Nick’s world tour

Now, I may have an A-level in Geography, but I’m really not very hot on where places are, and just how big they might happen to be. When I booked my flight to Kota Kinabalu and it was 2 and a half hours long I just assumed it was in the next time zone, and not really that far away….

Locating the new budget terminal at KLIA is also a challenge. The international airport itself is some 75km from the KL, and the Low Cost Carrier Terminal is another 20km away, round the back of the oil storage sheds… Makes Ryanair’s airports look central! Anyway, my bargain 50 pound return flight AK5122 leaves on time (I did look, and no, Air Asia didn’t find any comedy value in having a flight numbered AK47).  

For you fact fans out there, Borneo is the third largest island in the world, and is shared by three countries. Malaysia (the two semi autonomous states of Sabah and Sarawak), Indonesia (Kalimatan) and Brunei. KK is the capital of Sabah, and here I get an extra stamp in my passport, more confusing as my visa was already for Sabah as well…

KK is not a particularly interesting city. As it was bombed heavily, it’s quite modern. Think Telford or maybe Milton Keynes but in bright coloured concrete. Due to all the illegal forest fires across the island it’s quite hazy, and noisy as it’s on the flightpath! On the plus side, I’m staying at the North Borneo Cabin which is like staying in someones modern loft apartment.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 28th, 2006 at 7:04 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.