From Karachi, Pakistan to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia via EK (March, 2015)
Aug 27, 2015, 5:39 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Karachi, Pakistan
Programs: Emirates Skywards Blue, Etihad Guest
Posts: 25
From Karachi, Pakistan to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia via EK (March, 2015)
Hello guys,
Hope you're doing well. I have been following Flyertalk since quite some time and really enjoy reading all the trip reports posted here. Before I start off with my trip report, I'd like to introduce myself first. I am a tech entrepreneur based in Karachi, Pakistan and travel 3-4 times a year basically for leisure. I am an avid fan of motorsports and have been travelling to Abu Dhabi, UAE every year since 2009 to attend the Formula 1 Grand Prix held there (will post a separate trip report for it).
Coming over to my trip report, visiting Malaysia had always been on my agenda but I never really got the time to go on this trip. After I returned back to my home from the UAE in December, 2014, I got in touch with a friend of mine who's studying at the Nilai University in Kuala Lumpur and started planning out my trip with her help.
During the first week of January, I applied for my Malaysian visa through a travel agent here in Karachi and received it in around 10 days for the cost of $62. Shortly after receiving my visa, I bought my air tickets for my Emirates flight which would take me from Karachi to Kuala Lumpur and back with a stopover in Dubai during both the outbound and inbound journeys. I bought the ticket two months in advance therefore I got a very good fare of only $620 for economy class.
During the flights selection process prior to booking my air tickets, I checked the Emirates flight schedule and found out that from March, 2015, one of their flight's from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur, i.e. EK346, will be operated by an Airbus A380. I've already travelled onboard the existing 3 types of aircrafts which Emirates have in their fleet, i.e. B77w, B772, A333, therefore I opted for the flight which was to be operated by the superjumbo! Honestly, I was more excited to fly on board the Airbus A380 than for the vacation in KL.
Moving forward, now the only thing left to book was the hotel. The good thing about Kuala Lumpur is that there are many good hotel options available at reasonable room rates. I spent a lot of time researching on this and in the end, I booked an apartment suite at the newly opened Fraser Residence for a 7-night's stay through Agoda. Since the hotel had recently opened, they were offering very reasonable room rates (around $90/night) inclusive of breakfast and free WIFI. On the other hand, since the hotel hadn't opened yet when I booked it, there weren't any real pictures of it available so it was a bit of a gamble to have booked it based only on the computer generated images but at the end of the day, it was a very good decision.
Having got all the preparations done for the vacation by the end of January, now it was time to wait for March 17th. I was going to stay in Kuala Lumpur for 7 days and this is how my flight schedule looked like:
Finally, March 17th came and it was time to head to the Jinnah International Airport for my Emirates flight EK603 from Karachi to Dubai.
This flight was going to be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER and the estimated flight time was 2 hours. I didn't take any pictures during this sector because there was nothing exciting about it. The B77w aircraft operating on this sector tonight was a very old one (A6-EMx series) and was fitted with the oldest version of ICE. It was a very smooth flight and as soon as we entered the UAE airspace, we were put on a holding pattern due to the air traffic at Dubai International Airport. We circled in the air for around 30 minutes and landed at Dubai after a flight time of approximately 2 hours 35 minutes. Here's a picture which I took as soon the aircraft got parked at the gate in Dubai.
As soon as I disembarked the plane, I headed towards the transit area after clearing the security. Since our aircraft was parked at a gate in the Concourse B, I had to take the airport train to move towards Concourse A because all the A380's of Emirates depart from there. There were still a few hours to kill before my connecting flight to Kuala Lumpur therefore I had some snacks at the PAUL Bakery followed by some shopping.
Boarding for my flight EK346 to Kuala Lumpur was called approximately an hour before the scheduled flight time. The flight load was on the higher side and boarding was done in the usual way i.e. First, Business, Skywards followed by the zones. I had pre-selected my seat for this flight and chose 48K which was located in the front of the aircraft.
As soon as I boarded the plane and took a look at the latest IFE screens, I got to know that it was one of the newer A380's of Emirates. After settling in my seat and fiddling with the ICE, I found out the registration of this A380 was 'A6-EEI' which was delivered to Emirates in June, 2013. Nevertheless, the departure had been delayed due to some technical issues and the captain had announced that the departure will be delayed by approximately 2 hours but thankfully, it didn't take that long and by approximately 05:20 in the morning, we took off for Kuala Lumpur from Dubai.
Having been awake for around 17 hours by this point, I had started feeling very sleepy and the A380 offered very comfortable seats and a decent legroom which is why I was about to fall asleep any second. One thing which I absolutely loved about the A380 was how quiet it's cabin is despite it being a quad-engine aircraft.
Shortly after we took off, I slept and woke up a little while later when the crew were distributing snacks. Since this was an early morning flight, Emirates weren't very generous with offering food. The snack was small and after having it, I slept more before waking up approximately 3 hours before our arrival. At this point, the crew were handing over the menus for breakfast. I opted for the omelette option and it was mediocre. By this point, I was really excited and couldn't wait for the plane to land!
At approximately 15:00 hours, we touched down at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and disembarked shortly. Our plane was parked at a gate in the Satellite building from where I took the airport train to head over to the Main terminal building for immigration and baggage collection. The immigration lines were huge and it took me a good 30 minutes to get a stamp on my passport and collect my luggage.
My friend was waiting for me at the arrivals hall with whom I set off on my journey in Kuala Lumpur. For those who don't know, Kuala Lumpur International Airport is actually located in the outskirts of the city in an area called Sepang and it takes around 40-50 minutes to reach the city center from there. It was already evening by the time we reached the city center and the traffic was quite bad considering it was the rush hours.
Finding the location of my hotel was a difficult task since it was a new property, the GPS wasn't really sure of its location and we twice circled around the same area. Thankfully, we finally found the hotel and my friend dropped me there. Checking in at the Fraser Residence was quick, they took a photocopy of my passport, a deposit of 500MYR and handed me over the keys to my apartment suite.
The apartment suite was spread over an area of 60sqm and boasted a fully equipped kitchen, a gallery, an LCD, a sound system and other amenities. Being very tired from all the travelling, I decided to call it a day and went to sleep which wasn't a very good idea. I woke up a few hours later feeling very hungry and ordered some food from room service. I ordered fish and chips and a burger which were really delicious!
I was finally able to catch up with some sleep and woke up at around 07:00 in the morning the next day and headed over to have breakfast and then went to the poolside. I was to meet another friend of mine today who also studies in KL and we made plans to explore the city together. The best thing about Fraser Residence is that it's very centrally located and is literally at a walking distance of 5 minutes from the Suria KLCC/Petronas Twin Towers.
Soon after my friend arrived, we headed over to Suria KLCC where we had dinner. We walked around that area and saw the Petronas Twin Towers and the dancing fountain. Later we headed over to Bukit Bintang where we had hookah followed by some amazing coffee at an Arabic café and that was it for the first day.
I started off the next day with some swimming. It was raining and what a delight it was to swim in that amazing weather. Once I got done with swimming, I headed over to the jacuzzi/sauna area and it was another refreshing experience. After getting ready, I went to the Sky Gym located at the top floor of the Fraser Residence which also has an open terrace that allows amazing views of the city. The weather was a little hazy at that time that's why the pictures didn't turn out to be quite clear.
Later on in the evening, I and my friend headed over to the Bukit Bintang area for some evening snacks. We went to this bakery called Tous Les Jours and had the 'Devils Food Cake' from there, it was absolutely divine! Another friend of ours had joined us today so the three of us sat down at the Arabic café from yesterday for coffee and talked for a little while. For dinner, we headed over to a Pakistani restaurant called Bar B.Q Tonight where we had some really mouthwatering food.
Since it was Friday night and I was on vacations, it was time for a little party. After looking at a few recommendations from Trip Advisor, we went to the Sky Bar located at the top floor of Traders Hotel, KL. The atmosphere was very lively over here and I quite enjoyed it. I came back to my hotel at around 03:00 in the morning and called it a night (or morning?).
The next day started off with the usual swimming session after which I headed over with my friend for a late lunch. He kept boasting about how good Texas Chicken is and that's what I tried today which was indeed very delicious. We then headed over to the Pavilion Mall for some shopping and spent some time there. For dinner we went to a Lebanese restaurant called 'Al Amar' located inside the mall where we also had hookah. Shortly after dinner, I headed back to my hotel to freshen up a bit since me and my friend had planned to go to a club called Zouk KL for some Saturday night partying. The club was located at a walking distance from my hotel and we left for it at around 23:00 hours.
The party experience at Zouk KL was absolutely phenomenal and I spent a good 4 hours there before finally returning back to my hotel at around 04:00 in the morning. I was quite hungry by this point so I ordered some McDonalds after which I had a blissful sleep.
The next day wasn't very exciting. I headed over to Suria KLCC for a late lunch at O'Brien's and some shopping. Since the Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix was just around the corner and Petronas being a major sponsor of the Mercedes AMG team, they had a display of the Mercedes W06 Hybrid car inside the mall and some other Formula 1 related activities going on. It didn't excite me much since I am a diehard Scuderia Ferrari fan and would've preferred something related to my team. Nevertheless, I went back to my hotel to drop off the shopping bags and took some rest. Later in the night, I headed over to the Starbucks at Pavilion Mall for a nice frappuccino followed by hookah at Bukit Bintang. My friend had to watch some important match of football that night and we started searching for some nice sports bars in KL but unfortunately, since the match timing was scheduled to start quite early in the morning, all of them would be closed by that time therefore he ended up watching it in my hotel room.
My second last day in Kuala Lumpur was spent going to different malls. First I went to the Pavilion Mall where I had lunch at Hardees. Then I and my friend decided that we should go to the Berjaya Times Square for some bowling but by the time we reached there, the bowling alley had already closed and then we headed to the Midvalley Mega Mall for bowling at the Black Bull. It was good fun and we spent quite some time over there bowling. Once we got done, we again headed over to the Sky Bar at Traders Hotel but the atmosphere was dead over there considering that it was Monday. We hardly spent 10 minutes there before going to Bukit Bintang and later back to my hotel.
My last day in Kuala Lumpur was solely dedicated to shopping. First me and my friend went to the Berjaya Times Square for some shopping at the Puma outlet which had some great sales going on. Puma is the official supplier of Scuderia Ferrari and I bought many clothes and other accessories from there. We then had lunch at Papa Johns before heading out to the Pavilion Mall. I did some more shopping from there and headed to Bukit Bintang for evening coffee. Our plan was to go to the Zouk club again today but unfortunately, my friend wasn't carrying his ID card with him today which is why we couldn't go there. In the end, we went to Bukit Bintang for one last time before my flight back home in the morning and came back to the hotel early.
I had my Emirates flight EK345 at 11:00 in the morning but since the airport is quite far from the city center and you can't trust the traffic in Kuala Lumpur, I decided to leave for the airport at 08:00 in the morning. I had asked the hotel concierge to arrange a taxi for me and to give me a wakeup call at 06:30. After getting dressed in the morning and heading over to the lobby, I had breakfast and checked out before hopping in the taxi for the long ride to the airport.
The taxi drive took around 45 minutes and thankfully, there wasn't any traffic. I had already checked in online so it didn't take much time to receive my boarding passes. The airport was fairly empty at this hour therefore immigration was a breeze and I was at my gate in around 15 minutes from the time I had reached the airport.
The passenger load for this flight was fairly low and it was being operated by a Boeing 777-300ER. Boarding was called at around 10:00 hours and I shortly boarded the plane to find out that I'll have the whole row to myself. We took off from Kuala Lumpur on time and started our journey towards Dubai. This flight had WiFi enabled therefore I kept connected with my friends and family over Facebook and Whatsapp, it costs just 1$ to gain access to 500MB worth of data.
Lunch was served shortly after which I slept for a little while. I woke up when we were flying over India and there was some turbulence due to the weather. We got rid of the turbulence once we started flying over the Arabian Sea and continued our journey towards Dubai. We landed at Dubai at approximately 14:15 hours and had a long taxi to our gate. Coincidentally, Emirates uses their Concourse A for their B77w aircrafts as well and our aircraft could only get a gate at Concourse A which meant that I had to take a train ride back to Concourse B from where my flight to Karachi departs.
It took around 30 minutes to disembark the plane, go through security and the train ride to Concourse B. Finding space to sit at the Dubai Airport is quite difficult during rush hours but I was lucky enough to find a lie flat chair where I rested for a bit near my gate for the final flight to Karachi. After resting for a bit, I headed over to Burger King for some food and by the time I finished my meal, boarding had already started so I hurried myself to the plane.
Today's flight EK602 from Dubai to Karachi was scheduled to be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and upon entering it, I found out that it's again one of the older models of it. Luckily, the availability of WiFi made up for the boring ICE. The passenger load on this flight was moderate and the seat next to me stayed empty. We took off from Dubai on time and headed towards our final destination. Again, it was an uneventful flight with nothing exciting about it and I spent most of my time chatting with my friends, thanks to the availability of inflight WiFi.
The estimated flight duration was 02:00 hours but we landed at Karachi 15 minutes before the scheduled arrival time. The immigration lines at the Karachi Airport were very long since 2 other international flights had arrived at the same time and it took me around 20 minutes to clear immigrations, collect my baggage and finally head over to my home after a week of travelling.
Overall, I enjoyed a lot in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Starting off with the flights onboard Emirates to the hotel stay at the Fraser Residence, everything was spectacular. I hope you guys would enjoy reading my first trip report just as much as I enjoyed writing it. There might be some mistakes in writing it since it's my first time doing so and I apologize for that in advance.
Looking forward to hear your comments. Thank you.
Hope you're doing well. I have been following Flyertalk since quite some time and really enjoy reading all the trip reports posted here. Before I start off with my trip report, I'd like to introduce myself first. I am a tech entrepreneur based in Karachi, Pakistan and travel 3-4 times a year basically for leisure. I am an avid fan of motorsports and have been travelling to Abu Dhabi, UAE every year since 2009 to attend the Formula 1 Grand Prix held there (will post a separate trip report for it).
Coming over to my trip report, visiting Malaysia had always been on my agenda but I never really got the time to go on this trip. After I returned back to my home from the UAE in December, 2014, I got in touch with a friend of mine who's studying at the Nilai University in Kuala Lumpur and started planning out my trip with her help.
During the first week of January, I applied for my Malaysian visa through a travel agent here in Karachi and received it in around 10 days for the cost of $62. Shortly after receiving my visa, I bought my air tickets for my Emirates flight which would take me from Karachi to Kuala Lumpur and back with a stopover in Dubai during both the outbound and inbound journeys. I bought the ticket two months in advance therefore I got a very good fare of only $620 for economy class.
During the flights selection process prior to booking my air tickets, I checked the Emirates flight schedule and found out that from March, 2015, one of their flight's from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur, i.e. EK346, will be operated by an Airbus A380. I've already travelled onboard the existing 3 types of aircrafts which Emirates have in their fleet, i.e. B77w, B772, A333, therefore I opted for the flight which was to be operated by the superjumbo! Honestly, I was more excited to fly on board the Airbus A380 than for the vacation in KL.
Moving forward, now the only thing left to book was the hotel. The good thing about Kuala Lumpur is that there are many good hotel options available at reasonable room rates. I spent a lot of time researching on this and in the end, I booked an apartment suite at the newly opened Fraser Residence for a 7-night's stay through Agoda. Since the hotel had recently opened, they were offering very reasonable room rates (around $90/night) inclusive of breakfast and free WIFI. On the other hand, since the hotel hadn't opened yet when I booked it, there weren't any real pictures of it available so it was a bit of a gamble to have booked it based only on the computer generated images but at the end of the day, it was a very good decision.
Having got all the preparations done for the vacation by the end of January, now it was time to wait for March 17th. I was going to stay in Kuala Lumpur for 7 days and this is how my flight schedule looked like:
Finally, March 17th came and it was time to head to the Jinnah International Airport for my Emirates flight EK603 from Karachi to Dubai.
This flight was going to be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER and the estimated flight time was 2 hours. I didn't take any pictures during this sector because there was nothing exciting about it. The B77w aircraft operating on this sector tonight was a very old one (A6-EMx series) and was fitted with the oldest version of ICE. It was a very smooth flight and as soon as we entered the UAE airspace, we were put on a holding pattern due to the air traffic at Dubai International Airport. We circled in the air for around 30 minutes and landed at Dubai after a flight time of approximately 2 hours 35 minutes. Here's a picture which I took as soon the aircraft got parked at the gate in Dubai.
As soon as I disembarked the plane, I headed towards the transit area after clearing the security. Since our aircraft was parked at a gate in the Concourse B, I had to take the airport train to move towards Concourse A because all the A380's of Emirates depart from there. There were still a few hours to kill before my connecting flight to Kuala Lumpur therefore I had some snacks at the PAUL Bakery followed by some shopping.
Boarding for my flight EK346 to Kuala Lumpur was called approximately an hour before the scheduled flight time. The flight load was on the higher side and boarding was done in the usual way i.e. First, Business, Skywards followed by the zones. I had pre-selected my seat for this flight and chose 48K which was located in the front of the aircraft.
As soon as I boarded the plane and took a look at the latest IFE screens, I got to know that it was one of the newer A380's of Emirates. After settling in my seat and fiddling with the ICE, I found out the registration of this A380 was 'A6-EEI' which was delivered to Emirates in June, 2013. Nevertheless, the departure had been delayed due to some technical issues and the captain had announced that the departure will be delayed by approximately 2 hours but thankfully, it didn't take that long and by approximately 05:20 in the morning, we took off for Kuala Lumpur from Dubai.
Having been awake for around 17 hours by this point, I had started feeling very sleepy and the A380 offered very comfortable seats and a decent legroom which is why I was about to fall asleep any second. One thing which I absolutely loved about the A380 was how quiet it's cabin is despite it being a quad-engine aircraft.
Shortly after we took off, I slept and woke up a little while later when the crew were distributing snacks. Since this was an early morning flight, Emirates weren't very generous with offering food. The snack was small and after having it, I slept more before waking up approximately 3 hours before our arrival. At this point, the crew were handing over the menus for breakfast. I opted for the omelette option and it was mediocre. By this point, I was really excited and couldn't wait for the plane to land!
At approximately 15:00 hours, we touched down at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and disembarked shortly. Our plane was parked at a gate in the Satellite building from where I took the airport train to head over to the Main terminal building for immigration and baggage collection. The immigration lines were huge and it took me a good 30 minutes to get a stamp on my passport and collect my luggage.
My friend was waiting for me at the arrivals hall with whom I set off on my journey in Kuala Lumpur. For those who don't know, Kuala Lumpur International Airport is actually located in the outskirts of the city in an area called Sepang and it takes around 40-50 minutes to reach the city center from there. It was already evening by the time we reached the city center and the traffic was quite bad considering it was the rush hours.
Finding the location of my hotel was a difficult task since it was a new property, the GPS wasn't really sure of its location and we twice circled around the same area. Thankfully, we finally found the hotel and my friend dropped me there. Checking in at the Fraser Residence was quick, they took a photocopy of my passport, a deposit of 500MYR and handed me over the keys to my apartment suite.
The apartment suite was spread over an area of 60sqm and boasted a fully equipped kitchen, a gallery, an LCD, a sound system and other amenities. Being very tired from all the travelling, I decided to call it a day and went to sleep which wasn't a very good idea. I woke up a few hours later feeling very hungry and ordered some food from room service. I ordered fish and chips and a burger which were really delicious!
I was finally able to catch up with some sleep and woke up at around 07:00 in the morning the next day and headed over to have breakfast and then went to the poolside. I was to meet another friend of mine today who also studies in KL and we made plans to explore the city together. The best thing about Fraser Residence is that it's very centrally located and is literally at a walking distance of 5 minutes from the Suria KLCC/Petronas Twin Towers.
Soon after my friend arrived, we headed over to Suria KLCC where we had dinner. We walked around that area and saw the Petronas Twin Towers and the dancing fountain. Later we headed over to Bukit Bintang where we had hookah followed by some amazing coffee at an Arabic café and that was it for the first day.
I started off the next day with some swimming. It was raining and what a delight it was to swim in that amazing weather. Once I got done with swimming, I headed over to the jacuzzi/sauna area and it was another refreshing experience. After getting ready, I went to the Sky Gym located at the top floor of the Fraser Residence which also has an open terrace that allows amazing views of the city. The weather was a little hazy at that time that's why the pictures didn't turn out to be quite clear.
Later on in the evening, I and my friend headed over to the Bukit Bintang area for some evening snacks. We went to this bakery called Tous Les Jours and had the 'Devils Food Cake' from there, it was absolutely divine! Another friend of ours had joined us today so the three of us sat down at the Arabic café from yesterday for coffee and talked for a little while. For dinner, we headed over to a Pakistani restaurant called Bar B.Q Tonight where we had some really mouthwatering food.
Since it was Friday night and I was on vacations, it was time for a little party. After looking at a few recommendations from Trip Advisor, we went to the Sky Bar located at the top floor of Traders Hotel, KL. The atmosphere was very lively over here and I quite enjoyed it. I came back to my hotel at around 03:00 in the morning and called it a night (or morning?).
The next day started off with the usual swimming session after which I headed over with my friend for a late lunch. He kept boasting about how good Texas Chicken is and that's what I tried today which was indeed very delicious. We then headed over to the Pavilion Mall for some shopping and spent some time there. For dinner we went to a Lebanese restaurant called 'Al Amar' located inside the mall where we also had hookah. Shortly after dinner, I headed back to my hotel to freshen up a bit since me and my friend had planned to go to a club called Zouk KL for some Saturday night partying. The club was located at a walking distance from my hotel and we left for it at around 23:00 hours.
The party experience at Zouk KL was absolutely phenomenal and I spent a good 4 hours there before finally returning back to my hotel at around 04:00 in the morning. I was quite hungry by this point so I ordered some McDonalds after which I had a blissful sleep.
The next day wasn't very exciting. I headed over to Suria KLCC for a late lunch at O'Brien's and some shopping. Since the Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix was just around the corner and Petronas being a major sponsor of the Mercedes AMG team, they had a display of the Mercedes W06 Hybrid car inside the mall and some other Formula 1 related activities going on. It didn't excite me much since I am a diehard Scuderia Ferrari fan and would've preferred something related to my team. Nevertheless, I went back to my hotel to drop off the shopping bags and took some rest. Later in the night, I headed over to the Starbucks at Pavilion Mall for a nice frappuccino followed by hookah at Bukit Bintang. My friend had to watch some important match of football that night and we started searching for some nice sports bars in KL but unfortunately, since the match timing was scheduled to start quite early in the morning, all of them would be closed by that time therefore he ended up watching it in my hotel room.
My second last day in Kuala Lumpur was spent going to different malls. First I went to the Pavilion Mall where I had lunch at Hardees. Then I and my friend decided that we should go to the Berjaya Times Square for some bowling but by the time we reached there, the bowling alley had already closed and then we headed to the Midvalley Mega Mall for bowling at the Black Bull. It was good fun and we spent quite some time over there bowling. Once we got done, we again headed over to the Sky Bar at Traders Hotel but the atmosphere was dead over there considering that it was Monday. We hardly spent 10 minutes there before going to Bukit Bintang and later back to my hotel.
My last day in Kuala Lumpur was solely dedicated to shopping. First me and my friend went to the Berjaya Times Square for some shopping at the Puma outlet which had some great sales going on. Puma is the official supplier of Scuderia Ferrari and I bought many clothes and other accessories from there. We then had lunch at Papa Johns before heading out to the Pavilion Mall. I did some more shopping from there and headed to Bukit Bintang for evening coffee. Our plan was to go to the Zouk club again today but unfortunately, my friend wasn't carrying his ID card with him today which is why we couldn't go there. In the end, we went to Bukit Bintang for one last time before my flight back home in the morning and came back to the hotel early.
I had my Emirates flight EK345 at 11:00 in the morning but since the airport is quite far from the city center and you can't trust the traffic in Kuala Lumpur, I decided to leave for the airport at 08:00 in the morning. I had asked the hotel concierge to arrange a taxi for me and to give me a wakeup call at 06:30. After getting dressed in the morning and heading over to the lobby, I had breakfast and checked out before hopping in the taxi for the long ride to the airport.
The taxi drive took around 45 minutes and thankfully, there wasn't any traffic. I had already checked in online so it didn't take much time to receive my boarding passes. The airport was fairly empty at this hour therefore immigration was a breeze and I was at my gate in around 15 minutes from the time I had reached the airport.
The passenger load for this flight was fairly low and it was being operated by a Boeing 777-300ER. Boarding was called at around 10:00 hours and I shortly boarded the plane to find out that I'll have the whole row to myself. We took off from Kuala Lumpur on time and started our journey towards Dubai. This flight had WiFi enabled therefore I kept connected with my friends and family over Facebook and Whatsapp, it costs just 1$ to gain access to 500MB worth of data.
Lunch was served shortly after which I slept for a little while. I woke up when we were flying over India and there was some turbulence due to the weather. We got rid of the turbulence once we started flying over the Arabian Sea and continued our journey towards Dubai. We landed at Dubai at approximately 14:15 hours and had a long taxi to our gate. Coincidentally, Emirates uses their Concourse A for their B77w aircrafts as well and our aircraft could only get a gate at Concourse A which meant that I had to take a train ride back to Concourse B from where my flight to Karachi departs.
It took around 30 minutes to disembark the plane, go through security and the train ride to Concourse B. Finding space to sit at the Dubai Airport is quite difficult during rush hours but I was lucky enough to find a lie flat chair where I rested for a bit near my gate for the final flight to Karachi. After resting for a bit, I headed over to Burger King for some food and by the time I finished my meal, boarding had already started so I hurried myself to the plane.
Today's flight EK602 from Dubai to Karachi was scheduled to be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and upon entering it, I found out that it's again one of the older models of it. Luckily, the availability of WiFi made up for the boring ICE. The passenger load on this flight was moderate and the seat next to me stayed empty. We took off from Dubai on time and headed towards our final destination. Again, it was an uneventful flight with nothing exciting about it and I spent most of my time chatting with my friends, thanks to the availability of inflight WiFi.
The estimated flight duration was 02:00 hours but we landed at Karachi 15 minutes before the scheduled arrival time. The immigration lines at the Karachi Airport were very long since 2 other international flights had arrived at the same time and it took me around 20 minutes to clear immigrations, collect my baggage and finally head over to my home after a week of travelling.
Overall, I enjoyed a lot in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Starting off with the flights onboard Emirates to the hotel stay at the Fraser Residence, everything was spectacular. I hope you guys would enjoy reading my first trip report just as much as I enjoyed writing it. There might be some mistakes in writing it since it's my first time doing so and I apologize for that in advance.
Looking forward to hear your comments. Thank you.
Last edited by fahadhasan; Aug 28, 2015 at 10:20 am
Aug 30, 2015, 5:34 pm
#4
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Scarborough
Posts: 596
great trip report, thanks for sharing and look forward to some more from you.
Also we will appreciate if you have, or take, more photos of KHI airport.
There aren't many photos on FT of KHI(airport).
Also please share and take photos of inflight meals as well.
Also we will appreciate if you have, or take, more photos of KHI airport.
There aren't many photos on FT of KHI(airport).
Also please share and take photos of inflight meals as well.
Aug 31, 2015, 12:46 am
#6
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Dubai
Posts: 3,301
Cool TR, KL is definitely a city I want to visit soon.
Looks like it was a great hotel too.
After all the Hardee's, Burger King, Papa Johns, Starbucks and Texas Chicken you must have been craving some 'real' food though
.
Looks like it was a great hotel too.
After all the Hardee's, Burger King, Papa Johns, Starbucks and Texas Chicken you must have been craving some 'real' food though
.
Sep 4, 2015, 3:19 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Karachi, Pakistan
Programs: Emirates Skywards Blue, Etihad Guest
Posts: 25
Thanks a lot for all the comments, guys. I really appreciate your response.
@GodAtum: I will definitely try it the next time. Planning to visit Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in September, 2016.
@cdn1: It's actually quite a boring and outdated airport but I'll make sure to take some pictures during my next trip.
@DanielW: Yes, it was a delight to have some home-cooked food as soon as I got back home by the way, I absolutely love reading your trip reports and your photography, I have read all of your existing trip reports and find them really very interesting. Moreover, do let me know if you ever have any plans of coming to Pakistan.
@GodAtum: I will definitely try it the next time. Planning to visit Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in September, 2016.
@cdn1: It's actually quite a boring and outdated airport but I'll make sure to take some pictures during my next trip.
@DanielW: Yes, it was a delight to have some home-cooked food as soon as I got back home
by the way, I absolutely love reading your trip reports and your photography, I have read all of your existing trip reports and find them really very interesting. Moreover, do let me know if you ever have any plans of coming to Pakistan.