KL Airport Hotel

I recently had to get a new passport. I had actually meant to take care of it when I was back home in the US, but due to the pandemic finally winding down and lots of people trying to travel again, the State Department was really backed up with applications and there just wasn't going to be time to get a new passport before I had to fly back to Thailand. Instead, I used the last remaining empty page of my passport to take a visa run to Cambodia a few months back, then submitted my renewal application at the embassy in Bangkok.

The new passport arrived in the mail. It's very freeing to have a passport with lots of empty pages again! I was getting a little bit stressed about traveling on my old one, since some countries won't let you enter if you don't have a certain number of blank pages.

The other day, I woke up very early to head over to the Chaengwatthana Government Building where Bangkok's Immigration Department is based. It's never a really fun experience to go there, but I've spent so much time at the massive building over the past decade that I know it pretty well by now.

Bangkok Government Building

When my queue number came up, the immigration officer told me that they could not actually transfer my old visa to my new passport without me applying for a visa extension. They said that I would have to just fly out of the country on my old passport and then fly back in on my new one. The problem is that my wedding ceremony was going to be just eight days later, so you can imagine how stressed I was about all of this!

I rushed home, booked a two-night trip to Kuala Lumpur (the cheapest flight I could find), and hurried to pack a backpack with my computer and two clean pairs of clothes. It was going to be the weirdest and most boring visa run I had ever taken.

I landed in Kuala Lumpur, the multicultural and vibrant capital of Malaysia. It had been an early morning, and I hadn't eaten anything, so I headed to Old Town Coffee, a popular Malaysian chain with a branch inside the arrival hall, for lunch.

Old Town Coffee at KL Airport

First, I ordered an iced white coffee.

Malaysian white coffee is a popular coffee beverage originating from Ipoh, Malaysia. It is characterized by its unique roasting process, where Arabica coffee beans are roasted with margarine and then brewed with condensed milk to create a creamy and slightly sweet flavor profile. The term "white" refers to the light color of the coffee, as it is not heavily roasted. The result is a smooth, mellow coffee with a distinct aroma and a hint of caramelization from the roasting method.

Malaysian white coffee

I also ordered some nasi lemak, the national dish of Malaysia. 

Nasi lemak with crispy chicken is a traditional dish known for its complex flavors and textures. It features fragrant coconut rice, often cooked with pandan leaves for added aroma, served alongside crispy fried chicken. Accompanying the dish are condiments such as sambal (a salty, savory, and spicy chili paste), hard-boiled egg, roasted peanuts, crispy fried anchovies, and cucumber slices. This combination offers a harmonious blend of savory, spicy, and sweet elements, making it a beloved meal in Malaysian cuisine. The flavors are very strong, and it's a surprisingly filling dish. No visit to Malaysia is complete for me without at least one meal of nasi lemak!

>>You can read more about nasi lemak on my food blog, The World of Street Food:

Nasi Lemak at the Sri Weld Food Court in Penang, Malaysia (theworldofstreetfood.com)

Nasi Lemak McD from McDonald's Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur (theworldofstreetfood.com) (Fast food version of nasi lemak!)

nasi lemak

I also ordered a chicken curry puff, which was way more food than I expected! The curry puffs were delicious, but one serving came with two curry puffs, each of which was the size of my fist!

The curry was sweet and rich, and the puffs were extremely crispy, which is exactly how I like them. It was a wonderful meal to start my short visit to Thailand's neighbor to the south.

curry puffs

I usually really enjoy visiting KL. It's a super fascinating city with a ton of culture to explore. In fact, I was here earlier in the year, when I discovered some cool hiking trails right in the heart of the capital! But this time was different. I was really in a rush to get back to Bangkok, so I booked two nights at the airport hotel and an early morning flight back to the Big Mango.

arriving at the hotel

The room was tiny but functional. It was bigger than a Japanese capsule hotel - but just barely. At least it had a private bathroom and shower! This would be my home for the next two nights. It's an airport hotel; a place for transit where the Air Asia cabin crew and short-stay travelers passing through KLIA stay for a very short time. I am certain that only a very few people stay more than one night!

my tiny hotel room

The hotel was located at the back of the airport. Even though it was geographically nearby, it was still nearly a 20-minute taxi ride from KLIA to the airport. When I say it was in the middle of nowhere, I'm not exaggerating! The airport itself is already decently remote. It's located outside of Putrajaya, the administrative and judicial capital of Malaysia (a constructed city built in 1999).

Note: Kuala Lumpur remains the de facto capital and legislative capital of Malaysia. The relationship between KL and Putrajaya is really interesting. KL is still, by all intents and purposes, the capital of the country, but the King and the judiciary reside in Putrajaya. Putrajaya is also the home to the Masjid Putra, the famous and exquisite Pink Mosque.

The Blog of Michael Desrosiers: The Pink Mosque of Putrajaya

the lovely view

In the afternoon, I took a walk around the hotel.

There wasn't much to look at, save for the expansive palm fields and the notable prayer room, complete with the wudu station; the area designated for Islamic ablution.

prayer room

I started to get hungry in the evening, but I realized that there wasn't any food to be found (except for snacks at the front desk), and the airport was a good twenty minutes away. I used the Grab app to order nasi goreng, another one of Malaysia's most iconic and popular dishes. It took a solid 40 minutes to arrive way out where my hotel was, but the meal was worth the wait,

nasi goreng with chicken

Nasi goreng is a popular Malaysian fried rice dish known for its vibrant flavors. The dish is cooked with stir-fried vegetables such as carrots, peas, and onions, along with proteins like shrimp, chicken, or beef (in this case, fried chicken topped with sweet chili sauce). The dish is traditionally seasoned with soy sauce land sambal.

I worked hard during my full day in Malaysia. I barely had time to leave my room except to go downstairs to the lobby for a bottle of water.

The next morning, I woke early. The hotel offered a grab-and-go breakfast for travelers, so I picked up my boxed breakfast and my coffee and sat outside to wait for the shuttle to the terminal.

5am breakfast at the hotel

It was a humid, rainy morning. 

I wasn't in the mood to travel, but I knew that I had to get back home. 

At 6am the shuttle arrived, and I boarded it along with the handful of business travelers and transiters heading back to the terminal.

waiting for the airport shuttle on a rainy early morning

I intentionally arrived at the airport early, and after checking in and passing through security, I had quite a bit of time to spare.

I decided to pass the time at Old Town Coffee again. This time they had their morning menu out.

I decided to order another white coffee with a kaya butter toast. I had no idea what to expect, but I'm always excited to try something new, even if I'm just traveling for a short time.

Kaya, as it turns out, is a coconut palm jelly.

The toast that I ordered arrived at my table alongside my coffee. The toasted brown bread was spread with a smear of sweet coconut jelly. What made it really unique, however, were the small strips of cold butter sliced and placed upon the bread. It was a really strange texture, and something new for me.

I liked it, but I have to admit that it's nothing what I expected! But isn't that the adventure of travel?

coffee and toast at the airport

Bonus video: