Whew! Made it to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Here I am sipping a Starbucks coffee to keep me awake. I arrived around 6pm, it is currently 9pm and my connecting flight is 6am. That means I still have six hours to kill time. I am already tired and drowsy but as much as possible I don’t want to sleep in one of the chairs here inside the public lounge so I can guard my personal belongings. The private lounge here costs $20+ per hour so that is pretty expensive so I decided to skip it.
It is my first time to ride Air Asia through this flight. I decided to give this a try because I know Air Asia is a favourite to many backpackers because it offers one of the cheapest flight in the region. I am actually typing this in one of the chair lounges inside KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport). I love the vibe of this airport which is full of shopping malls. You won’t run of anything to buy, only money.
As a Filipino citizen who doesn’t need a visa so long as not exceed 30 days I can actually get out for a while and come back at boarding time but I decided to stay. First I am alone and second it is night already. I don’t want to miss my flight.
Actually there were two things that really worried me and may have not allow me to depart from Manila. I found out that one of the pages of my passport near the end have scratches. I am thinking these are marks of these bugs that used to occupy my old drawer where I kept this for months. I never thought this could be a pretty big deal that at one point she thought that my passport is tampered. After a few more questions she finally let me in… only to learn that she only marked my passport and not the online boarding pass I showed her.
So during boarding time, I was asked by one of the staff to show my passport which I already kept at the bottom of my bag. What happened next is that right at the moment I kneeled, put my bag down and started looking for my passport. I panicked a bit that I unconsciously took all my belongings one by one in front of the rest of passengers falling in line before me. Finally the staff asked his superior, and they finally let me board.
Here’s what I learned about boarding via Air Asia. First I did not see self service kiosks in NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) or maybe I did not notice because here in KLIA there are a lot. It will really save you time to check in online especially if you have no check in baggage. No falling in long line and your mind is at peace. But the catch is the online boarding pass won’t show you what gate number you belong so this is the one you have to know through these small billboards that show the list of flights and all the details that come with it. The gate number is only available 3-4 hours before the flight. Nobody ever checked if I brought more than 7 kg! If I knew I could have added more *insert evil laugh here*.
And since I knew that inflight meals are way higher, I brought a bottle of water from home, a cupcake and a light snack that costs half the price from the meals aboard but made my tummy full the same way if I bought from them.
To the last minute I did changed my mind, I am supposed not to bring the laptop which I agree from the suggestion of Mr #1 In London, a blog reader here but when I thought of 13 – hour idle time inside the airport two-way, I can do a lot of my online tasks thus lessening my obligations when I get home. If I am not a blogger, I can definitely forget my laptop at home and not touch it for a week or so. But it seems that getting connected online is like an oxygen to me already. I can’t live without it. Regarding the practicality use of plastic bags over packing cubes, he was entirely right. I actually just wrapped my belongings grouped accordingly inside a plastic bag.
However I also dream of having a day or two to be digitally disconnected from my blog, email and social media because I feel that I am so attached to the online world. We all know that too much of something is not good. Hope I can do this once in a while.
I am cutting short this post because I see that my battery is going low. I did not bring an international travel adapter because it is pretty expensive to buy one in Manila. I am thinking of getting one when I reach Phnom Penh. Good thing I have a powerbank so I can still recharge my mobile phone when my lapto runs out of power. KLIA is so kind enough to give everyone inside here for a free three hour wifi access.
And oh my bag is only 6 kilogram, I am supposed to carry maximum of a total of 7 kg. Almost half of this figure was eaten by the weigh of the laptop, powerbank and the chargers of these gadgets. I only bring a few clothes. I will just buy a few dirt cheap ones there if I need to.
By the way, the staff from Starbucks need to improve his active listening skills, I said my name is Maria, he wrote in the cup is Marina. Shoot!
It is my first time to ride Air Asia through this flight. I decided to give this a try because I know Air Asia is a favourite to many backpackers because it offers one of the cheapest flight in the region. I am actually typing this in one of the chair lounges inside KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport). I love the vibe of this airport which is full of shopping malls. You won’t run of anything to buy, only money.
As a Filipino citizen who doesn’t need a visa so long as not exceed 30 days I can actually get out for a while and come back at boarding time but I decided to stay. First I am alone and second it is night already. I don’t want to miss my flight.
Actually there were two things that really worried me and may have not allow me to depart from Manila. I found out that one of the pages of my passport near the end have scratches. I am thinking these are marks of these bugs that used to occupy my old drawer where I kept this for months. I never thought this could be a pretty big deal that at one point she thought that my passport is tampered. After a few more questions she finally let me in… only to learn that she only marked my passport and not the online boarding pass I showed her.
So during boarding time, I was asked by one of the staff to show my passport which I already kept at the bottom of my bag. What happened next is that right at the moment I kneeled, put my bag down and started looking for my passport. I panicked a bit that I unconsciously took all my belongings one by one in front of the rest of passengers falling in line before me. Finally the staff asked his superior, and they finally let me board.
Here’s what I learned about boarding via Air Asia. First I did not see self service kiosks in NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) or maybe I did not notice because here in KLIA there are a lot. It will really save you time to check in online especially if you have no check in baggage. No falling in long line and your mind is at peace. But the catch is the online boarding pass won’t show you what gate number you belong so this is the one you have to know through these small billboards that show the list of flights and all the details that come with it. The gate number is only available 3-4 hours before the flight. Nobody ever checked if I brought more than 7 kg! If I knew I could have added more *insert evil laugh here*.
And since I knew that inflight meals are way higher, I brought a bottle of water from home, a cupcake and a light snack that costs half the price from the meals aboard but made my tummy full the same way if I bought from them.
To the last minute I did changed my mind, I am supposed not to bring the laptop which I agree from the suggestion of Mr #1 In London, a blog reader here but when I thought of 13 – hour idle time inside the airport two-way, I can do a lot of my online tasks thus lessening my obligations when I get home. If I am not a blogger, I can definitely forget my laptop at home and not touch it for a week or so. But it seems that getting connected online is like an oxygen to me already. I can’t live without it. Regarding the practicality use of plastic bags over packing cubes, he was entirely right. I actually just wrapped my belongings grouped accordingly inside a plastic bag.
However I also dream of having a day or two to be digitally disconnected from my blog, email and social media because I feel that I am so attached to the online world. We all know that too much of something is not good. Hope I can do this once in a while.
I am cutting short this post because I see that my battery is going low. I did not bring an international travel adapter because it is pretty expensive to buy one in Manila. I am thinking of getting one when I reach Phnom Penh. Good thing I have a powerbank so I can still recharge my mobile phone when my lapto runs out of power. KLIA is so kind enough to give everyone inside here for a free three hour wifi access.
And oh my bag is only 6 kilogram, I am supposed to carry maximum of a total of 7 kg. Almost half of this figure was eaten by the weigh of the laptop, powerbank and the chargers of these gadgets. I only bring a few clothes. I will just buy a few dirt cheap ones there if I need to.
By the way, the staff from Starbucks need to improve his active listening skills, I said my name is Maria, he wrote in the cup is Marina. Shoot!
Only 6kg, including a laptop and charger ?!? Very impressive !
ReplyDeleteSorry that the lounge thing did not work out, and I hope that your overnight stay was not uncomfortable. Looking forward to the next instalment of your Cambodian adventure ..
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Thanks. Doing the post now :)
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