10/05/2005 08:04:00 PM|||The Zen Master|||On Monday before dawn, I hopped in a cab to Johor Bharu, more commonly known as JB, the city just across the Malaysian border, where, supposedly, everything costs half the price it does in Singapore, and where the airport from which I was to fly to my next destination is located. The taxi across the border cost about $30, and the passport-control and customs process went as smoothly as I could possibly have imagined. The cab driver handed my documents to a woman in a tollbooth, she stamped them, swiped his access card, and gave them back to us. Then the Malaysian official did the same thing, and we drove on, as if we had just crossed the border between New York and New Jersey or some other equally mundane delineation.
Then, I flew on Asia Pacific's Number 1 airline, Air Asia. They left late, as they are rumored always to do, but still arrived early in Kuala Lumpur (KL), where I had a 3-hour wait before my next flight on their no-frills airline to Kota Bharu (no abbreviation). The airports in these first two cities impressed me with their modern look, ample shops and restaurants, and western outlook: even the little airport in JB had a Dunkin' Donuts and a Famous Amos cookie shop! I tried a donut but the frosting was all wrong. Instead I had scrambled eggs and toasted ciabatta at the nondescript but clean coffeeshop down the hall. The KL airport even had a counter with Neuhaus chocolates--my favorite!!--so I bought two pieces of dark chocolate filled with vanilla cream, the best sweet known to man.
The airport at Kota Bharu was interesting for an entirely different reason: it announced that the city was the gateway to the east-coast province of Kelantan, true, but also that it was meant to be an "Islamic concept town." As the poster read, "Located in Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bharu, about 20 minutes away from town, the terminal showcases a Moorish architecture, which resembles buildings in the Middle East; apart from reflecting and maintaining the traditional local flavour. It is in harmony with the State's vision of turning Kota Bharu into an Islamic-concept town by year 2005." I had a chance to return there today, after I caught the ferry back from Pulau Perhentian Besar and decided to find out what flights were available and when. It turned out that the next Air Asia flight wasn't until 9:30pm (it was 3pm then) and that the previous one had been cancelled due to lack of work ethic during Ramadan, so I didn't want to take any chances). Malaysia Airlines, which has been advertising its new Business Class with a slogan something like, "Sometimes the world's greatest luxury isn't even on earth," however, had one of those very Business Class seats available for only $80. I decided it was worth it, which I still think after the flight, despite the fact that the service wasn't quite the most luxurious I've ever experienced, and the food sucked. However, they did bring me a glass of delicious mango juice right after I boarded, the meal was served on china with real cutlery, and my bag was tagged specially to pop out onto the baggage belt among the very first, which made my arrival in KL tonight nice and breezy.|||112851494368783414|||An Islamic concept-town
The airport at Kota Bharu was interesting for an entirely different reason: it announced that the city was the gateway to the east-coast province of Kelantan, true, but also that it was meant to be an "Islamic concept town." As the poster read, "Located in Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bharu, about 20 minutes away from town, the terminal showcases a Moorish architecture, which resembles buildings in the Middle East; apart from reflecting and maintaining the traditional local flavour. It is in harmony with the State's vision of turning Kota Bharu into an Islamic-concept town by year 2005." I had a chance to return there today, after I caught the ferry back from Pulau Perhentian Besar and decided to find out what flights were available and when. It turned out that the next Air Asia flight wasn't until 9:30pm (it was 3pm then) and that the previous one had been cancelled due to lack of work ethic during Ramadan, so I didn't want to take any chances). Malaysia Airlines, which has been advertising its new Business Class with a slogan something like, "Sometimes the world's greatest luxury isn't even on earth," however, had one of those very Business Class seats available for only $80. I decided it was worth it, which I still think after the flight, despite the fact that the service wasn't quite the most luxurious I've ever experienced, and the food sucked. However, they did bring me a glass of delicious mango juice right after I boarded, the meal was served on china with real cutlery, and my bag was tagged specially to pop out onto the baggage belt among the very first, which made my arrival in KL tonight nice and breezy.|||112851494368783414|||An Islamic concept-town