Malaysia is the kind of place where the trip does not always follow the neat plan you made before flying. You may think you are going for Kuala Lumpur. Then Penang becomes the best part. Then Langkawi starts sounding too easy to skip. Then someone mentions Malacca. Then Borneo appears in your search history at 1:00 am. Malaysia does that. It quietly expands the trip. And when a trip starts changing shape, the boring travel basics matter more than expected. Field note 1: Kuala Lumpur is easier when your phone works Kuala Lumpur is a city of layers. Glass towers, street food, malls, monorail lines, rooftop views, traffic, rain, late dinners, and neighborhoods that feel different within a few minutes. It is not a hard city to travel in. But it is a city where mobile data helps all the time. You need it for maps, ride apps, hotel messages, restaurant searches, weather checks, tickets, translation, and figuring out whether walking somewhere is a good idea or a small personal mistake.…