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Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Kuala Lumpur 2009 - Day 3
This post picks up where the previous post left off - at the Skybar of the Traders Hotel KLCC. We wrapped up some last photos, then headed to the lobby to use the net. I retired after a while and caught some sleep in the hotel room while my colleagues continued.
I woke up to find the two of them back in the room, eating fish and chips. Our intention was to catch the Leonids, a meteor shower that happened to be occuring. We left for the park at about 4, enjoying the cool morning air. However, cloud cover dashed our hopes, and we headed back to the room to sleep before our simulator flight. The three of us would be flying the sim while Pauline caught up with some sleep in the room.
As usual, we woke up and left the room late, though fortunately I was able to delay the simulator. We cabbed over to Subang Airport and looked for the Malaysia Airlines Simulator Centre. This we found, and handed over $400 worth of ringgit.
For this high price, we were treated to an hour in a full motion Boeing 747-400 simulator, and put her through her paces. Out of six circuits we flew, however, four of them resulted in fiery death on the runways of Kuala Lumpur and Changi. It got so bad that they had to disconnect the hydraulics for the final flight for fear that the system would be damaged. Upon leaving, we noticed that the simulator was being given a thorough once-over.
We wanted to go to Berjaya Times Square for lunch, in order to enjoy the fine chicken buffet we came across on our last visit. Alas, it was closed for renovation. Kenny Rogers was the backup, though it wasn't that good.
Our trip then took us to Petaling Street via the monorail. We performed some quick shopping but the weather curtailed our plans, and we headed back to the hotel to prepare for our flight home.
Once at the hotel, we got our luggage and headed for a cafe in KLCC for dinner, which was not all that cheap. We then took the LRT to KL Sentral and headed back on the KLIA Ekspres for the airport, retracing our steps from the previous year.
Check-in was uneventful, as was immigration. With not much time before the flight we headed straight for C1. Unlike our previous flight, there was actually an aircraft there, 9V-STF, an Airbus A330-343 of Singapore Airlines. I had flown the A330 on only two occasions before, and this would be a first for both Jinjun and Calvin (in fact it was their first Airbus widebody). Annoyingly, we got a windowless window seat.
Takeoff was quick and we reached cruising altitude. Cruise lasted barely 15 minutes before we began our descent into Singapore. Coming from the west, we were treated to spectacular views, first of Tengah and Murai air bases in the west, then Jurong Island and finally, Singapore's city center, lights ablaze. The A330 gracefully banked northward and touched down on runway 2L before taxiing across the north cross to Terminal 2.
We bid each other farewell at the arrivals hall after a last quick group shot at baggage claim. I headed home, satisfied with the flight and the trip.
This trip to KL, while mainly for the purpose of watching Igudesman and Joo, gave me a lot, in terms of learning experiences, flying and bonding with my friends. As compared to the previous one, which was really a shuttle run to watch the Lord of the Rings Symphony, this one gave us some time together to explore, learn, appreciate and enjoy. Hopefully all our future trips will be as successful.
Next up should be Mt. Ophir in Johor, January 2010, so stay tuned.
Posted by Aaron