Author archive
13 July 2016
I had time for breakfast at the hotel before taking a taxi at 0700 to Banjarmasin’s airport 45 minutes away. Checkin for my 0925 departure to Balikpapan on Wings Air was swift. Once airside I noticed that yesterday 1555 flight had been delayed till around 0900. And this morning’s ~0615 flight delayed till around 0920. […]
12 July 2016
I had set the alarm for 0430 (which is 0330 Pontianak time where I had come from). I met the Simon & Karen at reception with their lovely guide Nurul Hidayah. We soon boarded a kelotok (boat) from the hotel’s back gate. In the darkness we navigated upriver and saw the sky turn pink. About […]
11 July 2016
Above: Dayak tail on Kalstar ATR (pronounced Ah Teh Eerrr, here). I woke at 0330 even though my alarm was for 0415. Flight departure to somewhere new and exciting, (Banjarmasin, was 0630 so I left the hotel by taxi booked for 0445. It was five minutes late but I still got to the new airport […]
10 July 2016
My full day in Pontianak was allocated to a visit to Mandor, Borneo’s Killing Fields. I had been over three years ago but due to weather, I made it only to the memorial. I didn’t make it to the actual mass graves behind. I woke early and was at breakfast at 0630. The one hour […]
9 July 2016
I had an ordered a taxi for 0600 as it seemed like the time in consideration of the travel time to, and check-in Kuching Sentral station at the far end of town. I remember from last time that the taxi rate drops from night to day at 0600. The driver didn’t use the meter but […]
30 June 2016
We landed in Kuala Lumpur 30 minutes earlier around 0400. I attempted to put the three hours into good use by going landside to try replace my SIM card which was stolen in Buenos Aires a few weeks back. Unfortunately, the Celcom store couldn’t assist as their systems only come alive at 0800. Heading through […]
29 June 2016
With a 1930 departure to Kuala Lumpur, I headed to the airport before 1600 expecting to be in the midst of the rush hour. Fortunately it didn’t take too long. At the airport, I walked straight to the Premium queue for check-in. There was one person already at the desk who was having problems. He […]
5 June 2016
I arrived home after a good flight in Business Class, with a paid upgrade. It had been an awesome adventure through South America, a continent I’ve had little experience with. I now have less than a month till my next adventure to Europe (including Iceland) via Borneo!
3 June 2016
With an 1100 checkout I had the choice of waking up early and going for an early exploration, then coming back to pack and checkout … or just having a lazy morning then checking out. I opted for the easier option. Leaving my luggage in storage with the hotel, I had my full carry-on pack […]
2 June 2016
I had considered walking in the park areas of Palermo today but the weather was very grey with some drizzle. I opted for a shorter walk along more sheltered route back to San Telmo, this time taking the roads of Defensa and Balcarce. It was certainly more interesting than yesterday with many antique shops. It […]