The Malaysian Expat in KL

After declaring Malaysia being no longer suitable for myself and my family, Perth became home. (As detailed in my previous posts)
So it did come as an interesting surprise to be posted back to KL as an Expat!!

Spent the last month and a half in a nice executive apartment, AUD$ allowances and expat treatment in KL. My Aussie employer ensured that I was well taken care of, my family provided for and that we were all happy with the assignment conditions. Life as an expat in KL was really good.

Hard to imagine that this was the same place where I fought to get a raise, was denied my bonuses and basically where I was treated like crap by my own fellow Malaysians!!

It was nice to see friends and family again but after a while, the reasons why I left started becoming clear again.
- Cabs that don’t go to where you want to go.
- The horrible driving and traffic
- The non-existence of pavements or ramps for the kids in their buggy.
- The constant hassle of “out of order” stuff…i.e ATMs, Government office computers, etc, etc.
- The horrible heat followed by the crazy storms.
- The constant fear of your safety and security
- The political racist crap in the media everyday

Guess the list above could go on and on but the point is, sad to say, I really wanted to go home….to Perth!!

Perth - we now call it home!!

The move is complete.

Yup. Mary, the kids and I have our daily routines and chores.....I have tennis and diving.....Mary has running and yoga......Maya has dance and kiddie yoga classes.......and Rohan has....hmmm....loads of attention!!! hehehe!!

We got a good bunch of friends and life is really fun again!!

We're just waiting for Rohan to get a little bigger and then we'll start to explore Australia!!

Perth, Australia - Part 2

Part 1 ended after week one and now…….part 2……2 months later…

The basics are DONE!! We now have a beautifully furnished home with all our stuff from KL and all the heating, internet, phone, etc hooked up. Banking, bus route, driving, etc, etc,…..all sorted out. Although it all took quite a while.

Well....that’s what they say.....WA (Western Australia) stands for……WAIT AWHILE!!

My parents arrived and we’ve never been happier to see them. (The kids were driving Mary to the brink!! Hehehe!!) Mom has taken to Rohan and he adores her too!! Maya has both of them wrapped around her fingers and gets away with everything….almost.

We’ve found our favourite stuff as below:

1. Shopping mall has to be Garden City Mall. It has everything that Mary wants!!
2. “Local shop” in Kong’s in Vic Park. It has everything I want for my “Masterchef” kitchen!!
3. Milk, fruit and veg get delivered to our door by Aussie Farmers Direct.
4. Fish, Prawns and scallop from Sealanes in Freo are awesome!!
5. The nearby playground by the Esplanade is Maya’s favourite.
6. Walks around Mount Pleasant keeps Mom and Dad so happy.
7. Little Indian/Sri Lankan shop in Willetton is great.
8. Bunning Hardware is my one stop centre for my DIY.
9. Carnegie’s is my new Backyard!!
10. 92.9fm keeps me company to and from work.
11. Masterchef Australia is what we all sit around to watch after dinner
12. With mum & dad around....Mary and I get a little time to check out the night life too!! (Not much in Perth though!! hahaha!!)

Yup….life in Perth is all about balance and we got it going on pretty good. My fitness regime starts next week with tennis at the Blue Gum Tennis Club…..but that will be stories for part 3!!

Perth, Australia – Part 1

The adventure began weeks before we arrived on the 29th of April 2011. Selling the condo and cars….packing…..settling bills, loans and banking…..phone lines, Astro and internet to cancel, meeting friends and family.....We were misplacing documents, forgetting stuff to do……..just plain crazy!!

The company I work for really helped make the shift great. Crown relocation took great care of our stuff for the move.

With flight tickets, visas and passports in hand…..we were off!!! Flight went well….with Rohan sleeping quite a bit and Maya enjoying her own TV!!

We cleared immigration and custom with easy……having 2 cute kids goes a long way…hehehehe…

The usual “Indian” cab driver helped us get to South Perth. We decided on a quick stop to get the essentials (Was told that Perth shuts down at 5pm) like bread, milk, etc so we pulled over at a little roadside shop….just our luck…..run by Malaysians!!! When we got to the apartment, we were pleasantly surprised that the office had already stocked up for us. We had Milk, juice, butter and cheese in the fridge, bread and biscuits……Nice.

Our temp home was a fine 3 room service apartment in a really nice suburb called South Perth. Oak trees along the nice clean roads….fresh air with the view of the river…..Nice.

The next week was a fun filled exploration ride…..ferry across the river….drives around town…getting the bus to work…..shopping….just getting our feel of this new place we now call home.

We have some great friends here that really helped us get into the groove of things.

Next week….phase 2….new house and new car and our own stuff has arrived from KL!!!