Departed Trader Hotel for the airport at 0745 this morning. My teksi was 15mins late picking me up - a first. Chris was supposed to pick me up but, must have slept in late and he sent Ravi, from my trip to Batu Ferenggi, to pick me up. I'd have been OK with the whole thing had Chris not BS'd me about where my ride was just so he wouldn't lose the fare! At 0735 I called to ask where my ride was and he said, 'right outside, Boss'... which was not true because I was outside. Anyway, suspecting a possible flub I'd built in a 15 min delay, so Freckles and I still got to the airport 2hr prior. :-)
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| Close-up of Freckles in PIA |
Once again, signage in this airport is less than adequate or clear to non-local patrons. Had to ask someone where the Silk Air check-in was. Counters 15-18, unmarked. When the Silk Air folks showed up, they erected temporary signs from behind the counters - well, then it became obvious what line to stand in.
Before you get to that point, everyone has their check-in luggage x-ray'd and tagged by security before walking to the check-in counters here in Penang International Airport (PIA) aka, Bayan Lepas, Pulau Penang.
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| Some shots of PIA terminal by Gate 7 |
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| Unique blends of stores/shopping |
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| Looking back towards the exit to the airport |
My bag only weighed ~17kgs, so no worries. I asked for and was assigned aisle seat, 27D, on Silk Air Flight# MI353, an Airbus A320, departing from Gate 7. From check-in heading towards International Departures, I stopped along the way at a vendor selling refrigerator magnets and, bought a few for Meg. At the entrance to International Departures, a Penang military person checks your credentials, then you head to customs, present your passport/boarding pass/departure card, get stamped and you're off to security.
Security's straight forward, take your laptops out, put all your bags on the conveyor for x-ray and step through the personnel scanner. Done. Picked up a few more Malaysian gifts for Rosie, Trish, Meg, and Kathi near Gate 7 at 'Summer Batik', and boarded in an orderly fashion in time to make a 1015 launch. Landed back in Singapore at 1130. Through customs and baggage claim by 1215 and back to the Fairmont by 1300.
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| My Silk Air flight coming in to land |
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| Silk Air Flt#353, A320 |
The Fairmont was expecting me, logged me in at the President's Club counter and escorted me and my bags up to the 22nd floor of the North Tower - same tower I was in before - room 2206.
Rounded out my day with a trip to my 'barber shop', picked up a couple of snacks at 1 of the 7 Elevens underground, had some lunch and on the way back to the Fairmont, found a massage parlor, the Qi Mantra (Raffles), bought a 15 massage package for $480SG and went in for a 1 hr, deep tissue massage... I'm sore as I type this. :-) I'm going in for another session on Monday afternoon after work at 1700 - just before I make the long trip back to Newark, New Jersey, via Narita Japan.
Nice to be back in Singapore!
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