一毛钱的鸡蛋三文治。10 Pence Egg Sandwich

This happened months ago when I first moved to Swindon. At that time, I was still taking bus to and fro work. One evening after work, on the way back from the bus station back to my home, I went into Tesco Metro (at that time, everything is still new so I enjoyed walking into stores to see what's on offer). In UK supermarket (Tesco, Sainsbury, Mark & Spencer etc), there's a section called 'snack' selling sandwiches, salads, wraps etc. So if you want to grab something to eat but don't want to spend too much in a restaurant, this is a good option. Typically sandwiches cost around 2 pounds (2 slices of bread plus fillings, normally cut into triangle shape).

On that evening, as I was walking pass the snack counter in Tesco, I saw that the egg sandwiches cost only 10 pence each !!! I was very surprised, but on a closer look, these egg sandwiches will expire on that day. Egg, to me, is not safe to consume after the expiry date. Yes there are cheap, but unless you are planning to eat it now, you won't want to buy them. I wasn't interested so I went on in. After a quick round inside the store, I plan to leave the store when I saw an elderly man. He is very thin and his back slightly hunched. His clothing is a bit rugged and dirty. He has a basket in his hand and with his skinny shaking hand, he's clearing all the 10p egg sandwiches on the snack counters. There must be more than 10 of them and I don't think he will be able to finish them that night. He must be planning to keep them for later on since they are cheap.

Realizing that, I was sadden by this sight. Many questions came into mind. Why is he doing this? Isn't he afraid that he might get sick from the expired sandwiches? Where is his family? Does he has a family? Does he has children? If he has children, why aren't they taking care of him? Do they know that their father is eating this soon to expire food? Why is this so ? Why?

This also reminded me of a time when I was in China on business trip. As I was walking on the main road, I saw a lady in her mid-forties. Her hair messy and clothes torn. Obviously she is homeless and is probably a begger. She was harvesting at a huge rubbish bin and retrieved a polyester pack with some left over food inside. Then to my horror, she started eating the food there and then with her hands. Also, millions of questions came into mind.

No, I am not saying there's no poor people in MY and SG, and I have come face to face with some of them too. But still everytime I encounter these people, I will be sadden by that sight. For those not so old people, why don't they find a job? If you are willing to work, surely you'll be able to find a job to feed yourself. For those elderly people who are not able to work, why aren't the family and children taking care of them? Part of life I guess ? but it's just so sad...

Scorching Hot。Icy Cold

One of the things that puzzled me in UK is the water taps... in houses (unless new houses or refurbished houses), the basin will have 2 seperate taps (one hot, one cold) which sounds logical right... wrong!!! Within seconds you turn the tap on, the water coming out from the Hot tap would be scorching hot that you can barely touch it. So you then revert to the cold water tap, which flows icy cold water that freezes your hands...

My bathroom basin also has these 2 'fabulous' taps I have to use when washing my face & brushing teeth. So the way to avoid 'cooking' my hands in the hot water or numbing my hands in the freezing water, I perform the 2 chores in light-speed... quick doesn't mean not clean ok ;p Lucky my shower allows me to adjust the water temperature. Phew...

p/s: There's earthquake across UK this morning at 1am, my colleague staying nearby said he felt the vibration but I didn't feel anything. Probably too deep chasing my dreams in the lala-land.

Gals, this Friday is your chance to take charge...

yes, if your man is the shy type and just doesn't seem to be able to gather enough courage to propose to you, then this Friday, 29 Feb 2008 is the day you can take charge... propose to him and ask him to be yur hubby instead ;o)

Taken from this link: http://blog.her-desk.com/2008/02/pop-question-ladies.html

"Society has always frowned upon women who made the first move. However, there are times when society states a woman can make the first move and ask for the hand of her man in marriage and that is during a leap year.

In a Leap year there is that famous one day every four years when the calendar indicates that there is a 29th of February. The tradition which allows a woman to propose marriage to a man is observed in most cultures and if you are raring to ask your man to marry then this is the best time to ask those words. Legend has it that the tradition began in Ireland some time in the 5th century when St. Patrick declared that females can start proposing or make known their feelings to a man during a leap year. This is after St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about women having to wait for so long for a man to propose.

However, legends as to the origin of the leap year go beyond that. The tradition was made into a law in Scotland sometime in 1288. Aside from legalizing the power of women to propose marriage to a man, the law also penalized men who declined a marriage proposal during the leap year. The penalty can be a kiss or a payment for a female item like a pair of gloves."

So, come this Friday, muster up your courage, buy that ring, kneel on one knee and pop the question to the man of your life... 幸福是靠自己争取的

Stop when you see the lollipop...

no... not asking you to eat the lollipop unless you like the taste of metal ;p

In UK, a school crossing supervisor or school crossing patrol officer is colloquially known as a lollipop man, and lollipop woman/lady, because of the modified circular stop sign he or she carries, which resembles a large lollipop. So when you see a lollipop you know the kids are back to school. The lollipop man / lady would normally be standing at a crossing near the school gate, stopping the passing vehicles so the kids could cross the road safely.

Pretty cute huh to call that a lollipop but then again its associated with kids so yeah it fits perfectly.

春天的脚步。Footsteps of Spring

Went to the Queens Garden near my house this morning for a short walk. Fine weather, cool breeze and mild sunshine. Spring is on the way. This would be my first Spring... many 'first ... ' for me in this venture of mine ;)

Flowers starting to bloom and the temperature seems to steady at around 10 degrees now (but then again British weather... you can never know for sure). Here's some photos I took from the garden. Can you feel the footsteps of spring approaching?

Chillblains...

OK people, today we are going to talk about Chillblains. What is that you asked? Yes, before moving to UK, I too have never heard of this word before. Why am I talking about this? It's because I have them :(

My version of chillblains is pretty bad. It started of with my right hand's ring finger and small finger swelling a little and reddish when i woke up one morning. I normally just dismiss these small abnormalities as I am prone to having mysterious cuts on my hands from time to time. I thought i might have been bitten by some insect or have something pricked into my fingers as I saw 2 tiny red dots on the fingers. I scanned my fingers under a microscope (in the office) but couldn't find anything suspicious. So i thought i'll just let my antibody fight it and let it heal naturally.

As i left them to be, they got worse... both fingers swelled bigger and the skins started cracking. It hurts when I try to bend my fingers (very tight and the cracked skins wound). Finally sensing something is not right (after almost 2 weeks later?) I went to a walk-in clinic in Swindon town. The clinic is run by experienced nurses. Why don't I just go to a clinic with actual doctors? Well, it's a different system they have here in UK as opposed to what we have in MY / SG. I shall talk about it in another post. The lady nurse attending to me was also puzzled by the mysterious condition of my fingers as I didn't injure my fingers, don't recall having them bitten by insect (when I am awake), haven't been in contact with industrial chemicals... She called in another male nurse in to consult who also didn't know what is the cause. Finally, they decided that it might be some kind of virus infection and put me on antibiotics for a week.

After another week, my fingers is still no better. Still big red swelling fingers and now with blisters. So I went to the hospital this time to the A&E dept, which then sent me off to the walk in clinic in the hospital (yes, also run by nurses) because I didn't injure my fingers. After looking at my fingers, she told me that most probably I have chillblains. Together, we looked up the internet and she read the symptoms to me and i felt yeap that's what i had. So there it is, the answer to my mysterious illness on my fingers. There is no treatment for chillblains so she gave my blister wound a dressing and sent me off. Oya, she also gave me a good scolding for not seeking treatment earlier and not registering to a GP :p

Later, I went to the pharmacy to buy some cream to sooth my chillblains and got the Chillblain cream from Boots. The cream helps and my fingers's swelling went away and the blisters healed. But til now, that 2 little fingers of mine is still pretty much in dark-red / purple-ish in color and the index and middle fingers also are trying to join in the 'fun' but just as they start swelling, i quickly apply the creams and control the situation. I guess I'll be stuck with chillblains unless i go back to MY / SG where the weather is hot all the time.

So, to educate those from the tropics so that you can identify/prevent them should you move to a cold country next time, here's some info for you.

Chilblains (sometimes called pernio) are small, itchy, painful, red swellings on the skin. Chilblains are thought to be caused by an abnormal skin reaction to cold. They tend to occur on the 'extremities' that more easily become cold. That is, the toes, fingers, nose, and earlobes.

Chilblains are common. It is thought that about 1 in 10 people in the UK get chilblains at some stage in their life. It is not clear why some people get chilblains when their skin gets cold. It is probably due to 'poor circulation' in the extremities (toes, fingers, etc). The tiny blood vessels under the skin narrow (constrict) when the skin becomes cold. The blood supply to areas of skin may then become very slow. As the skin re-warms there is some leakage of fluid from the blood vessels into the tissues. In some way this causes areas of inflammation and swelling leading to chilblains. The speed (rate) of temperature change may play a part. Some people get chilblains if they warm up cold skin too quickly.

Some people with poor circulation and with other problems of their blood vessels are more prone to developing chilblains. However, most chilblains occur in people who are otherwise healthy.

Symptoms of chillblains:
* Chilblains are very itchy. A burning sensation is also typical.
* They are usually red to start with but may become purple.
* Pain and tenderness over the chilblains often develops.
* In some cases the skin over a chilblain may blister which may delay healing.
* Sometimes the skin breaks down to leave a small ulcer which is prone to infection.

For further info on how to prevent and treat chillblains, please visit this link: http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/23069145/ or do your own google search ;p

搬家了。 The Move

Now that I've found myself a job (big grin), next up on the list is to find myself a place to stay close to work. My new company is about 1.15hrs drive away from my cousins. I don't think I want to commute everyday to work. So I started searching online for rental places close to office, and decided to stay in Swindon.

Swindon is a large town in Wiltshire in the South West of England. Swindon began as a Saxon village. The name Swindon is derived from the Saxon words swine dun meaning pig hill or the hill where pigs were bred. Swindon is on the main rail line between London and Bristol, and has one train station. The Great Western Railway reached Swindon in 1840 and has selected the place to built an engine building and maintenance works. Workers from the rest of the country were brought to Swindon to work at the railway station and a workers village were built for them. Therefore, Swindon is also known as 'The Railway Town'. A resident of Swindon is known as a Swindonian. Swindon's motto is "Salubritas et Industria" (Health and Industry). Today, there are lots of big industry / factory in Swindon eg. Honda has a big plant here.

My colleagues from the HR dept. were very kind in giving me a hand in the search. After some search, I arranged 4 viewing appointments with the rental agencies and head down to Swindon. I took the train there this time (no more company car) but one of my colleague, Nicky, was there to greet me and drove me to all my appointment places. Honestly, I am very amazed by the kind of help the company provided. I would never thought of having this kind of services and help in a millionth years. Maybe this is the difference between local and MNC company?

I viewed all 4 in total:-
a) Studio cottage on a farm - very luxury and comfy with all the appliances and ready to move in. Nice view. Transport not convenient. Price = High.
b) Studio Flat (own bathroom & kitchen) - OK, a bit old. Most of the appliances available but need own bedding stuff. Need to shuttle to town. Price = Moderate.
c) Studio Flat (own bathroom, shared kitchen) - Nice setting. Most of the appliances available but need own bedding stuff. Walking distance to town. Price = Moderate.
d) Double bedroom (shared bathroom & kitchen) - Room OK, only 1 bathroom in the house. Don't feel good about the neighborhood (was told later that the street was a red-light district previously). Close to town. Price = Cheaper.

Based on the first impression I got from the 4 places,I was choosing between (a) & (c), but considering the price and location, I chosed (c). The rental is 425pounds per month (inclusive of bills except telephone & internet). Yes, it's kinna expansive but the rentals here is that expansive. So, no choice lah.

My UK Job Search

When you think of 'Working Holiday Maker', the idea would normally be 'arrive at a destination, find part-time job, earn money, save money, visit surrounding places, go to next destination'. The part time job would normally include waiting at restaurants, working in bars/pubs, an office / desk job i.e data entry, general admin etc if you are lucky, working in farms picking fruits or packaging staff in a factory... yes, mostly physical demanding job without having much use of the brain... all those i mentioned above were the type of jobs i thought i would be doing during my WHM stint. I know it will be hard work but also i think it's kinna cool as it's totally different from my previous job as a Hardware Engineer. It will most definitely add 'flavors'? to my life experience be it good or bad. This however would mean low pay and i wonder if i could save enough for my expenses in the 2nd year.

Then i guess my 'asian' mindset (seeking safety & security) kicks in and i started thinking would it be possible for me to get a proper job (engineering) while I am in UK? A job as an engineer means better pay and better financial security for the later part of my adventure. Also, it would give me a chance to learn the UK work culture and it'll look good in my resume? Well no harm trying right? With that in mind, I started posting my resume online and to UK recruiters. I also search through the UK online jobnet and send out applications.

I received replies from some of the recruiters asking more details about myself and also most importantly if I am allowed to work in UK (work permit). I explained my WHM visa conditions to them that I am allowed to work for a year. Some of them 'disappeared' after that, some came back asking if I could get myself a proper work permit... Still, I manage to get myself 3 telephone interviews with 3 companies which seems doesn't mind my condition. Of the three, I managed to get 2 invitation for face-to-face interview after I arrived in UK. Yippie... looking good so far.

After I arrived in UK, I contacted the 2 companies to confirm the interview dates. One of them was contacted via an recruitment agent and I couldn't get through to him. In the end, to my horror and disappointment, the agency was actually going through some re-org and was bought over by another company, the agent who handled my case left the company. I somehow managed to contact the hiring manager but he told me that the position was already filled. There goes my 50% chance of scoring a UK job.

Luckily, the second company is still keeping their word and they even arranged a car to ferry me from my cousin's house to the company and back. That was such a nice gesture. I first met with the HR manager, followed by the department director and manager. I managed to answer the questions from the manager but failed to answer those from the director (which is actually pretty basic electronic knowledge)... blame myself for my weak electronics :( After the interview, I was showed around the office the lab and also the range of products they've done. After that i bid farewell and was sent back to my cousins. Honestly, I pretty much like the company and the people seems to be very nice people. I hope they would hire me but based on my performance (failure to answer basic questions), I wasn't confident.

A few days later, I got the good news and got the job offer. They are offering me a 12 month fixed-term contract. Yippie-dee-doo... way to go !!! Lucky lucky me... hehehe...

Good News 。Bad News

Heard some news from friends and family today... good & bad.

The good: My cousin bro in US announced that he is getting married. He proposed to his future wife over a short holiday trip to Vancouver and she said yes. It's fantastic new ;o) Congratulations bro.

The bad: One of my best friend's mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent operation today. The doctor suspect the cancer cells might have transfered to the lymph nodes but can only confirm after further testing... report due in a week. I sure hope that the results came back negative and its only stage 1. She has stood by me through the years when my mom was ill so I hope I can do the same for her now. Stay strong my dear, keep having faith and hope for the best. Keeping you and your mom in my prayers.

第一个月。The First Month

I stayed with my cousin for a month before moving to my current place in Swindon. In that month, I did not go round 'traveling' for a couple of reasons...

a) WEATHER - as mentioned before, the summer of 2007 is wet and cold and I am afraid of cold. So to me, the best thing is to stay indoors. Nothing wrong with staying indoors cause it's still all new to me. The houses here, the view, the birds, the flowers, the weather. They are all new and different. I am in a foreign land and I still have 23mths to go. What's the rush?

b) POUNDS - The currency exchange from Ringgit (RM) to Pounds is very high, a wooping 7:1 !!! OK, you can argue that I was working in SG earning SGD, but still its 3:1... although I have a certain amount of savings to back me up, I need to be careful on how I spend the money so it could last me 2 yrs. My dad & sis told me if ever i am short of money, they can back me up... thanks... but this is my adventure, I need to do it on my own. (ermm ok la, I cheated a bit by putting up at my cousins...but can save some pounds, of course must save lah)

c) JOB - relevant to the item (b), I need to find a job to support myself. One good thing about this WHM visa is that I am able to find work to support my travel & living cost. There is no limitations as to what job I can undertake but I can only do it for 50% of my time spent in UK. That means if I stay in UK for 24 months, I can work for 12 months. How will they actually check / track? When you get a job in UK, you need to pay tax and National Insurance (which you need to apply for). How tight will they enforce this rule? I don't know. So in the months before I arrived, I already started sending job applications to recruiters in UK. Since money is crucial, I wasted no time to continue on my job search. I shall talk more about the job stuff in another post.

d) I try not to bother other people if I can help it. In my initial plan, I thought I would stay in a hostel before moving into a more permanent place after I get a job. My cousin and her family were very kind and generous to have invited me to stay with them without any obligations. However, I just felt I am intruding their family life. I felt very 'pai seh'. Yes, she is family and I shouldn't feel that way... but I do. It's just the way I am. So, need to find job fast.

Other than the job search, I spent quite some time reading novels my cousin borrowed from the library. I also followed her to visit her friends. Followed the boys to their football matches, and also their sport's day. It's back to simple life. It's nice, not having to work. It's peaceful and relaxing.

英国，从这一刻开始 。 A Whole New Venture in UK

After approximately 13 hours flight, I landed in United Kingdom, London Heathrow Airport Terminal 1, about 5+am (sorry yeah, forgot the time as it's already 7mths ago). I was a bit nervous when waiting for my turn at the immigration counter as I wonder what questions the immigration officer might ask me later on. Luckily, the officer just asked some basic questions and send me off to the nurse's room for x-ray. Apparently I was the first 'patient' of the day in the clinic, when I handed the nurse my x-ray report (which I've done in Malaysia), she happily send me off. After I collected my luggage, I went out to meet my cousin's hubby, who were already waiting for me at the arrival hall. Poor him, have to wake up so early in the morning to come and pick me up. Thanks a lot, Mike.

My cousin stays in Frimley, Surrey, about an hour plus from Heathrow Airport, with her hubby and her 2 boys. It's a school day and my cousin was preparing the lunchbox for the boys in the kitchen. The boys have just woken up and I think I scared Matthew (the younger of the 2) when he roams into the kitchen to see me, a stranger / intruder at his house. I'm sure he knew I was coming but maybe he didn't expect to see me there when he wakes up that morning :p

Matthew loves playing board games, probably inherited this from his father. He even creates his own board games, drawing the game on the cardboard of cereal boxes, set rules and rewards for the games. He is pretty imaginative and creative and he is real good in maths & strategy. His brother, Thomas on the other hand, has the love for music and Simpsons (yes, Bart & Homer). He is always practicing at the piano at his own initiative. He is kind of shy (so am I :p) so I interacted more with Matthew because we played board games together. Almost all the board games I've never played before, but that is fine as Matthew will give me advice what to do or not do (although I am his opponent). Adorable.

My cousin is a full-time housewife. However, her daily schedule is pretty packed with driving the kids to school, to activities, preparing and cooking meals and household cleaning. It's definitely not an easy job.

It's supposed to be summer (meaning HOT) when I arrive in UK. However, this summer was not exactly the typical British summer. It's still pretty chilly and it rains a lot. Did I bring the tropical rain from Malaysia ??? hehehe... My hands and feet easily turns cold in cold environment. Back in SG, when I go into an air-conditioned room (my company office or shopping malls), my hands will immediately turns icy cold. I think this is due to poor blood circulation or is it that I am a cold-blooded human instead of warm-blooded like everyone else? The sentence 'wah, your hand is so cold' is no stranger to me as I hear it over thousands of times when I shake hands with people. I try my best to "warm' my hands if I'm to shake hands with others by slipping my hands into my pocket or hold on to a cup of hot drinks etc. to minimize the 'cold shock'.

The Preparation...

When applying for the WHM visa, you can request that your visa starts 3 mths after the approval date. Of course, I can still delay another month or two before I actually enter UK. But to me, it'll be wasting my visa time. So I decided to depart for UK in 3 months time. That means I only have 3 months to do all my preparation and planning. Yes, everything will be in a hurry. What's the hurry you might ask? Well, the truth is I'm not sure myself...

I hand in my resignation letter to my boss as soon as I got the visa approval because unlike many, I need to serve 2 mths notice instead of 1. Of course, prior to my resignation, I already notify my boss of my plan so it won't take him by surprise. He was kind of shocked when i told him what I was planning to do :p I then started searching for the cheapest flight ticket. In the end, I went with the offer from British Airway where I shall fly from KL to Hong Kong by Cathay Pacific, and then transfer to London Heathrow Airport by British Airway. Accommodation wise, I am lucky to have my cousin sister who invited me to put up at her house before I find a job and settle down. One less thing to worry about.

The next thing on the list is to move all my belongings back to Malaysia. I have planned 3 trips back to KL and I was pretty confident that I could move everything back because it seems to me that I don't have a lot of stuff. Its amazing how you can pile and store so many things without noticing it over the years and I learned that you won't know how much stuff you have until you physically take everything out from all the cupboards and drawers. Nothing becomes a lot of things. In the end, I still have some stuff left behind and my housemates were kind enough to let me keep them in one of the cupboards. Arigato.

From the internet forums, I learned that opening a bank account in UK is pretty difficult as you need to show proof of residency i.e utility bills with your name on it. To do this, you need to first have a rented place which requires you to have a bank account. This is a vicious loop. Luckily, HSBC bank in Singapore has this service whereby they can help you set up a UK HSBC account if you have a local (SG) savings account. Of course nothing comes free in this world. For this 'help' from the SG HSBC, I need to pay an adminstration fee of SGD150. It's a bit steep I would say but after hearing so many complaints from those WHM who's already there in UK about the difficulties in opening an account there. I decided to pay the fee to save my the potential hassle and trouble later on.

Of the 3 months time, I'm only free from work on the last month before my new venture and boy, I have loaded the month with lots of events and travelling. In the last month, I went on a trip with my sister to Perhentian Island (we have bought the Air Asia flight ticket 6 months before that during a promotional period); flew to Cambodia with my 3 buddies to celebrate our 10th year friendship anniversary; went back to my home town to spend some time at home with family and attended a family farewell get together dinner organized by my uncle and aunts in KL.

Thinking back, I am kind of amazed by myself to have done so many things in such short time and yet I have this confident / assurance (don't know where from) that everything will turn out just fine. As the chinese saying goes, 船到桥头自然直. But truth is, I have help from my friends and family members in a way or another to smooth things out for me. So many thanks to all of you for making my dream come true.

On 28th June 2007, I boarded the flight from KLIA and bid farewell to Malaysia. My journey as a WHM in UK begins...

缘起。Starting Point - Part 2

My preferred traveling mode is backpack style / self-organized tours. Why? For me, planning, organizing and researching about the place you are about to visit is part of the traveling fun. Before any trip, I will read online forums / guides for tips on the things one can see or do, where and what to eat, where to stay etc... I do not have a detailed itinerary planned, I just know in my head the few main things that caught my interests during my research and then when i am actually there, i just wander around following my mood or guts. Many a times, I discovered some interesting places by wandering around. Everything seems to slow down when you organize your own journey, no time-table to follow, no rushing and hustling around. I see more, hear more, feel more and experience more of that place this way. Yes, maybe I will missed out some top places must-see or must-do... so what? I still enjoy my trip my way ;)

Another reason why I like backpacking is because it's cheaper. With budget airlines blooming it just makes traveling more fun and economical. Bare in mind, I have a whole globe to travel to so every cent counts ok...

In November 2006, after fighting for close to 5 years, mom left. It's hard for me, for my family... but I think it's the best for her at that point. She was a strong fighter, she kept trying and pushed on battle after battle, not giving up hope. Perhaps it's time for her to rest peacefully in another world, another lifetime. Mummy, I am proud to be your daughter and I will take after you, to be strong and keep trying in life.

The thought of traveling arises again couple months later. In March 2007, I found out that there will be a hike in the UK WHM visa fee in April. After some thoughts and talking to my sis, I handed in my application. Although some might think that this is a risky move, to leave a stable job and life in SG, venturing into the unknown place and future... but this has always been what I wanted to do. After so many years, I am still passionate about traveling and staying overseas, I know its now or never. I do not have any commitments, I have saved up a certain amount to support myself, I strongly believe that I have nothing to loose but everything to gain. The worst scenario is I spend 2 years abroad working in restaurants etc and spend all my savings and return to SG broke. But hey, you only live once, so live life fullest.

After a few days, my application was approved without having to go through any interviews. Yippie !!!! I am now one step away from my travel dreams. And the planning begins....

缘起。Starting Point - Part 1

I guess it all started since I was still a little gal... there is a sense of adventure and exploration within me to see, to explore and to experience the world. Probably this is because of all the adventure story books my mom borrowed from her school's library that has cultivated this interest in me bit by bit.

I have always seek ways to go overseas. The first possibility was when I went to college after SPM, but then I was accepted into local university. After graduating from University, I went over to Singapore and found a job there. So there it is, my first "overseas" experience. In many ways, Singapore is very much like Malaysia but yet there are much differences between these 2 countries as well. I love SG for it is an organized and well planned country in terms of infrastructure and community. The services you get at the government offices is pretty efficient. However, life in SG can be very routine as there isn't much variety on this small island unless you are a shopper-holic or you have a car to drive to those places not easily accessible by buses/mrts.

Malaysia on the other hand, lacks some organizations and detail planning skills. Efficiency in the govt offices also is on the low side. But, the great food, warm & friendly people, good range of outdoors activities, beautiful islands... you can always find something to suit your taste. Not forgetting the 'mamak stalls' where you can chill with your friends at night.

After 1 year into my job, I chance upon the UK WHM (working holiday maker) Visa program, where Commonwealth citizens age between 17 - 30yrs old can enter UK for 2 years and work legally in UK to support themselves. Immediately I was attracted to this program and wanted to apply for it. Talking to my sister made me realize I need to plan carefully especially in financial terms. So i started a spreadsheet listing my savings and expenses. This has really helped put everything into picture because I can now see what kind of savings I need to have before I can up this challenge 'safely'. My travel plan was put on hold when mom was diagnosed... In the years she was fighting the cancer, I continued on my career in SG and traveled to nearby countries.
-- to be continued --

Happy Lunar New Year

Wishing everybody a Happy & Prosperous Lunar New Year with good health and happiness in the year of Rat.