My Initial Descent: 28 August 2005 into KLIA

My ID:  6:33pm, Sunday, 28 August 2005:  Kuala Lumpur International Airport

Cathay Pacific flight CX721 from Hong Kong

My Initial Descent into Malaysia, via Kuala Lumpur International Airport (like so many others), had me thinking the entire country was a lush, green bed of palm trees. As far as I could see into the distance, rows and rows of palm trees, seemingly planned and organized. I had expected a tropical paradise of sorts, and my first impression was exactly that. And as KLIA is one of the most beautifully designed airports in the world, featuring large glass panels and atriums with more palm trees, that impression continued until long after I had arrived.