Went to Masjid
India by LRT in the morning to get our RM changed to Rp. Felt so weird carrying some ‘millions’, although only in Rp lah. Finished all our packing, and the initial thought of being able to carry a medium-sized bag with lots of room to spare was WRONG. The bag ended up to be about 80% full. Hahahaha. Left the house in the afternoon, had lunch with brother and sister, and she sent us to the LCCT. Our first time there, no idea it was THAT bloody far away from the rest of civilization. Ample time to check-in, walk around, have a cup of coffee and then wait for the flight. Most of the people in the same flight were foreigners, with only a handful of Malaysians. The flight was slightly delayed, apparently due to the fact that only 1 of the 2 runways are functional, and planes from LCCT still share the same runway as KLIA. Like, duh! Flight finally left the ground at 1655 instead of the supposed 1640. Nothing special about the flight, except I was thinking about how the stewardesses had to become salesgirls on the plane, selling food, drinks and merchandise. Though yeah, 3 hours flight does make u hungry, and the food, is not bad at all.
Reached Denpasar at 1935, 5 minutes earlier than scheduled time. Got through the immigration pretty easily, and started to get amazed at how friendly the Balinese are, as they start chatting u up while they were stamping
ur passport. Collected brochures but couldn’t find a map anywhere. Took the airport cab to our hotel, a small little budget hotel for less than RM100 per night. It was cottage-style, as per many of the hotels around
Bali. But when we got there, WOW. Our room was right next to the pool, the room was large, the bathroom larger with a tub and also separate shower. Really ‘kampung’ style, loved it so much! It was so worth the bucks I tell ya. Our bungalow as they call it is situated in Legian which is still in Kuta, though not right smack in the middle of town. Quieter part of the city, but just as happening to us. The streets were LINED with shops, really EVERYWHERE u look. We got a map from the hotel with detailed streets information of the main town area. Studied the map and the brochures for a while, then we decided to take a walk around, wanting to find the beach and also get some food. Unfortunately smart as we were, after walking some distance only did we realize we did not bring the map with us. Hahahaha. Tried to follow the route I remembered from the map, but too hard to understand the roads around. The roads are mighty small, hardly big enough to fit a car, but all are double lanes. Crazy. Discovered that our apartment for the last 3 days were so close to the budget hotel, it’s only 5 minutes walk away. Good enough, that will save us cab money when we need to move. Walked back and forth for a while, realized we’re NOT gonna find the road we were looking for, so we settled down to find a place to eat in. Decided on this place around the corner named Bamboo Corner.
LCCT taxi service cohort with touts
Whatever you do, do not take the LCCT taxi services! Even in your most desperate moments. The following is a summary of their absolutely degrading, demeaning (for Malaysians) and high handed services.
My flight arrived from Bali (AK 905) on 8th February 2008 @ 10.30pm. There are two passengers (including myself) and 1 large baggage with 4 other smaller bags. Upon queuing up for about half an hour, I was informed that there are no more tickets for budget or (mini van) category taxi’s. They offered premier taxi’s that cost RM77.30 to the Subang area. The lady at the counter asked me which area I was residing and I informed her it was in the Subang area near Hyatt hotel. She recorded this in the receipt which I still have. Below are more detailed accounts of the whole episode:
1. Walked aimlessly to the domestic counter from the taxi counter which is about 100 meters away. Not a very convenient location.
2. Found the premier taxi’s by accident since there were no signs to direct us there. Went up to the taxi driver of a black Hyundai bearing registration number WAQ 5372 and handed the ticket to the driver.
3. Loading of luggage into the trunk of the taxi was done by me with the driver just looking on instead of lifting a finger to help
4. The driver sped to the destination as I think he wanted to return to the airport to get the after midnight 50% extra on picking up more passengers. The luggage in the trunk was thrown around including fragile items that were purchased.
5. Upon arrival near the destination, the driver insisted to drop us off at Hyatt hotel instead of our house which is in Puncak Nusa Kelana Condo. This is when the extortion begins.
6. From the underpass where he was about to make his decision it was 500 meters to Hyatt and 800 meters to our home. The driver started asking for more money and extorting us threatening not to drop us off at the destination, slowing down the taxi and mentioning that the amount usually charged is RM77 not RM71. He failed to realise that I had paid RM77!
7. I bit my lip and allowed him to drive to our home where I opened the trunk myself and unloaded the baggage with the taxi driver looking on.
8. I then gave the driver a tongue lashing as he was no longer in control of the situation. He challenged me to make a report and took down the condo details. He asked the guards at the condo for my name and unit number and threatened to send “people” over. He said that the amount for this area is usually RM99 which was firstly not communicated to me when I got the ticket and if he had issues he should deal with the company not with the passengers. For another 200 meters the cost is RM20? If that is the case, it is approximately 180KM from my condo to LCTT so using the same costing of RM10 for 100 meters the total taxi cost should be RM18,000! Perhaps the drivers should also consider education at least if not for themselves, for their children; otherwise they would end up with the same mathematical and other mental deficiencies.
The company (at the ONLY counter just after arrival immigration services) monopolises the entire airport area. Because of this monopoly they feel they can operate in any fashion that they desire. This is a farce and giving Malaysia a very bad reputation for tourists especially of being hit by touts as soon as they enter our country! It’s not enough that the tourists are manipulated but the Malaysian’s themselves are conned in the same way! LCCT is either just turning a blind eye to this or working hand in hand with these operators as they have done nothing despite numerous posts and complaints. Syabas LCCT…another job well done! Malaysia boleh!
I can be contacted on drsurajmenon.my@gmail.com for verification of authenticity of this posting.