I'm going to document the process of moving from Southeast Texas to take an assignment in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This will be my first Ex-pat experience, everything is exciting and new. I hope you enjoy!
Today was great.My coworkers and I had a wonderful brunch at the Ritz Carlton.We feasted on Prime Rib, lobster, oysters, mussels, sushi, salmon, shrimp, and a variety of vegetables, salads, breads, & desserts. I had fresh squeezed pineapple juice, dragonfruit juice, and coffee.There was a 3 piece live band that played as we ate.It was a wonderful and delightful start to the day; we stayed for about two and a half hours. I don’t have pictures of the entire spread, but I got a few pictures toward the end of the meal.
After brunch we went to the KL Bird Park, which is the largest free-flight walk-in aviary in the world, and conveniently a 15 minute walk from our apartment.A separate blog posting will feature those pictures and stories.Later tonight we are planning to go to Bangsar village to a night market.It has been a very good day.
Settling in a new apartment in another country has been an interesting new experience.Part scavenger hunt, part endurance, it is a bit more complicated than settling into a new place in the USA.Fortunately I have a furnished apartment in Kuala Lumpur, so my purchases are minimized.
When I first arrived I knew I needed a few basic things like bath towels, kitchen towels, bedding, pillows, bottled water, hand soap, toiletries, toilet paper, additional power converters, iron, washing detergents, basic food supplies, coffee maker, hair dryer, clothes hangers, and so on.Normally in the USA, we would go to Wal-mart—one stop shopping—maybe not shopping at its’ best, but none-the-less one stop.That’s not the case here.Each store seems to specialize in a product or product line.My shopping list represents a variety of stores to shop at.Additionally to complicate the matter, not knowing the local stores, customs/local practices, local brand names, etc requires additional time to educate yourself when making a purchase (bedding is a lot different here).And once you’ve worked through all these matters and found the item, you still have yet another hurdle that we don’t have in the USA.You have to bring it home—literally.No multi-store shopping and throwing it in your SUV and off to the next place.You can purchase as much as you’re willing to carry back.And depending on the location of the store, that could mean a subway ride, a walk, or on several occasions a taxi ride.
This also doesn’t account for the other items you need to begin your life in a new city.There are other matters like local cell phone, local checking account, prepaid subway pass, internet service provider, passports & visa, and the list goes on.I’ve been here a week as of today, and it’s been pretty busy trying to get things settled.Luckily a co-worker showed me a local store that is within 5 minutes of the apartment that is very convenient.It has a wide variety of things, but not a large selection.So you probably won’t find name familiar brands but at least you probably can find a version of what you’re looking for.In particular this place seems has a grocery store and basic household items.I wish I would have discovered it before now, but I’ve frequented the store several times since its discovery.
I think I’ve just about located the main items I need to feel settled.It’s starting to come together.I feel like I’ve accomplished something!
I received the nicest surprise from during the Site Controlling & Business Liaison Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia last week.They had composed the nicest going away video for me.I’m happy to share it with you below.It was such a pleasant surprise.
Although we were assembled for a staff meeting, it was so good to see all my friends and colleagues that are spread across North America assembled in one place.It was really great to see them all before I made my final departure.You guys are great!
Many of the first blog followers saw the FAQ video that I put together back in March when I first learned of the assignment.I made a few modifications to it and incorporated it into a presentation I gave at the conference.The video went over really well, and hopefully was a little bit entertaining.I’m posting the revised version here, if interested.
Are you sitting down for this? It’s been crazy hectic trying to get ready to go to KL full time.Here’s what I’ve been doing between blog postings, which was essentially once I got back from my last trip to Malaysia.After I left KL in April, I flew directly into Georgia to spend Easter with my family.I stayed in GA until Wednesday morning.My mom came back with me, and we took the 6am flight out of our regional airport which is a short flight to Atlanta for our connection back to Houston.Because of all the tornadoes in the States, there were massive flight delays in Atlanta.So instead of getting home at 9:30am, we arrived around 6:30pm.The next day, I went to work and went directly into month-end closing and training my replacement.I finished closing on the following Wednesday, Thursday I got more vaccinations and then saw several people at work.The next Friday through Thursday, I prepared my house, mind, and belongings to be gone for an extended time.It was exhausting and the subject of my prior post.I think there were a lot more items that I did that didn’t make the list, but I didn’t go back and revise my posting.You get the idea.J
On Thursday, May 12, I sold my car at Carmaxx.I rented a one-way rental car to be returned in Georgia.Mom, the cat, and I drove straight through to Georgia the next day.Total trip was approximately 850 miles we left around 9:30am and arrived at 2:30am the following morning.Rather long day.I spent a few days with extended family, and hitched a ride to Atlanta for a work meeting, with Holly from my old work site.We spent a few days in Atlanta in a business accounting conference.I flew back to Houston Wednesday night.And ended the day by eating a ridiculous amount of crab at Joes’ Crab Shack.I mean ridiculous!!
The next day, I had to make the FINAL preparations to leave.Completed packing, air shipment packers came by, lawn sprinkler man came by and we made final arrangements for an system installation, I picked up one last vaccine that I had to travel with, dropped on the internet modem & TV box at the cable company, picked up one last precautionary prescription, got a haircut, packed up the rental car, drove to the airport.Got on the airplane and flew Houston to Moscow, Moscow to Singapore, and Singapore to Kuala Lumpur.It’s been hectic, but it’s behind me now!
It takes a lot to get out of town for a while. Here's a list, in no particular order, of what I'm doing to prepare for my leave. There's probably more, this is what I've done or plan to do for the move:
Give away fish and clean aquarium
Sign up for paperless invoices & statements
Setup autopay where ever possible for bills
Unlist Amazon & Ebay items for sale
Prune the landscape plants
Add mulch to the flowerbeds
Get annual termite inspection
Install a front door mail box for flyers, etc
Finish getting last vaccine
Finalize homeowners, flood, windstorm, & car insurance
Clean the car
Sell my car
Get a home & yard maintenance service setup
Pack and schedule an air-shipment
Get a sprinkler system installed at the house
Take everything off the back patio and store in the garage
Fertilize lawn
Spray Roundup to kill off the weeds
Setup and situate checking, savings, and other financial accounts
Update beneficiaries on all accounts
Cancel services Netflix, Internet, Cable, Trash, Tollways Tag
Defrost extra refrigerator.
Replace front door bell
Turn off ice maker
Sign up for global health insurance
Lock garage doors so they can't be raised.
Arrange for a rental car after I sell my vehicle
Remove bird feeder
Winterize home
Determine what to do with mail that comes to the house
Setup contact information while I'm away
Prepare items in the garage to be gone
Get someone to "spring clean" the house before I leave
Home Security system finalization
Reprogram thermostat for being gone
Get a roof inspection
Fix the gate latch
Unplug everything
Bleach out the front load washing machine prior to leaving, so it doesn't get rotten
Get extra bulbs for landscape lighting
Get "away" supplies for the house (A/C filters, toilet mints, foggers, etc)
Sort through pantry, throw away perishables and opened products, keep the canned stuff that makes sense, and donate the rest.
Give away houseplants.
Clean out the refrig & freezer. They need to be empty in case of power outage. Keep baking soda in them and add a jug of water so they have a mass to cool.
Get the cat ready to go back to Georgia. Take her and her things (pet beds, toys, food, potty, kennel, etc)
Get up legal paperwork and put into a safety deposit box.
Update will, trust, and power of attorneys
Take pictures of the entire house & contents for insurance purposes.
Pack things for air shipment; clothes, shoes, a few pots and pans, bed sheets, personal laptop, printer, cameras, random electronics, medicines, favorite spices, etc)
Get together travel documents, passports, birth certificates, driver's license, employment visas, medical records, etc)
Make final flight reservations
Notify apartment landlord in Malaysia of my intended arrival date
Register my location with local authorities and USA embassy in Malaysia
Setup utilities, TV, Internet, phone, etc in Malaysia
Get financial documentation organized and together.
Cash in all the loose change around the house
Get lamp timers
USA & Malaysia Tax Briefing
Remove batteries from everything
Fog the house right before I leave
I'M EXHAUSTED, and there's probably more that I haven't thought of yet!!
I went to Chinatown several times after work. I must say I entered into a new world of food, smells, people, culture, shopping, petalling, and ambiance. I don't think I've ever experienced anything like it before, but it was great. After going a couple times, I decided to go back sometime and document the experience for you.
First thing I noticed is that everything changed as I entered the general area, the streets got narrower, it seemed darker, the place was loud, and multiple people were everywhere there was no concept of personal space here. Street vendors and food stalls lined the roads on both sides. It seemed like a scene from a movie, but I was actually in the middle of it all.
As you walked by food stalls, people would shout for you to come try their food, eat at their restaurant, have a beer, sit at their table, look at their menu, boasting of the best food, and cheapest prices. It was great fun just walking up and down the street. I really enjoyed the dialog and interaction. Once we decided on a cafe, they were so excited you picked them and they made you feel welcomed. The menus came and there were literally hundreds of items to choose from, I think the menu probably had a dozen pages front and back. It ranged from the exotic, chaotic, safe, and non-translatable [at least for me!!]. Fortunately I think I got the best dish of our group. I had and can now recommend the "Sizzling Chicken", it was sauteed chicken with onions and a thick sweet soy sauce served with fried rice. It came out on a sizzling cast iron skillet similar to fajitas. Very good and I was happy with my selection. My co-workers mainly from Germany were a bit more adventurous with their selection and we all sampled each others food. They had deer, fish, beef, shrimp, with various sauces, noodles, rice, and random vegetables. Although all seemed fine, there were some strange noodle textures and sauce flavors some were hot others sweet.
After dinner we went through the tight street vendors selling knock off merchandise. It was so tight there was only room for one person to pass in each direction, and we pushed through the crowds. The vendors were constantly trying to interact with you "Sir, Sir...", "Come and have a look", "You want a ....", "You should buy here...", "High Quality", and was constant and coming from all directions and the entire street was filled with this dialog. If you looked too closely or stopped for too long, you were ushered into the stall to have a look, the sales pitch would begin and negotiations were not only the norm but expected. The longer the conversation, the harder it becomes to get outta there. Finally if you can not come to terms on the price, you walk away. Sometimes they will follow you if they can give you a better deal, if they let you walk away chances are they are unwilling to go any lower. The exchange is fun, although for me I've discovered that I'm more willing to like the purchase before I examine it further. Usually the longer I see the merchandise during the negotiation, the more I find I wouldn't be happy with the purchase.
Here are some photos. Since the sun was going down, the lighting and sharpness isn't there, but it will at least give you an idea of the area.
View from the subway station. The next several are the short walk to the heart of Chinatown.
Indian Temple on the way
In case you're wondering this is "ON THE MENU". Live eels and bullfrogs. Bon apetite!
My food, chicken fried rice and sizzlin' chicken. Notice in the background, instead of papertowels or napkins, I got a roll of toliet paper on the table. Not sure if this is a sign of things to come or not.....
Meet Lim, in green, she didn't want her picture taken but I got a few in. She has worked at this restaurant for years. She works every day. She waited on me and she seemed very nice.
I took this because of the toilet paper on her shoe. I guess this is a universal problem....
I think this was a monk of some sort. ?? He was wanting money. He must have an area that he patrols because each time I went to Chinatown I saw him.
After dinner fruits. Mango, Jack fruit, and pineapple.
A video walk through the merchandise station. They shied away when they saw the video camera, so you don't get the full experience of the vendor interaction that I described above. But you can at least see the items for sale.
