There’s just something about Asia. My husband and I first travelled to Asia in 2014 on our honeymoon. We were fortunate enough to visit 5 countries that trip- Japan, China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. We fell in love with the different cultures and knew we would have to return. To read about our honeymoon adventures click here- Conner Honeymoon
Last year we visited Laos, Myanmar and Thailand (again- new area). While each country is very distinct- they each have their own charm, extensive cultural traditions, and deep routed history. They all are wonderful in their own ways. I can’t even explain how much I have learned from visiting these amazing places.
This year we are heading back, this time to 3 new countries- Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
We typically travel with backpacks when doing our longer international journeys. This was a bit of a challenge for me to get accustomed to, as I am an indecisive packer, and always felt like more is, well more. But I have had to learn that less is more.
There are many pros to traveling with a pack. For starters, you can board flights easier, not having to check in a bag. You also can catch connection flights and get out of airports faster when not checking a bag. You also don’t run the risk of your bag getting lost in transit. Additionally, moving around cities is much easier with a pack on your back instead of trying to negotiate large crowds, busy metros, stairways and curbs with a suitcase or rolling bag.
I have gotten much better at packing, and have learned some tricks. Packing cubes are ideal to keep things organized and compact. Travel underwear is ideal because it can be washed and dries very quickly. Silk robes bundle up very small and can be used to sleep in. Hubby likes his hybrid shorts that can be used as bathing suits also. Toms and regular tennis shoes are a must for lots of walking. I always still squeeze either a pair of wedges or heels into my pack- just in case, although I end up wearing them only once or twice. The only thing that really still challenges me is the liquid limits. I mean considering, hair products, skin and cleansing products/ lotions- to fit a month’s worth in 1 quart size ziplock bag is tough. I do like Lush’s “coalface” hard soap for face wash, and take it whenever I travel.
All packed and ready to go! Up at 4am to catch our first flight out of Washington DC Dulles , scheduled to leave at 7am. Kissing our sweet kitties Shiraz and Syrah goodbye, I was comforted knowing they are in good hands with our fabulous kitty sitter.
Arriving at the airport timely, we enjoyed great lounge access for breakfast. Arriving at our gate for an on-time flight, we were annoyed to hear the announcement overhead that one of the flight attendants was late. We were not able to board the plane because the attendant ( per announcement ) slept-in at her hotel and was “on her way”. Are you kidding? We became anxious knowing that we could not miss our connecting flight in Dallas, or we would be in trouble. Our flight from Dallas to Hong Kong was booked using America Airlines points and there weren’t any others out to Hong kong later that day.
The attendant arrived 25 minutes later than our scheduled boarding time. I couldn’t help but snarl at her dumb grin as we boarded the plane. I can understand situations that can’t be controlled (i.e. weather), but I can’t understand an ignorant woman who simply just didn’t wake up in time. We then sat on the runway as the pilot informed as that they were now fixing a maintenance issue. Really?? John (aka Conner, aka hubby for new readers), and I began frantically researching on our phones back -up plans in case we missed our connection. A nice steward came over and told us he realized our situation, and that they were trying to figure out an alternative plan for us. John also called the American Airlines priority help desk. Since he flies American Airlines for work travel too, he is considered Sapphire, which gets us priority access, lounge access, upgrades, etc. It is a nice plus sometimes. The woman on the phone offered to put us on a completely re-routed journey. Instead of going to Hong Kong, our only other option was to fly all the way to London, via British Airlines ( another one world alliance airline). From London we could then fly to Kuala Lumpur. So we basically would be back tracking and going all the way around the world. Considering our flight still hadn’t departed , we didn’t think there was any way we could make the connection in Dallas. We accepted the phone offer. The steward offered us the option to get off the plane in DC and try to board another flight from there, but that wasn’t a guarantee.
We arrived in Dallas with 10 minutes to spare before our original Hong Kong flight was to take off. We literally sprinted through the huge Dallas airport ( worst place to have a short connection). It takes quite some time to get from one terminal to another in Dallas. We tried though, thinking we had nothing to lose. We arrived at the Hong Kong gate just minutes after it took off. With a now 5 hour layover ahead of us, we begrudgingly found the American airlines help desk, just to confirm again that our only option was to go through London. It turns out it was. We had to go all the way out of security, and then re-enter via British Airlines. Thank goodness we were able to relax in another lounge area during our long layover. They were conducting actual real fire drills, which was interesting to watch!
I called American Airlines customer service from the lounge, expressing my many concerns. The fact that us missing the connection was the airline’s fault, made us feel as though they need to make it up to us. Here we are losing time, losing money on a hotel for a night, not getting all the miles points that my husband had paid for ( since we were switched to British air), amongst other things. After some very unhelpful customer service reps , I finally got a call back from a supervisor. She granted as each a $300 travel voucher, and said we could be reimbursed for other things ( i.e. hotel) via written request online. I sent a very detailed email, and as I type this ( 1 week later) I am waiting to hear back.
Eventually we boarded our 8 hour flight to London. Because of the whole fiasco , we also weren’t in the extra legroom seats that Conner paid for us. Not to sound spoiled, but an 8 hour flight is a very long time to be in a regular seat. I can handle it as uncomfortable as it can be. But Conner is over 6 feet tall, and being stuck in the window he had no room at all for his legs.
I suppose the frustration (stated clearly in my email), was that people work hard, save money and plan well in advance (6 months in our case) for a big trip like this. Why should the consumer be penalized for something not their fault? Airlines in the US have been gradually declining their quality over the last few years. They are all about quantity and less about quality.
To make things more uncomfortable for my poor hubby- the woman in front of him put her seat down for about 7 of the 8 hours. The media screen was basically in his lap, so even watching a movie to distract himself of the discomfort was difficult. We watched “ It” and tried to relax. We both were able to sleep a few hours of the flight.
Landing in London we had another couple of hours before our flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We again had to go out of security and then back through. The TSA flagged my bags. I had removed my quart ziplock with liquids as asked. They insisted on searching my other bags. They considered my makeup in my cosmetic bag as liquids. Um huh? I had traveled with a makeup bag separate from my liquids through 12+ countries now, without any issue. They said I had to get rid of stuff. I was livid. They considered another face wash I use, ultrabland, from Lush as a liquid. It is not a liquid. They also said I was “lucky” that they would not consider my contacts as needed to be in my liquid bag. “what???”, I said “ they are prescribed and I cannot see without them”. Contacts lenses in their original box with prescription on them are not a liquid! What was wrong with these people? The woman then said “ miss I’m sure you also have glasses!”. At this point I was so angry I started to cry. They continued to analyze all my belongings, even considering my cream eyeshadow and mascara as liquids. Complete jerks! I am all about safety and TSA security, but nothing they were saying made any sense, nor had I ever been treated and humiliated in that way before at an airport check point. I was very upset after they threw away about $100 worth of products. Conner tried to console me but I was just angry. I honestly think the rude TSA woman took my brand new Younique liquid foundation and ultrabland face wash for herself.
After I finally calmed down a bit we rested in the Malaysian airlines lounge before our flight. We definitely save money by having access to the lounges. We don’t need to buy food at the airport, and always grab water bottles for our flights. They of course provide water on the flights, but on a 14 hour flight, a tiny cup of water doesn’t get me very far. I like to have my own bottles.
We were able to talk to Malaysian airlines and get extra legroom seats! Things were looking up! Woo hoo! Thank goodness for that! This was a very long nearly 14 hour flight!
It actually was not bad, and quite enjoyable, considering how long it was. I watched two new movies I hadn’t seen- “The Glass Castle” and “ The Shack”. Both really good! I am notorious for crying during movies on long flights. This time was no different. Both movies were tear jerkers. Malaysian air fed us a decent chicken and potato dinner. We took a couple naps. I enjoyed watching one of my all time faves ‘ The Sound of Music”, and then we were fed breakfast prior to landing.
Landing in Kuala Lumpur, we were so excited to finally be in Malaysia! We had left our condo 36 hours prior to finally arriving! Malaysia does not require US citizens to have a visa of staying less than 90 days with a valid passport good for at least 6 months. Going through customs and immigration was easy. You pay a set price for a taxi inside the airport, receiving a receipt to redeem at the taxi stand. We suppose they do this to prevent over charging.
The drive from Kuala Lumpur airport into the city is quite long- at least an hour without traffic. We were amazed at how many billboards we passed along the way. It is crazy, and we have never seen anything like it! The Malays must love their billboards!
Arriving at the beautiful Doubletree Hilton around 9am, we both were in dire need of a shower and fresh change of clothes. Our room was very nice with complimentary treats and a great view!
After our showers we headed out to explore! We used the city metro system, which was pretty easy to figure out and very inexpensive.
metro token
Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, consists of 1.6 million people- 50% Malay, 23.7% Chinese, 7.1% Indian, plus 11% indigenous tribes such as Orang Asli and Iban.
All of whom are considered Malaysian nationals.
We walked all around the city, exploring the downtown area, spectacular Petronas towers, and had lunch at an authentic Indian restaurant.
Malaysia has a large population of Indians, Chinese, As we walked around we definitely stood out. As opposed to other Southeast Asian countries, there were far less American and European travelers here. It was very hot, 90+ degrees and humid. We both were definitely sweating. We did so much walking ( probably 7-8miles) and needed another shower. We enjoyed the executive lounge happy hour that evening, with glorious views of the city.
We were able to eat enough in the lounge, that we didn’t need to venture out for dinner. We were pretty wiped out after all the travel, and walking. Not to mention the time difference of 13 hours back home.
We were asleep by 9 that night, which was good because we had big day ahead! Our breakfast the next morning at the hotel was one of the best hotel breakfast buffets we have ever seen. The only others of which are even comparable that we have seen are Tokyo Hilton, Myanmar Hilton and Beijing HIlton.
This breakfast was so impressive and delicious! Fresh made Roti with curry sauce, coconut chutney, fresh squeezed guava juice, lentil fritters, yellow watermelon, jajik salad, ….yum!
With full stomachs, we called an uber to take us to Batu caves. Uber is very popular in Kuala Lumpur ( known by many as KL), and is advertised everywhere. It is also very inexpensive! After only a 20 minute ride, we arrived to the Batu caves. The entry is free, with signs asking visitors to carry pails of clay up to the workers remodeling the structures in the caves. A steep set of stairs, brought us to the top.
The caves were very impressive with monkeys everywhere! These monkeys were way less aggressive than the monkeys we encountered last year in Myanmar. Mt. Popa in Myanmar had nice views, but the experience itself was tainted by having to take our shoes off and climb many stairs covered in monkey poo. Monkeys aggressively jumping over us and approaching people unafraid, grabbing things from them. Batu caves monkeys, were much more polite. They were cute , and their poo was not covering the grounds.
After the caves we ubered back into town and found a great food stall place for lunch. Food/hawker centers are very popular in Malaysia. We had delicious Penang style soup!
We spent the afternoon walking around the city more , exploring. We enjoyed the Butterfly park , as well as a 3D art museum, and many monuments.
The Malaysians did not stare or make us feel uncomfortable, even though we clearly stood out. They were nice enough, but not overly friendly towards us. I think we both agree, the friendliest people overall in our travels have been the Cambodians. They were just so incredibly friendly and nice. The overall rudest so far have been the Chinese in China (in Malay the Chinese are nicer/ more polite). In Morocco and Vietnam, we were definitely stared at by local groups of men, and harassed at times to buy stuff. Don’t get me wrong though- we came across very nice people in Vietnam and Morocco as well. The Japanese were reserved and mostly kept to themselves, but when they did interact with us, they were very nice. Oh, and the Thai! How can I forget mentioning the Thai! They were also another very friendly, welcoming group overall. The French in Paris were surprisingly very nice- not what we had expected hence debunking the myth that the French don’t like Americans.
Ok, back on track. So we enjoyed our afternoon and even came across a huge Comic con with hundreds of people in crazy and cool costumes!
We had these delicious sweet treats from a street vendor cooked in bamboo. We saw them featured on a travel special and just had to try them! They were so yummy!
We changed clothes to head back out for the night. We planned to see the Petronas tower fountain and light show. We were pressed for time so ended up eating dinner at a restaurant near the fountain, connected to the mall next to Petronas.
The Malays like their malls! They have huge, clean and beautiful shopping malls throughout KL. I should mention, KL overall is very clean. The architecture is amazing and so modern! Every building is like artwork! We kept thinking, “ Why can’t the US have buildings like this”.
Dinner was good and the fountain light show was awesome!
After the fountain light show we headed to Skybar. We had heard good things about this place, and were excited to check it out. There was no entry fee because we got there before 9pm. They had drink specials so Conner had a few beers and I got two wines for a great deal. We enjoyed the stunning views and music. A really beautiful nightclub! It wasn’t very crowded since we were there early, but I can imagine that place gets pretty busy!
The comic con people even came to Skybar
The next morning after enjoying that ridiculously delicious international buffet again, we packed up our stuff to head to the airport for our next stop- Singapore!!
KL, you were super interesting and we really enjoyed getting to know you!! We will see you again on our last night of the trip before heading back to the US!
harap sabar menunggu (stay tuned in Malay)-
<3, Kinz
Keeping up with Kinz 