When we were planning our route through SE Asia, we had our eye on a few places but weren’t sure how to best fit them in. As our trip took shape and we thought about spending the holidays abroad, we decided to use the week after Christmas and the first week of 2023 to do a whistle-stop tour of Malaysia, Singapore, and Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Malaysia

Penang

We flew from Phuket directly to Penang, Malaysia. Penang is an island on the northwest coast of Malaysia and as we met other travelers in SE Asia, we heard great things about Penang and the food there. We spent a few nights in George Town, a city well known for its street art, the mix of Malay, Indian, and Chinese food, and its colonial architecture. We explored on foot through food stall markets, the Clan Jetties, and Little India.

Kuala Lumpur

We chose Kuala Lumpur for New Year’s and booked a rooftop bar for skyline views and fireworks viewing set against the Petronas towers. When we landed in KL two days before New Year’s, we learned the fireworks show for the city had been canceled in solidarity with climate-related flooding in other areas of the country. We still had a great time, no fireworks needed.

One of my favorite activities we did on New Year’s was to spend a few hours reflecting on our 2022. We found questions online and talked them through, wrote down our learnings and highlights from the year, then looked ahead to 2023. We ended the year feeling so blessed and thankful for all we experienced in 2022.

Singapore

After a few days in KL, we set off for 48 hours in Singapore! We dropped our bags and headed to Arab St and Haji Lane to grab some Turkish food. Singapore is known for a fusion of cultural foods, spicy dishes, and lots of seafood, but the pull of a Turkish pizza and chicken shawarma was too strong.

After the meal, we strolled around the area and then back to our hotel, taking the route through Clarke Quay along the river. We ended the night with a dip in our hotel’s rooftop infinity pool and a cup of peppermint tea.

On our one full day in Singapore, we packed in a lot of fun. We started with a stroll through Chinatown and lunch at the Maxwell hawker stalls. The food was some of the best we’ve had and I’ll be thinking about that dish for a long time. We then queued up outside the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel to try the Singapore Sling at the place it was created over 100 years ago. While a tad expensive, it was delicious and perfectly balanced. The air conditioning in the bar didn’t hurt either so we stayed awhile and cooled down before heading over to the waterfront.

We ended our evening by watching the light and music show at the Gardens by the Bay’s Supertree Grove. It was a beautiful example of Singapore’s attention to and investment in art, nature, and architecture. When the show was over, we walked through the park and into the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. If you’ve seen the movie, Crazy Rich Asians, this is the hotel where they have the engagement party on the roof. Turns out, we missed our invite and weren’t able to join the fun.

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Singapore is one of the most beautiful cities we’ve been to on our trip so far. The wide and clean city streets, abundant plants, interesting and unique architecture, and an integrated approach to design make it one of our favorites so far. Of course, it is very expensive to live in Singapore and even visit in some aspects, but we’d definitely work to find room in the budget to go back again. 

Siem Reap, Cambodia

The last stop on our quick tour was Siem Reap, Cambodia. We spent a few nights here to have close access to Angkor Wat, the largest religious site in the world. We booked a sunrise tour so our 4 am pickup time made for an early start to an incredible day. We toured just 1% of the total number of temples at this site! We watched the sunrise over Angkor Wat, walked through the extensive grounds to admire the temple of Ta Prohm where the movie Tomb Raider was filled and where trees have done their work to reclaim the temple grounds, and ended our tour at Bayon Temple by viewing extensive 12th century stone carvings depicting life at that time. Our tour guide has been working this tour for 20 years and he shared so much with us about the history of the area, the temples, and the people. We could have easily spent days exploring the 300+ temples and ruins of the area.

We also spent a bit of time exploring the town of Siem Reap and really enjoyed the relaxed and friendly atmosphere. We’re sure we would have enjoyed more time there as well.

Conclusion

While we didn’t have time to do everything we wanted to in each of these cities, we did get a great taste of the local food, culture, and vibes.

Recap

Next Up!

• Vietnam with Bethany & Jack

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Read About Where Else We’ve Been

• New Zealand: A Little Bit of Everything
• Vietnam: North to South
• Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia: New Year’s 2023
• Thailand: Temples, Food, and So Much More
• Australia: The East Coast of Natural Wonders