This trip, I planned to visit Sri Lanka. The main purpose of this trip is to

1. Visiting the important Buddhist religious sites of Sri Lanka and exploring the ancient city of Kandy.
2. Riding the train in Sri Lanka, particularly the one in Sri Lanka, which is considered one of the most beautiful train rides in the world.
3. Visiting the tea plantations in Sri Lanka, a country renowned for exporting world-class quality tea, particularly in the city of Nuwara Eliya, the birthplace of tea.

Apart from that, I will have to save it for my future visit to Sri Lanka since I only have a short three-day vacation. However, regardless of the limited time, I will make sure to go in my own style, just as Jack Sparrow said, “Wherever I want to go, I go.” 🏞️

I had planned ahead for about 3 months and managed to check my flight tickets. It turned out that the cheapest airline was Malindo Air, a subsidiary of Lion Air, which claimed to be a “Value-added low-cost” carrier. It offered complimentary in-flight meals or snacks, free seat selection, and free baggage allowance. However, to reach Sri Lanka’s Colombo Airport (CMB), I had to transit at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL; KLIA-1) as there were no direct flights from Thailand. This added approximately 6 hours to the journey. Nevertheless, it was worth it for the significantly cheaper fare compared to almost half the price of a direct flight (such as with Srilankan Airlines or Thai Airways, priced around 350 – 400 USD, while Malindo Air offered a price as low as 200 USD). As a budget backpacker, I had no hesitation in flying with this airline.

These are the flight Information;

Flight – 1

          Route          : Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL)

          Flight          : OD 521 – Malindo Air

          Aircraft      : Boeing 737 – 900

          Date               : 15 June 2016

          ETD              : 11.50am (GMT+7)

           ETA               : 3.00pm (GMT+8)

           Duration      : 2 hours 10 minutes

           Cabin             : Economy

Flight – 2

           Route            : Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – Colombo (CMB)

           Flight            : OD 185 – Malindo Air

           Aircraft        : Boeing 737 – 900

           Date               : 15 June 2016

           ETD                : 10.25pm (GMT+8)

           ETA                 : 11.25pm (GMT+5.5)

           Duration        : 3 hours 30 minutes

           Cabin               : Economy

.

I started by checking in at Don Mueang Airport (DMK). Our flight was scheduled for 11.50AM, and I arrived around 9:30AM. There was sufficient time for check-in at Row Number 8, baggage drop-off, and receiving the boarding pass, which seemed appropriate considering the relatively low number of people in our queue. Most of them were Malaysians, and there were fewer than 10 Thai passengers. The staff were friendly and informed me that my baggage could be checked through to Colombo, allowing me to have a relaxed layover at KLIA. I had about 5-6 hours to find something to eat there.

.

.

2 Boarding passes was obtained at once, DMK – KUL and KUL – CMB.

At Don Mueang Airport, today, Malindo Air was boarding at Gate Number 22. It was quite far.

While waiting, I took a walk and looked for something to eat before boarding. I was afraid that there wouldn’t be any food available on the plane or that it would be limited. Even though it was a low-cost airline, I wasn’t sure if they provided full-service amenities. Since I had never flown with this airline before, I decided it was better to eat beforehand. It’s always best to satisfy your hunger before it becomes uncomfortable. 😀

.

.

.

.

I arrived at the gate around 11.15 AM, and it turned out that the aircraft had not arrived yet (the plane was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Don Mueang before returning to Kuala Lumpur). I thought it was a definite delay, but after waiting for about 10 minutes, the plane landed right on time. The taxi then arrived at the gate. Phew….it was a sign of on-time. ⏰

.

.

The boarding was started at 11.45AM.

.

.

The atmosphere in the cabin was pleasant. The business class was arranged in a 2-2 configuration, with a total of 12 seats (3 rows). The economy class was arranged in a standard 3-3 configuration, following the typical Single Aisle aircraft layout.

.

The seating arrangement, entertainment, and documents in the seat pocket were all in place. Despite being a low-cost airline, they provided personal entertainment screens (PTV). There were around 20 movies available to watch, with approximately 12 English-dubbed Hollywood movies. There were also 3-4 movies each from Chinese and Indonesian films.

.

.

The seat pitch was almost as spacious as full-service airlines like Thai airways or Malaysia Airlines. I am 183 cm tall, and I was able to sit comfortably without feeling cramped like on regular low-cost airlines. It may be because the seats were designed to be slim and sleek, which made the seating area wider.

.

.

Today, there were few passengers onboard, approximately 40% (around 80 people). I had a whole row to myself, occupying three seats. It was quite comfortable, just like a private cabin. Shortly after I sat down, the announcement came, “Cabin crew, arm the door and cross-check,” and then we pushed back and departed from Don Mueang Airport.

.

I forgot to mention that during taxiing or the period when the seatbelt sign was illuminated, the PTVs were not accessible. We had to wait until the aircraft was airborne before we could start using them.

.

.

Once the altitude had been set, I had started to survey the lavatory. It was well-cleaned.

.

.

Then they served snacks, starting with fruit juice. I chose orange juice and also had drinking water. After that, they distributed sandwiches with sausage, followed by tea and coffee. It seemed like they wouldn’t serve a hot meal like full-service airlines typically do.

.

.

.

After that, I sat and read a book for a while. The seatbelt sign was turned on, indicating that we were preparing for landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA-1). The delay was about 1 hour due to air traffic congestion, perhaps because of the heavy traffic during that period.

.

.

.

After I passed throught the immigration, I had time to find something to eat during waiting for the next flight.

For KLIA-1 Airport, there is a Food Garden located on the second floor, which offers budget-friendly prices, especially for backpackers. The prices are comparable to the food courts in our local shopping malls. Additionally, there is a 7-Eleven store available, offering small snacks and drinks for you to enjoy while waiting.

.

.

From there, the price was 6.75 MYR (approximately 1.80 USD) for a meal of honey roasted chicken with rice (savory and slightly sweet), omelette salad (sour and salty, not spicy), and stir-fried dried anchovies with peanuts. The portion was very generous, and it was so filling that I was completely satisfied.

.

This Hershey chocolate soy milk had been bought from 7-Eleven at departure hall.

.

At around 7.30PM, I went through immigration and security to wait for boarding at Gate C-13. I had to take the train to another terminal.

.

.

.

.

When I arrived at the gate, the aircraft was waiting already.

.

.

I waited and waited, but they didn’t announce the boarding. It wasn’t until 11PM when they finally announced that the flight would be delayed due to technical issues. However, they didn’t provide a specific time. It was around midnight when they called for boarding.

.

The atmosphere inside the aircraft was similar to the one I took from Don Mueang Airport because it was the same model. The passenger load was approximately not more than 60%. I had a whole row to myself, so I stretched out and took a nap for a while.

.

.

.

.

.

As the flight delay had been resolved (approximately one and halfhour), once all the passengers were loaded, we immediately pushed back and started taxiing.

.

.

Once airborne, the meal service promptly began. This time, we were served a hot meal, which was a Indian-style meal. It was Chicken Biryani, prepared with Basmati rice, and it had a spicy and flavorful taste typical of Indian-style cuisine. Finally, I requested some orange juice to quench my thirst and alleviate the spiciness.

.

.

.

.

After feeling satisfied, I fell asleep immediately since the flight was about 3 and a half hours long. There was a relaxation time of approximately 2 hours. Then, we landed at Colombo Bandaranaike Airport and proceeded to the gate. This flight experienced a slight delay of about one hour and half. Arrived at 1AM.

.

Then, I passed the immigration and retrieved my luggage.

.

.

..

..

.

Then, I went to exchange currency. After that, I purchased a SIM card for my phone to access the internet. The SIM card cost 800 LKR (approximately 7 USD) and provided me with 2 GB of data. The cost of living in this country is relatively inexpensive.

Then, I looked for a taxi to go to the hotel I had booked in Negombo (I chose this hotel because it was closer to the airport than entering Colombo city, and the hotel was also near the bus station where I would catch a ride to Kandy in the morning). Since it was already late when I arrived, I had to rely solely on taxi services, which cost me around 1200 LKR, approximately 9 USD (negotiated down from 1500 LKR). The distance wasn’t far, only about 5 kilometers, so it was considered expensive for this price, but with no other options available, I had to use the service. Fortunately, the taxi didn’t take long to arrive at the hotel. After taking a shower, I went straight to bed, preparing for the next day’s adventures…..See You Tomorrow Sri Lanka. 🇱🇰

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Written By : SHIPY SIWARIT TIASUWATTISETH

https://www.facebook.com/shipyshipdotcom