Malaysia Airlines’ New Booking System: Much improved!

Here’s a quick review of the new Malaysia Airlines booking system.

The old one had a lot of problems and shortcomings. This new one is much welcomed with lots of improvements.

- You can now mix your classes or fare types in one booking. For example, promo fare + flexi fare, or economy on the outbound and business on the inbound. UPDATE: Seems like they've removed the ability to mix cabin classes in one booking.

- You can also book direct check-through tickets and select any combination of flights with different layover times. The old system, you were presented with what MH figured best suited you so sometimes you'd get very short connecting times for a flight from KCH to KUL (1h35m only, you'll miss your connecting flight if the KLIA aerotrain breaks down again or the incoming flight is delayed).

- Seat selections at time of booking are now all FREE! Hooray! Before, you had to pay at time of booking but selection was free if you did a web-check-in before departure.

- Maybank2u payments are currently down so only paypal, cc and cimbclicks are available.

This is a much better system than the old, archaic one. Makes booking tickets a lot easier. Unfortunately, if you like booking tickets with their app, that one's still stuck on the old system.

Their Enrich program will also see some changes in June.

Love our rivers - part 2

More photos as promised. More to come in part 3. See part 1 here (click).

Our sweaty bags and towels often attract sweat bees and other insects like this beautiful butterfly.

Weathered sandstone walls along the riverbank. Ferns such as those in this picture (Dipteris lobbiana) quickly take a foothold in the cracks where organic debris collect.

There’s planking, and then there’s rock surfing. :)

A small jungle stream cascading down smooth sandstone into the main river. Due to the dry weather, water volume is low. This pool which is normally very deep is now shallow enough to wade in to get to the other side.

Small orchids that grow in great abundance by the river bank.

There’s a fishing net laid across this stretch of the river. Note the leaves that have collected on the surface, caught by the net.

Hooray! Sunlight!

It was cloudy when we started. Then just before we got ready to leave, the sun came out. It became cloudy again after we left the place.

Pictures are always prettier when there’s bright sunshine!

When the monsoon rains return, this river will be a raging beast!

Those palm trees look like oil palms but they’re not, they’re some kind of wild palm.

Relaxing in a deep pool. This is probably the deepest pool we came across, so deep the bottom could not be seen.

Pocket car

Stuck in a jam? No worries. Pick up your car, stuff it in your pocket and walk on foot! 3-wheeled mini car spotted in Tianjin, China. It seats four teletubbies. hehe :)

A little googling reveals that it’s a super economical mini car (consumes about 2.8L per 100km), one of several taking to the roads in China and is probably made by Fulu? I love it! I want one! Spotted another similar looking vehicle but that was probably a motorcycle with walls. :P

BTW, Beijing was truly a pleasant surprise. I did not expect to enjoy my time there as much as I did.

Been a while since I last updated my blog. Will try and share more photos and bits of stories from my travels now n then!

Mulu chalet

I’d like to stay a night in one of these… they’re fairly new. RM230-RM280 per night, sleeps a maximum of 3 persons. Air conditioned. But the bathrooms are built for peeping toms! They’ve got glass walls and wooden blinds with wide gaps!


See the bathrooms on the side with the wooden blinds? I noticed people take baths in the dark with the lights switched off. LOL