people were buying teddy bears and toys on the plane. We landed very early back at the LCC airport in KUL and jumped in a taxi to the Crowne Plaza.
One event of note, when arriving at the hotel, was that there were lots of people picketing/striking with boards stating that the management of CP were being unfair with wages etc. They were very vocal and were controlled by the police. However, every time somebody entered the grounds of the hotel they became more vocal and a little intimidating.
Lastly – 14hrs in Y – yes why