When I was transiting through Changi this month, I asked an information counter guy what is new at Changi in past 6 months (I had last passed through Changi in October 2023)- he asked me to check out Dream Scape. Dream Scape is a small garden area with a digital roof which plays animation of fishes moving around or other attractions. There are 18 plants on the ground surrounding the area and passengers can walk in between, looking up at the sky and looking below with fishes moving around. The visuals are accompanied by a curated sound of over 100 creatures. Changi calls it "immersive indoor g ..read more

This post shares my observations at Taipei's main airport, Taoyuan, TPE. #1 Outdoor observation deck: Taoyuan airport in Taipei has an outdoor deck for passengers to visit and see the runway up-close. This is before clearing immigration, so accessible to all. #2 Lots of passenger rest area.  Usually airports want arriving passengers to leave the airport asap and departing passengers to do check in and enter gate area. But TPE airport has dedicated area accessible to all- arriving passengers, departing passengers who haven't checked in yet. This area has sitting benches, food courts, kid ..read more

While Almaty has city buses, none of them come inside Almaty international airport. Thus if you ask about bus service anyone in airport, they will say NO buses are available and will trick you into paying for taxi. A taxi to Almaty city from Almaty international airport costs 7000 KZT or 1300 INR while a bus costs only 80 KZT or 20 INR. Update: I am told bus number 92 leaves from airport. Check for the same. Here's how you can travel to Almaty city by bus from Almaty international airport. Step 1: Understand that bus stand is about 500-550 meters away from ALA airport arrival gate. Thus you w ..read more

Almaty airport is pretty small (I feel it is smaller than our Mangaluru airport). #1 The airport name boards are both in local language and not English.  Airports world wide display one board in local language, one more in English, but Almaty airport has both is name in Kazak language (or maybe one in Kazak, other in Russian?) #2 Very small airport Almaty airport is very small. Customs area, check-in counters, immigration all 3 are cramped into one hall. The waiting area are also pretty small with just a few gates and shops inside. #3 Bus stop is 500 meters away Though there are city b ..read more

If you're able to commit to a trip 1 year in advance, Mumbai to Jeju (South Korea) tickets are available under 30k I feel it is a good deal due to following reasons If you are visiting Jeju island alone, it is Visa Free. Jeju has several attractions to keep you busy for a week or more. If you delay, price will increase- if booking 2-3 months prior, it will cost 60k Above ticket is Singapore airline from BOM-SIN- food, bag, entertainment included, Scoot from SIN to Jeju- you will get 1 meal but anything more you've to pay. I've visited Jeju in 2023, for 4 days. Still a lot left to see, so ..read more

Air Asia has started flights to Almaty, Kazaksthan. Almaty is served using Air Asia X A330s to Kuala Lumpur. While this is good, unfortunately Air Asia is NOT offering one top flight to Almaty to Indian passengers. We can't fly BLR-KUL, KUL-ALA in Single PNR. Probably Air Asia thinks Indian market is not worth targeting for central Asia- we'll have to fly 4 hours to Kuala Lumpur and then 6-7 hours to Almaty- while alternate options are shorter-2-3 hours to Delhi and another 3 hours to Almaty. But if offered at cheaper price, Indians may embrace Air Asia to fly to Almaty. India domestic flig ..read more

Fly Arystan is the 4th new airline I flew this year after Kuwait Air, Air Malta and Aegean airlines. Fly Arystan is an ultra low cost airline in central Asia. Fly Arystan is a subsidiary of Air Asthana. I came to know about Fly Arystan in 2023 when they were offering Delhi-Shymkent (CIT) for 5000 INR one way. But return was costing lot more so I had not booked. Later they cancelled DEL-CIT flight and started selling DEL-ALA (Almaty) flight. I could get a return ticket for about 7400 INR, which was a great deal. It includes only 5 kg cabin bag though. After some deliberation I booked my ticket ..read more

Earlier I was wondering if the proposed BLR- DDD Manta air service would start or not. Now the good news is the service has started. Dhaalu atol is a small island in center of Maldives, below Male, but above GAN island. Dhaalu atol has few resort islands around it, whose customers so far had to fly in to Male and then take Manta air flight to DDD. Now they have a direct flight option. But the sad part of the news is this 3 hour one way ATR flight from Bengaluru to Dhaalu atol in Maldives is more expensive than a ticket to Europe from India. The asking price almost touches 600 USD or 50000 INR ..read more

Kochi to Bali return ticket is available for 16k on AirAsia sale, without checked bag (another 10k extra if checked bag is needed. This is the only decent deal I could find in their ongoing sale. COK-DMK return also costs 16k, same as Bali one stop flight. Chennai Melbourne is costing 35k return Kochi Manila is 24k return Current AirAsia sale is nowhere close to what it was pre-covid. I have flown 8k return to Brunei, 16k return to Japan, 22k return to NZ, 20k return to Australia and so on. Hope to find such fares again soon. Air Asia has also made it very hard to spot cheaper fares - not sho ..read more

RyanAir is Europe's low cost airline. Ryanair tickets to various destinations cost less that what it costs you to reach airport from city center in bus or train. During my recent trip I noticed one unique feature in Ryanair's Boeing 737 Aircrafts Ryanair aircrafts carry a built in ladder that is folded and stored under the front door. Once aircraft reaches its destination bay, the ladder is expanded and passengers can start getting off the plane, not having to wait for any ground service. I wasn't prepared to shoot a video of this, so missed recording video. Took a photo after stairs are expa ..read more