Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is, in the words of its website, a destination in itself. Isn’t that true of everywhere? Still, I can think of many other airports that are far less comfortable to spend half a day in. It is certainly spacious. It is a little like being in a huge, air conditioned tent. One with shiny marble floors and McDonald’s, which is not a good point in my book. With all the great food available in Malaysia, why are the main restaurants KFC and the dreaded yellow M?
KLIA It is part of the “Multimedia Super Corridor ... a homely airport with a serene environment combined with high technologies attractions”1 Surrounded by Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam, Seremban, Malacca and Putrajaya, Malaysia’s new administrative capital, the airport couldn’t really have a better location. There is even a Formula 1 racing circuit nearby.
Enough of that. I usually find killing six hours in an airport to be painful in the extreme. Not today, thanks to my decision to travel with my Mac. To the casual observer there isn’t a great deal to support the contention that KLIA is part of a multimedia super corridor, although I have been able to connect wirelessly without problem, or indeed cost, to check my email and update this blog. As a mobile computing virgin, this excited me. Typically though, my new electronic promiscuity was quickly cut short. Not by changing morals, as might well be the case in Saudi Arabia, but by flattened batteries. Domestic departure, however huge, provides wireless connectivity but only two power sockets. Finding them was fun though, thanks to the low friction of marble tiles and well designed baggage trolleys.
Difficult to maneuver and with an innate ability to trap rucksack straps and toes, baggage trolleys wouldn’t normally be worth writing about. Not in KLIA though. They are quite simply magnificent. The last time I was on a skate board was in the 1970s. It was a brief experience that resulted in a rather sudden acquaintance with the pavement, much to the amusement of my cousin Susan. Since that time I have always maintained publicly that skateboarding is beyond me. This single, unbalancing, experience also made me reluctant to try skying even though it is one of the sports most competent mountaineers take in their stride. Never the less, it has always been a secret regret that I can’t do a boneless frontside 180 finger flip or an early grab to fakie. Or, to be honest, even stand on the damned board without risk of breaking my hip.
Enter the KLIA baggage trolley. Marble floors, well-lubricated wheels, perfect balance and lots of space ... oh the fun. For the last couple of hours I have explored the airport on a skateboard with stabilizers, perfect for a 43 year-old klutz with no balance. No tricks perhaps, and definitely no stunts, but quite a bit of speed. An audience too; apparently it is unusual here to see a grey haired man with a beard doing circuits on a trolley. With security nowhere in sight, I recommend it to anybody who can’t skateboard.
1 http://www.klia.com.my/index.php?ch=65&pg=154&ac=2609
KLIA It is part of the “Multimedia Super Corridor ... a homely airport with a serene environment combined with high technologies attractions”1 Surrounded by Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam, Seremban, Malacca and Putrajaya, Malaysia’s new administrative capital, the airport couldn’t really have a better location. There is even a Formula 1 racing circuit nearby.
Enough of that. I usually find killing six hours in an airport to be painful in the extreme. Not today, thanks to my decision to travel with my Mac. To the casual observer there isn’t a great deal to support the contention that KLIA is part of a multimedia super corridor, although I have been able to connect wirelessly without problem, or indeed cost, to check my email and update this blog. As a mobile computing virgin, this excited me. Typically though, my new electronic promiscuity was quickly cut short. Not by changing morals, as might well be the case in Saudi Arabia, but by flattened batteries. Domestic departure, however huge, provides wireless connectivity but only two power sockets. Finding them was fun though, thanks to the low friction of marble tiles and well designed baggage trolleys.
Difficult to maneuver and with an innate ability to trap rucksack straps and toes, baggage trolleys wouldn’t normally be worth writing about. Not in KLIA though. They are quite simply magnificent. The last time I was on a skate board was in the 1970s. It was a brief experience that resulted in a rather sudden acquaintance with the pavement, much to the amusement of my cousin Susan. Since that time I have always maintained publicly that skateboarding is beyond me. This single, unbalancing, experience also made me reluctant to try skying even though it is one of the sports most competent mountaineers take in their stride. Never the less, it has always been a secret regret that I can’t do a boneless frontside 180 finger flip or an early grab to fakie. Or, to be honest, even stand on the damned board without risk of breaking my hip.
Enter the KLIA baggage trolley. Marble floors, well-lubricated wheels, perfect balance and lots of space ... oh the fun. For the last couple of hours I have explored the airport on a skateboard with stabilizers, perfect for a 43 year-old klutz with no balance. No tricks perhaps, and definitely no stunts, but quite a bit of speed. An audience too; apparently it is unusual here to see a grey haired man with a beard doing circuits on a trolley. With security nowhere in sight, I recommend it to anybody who can’t skateboard.
1 http://www.klia.com.my/index.php?ch=65&pg=154&ac=2609
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