Malaysia, oh Malaysia…

I’ve been to Malaysia multiple times, and somehow, I’ve had issues with every single visit! It wasn’t initially part of my travel plans this time, but when my friend Alison moved back home in 2023, I decided it was the perfect excuse to catch up. So, I cut my trip to Bali short by two days and headed to Kuala Lumpur (KL) to see her.

Malaysia isn’t exactly my favourite country in Asia, which might surprise some people – especially since a few of my closest friends are Malaysian. Honestly, there’s not much I planned to say about it, but let me give you a few reasons why Malaysia and I don’t exactly get along…

Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, and just before my first trip to Asia back in 2011, I’d visited Israel for work. I had no idea this might create any issues, but things got interesting quickly. I was taking a bus from Singapore to KL, and just before we boarded, we heard the news that Bin Laden had been killed.

When we reached the Malaysian border, everyone disembarked for immigration. My officer was dressed in a full niqab, and I still wonder whether it was because I’m Black, sounded American, or had multiple Israeli stamps in my passport, but she took her time examining every single page and grilling me about my travels and my purpose in Malaysia. I’d been one of the first to reach the immigration counter, but I was this close to missing my bus to Kuala Lumpur.

This recent trip, thankfully, was less eventful, though I still ran into some classic KL hotel drama. Despite having prepaid, the hotel somehow couldn’t locate my reservation, forcing me to rebook on the spot and later file a complaint with Hotels.com. Alison knew all about my past mishaps in Malaysia, so she went above and beyond to make this trip memorable for all the right reasons – and I truly appreciated it. We spent two days exploring local spots, sampling a variety of dishes, and soaking up the food scene.

The next day, Alison took me to Kedai Kopi Yuyi for breakfast, which turned out to be quite the experience. There was this elderly lady working hard over her stall, whipping up and churning out food with incredible speed. Hygiene was… well, let’s say questionable, and it’s definitely not a place I’d have wandered into alone. But the food? Worth it. Sometimes, having local friends as guides really opens you up to authentic experiences you’d otherwise miss.

On my last day, we did some more eating, toured the PETRONAS Towers, and squeezed in a bit of shopping. It was a pretty relaxed way to end my stay before heading to the airport – only to find that my flight was delayed by a whopping 3.5 hours! F U Malaysia!

I can’t seem to catch a break here, but I keep coming back! Who knows, maybe it’s because of my friends, or maybe I’m secretly hoping that one day the country and I will get along. As Alison says “No one would have your experience with Malaysia, maybe one day everything will be perfect you need to keep trying”.