What Kind of Traveller Are You?

[jysim 0]

Extremely slow day today, speak of French bureaucracy. So, here's mine, just to add to the fun.

 

Preparation:

Ticketing - I usually go all out for the S fares - internet, call centers, tour agents, I go for all of them as long as they save me a few bucks.

Packing - usually 1 to 2 days before departing, I pack by phases - phase one for clothes, phase two for basic necessities such as food and stationaries (if any), and phase three for toiletries which I have to use up till the very day of departure.

 

Baggage:

Quite some time ago I have a meter-high baggage. That's the biggest you can get, and it went with me to Europe and Taiwan. Currently I'm using two smaller cabin-sized baggage. But I find having to haul two baggages is harder than hauling one enormous one.

 

Getting to the Airport:

My home in Penang is just 20 mins away from PEN. As for coming back every semester, I rely on my Taiwanese friend who lived 50 minutes away from TPE. I never use the airport bus for TPE because they're a tad too late and too risky for my MH95.

 

Choice of Airline:

Usually MH. But after they initiated their cost-cutting measures with tricky pricing systems I'm having more and more tendency to use CX and CI. I've rode on KL and AZ on my Europe trip 2005. AK I've tried on two occassions on KUL-PEN when I presumed Pudu would be jam-packed (never have good experience departing from Pudu).

 

Choice of Airliner/Airport/Frequency etc:

For my TPE-PEN sector I prefer a non-stop with CI. It's a pity they fly a narrowbody with no PTVs. Recent years saw me flying more with MH for the same sector. As a student frequency doesn't matter much, and not being in SIN and HKG before I think KUL is a nice place to be when you have less than 3 hours to kill.

 

Frequent Flyer Program:

Enrich and Dynasty Flier. Both ground-bottom tiers as I always go for rock-bottom fares. I'm looking forward for my first upgrade with MH though, 1.5 years to go still if everything goes well.

 

Check-In:

2 to 1.5 hours before departure. I hate having to wander around doing nothing, especially in ancient TPE Terminal 1.

 

Onboard:

Window seats for daylight flights below 6 hours. Aisle for night flights, and flights longer than that. I'm a good passenger to have onboard - I don't snore, I don't ask for extra portions, I don't really mind if they've ran out of meal choices. On a KUL-CDG flight recently I was delighted to find the seat beside me empty. I was making plans on how to fully utilize two adjacent seats to the max when an arrogant French teen switch seats because her IFE was not working. While not waking me up to go the bathroom n times during the flight, she barely touched the IFE at all. She just gobbled everything and slept. Why the seat change in the first place when you know you're not interested in the IFE?

 

Duty Free Shopping:

I like Temptations because you earn big miles for buying little things, but then again, what can a student really buy in an in-flight shopping program catered for the other wealthy passengers? My family don't smoke, and I usually get all the shopping done before departure, so the airport can just suck my money from F&B.

 

Travelling in Group:

Oh no thank you. Not especially with the girls. They drop you everything and they go shopping while you cripple with their baggages weighing tonnes. Then comes rushing for check-in - "I have to go to the bathroom, gimme 5 minutes," "No liquid onboard eh, can you help me to finish this 1 liter orange juice I just bought?" Traveling with Mum and Dad is no fun either - "where did you put your passport just now? Give it to me, I just don't feel safe they're being with you." "(poking you in the middle of a deep slumber) I'm going to the bathroom, you watch my handbag ah! HEY! Wake up and watch over my handbag!" - you get what I mean.

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

Has anyone experience any changes to their travelling behaviors? Also, a special Bon Voyage! to Keno Omar and congratulation for the second graduation!

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

I am sure for those who have read Ryan Soh's D7 trip report into PER must be aware about the treatment that he received from the Australian immigration. Since there has been stringent entry requirement imposed by certain countries to Malaysian passport holders, probably we could spend sometime watching these few clips, as some sort of mental preparation before embarking on the journey. I am confident that almost 100% of us here are genuine business and leisure travellers, but just in case:

 

Case 1:

 

 

A group of 3 Malaysians and a Singaporean were denied entry into the UK in LHR because they were suspected not a genuine tourist, although they bring along quite a sum of money to spend (GBP 800 and GBP 900 by 2 of the guys) and one of the guys has been to the UK before. They were all of Chinese descent and speak very little English. Their travel documents were searched through, including hotel bookings and questions about the places that they are going to visit while in the UK were asked. They were sent to the detention center for 2 days before being sent back to Malaysia (onboard MH flights I presume).

 

 

Case 2:

 

 

A group of 3 Malaysians, all of which are of Chinese descent were denied entry into Australia in SYD because they were suspected not a genuine tourist. The guy in the group speaks good English and has been to Australia a few times. Their travel documents were searched through, how they fund their air ticket and the immigration officers also searched through the messages in their cellphones. They were sent back to Malaysia (also onboard MH flight I presume) on the earliest flight out.

 

 

In both cases, they were denied entry because they were suspecting to be involved in going into the countries to work illegally. Feel free to share any other clips if there is any, especially those which involved Malaysian passport holders.

[Keith T 2]

http://blogs.theage.com.au/travel/archives...er_cliches.html

 

Go the boozers! Hmm then again I don't drink all that much beer (wine, bubbles and cocktails thanks) unless there's a huge price difference or beer is the only drinkable item, and neither do I watch much football.

 

I'd also add one more category: The Shopper (whose idea of a good holiday is cleaning out boutiques of all local niche brands they can find, and whose aim is to shop at Prada/[insert favourite label] on at least 3 continents)! I probably fit somewhere in between Shopper and Boozer.

 

I'm also guilty of some 'box ticking' sometimes (eg in Rome I sped through the Sistine Chapel in 20 mins, if even that, just to say I've 'been there done that') then again despite having been to HKG heaps I've not visited the Big Buddha till the last time I was there when the other half insisted on seeing it.

Edited May 20, 2009 by Keith T

[Mohd. Helmi 0]

I was going to reply on what type of traveler I am, then I saw your post on these people and it touched a nerve.

 

I have seen the videos before, it really annoys me what they're doing.

 

Do these people realize that they're going to make it harder for Malaysians traveling overseas? It's incredibly Selfish! A Malaysian Passport can enter 145 countries and territories visa free, the 3rd most free in Asia after Japan and Singapore. Our Passports are ranked 11th in the world for most visa free access internationally. Ahead of South Korea, Hong Kong, Monaco, Cyprus, Malta, Slovenia, Czech Rep, Brunei. We recently had that scare a few months ago when Britain told us that they might take away our 6month Visa free status to the UK, and it's all thanks to these bozos in the video. They're looking for easy money, that's the same mentality that brings illegals to Malaysia.

 

This is a serious matter that needs to be nipped in the bud, if not we'll soon have to apply for Visas everywhere we go. And going to get a Visa done is such a pain! To highlight, I was VIE a few years back, met a Ukrainian guy who was on transit, he had been stuck for DAYS inside the international terminal of VIE because he didn't have a Visa for the EU, he was only supposed to be at VIE for 4hrs on transit from the US, he was only going back home when his onward flight was canceled because of a snow in and bad weather. Imagine being stuck in an airport for days, sleeping on the floor, you can't go land side and check in to a hotel, even to get some fresh air, all because he didn't have a visa he didn't think he'd need. My flight too had been canceled, I too was on transit but it was ok, I could walk in and out of Austria whenever I felt like it, smell the fresh air, clear passport control in a few mins, after hearing that, the Ukrainian guy told me I was lucky to be a Malaysian.

 

I'm glad I hold a Malaysian passport. Just for the sake of comparison to show how good we have it currently, Thai nationals have to get a Visa for the EU, we don't. They can only access 52 countries without a Visa. Indonesians fair a lot worse, even oil rich Bruneians need more Visas than we do.

 

Here's the ranking

<a href="http://www.henleyglobal.com/fileadmin/pdfs/content/HVRI2009_GlobalRanking.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.henleyglobal.com/fileadmin/pdfs...obalRanking.pdf</a>

 

More info

<a href="http://www.henleyglobal.com/citizenship/visa-restrictions/" target="_blank">http://www.henleyglobal.com/citizenship/visa-restrictions/</a>

 

 

Sorry for the rant. I'll be annoyed even more if we fall further down the visa free rankings. We have already started to, once upon a time I believed Canada was Visa free for Malaysians.

[Sharil Abdul Rahman 0]

I was going to reply on what type of traveler I am, then I saw your post on these people and it touched a nerve.

 

I have seen the videos before, it really annoys me what they're doing.

 

Do these people realize that they're going to make it harder for Malaysians traveling overseas? It's incredibly Selfish! A Malaysian Passport can enter 145 countries and territories visa free, the 3rd most free in Asia after Japan and Singapore. Our Passports are ranked 11th in the world for most visa free access internationally. Ahead of South Korea, Hong Kong, Monaco, Cyprus, Malta, Slovenia, Czech Rep, Brunei. We recently had that scare a few months ago when Britain told us that they might take away our 6month Visa free status to the UK, and it's all thanks to these bozos in the video. They're looking for easy money, that's the same mentality that brings illegals to Malaysia.

 

This is a serious matter that needs to be nipped in the bud, if not we'll soon have to apply for Visas everywhere we go. And going to get a Visa done is such a pain! To highlight, I was VIE a few years back, met a Ukrainian guy who was on transit, he had been stuck for DAYS inside the international terminal of VIE because he didn't have a Visa for the EU, he was only supposed to be at VIE for 4hrs on transit from the US, he was only going back home when his onward flight was canceled because of a snow in and bad weather. Imagine being stuck in an airport for days, sleeping on the floor, you can't go land side and check in to a hotel, even to get some fresh air, all because he didn't have a visa he didn't think he'd need. My flight too had been canceled, I too was on transit but it was ok, I could walk in and out of Austria whenever I felt like it, smell the fresh air, clear passport control in a few mins, after hearing that, the Ukrainian guy told me I was lucky to be a Malaysian.

 

I'm glad I hold a Malaysian passport. Just for the sake of comparison to show how good we have it currently, Thai nationals have to get a Visa for the EU, we don't. They can only access 52 countries without a Visa. Indonesians fair a lot worse, even oil rich Bruneians need more Visas than we do.

 

Here's the ranking

http://www.henleyglobal.com/fileadmin/pdfs...obalRanking.pdf

 

More info

http://www.henleyglobal.com/citizenship/visa-restrictions/

 

 

Sorry for the rant. I'll be annoyed even more if we fall further down the visa free rankings. We have already started to, once upon a time I believed Canada was Visa free for Malaysians.

 

Oh wow, we really learn something new everyday.

I know we can visit most of the countries in the world, but i never thought we are that well off in visa standings?

Indeed what those people are doing are really selfish. I know the pains of getting a visa - albeit its a free one from Japan, but the pain to get one is still a hassle.

Imagine you need to get a visa to go to our neighbour - the suffering!

 

[Waiping 12]

I am sure for those who have read Ryan Soh's D7 trip report into PER must be aware about the treatment that he received from the Australian immigration. Since there has been stringent entry requirement imposed by certain countries to Malaysian passport holders, probably we could spend sometime watching these few clips, as some sort of mental preparation before embarking on the journey. I am confident that almost 100% of us here are genuine business and leisure travellers, but just in case:

 

Case 1:

 

A group of 3 Malaysians and a Singaporean were denied entry into the UK in LHR because they were suspected not a genuine tourist, although they bring along quite a sum of money to spend (GBP 800 and GBP 900 by 2 of the guys) and one of the guys has been to the UK before. They were all of Chinese descent and speak very little English. Their travel documents were searched through, including hotel bookings and questions about the places that they are going to visit while in the UK were asked. They were sent to the detention center for 2 days before being sent back to Malaysia (onboard MH flights I presume).

 

 

Case 2:

 

A group of 3 Malaysians, all of which are of Chinese descent were denied entry into Australia in SYD because they were suspected not a genuine tourist. The guy in the group speaks good English and has been to Australia a few times. Their travel documents were searched through, how they fund their air ticket and the immigration officers also searched through the messages in their cellphones. They were sent back to Malaysia (also onboard MH flight I presume) on the earliest flight out.

 

 

In both cases, they were denied entry because they were suspecting to be involved in going into the countries to work illegally. Feel free to share any other clips if there is any, especially those which involved Malaysian passport holders.

 

Damn! Really sad to hear this. In fact when I was in HKG just a couple of years ago Japan just granted HKG citizens visa free entry to Japan. Travel agents in HKG would not help foreigners to get Japanese Visa.

[Waiping 12]

Waiping, I really salute you for one interesting thing. You always include your wife in your replies and I can guess that the two of you are always together (travelling, doing a movie marathon etc). If MW can give an award for the most loving husband, I think you will surely win, hands down!

 

[liza 1]

Just to chip in ...

 

Preparation:

Ticketing - Business Trip - done by secretary. personal trip - search online, find the best bargain.

Packing - Used to travel with last minute notice, I've make sure toiletries & medical supplies bag always in ready mode. Clothes always must be ironed prior to packing. Usually, it just takes me about 1/2 hrs to get everything ready.

 

Baggage:

if just within 3 days, i'll bring 20" bag, or else 24" bag. Backpack for my laptop and 1 complete set of clothes (in case!!)

 

Getting to the Airport:

I'll call cab which is much more convenient. Usually 3 hrs before flight.

 

Choice of Airline:

The first preference always MH, unless the destination not covered by MH.

 

Frequent Flyer Program:

Enrich and Skywards. Currently, i'm on silver enrich. aiming for gold next year .. heheheh

 

Check-In:

2 hours before departure.

 

Onboard:

Always on window seats and my secretary always made pre-booking seat. My preference if on economy - window seat not on wings.

 

Duty Free Shopping:

Depends on my needs but i must take a look at Tie rack shop in Satellite Building. That's the only store in Kuala Lumpur. I do buy perfumes on in flight sales as the price slightly cheaper that DFS on ground. I do buy chocolates on DFS ground as a gift.

 

Traveling in Group:

Used to be traveling alone or small group, thus, traveling in big group is not my preference.

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

Looks like PTPTN now can change a traveller's behaviour. To check your PTPTN status, whether you are blacklisted from leaving the country or not, simply key-in your IC number in the link provided below.

 

And I'm going to add one more "DON'T FORGET TO PAY YOUR PTPTN LOAN".

I don't know if this qualified here, but a friend of friend wasn't able to clear the immigration because he doesn't pay his ptptn. No trip, ticket burned.

Semakan Peminjam Yang Disenarai Hitam

 

PTPTN telah mengambil tindakan tegas dengan menyenaraihitamkan peminjam ingkar daripada keluar negara dengan kerjasama Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia. Senarai peminjam yang telah dikenakan sekatan ini boleh disemak di bawah:

 

http://eform.ptptn.gov.my:8080/blacklist/login.cfm

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

I would urge everyone to read this website http://travel.state.gov/travel/travel_1744.html before going to any country. Just read (and comprehend) the country-specific information. The 10 minutes time allocated for this purpose could eventually save your life. Trust me, I learnt the hard way - twice.

[Azman MN 1]

I would urge everyone to read this website http://travel.state.gov/travel/travel_1744.html before going to any country. Just read (and comprehend) the country-specific information. The 10 minutes time allocated for this purpose could eventually save your life. Trust me, I learnt the hard way - twice.

 

When I submit a travel booking online (our company uses the Carlson Wagonlit Travel Tool), one of the first things that I receive via e-mail is an automatically generated safety reminder for countries I have booked travel to. For Malaysia, I get a reminder to be careful in Sabah, or overland crossing into southern Thailand, etc.. but what annoys me is that when I book Singapore, I get a safety message for Johor Bahru. A few of my colleagues travelling to Sin have even asked me "if going over to Malaysia for the weekend" is a bad idea...

[David Bindon 0]

Hello everyone.

 

Here's my contribution to this thread.

 

BOOKING.

 

I either book through the airline's website or use my local travel agent.

 

PREPARATION.

 

I like to be organised and sort everything out well in time before I travel if I can help it. I'll have my bags packed and everything I need ready to go the night before.

 

GETTING THERE.

 

When leaving from home, either one of my parents will take me to the airport or I will catch a door to door shuttle bus. When leaving my destination, I'll take either a cab, shuttle bus or public transport, depending on the destination, where I am staying and the hotel I am at.

 

CHECK IN.

 

If leaving from home, I'll do web check in the day/night before as early as I can. If leaving from my destination, I'll check in at the airport since I don't have access to a computer and a printer.

 

SEAT PREFERENCE.

 

Window seat. Love looking out the window and taking photos. There are same amazing photo opportunities up there in the sky!

 

AIRLINES.

 

Qantas all the way! Although many people absolutely hate Qantas with passion, I absolutely love flying with them. Although I have had my fair share of ordinary "everyday" flights with them, I have had so many fantastic and wonderful experiences with them including countless flight deck visits, getting a look up in first and business class and been given goodies such as postcards and pens.

 

On 3 separate occasions, they have let me sit up in business class on landing. Their cabin crews and pilots are have been nothing short of fantastic to me. Since Qantas have been so good to me over the years, I will never forget all the wonderful memories they have given me and for that, I will always continue to support them all the way forever. Although I usually fly with Qantas,

 

I still use other airlines such as Virgin Blue, Jetstar and Air New Zealand which are all very good to travel with. There are no airlines that I hate, hold grudges and animosity towards and refuse to use.

 

AIRCRAFT.

 

The Boeing 747 by a long shot! I absolutely love the "Queen of the Skies." It is just an awesome aircraft to fly on. Taking off in one is just incredible, I love the sound and the feel, especially if sitting near the engines on a Rolls Royce powered a/c and hearing the loud buzzsaw sound! Compared to a 737 or A320 which to me is more a less a bus ride in the sky, the 747 for me continues to be an absolute adrenaline rush from start to finish and I am very much like a kid in a candy store when I am on one.

 

FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAM.

 

Qantas Frequent Flyer Bronze.

 

AIRLINE VS AIRCRAFT VS PRICE VS SCHEDULE.

 

Since all four of those aspects affect me to some extent, I very much juggle between the 4 and eventually come up with the flight that suits me the most.

 

HABITS & ATTITUDES WHEN FLYING.

 

I always like to wander around while in the departure lounges before boarding, I am always very restless. Delays, as inconvenient and disappointing as they can be never make me angry. They happen and more often than not. As far as I am concerned, they are not worth getting mad about. In flight entertainment is not a sacred part of flying for me. On a short haul, about all I would ever do is listen to the music but on a medium to long haul, I use it to kill the time away. To be honest, I would rather have it available than not.

 

I always have my camera with me when flying. I am hardly ever in a hurry to de board and aircraft, I am nearly always one of the last, if not the last one off. I always expect the worst and hope for the best when I fly. I am always cheerful, friendly and polite to the cabin crews and I believe that if I wasn't, then I wouldn't have gotten spoilt so rotton like I have on many of my flights. If you give, you will be given back.

 

David...

[Azman MN 1]

I never thought about my habits, so here goes:

 

BOOKING:

Business - I do a first booking based on the exact schedule that I want and end up with tickets that costs something crazy like USD14k. I submit the booking, make sure the boss approves it, and then I try different variations until I get something that is more reasonable like USD7k without messing up the schedule too much but still staying within Star Alliance if possible. A lot of colleagues simply take the given (most expensive) itinerary, and we don't really get any tangible credit for saving the company money like this, but I like to do it for personal satisfaction and also if my boss makes some snide comment about me traveling too much I can always say that hey, if I do it for half the price, I can travel twice as much as the other guy!

 

Private:

Directly through airline's website. I have limited holidays, and I have wife & young kids to think about. So cost is not as important as convenience.

 

BAGGAGE:

I pack the night before, even if the flight is in the evening, as I am usually busy during the day. I have different size cases for overnight, 3 days, 1 week or more. Also depends on destination. London overnight is already a big bag because of food shopping... New York ... 2 suitcases...

I have a black Victorinox backpack and in it I always have my blackberry, a camera and Sennheiser noice cancelling headphones. A novel or two, eye shades, eye drops, mints, various ziplock bags with different currencies, a second wallet with all the membership cards, metro cards, etc., multi-plug adaptor, custom immigration forms of various countries, spare underwear and t-shirt, even swimtrunks depending on possibilites during transit ... wow I just realized that I better not lose this bag!

 

GETTING TO/FROM AIPORT:

If I am travelling with golf bag, then my wife will take me or I will take a taxi. If no golf bag, then I take the train. It is 5 minutes walk from my house and takes me to the airport in 30 minutes every half an hour.

I usually arrive late at the airport to minimize the time at the airport and maximize the time in whichever city I am in.

 

 

On arrival - also depends on the luggage I have. I usually prefer public transport.

 

CHECK-IN:

European flights - with Swiss, which I fly most of the time, I use internet check-in and the boarding pass is sent to my blackberry. Really paperless!

Otherwise, I check-in at the counter. Most of the time I fly star alliance so I can use the business/first check in anyway.

 

SEAT SELECTION:

always window. I even choose which side to sit on depending on the expected views. Eg. Zurich arrivals from the East, always the A seats.

 

WAITING FOR FLIGHTS:

Most of the time is spent in lounges. Waiting for my laptop to boot-up and trying to connect to the internet. It is usually the only time I have to write my meeting notes. Otherwise, or on personal travel, I like to explore the airport, and in particular, I like to check how well kept the toilets are. More so during arrivals - arriving in a new country and having a first look at the conditions of the toilet seems to prepare me for the unknown...

 

I am usually the last person to board the flight, but one of the first to deboard. I like to get past immigration before the rest of the crowd gets there.

 

 

ON BOARD:

Somehow I am not so much into the onboard movies anymore. I prefer to read a book when I am awake, if I am not walking around and chatting with the cabin crew. I love chatting with them and hear about their experiences. Whether they think that I am bothering their work or what I don't know... The first priority for me is anyway to try and sleep. On short-haul flights within Europe, I am usually reading preparatory notes for a meeting or reviewing the day. If I am flying back from London, then I always have an English magazine to read, such as What Hi-Fi, or Digital Photography, etc. Just can't get those in Zurich for a decent price...

 

AIRCRAFT:

Love the 77W. Now SQ is using the 380 for the Zurich run...

 

AIRLINE:

Seeing as I have senator status on Miles&More due to my business travels, I tend to stick to Star A. The perks are quite nice, i.e., lounge access, extra luggage allowance, etc., etc. I am starting to like Air berlin a lot too, it is very family friendly (free seat reservation if you are with children, they get full baggage allowance, car seats transported for free, etc.).

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

Thank you David and Azman for your contributions. Personally, I can definitely learn a thing or two from some of the seasoned travelers among us.

 

I am starting to like Air berlin a lot too, it is very family friendly (free seat reservation if you are with children, they get full baggage allowance, car seats transported for free, etc.)

And they are about to become part of OneWorld. Will that effect your Air Berlin future bookings considering the fact that you are from team Star?

.

.

.

I would like to share this link http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/apps/travel/passport/default.aspx which is a very comprehensive database developed by Continental Airlines about visa requirement rules for all passport holders to all countries in the entire world. The link was first posted by fellow MalaysianWings member, Adrian M somewhere in this forum quite sometimes ago, which I bookmarked right away. So, if you want to check whether Malaysian passport holders need a visa or not to enter say... Colombia travelling via Japan and the US, just fill in the particulars there and viola! It has been a very wonderful and most beneficial travel tool.

Edited July 28, 2010 by Mohd Azizul Ramli

[Keno Omar 0]

Azizul: be careful with the Timaticweb database, KLM/Delta also use the same system in their websites. Few months back, I checked our visa requirement to Senegal to join my friend visiting his family there, apparently based on this database we do not need visas for stay not exceeding 3 months, but I found no such information in Senegalese embassy websites. We checked directly with the embassy in Paris and indeed Malaysians need a pre-arrival visa, even visa-on-arrival would not be possible. I ended up cancelling the trip since I could not get time off work just to travel to the nearest embassy before the trip (there's hardly any non-EU embassy where I live).

 

Another friend of my flew from Paris to Bangui in Central African Republic for work. He did not arrange a pre-arrival visa, since a company representative there has made special arrangements with an immigration officer for a visa-on-arrival (not sure if was legit or not). His flight was badly delayed and only got into Bangui at 1am, so by then the immigration officer has gone home. No surprise, he could not get pass immigration, and was kindly "deported" back to Paris on the same flight.

 

Use this website with caution and always double check with the embassy website or call. You wouldn't want to end up in a foreign country without the right papers, since not all country would grant visa-on-arrival.

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

Thank you for the reminder Keno. Agree with you that one should double check the info with the respective country of destination's embassy, especially when travelling to less known countries such as those in Africa and South America.

[Azman MN 1]

Actually even the embassy sometimes don't give the right info. Or, they don't bother to ask you the right questions in order to be able to give you the right info.

 

Eg., my colleague is a Chinese national living in Switzerland. He called the Egyptian embassy and they said, for Chinese national, no visa required.

 

When he checked in for his flight, they refused him because he is a resident in Switzerland. Chinese with Swiss residence permit needs visa. Chinese from China, no visa required!!!

 

So I tried the CO website and it shows exactly the correct answers. Impressive.

 

The problem with the embassy is that - they really need to know your situation, otherwise, they will give you the wrong answer.

 

Thank you David and Azman for your contributions. Personally, I can definitely learn a thing or two from some of the seasoned travelers among us.

 

And they are about to become part of OneWorld. Will that effect your Air Berlin future bookings considering the fact that you are from team Star?

 

Actually I don't care so much about collecting airmiles within Europe because you get almost no miles if you fly on a cheap booking class. The only reason to stick with Star Alliance is the lounge access and extra 20kg. People usually don't check in their luggage for short flights, and internet check-in means no long queues at the airport.

 

Air Berlin is independent right now, but I like them for the reasons I mentioned above. The only thing I don't get is the lounge access. But ZRH has a fantastic children's room with toys, change station, kitchen, beds for naps, so we definitely don't use the lounge in ZRH. At non-StarA hubs, lounges are usually very small and poor quality, my kids would much prefer to be in the play area or something like that.

 

If it joins One world, that is good too, so i can collect miles on that side!

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

We enjoy one of the highest degree of freedom to travel. Malaysian passport holders can travel to over 150 countries without visa out of a total of 200+ countries out there. UK tops the list with 165 countries, while Chinese citizens can only travel to less than 40 countries visa-free.

 

No visa required

 

Aug 25th 2010, 14:30 by The Economist online

http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2010/08/visa_restrictions

 

Who has most freedom to travel?

 

THE ability to visit a foreign country without the cost and hassle of obtaining a visa is a welcome bonus for any traveller. It is also a barometer of a country's international alliances and relations. A report released on August 25th by Henley & Partners, a consultancy, shows that Britons have the fewest visa restrictions of the 190-odd countries (and territories) for which data are available. British citizens can enjoy a three-day stay for business or pleasure to 166 destinations without needing a visa. Generally, citizens of rich countries and trade-based economies have more freedom to travel than those of countries suffering from war or repression. Compare, for instance, the restrictions on South Korea with North Korea and Hong Kong with those on China.

 

[Mike P 0]

We enjoy one of the highest degree of freedom to travel. Malaysian passport holders can travel to over 150 countries without visa out of a total of 200+ countries out there. UK tops the list with 165 countries, while Chinese citizens can only travel to less than 40 countries visa-free.

 

No visa required

 

Aug 25th 2010, 14:30 by The Economist online

http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2010/08/visa_restrictions

 

Who has most freedom to travel?

 

THE ability to visit a foreign country without the cost and hassle of obtaining a visa is a welcome bonus for any traveller. It is also a barometer of a country's international alliances and relations. A report released on August 25th by Henley & Partners, a consultancy, shows that Britons have the fewest visa restrictions of the 190-odd countries (and territories) for which data are available. British citizens can enjoy a three-day stay for business or pleasure to 166 destinations without needing a visa. Generally, citizens of rich countries and trade-based economies have more freedom to travel than those of countries suffering from war or repression. Compare, for instance, the restrictions on South Korea with North Korea and Hong Kong with those on China.

 

 

Can't see Singapore in the list? Thanks to EU and Malaysia + Commonwealth deal that allow Malaysians to travel to these nations without visa. Yet still, compared to Singapore, Malaysia still needs visa to enter Japan, Canada, China. US (requires visa + interview)...

Edited December 9, 2011 by Mike P

[Suzanne Goh 0]

Can't see Singapore in the list? Thanks to EU and Malaysia + Commonwealth deal that allow Malaysians to travel to these nations without visa. Yet still, compared to Singapore, Malaysia still needs visa to enter Japan, Canada, China. US (requires visa + interview)...

 

It's still a good passport. And should NEVER be abused

[Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2]

Can't see Singapore in the list? Thanks to EU and Malaysia + Commonwealth deal that allow Malaysians to travel to these nations without visa. Yet still, compared to Singapore, Malaysia still needs visa to enter Japan, Canada, China. US (requires visa + interview)...

 

Unfortunately Malaysians are prone to abusing their visas to overstay & work rather than going through the proper channels to get a work permit.

 

I have a friend who had overstayed his UK visa because he was doing his A-Levels while his dad's doing Ph.D & want to continue after his dad had left. I mercilessly ribbed him back when UK wanted to pull visa-free status for Malaysians.

[Mike P 0]

Unfortunately Malaysians are prone to abusing their visas to overstay & work rather than going through the proper channels to get a work permit.

 

I have a friend who had overstayed his UK visa because he was doing his A-Levels while his dad's doing Ph.D & want to continue after his dad had left. I mercilessly ribbed him back when UK wanted to pull visa-free status for Malaysians.

 

Visa free depends on how closed a nation with another and therefore grant free Visa status to each other. Recently Malaysia just granted Visa exemption to Taiwanese travellers, while USA enjoyed best Visa exemption since they do not require Visa for business and study in Malaysia.

[Suzanne Goh 0]

I flew on MH122 SYD-KUL yesterday. I selected seat 1K ages ago, and 1H next to me remained unoccupied for the longest time till about T-3 hours from departure.

 

Was pretty disappointed to hear from the checkin agent that someone had taken up that seat next to me - thinking how much less comfy it'd be since now i'd have to climb over his or her legs to get to the aisle.

 

I get onboard - meet the guy in 1H

 

My concerns were unfounded you see. Turns out I didn't have to climb over his legs to get to the aisle.

 

 

......because he didn't have any.

 

 

Sometimes we wonder who we'll sit next to on the plane and how he or she might make your journey less comfortable because of the space they take up.... and then you realise that sometimes these concerns are nothing but shallow whims and instead you should be really thanking God for your blessings in life. Felt like an arse that's for sure........... glad i realise it.

[Kenneth Chong WT 0]

I flew on MH122 SYD-KUL yesterday. I selected seat 1K ages ago, and 1H next to me remained unoccupied for the longest time till about T-3 hours from departure.

 

Was pretty disappointed to hear from the checkin agent that someone had taken up that seat next to me - thinking how much less comfy it'd be since now i'd have to climb over his or her legs to get to the aisle.

 

I get onboard - meet the guy in 1H

 

My concerns were unfounded you see. Turns out I didn't have to climb over his legs to get to the aisle.

 

 

......because he didn't have any.

 

 

Sometimes we wonder who we'll sit next to on the plane and how he or she might make your journey less comfortable because of the space they take up.... and then you realise that sometimes these concerns are nothing but shallow whims and instead you should be really thanking God for your blessings in life. Felt like an arse that's for sure........... glad i realise it.

Wow...goosebumps...thanks for sharing...