Weekends are the only time when Allen Solomon Chong experiences any semblance of family life. The Sabahan, who is currently working in Kuala Lumpur, would make weekly trips back home to Kota Kinabalu to be with his wife and four daughters.
In fact, the project manager recently booked 39 flights in just the span of a month. The flights – which are spread throughout the year and the next – are all for his journeys home to Sabah.
On what spurred the decision to book so many flights in such a short amount of time, Chong, 39, says it boils down to the love for his family.
“I love my wife and kids. I travelled through the lockdown periods too. Swab tests and home quarantines become stock standard,” he says.
Chong stresses the importance of travel subscription plans too. In his case, he used AirAsia’s Super+ plan which he says helps with his travel budgeting. The plan offers Chong unlimited redemption flights throughout the year.
The reality, though, is that it takes serious financial commitment for Chong to be with his family every weekend.
“I ate into my savings to buy the tickets and just try to save up more in the next few months to pay for them. I force myself to stick to the discipline of a weekly travel life,” he says.
Making a living
“I fly back home on the weekends, every week. It’s tiring, but it’s a luxury a lot of Sabahans simply don’t have. I tell myself I’m blessed to be able to do this,” he says.
Chong was previously a mixed martial arts (MMA) exponent. He won the lightweight champion title at the inaugural Malaysian Invasion Mixed Martial Arts Fighting Championship in 2013. He was also the first South East Asian athlete to qualify for UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter China.
“I also organised the first-ever Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament in Malaysia – all from a small village near Kota Kinabalu,” he says.
However, it soon dawned on Chong that it’s hard to make a living in the fighting ring.
“The prospects in Sabah have dwindled significantly in the last 10 years, and sports doesn’t pay bills in Malaysia. Coupled with challenging economic conditions, this necessitated a move to secure employment in the capital city,” he shares.
Chong – who is currently working in the property development sector – decided to move to KL alone as he wants his children to be close to family.
“I want my kids to grow up with my extended family back home. If I cannot keep my grandma company, at least my kids will be there to entertain her. And they love the life in Sabah better,” he says.
The man just hopes that connectivity will be further improved between Sabah/Sarawak and the Peninsular.
“We need more airline companies servicing this sector. AirAsia started with Sabah and has grown that much since then.
“Competition breeds excellence. With the rise of Nusantara (the planned future capital of Indonesia in East Kalimantan), it only makes sense to direct more logistics in the direction of rapid growth,” he says.
Broadening horizons
Today, Chong is hoping to make up for lost time during the pandemic when the family couldn’t go out much. Now that travel restrictions have eased, he hopes to travel more with his family.
“I’ve not taken a real holiday for over three years now. It’s all staycations with the family recently. I hope to go on a holiday to Singapore with the kids one day. Let them see what a developed nation looks like. The savings will have to be substantial to make up for the weaker ringgit,” he says.
Some people might still be hesitant to travel, but Chong says it’s important to get over travel anxiety.
“I fake a cough sometimes to get people to back away (from standing too close). Seriously though, I just worry about the things I can control and block out the rest. It’s like a fighting competition, don’t worry about what your opponents will do to you too much,” he says.
At the same time, he also wants to expose his children to the world after an extended period of being stuck at home. Chong’s four children are aged eight, six, four and one respectively.
“I feel it is important to bite the bullet and bring the kids out to travel internationally. Broadening their horizons and perspectives improves their ability to think laterally and be true problem solvers and futurists.
“I’m hoping the airline companies will offer more international flights during school holidays so we can make use of the term breaks. Otherwise, we may have to skip school to catch the peak flights,” he says.
The need to familiarise his daughters to the joy of travel also stemmed from his own childhood experiences. One of Chong’s relatives worked for an airline company and took him on many flights when he was a kid.
“The excitement of travelling and always being in transit and experiencing new things gave me a wanderlust that carried strongly in my travels, especially for international fight events,” he says, adding that he loves to discover local architecture and culture while abroad.
Granted, a flight these days is really more of a commute for Chong.
“Though now I fly more to have a semblance of paternal life on weekends, I still reminisce the better days on every flight. The glory days are over, but I soldier on because there are better things to live for now. I live vicariously through my kids and hope for a better future for them,” he says.
And while he may be working full time in KL, he gets the most satisfaction when he is together with his family – be it at home in Sabah or while on holiday.
“It’s no fun without the ‘unit’. Being a dad is the best job in the world,” he concludes.
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