My First International Flight to Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia

Last updated on August 3rd, 2024 at 06:52 pm

Reading Time: 6 minutes

First day of School

First day at College

First Love

First day at Job

First Salary

First—in almost everything is predominantly the most memorable.

Achievement unlocked—my FIRST international trip to Kuala Lumpur!!

The wonderful events often unfold when you least expect them.

I was at my work desk, deep in thought, when a message from my sister popped up: “Vanshu, Malaysia chalna hai?”Initially, I hesitated, convinced it would be impossible for various reasons.

But after a heartfelt discussion, my perspective shifted. I decided to make this adventure happen!!

How do you complete the visa process for India to Malaysia?

Till 31st December 2024, Indian passport holders can travel to Malaysia without a visa for tourism purposes.

However, there are essential things you are required to show to travel from India to Malaysia:

1. You must have an Indian passport with at least 6 months validity.
2. You must have return flight tickets and hotel reservations in Malaysia.
3. You must have filled out a Malaysia Digital Arrival card, within 3 days of your flight to Malaysia.
4. Carry sufficient funds in cash and the rest in the card. I suggest carrying more cash.
5. You can also carry the last 6 months’ bank statement, in case, if the immigration officer asks for it. 

For example: On my Malaysia trip, we carried approx. 8000 ringgit, in Indian rupees Rs. 1,42,904, a total of 3 people for 5 days. It was way more than sufficient. 

It would be better to take additional documents than stay short on them.

In addition:

– You can also carry a Vaccination certificate.

Note – Please take out printouts of all the documents I mentioned above.

You have to carry all of the above-listed documents to enter Malaysia before 31st Dec 2024. 

coming back to how my “the day” started…

Delhi to Kuala Lumpur total flight time?

The total direct flight time from Delhi to Kuala Lumpur is 5 hrs 30 mins.

What’s the time difference between India and Malaysia?

The time difference between India and Malaysia is 2 hrs 30 mins, which means:

Malaysian time is ahead by 2 hrs 30 mins from India

How has my day begun?

The previous 3-4 nights were spent packing the things.

But, much before that, I started planning the content I would be making. Thus, I started making a script and the type of shorts I required.

My day began with going to the office for the first half. Unfortunately, an important shoot was planned for that day, so, I had to visit.

Though, my flight was at 11p.m IST.

Accordingly, I left the office around 2:30 p.m. and went home. I did my workout and ate food. Then my brother arrived, who was also going with me. 

Then I booked Ola, we left the home around 6:30 p.m. and reached the airport by 7:30 p.m.

The airport was extremely crowded, so I started finding the airport entry gate with less crowd. Indeed, I couldn’t find any. Then, patiently after all the efforts we had to stand in queue at one of the entry gates.

Luggage drop counter

On entering the airport, the next task was to find the luggage drop counter for Malaysian Airlines.

We tried to find it by ourselves and checked the boarding pass. It wasn’t there. However, after asking at the help desk, we reached the counter.

It took around 15-20 mins, and our check-in luggage was ready to go.

The next step was immigration:

Immigration at Delhi Airport

The queue was very long. I could see an immigration officer taking a lot of time with individuals.

Genuinely, my heart was beating since it was my first time. I had no idea what questions the officer might ask. 

In some instances, I have also heard, that failing to answer the questions correctly, the immigration officer has the right not to allow you to proceed further.

I talked with my brother since he went to London. He gave an example of a few questions that might be asked, I felt relieved as I got prepared to answer. 

My turn came, and it went very well! A few basic questions were asked from me, like:

• To show my hotel bookings
• To show the Malaysian digital arrival card

That’s it.

One glance at the photo camera present next to the officer, and I received my first stamp on my passport!!

It was such an amazing feeling.

Security check

The next step was a security check.

I was carrying a bunch of electronic items, and undoubtedly, I required some time to take all of them and keep them in the tray.

Note – If you’re wearing leather shoes, then you have to take out your shoes as well.

The time it took to remove the electronic items from the bag, was slightly more than the time it took to arrange them back.

My electronic items are very essential to me, especially my camera and laptop.

My First International Flight to Kuala Lumpur

By the time, we reached our boarding gate, it was 9:45 p.m. Nevertheless, plenty of time for the boarding gates to be opened.

I sat and shot video clips that I had envisioned much earlier that were included in the script. 

After some time, the boarding gates opened, and in no time, I was on my first international flight—the Malaysian Airlines.

Malaysian Airlines

From the outside, the plan looked huge, and so did from inside. There were 2-2 seats on the left and right corner, and 4 seats, in the middle.

In domestic, there are 3-3 seats on the left and right. 

We had corner seats. I took the window seat. I know, nothing would be visible during night-time. But, the morning would be blissful my gut feeling said.

Seats with display

Every seat had a display panel, I was excited to see a movie on the flight.

Headphones were there, but it took a while to figure out where to insert those headphones. 

I changed the channels multiple times, and in the end, my eyes paused on the movie, “Jumanji – Welcome to the Jungle“. I had already watched it at home, though watching it on a flight was a different feeling. 

Starving for a meal

Sooner, I started starving, it was 12:00 a.m. already. The last meal I had was at around 6 p.m.

Firstly, peanuts arrived, and I felt relieved to have something. Then, within the next few minutes, a full veg meal had arrived. The meal has 1 roti, half a bowl of rice, some sabji, and a sweet. I preferred to take orange juice with that. 

I finished my meal and then slept.

Indeed, I was waiting to finish my meal before sleeping. Though, the seat was not that comfortable for a full night’s sleep but good enough for a short nap.

I saw the sunrise from the plane

In the morning, my eyes opened and I saw the sunrise from the horizon. It was 6:50 a.m. in Malaysia but, 4:20 a.m in India.

Sunrises are always exciting, but, seeing a sunrise from that height is exquisite. The moments like these do not come very often in life.

I consider myself fortunate to enjoy these moments and ultimately my first international flight to Malaysia. 

About 20 minutes after sunrise, the plane landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), terminal 1.

Woh!! I was very excited to step outside.

After a wait for some time, finally, my turn came to move out of the plane. Also, I greeted the cabin crew for their amazing hospitality!

As I stepped outside the plane on the walking pathway, I felt cold.

The next turn was to collect the baggage.

Entertaining round

We both needed to go to the washroom, in a rush and overlooked to see the icon outside. We went further ahead and noticed a woman in front of the mirror, and hurriedly came outside. The man standing just near that washroom showed the way to the men’s washroom.

It was a ROFL moment!!

The search for the baggage continues

We were still finding out how to reach that baggage claim number.

We moved around at the terminals, and someone said that way…

Ultimately, we managed to find a place where we needed to get a bus. After 10 mins of bus ride, it dropped us to another maze.

As we moved forward, we could see the baggage claim belt nearing.

Finally, after plenty of twists and turns, we managed to reach the luggage collection belt.

The next task was to pass through the immigration again. 

Immigration at the Kuala Lumpur Airport

The immigration counter was not very crowded, so my turn came quickly. The officer was interested to know:

• the number of days I would be staying in Malaysia
• the return ticket proof

Thereafter, my sister was waiting outside, and she made a video of our arrival.

Then, we went to a dining place since all of us were feeling hungry.

Meanwhile, my sister checked on the grab for the taxi. In Malaysia, grab is used which has acquired Uber.

The main Kuala Lumpur city was approximately 50 km from the airport.

Among us, my sister only had the network running and she was the one we would be asking for data usage!

You can read the next blog post from the Malaysia series:

Experience the Best of Kuala Lumpur in 2 days: Your Ultimate Guide

Summing-up

First is always remembered.

Even if it’s late at night, I just had to sleep on the flight—though, still, it was genuinely memorable.

Please share your first international flight experiences with me. I would be happy to hear!