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slightly astray

an honest look at life on the road

Budget air travel in Malaysia (+ my Southeast Asian bucketlist)

So in my life update from this recent post, I said that I’m not sure what my next plans are. See, I genuinely do like Kuala Lumpur a lot. I really have fallen in love with it purely as a city. But at the same time, I’m also not sure if this is where I belong anymore.

And while the idea of truly solo travel scares me a little still, there are so many other places in the area that I haven’t been to yet and I really should see them while I’m still here. Because once I leave the area… who knows when and if I’ll come back??

I have really enjoyed settling down somewhere and having a home base. One of the main attractions of KL (besides the food, the boy, and the easy way of life… ummm not particularly in that order) is that KL is SUCH a great travel hub. First of all, it’s a major SEA hub and flights are insanely affordable. And secondly, it only takes a few hours to get to anywhere in Southeast Asia.

Malaysian Budget Airlines

I’m a HUGE fan of the Malaysian budget airlines. Flights are almost ridiculously cheap (I’ll show you in bit). So I think this is a great opportunity to use my remaining time here to go explore other places.

Here are some of your options for budget flights in Malaysia:

air-asia-over-malaysia

– Air Asia: Has a huge network of flights that go to almost anywhere within 6-7 hours of flying. Now, this is just about as budget as you can get. There is no seat-back entertainment or even a USB plug to charge your phone. And a checked bag can cost an extra $30 if you check in at the counter (so only carry-on for me!) It’s super basic, but I really appreciate Air Asia and their cheap flights.

– Malindo Air: Another cheap budget airline that often has discounts. This is a relatively new airline that’s a joint venture between Malaysian and Indonesia. It’s very competitive with Air Asia prices, but doesn’t offer nearly as much routes. But I have to say I’m SUPER impressed with Malindo Air! The seats are bigger than Air Asia’s and have the seat-back TV screen and USB plug. Plus, I believe even a checked bag was included.

– Malaysian Airlines (MAS): This is a bit more pricey than the other two (though you can still find GREAT deals), but you also get an upgrade in level of niceness. Like, you get a checked bag and a free meal and in-flight entertainment.

Now, I know what you’re wondering: Is it safe to fly Malaysian Airlines?! (You know… with the recent disasters and all.) Honestly, I think the chances are rather slim. Malaysian Airlines is still the state’s best carrier and continues to carry 50,000 passengers on 360 flights per day.

Deals and Promotions on Budget Airlines

And there are constantly promotions to popular destinations from KL too. I’m excited to introduce Traveloka – a travel website (focusing mostly on Malaysia to surrounding SEA countries) that has amazing promotions on flights and hotels. They have frequent deals and discounts that are as much as 50% off – I don’t even know how that’s possible! There’s always some sort of Malindo, Air Asia, and MAS promotion going on.

For example, here are the current promotions for Malindo Air:

traveloka-malindo-air-promotions

MYR 69 (roughly US $17) to go from KL to Penang. Or MYR 109 (roughly US $27) to go from KL to Bangkok … how is it that cheap?!

traveloka-malindo-air-promotions-2

I can even go to freaking Perth for just MYR 300 (US $75)!

And just in case you’re wondering if this is for real… yes it IS.

kl-to-penang-example

And here are some current Malaysian Airline Promotions that take you to a wider selection of destinations:

traveloka-malaysian-airlines-promotions

MYR 228 (US $57) to Yangon is not bad at all…. I should add that to my list!

Visit Traveloka to check out more deals and bargains. Besides flights, they have a ton of hotel deals as well. 

My Southeast Asian bucketlist

This makes me realize just how lucky I am to be currently in KL with such an abundance of affordable travel options. And not only that, but just a very short flight will take you to completely new cultures and environments.

So these are the places still on my Malaysia + Southeast Asia bucketlist.

Within Malaysia –

borneo-proboscis-monkey

proboscis monkeys in Borneo

Sabah (Borneo): Borneo is an interesting island that’s shared by Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. The island has one of the richest biodiverse rainforests in the world. It’s home to orangutans, clouded leopards, proboscis monkeys, sun bears, and SO much more. I’m kind of dying to go there. Flight cost: $50 (okay not even debating anymore… I’m going at one point or another!).

Langkawi, Malaysia: It’s no secret that I love beaches. Langkawi is one of Malaysia’s most famous islands. White sands, azure waters… need I say more? My family is trying hard to convince my grandma to travel again and we hope to come here!  Flight cost: $17

Penang, Malaysia: Penang is world famous for its street food. And yes I’ve been in KL for over 6 months, and I STILL have not been to Penang! There is no excuse. Especially since a flight literally costs just $17!

Elsewhere –

bali-1

rice terrace in Bali

Bali: Just because it’s Bali and it’d be stupid not to go when the flights are only $57.

Maldives: Seriously, this may be as close to the Maldives as I get. And flights there are only 4-hours long and a jaw-dropping $100!! But I’m not sure if that offsets the cost of accommodations there though!  

Sri Lanka:  I hear SO many good things about Sri Lanka. I’d really love to go, especially since this is as close as I can get to a safari at this point (financial wise!). Flight cost: $110

Yangon: Because it looks gorgeous. And because I kind of know nothing about it (yet). Flight cost: $57.

Kathmandu: Both Rachel and Andrea recently went and both loved it. Andrea has had somewhat of a similar story to me and says that Kathmandu changed her life and ignited her love for solo travel. Flight cost: $200.

Hanoi: Ummm because I still craving everything I ever ate there to this day. Flight cost: just $27

Australia (not sure where yet): Okay, this isn’t in SEA, but I’m currently close to Australia and I’ve always wanted to go. Flight cost: $275

Have you been to any of them? Where should I go??
If you have any tips for any of these locations, share! Or better yet, please share your blog posts on them!

*This post was written in collaboration with Traveloka. But all opinions are my own and I sincerely think it’s a great travel site for travel within Southeast Asia. I also want to mention that in my dealings with Traveloka, they have impressed me with their professionalism and promptness. 

*Photos of Borneo and Bali are public domain photos and not my own. 

Comments

  2. Yayyy thanks for the great tips!! Can’t wait to book one of these airlines so I can go visit you in Malaysia! and then we can go to other places together! <3 <3

  3. Thanks for this. I’m currently beginning to plan a trip to somewhere in SE Asia (specific, I know) and this is really helping me narrow down options! I can’t believe some of those flights are such good value – especially the one to Perth. Bargain! We flew with a low cost airline from Bangkok to Siem Reap and it was honestly nicer than some regular airlines here in Europe. Not to be sneezed at!

    • I can’t wait to know your travel plans!!! I really hope our paths will cross next year. Seriously, I can’t believe what an amazing travel hub is and the amazing deals you can get. I’m kind of curious about Perth now too!

      • I’ll let you know, hopefully we can make it happen! I visited Perth briefly, and loved it. If you can manage it, do it!!

  4. This post has just increased my own bucket list substantially!! I would love to go to all these places, but Borneo is high on my list – I want to see those monkeys!!! What a great base KL is for all this incredible places – it’s worth making the most of every second!! Really inspiring :)

    • Oh I know, I have so many places on my travel list now that I don’t even know how to prioritize or make plans. I want to go to Borneo soooo bad, so I think that will have to be on the top of my list. And seriously, KL is such a good travel hub. I’m debating if I should just make this my home base for the next several months!

    • Yeah! I can’t believe how cheap it is to go to the Maldives, such for some reason, I always had Maldives as one of those unattainable destinations. But I’m pretty sure housing on there will cancel out anything you manage to save on flights!

  6. Wow! I would go crazy with this kind of specials. So many options! The problem in here with budget airlines is that I never seem to get the specials. I heard people who travel to Chicago or New York under a $100 but I have never been able to snatch one of those. The other thing is that you have to even pay for a carry on which I think it is pretty crazy. #wanderfulwednesday

    • I never get the budget airline deals in the US either. Not even to go from LA to Vegas! The options here in Southeast Asia are just craaaazy. I seriously don’t even know how to plan my travels for next year now!

  7. Dying to get to Asia!! These all look like such amazing destinations! Even though I have to admit there are a few that I haven’t heard of before …. And what great deals too! Seems like you’ve got a lot to conquer and KL seems like the perfect base to do it!

  9. This is a perfectly timed post as I will be flying to Malaysia in 2 weeks’ time to begin travelling the world full time! I will start in Borneo (you know how I love that place) but intend to travel around Malaysia and SE Asia. I have flown with Malaysia Airlines a number of times and they are really good and I’m about to fly with Air Asia fir the first time so thanks for the heads up on it being super basic! I have pinned this for future reference so thank you for this informative post! #wanderfulwednesday

    • HOW EXCITING!!! I’m jealous you’re going to Borneo (again), but I’ll make it there myself soon!! Please let me know if you guys are dropping by KL at any point, I’d love to meet up!
      Haha yeah, Air Asia is suuuuuper basic, but it gets the job done and for a very good price. It makes MAS seem like luxury, haha!

  10. Skipped KL, and went straight to Kota Kinabalu on Borneo and then to Penang and Georgetown. Fantastic food! Enjoyed the vast difference between the 2 places. Really want to go back again!

  11. ok so here’s the deal, I visited Penang, buuuut had a horrible case of food poisoning for the 4 days i was there. sadly I didn’t see much, sad face. I used air asia for most of my flights around asia. They are definitely budget, but when all you’ve got is a backpack I’m not looking for something fancy.

  12. What a bunch of bargain flights!! Here’s to your next adventure, where ever that may take you!

  13. How have you not been to Penang???!!! You need to get yourself over there. Take a cooking class with Pearly Kee. She is such a fun lady. Budget airline prices are something that I truly miss about living in SE Asia. Now that I am back in the USA, I am constantly in sticker shock over the prices. I didn’t realize how spoiled I had become.

    • I KNOW! There is no excuse for not going to Penang, especially when it’s just a short cheap flight away. And seriously… I realized that the US is the worst for travel because 1) flights are expensive, and 2) you have to fly a long distance to go somewhere. Thanks for the tip about the cooking class! That sounds really fun actually!