Away....

By the time you read this, I would be in Kuala Lumpur for business.

I am not too particularly surprised that the Brunei International Airport is not one of the transit airports of choice by many passengers. The main terminal building was built in early 1970’s and it really shows. The layout looks outdated, the amenities are embarrassingly pitiful and the facilities are scarce.

Moving into the main satellite building, where one would wait for his/her flight to depart, I could not feel any more embarrassed. The duty free shops are at its minimal, selling the odd chocolate, perfumes and cigarettes. The newsagent is mediocre; it still stocks some publications published many months ago (I remember that many western magazines would have display by dates). There is an internet café, where the person looking after it was playing songs a bit too loud.

The toilet was something else. The toilets are located one floor down from the main plaza, so it is an inconvenience to go down to the toilets, especially if you travel alone and you have a trolley bag as a hand-carry baggage. Some of the lights in the toilet were not working; especially those on top of the cubicles, so one would have to do his business in the dark. There was no proper paper towel to dry hands with; instead the cleaner left a few rolls of toilet paper on top of the paper towel dispenser. There was even no soap to clean hands with.

Why can’t the airport authority look to the other airports around the region for inspiration? We do not have to do the whole lot, but at least try to provide recreation areas, eye-catching and always updated displays, properly working facilities and duty-free shops that sell more than just cigarettes, chocolate and perfumes. The airport authority should take the advantage of the profitable Kangaroo (UK-Australia) route. Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore now top the list of transit airports of choice and there should be no reason why our airport cannot be in the list too. Be patient; there is a plan for its expansion is in the pipeline (see here), but don't hold your breath as apparently it is planned to be completed by 2036!

On a slightly different note, there was a group of Gurkhas going for the same flight. I was caught among them while going through the security checks. Most of the Gurkhas had at least a hand-carry bag with them for some reason some of them have pliers and knives in their bag. When it was my turn to go through the security checks, the police on duty mistook me for one of the Gurkhas as I put my laptop bag on the conveyor belt. She told her colleagues in Malay that I should better not have anything prohibited in the bag or else she would not let me take the flight at all. So I greeted her in Malay and she turned red in embarrassment! Do I really look like a Gurkha?