Advice: Clubbing Malaysia and Thailand with China

A traveler friend is planning to visit China and wanted to explore Malaysia and Thailand also in the same trip and contacted me for some suggestions.

Here goes his email message:

Assalam o Alaikum!
How are you?
I'm going to China next month Inshallah and want to include Thailand and Malaysia in my itinerary. I know you helped a guy prepare one for a similar tour. I want to travel by ferry as well. Some guys from Malaysia group advised me to take ferry from Malaysia to Thailand. I just need to know where do I book and shall I get my visa from Pakistan? Which airlines would be cheapest for travelling to these three countries. Is it possible that I go to Malaysia by by an airline then to Thailand by ferry and then to Shanghai by a different airline? Do airlines allow this?

Following is my response:

Walaikum Salam Sohial

I am fine, thank you. Here goes my two cents:

1. Visiting Malaysia and Thailand on the way to China:
Clubbing Malaysia and Thailand with China makes a lot of sense and can be done without spending significantly more than China-only trip.

2. Ticketing Tricks:
Based on my previous experiences and observations with other travelers, you have two options; Sri Lankan Airlines and Thai Airways as they both take a layover in Bangkok before continuing to China.

Ticketing systems of both the mentioned airlines allow you to opt for a long stopover in Bangkok against additionally fare, which should not exceed PKR 5,000 imo. During this stopover you can visit places in Thailand and Malaysia but you have to come back to Bangkok to catch your onward flight.

Effectively, it will be something like that:
Pakistan-Thailand-Malaysia-Thailand-China-Pakistan
Or
Pakistan-China-Thailand-Malaysia-Thailand-Pakistan

To evaluate your airline options more precisely, you may use the Matrix Software before visiting your travel agent:
http://matrix.itasoftware.com

3. Traveling between Thailand and Malaysia and the Ferry Obsession:
As hinted above, your main ticket will only cover Thailand and China. For Malaysia and then back to Bangkok, you may need to arrange extra tickets. However, this is easy and cheap as there are a lot of budget airlines operating in South East Asia. Following website is very good for comparing routes, schedules, and fares :
http://www.skyscanner.net

Exploring http://www.airasia.com is also worthwhile.

Once you choose one, the ticket can easily be booked through airline's website.

You can do one way of this trip through ferry but this would be very challenging. Although I have no personal experience of this journey but I am sure there is no regular ferry service between the major cities of the two countries so one has to changeover multiple times which requires extra days, traveling temperament, and good knowledge.

Googling led me to the following useful links:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1671311
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1994779
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1538389

Alternatively, I suggest you to take a ferry between Penang-Langkawi - or any other same-country islands. Imo, cross border ferries might also have immigration issues especially with the Pakistani passport.

4. Arranging Visas - Trickier than Traveling:Out of the three Chines visa is the most difficult to get. But I am sure you must have already figured that out. And please do let me know, how you arranged one?

Malaysian visa is the simplest and can be arranged within 3-4 working days for PKR 1500-2000. Here is my experience of getting Malasyian Visa:
http://mozumbus.blogspot.com/2011/02/planning-notes-3-oriental-outings-visa.html

After Chinese visa, the biggest hurdle is arranging the Thai visa. Actually Thai visa is very easy to get usually, however, in your case you would require a double entry visa which is a bit more expensive and complex. First entry would be utilized when you land into Thailand the first time and the second entry would be required when you come back from Malaysia. This situation is arising because you will have two different tickets - one for China while the other for Malaysia. If these two tickets can be combined than a single entry visa would suffice, which is actually near impossible for reasons I will explain below.

For abundant clarity, I may not provide you with any help for arranging visas other than experience sharing. Your best bet would be the travel agent whom you will book your main ticket from.

Following order would be advisable for visas:
1. China - single entry
2. Malaysia - single entry
3. Thailand - double entry

Just to mention, one month is quite tight for arranging all these three visas. So better start now with a travel agent who is not only efficient but knows you well.

5. Alternate Route: Pakistan-Malaysia-Thailand-China-Pakistan
I note in your email that you are looking for a ticket which takes you to Malaysia first, from where you take ferry to Thailand, and continue to China. This would be an ideal scenario and would eliminate the need of Thai double entry visa. However, there are a couple of issues; first the ticket would be expensive, ~PKR 20,000 extra, and secondly you might need proof of onward journey at Malaysian entry point as mentioning the ferry thing would make you a definite target at immigration.

6. Case Study:
This is the complete details of the itinerary I developed for another traveler friend, which you can also use for reference:
http://testeditineraries.blogspot.com/2012/04/visiting-china-thailand-singapore.html

So this is my input; I hope you will find that helpful and enabling. Please don't hesitate to revert back once you finalize the plan.

Btw, I would be putting the above on my blog so that other travelers may also take note of it.

Happy travels

Muzzammil
http://mozumbus.blogspot.com 

(Ticketing Secrets) Visiting China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysian, and Sri Lanka in 1 Return Ticket from Pakistan!

Ghulam Abbas was planning to visit China to attend a business exhibition and taking the advantage of this opportunity he wanted to explore as much as possible and that too without breaking his pocket.

Somehow he ended up at this blog and then approached me to help him out crafting an itinerary. 

Just to mention, Abbas was initially quoted ~PKR 80,000 by a local travel agent for the simple return ticket to Shanghai, China.

At the end of the day we together fabricated an itinerary that covers around 5 countries, using the ITA Matrix Software, with a saving of ~PKR 20,000 on the quoted ticket.

And believe me, this is no rocket science:

Step 1: The Simple Return Ticket

First we used the Matrix to find out options for a simple Karachi-Shanghai return ticket with flexible dates.  Sri Lankan Airlines came out to be the cheapest option:

May 16 Karachi – Shanghai (via Colombo)

June 2 Shanghai – Karachi (via Colombo)

The fact that the Sri Lankan Airlines flies via Colombo gives an assurance that atleast one country, i.e. Sri Lanka, can be added to the itinerary without significant additional cost.

Step 2: Making it Open-Jaw

In addition to Shanghai, Abbas also wanted to visit Guangzhou for a business call, which he plans to do by road/train.

Luckily, Guangzhou is also served by Sri Lankan airlines, which effectively means that Abbas does not need to travel ~1,600 km back to Shanghai to catch the return flight.

So using the ‘Multi-city’ option, we got the following solution without any additional cost:

May 16 Karachi – Shanghai (via Colombo)

June 3 Guangzhou – Karachi (via Colombo)

So the ‘Simple Return Ticket’ is now converted into an ‘Open-Jaw Ticket’ as it allows to land into one city and flies out from the other, without any additional cost, hence saving the backtracking cost, time, and hassle.

Step 3: Adding a Destination

As mentioned above, Colombo is one obvious destination to be added:

May 16 Karachi – Shanghai (via Colombo)

June 3 Guangzhou – Colombo

June 7 Colombo – Karachi

The additional cost turned out to be less than PKR 3,000 mainly on account of airport taxes. Not a big cost to visit a gifted country like Sri Lanka, by the way!

Step 4: The Real Value Addition

A detailed peek into the Sri Lankan Airline ticket revealed that the Colombo – China flight actually takes a stopover in Bangkok, potentially adding one more destination to the same air ticket.

So, we used the ‘Multi-city’ option again and got the following result:

May 16 Karachi – Shanghai (via Colombo and Bangkok)

June 1 Guangzhou – Bangkok

June 11 Bangkok – Colombo

June 14 Colombo – Karachi

This time, the additional cost to the ticket turned out to be PKR 2,000!

Step 5: The South East Asian Surprise

Abbas was still not satisfied. And how could he be? He knew that South East Asian countries are well connected and it is now easier, read cheaper, than ever to hop between the tropical destinations.

So he planned to use the Bangkok stopover to also visit Singapore and Kuala Lumpur using the budget airline; Air Asia:

May 16 Karachi – Shanghai (via Colombo and Bangkok)

June 1 Guangzhou – Bangkok

June 3 Thailand – Singapore (Air Asia)

June 6 Singapore – Kula Lumpur (by road)

June 10 Malaysia – Bangkok (Air Asia)

June 11 Bangkok – Colombo

June 14 Colombo – Karachi

Obviously, Abbas had to arrange visas and book the Air Asia flights separately, however, the total cost of all the air tickets is still slightly less than the cost of the simple return ticket quoted by the travel agent initially.

Important Notes:

- Dates used are imaginary to keep the privacy; however, the ticket is still valid till the posting of this blog.

- Matrix Software does not support booking; however, the extracted details can be used to let the travel agent booking a ticket. Usually, a Passenger Service Fee (PSF) applies ranging from PKR 2,000-3,000.

(Travelogue) Oriental Outings Day 17: From Kuala Lumpur's LRT to Colombo's Tuk-Tuk

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Kuala Lumpur International Airport

It was even before dawn when we left Umair’s home. We had to catch the morning flight to Colombo from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). The challenge was to make it through public transport, i.e. without using a taxi, first from Wangsa Maju to KL Sentral, from where the airport bus/train leaves, through LRT and then to the airport by bus. And that proved to be quite a challenge!

Yet to open: Wansga Maju LRT station

Peeking into it

Another guy waiting

Finally it opened

Morning Walk
We were among the first ones to enter into Wangsa Maju LRT station – as soon as it opened around 6 –after a long walk from Umair’s apartment to the train station. The otherwise easy stroll turned into a strenuous morning exercise partly because of the slope and mainly because of the added luggage, an obvious consequence of yesterday’s shopping!

Long walk

The porter!

(70 km out of) KL-International Airport!
By the time we reached the ticket kiosk outside KL Sentral, the 6:30 skybus had already departed. The next bus had to leave at 7. Keeping in view that KLIA is ~ 70 km away from KL city center; we were left with a thin margin for the 9:10 international flight! With little choice, I started looking for a cab. While I was haggling with one of the taxis, Urooba screamed standing outside the ticket booth!

What I could see from the road that the bus kiosk is surrounded by 4-5 men with Urooba waving her hands crazily. I hurried back only to know that the bus company had decided to operate another bus at 6:45! Good news!

Business Secrets
On the way to the airport, I was pondering why the company bothered to run another bus for 7-8 commuters, maybe to cut on the tax business? More importantly, Urooba’s alertness saved us some decent money and the self-pledge to not using a taxi during the trip.

Yawning!

(Outside) Colombo Airport

The usual one hour journey took only 45 minutes because of the off-peak hours. So we managed to make it to Sri Lankan Airlines counter around 7:45! Rest of the journey – till Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo – was uneventful except that we gained a few hours because of the change in the time zone.

Ask for the front seat

And give the baby some comfort

Getting Connected

Immigration at Colombo airport was swift and within half an hour we were out of the airport. First, I purchased some local currency from one of the bank booths outside the arrival area. Rate was decent and the service was quick. There were also a couple of stall selling prepaid mobile cards. But that was more of a tourist trap because of the exorbitant price; LKR 2,000! The actual price of the SIM was ~50-100 and the rest was the credit in the chip which was too much for our 3 nights stay. So I postponed that until we reach to the town.

Landing at Colmobo Airport

Local Experience

From the airport we had to make it to Pita Kotte, a neighborhood in Colombo, where we would stay with a Sinhalese Buddhist family for the next couple of days.

Do As Locals Do
Encouraged from the morning experience, we decided to give the public transport another try! First we took the old white bus, which they call airport shuttle, to the airport bus depot where we transferred to the coaster style bus heading towards Pettah, the main transport junction of Colombo. Airport shuttle was free of cost while we paid LKR 400 for the air-conditioned coaster, much higher than what they charge from locals. The higher bus fare also accounted for our luggage which was occupying another seat! Anyhow, that was not a big deal for the one hour – ~ 35km – journey.

Saddar, Saddar!!
It was around noon when we reached Pettah, the open-air KL Sentral of Colombo! The ambiance was much like Saddar, the busy transportation hub of Karachi. We tried to catch a public bus to our destination, Pita Kotte, but none of the buses stopped for us mainly due to the baggage!

Of Tuk-Tuks!
Amid the heat and the humidity, and with the empty stomach, we had no choice but to give up our no-taxi solemn oath! With the support of a local guy, who was waiting for his bus, we struck a deal with one of the tuk-tuks for LKR 600! The price included all the luggage plus two enroute stops, one for the meal and the other for the mobile SIM!

The rickshaw driver kept on increasing the fare, citing different reasons, from prolonged enroute stops to the ambiguity in the address. By the time we reached our destination, near Ananda Balika Mawatha, means Girls College, the quote had gone up to LKR 1300! We felt a bit generous on making it safe and sound and settled that for 900!

It was a tough day today but that gave us an authentic feel of the city and the courage to use public buses in the coming days.  

Meeting Dharsana
Dahrsana, our host, gave us a warm welcome and helped us in settling our luggage in the lounge. I had an introductory chitchat with Dharsana, who now works as a freelance cartoonist and journalist, while we had our meal. Unfortunately, we could not meet his wife, Chinta, as she was abroad for a work related assignment.

Though it was not too late for us to go out, but since it was already a long day, we settled for an easy amble around Pita Kotte.

Whats Tomorrow?
Before calling it a day, Dharsana shared with us the photographs of the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, which he visited with a surfer recently, and some valuable tips to visit the place within budget.

(Travelogue) Oriental Outings Day 1: The Clinical Singapura - Mar 1, 2011

Fortunately, the sleepless ordeal came to an early end as we had to catch the 7 am flight. Originally, we booked Karachi-Singapore flight with a brief layover of 2 hours at Colombo, however, the flight had been rescheduled which effectively added 12 frustrating hours in the journey! Things were not going as per our wishes!!

Colombo Airport transit lounge

Internet Kiosk in the lounge

Occupied with mixed thoughts, and concerned about coming days, we landed at Changi Airport Singapore. The airport is a bit away from the city center; however, it is well connected through the MRT, i.e. Mass Rapid Transit, a metro-like train system.  

Since onboard toilets are not kids friendly so Urooba took benefit of the baby changing room to conciliate Misha’s anxiety while I waited for the luggage! Parents take note, please! (Baby care facilities in Singapore)

Afterwards we headed to Terminal 2 to catch the MRT.

Skytrain: connecting various terminals of Changi Airport

Waiting for the next skytrain

What Kind of Meal Break Was That at 5pm!

Eventually, we reached the MRT station only to find out that the electronic ticketing machine does not accept big denomination notes! To make things more interesting, the help counter was closed for meal break! Perplexed, which meal of the day they have in Singapore at around 5pm, I had no option but to awkwardly ask people around for the change!  

The Mass Rapid Transit, MRT:

MRT is to Singaporeans what water is to fish! This is not an overstatement; Singaporeans may survive without food, though hardly, but they cannot with the MRT. The train connects the whole island country efficiently. It was so friendly, both Singapore and the MRT, that we made it to Woodlands, where our host Jeffery resides, without any hassle. For next three days, MRT was life to us too!

The transit system has its own culture so as Singapore; most people are on the go, youngsters busy in gadgets, oldies having a quick nap, announcements about the next destination every few minutes, and an exchange of busy commuters at each stop. A perfect reflection of Singaporean lifestyle: clean, diversified, fast, and clinical!

Can't It Be More Organized?!

You cannot get lost in Singapore!

Jeffery, our host in Singapore, was kind enough to send his son Schen and daughter Cai Shi to pick us up from the Admiralty MRT station, which was actually walking distance away from the apartment complex # 636. Majority of Singaporeans reside in these lego-like structures, which are seldom named, and instead go by numbers, from 1 to 635 and beyond! These complexes are developed and allotted by the Singapore Housing and Development Board to Singapore citizens on first come first serve basis. This sounds too mechanical, but at the same time ensures affordable and quality housing to every Singizen! 

Couch Surfing: For a Better World

Jeffery is a very experienced member of Couchsurfing.org, a global network which lets travelers share their hospitality.

We were a bit skeptical of the idea until we hosted a French couple back home through the same network. Still then, we had reservations! However, all the doubts vanished the way Jeffery and children treated their first Pakistani guests. It took us no more than a few minutes to feel home!

Schen, Jeffery’s son, is serving Singaporean Army for a compulsory two year military training, called National Service, while Cai Shi is studying in a technical college. The home is incomplete without the sweet puppy, Ah Poi, who was so adorable and easygoing that Misha quickly made friends with it! 

After having shower, we had to go out for a dinner invitation. In the meantime, Jeffery also offered us dinner and opined that going out far is not a good idea after such a long flight, and he was undoubtedly right. However, we felt committed and obliged with our Travel Buddy friend Hadi, who had kindly invited us for the dinner even before we had finalized our travel plans!

Eat, Eat, and Eat!

Hadi and Khalid were waiting for us at the meeting point, which had now been changed to Ang Mo Kio, a newly developed suburb, because of the time constraint. 

Chicken Satay, Gado Gado, and India Rojak! Yummiee!!

It was ~9pm; late for dinner in Singapore!

Like in Karachi, the favourite hangout in Singapore is Eating-out! "Eat, eat, and eat", is the popular slogan there comparable to ours

 چلو چلو نشتر پارک چلو

More like in Karachi, food outlets are spread all around; where one can have a blend of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and Continental food. Pocket friendly hawkers are in vogue unless you wish to have a sumptuous meal. Food quality is great while taste may vary to blend and boiled to spicy and exotic. We selected one around Ang Mo Kio, a newly developed town, and Hadi ordered Indonesian style cuisine which I found very tasty. During the dinner, we had a nice converstaion and found Hadi a mature and a sociable guy.

On the other hand, Urooba was a bit uncomfortable because of the jetlag. After all, it had been a long day so far, in fact two long days, but things had started getting better for us! (See more on Hadi's blog)

Open Door Policy
And the best came last; when we got back to our home it was quite late but our hosts actually kept all the doors wide open, and not just unlocked, to make us feel comfortable. Perhaps, it was the first time that I literally saw open door hospitality. Wow!

(Travelogue) Oriental Outings: From the Departure Lounge - Feb 28, 2011

Misha feeling excited in the baby bassinet!

The Eleventh Hour:

When in Karachi, one can always expect the unexpected, and mostly at the wrong moment! Same happened when I called the radio-cab for the airport drop, after completing all the packing and last moment double checks. The guy on the other side of the telephone sarcastically suggested me to turn-on the TV as that I was pretending innocent! Believe me, I was totally unaware of the bizarre petrol-pump strike in the city and it was after watching those live TV reporters from various nooks of the city that I realized why the cab guy was so skeptical of me!

How we managed to make it to the airport just-in-time is another story, and I am sure evryone has their own when it comes to making it to the airport at the eleventh hour!

From a Rose Comes a Thorn

Then came the only boring part of the trip, i.e. airport security: from luggage screening to checking-in to immigration queue to waiting in the boarding lounge; it was such a nuisance which we had to go through at-least 5 more times in the coming days, argh! But then, there is no choice either!

"You are Only Wasting Your Money"

Before jumping into the travelogue, let's review those interesting comments we received about taking our little angel Misha, then 11 months, along:

“She is not able to keep memories of the trip at this young age”, was the strongest and the most frequent argument.



While others amazed, “how will you handle her for such a long trip?”, “you have to be extra cautious and should keep your adventure instincts checked!”, and the most blunt one was from a friend “you are only wasting your money!”.



Don't disturb!



I am going for water sports!

Hey Captain! Speed up!!

Too tired after a long day!

Who says that I am afraid of monsters?

I enjoy the bus ride too!

Shhh

Mama! Can you find the baby elephant?

After the trip, we feel really satisfied! It was more fun than what we expected! She adapted to conditions well, enjoyed and learnt from new happenings every day, and always brought opportunities for us to communicate with people around! At times, she felt fed up sitting in the stroller, so we had to resort to the body carrier, which was not easy for longer periods. Conversely, we got priority and privileges especially at airports and public places.



Another Thorn

We were expecting a relaxing sleep in the transit hotel after we landed at Bandaranaike International Airport. Holding the hotel voucher, we confidently headed to the transit counter only to find a situation there! Some 50 people were jumping, screaming, and complaining to the transit staff, which were suggesting indifferently to the lot to stay overnight at the airport lounge!

Amid this mess, one of the two staff paid a brief look at our voucher, and allotted us a hotel room. Wow! We felt like chosen ones! However, after arriving at the transit hotel, Hotel Good Wood Plaza, we were perplexed if those who were suggested to stay at the airport lounge were luckier!

(Planning Notes - 2) Oriental Outings: Secrets of Air Ticketing

Technology Bonus! After I narrowed down the destination list, the next step was to design an optimum itinerary, which can fly me the maximum miles in minimum amount of money and time. Before going to the travel agent, I referred to the efficient matrix.itasoftware.com to compare flights. That saved me multiple telephone calls and visits to the busy looking travel agent who would take a full day only to tell me that the desired dates are either unavailable or ridiculously expensive!

Three+ Countries in Single Airfare! And the outcome of the web search is an Open Jaw from Sri Lankan Airlines. Open Jaw? A type of air ticket which allows you to fly into one destination, say A, and then fly out of another, say B, unlike a simple return ticket, ergo saving backtracking costs and hassles, with nominal charge over the simple return ticket. So, I am doing three countries, i.e. Singapore, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka, in single airfare. Not enough? You can also add Thailand in the itinerary without adding anything to your airfare!

Fare Fares! I was feeling lucky after locking in the fare for a cheap Rs. 39,000 per person until a friend told me that he is doing the same route for Rs. 36,000! This is called the gimmick of fare classes: Y, Q, B, W, and so on. Finding: the cheaper fare of the two, i.e. the Y class, does not accommodate infants without a seat. So, no use for me!

For apple to apple comparison, also watch out if there is any built-in, so-called complimentary, insurance cost added to the airfare. You may always ask for insurance details from your travel agent and switch to a (family) package suitable to your needs substituting the built-in rip-off. Also, ticket with stopover, and not the layover, in Colombo will cost Rs. 1,700 more than to the one without the stay.

Layover Blues! With all this excitement I was about to overlook long layovers peculiar to connecting flights. Karachi – Kuala Lumpur, through Sri Lankan Airlines, is minimum 20 hours with a scorching 14 hours layover at Colombo! Luckily, there is a way out; the layover is much shorter, about two hours, for Karachi – Singapore flight, so doing the city state in the beginning of the trip makes sense.

What if Singapore is not in the itinerary at all? Then take a stopover, rather than a layover, at Colombo and do Sri Lanka first thing in the trip. And what if both Singapore and Sri Lanka are not in the itinerary? Then either stop dreaming about the cheap ticket or be ready for long layovers!

For Kuala Lumpur – Colombo either take the direct flight in the morning or the one that runs a little late in the day via Singapore. The earlier one connects to Karachi with the shortest layover and suits best if one wants to circumvent Sri Lanka on their way back. While the later flight is good for lazy honeymooners who also wish to have a couple of days stay in Sri Lanka!

Out of the Box! If you are also a victim of the out-of-the-box-thinking-syndrome and Malaysia-Singapore-Thailand-Sri Lanka is too cliché for you then adding any of the unconventional places, like Cambodia, Bali, Vietnam, etc, to the itinerary will help you in standing tall in the crowd! Don’t assume that this can be added to your return ticket let alone without a cost. You have to buy separate tickets to fancy your travel ego! And if you want to do it without breaking your pocket then do Air Asia, a no-frill airline based in Kuala Lumpur. To avail low air fares book at least 8 weeks in advance. I have already booked Singapore – Bali and Bali – Kuala Lumpur for three of us for around Rs. 30,000, all inclusive!

In total, I am paying around Rs. 120,000 for airlines tickets which will take us to four countries: Rs. 10,000 per person per country!