Hi! I am back.
Perth was wonderful. The journey started with me traveling down to Alor Setar, Kedah via train.
The train ride was comfortable and left on time at 2100hrs from KL Sentral. I reached Alor Setar, to find my dad waiting for me as usual. It was 0930hr the next day.
Malaysian Railways Express Langkawi with berth
It was barely enough time to enjoy the warmth of my hometown, when suddenly it was 1500hrs and it was time to leave to the Penang International Airport.
Parents at Penang Airport
The plane that took us to Singapore.
The flight was from Penang to Singapore then a delay of about 2 hours before the transit from Singapore to Perth at 1am! We reached Perth at about 6am and was greeted by this long queue for the immigration. They stopped and called me over - I guess I struck the officer as a terrorist or something but they tried their best to be as polite as possible. Then it was the baggage check and again I got pulled over and was asked a series of questions before being asked to open up my diving bag! By then I was tired and I just could not care less! Oh yes just before we got our baggage, there was this guy with his dog. The dog was made to sniff everybody’s luggage! This much of enforcement was almost totally absent when we left Australia. There was practically no screening on our way back compared to other countries that I have been too (not many) but what was going through my mind different.
It made me wonder that they were only interested about what was brought in and not so much as bothered about what was taken out. I understand that you don’t want illegal stuff brought into a country but to the extent of barring certain food products is pretty stiff for me. But what bothered me is that the laxity in leaving the country means that the flight I am boarding may be dangerous or hazardous. Isn’t airports suppose to ensure that people boarding any flight should be screened of their luggage and themselves, so that the flight is safe!? Isn’t the safety of a flight in air more important than the safety of materials or people on ground?
The other thing I disliked was the queue at the airport. When I arrived it was at the initial immigration check where we were lined up in a snake-line which for me is an eye sore and gives a negative feel. Worse was when we were leaving, the queue to get the boarding pass was so long and it felt inefficient!
Anyway, enough of ranting, they may not allow me into Australia with me complaining so much!
Back to the story, as we walked out the whole immigration thingy, we were met by my sister, her husband and their kids. What a sight and how joyful!
Swan River at the background! My parents with my sister Susan’s family.
