Air Asia, a regional carrier that specializes in budget air travel within Southeast Asia, has an unusual way of dealing with air ticket refunds. About a week ago, I booked a RSVNS on Air Asia and purchased a one-way ticket online from Hat Yai, Thailand to Bangkok for travel on December 27, 2009. The cost of the ticket was 2115 Baht ($62USD).

Within thirty minutes after buying the ticket, I discovered that I had already purchased the same ticket on July 25. The cost of the original ticket was 1185 Baht ($35USD). After my blunder, I immediately sought to contact Air Asia to request a refund in full on the duplicate ticket.

Based on my experiences with airlines based in the USA, I thought that the refund would be straightforward as I caught the mistake right away and I wasn’t really taking anything out of Air Asia’s pocket. Maybe that was a little presumptuous on my part. If I had read reviews from disgruntled Air Asia passengers, I would have discovered that Air Asia’s refund/cancellation policy is not very consumer friendly. In short, it is downright awful - in essence Air Asia has a “No Refund Policy”.

Because Air Asia doesn’t have a Call center in the USA, I was resigned to the fact that I had to call their ticket office in either Malaysia or Thailand. After getting through to Air Asia in Malaysia, I appraised the agent about my unfortunate blunder. The agent told me that Air Asia could refund my first ticket (the lower priced one) and I could keep the 2nd higher priced ticket.

I told the agent that was unacceptable as the higher priced 2nd ticket should be the one that is refunded. Upon hearing this, the agent immediately reversed direction and told me, Air Asia could give me a refund on the 2nd ticket less a 850 Baht penalty. Even though I wasn’t totally thrilled with the cancellation penalty, I told the agent if that was the best she could do, I could live with it.

The agent further explained to me that the refund would not be issued to my credit card, but it (the refund) would be available as a travel credit which must be used towards a purchase of air travel on Air Asia by November 26, 2009. Putting aside my disenchantment with Air Asia’s refund policy, I accepted the terms and thanked the agent for assisting me.

I waited for 24 hours to pass – because I didn’t see the travel credit in my record, I decided to call Air Asia again. This time around I reached the Air Asia ticket office in Thailand. Explaining my situation to the Air Asia agent, she advised me that I would be issued a travel credit for the full amount of the 2nd ticket (no cancellation penalty) and that I must use this travel credit by November 26.

I confirmed with the agent, that the issuance of travel credits was Air Asia’s official policy on air ticket refunds and thanked her allowing me to get a “refund in full” on my duplicate ticket. Fortunately, I was able to use most of my air travel credit towards a purchase of air ticket for a friend of mine in Thailand. LOL, I still have 500 baht left over.

Bottom Line – Air Asia has a “No Refund Policy”. Once they have your monies, they are going to keep it!

THAILAND UNDISCOVERED refers to the small, sleepy towns and villages (and out of the way places) in Thailand’s rural countryside. Far away from the craziness of Bangkok and the popular tourist meccas of Chiang Mai and Phuket, it is a side of Thailand that few tourists have visited. However this particular traveler prefers to travel off the beaten track - call me the intrepid traveler if you will!

On my most recent trip, I journeyed to Nan Province and the small mountain resort of Phu Lang Ka in Northern Thailand. Located in the northeastern half of the Golden Triangle, this region of Thailand is rich with history and natural beauty – from the mist covered valley at Phu Lang Ka to the unusual earth pillars at Sao Din in Nan Province. In addition, there a number of hilltribes that populate this rural region - from the Yao (Mien), Hmong and Khamu to the very primitive Mlabri, a nomadic forest tribe more commonly known as Spirits of the Yellow Leaf, found only in the mountains of Nan. Most importantly, this is part of Thailand which has yet to be overrun by the tourist crowd. It is truly Thailand undiscovered!

Want to learn more about Nan and Phu Lang Ka?
See my fascinating video (available in high definition)!

While I was a guest at Phu Lang Ka Lodge in Northern Thailand this past November, I was invited by the owner of the lodge (Kevan) to attend a special memorial tribute by the Yao and Hmong hilltribes to the belated Princess Galyani, the King of Thailand’s elder sister. Universally loved by the people of Thailand, she died on January 2, 2008 after a long struggle with cancer. Among the Hilltribes in particular, Princess Galyani was considered a very special lady – she was revered for her acts of kindness and for her many contributions towards their welfare.

This Special Hilltribe tribute took place at the community school at the nearby village of Pong in Phayao Province on November 21. Organized by the director of the school and his staff, this tribute drew Hmong and Yao from the outlying villages and communities. The director of the school coincidentally happened to be Kevan, the owner of Phu Lang Ka Lodge as well as the President of the Yao people of Thailand. The tribute at the small village of Pong in upcountry Thailand was quite different than the lavish funeral and cremation ceremony that was staged in Bangkok a couple of days before. Watched by many Thai people on TV, over 100,000 people attended the official Funeral ceremony for Princess Galyani.

Sharing the large grassy field of the community school, the Hmong and Yao conducted their own independent tribute/memorial to Princess Galyani – the Yao were congregated on the north end of the field while the Hmong were on the south end. I guess separate tributes were allowed for the Yao and Hmong because they have a different set of traditions and customs regarding the afterlife and rituals for the dead. In addition, this allowed the Hmong and Yao to conduct their tributes in their own tribal language. Looking around me, I noticed that the most of the people in attendance were outfitted in their own traditional tribal dress - the women in particular wore some very exotic and colorful outfits.

I spent most of time on the Yao side of the field, where Kevan introduced me to some Yao dignitaries who had immigrated from Phayao to the USA. One of his friends, who was now living in Salem, Oregon, explained to me some of the unique Yao customs and traditions pertaining to death and the afterlife.

Motioning to a group of people who were pounding away at something at a nearby table, he said - these people are making imitation silver coins (spiritual monies) from paper which will be used to pay the Toll keeper at Heaven’s Gate for the Princess’s entrance to the other side. Pointing to another group of people, they are making gold bars which will offered to the spirits to insure the Princess has a comfortable existence in the afterlife. The newly minted silver coins and gold bars are then fed to a burning fire to finish the transaction with the spirits/gods. In Yao culture, he explained, a man’s worth is not measured by his material wealth but by his spiritual wealth.

The Special Hilltribe Tribute to Princess Galyani really opened up my mind - it is an experience that I will never forget.