Hey there readers, I hope you are doing well. I know it’s been some time since I last wrote and also know that I left you hanging on the rest of my recent trip to China in December-January. I do still however have plenty of notes and pictures from that trip.
So, I may still get around to writing some more about that soon. However, it’s now time to look forward to Malaysia.
I’m not really sure what I will do once I’m there, but I’m sure I will have a great time since I’m once again visiting with a good friend. Before I get too far into my writing, I’ve actually had a recent hiccup already, because I didn’t do my research ahead of time. Evidently it is now a requirement for almost all visitors to Malaysia to register for the Malaysian Digital Arrival Card before arriving. The process itself is simple, but it doesn’t seem to be instantaneous.
I filled out my application two hours before departure, but when I boarded the plane had still not received either a confirmation nor the document itself. I even tried it with two different emails. Anyways, I’m writing this while on the plane, and will see what happens once I arrive. I’m not too worried though since I’m traveling with my USA passport, and the Malaysian airlines staff told me before boarding that it shouldn’t be a problem even though the official website seems to indicate otherwise. I guess worst case scenario I’ll get sent back to India or maybe even USA?
So like most of these trips departing from Bengaluru, I once again opted to use BluSmart car services to get to the airport. As in the past, the service was punctual, the driver courteous, and the car comfortable and the price reasonable. Do note that it’s generally better to book the car between 24 and 48 hours when you need it since the fleet is limited. The cost today was 759 INR ($9.08 USD). With the entire 25 km trip taking 38 minutes. My only complaint would be that the seat coverings are a bit uncomfortable.
Also like all my trips the last several years, I once again opted to use an ESIM service. While I used to blindly recommend Airalo, I now do some quick comparison shopping beforehand. Similar to my recent trip to China, this time Nomad seemed to be the best option for my needs. As a minimum though, I suggest you always compare Airalo, Nomad and Holafly before choosing. I did however have a problem purchasing the ESIM this time. This seems to be an India only problem, but I thought that Nomad wasn’t affected. Yes, I was able to open the app, choose the plan and even add payment options, I couldn’t pay using my phone in India. I tried two Indian issued cards, a Costa Rican card and then PayPal. I also tried using a VPN even with GPS spoofing, but no.
As a last resort I tried to purchase using my PC, without a VPN, while in India, using an Indian credit card, and this time I had no problem. Does it make sense? No, but if you get stuck, the same trick might also work for you. I bought a 30 day 10 GB data ESIM through Nomad for only $12.75 USD. I had been a little worried that there might be a problem installing the ESIM on my Google Pixel 7 since I had bought it through the PC, but when I scanned the code on my computer screen, the installation went as smoothly as always. I’ve written a lot about ESIMs before, so won’t repeat too much again. Suffice to say, this is the best option for international connectivity when traveling to most destinations and it’s easy to check online ahead of time to see whether or not your device is compatible. These days, most flagship devices are, and it’s even becoming common with midrange phones.
Going to the airport was in some ways a different experience for me this time around since I usually have horrible travel times which require me to either depart very late at night or in the wee hours of the morning. This time around however, I was able to score a direct flight on Malaysian Airlines with a scheduled departure time of 12:00 PM. The round trip price was only about $275 USD with both flights getting direct! So anyways, what was it like traveling at this time.
For the most part when traveling out of terminal 2 in Bengaluru, I’ve had very good experiences, but I had been worried that this time around might be more difficult due to the more convenient travel time. However, that was not the case. From the time I arrived at the drop off point, It only took me a total of 27 minutes . . . Even with having a bag to check! Now I know that a lot of you are no doubt gasping to hear that I was traveling with a checked bag; I normally do trips all around the world with a single piece of 7 kg hand luggage. No, I haven’t gone over to the dark side. It’s just that I really love a lot of Southeast and East Asian food which is either very hard or impossible to find in India. So, since my short work trip to Bangkok in September, every time I head this way I try to buy a bunch of foodstuffs to take back; I especially love all the dried meats. So if any of you want to surprise me with something special, you know what to get!
Anyways, even though I really wasn’t hungry, once I was in the departure terminal at 9:35 AM I headed straight to the 080 lounge armed with my recently upgraded Regalia Gold card from HDFC. As most of my Indian readers know, lounge access on Indian cards has been cut back drastically in the last year. Similarly, airport lounge service, while still a nice perk, seems to have greatly decreased over the past two years. The 080 lounge in Bengaluru airport terminal 2 has always had a more exclusive level of access, so I was hoping that it would also be a step up from my recent experiences. Wow! It definitely was.
Don’t get me wrong, as most people will say, terminal 2 already has a very pleasant general ambiance which I hope will not decrease as it becomes more and more utilised. But the 080 lounge really accomplishes it’s goal of being a place of gentle relaxation and rest. The pictures really don’t do it justice. The decor, comfort and general atmosphere was a breath of fresh air. Furthermore, while I didn’t use them, my lounge access even included two standard alcoholic drink vouchers. Finally, the food variety was also very good with a nice selection of both Indian and continental dishes including a mound of pork bacon! Did I eat way too much? You be the judge. . .
So, do I feel a bit elitist writing about my fancy lounge access? Yes, I do. However, it’s taken me a long time to get here. Furthermore, if you are going to charge for a lounge program, whether it be to the individual traveller or through a group Bank card access program, the 080 lounge in terminal 2 does it the way it should be, and other lounges in India should take note.
So I stayed in the lounge as long as I thought it was safe, going down at 11:15 AM to wait for the boarding call of my 12:00 PM flight. It turns out that I could have stayed up there longer and maybe enjoyed one of those drink vouchers, since the flight was delayed. We didn’t actually board the plane until 12:13, with the actual liftoff happening just under one hour later.
I would have liked adjustable headrests on the plane, a B737-800. However, the inflight entertainment options were decent and the food service decent.
The movie I chose was a bit of a disappointment, the latest Aquaman, but that was my own foolish choice. There were plenty of other great looking recent releases available, but I decided to opt for something lighter . . . Unfortunately, it was just dumb. Aquaman lovers please don’t spam me with your hate comments unless you also bring me back some tasty dried meat snacks from your next trip to this part of the world.
So it’s 4:13 PM India time (6:43 PM Malaysia time) and, they just announced the beginning of our descent into Kuala Lumpur. Up until now it’s been a good flight, with my only complaint being that it’s been a tad bit too warm for my liking. Supposedly we will touch down at 7:31 PM Malaysia time. The actual touchdown time was 7:26 PM Malaysia time, with being parked at 7:34 PM. So far so good. However, upon connecting to my Nomad esim I saw that the MDAC still had not arrived.
7:42 PM getting off the plane. While it is possible to understand the signage, it’s kind of confusing because they have you all out in the same area as both the transfers and as far as I can tell, maybe even people that are taking off, so it’s a bit difficult to tell where you’re supposed to go. You eventually get to the end of a hall, and then you have to wait to take a bus.
Like I said, it’s doable, i but a bit unsettling. To be certain, when I saw the bus at 7:50 PM, I actually thought that I had made a mistake and started to turn around; fortunately there was a worker there and seeing that I was hesitating, she told me that this was the right way.
7:59 PM the bus arrived at the next building. This one seemed a bit easier to navigate, but once again it wasn’t clear where I was supposed to go. There was a sign with the USA flag pointing to the right along with about 7 other flags, but when I went there they said that was wrong. The earlier sign had said autogate eligible this way, but I’m not sure what it means. Regardless, the official kindly told me it was the wrong place.
8:27 PM I finally got to the immigration office and they didn’t ask for the MDAC, which of course I didn’t have haha. The baggage claim was right there. At 8:31 PM I already had my bag.
8:41 PM I was on the KLIA Ekspres to KL Sentral. It was easy to buy the 55 RM ($11.61 USD) using tap to pay with my international card. I didn’t see any in the airport and I didn’t have any local currency. The train itself was clean, quiet and comfortable.
At 9:16 PM I arrived at the station, got out and was happy to see three ATM machines. Right there I also saw a taxi counter where I was able to pre-pay a ticket to Mont Kiara for just 30 RM ($6.33 USD). One copy is for the driver and the other copy is the customer receipt.
Within 15 minutes I was at my friend’s place in Mont Kiara.
So anyways, I know today was a bit boring, but the travel itself is also an important part of the voyage. I know that this entry was rushed, but I also know that if I spend too much time on it, then I will never get it out, so in advance please excuse any egregious errors. As always thanks for reading along and I hope to offer some good tips on your next trip to Malaysia.
Travels with Jay 