Astounding Astana: Kazakhstan, Georgia & more

[Mattg]

The first time I visited Europe, I flew there in cattle class with just a short transit in Singapore. I got there in 24 hours but arrived exhausted.

On each of my subsequent trips to Europe, I've made a point of stopping over along the way. This helps to break up the monotony of long-haul flying and reduces jetlag. But that's not the only advantage.

It turns out that there's a LOT to see between Australia and Europe. Of course, there are the usual suspects like Singapore, Bangkok and Dubai. But there are many, many other destinations along the way that are often overlooked.

I've just returned from a 3-week trip around Europe and central Asia. The real purpose of the trip was to visit Germany for a week. But I was looking forward just as much - perhaps even more - to the return journey via Kazakhstan and Georgia.

The trip home took a week and a half, and it was a week and a half well spent! Both countries were incredible in their own ways, and Kazakhstan especially was just so different to anywhere else I've been before. I would say that it's one of the most underrated tourist destinations out there! The capital, Astana, is a modern city with some astounding architecture. Meanwhile Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, is full of history and some spectacular scenery. And I haven't even started talking about the people or the food yet...

My trip from Australia to Germany was more straightforward, but still not quite direct. I flew via Malaysia and Hong Kong, spending half a day in both countries. In total, the outbound trip took 3 days.

This trip included 15 flights on 8 different airlines. Half of those flights were in Business class.

Here’s the full routing:



I had a pretty tight schedule with just a few days in most cities. I was almost certain that somewhere along the way I would have a major delay, my bag would go missing, or something else would happen to mess up my careful planning. But it never did! I'm pleased to say that the worst flight delay I had was less than 2 hours, and my bag made it onto the belt in one piece after every flight.

I hope you'll enjoy this trip report!

 

[Mattg]

The first leg of the trip was fairly straightforward. I was picking up a Lufthansa flight from Hong Kong, and wanted to get from Sydney to Hong Kong as cheaply as possible (without resorting to using Jetstar).

Normally I would have just booked a direct flight with Qantas, but as I happened to be travelling during school holidays the airfares were crazy expensive. I couldn't even get an award seat. So, I started looking for alternative ways to get to Hong Kong.

A few months ago, Malindo Air announced that they were launching flights from Brisbane to Kuala Lumpur (via Denpasar). I was able to get a seat to KL for around $300, so I jumped on that. As I live in Sydney, I booked a Qantas flight from there up to Brisbane. Finally, I booked an Air Asia flight from KL to Hong Kong to meet the Lufthansa flight.

This may seem unnecessarily complicated. From my point of view, I got all of these flights at a price I was happy with and I got to break up the trip with a few stopovers.


The Malindo Air flight departs Brisbane very early in the morning, so I needed to fly up the day before. This wasn't a problem as I have family in Brisbane. I decided to fly up in the morning and spend the afternoon with them.

QF512 Sydney - Brisbane
Departure time: 09:00
Arrival time: 10:30
Boeing 737-800
Economy class

The first flight of the trip wasn't the most exciting, but it was a pleasant short flight. We had a beautiful morning, making for some great views out the window from 4A.

 

[Mattg]

OD158 Brisbane - Denpasar - Kuala Lumpur
Departure time: 07:15 (Actual: 08:10)
Arrival time: 15:45 (Actual: 17:20)
Boeing 737-800
Economy class



Malindo Air flies a Boeing 737 every day from Brisbane to Kuala Lumpur, with a stop in Bali. In total the flight time is 10 hours and 30 minutes, which is a very long time to spend in a narrow-body aircraft!

I knew when I booked this flight that it would be a 737, so I knew what to expect. Other passengers seemed to be taken by surprise by the small plane.

Malindo Air advertise themselves as a full-service airline. This means checked baggage, food and in-flight entertainment are included in the ticket price.

Check-in was relatively painless. As seats cannot be pre-selected online I had previously called Malindo Air's Perth office to request 6A, which I reserved for $19. I was unable to pre-select an exit row seat as these can only be allocated at the airport. When I checked in, I asked if an exit row seat was available, which it was. I was then told it would cost me $30 and that I would have to go to the service desk to pay the fee. I would be on the plane for ~11 hours, so I decided it was worth it and headed over to the service desk. There, they happily allocated me 15A without even mentioning the $30 fee. Oh well, can't complain.

FWIW, I was not given any safety briefing on board about the operation of the emergency exit.

They'd just got rid of those annoying outgoing passenger cards as I passed through...



The inbound flight was an hour late and we subsequently departed Brisbane late.

The first leg to Bali was completely full. Almost all of the passengers were Australians heading to Bali for a holiday.

In terms of hard product, the aircraft configuration would have been pretty good for a flight up to 5 hours (after which time, the limitations of being on a narrow-body aircraft become more noticeable). Even the regular seats had decent legroom, with 32 inches of seat pitch. Each leather seat had an individual entertainment screen and a USB port for charging electronic devices. Pillows were placed on every seat and blankets were also available on request.

Here are some photos of the cabin:





The leg room at the exit row:



The in-flight entertainment system had a limited range of movies, TV shows and games. Unfortunately, the key word here is "limited" - the range was poor and there was definitely not enough content to keep me entertained for 11 hours. There were a variety of TV series available - but each with only one episode. None of the movies were new releases and there was no music.

 

[Mattg]

Breakfast was served around 2 hours after departure from Brisbane. There were two choices; an omelette or nasi lemak (described as "coconut rice with chicken"). I had the nasi lemak which was nice, although the serving size was small. Tea, coffee, water, orange juice and pepsi (only) were available to drink.



After the meal I was still hungry so asked the crew if there were any more meals available. They did have a few leftover so I was offered another nasi lemak. Other passengers around me must have been hungry too, as my request started a chain reaction of other passengers getting a second meal. Eventually they ran out.

The crew came through the aisle offering coffee around 2 hours before our arrival.

Towards the end of the Brisbane-Denpasar sector, both of the bathrooms were out of toilet paper. I informed the crew, who simply told me that the toilet paper was "finished" and that I should use paper towel instead. I can only assume that they didn't load enough toilet paper, which is pretty poor.

We landed in Bali 75 minutes behind schedule. An announcement was made for passengers continuing to Kuala Lumpur to remain on the plane. Much to my surprise, I was soon the only passenger left on board! Everyone else got off in Bali, except for the crew who also operated the onward sector.

By this point I was keen to stretch my legs, but the crew insisted that I had to stay on the plane. Since I was the only passenger, I asked if it would be alright if I waited in Business class until the new passengers boarded. They said that would be fine, and I settled into 3F while the ground staff cleaned the plane for the next half hour or so.

Business class consisted of 3 rows of recliner seats in a 2-2 configuration. The TV screens and tray tables were stored in the centre console. I must say, for a recliner seat it was pretty comfortable and I think I would be able to sleep in one of these seats. The seat reclined quite a long way, and the legroom was good. I would rate this seat well above the current Business seats on Virgin's 737s, and slightly above the Qantas 737 seats.

A few pictures:







Just as I was getting comfortable, the lead flight attendant made a PA "first pax coming" and I was asked to return to row 15.

The second sector was much more lightly loaded and I had the whole row to myself. This sector departed and arrive 95 minutes late.

A meal was also served on this flight. This time the choices were chicken & vegetables or a stir-fry. I had the chicken dish which, again, was tasty but small.



I was starving by the time I got off the plane in Kuala Lumpur, and that's having been served an extra meal. I think that Malindo Air should really consider offering more food, especially as passengers flying through to Kuala Lumpur are on the plane for nearly 11 hours and are not given the opportunity to eat during the transit in Bali.

Overall, I thought the service was pretty good and the cabin crew were all friendly. For the price paid, I was happy. But the (lack of) in-flight entertainment options and food could be improved, and 11 hours was just a little too long to spend in a Boeing 737.

I was greeted at KLIA's main terminal by snaking immigration queues. It took almost an hour to get through.

 

[Mattg]

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I jumped on the KLIA Ekspres train and headed into the city, where I joined some friends for dinner. I didn't stay hungry for long! One of the things I love about Malaysia is the food, and once again it didn't disappoint.

There was just enough time for a little sightseeing on the way back to my hotel.

 

[Mattg]

AK134 Kuala Lumpur - Hong Kong
Departure time: 08:45
Arrival time: 12:45
Airbus A320neo
Economy class

I had wanted to fly Malaysia Airlines to Hong Kong, but I simply couldn't justify the prices they were charging. With Air Asia I paid the extra charges for a bag, hot meal and seat in the front row, and the fare was still less than half of the cheapest Malaysia Airlines fare. Plus, the Malaysia Airlines fare would not have even earned Qantas points or status credits. So I decided to forgo the lounge access and just fly Air Asia.

It was another early start and before sunrise I was on the express train to the klia2 shopping mall. Sadly, the shopping mall is much nicer than the airport that happens to be attached to it.

The Air Asia check-in queue wasn't too long when I arrived, but I still waited more than half an hour. There were only two counters open and everyone in the queue seemed to be checking in at least 2.5 kitchen sinks.

Boarding didn't take long as the flight was only ~30% full! I had reserved seat 1A, and the neighbouring seat remained empty. This was an excellent bulkhead seat with great legroom, and you could easily get out of the window seat without disturbing the other passengers in the row. The legroom in the standard seats looked minimal, so in my opinion the front row seats are well worth paying for.

The plane seemed new, and I noticed that it was an A320neo. The only difference that I could tell between this aircraft and a garden variety A320 was the engines.

The seatbelt sign was kept on for the first 90 minutes of the flight. Once we cleared the turbulence I was served my pre-ordered meal, chicken rice with a cup of water. The meal tasted fine and was decent value for ~$5.



The crew on this flight seemed... tired. But they still carried out their duties efficiently and professionally. At one point, a younger girl approached one of the flight attendants to inform them that a man who wasn't supposed to be there had moved into the seat next to her. The concerned flight attendant immediately resolved the issue, seating the man well away from the girl and in the sight of the flight attendants.

On the whole, the flight was perfectly fine. We arrived half an hour late, but this was due to ATC slowing us down on approach to Hong Kong.

Approaching Hong Kong:

 

[Mattg]

Hong Kong

I had around 10 hours in Hong Kong before my onward flight to Frankfurt departed that evening. I decided to leave the airport and take the Ngong Ping 360 cable car to the Big Buddha.

 

[Mattg]

LH797 Hong Kong - Frankfurt
Departure time: 23:05
Arrival time: 05:20 (next day)
Airbus A380
Business class

The HKG-FRA flight was the longest of this trip so I was pleased to be flying Business class.

This was my first time on a Lufthansa A380. Business class on this plane takes up much of the upper deck, with seats in a 2-2-2 configuration.

I was seated in 20H, an aisle seat in the last row of the main Business class cabin and in front of a galley. When I boarded there was a pillow and blanket on the seat, both welcome sights ahead of an overnight flight.

I was promptly greeted by the flight attendant looking after my section and offered a pre-departure champagne, orange juice or water. The champagne was Jacquart Brut.

The seat came with several storage compartments, one of which contained slippers, an amenity kit and a bottle of water. The window seats had more storage available in the bins by the window. There was a large TV screen with a comprehensive variety of in-flight entertainment available in multiple languages. Wifi was also available but I didn't use it.

The Business class seats on this aircraft are perfect for couples. As a solo traveller I couldn't help feeling that my seat neighbour was quite close and there wasn't a lot of privacy. But I was still very comfortable. The seat pairs in the middle of the cabin are probably a little better for solo travellers as you're not seated so close to each other, however you do have to share the foot well with your neighbour.

My main focus on this flight was sleep, so I didn't take a lot of photos. I did get some better photos on another Lufthansa flight later in the trip. But here's one photo I did take on this flight:



After a punctual take-off, dinner was served with impressive efficiency. The flight attendants moved fast, serving everyone their meals as quickly as possible. There were a mixture of German and Asian meals on the menu.





As a starter I had the beef parmesan asparagus roulade, followed by salmon for the main course. Dessert was a cheese plate. I found the food to be nice without being spectacular. This was the main course:



Drink refills were constantly offered, and I was asked after the meal if I wanted anything else to eat (I didn't).

The meal service was completed less than 90 minutes after take-off and the lights were switched off.

By this point I was very tired and keen to get some shut-eye. The seat converted into a comfortable lie-flat bed. I did find the seat slightly narrow, especially the foot well. But it was otherwise fine, and I managed to sleep for around 7 hours. There was a little noise from the galley throughout the night, but nothing my earplugs couldn't block out.

90 minutes before landing, the lights were switched back on and a delicious hot breakfast was served. I had the omelette with tomato, sausage and a potato rosti.

Germans are famous for excellent bread, and a wide variety of delicious, fresh bread was offered with both meals.

We landed in Frankfurt as soon as the curfew was lifted at 5am. I disembarked feeling refreshed, having had a good night's sleep. The good sleep on this flight and the staggered flying meant I never really suffered any jetlag after arriving in Europe.

 

[Mattg]

I wasn't staying in Frankfurt this time around. I had a connecting flight straight to Hamburg.

The transit in FRA was somewhat confusing. I inadvertently left the secure area, which it turns out I didn't need to do as my bag was checked through to HAM.

I handed over my passport at the security checkpoint when returning to the airside area. The man took a good look and noticed that I was born in Canberra. He asked if I knew where Queanbeyan is, which of course I do (I once lived there). Turns out his wife was from Queanbeyan. We had a long chat while he gave me all of his family's addresses and contact details, asking me if I knew any of them. I didn't, but small world, eh?

LH2 Frankfurt - Hamburg
Departure time: 07:00
Arrival time: 08:05
Airbus A319
Business class



This was a very pleasant short flight. It was almost full in both classes, with 19/20 seats filled in Business. It was the first flight of the day on this route, and most of the other passengers seemed to be businesspeople in suits. There were also a lot of Lufthansa staff in uniform paxing to Hamburg that had just come off long-haul flights - I assume they were heading home.

The Business class seating on this flight was pretty standard for a European short-haul Business class. The seats were regular Economy seats - slimline seats in this case - but with the middle seat blocked. Most European airlines do exactly the same thing on short-haul routes as it allows them to change the number of Business class seats available on each flight according to demand - all they need to do is move the curtain.

While the hard product wasn't amazing, it was perfectly fine for a 1 hour flight.



Legroom shot:



There was no IFE but I was perfectly happy staring out the window.



I was very impressed with both the friendliness and efficiency of the crew on this flight. They managed to complete a full breakfast service for 19 passengers - including drink top-ups - in just 30 minutes from start to finish! There was a dedicated Business attendant, and another flight attendant helped with the initial handing out of meals before returning to the Economy cabin. I have never seen this kind of efficiency in Australia. Then again, the meals were served cold and the flight attendants waited until everyone had already received a meal before stopping to chat with passengers.

Breakfast:



And with that, I had finally reached my destination! Now the fun begins...

 

[Freq Flier 2013]

Great trip report. Jumping on board to read more about it.

 

[VPS]

Sounds interesting so far - happy to follow along

 

[mmchow]

Always enjoy reading your reports. Tagging along..

 

[RooFlyer]

Great trip! I had that brekkie earlier tis year - fresh berries and proper milk on cereal - yum.

 

[henleybeach]

Good work with the report , love it. Looking forward to Kazakhstan!

 

[Mattg]

Hamburg, Germany

I was happy to be back in Germany, although I possibly could have chosen a better time to visit Hamburg. That weekend was the G20 summit, and various world leaders including Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and even Malcolm Turnbull attended.

The weather over those few days was about the best I've ever seen it in Germany, but the city was a mess. Roads were closed everywhere, including the street I was staying on. There was a constant stream of police sirens and helicopters day and night. But probably worst of all, thousands of extreme-left protestors had descended on the city and were determined to cause chaos. While the G20 summit was underway, these protestors took to the streets vandalising property, setting fire to cars and causing as much disruption as possible. In the grand scheme of things, they made very little difference to the course of the G20 summit - but they caused a lot of damage to the city and upset a lot of Hamburgers.

There was a strong police presence across the city.





I happened to be staying within walking distance of Trump's residence. This is as close as we were allowed to get...



Despite the summit and protests, I tried to do a bit of sightseeing. One advantage, if you can call it that, is that there was virtually nobody in the city centre. It made it very easy to get around by bike.



Hamburg town hall:

 

[Mattg]

Some more photos from around Hamburg...

 

[Mattg]

One afternoon I did a cruise along the harbour to Blankenese. A very pleasant trip on a sunny day.

 

[Mattg]

I also visited the nearby town of Ahrensburg, which even has its own castle.



There happened to be a wine festival on in town...



An unexpected highlight of Hamburg was the Miniature Wonderland. It's basically a museum full of model railways, and even an impressive model airport. The attention-to-detail was mind-blowing. They even simulated night-time - the room would gradually get dark and all the miniature lights would come on.

 

[Mattg]

The model airport was fully functioning, with planes taking off and landing every few minutes. One plane even did a go-around. They also had things like catering trucks driving up to parked planes.

 

[craven morehead]

Count me in for the ride