Best Asian cities for a layover
The mist rolled around the roads of early morning Hong Kong like steam off a freshly opened Dim Sum basket. Our driver handled the winding curves of Lantau Island as though he'd made this drive a thousand times. There was no respite from the fog. Only more road and mountain. As we finally neared the summit, the giant Buddha came into view. Travelling all the way from India to the great mountain over looking Hong Kong - just to greet me with that classic expressionless face of Zen.
I really didn't know what to expect. Silly from jetlag, stuffed with airplane noodles, excited for more. This was my first time visiting Asia. And yet Hong Kong wasn't really where I was trying to go. I'd booked a flight from Chicago to Siem Reap, Cambodia and Hong Kong was a stop to get where I wanted. At the time it seemed like an inconvenience. A 10 hour layover wasn't something I was looking forward to when I booked my flight. I just didn't know any better.
I had so much fun on that first visit to Hong Kong, I got hooked on long layovers. Now, like any real traveler, I actually prefer them. I've enjoyed these layovers so much that I decided to write this post about a few of my recent layovers in East Asia.
The sky is the limit in Kuala Lumpur
On my way from Bali to Tokyo, I had the good fortune of stopping in Kuala Lumpur. The former British stronghold of Malaysia is a city on the rise. Unprecedented growth is occurring in this city. Cranes litter the downtown area with laborers working day into the night on their incredible race to the sky. Being a major hub of transit for many airlines (particularly budget airline AirAsia), you'll likelihood find yourself with a bit of time to kill in KL if you're travelling around the region.
KL is the capital of Malaysia and its biggest city. Located only about a four hour drive from the city state of Singapore, another classic layover spot, the two cities have much in common. Both colonized by the Brtiish, both being major transit and economic hubs and both having a high diversity of Asian peoples.
Many people of various origins and ethnicities call themselves Malaysians. People of Indian, Malay and Chinese decent all call this city home. In fact, the diverse cultural ownership of KL is so strong that talking about the local food can mean Indian, Chinese or Malay local cuisine.
If you follow enough travel bloggers on Instagram, you've undoubtedly seen photos of Kuala Lumpur, whether it be the Batu Caves, the Petronas towers or the latest KL Instagram star, Thean Hou temple. If you have enough hours on your layover, these spots are not only easy to visit, but completely free. Fortunately I booked my transit through KL with 23 hours of a window and I was easily and comfortably able to see the Batu Caves, Thean Hou and Petronas Towers.
With a layover that long, the obvious choice was to book a hotel close to the action. I went with The Face Suites in downtown KL. The Face Suites is located near the Petronas Towers and their stunning infinity pool offers unparalleled views of the Towers. These views were the major selling point of the visit. Equally epic are the night time views offered at Face Suites, 51st floor rooftop bar, Deep Blue. The vibe here is definitely clubby but classy. Their fine dining restaurant, Tangerine, also offers incredible views of the city. We had the pleasure of a six course meal with wine pairing while watching the sunset and the city lights come alive all over Kuala Lumpur. As the name implies, The Face Suites offer incredibly spacious and well appointed suites. In fact the beds at The Face Suites were so comfy, we woke up late and arrived at the Batu Caves well after we had planned!
Batu Caves, being a hub of Tamil culture and history were controversially painted overnight and immediately turned the place into an Instagram sensation. Half an hour from downtown KL by taxi makes the caves an easy visit. If you want to experience the place alone, be sure to get there early!
While on our way to the airport, we stopped at Thean Hou. I loved the way the shadows of the lanterns creates patterns and leading lines in this Chinese temple. Since the first time I saw it in photos, I new I had t visit. To give me that special little connection, it was expanded and fully developed in the year I was born, 1988. This is the year of the dragon and the temple carries on a consistent dragon theme.
Not enough time in Singapore
On a stop between Adelaide and Yogyakarta, I finally got the chance to meet Singapore. These days Singapore has become a destination in its own right. Its new persona as a flashy new money city has caused it to star (for better or worse) in movies like Crazy Rich Asians which has given Singapore a lot of attention from the West in recent years. Whether or not Singapore has been a place you've wanted to see, you'll have the opportunity to explore it during a layover to countless destinations in Asia. This is largely due to the oft praised Singapore Airlines offering an immense amount of regional and long haul flights with connections.
On a recent trip, I had a day long layover where I was finally introduced to the Lion City. The Gardens by the Bay was my photo spot de jour. I spent about two hours there for sunset, enjoyed the light show in the Supertree grove, watched the fireworks over the Marina Barrage and even joined some of the local drone pilots on a little flight after sundown.
The next morning I wandered around china town, visited the Buddha tooth relic and ate noodles, rice, fish and a variety of peppers at the China town food centre. Being famous for it's food stands, Singapore has a both acclaimed and yet affordable reputation. The city is another place of mega diversity and the restaurants in Chinatown were truly Pan Asia. From noodles, Korean barbecue, sushi and all types of Chinese foods - the options are limitless.
Singapore is hot. Be prepared to sweat. Singapore is modern. It shimmers in the tropic sun. Singalore is clean. In fact its bordering on sterile. Its not what I've come to expect from Southeast Asian cities but it stole my heart anyway. Although the daylong visit was certainly not enough, I'm so happy I chose the longer itinerary. I'm looking forward to my next visit here more than most.
Lost in the city of Azaleas
Oh Taipei, are you China or not? As the capital of the island of Taiwan, Taipei has a very interesting place in the world. Claimed as Chinese territory by China and not recognized by the U.N., some people would not consider Taiwan it's own nation. Taiwan does have it's own currency, flag and passport system which (unlike China) requires no visa for short term American visitors. Sounds more like a country to me. Come to think of it, these parallels can also be found in Hong Kong.
In recent generations, the island of Taiwan has found itself in a crossroads between its larger neighbors, China and Japan. During the periods of Japanese colonization, Taiwan was a favored territory of the Japanese empire with little resistance to Japanese rule. An interesting and perhaps mutual "respect" has evolved between the two. Its not uncommon to see a high frequency of Japanese restaurants in Taiwan and Taiwanese style restaurants in Japan. It was even rumored that the bath town in the critically acclaimed film, Spirited Away from Japanese Ghibli Studios was based off of Old Jiufen in Taiwan. Once Japan ceded the island, its been slow to allow itself to be adopted back into the full fold of Chinese power despite its cultural and ethnic closeness to China. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the future of geopolitics.
On my arrival to Taoyuan Airport, an announcement rang out explaining the penalties of smuggling contraband into the peoples Republic of China. Case closed on the China confusion?
Upon leaving the airport, we hopped in a taxi and rode straight to a hike up Elephant mountain. Not a bad way to cap a 14 hour flight from Chicago. The drive was about 45 minutes at about 5:30 a.m. and I can't recommend it enough. When we arrived, the mountain was shrouded in mist. It was absolutely delightful in the most haunting of ways. Again, if you arrive early you'll have the place mostly to yourself but crowds of locals and tourists alike will stop to show up in force around 9 a.m.
After a few hours of wandering around and finding every angle we could of the massive Taipei 101, we hiked into the city and ate ourselves silly. Fresh pot stickers from a street vendor, ramen from Inchiran and a few burgers to wash that all down. While walking the streets of downtown Taipei, its impossible to avoid more views of the stunning aqua colored Taipei 101. This skyscraper is undoubtedly the city’s mascot of modernity.
Regrettably, I spent about two hours searching for an incredible building I had seen on Instagram. Once I finally found the spot, I realized the building had actually been duplicated in Photoshop to create an arch which doesn't exist. All the locals I pestered in my quest to find this building were all so friendly despite the fact that they clearly doubted the existence of such an arch I was seeking. Lesson learned: always ask the artist if the place exists, no matter how real it seems. As a consolation, the post hike walk around town was just the exercise needed after that much time in an airplane.
This particular layover was very reminiscent of my first layover in Asia all those years ago. Not just the foggy overcast conditions, but the excitement of seeing a new place, even if it wasn't where I was going.
