Travel hubs are those places in the world where every experienced traveller finds themselves at some point, whether it be for a stop over or for a few days of R&R.
Kuala Lumpur is a great place to relax for a few days.
Photo by Stuck in Customs
Usually, you find yourself here not through any planning of your own, but because you could save a few bucks on your airline ticket or because there was no other way to avoid it on your way home or to your final destination. Sometimes though, you will find that you may actually like the place!
In this section we cover the most common travel hubs that you are likely to end up in. You’ll find some decent digs, a nice bar and a restaurant or two to let you pass the time in a pleasant way.
So what are the hubs?
In Asia, you will likely end up in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. Less likely, but still possible are Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei or Jakarta.
In Europe, the stop-overs tend to be in Frankfurt, London or Rome.
If you’re heading via the Americas, then New York, Los Angeles or Buenos Aires may be your temporary home.
Wherever you end up, hopefully we can shed some light on how to enjoy a cool short-stay in one of these hubs and maybe have a little fun.
Haha I had to laugh when you listed Kuala Lumpur as the big hub. I traveled from NYC to Beijing, then was stopped in KL for a few hours on my way to Jakarta. A few months later I was flying to Singapore to renew my visa and I ended up stopped in KL for another few hours. Of course on my way back to Indonesia from Singapore, I stopped by again. This happened once more on my way back from Indonesia to NYC.
Sadly I only had a few hours each time, so I only saw the airport. I feel like I had some exposure to Malaysian culture though, which was great. That and the airport is clean, bright and even has a Starbucks. No worries, I didn’t travel half-way around the world to drink Starbucks, I was just remarking about its presence!
Anyway, on my way to Ghana I was caught for a while in Amsterdam, and on my way down to Antarctica I found myself in Buenos Aires. What was loosely scheduled as a few days in BA turned into a few weeks and I had to fly down to Ushuaia to catch my boat to Antarctica in time!
I like the idea of posting about hubs, because they are such an often overlooked part of the journey…and good travelers appreciate the journey, not just the destination. If you want info about any of the places I mentioned, let me know!
Safe journeys,
Jackie Rose