How to Kill Time During an Overseas Layover

I am a standard traveler from Hawaii to diverse countries in Asia with the majority of my trips going to Thailand.  From Hawaii, there are no direct, non-quit flights to Bangkok, Thailand.  I either have to go via Japan, Korea or Taiwan.

I have by no means booked the flight on Korean Air via Seoul because the flight times and cost are worst and the highest.  I have flown through Narita Airport in Tokyo and Kansai Airport in Osaka but my preferred flight is on China Airlines via Taipei.

Prices on Japan Air and China Air are close but China generally wins out.  Northwest Airlines and United also fly to Bangkok via Narita, but, I prefer to travel on Asian airlines over U.S. carriers.

The primary reason I choose China Airlines is the arrival time.  All the airlines I mentioned above arrive in Bangkok proper around midnight which gets me to a hotel at two or 3 in the morning.  China Air has flights two days per week that arrive at about four PM and it is so a lot better to arrive during the day.

Let’s get back to the layovers and what to do whilst you are waiting.  For the layover I have in Taipei, there is not much time to do anything since the layover is only about 1 hour. About all I have time for is a cigarette or two and then it is time to board the plane.  I have no issue with this and in fact prefer the short time between flights.

I have had to encounter longer layovers even though traveling to Bangkok flying on Japan Airlines and stopping at either Narita or Kansai.  Layovers on the Bangkok flights can run four to six hours and this is longer than it takes to get from Japan to Thailand.  So, what to do?

If you have your laptop, you can use the Narita airport’s internet wireless connection.  It isn’t free but it only cost about 10 U.S. dollars for 24 hour access.  Speed was good and it helped me kill some time chatting and checking e-mail.

If you have enough miles and qualify to use the airline lounges you will have a extremely pleasant stay.  These lounges in Asia cater to the businessman and have every thing you want.  There is Tv, free world wide web access, food and drink (including adult beverages), newspapers and quite comfortable seating.  You can even sleep and tell the hostess what time to wake you up.  Don’t worry.  They will not forget to wake you on time.  Some lounges even have shower facilities.

If you do not qualify for the lounge, you can invest some or most of your time shopping.  There are many duty totally free shops where you can get alcohol, perfume, cigarettes and some high-priced brand name articles at a tax-free discount.  Just make certain you can bring the liquids on your follow-on flights.  I bought a bottle of vodka in Japan and had no dilemma bringing it to Bangkok.  I forgot about the 45-minute in-country to Khon Kaen the next day and security wouldn’t let me bring it in my carry-on.  They were nice enough to retrieve my luggage so that I could put it in stowed baggage.  Fortunately, it did not break.

You can also sample some of the local cuisine at the airport, but be prepared to invest a bit of funds.  Restaurants and snack bars in Kansai and Narita can be very pricey even if you just want a hot dog and a cola.  Do not worry about having Yen as they will take U.S. dollars but you could get your change back in Japanese currency.

You can shop at some of the small shops all through the airport and get some gifts at relatively decent costs.  Modest boxes of candy or snacks can be bought for under .  Modest knick-knacks are also obtainable.

Most of these tiny shops also carry a wide assortment of snacks and drinks.  I don’t suggest drinking any alcohol but I extremely suggest you maintain hydrated and get some bottled water.  You can get it at the shops or in the numerous vending machines (but you will need Yen for the machines).  My favorite bottled water is called Pocari Sweat.  I buy it just because of the name.

Killing four to six hours at an airport can be extremely painful but you can wile away the hours on your laptop, shopping or consuming.  Perhaps the best thing to do is diligently search for flights that have the shortest layover time.  An extra six hours and a midnight arrival time can get your holiday off to a quite tiring start.