Final Flights

Our flight from Chicago to Tokyo was completely packed. There was not an empty seat to be found. Our next flight from Japan to Malaysia was maybe only a quarter full, so there was plenty of room to stretch out. Fortunately this flight was much shorter at only 7 hours, a little over half the time of the first flight. Again, we all noticed the leniency of the Japanese airline. I was not only allowed to have my iPad and iPhone out during takeoff, but I had them on and was using them with my tray table down. The flight attendants were overly friendly and attentive, and accommodated every need.  When I would stand, someone was there in a moment to direct me to a vacant lavatory, and when snacks and drinks were offered, if they sensed we were trying to decide between different items they would offer to leave both. We were highly impressed with the service. The iPhone app and check-in process for ANA Airlines was a different story. It seems that all the translations were done by computer and often incorrect words were used and certainly wrong tenses. At first it was rather comical, but turned out to be a bother when important directions were unclear.

We arrived in Kuala Lumpur around 6:00 AM and the sun had not yet risen. We had an 8 hour layover before our next flight, so we stayed at the airport at a small transit hotel called Sama Sama. This micro hotel can be booked by the hour instead of the night, and is handy during long layovers to help get a little sleep or a refreshing shower between flights. After having both a shower and some sleep, we were back at the terminal looking for food. We found a nice little place and appreciated the irony of being in Asia at a Mediterranean restaurant eating Italian food. We finished our ethnic meal and headed to our next flight. This time we flew on Malindo Air on a much smaller plane than our previous flights, and thankfully for a much shorter flight. About two hours later we arrived at the first of our travel destinations in Kuching, in the state of Sarawak which is in eastern Malaysia, on the Island of Borneo.

Travel recap: We departed from Hot Springs on Saturday morning about 10:00 AM and arrived in Kuching on Tuesday night about 10:00 PM, three and a half days later. And boy did we ever feel it. I started feeling a bit dizzy while in Tokyo and by Tuesday night I was mildly nauseous from jet lag. Besides the long travel time, we lost an entire day, the day of Halloween to be exact. We left Chicago on the eve of the 30th and arrived in Malaysia on November 1st. While Halloween was lost somewhere in the twilight zone, so was the sun. It was just setting as we departed Chicago on Sunday and we didn't see it again until Tuesday, and then only briefly. But it was a beautiful sunset from the air.