Sheraton Bandara Jakarta

20 March 2007

I landed in Jakarta almost 11pm, which would be midnight, Singapore time.

This would be a overnighter for me, as my intention was to proceed to Pekanbaru, Riau. Pekanbaru is really much nearer to Singapore than Jakarta, but the domestic flights from Jakarta provided greater flexibility of travel than getting to Pekanbaru from Singapore. Thus, I had to put up in a hotel for the night so I could catch the morning flight to Pekanbaru.

The first time I stayed in the Sheraton Bandara some years ago when I was still in my previous employment, I did not have a good impression about the hotel. I had arrived past noon together with my colleague then, and we had hoped that we could check in immediately, but even though the hotel wasn't fully occupied, the hotel reception at that time refused us an early check in and insisted we wait till 2pm. That really ruin it for me as far as good service was concerned. It was obvious there were rooms available, because right on the dot at 2pm, magically, they allowed us to check in.

Armed with this bad memory of the service, I had refrained from staying at the Sheraton Bandara each time I came to Jakarta, even though my agent had suggested I should stay there for ease of pick up.My Brunei Airline flight BI 737 was mostly empty with so few passengers, you could run around the plane if you wanted to. It also meant the stewardesses were stricter in enforcing the belt-up rule whenever it came on. I had inadvertently not noticed that the seat belt sign had come on during a momentary turbulent point of the flight, and had gotten up to head to the washroom, only to be firmly, but politely, told to take my seat even before I could get to the aisle.

Anyway, on landing, I was the first at the door as I was seated really close to the exit door. That was a first for me. I had never sat so close to the main exit door before. The immigration line in Jakarta Airport was empty when I got to the counter, and this was again my first time breezing through Indonesian immigration without having to queue.When I got to the baggage collection belt, a couple of uniformed personnel approached me, and I mistook them for airport officials. When one of them asked me for my luggage tag, I gave it to him without question. It was only when he started to look out for my luggage that I realized he was a bell hop of sorts.

Now, this is a good lesson for me though. It is well worth the Rp10,000 tip to have one of these attendents help you with your luggage because after he had retrieved the luggages, he wheeled them for me on the trolley, whisking past customs without any hassle at all. Customs only requested for me to pass my laptop bag into the scanner. This is really quite a great way to be spared the frustrations of having to deal with customs, especially if you were carrying CDs, sample kits etc. Indonesia officials are known to be quite difficult with anything that they can possibly find reasons to charge you for. I shall remember to use that service every time I visit Jakarta from now on.

When I came out of the airport, I had thought I would have to get a cab, and at such a late hour, I was, honestly, not looking forward to that. Surprisingly, when I went to through the waiting area, I spotted a Sheraton Bandara sign being raised by the pick up service. I thought, hmm..I should approach the chap and see if I could get a ride to the hotel. I was quite surprised indeed to realize, later, that he was actually there to pick me up. I had not even book airport transfer service when I booked for the room online. However, I did state my flight number and all, but certainly did not expect any such consideration, thinking the expected time of arrival was merely hotel formality to have a record of the approximate time I would actually check in.When the driver mentioned my surname, I thought, well, mine was a common name, but who cares, I shall hop on and clarify later. I have no qualms paying for the service anyway.

During the ride I was feeling a little bad, wondering if I had stolen the ride from another guest who might be stuck at the airport. Since the hotel was only a 10-minute ride from the airport, I figured they could always return to pick up the right person later. At the check in, I asked about hotel transfer to the airport, and was told that it was complimentary. This got me wondering if airport transfer was also complimentary, and I asked only to have that confirmed, and plus, the reception also confirmed that they had arranged my airport transfer!

I was very pleased to realize that I had not stolen a ride, and that the hotel service was beyond my expectation.

The room was somewhat old, but still adequately maintained. It resembled a chalet rather than a typical hotel. It had a very resort feel to it. The hotel itself was situated on sprawling grounds. I remembered having a swim in their reasonably size pool.

All in all, I have to say that this Sheraton hotel in Jakarta gets my nod of approval and compares most favorably against the Sheraton Media Hotel that I'd stayed in some weeks ago.

Well worth repeated patronage if you are in Jakarta.

Sarawak - Kuching & Miri; and Brunei - Kuala Belait

18, 19 March 2007
I arrived in Kuching Sunday evening, 18 March. The spanking new airport was quite a pleasant welcome and the Silkair flight from Singapore was uneventful. The piping hot mini submarine sandwich filled with turkey ham and cheese was quite unexpected to me, being used to the usual generous SIA food offerings of specially prepared cuisines that had seldom given me any reason to require additional food on landing.

This is my second trip to Kuching, and I stayed in the same hotel as I did the last time, i.e. The Crowne Plaza Riverview. The cab ride to the hotel was fixed at RM17.50. Again I noticed how old the cabs were in Kuching.

The journey took about 20 minutes, and it was 9pm by the time I reached the hotel. I was in a hurry to get to a Digi outlet so I could purchase a pre-paid top up card for my digi line that I had bought previously.

I rushed to check in, got myself into room #11-17, on a supposedly non-smoking floor. I found there was a distinctly musty, or smoky odour on the floor. I am not sure if I liked it that they had given me a room right at the furthest end of the corridor. It was a long walk to my room with my laptop, heavy hangbag, and tired self.

I got to my room and noticed that it was the same simple room, with little luxury features to speak of. The power outlets were not sufficient for laptop users, and located inconveniently away from the writing desk.

Internet charge was a hefty RM57 a day.

I found myself feeling hungry, and thus ordered some hot chocolate which cost an exorbitant RM10.50 for a small pot that afforded no more than 2 small cups of diluted milky chocolate-flavoured beverage. I missed the convenience of home and my gigantic tin of delicious Milo.

The hotel was very conveniently located in the midst of shopping malls, and across the street was a 7-11. In terms of location, I would rate it a definite 10. I liked being near to convenience stores.

I hurried to get to a Digi store before closing and was relieved that my 3rd attempt yielded a serviced outlet. The rest had already closed for the night at 9.15pm.

Enroute to Miri, I realized that the customs at Kuching Airport still required screening of our bags, and security tagging.

For web addicts, you might like to know that you can get free wi-fi service at the Coffee Bean outlet at the departure gate. They have their security codes written on a sign just by the checkout counter. I suppose buying a cuppa was expected, and seemed reasonable for free internet service.

I was relieved to be able to rush out a couple of email whilst downing a tall glass of vanilla latte.

Being the over-anxious boarder that I am, with half an hour to spare before scheduled flight time, I felt the need to get into the waiting section even though they weren't ready to allow boarding.

I sat in front of a lady who was dressed rather hip, in black overalls, and she was smiling at me quite broadly. I was feeling a little suspicious, but I smiled back. That gave her the impetus to remark that I looked familiar to her. If that was a pick up line, that must be a pretty old moldy one.

She kept asking if I was from Miri, and I emphatically told her that this would be my first time heading to Miri. Finally she concluded I probably resembled someone else.

Anyway, we spent a brief time chatting and she told me she was a sales promoter for Biotherm products and that she lived in Miri. She was in Kuching to visit a doctor because there was none in Miri! She explained that I would probably find Miri quite lazy, idylic, and a far cry from Singapore.

We parted ways as we boarded the plane and sat far from each other.

Miri Airport looked a lot like Kuching Airport; bright, new and pleasant. But it seems their cabs were just as old. The taxi fares were, however, a lot more expensive in Miri because it cost me RM18.50 for a 10 minute ride to the Marriot Resort & Spa Miri.

Now this Resort is quite something else. It certainly lived up to the Marriot name. And very affordable at RM220 a night. At check in, the receptionist kept trying to persuade me to take a room in the main building at RM150 more. I explained that it was meaningless for me as I was only staying a night.

My room was a chalet, located a good distance from the main reception area, and the floors were not served by any elevators. It was a good thing the bell hop helped me with my 2 huge luggages all the way to my room on the second floor. My chalet was located past the tennis court, through a winding pathway, accessible only by going down a flight of spiral stairs, and a nice 1 km walk away.

It was very nice, and everywhere smelt of Aromatherapy; even their signature toiletries were labelled Aromatherapy.

The resort had sprawling grounds, and the swimming pool was immense! The resort was situated right beside the beach and it was very beautiful.

Internet connection cost RM63 a day.

Dinner was at this restaurant called Zest, and it was right by the pool. I went to the gym for a 20 minute work out, wanting to feel less guilty, but still decided that their Thai cuisine buffet at RM65++ was too sinful to indulge myself in.

I gave it a pass, thinking that their breakfast spread must be quite irresistible too.

Yes, indeed, the breakfast was quite extensive. Nevertheless my current rotund figure persuaded me against helping myself to the spread, and settled instead for yoghurt, fruit, just a small helping of fried bee hoon, a little bit of beef curry, a short beef sausage, one slice of turkey ham, a pastrami, and three variety of cheeses.

It wasn't as heavy as it sounds.

My ride to Kuala Belait, Brunei, awaited me at 10:30am, giving me less than 20 minutes for my breakfast. The large pot of coffee was very assuring, but I could only finish one cup before rushing to check out of my nice chalet.

The ride past the check point toward Kuala Belait was smooth, but I would avoid needing restroom facility along the way, especially if you consider the checkpoint toilet as your only refuge. Bring along your own toilet paper, because there would be none, and for 20 sens (RM0.20), the condition of the toilet was quite deplorable.

By the time I arrived at Kuala Belait, I realized that the road trip took just about an hour.

I was told the bridge separating the two countries was built over a river. It was a pretty high slope to climb the bridge; one could hardly see across to the other side of the bridge till you got to the top.

I understand before the bridge was built, the two countries were accessible by ferry, which brought both persons and vehicles across. Sometimes, so it seemed, the river did not allow the ferry to get across for various reasons that I do not recall.

Here I am now, having concluded the day's business in Kuala Belait and enjoyed the 98 km ride to the Bandar Seri Begawan Airport, enjoying wi-fi service at the Coffee Bean in the transit area. I'd decided to be 3 hours early to complete some work on my laptop, not realizing that wi fi was no longer offered free of charge in Brunei Airport.

During my last visit, I was still able to access the service, but it seemed all the wi fi services had been secured by their various providers.

Well, good thing Coffee Bean offered free wi fi service with any order. But you would have to ask the staff for the password key. A patron had asked me about it before I attempted to connect online, and I had not realized that the service had been password secured. He gave up trying and decided to proceed to the Cyber Dott Cafe on the ground level just by Gate 5. I see him now on one of the terminals. I'm not sure how much he had to pay for internet service, but I don't relish using the public terminal. For one, I would not be able to connect to my VPN to retrieve my office email, and thus, would still not get my work done.

I'm very pleased that I had the audacity to inquire of the Coffee Bean staff for the password. So, here I am, with 1 hour to spare, and enough time to complete this blog entry, and maybe surf the web a little more.