Author archive
9 February 2020
Disrupted again Today I have an evening flight out of Bali to Brisbane and onwards home to Auckland. Upon waking up, I noticed an email advising of a 2h delay to my first flight. This seems miniscule compared to nearly 10h of delay on my outbound journey. But with only an hour’s connecting time in […]
8 February 2020
Inland Temples Today I had booked through Traveloka a 12h rental car-and-driver for IDR130K (USD9.50) plus petrol and driver’s lunch allowance of IDR50K. I had the itinerary all decided and it was all within their “In Town” zone. With a pickup at 0930, I lay in bed and decided to check the zonal map once […]
7 February 2020
Leaving Singapore I tried to spend some time with my aunt in the morning as it was a very short visit on my part. At her age and with her special condition, she keeps to a certain routine. It appeared she wasn’t too fussed with my presence so I didn’t push it. Heading to the […]
6 February 2020
Flying visit to Singapore Today I travel to Singapore for a nightstop with my aunt before flying to Bali tomorrow. It’s quite funny domestically in Indonesia with a Singapore layover. I left the hotel around 0900 by Grab and had a chatty driver (again, being Indonesia). I learnt that while he is Malay, the Minang […]
5 February 2020
I had a leisurely morning at the museum. Pekanbaru’s museum is named after Sang Nila Utama, the prince from the broader region that founded Singapore, changing its name from Temasek to Singapura (which the English later changed to Singapore). It was a simple museum where I learnt new things about the familiar, things that I […]
4 February 2020
Leaving hometown Today I make my way from hometown Kuching to Pekanbaru via Kuala Lumpur, so that I’d end up in Singapore and then Bali in a few days time to get back to New Zealand. The Pekanbaru stop was brought about by some frequent flyer points which were expiring. So why, not?! My departure […]
21 January 2020
Leaving Bali Today I make my way from Bali to hometown Kuching for Chinese New Year and family time, via Singapore. Normally it is far more convenient to connect via Kuala Lumpur but with the festive season ahead, the fares worked out better through Singapore. Neither choice was that cheap but I still think I […]
20 January 2020
Long awaited arrival We descended into Bali airport and landed at 0050 with the cabin lights dimmed rather than off. It was still plenty bright, just like during take-off some six hours ago. I wonder if there is a maximum permissible brightness. Other airlines I fly with simply turn the lights off completely. There was […]
19 January 2020
Getting stuck … or unstuck? I had hurriedly googled a few possibilities for handling my nearly 7h18 delay in Sydney, before proceeding to the gate. I got to gate later than I normally would have. It was actually a perfectly-timed boarding onto Virgin Australia’s 737-800 to Sydney. It was a pleasant flight with a light […]
19 January 2020
Cheap way home Today I slowly make my way towards my family in hometown Kuching for Chinese New Year. At this time of year flights there are expensive, but I found a special deal to Bali for NZD544 return, on Virgin Australia with great connections. Allowing for nightstops and the shorthaul flights to Kuching, it […]