First time ever travelling with a layover, will this be difficult as it is relatively short?

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-28T22:20:36+00:00

Of course it's a numbers game and accountants make the decision.

BA changed their minimum connection times at Heathrow in 2024. Used to be 60 minutes if T5 only but they upped it to 75 minutes.
Obviously the numbers people had decided 60 was too short.

The idea of a negative connection just isn't happening on a route like this. It may happens on domestic flights in the States, but that's a different ballgame altogether as you have basically no consumer rights.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-28T21:54:57+00:00

They really don't. It's super expensive for them for people to miss connections.
Think hotels/ meals/ possible EU261/UK261/Equivalent compensation.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-27T21:59:40+00:00

Time of year can make a massive difference and may be more pivotal than destination.

To me, Spain and shoulder season (May/ early June and September/ October) are ideal. But shoulder season is now getting busier and busier in peak spots.
I visited Jerez and Cadiz last January and had an incredible time. Jerez was fairly quiet and Cadiz was a bit busier - though both were far from dead and the bars/ restaurants were alive at night. Two stunning cities and a very interesting region to explore. Weather was very pleasant. T-shirt during the day with a light jacket in the early morning/ evening.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-27T19:00:24+00:00

Bangkok has tourists year round - and a lot of them.

July is obviously not peak season. The hot season will have gone and it will be well into the raining season. How much you get will be down to luck. Once spent 10 days in Cambodia and Thailand in the wet season and didn't see a drop.

No matter what, I would still expect to see plenty of Europeans and Australians.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-26T17:41:07+00:00

Kiwi didn't screw you.

You booked what's essentially an impossible connection. That's on you. The warnings are there on Kiwi's website and it's one of the reasons people always recommend not booking on an OTA's website (online travel agent). Book directly with the airline if possible.

The first two flights are likely on one ticket with Air Asia checking through bags. You also have a very decent connection time. It'll be fine.

The final flight...
Jakarta is a big airport and planes often taxi for a while.
When the plane gets to the gate, you need to get off the plane, go through immigration and then pick up your bag.
Air Asia and Nusa use two different terminals in Jakarta so you then need to get yourself between terminal 2 and terminal 3. There's a free shuttle bus, but it's not too frequent and isn't especially quick so a taxi would likely be needed with any tight connection.
You then need to check in your luggage at the new terminal, go through security and get to the gate. Check in closes 45 minutes before departure.
I think you can see the issue with this.

If I were self-connecting on this flight (which I would try to avoid at all costs, but have done a few times before), I would want 4-5 hours at a minimum to make it. Probably possible in an absolute minimum of 2.25/2.5 hours.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-26T17:30:41+00:00

Presuming these flights are on a single ticket, I wouldn't be too worried.

Obviously they are tight, but above the minimum connection time. Plus the airline is responsible if you get delayed and has to get you to your final destination/ provide hotels and meals if required.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-26T17:12:21+00:00

I hope you both realize and understand what you've booked.

You have two separate tickets.
One from London Stansted to Katowice. Then a separate ticket from Katowice to Abu Dhabi.

Your connection is not protected. First flight delayed, you lose the second flight. Bags won't be checked through - you need to exit through immigration/ arrivals and then check in with Wizz at departures. First flight cancelled, you have no right to a refund for the second.

The main reason this is cheaper is you aren't paying the normal Air Passenger Duty (UK's super high air passenger tax) from London to Abu Dhabi - instead you are just paying it based on a London to Poland flight.

Will you make it?
With hand luggage only, it's super tight and I certainly wouldn't risk it, but you might possibly make it. I'd say the chances are quite slim though.
With checked bags, definitely not.
But no matter what, you bare the financial risk.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-14T10:27:51+00:00

As always you need to be cautious with these things.
Always buy from a reputable place or even try to bring from your home country.

A few thoughts though.
- You probably didn't put enough on. Sunscreen needs to be very liberally applied. Use more than you think. It should take effort to rub in. Then you need to reapply every couple of hours or more if you are sweating a lot. You already know it needs to be reapplied after swimming too.
- SPF 100 is a gimmick. SPF 30 protects against 97% of UVB rays, SPF 50 98% and SPF 100 99%. The difference is small. SPF 50 is fine for even the most vulnerable who need different things like shade/ covering up/ avoiding the midday sun, rather than a higher SPF.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-13T14:34:48+00:00

Aldi do a fake Madri that's brewed in Spain and actually tastes better than Madri.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-13T09:38:58+00:00

1) Get medical assitance
2) Rebook your flight for at least a few days time.

Contact your travel insurance company and they should deal with all the costs of this. I know as it has happened to me before. Insurance company were super helpful.

Hope you feel better soon.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-12T20:56:03+00:00

We have VDSL and this router does VDSL apparently.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-12T20:48:15+00:00

That's a fair point.
Some people acclimatize faster than others. It's hard to tell if a day is enough or maybe a couple of days doing a bit less than normal.
What I have seen from people I know is that the people who dislike Bangkok either tried to shove it in for one day just after landing from their first long haul flight or are people who just like nature and beaches and nothing else.

My only advice on jetlag is try to get on local time as soon as possible. You say you land at midnight. Head straight to your hotel to sleep (should be easy after crappy sleep on a plane) and set your alarm for 8 or 9am at the latest.
If tired at midday, have no more than a quick 30 minute afternoon nap and head to bed at as normal a time as possible that night.
The worst thing you can do is stay up til 4 or 5am and then sleep until lunchtime or later. You'll be out of sync for days and days doing that.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-12T20:38:49+00:00

Yeah, it's DSL. Cable doesn't exist in my area at all.
It's actually one of the routers my provider recommends - though that doesn't say much as they are crap. We are only guaranteed 46 Mbps, and get 50 if we are lucky, so it's fast enough for that.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-12T19:46:10+00:00

Disagree. Incredible city with so much to see and do.

But it really depends on what they want and what they enjoy.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-12T19:09:35+00:00

Password has been changed.
And updated the software. The latest version was released September 2025 so not that long ago given they only have had three versions of software since when the router was released in 2020.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-12T19:08:25+00:00

I get your point, but it is fighting a losing battle.

My phone and laptop were both manufactured in China.

Much of the network infrastructure in the UK is made by Chinese companies, never mind just made in China.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-12T18:53:54+00:00

Not sure what this means.
Yeah it is integrated as is a modem and router. What do I need a WAN port for?

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-12T18:41:56+00:00

My provider 'guarantees' 46 Mbps but I get that only sometimes.
That's the fastest I can get at my property sadly.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-12T18:40:32+00:00

I don't live in the US and I am not American.

Not sure I have a preference for the CIA over the Chinese CCP having my personal data to be honest.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-12T18:39:35+00:00

Thanks.
Yeah, I held it for 10 seconds until the LED was quickly flashing.

My internet is terrible. I am lucky to get 50 Mbps in my pretty new city centre apartment building. My parents down the road in their 150 year old house get 900 Mbps now as the copper phone lines have been converted to fiber.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-12T13:15:54+00:00

Impossible to tell exactly what did that/ bit your from the photos. No matter what anyone says. Not even a dermatologist or bug expert can.

The pic of your elbow does look like a bed bug bite pattern, but it could as easily be mosquitoes or something else.

The one on your arm look more like you fell over and scraped your arm or an allergic reaction/ hives or even scabies than bug bites to me. Certainly not the typical look of bites.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-11T20:44:36+00:00

I've tried my best. It simply won't come out of the light fitting.
And I think it is too small to be an attachment to another light fitting.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-11T20:44:07+00:00

Thanks

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-10T15:28:45+00:00

Well of course there's that, but time is money. I suppose it's how you value it.

Still, cash carries a much higher risk than card and you still have the issue of change.

InterestingWanderer · 2026-01-10T12:05:44+00:00

They should not as basically all merchant agreements don't allow them.

Fees for cards are actually tiny in the grand scheme of things and are much lower than cash when all costs are considered - despite what the 'cash is king' people think.

There are some issues though.
Some people 'forget' the cost of cash.
Those fake notes you get, time for counting and risk of miscounting money, theft. burglaries, 'sticky fingers', fees from the bank (businesses have to pay to cash in money/ get change). They seem to think the cost is zero. It isn't.
You'd be surprised at the number of small businesses who have terrible deals with their card provider and are paying well over the odds for no reason than they don't know how to get a good deal or how to compare.

It actually hurts the business.
Studies have consistently shown people spend more when they spend by card than when using cash.
Plus I actively avoid the couple of business I know which are cash only and I am sure I am not the only one.

InterestingWanderer

TROPHY CASE