I had bought ticket to KK as early as six months before my birthday. It was to be a short trip and I decided to book to stay at different hotels for each night. Rooms were secured in May and it was just a matter of counting the days and praying that dad would not require medical attention (he was warded for five nights in June and was discharged on the Day of Arafah).
I flew out on my birthday on the mid-morning flight. There were a lot of clouds as we neared Borneo that there was one or two turbulence. I saw rain drops outside my window as we descended into KK. The city was under a dark layer of angry black menacing clouds. I attended to my emails before ordering a Maxim car. My last trip to KK was back in November 2019 (just months before the pandemic) and even though it was dark and grey and raining heavily outside, I could see many new buildings in the city on the way to Hyatt Regency.
We arrived at Hyatt Regency and was making my way to my room at 11th floor within minutes. The hotel gave me a choice of hot beverage or gelato at Mosaic Café and another choice (which was alcoholic) so after depositing my bags in the room, I went down and had strawberry gelato. Yes, on a rainy day, but I figured I could always make my own cuppa in my room anyway. After that, I returned to my room to perform prayers and rest. Oh and my room! It was superb! My friend upgraded me to a Seaview room – bless her heart! – so I enjoyed a rain streaked view of the waterfront. The day cleared finally and I enjoyed a beautiful evening view. Alhamdulillah.
After chitchatting and dinner, suddenly two staff came out with a mango cake to my great surprise and they even sang me Happy Birthday. Oh my! Bless my two mates for making my birthday so special and memorable ;’)
We then went for a short night drive before returning to the hotel to take photos. I was concerned because they had to work the following day.
On Friday, I woke up early to shower, perform prayers and finish packing. I went down at 06:20 to check out then head for Tanjung Ria Kitchen for breakfast. I had another tummy upset though and had to use the facilities which made me run slightly late. It slipped my mind to pre-arrange a Maxim car and the car I ordered would take ten minutes to reach the hotel. I had planned to catch the 07:45 train to Beaufort from Tanjung Aru station...
Well, we made it somehow despite the traffic lights determinedly turning red for us. We arrived at the station at 07:43 (I was too afraid to check my watch at this point) and I practically leaped out of the car, ran to the ticket counter, paid for the ticket and grabbed the change and ticket and made my way around the rain puddles into the train. The doors closed seconds later. I huffed and puffed as I sat down.
We arrived at Beaufort after 10:00 (ETA was 09:45) and I hopped out, bladder bursting. I had sighted two petrol stations near the train station and swiftly made my way over. I then returned to the station to buy the ticket for the return trip at 11:01 – had to wait at least ten minutes before the counter opened – before I walked out again to explore the town. I visited the Starcevich Memorial Monument and then walked to the Tamu for a quick browse, the District Mosque before making my way back to the station.
The train left on time but stopped less than five minutes into the journey for at least 15 minutes. I’m not sure what was wrong and I didn’t feel like asking so I just continued reading my thick book. It stopped at many stations and more and more people got on. Well, there are only two services in a day and if you miss the train, you’d have to take the bus or something to KK.
We finally reached Sembulan, the terminus station (strange why the train didn’t depart from Sembulan but terminated there) and walked to Sabah State Museum. it had started raining then. I spotted a bridge and a gate opened partly and decided to cross the bridge and walk through the gate and yes, it did lead me up the stairs to the museum. My mate had brought me to the museum the evening before and I knew it was atop a hill. I paid RM2 for the ticket and went in. It showcased the history of the state and when it joined Malaysia, the local culture, the native animals, the items recovered from shipwrecks and the most impressive of all, the largest Bryde’s whale skeleton. I spent an hour there. Really, rainy days are especially perfect for spending time in a museum. After that, I walked to the nearby Islamic Civilisation Museum. You can use the same ticket to enter this museum. RM2 for two museums! What a bargain! All those trips to KK before and this was my first time of trying out the train and visiting the museums! Well, better late than never, eh.
I tried ordering Maxim car and after a while, I decided to perform prayers first. I tried ordering Maxim car again after prayers but after some time, decided to walk down to Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, figuring I stood a better chance of getting an e-hailing vehicle there. Well, I forgot it was a working day and a Friday too. The traffic had built up and it’d take too long to wait for a car and then endure the traffic. I checked Google Maps again and saw it’d take 31 minutes to walk to Hyatt so I decided, ‘Let’s Do Dis!’ and set off.
It started raining again as I was nearing my hotel and to avoid getting too wet, I took Jalan Sugut and walked along the shops. Suddenly, a big rodent appeared and I shrieked out. I don’t know who was more surprised, me or the rodent. I reached the hotel a bit wet and retrieved my bag and set off for Le Meridien. Well, what do you know, I came across another big fat rodent – probably the same one as I saw earlier but I didn’t stop to make acquaintance as I was too shaken up by the sight. I reached Le Meridien within ten minutes and checked in.
After depositing my bags – just like at Hyatt Regency, I was allocated a room at the 11th floor and the room was so huge it could comfortably fit a family of four – I went out to get dinner. There was a night market across from the hotel which I was told operated every evening. I had some soto and bought fried rice and fish sausages to go. I returned to my room smelling of smoke and grill – ugh! Good thing I decided to shower only after getting dinner. I stayed in for the rest of the evening.
On Saturday, I woke up early. After showering and performing prayers, I packed before making my way down. After breakfast, I walked to the dried seafood market and bought anchovies, shrimps and some local food before returning to the hotel. I checked out soon after and waited for Maxim car to the airport.
The flight took off on time and we landed at KLIA Terminal 1 at 14:10. I was the first one out of the plane and hurried as fast as my legs could take me and made my way to KLIA Transit station where I boarded the train with less than five seconds to spare. Alhamdulillah! I would have hated missing it and having to wait another 30 minutes for the next train. And thank God, I remembered to buy a return ticket on Friday. I got down at Putrajaya and performed prayers before taking the MRT to Ampang Park.
And just like that, my long-awaited trip was over... and it was back to real life.
