Our tour of Malaysia is over and we’re spending today flying from Kuala Lumpur to Manila, Philippines. Since we have a 6-hour scheduled layover in Manila, we’re going to make the most of the airport amenities, but since we have to exit the secure area and recheck our bags anyway, we might take advantage of a special opportunity that presents.

Our tour of Malaysia is over and we’re spending today flying from Kuala Lumpur to Manila, Philippines. Since we have a 6-hour scheduled layover in Manila, we’re going to make the most of the airport amenities, but since we have to exit the secure area and recheck our bags anyway, we might take advantage of a special opportunity that presents.

We just took a 200km train trip from Kuala Lumpur to a Malaysian city that’s known as much for its vibrant food and arts scene as for its rich mining history. But we’re here for a different kind of adventure: we’re about to climb, crawl, and swim deep into one of the country’s hottest caves, in an experience that’s sure to be a physical challenge for the entire fam.

This week we’re in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, known as a mecca for soaring skyscrapers, big-budget Hollywood films, and one of the most colorful cultures we’ve encountered in the past 3 years. No place captures the flavor of that culture more than the streets of the city, so we’re braving the humidity, dodging the afternoon showers, and heading out in search of the top sites and bites.

We have another marathon travel day ahead of us as we jump from the Philippines paradise here in El Nido, back to Manila for the better part of the day, and then jet off to Malaysia to mark our 22nd country visited in our worldwide travels. Even if all our flights depart on time, this journey gets us into Kuala Lumpur at 1am.

Singapore is a relatively young city-state that’s about 74% Chinese, 14% Malay, and 9% Indian. That means they have no single official language and very little in the way of official national symbols. But because the culture of this area goes back at least a thousand years, the one thing you’ll find that is purely Singaporean is its food. And our family is out to sample the full range, from authentic food stalls to Michelin starred dishes.