Early morning international departures usually necessitate an overnight in Vancouver. After several years of spending the pre departure night off airport and having to catch a shuttle at 0 dark thirty – the last few trips have found me at the fairmont airport hotel. It can be pricey but here is the deal. Book the cheapest room you can at the property – i do that on points – and then ask for an upgrade when you check in. I got an upgrade to a fairmont gold room for $70 – top floor, run way/mountain view, with a complimentary members lounge that serves appetizers at dinner time and a breakfast from 6:30 am onwards. The evening appies included a lovely dim sum spread – I ate well – and saved a ton on what the room and food would have cost booking it the usual way.
It is 18 hours now post departure with another 6 hours to go before I reach the transit hotel in Kuala Lumpur where I spend the night before the final push to Borneo. Tomorrow morning starts with another early wake up call, a train ride and passport stamps before an early morning departure to Kuching. The 14 + hours Cathay Pacific flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong went smoothly – good service, plane not too full and surprisingly good Chinese food. My premium economy seat was comfortable and it was nice to catch up on some movies – The Favourite and Green Book are both outstanding and well worth your time. The flight path into Hong Kong is stunning – directly over the city and on to the island where the airport is built.
Hong Kong airport is huge and never ceases to impress me re: how quickly and efficiently people are moved around. My own journey to my next gate at the other end of the airport involved multiple escalators, plus an underground train ride. All accomplished in under 15 minutes.
A 28 hour travel day is now complete. We chased the sun most of the way but a glorious evening sky accompanied us during the last few hours of the flight to Kuala Lumpur.
Have found the transit hotel and ready for a rest. Temperatures are around 30 degrees 😀
Travels with Anne 