Colombia ....Here I Come.....(Part 1)
It's normal for me, the night before I travel, my mind always working overtime, thinking of the things that I might overlooked. So in order to avoid such over reaction, I made a check lists and (tick) confirm all the essential items such as international socket adaptors, mobile phones, tablet, batteries, chargers, camera, tripod, maps, compass, mini torchlight, gloves, toiletries, passport, air tickets, hotel booking confirmation printout, credit cards, currencies, training shoes, flip flop, biscuits and my essential small binoculars are all packed in their respective compartments. Hence the carry-on backpack becomes handy to store the essential items as long as it does not contain more than 100ml fluid.
With those preparation out of the way, I could easily put myself to sleep. Dream it was......I was already in Cartagena. The Carnival and Historic City. Exploring the city by bicycle. Equipped with Camera, Map, Binoculars and Compass, I travelled from one corner of the city to the other corners looking much like a locals except for my accessories ! If asked, I would have said that I am from Bogota. Ha ha.
I woke up when the sun was already peeking thru' my Condos window. My flight is at 14.30 pm on 2nd February. Rushed to the bathroom and after having a quick shower, made myself breakfast, "Cheese & onion omelette with baked beans". I have all the things to wear ready from last night preparation. Knowing that my transfer in London will not be "a walk in the park", I make sure that I am wearing the right walking shoes and attire to fulfil that mission. My white Puma training shoes, black jeans, white-collared T-shirt and black leather jacket would be ideal. By about 10.00 hrs, I was already downstairs waiting for my Cab. The area that I lived is convenient, because there are lots of Cabs loitering around, hence not a need to book overnight.
The trip to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA - LCCT) in Sepang was uneventful. I tend to keep quiet and not allow the cab driver to start a conversation. The time to spare I spent recollecting my planned passage, memorising my KUL to STN flight number and checking my backpack once again for any prohibited items that I might have overlooked. Putting all the less than 100 ml fluid and paste/cream into my "clear" plastic zip lock bag. The trip to the airport took about an hour as traffic has cleared after the morning rush hours (7am to 9am). KL is well known for it's notorious traffic jam. Similar to Bangkok and Jakarta.
If you have been to Kuala Lumpur in early 2005, you would have known about the LCCT which is the Low Cost Carrier Terminal about 20 KM away from the current KLIA Main Building. This is the Terminal that I will be boarding my flight to London. Simple Airport - no frill, no air bridge, walk on the tarmac a good distant to the awaiting aircraft, good ole accommodation ladder to climb onto the Airbus A340 aircraft. With this kind of arrangement, AirAsia managed to bring the cost down, hence, cheaper airfare. Keep everything simple "Simple Sum for Simple Sailors". This Terminal was operational in March 2005 to cater for 10 million passengers. It was later expanded in 2009, to handle 15 million pax. It seems that it was unable to cope with increasing traffic and pax which had increased to 22 million pax. It has always been a "catching-up game" which proofs later to be chaos and almost out of control. The Authority then decided on a Brand New Terminal which was opened in May 2014 which is capable of handling 40 million pax. It is known as KLIA2 which is nearer to the Main KLIA Terminal and is connected via the Express Rail Link (ERL). If you are travelling to KL Sentral from either KLIA or KLIA2, it will take approximately 28 minutes on the ERL. I believe it is one of the best infrastructure & express transport system KL & Greater KL ever had.
To be Continued.................
With those preparation out of the way, I could easily put myself to sleep. Dream it was......I was already in Cartagena. The Carnival and Historic City. Exploring the city by bicycle. Equipped with Camera, Map, Binoculars and Compass, I travelled from one corner of the city to the other corners looking much like a locals except for my accessories ! If asked, I would have said that I am from Bogota. Ha ha.
 |
| Going to miss my window view........ |
I woke up when the sun was already peeking thru' my Condos window. My flight is at 14.30 pm on 2nd February. Rushed to the bathroom and after having a quick shower, made myself breakfast, "Cheese & onion omelette with baked beans". I have all the things to wear ready from last night preparation. Knowing that my transfer in London will not be "a walk in the park", I make sure that I am wearing the right walking shoes and attire to fulfil that mission. My white Puma training shoes, black jeans, white-collared T-shirt and black leather jacket would be ideal. By about 10.00 hrs, I was already downstairs waiting for my Cab. The area that I lived is convenient, because there are lots of Cabs loitering around, hence not a need to book overnight.
 |
| Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang, Malaysia |
The trip to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA - LCCT) in Sepang was uneventful. I tend to keep quiet and not allow the cab driver to start a conversation. The time to spare I spent recollecting my planned passage, memorising my KUL to STN flight number and checking my backpack once again for any prohibited items that I might have overlooked. Putting all the less than 100 ml fluid and paste/cream into my "clear" plastic zip lock bag. The trip to the airport took about an hour as traffic has cleared after the morning rush hours (7am to 9am). KL is well known for it's notorious traffic jam. Similar to Bangkok and Jakarta.
If you have been to Kuala Lumpur in early 2005, you would have known about the LCCT which is the Low Cost Carrier Terminal about 20 KM away from the current KLIA Main Building. This is the Terminal that I will be boarding my flight to London. Simple Airport - no frill, no air bridge, walk on the tarmac a good distant to the awaiting aircraft, good ole accommodation ladder to climb onto the Airbus A340 aircraft. With this kind of arrangement, AirAsia managed to bring the cost down, hence, cheaper airfare. Keep everything simple "Simple Sum for Simple Sailors". This Terminal was operational in March 2005 to cater for 10 million passengers. It was later expanded in 2009, to handle 15 million pax. It seems that it was unable to cope with increasing traffic and pax which had increased to 22 million pax. It has always been a "catching-up game" which proofs later to be chaos and almost out of control. The Authority then decided on a Brand New Terminal which was opened in May 2014 which is capable of handling 40 million pax. It is known as KLIA2 which is nearer to the Main KLIA Terminal and is connected via the Express Rail Link (ERL). If you are travelling to KL Sentral from either KLIA or KLIA2, it will take approximately 28 minutes on the ERL. I believe it is one of the best infrastructure & express transport system KL & Greater KL ever had.
To be Continued.................
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