Saturday to Thursday
December 27, 2025 to January 1, 2026

Since reaching retiring age, Mama has wanted to spend time traveling with her kids, but our schedules never seemed to line up. This year, however, the New Year holidays were strategically placed to justify spending some time outside the country. This is the recap for our annual family trip, this time to Singapore, Melaka and Kuala Lumpur.

Earlier in 2025, Mama wanted to visit places that didn’t require a visa. Our previous family trip was Osaka last year and this time, Singapore and Malaysia popped into the conversation. She and my brother had already been to Singapore as part of their Indonesia trip, so they still had some Singaporean Dollars laying around. Malaysia also sounded good because my previous trips to Kota Kinabalu showed me how affordable the country was. All in agreement, we booked the tickets by June, prepared the itinerary and made the appropriate bookings as the year progressed.

On the day of the flight, we expected a crowd of people at the airport terminal, but we were welcomed with very few passengers. This might be because we were there 8 hours before the flight, but we had no problem dropping our baggage and passing through immigration. We camped beside a charging station and waited for boarding, which was on schedule.

Day 1

Jewel Changi

After the 4-hour flight, I was welcomed to Singapore with an incredibly clean and spacious airport. We passed through customs and got our data sim cards that I had reserved beforehand. From Terminal 4, we took a free shuttle bus to Terminal 1, where we entered this world-famous mall.

I was wowed by the architecture and layout of the place. It was very grand and what I noticed aside from the obvious circular waterfall in the middle was the suspended train track running through it. The place looked like an architect’s 3D render of a futuristic building, but it’s all right in front of your eyes. However, I didn’t like the Disney-fication of the place. The Christmas ornaments were already enough, but putting Mickey Mouse and friends all over the place was too much for me.

We took some pictures as I enjoyed the blend of consumerism and nature. Coming from the lower-middle class, none of the big brand stores particularly appealed to me, but we did take some time going through Muji and seeing how their prices compared to our experience (Spoiler: everything is more expensive in Singapore).

Not having had breakfast yet, we grabbed a plate of fresh sandwiches down at the basement food court before taking the metro into the city. Jewel Changi is really a must-visit and it’s hard to avoid when it’s inside the airport. It definitely sets the tone for the rest of your stay.

Hotel Mi Rochor

Just a short walk away from Jalan Besar MRT station and Rochor MRT station on the Blue (Downtown) line, our hotel was booked by my brother and thankfully, we were able to check-in an hour earlier than the advertised time.

The room was very compact but had all the needed amenities. We had a good view of Rochor road as we were on the 7th floor. For the two nights, our stay was comfortable and the dishes for their breakfast buffet had a slight variation per day. There’s nothing to complain about.

We were glad to leave our baggage behind and after a quick fix-up, we headed out to explore the city.

Albert Centre Market & Food Centre

This hawker center was a short walk away from the hotel and at around 6:30 in the evening, a lot of the stalls were already on the verge of closing. We had to walk around the place for a while before we found some seats, but this helped us explore all the food being offered. Not a fan of Hainanese chicken, I ordered the most familiar dish I found, Chicken Chop Noodles.

This is my go-to order in Nanyang. I’m a noodle-person instead of a rice-person and this was exactly what I expected. The noodles were thin and chewy, with the warm sauce providing the savory complement. The chicken chops were not freshly fried, sadly, but were still warm, flavorful, and crunchy. There was free soup as well, but it didn’t taste like anything.

A wonderful discovery was fresh Popiah; something Mama ordered from another stall. It was similar to fresh lumpia, which I was fond of. The main difference was that this Popiah was served without any sauce, as it was already mixed inside the roll. The sweet, nutty sauce was perfect after my oily noodles and I regret not eating more Popiah during my stay.

Bugis St.

I knew I was in the Bugis district when the crowd of people got denser. Lots of stalls selling the same kinds of souvenirs, jewelries, and clothes popped up. To avoid the crowd, we found a parallel road that turned out to be the Bugis Street Art Lane. Here, people were setting up stalls selling handicrafts and trinkets which I found more interesting. Christmas lights lit up the space and the row of identical buildings with staircases out front seemed very inviting. Lots of things to see and do here.

Bugis Junction was a fascinating shopping mall because they made it look like a section of the street, including the buildings, were completely enveloped by glass. It is an indoor mall but the facades of the shops were modeled after the old, classic-style buildings. It reminded me of the covered Shotengais in Japan. This mall turned out to be the heart of Bugis street once upon a time. This was where the original shops were located before it and three neighboring streets where rebuilt as this huge mall.

We did some window shopping here before moving on.

Haji Lane

Our last stop for the night was Haji Lane, which was comprised of bars, coffee shops, and handicraft stores. Souvenir shops were also abundant, a reminder that this is a touristy spot.

It seemed that most of the shops closed really early. All the noise and energy were coming from the bars, with touts showing us menus as we passed and foreigners drinking cocktails and beer from the outside tables.

I was on the hunt for stationery supplies so I was glad to find a shop by Loka Made. There, I browsed for some stickers as well as stamped my passport notebook with their custom designs.

After that, we returned to our hotel to catch up on sleep.

Day 2

Morning Jog

My brother and I were up early as we decided to go on a quick jog towards Marina Bay Sands. Singapore has incredibly wide sidewalks as well as breathable urban spaces. The cool morning air added to make this one of the most satisfying city runs I’ve had.

We followed a route my brother found on the internet and crossed the Helix bridge until we were at the shadow of the impressive 5-star hotel. Seeing it up close gave me the same sense of awe as seeing Taipei 101 up front. This was a beautiful piece of architecture and I’m glad to have seen it up close.

We continued jogging all the way around Marina bay towards Merlion Park. It was still early in the morning but there was already a crowd of people waiting for this famous landmark to start spewing water. At exactly 7:00AM, the Merlion did its thing and we were one of the first ones to get a picture.

As the crowd around the Merlion started to grow, we made our way back to the hotel. I didn’t recognize it earlier, but we passed through the iconic Car Vending Machine building, Ten Square.

Our jog ended up being around 8.6km long and afterwards, we fixed up and headed straight to the hotel’s restaurant for our breakfast.

Gardens by the Bay

After eating, we took the MRT to Gardens by the Bay. There, we first walked to the Supertree Grove, though this attraction was said to be best viewed at night, when they are illuminated.

At this point, the day got warmer so we headed straight to the Flower Dome. Inside this giant, air-conditioned glass structure were trees and plants from all over the world. I’m not big on botany, but there were some beautiful plants in there along with tons of information to be learned. It was literally a living museum.

I saw how big a rose can get when left naturally. The succulent garden also had many weird but striking plants that I wanted to take home for my office table. And I finally saw a giant Baobab tree. It being Christmas time, there was also a model train installation inside which was weird, but okay.

After exiting the Flower Dome, right across from it was the Cloud Forest. This separate dome was more vertical than the previous one as it housed a tall, multi-floor structure covered in vines and plants. It was also partnered with Jurassic World for some reason and there were animatronic dinosaurs all over the place.

We followed the suggested route and foot traffic led us to different parts of the dome. The highlights for me were seeing the pitcher plants and orchids. The life-sized T-rex was also an exciting one. I was imagining the damage something that big could do if it was real. Near the end of the tour, there was also a skit presentation featuring a dinosaur tamer and Blue, the famous raptor from the movies.

After the Cloud Forest and buying some souvenirs, we left the gardens and followed a bridge connected straight to the Marina Bay Sands building complex.

The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands

The way to the mall part of the complex led straight through the hotel and we were able to see the layout of the towers from the inside. It was a lot of floor space and luxury. I could see why a single night could cost more than P100,000 and still sell out quickly.

The stores in the mall were, just like in Jewel Changi, full of luxury brands that I was not interested in. We headed straight to the food court and after a long time of waiting for a table to open up, we had our late lunch.

I heard that Singapore makes some good Char Kway Teow so after finding a shop that offers it, I ordered their bestseller, the Singaporean Char Kway Teow. I made a mistake of ordering the large bowl, as it was way too big, so I offered some to Mama and my brother who enjoyed its flavor. The spicy Sambal sauce was surprisingly bearable and I found it rounded off the dish well without tasting too spicy.

I was so full from the meal and was looking forward to walking it off.

ArtScience Museum

The building has an iconic shape, but the museum itself is situated in the basement floors. We were debating on going to the teamLab Future World exhibition, but it was fully booked and the next available show was two hours from now. We couldn’t wait that long so we decided to move on.

Merlion Park

We wanted Mama to get a picture with the Merlion so we crossed the Helix Bridge and walked through the Esplanade. We took a short break by the water before eventually reaching Jubilee Bridge that connects to the park itself.

It was absolutely full of people. Tourists were doing everything from shooting TikToks to video-calling relatives and trying to get the perfect angle with the Merlion. After some determination and squeezing in between some people, we were able to get her a photo and from there we went back to our hotel to get some rest.

Chinatown Street Market

For dinner, we headed to Chinatown and found a table at the Maxwell Food Centre. I’m not sure why a lot of the stalls were closed even before 8:00PM, but there were only a few choices left. There was a long queue of foreigners at the only stall left selling Hainanese chicken.

I chose a stall selling Sauced Beef Noodles and ordered a plate of Shan Dong Fried Dumplings as well. The stall was being manned by a couple of dudes, with one of them busy making the dumplings right in front of me. The amount of meat he packed into each dumpling was admirable and my mouth immediately started watering. The beef noodles were decent, but the dumplings were so good! Being fried after steaming added that crunch and texture that made each bite pop with flavor. They were so juicy I can almost consider them xiao long bao. So good!

After dinner, we perused through the shops selling local handicrafts as well as touristy souvenirs. There, we purchased a bag of Tiger Balm, something people say we should get in Singapore.

Before returning to our hotel, we had a couple of bowls of Mango Sago at Home Best for dessert. They were cold, sweet, and chewy. Perfect for a sweet treat before bed.

Day 3

Melaka was not originally on our itinerary, but I recommended doing an overnight stay here instead of heading straight to Kuala Lumpur. This way, we get to visit a place outside of the capital city and not spend most of the day inside a bus.

Bus to Melaka Sentral

The day started with our final brunch buffet at Hotel Mi Rochor. After the meal, we checked out and headed to the nearby Queen Street Bus Stop. There are many buses heading to Melaka from Singapore and we booked ours from Easybook. It was an easy online transaction to make and there were no problems at all with the boarding process. We just showed the receipt and they stamped it with the plate number of the bus we were going to ride on.

I have to say that for Singapore standards, the bus stop was diabolical. There were no seating spaces to wait for the bus and a station attendant even got mad at us for staying in the shaded part of the station where the mobile charging outlet was situated. He directed us to wait right in front of the ticket counter, facing the hot sun. This was the only disappointing part of our stay. Eventually, our bus arrived and we rushed to get on.

Once we were seated and everyone was accounted for, the bus took us to Singapore immigration (Woodlands Checkpoint). There, we had our passports scanned to acknowledge our exit from the country. This entire process took us around 10 minutes as there weren’t a lot of people exiting with us (many internet resources say that on holidays and certain peak times, the queue could get very long).

We then crossed the bridge over a river that separated Singapore and Malaysia. We were then dropped off at the Malaysian border control (Johor Bahru Checkpoint). We had to take all our baggage from the bus and have it scanned. Thankfully, it was all efficient and after getting my passport stamped, I used the bathroom (for the last time before the 4-hour journey), stowed our baggage under the bus, and waited for the rest of the passengers.

This part of our trip was delayed because of a couple of passengers that didn’t read the signs or follow the instructions. A Chinese family did not fill up their Malaysia Digital Arrival Card despite being reminded at the Bus station and at immigration MULTIPLE TIMES. Thus, they were delayed at the immigration counter until they finished filling it out. 🤦 Another incident was a French solo backpacker who changed bus seats without telling the driver. The driver was out there waiting for a passenger that was already in the bus because of them. Thankfully, another passenger was able to inform the driver and clear things up.

With the bus finally moving through the Malaysian expressway, I was able to get some sleep. When I awoke, we were already circling through the parking lot of Melaka Sentral, our drop off point. After unloading our baggage, we booked a Grab car to our hotel.

Mio Boutique Melaka

I chose this hotel as it was only a short walk away from Jonkers Street, where most of the activities in Melaka are located. The hotel was spacious, clean, and offered a breakfast buffet. It was also conveniently located right beside a grocery store and a 7eleven. After dropping off our belongings and a quick nap, we headed out to find a place for dinner.

SamFu Restaurant

I would like to thank Google Maps for spontaneously recommending one of the best restaurants we tried on this trip. This place served Nyonya cuisine (a hybrid culture of Chinese and Southeast Asian) which we haven’t tried before. We were fortunate to slip in right before the dinner rush because as we were getting seated, the place was swarmed with people, locals and tourists alike.

The server was very accommodating with our requests (not too spicy) and recommended their bestsellers. In a few minutes, we were served with Lemak Nanas Prawn (Prawn & Pineapple Curry), Babi Chili Garam (Pork in chili sauce), and Cincalok Omelette (Fermented tiny shrimp in omelette).

For a family that’s not good with spicy food, we enjoyed this meal, although we were wiping our sweat a lot by the end. It’s hard for the dishes to not be spicy, as it’s an integral part of Nyonya cooking, but it was never overwhelming and the other flavors were powerful as well. Despite the heat, I loved slurping up the curry from the Lemak Nanas. The Babi pork slices were tender and savory while the bed of cucumber they were served on helped cool off the spiciness of each bite. Meanwhile, the omelette was quite salty, which made me consume more rice than I expected.

To end the meal, we ordered their Cendol Gula Melaka, the specialty of the city we’re staying in. The local palm syrup, jelly strips, red beans, and shaved ice combined to make a delicious dessert that satisfied mine and Mama’s sweet teeth.

This was my most memorable meal and if every Nyonya restaurant served food this delicious, then I am now on the lookout for more of them. We continued our walk from the restaurant down to Jonker’s street to explore the area.

Melaka Street Art

Because it was already evening, we weren’t able to see all the street art in the city. Melaka is a town that gets very quiet after dark. There’s not much foot traffic the further you stray from the touristy places. I was still able to take some photos of the few murals that we passed along the way.

Jonkers Street and Dutch Square

The night market only takes place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Sadly, there was nothing much happening as we passed through. But this was definitely the place were tourists converge. Even late into the night, there were a lot of people hanging around.

We continued walking until we reached the Dutch Square, which was where all the lights and sounds were coming from. There, lighted Tuktuks were blaring K-pop music while enticing tourists to pay for a ride. Beside the clock tower, a local was playing drums reinforced by a portable boombox. A lot of things were happening at the same time.

The highlights of the square were the Christ Church Melaka, and the “Stadthuys“, the home base of the Dutch occupation centuries ago. We browsed some souvenirs from a shop at the base of the Stadthuys and then climbed St. Paul’s Hill right behind it.

Unfortunately, the grounds were already closed in the evening so we missed out on seeing St. Paul’s Chapel and the remains of A Famosa. Bummer.

River Walk

On our way back, we walked along the banks of Melaka river. There, we waved at passengers of a passing ferry. A lot of bars were situated right by the river walk and I mused if a drunken tourist had fallen into the river before. There were no railings to prevent anyone from falling!

We followed the river back to the closest bridge and returned to our hotel for the night. This was a short and sweet visit to Melaka but I’m glad to have maximized the time to try new food and see this small town that many people online recommend.

Day 4

Bus to Kuala Lumpur

We had our breakfast at the hotel’s lobby area where they served delicious fried noodles and unlimited omelettes. After packing up and checking out, we took a Grab back to Melaka Sentral. My brother booked our ride to Kuala Lumpur from Easybook as well. From there, we waited by the bus station’s departure area for our designated vehicle. Everything went smoothly and I fell asleep on my assigned seat until we reached Terminal Bersepadu Selatan.

The TBS is the station for Kuala Lumpur’s long distance buses. From here you can go to almost any other major city in the Malaysian mainland. It was still around 10 kilometers away from the city center, so we booked a Grab to our hotel.

Hotel Lyf Chinatown

This was the coolest hotel in our vacation. It comes with two separate bedrooms, separate toilet and showers, and a living room + kitchen space. Not only that, they also have a coin laundry service, a gym, and a kitchen on the top floor. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful as well. They give off the vibe that they really look forward to satisfying their customers. We also got a really nice view of KL Tower right from the top floor and right outside the hotel’s front door.

The location is also convenient, just a walk away from most of the action. The only downside is that the nearest convenience store is also a walk away. That, and there’s no buffet breakfast. They order from a food delivery service every night so if you plan to get breakfast, you have to inform them beforehand.

Petaling St. Market

It was a rainy afternoon but after a short walk, we reached Petaling Street. We saw the huge gate to the covered market and went in to see the wares being sold. There were lots of “unofficial” items being sold and while the sellers were being very enthusiastic about their wares, they were never pushy or discomforting.

A lot of the stuff they sold didn’t really appeal to us so we made our way to another market nearby.

Kasturi Walk

A bit moist from the drizzle, we walked down the single-lane flea market. The shops here are a mix of handicraft goods and food stalls. Some even had tables and chairs prepared for customers but they were all occupied. Most of the people were taking shelter from the rain.

This was a quieter place compared to Petaling Street. The vibes were cozy and compelled me to buy a cup of tea and just chill in the open-air space to take in the surroundings. But alas, I was with other people, so I continued browsing the merchandise, hoping for something interesting to buy.

Central Market + Art Alley

After seeing all the stalls, we entered the huge building right next door. This was the Pasar Seni Central Market. It was big and air-conditioned, perfect to dry us off as we explored the different shops.

Malaysia is a blend of different cultures and the central market is a great example of that diversity at work. There is an entire side of the building just for selling items made from authentic Batik textiles. There are also shops offering name stamp carving, divination services, plus Chinese and Buddhist artifacts.

Most of my time was spent looking for trinkets and small souvenirs that were unique and/or humorous. The place catered to the youth with all the stalls selling items relevant to pop culture (Class-A Labubus, Sonny Angels, etc.). There were also a lot of local shops selling merch filled with Malay memes that I was amused to see but could not fully appreciate.

We had our late lunch at their food court where I tried the restaurant franchise, “I LOVE YOO”. I ordered their Mee Kantin (dry noodles with sambal, soft boiled egg, and yoo tiao chips) and Yoo Tiao (deep fried Chinese donuts) in curry sauce. The Yoo Tiao was addictive but I felt guilty because of the oil used in it. The crisp outer layer and chewy dough was something I wanted to keep on eating. I also got a refreshing Three-layered Iced Tea drink from a nearby stall.

After the meal, we settled on buying some handmade soap from an artisanal shop and decided to go back to the hotel. We passed through the Art Alley right outside the Central Market where stalls of traditional art were being made and displayed. It was a nice place to stroll by and admire the talents of these local artists.

Day 5

Klook Day Tour

The agenda for the whole day was booked beforehand from Klook. The night before, the tour organizer messaged us the meetup details and gave us our vehicle number and guide. For most attractions that are hard to get to, we just book a Klook tour. This sacrifices our own time, but we don’t have to worry about the transportation and we also get some more local knowledge about the place. This hasn’t failed us yet.

Batu Caves

The tour’s first stop was this iconic landmark. When we arrived, throngs of people were already in the temple complex, mulling around and readying themselves to enter the cave. The giant figure of Hindu deity Murugan towered over us and right beside the statue was the stairs leading into the cave’s entrance. Only my brother and I decided to climb the 272 steps, with Mama staying at the bottom to look at the shops.

Inside the cave were some more temples. We didn’t go in because we had to take off our shoes, so we just explored deeper into the cave. We reached the deepest section and I marveled at the natural hole at the ceiling where sunlight and rain passed through. It was a beautiful sight, with lots of foliage dotting the limestone walls.

We also got to see some long-tailed macaques and local chickens playing around. I tried to look for some bats, but I couldn’t find any. The cave was cleaner than I expected. I was impressed with the massive stone columns and stalactites scattered around the area. As more and more tourists and worshipers entered the cave, we decided to climb back down.

With a bit of time left before the bus left for the next destination, we decided to enter a restaurant and snack on some Roti. If you’ve read my Kota Kinabalu blog posts, you know I am in love with this kind of bread. It’s something I’ve been wanting to eat since entering Malaysia. We ordered one curry dip, and one with chocolate and candy sprinkles. They were so good, with the fluffiness and texture of the bread being the highlight of the meal. Mama and my brother finally saw the appeal of Roti and I’m happy with their realization.

After eating, we boarded the bus in the nick of time as we traveled to the next destination.

Genting Highlands

The bus took us to the SkyAvenue station, a transport hub with shops and access to the Awana Skyway. This was the second gondola we’ve ridden on, after the Maokong Gondola in Taiwan. This gondola system was similar, but the individual cars can seat more people. We admired the views as we climbed higher towards Genting Highlands.

We passed the pagoda of the Chin Swee Temple and I was impressed with the size of the nearby hotels being built right by the mountain cliffs and despite the mountainous terrain. The Antara Genting Highlands hotel was particularly noteworthy, as its sound system was blaring pop music at a volume that even us inside the gondola cars could hear it.

We eventually reached the final station which was connected to the First World Plaza. This was a huge mall that housed many luxury brands, and more impressively, an indoor amusement park. There were lots of people shopping and eating. Our tour guide reminded us of our strict departure time and then left us to our own devices.

This place is definitely a shopper’s paradise. You’re here to either participate in consumerism or to enter the amusement parks (there is one inside the mall AND outside it). For us who don’t belong in those categories, we just spent our time walking around until we felt hungry.

Our lunch here was a feast. We settled for Madam Kwan’s, a restaurant brand that serves authentic Malaysian cuisine. We ordered their Beef Nasi Lemak, Char Kway Teow, Chicken Mushroom Rice, and Chicken Satay. Everything was delicious but I have to give a special shout-out to the Chicken Satay which was the best I’ve ever had. The chicken was cooked perfectly and was delicious on its own, with peak juiciness and spice. But the accompanying satay sauce was even more flavorful. Thick and packed with peanutty greatness, I was hooked. Thankfully they weren’t stingy on the sauce, but I wanted a giant jar to take home for use in every future meal I will ever eat. I’m still dreaming of this satay dish until now. At that point, it dawned on me, that is what I came to Kuala Lumpur for.

Finishing up our meal and having some soft serve for dessert, we decided to go back down to the SkyAvenue station and visit the tourist destination beside it.

Genting Premium Outlets

This outdoor shopping center is another place swarming with people. I let my brother and Mama go on their own ways as I found a quiet place to sit and write on my journal. Quiet was a hard ask, but it was good that there were lots of benches to sit on. I waited until they were done with their window-shopping and by then it was time for the bus to pick our tour group up.

We returned to the SkyAvenue station and waited for our bus at the ground floor terminal. After a few moments, we boarded and were finally en route to the city. This day tour was officially over.

Petronas Towers + Suria KLCC + New Year’s Eve

We didn’t return to our meet up place as our bus stopped right by the Petronas Towers. This is the iconic twin tower building that most people see as the keystone of a Kuala Lumpur visit. We bade goodbye to our guide and snapped pictures of the buildings. After getting our family selfie, we headed to Suria KLCC right at the foot of the towers.

Here we did some window shopping and had dinner at Kyoto Katsu. Things were getting hectic as more and more people poured in for the New Year’s Eve event at the nearby KLCC Park. I was able to buy a few things at their Books Kinokuniya as well as some chocolate potato chips at Royce. After this, we hung around until the mall closed as we had decided to spend the new year’s eve under the twin towers.

We found a good spot to stay and waited for the new year to come. The twin towers changed lights every now and then but it was quite disappointing in the end. I guess it was my fault for expecting more, but the light changes was all it had. Looking back now, we should have just gone back to the hotel where we had a good view of the KL Tower (which had a fireworks display, at least).

It was a surreal moment being surrounded by Malaysian locals and tourists, staring up at the towers and waiting for something. At the very least, I was entertained by the people who were making noises with their vuvuzelas. There was a sense of camaraderie with strangers exchanging toots with each other.

After the countdown finished, we waited for the crowd to dissipate before walking back to our hotel. The good thing about the new years event was that most of the cars were stuck as people were walking on the streets, and that’s what we did as well.

Arriving in our hotel, I was so tired that I immediately crashed into bed and fell asleep. Happy New Year to all!

Day 6

This was our vacation’s final day. Upon waking up late, we packed up all our things and got ready for the checkout. Our breakfast was whatever’s left in the fridge from our 7eleven haul. Fortunately, Lyf Chinatown were kind enough to hold on to our baggage until later in the evening.

SOGO KL

We headed to this mall because it had a store that Mama was looking for. After buying the necessary item, we headed to the food court at the top floor to have lunch. The food stalls are arranged and labeled according to what they specialize in, so it was easy to choose what I wanted to get.

From separate stores, I was able to find the food I’ve been craving for: Mee Goreng Mamak and Roti Canai Kari. To round off this meal, I had a tall, cold cup of Kopi O Ais. This was the perfect combination to satisfy my cravings. I was happy to find that they tasted almost as good as the ones I had in Kota Kinabalu. At least, enough to put a smile on my face.

REXKL

After the meal, we took a grab to REXKL, a refurbished cinema that is now an arts and culture hub. It contains a BookXcess Outlet and is a relatively new landmark that has become famous to tourists.

The building and the area surrounding it gives off a unique vibe. There are wall murals and graffiti in a lot of places. This place was oozing with cool and style. At the entrance are a few stalls selling their handmade goods. We made our way inside and were welcomed with retro shops selling random, antique products and trinkets (at quite expensive prices). This place reminded me of our local Cubao Expo.

We climbed up to the upper floors to find the BookXcess store and I was impressed with the layout and aesthetic of it. It had a very rustic look, with bare metal and wood everywhere. There were bookshelves even at the most impractical places. It was a really unique vibe. Thankfully, their stationery stuff were all compiled into one corner so I was able to browse through everything I wanted quickly.

After looking through all the bookshop’s offerings, we headed into the building’s basement, which housed a food court. There are a lot of delicious stores offering different kinds of food from burgers and pizzas, to desserts and alcohol. I settled with a Matcha latte from Summation Cafe, while Mama and my brother had some canelés and nasi lemak.

KLIA Terminal 2

After spending the afternoon in REXKL, we returned to the hotel to pick up our baggage. Then we took a Grab to the airport. I didn’t realize how far KLIA was from the city. During the long drive there, we got to know our Grab driver to an extent and he recommended a lot of places to visit if we return here.

After getting dropped off, we waited for the check in counters to open at their food court which was open 24/7. After Mama had her dinner here, we moved to a cafe called The Coffee. Here, I grabbed an iced americano and a cheese and chicken croissant sandwich. All these places had sockets for charging our devices and there weren’t a lot of people around because it was New Year’s Day.

Eventually, we dropped off our baggage and went through immigration. It was very quick and the only ones holding up the queue were fellow Filipinos who didn’t follow rules. Going back home during a public holiday is now my new favorite time to travel. What a breeze. We waited for our plane by the boarding gates and soon found ourselves on the flight back to Manila.

So ends this long family trip. Thank you, Singapore and Malaysia!

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

• My first impression of Singapore was how clean the city is and how few cars there were in relation to all the streets, flyovers, and tunnels. My next impression as how EXPENSIVE everything is.
• Being able to use your credit card as a way to pay for the train lines is a game-changer. This is something that needs to be implemented in other places, ASAP. This is one of my favorite features exclusively experienced in Singapore.
• Maybe it’s because of the holiday season, but most of the people out and about were tourists like us. The places we went to were not full of people at all (besides the malls and hawker centers). It’s not as crowded everywhere and walking was a very nice activity to do.
• Singapore is notorious for the “No Chewing Gum” act, but apparently they’re fine with people smoking everywhere. I’d rather have gum than these death-sticks blowing smoke in my face, thanks.
• Just like Japan, the dependence on a working CCTV system has made Singapore feel very safe. People there mind their own business and are obedient with most rules, especially the traffic lights. It’s a really civilized society.
• Melaka has a small town feel that reminds me of my hometown, Silay city. There’s just something about colonized towns that give off the same vibe. The Dutch-style red buildings just don’t appeal to me aesthetically. They look decent in some photos and artworks, but IRL, I can’t stand looking at them for long.
• The shift from Singapore and Malaysia is very obvious. Malaysia is just like Philippines, car-centric with lots of traffic and concrete roads. People also do not follow traffic signals in Malaysia and we just followed the locals whenever we had to cross the road.
• Just like in Kota Kinabalu, Grab is cheaper in Kuala Lumpur compared to Metro Manila. But the price difference is quickly becoming negligible because of the exchange rate.
• Kuala Lumpur has almost the same vibes as Manila, but a few notches cleaner and less corrupt. You can tell that locals still have their civic sense of duty to keep their surroundings clean and organized.
• After the Batu Caves and before heading to the Genting Highlands, our bus took us to a store that sold lots of Malaysian food and souvenirs for the tourists. We bought packets of Roka chocolate, some chocolate malt drink mix, and Beryl’s Chocolate almonds. However, we were surprised to see that Beryl’s chocolate was much cheaper at other malls and especially at the airport’s duty free store. The lesson here is to be cautious with buying stuff and always have a price reference for the things you want to buy.
• We didn’t get to try out the train system in Kuala Lumpur, maybe I’ll get the chance if I come back next time, but this city is more of a transport hub as our Grab drivers recommended us to go out of the city on our next visit (Penang and Langkawi are good destinations).
• Other countries have so much bigger airports holy shit. And accessible transportation to the city center?! Wow!?

It was a very relaxing, few days spent with the family and a good way to recharge for 2026. It’s always a blessing to be able to travel and see new places. Coming from the Philippines, experiencing different cultures and takes on living is an eye-opener. And of course, discovering new kinds of food and then getting sad that Manila doesn’t have them.

Thank you to Mama and my brother for this trip. It’s a privilege to be able to travel as a family and I hope we continue doing this for a long time and to more destinations.

Have you been to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur? What did we miss? Should we come back?

Thanks for reading and always be safe!

-jgzn