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Published: July 19th 2014
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The taxi ride from Kuala Basut in a 'vintage' Mercedes was pretty much like all the taxis we've taken on our travels in the past: Dean sits in the front passenger seat trying to converse with the driver and Eleanor and I sit in the back rolling our eyes and guffawing at Dean's inability to understand what the driver is saying and the driver's inability to comprehend Dean's colloquialisms. Upon starting the engine, I had my doubts that it could make it out of the street, let alone to Kota Bharu. But we chugged along at a leisurely pace; not too much tooting and passing (which is unusual for a taxi ride in Asia). The 'Nastie Hair and Beauty Parlour' caught my eye but it was a massive Buddha statue that we actually took a detour to admire. Mangy looking dogs sauntered around the grounds and Eleanor was fairly fascinated in a small dog trying to relieve his bowels. To be honest, I think I would have preferred to sit in the air conditioned taxi and enjoyed the sight through a fairly clean window. Okay, maybe I've seen one too many huge Buddha statues and yes, they're impressive, but I wasn't
coping very well with the humidity. The giant dinosaur in the corner of the front yard was, however, a particularly pleasing and unusual feature that could be considered a little out of place, but then some people may think a ten storey Buddha in the middle of nowhere is also a bit odd.
Arriving at the airport way before the flight I was fairly confident I could kill a few hours. We had no choice but to catch the 8 am boat as it was the only one that was leaving in time for our flight, but it meant that, even for me, we were WELL ahead of schedule. I knew from our previous visit here that there were some shops and a few cafes that could keep me busy, however I didn't factor in Ramadan. The SS Mart was open, a chemist, some small souvenir stalls and that was it.
Dean and Eleanor took a seat in the massage chairs and proceeded to wile away 45 minutes. The SS Mart held our interest for five minutes or so; we purchased cup noodles, Mr Potato chips and some chocolate. Lunch was taken in the upstairs area in a
closed KFC dining room. Oh the joy. At least the WiFi was on.
Inside the departure lounge, there were two food places open: another SS Mart and a small takeaway shop (which was no smorgasbord of joy, although we didn't dwell on our lack of lunch fulfillment). A couple of stalls, both specializing in kaftans and other coverall costumes, occupied prime real estate yet were rather forlorn looking. Somehow we eked out the four hours playing 2048, reading (Jasper Jones, National Geographic) and watching the few planes take off.
By 2 pm, we were ready to board. Thank goodness Air Asia prides itself on adhering to take off times, although KFC was opening at 3 which would have opened up some other opportunities...
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