Wonderful May: Drama April Labuan FT to Brunei

Assalamualaikum.

Ok, ini adalah cerita basi. Rehat kejap update about my trip to Japan. Aku corner cerita pasal tempat lain.  

Last 2 weeks (28 Apr 2014), I had an impromptu trip to Brunei. But too bad I wasn't there for leisure. Was assigned to accompany one of our Indonesian worker to get her passport stamped for work & visa permit purposes at the Malaysia Embassy.

Nevertheless, I was excited! What's more when Bunda told me we have to cross border via ferry from Labuan FT. I've neither been to Labuan FT nor Brunei despite them being close to Kota Kinabalu! My maiden trip it was. And my only worries at that time was the ferry ride. Sob. I had quite an unforgettable ride during my trip to Hong Kong from Macau last year. Hint: Cyclone Level 3. 

A day before the Brunei trip. 

"Anakonda, check the airlines. Earliest flight to Brunei, and the last flight to KK from there."

"No direct flight to Brunei with Airasia nor MAS. Only RBA. But, the fare cost a bomb!"
"Then no choice. Take MAS to Labuan & ride the ferry to Brunei lah."
"Erm...ferry? Can I not go?"

"If not u, then who? Me? What am I supposed to urus there when u're the one who urus all those things regarding immigrations blah blah blah here. U're the kerani not me."

Bunda was about to turned herself from 'semboyan' to radio rosak, hence I quickly 'close the conversation' with;

"Ok, I'll go. But I wanted to spend a night in Brunei. Alang² sampai, at least let me discover part of the country. I wanted to see Brunei lama sudah."
"Bah, BUT if can finish the urusan in a day...better balik hari."

Eh? I thought we've closed the deal with me spending a night in Brunei?! Kejam tau. Sudah lah forced me to take the ferry. Where got the urusan can finish in a day? Itu kata orang yang memang determined mau stay even for a day there. Uhuk.

And so fate had it. Alhamdulillah doa mau spend a night termakbul!

"The only available flight to Labuan is at 1430. Then I have to take the last ferry at 1600; arriving 1730. Where got office still buka at that time. STILL kena tidur semalam. The next day baru urus the stamping semua. We balik KK in the evening lah."

Still trying to convinced her.

"Hmm, ok. U got ur wish. But make sure urusan semua settle."
"Ok bos! Erm, how to go to ferry terminal from the airport in Labuan?"
"What? All this while how u know about Korea & places u go? Why bila mau jalan di Malaysia, u ask me? Google lah bah. U won't get lost there. We speak the same language, that I know." 

Check-mate! Bunda smashed me hard! Literally felt like she just banged me onto the wall. 

Fyi, she said that followed by a smirk on her face! Mensampah dengar jawapan itu! Of all countries why must emphasized Korea? Pffttttt. 

Fast forward to the day we departed for Labuan FT. Everything went smooth. I didn't left anything at home. Kisah jaket tertinggal prior my trip to Japan adalah kenangan bingai up to this moment! Cukuplah kisah bingai tu. 

Passport checked. Baju bajan cukup. Duit pun sudah awal² convert. Aku cuma bawa BND 200! Ndak lebih, ndak kurang. Cukuplah budget for 2 days di sana, kunun. I've also emailed the hotel in Brunei; requesting for a pick up at Serasa Ferry Terminal (Brunei). Aku email jam 0100 & I didn't expect to received a reply from them 10 minutes later. Not an auto-reply ok. Office buka 24-7 kah diorang ni? 

Lega sikit bila pihak hotel informed they provide terminal transfer for free. I told them I will be arriving around 1700-ish. And they replied

"Our concierge will be at the terminal an hour early."

Double lega. 

So on the 28^th we departed to Labuan FT from Kota Kinabalu via MAS Wings. Kecil gila kapal tu. Sumpah! Itu adalah first time aku juga. Nasiblah the journey only took 30 minutes. Ntah kenapa lah temberang gila! Suddenly rasa macam sesak nafas dalam tu. Sempit? Statement berlagak ndak hengat! Lucky cuaca adalah secerah² alam. Ndak da angin kuat ka apa. The plane is so small (pada pandangan aku) I can't helped but to imagine how would it be IF suddenly ada angin kuat. Adakah akan jadi roller coaster ride? 

Clockwise:
1. Cantik Mas Wings.
2. Sempitkan? Poyo jangan layan.
3. But I was impressed. Safety briefing via screen. Airasia please take note. Gitu. Paling epik
"Kami tau anda saaaaangat sayangkan telefon bimbit anda. Tapi sila padamkan telefon sepanjang perjalanan".
4. Labuan FT, I finally sampai! Syahdu!

Alhamdulillah we landed at Labuan Airport in one piece. And dapat air milo kotak & peanuts during the flight. 

Turun jak dari kapal, eh aku sudah jejak Labuan! Finally. Kesian perangai kau Bie. Masa ni memang trip tourist habis. 

As taught by a friend who go to Labuan almost every week; I went straight to the taxi counter upon exiting the arrival hall. Airport adalah kecil sila jangan buat sesat dalam tu. Taxi fare to ferry terminal is RM 15.00 (coupon). Journey pun cuma 15 minutes. Why no superwalkertapaki like I always do when I travel? Panas ok! Aku datang sebab kerja. Apadahal RM 15.00. Lagipun we have to be at the terminal early. Tunggu taxi di airport pun sudah 20 minit. And we haven't buy the ferry ticket to Brunei yet. Alasan! I wasn't quite worry about that since it was Monday actually. And petang. Siapa jak yang travel on weekdays? Bukan musim cuti sekolah some more. Confident level harus tinggi bab ni.

And I was right. Sampai terminal, lengang. Pastu aku macam bingai ndak pandai tengok signboard for ticket counter. Boleh? Pastu tanya orang. Macam hampagas. Slang Sabah tapi ndak tau mana kaunter tiket? Don't u know how to read signage meh? 

Erm, panas ok. Aku cepat paniks kalau panas² ni. Settled beli tiket. RM 35.00/pax for Economy Class. Then aku proceed masuk departure hall. It was already 1545 & ferry will depart at 1600. Siap scanned bag. I showed our tickets to the officer...and she went *muka garang gila*

"Sri Anna kan? Ini belum boleh masuk. Kena tunggu di luar dulu. Dengar announcement. Tadi XXX yang kena panggil masuk."

What the fish? How am I supposed to know? Muka bengis gila ada jak niat aku mau kasi orang makan kasut! Ingatkan macam di airport. Boleh masuk boarding hall kalau dekat masa untuk berlepas. On the ticket it clearly said "Please be at the boarding point 20 minutes before departure". Haritu di Hong Kong, harus masuk 30 minutes prior boarding! Fine, ni di Labuan. HK lain. That day, passengers to Brunei hanyalah less than 10. Perhaps they only apply the rule during peak season; I told myself. Senangkan hati sendiri.

Aku malas argue. Nanti jadi kalut. 

So aku duduk di luar, facing the departure hall. Tengok skrin untuk tengok announcement. AND 2 minutes later...!!

"Untuk penumpang Sri Anna, sila masuk ke balai berlepas. Feri akan berlepas sebentar lagi."

Bontot aku belum panas duduk oii. Scanned bag lagi sekali, cek tiket, limpas immigration checking, and off we boarded the ferry. Masuk jak, sah! My expectation was way too high! Thanks to Turbojet lah kan. Seriously! Automatically aku down gila masa tu. Life jacket under the seat, packed in a plastic bag?? Ngeri! Terus ingat the recent Sewol Ferry tragedy. Semua terkaitkan.

Sedu sedan duduk dalam ferry. Departed 10 minutes late. 1.5 hours journey. Terima hakikat. Ndak kisahlah feri ndak macam Turbojet ka apa. Janji! Jangan ada turbulence. The moment ferry bergerak, I put on my earphones pastu layan 'Kkaeb song'. In between tu sempat ber-WA. While data line masih ada. Suddenly...

"Ok juga kamu? How's the ferry? Ambil bah gambar, I wanna see how it looks like."
"It ain't Turbojet-alike! Bikin takut!"
"Perasaan mu saja tu. Faster, pictures. Snap the seat juga."
"Apakah? Nah, the seat. The interior."
"Ish, ok pun ni. Luas. Enjoyed ur journey. Take care."
"It is far from ok!!!"
"Bye, stop drama queen-ing. Take care"

It was Bunda! Frust tau keluhan ndak dilayan. I fell asleep not long after that. Dalam ndak suka, dalam komplen itu ini seat ndak best yadda yadda...lena aku tidur. Hampagas! I woke up few minutes before we arrived Serasa Ferry Terminal, Muara in Brunei. Tengok phone...line nan hado! Sedih.

Semua went smoothly dari keluar feri, to immigration, to custom checking. Sekali keluar arrival gate, lengang. Only few people ada sana; yang satu feri sama kami. Ndak lama, diorang pun hilang. So did the officers there. Terminal sudah tutup. Public phone accept only card & kaunter jual kad pun sudah tutup. No one there except 2 taxi drivers. Pakcik pakai kopiah. 

And driver hotel yang patut datang pick up kami...ndak kelihatan!! There was no one holding board with our names (as told by the hotel manager) when we exited. We waited for like 20 minutes. Masa tu sudah jam 6pm! And it was getting dark. Senja sudah mula melabuh tirai. Takut ok. Takut! Walau bahasa sama; tapi kalau tempat sunyi & deserted & gelap...??

So we approached one of the taxi drivers; whom aku memandai panggil Pak Haji sebab dia pakai kopiah. And masa tu bermulalah kisah aku jadi penyoal tegar 'kenapa wujud orang begini di negara yang sangat praktis hukum Islam'. 

Kenapa kunun aku jadi penyoal tegar? Itu nanti aku continue next entry. Sekarang sudah lapar...perlu makan.

Till then, have a blessed Friday everyone!

eryantierdabdulkarim