Getting Connected

As regulars might have noticed, I am blogging almost daily now.

Yes! We finally have broadband internet connection. Getting connected was quite easy, the difficult part was selecting the service provider. Consumers here have so many choices, it's crazy. Pity the guys back in Malaysia who have to depend on Streamyx becoming bald after tearing their hair in frustration.

We asked around, checked the comparisions on the web, read the reviews and finally narrowed down our choice to BT, Sky, Talk Talk, NTL and AOL.

The NTL package was particularly attractive - cable TV, telephone and broadband, all for £30 per month. However, a lot of our friends talked us out of it as their experience with the service provider was not so good. Sky and Talk Talk had a long waiting list and we finally settled on AOL. Their Silver package provide download speeds of upto 1Mbps with no limits on downloads (as compared to only 2 gigs for BT). However, what clinched our decision was the fact that they were providing a wireless router for FREE and we quickly signed up online.



About one week later the postman dropped by with a box. Everything we needed to set up a connection was in the pack. It contained:

- a Netgear wireless router
- three DSL filters
- ethernet cable
- line cable
- power supply
- a booklet &
- an installation CD.

Setting up the connection was a breeze. Just followed the steps on the CD.

So far, so good.

Tags: Broadband AOL Wireless router

Coping with my new life and a scare

A lot of people have been asking on how I am coping with my new occupation - as a full time house husband. Yeah! That's what I am right now. I admit that I used to look down on other house husbands when I was working and I take it all back.

As I was washing the dishes a few minutes back, I realised that my life has changed when I was in the middle of singing along with my daughter, her favourite nursery rhyme "1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Once I caught a fish alive".

It's not as bad as it sounds and the transition has not been that difficult. I enjoy the quality time with my kids. However, staying at home all day can be pretty boring. I miss lepaking with friends, drinking teh tarik at the mamak stall right in front of the entrance of my previous organisation in Kedah.

My wife is at the Warwick Arts Centre right now to watch 'Thatcher The Musical' with her friends. I wish I could watch it with her but it's a sacrifice I have to make. Here, in UK with no maids and no parents, we have to take turns to look after the kids. When I go out, she has to stay at home. Most of the time when we do go out, we have to bring both kids along. Had to cancel a few invitations because we couldn't bring the kids along. It is not easy handling the kids. It only takes but one second for disaster to strike.

We had a big scare a few days back. I was with Imaan in the living room and my wife was upstairs. I heard Rahil coming down the stairs - thump, thump. Then it suddenly sounded like a ball bouncing down the stairs. I jumped from the sofa and rushed out to find Rahil lying at the bottom of the stairs crying with blood flowing from her nose. I was like in a trance. At the same time my wife came running down and was hysterical. Seeing her cry, Rahil started crying even harder. I had to cool both of them down and did a quick check to see whether there were any visible injuries on my daughter. Apart from the nose, which had stopped bleeding by then, she looked ok.

As we were rushed out from the house to dive down to our surgery (the clinic), we met a lady who turned out to be the nurse from our surgery dropping by to tell us that she's coming to meet us and check out the house this Friday. She informed us that we should take Rahil to the hospital and not to the surgery. Pure luck.

I didn't know the way to the walk-in hospital but from her directions and by looking at the map, somehow reached there. The nurse asked us a few questions: "Was she knocked out?" "No." "Any bleeding or injuries besides the nose?" "Not that we can see". As she decided that Rahil was OK we had to wait our turn (it was a long queue). She ultimately gave Rahil a clean bill of health.

My wife was really traumatised and she slept the rest of the day. That was really scary and I am thankful to God that nothing worse happened.

What about Rahil? Well she was up and hopping around right after we reached the house.

Related posts:
- EPF for Househusbands
- Househusband

Tags: Househusband children

Newbie in the UK

Most Malaysians who come to UK for the first time have some idea of what to expect here but they are unprepared for a lot of things and sadly, apart from some guidelines provided on the Government websites (which unfortunately doesn't tell you much), there are several things we had to learn on our own - by trial and error. Definitely not a very good idea. They also fail to mention other small but very important details.

So given below is a checklist for UK newbies, with some very important tips:

1. Accommodation: Make sure you have a place to stay before you come here. Malaysians usually put up with a friend for a few weeks and then look for a house or apartment to stay.

This is not advisable but gives an opportunity to shop for good bargains. The Internet does not always give us a lot of important information, such as the distance to the nearest school, shops or safety of the locality. My wife took the opportunity to attend a conference in London and have a quick look around Coventry a month before all of us moved here. The various accommodation provided by the university were a bit too pricey for our liking (around £600) and We were lucky to have friends who helped find and book a house for us (only £400) before we arrived. Most Malaysian families here in Coventry reside in the Foleshill and Stoney Stanton areas. Probably due to the fact that there are a number of Halal shops and 2 mosques in the area.

Nobody told us, but we were informed that we would have to pay a council tax (around £1400 annually). I know! That's an awful lot of money. Fortunately, our land lord informed us that we were exempted from the tax as we are students. We only had to go down to the City council office and fill up a form providing the necessary documents (letter from the University and our passports).

2. Vehicle: The public transport here is really efficient. However, not having a vehicle of our own really restricted our movement, such as going to the car boot sales. You can't tumpang your friends forever. We finally bought a 2nd hand Ford Escort (1.8 litres 16 v) for £700/ Many people look at the price of the car and go: "Wow! That's cheap" but there are several other things (and costs we need to keep in mind). First of all is the car insurance, which in our case came up to £450. We also need to look at the road tax and the MOT. The later refers to the mandatory test of safety and roadworthiness aspects of vehicles in the UK. The MOT test for our car is due in January next year and we are praying that we won't have to replace any parts. It is not just the price of car parts that we have to worry about. It is the service charges, which are worrying.

At first I thought we could rely on public transport but I soon realised the importance of having our own car after getting soaked to the skin in the rain once, while taking the kids to the clinic. This brings me to one of the most important things you need to do when you get here.

3. Registering with a GP: People may find it hard to believe, but so far, from my experience, the health care services in Malaysia are way better. The first problem we faced was trying to find a health centre that would accept us. A few days after we moved into the house, we went to the nearest clinic. They turned us away saying that they didn't have any application forms ("and we can't say for certain whether the doctor would accept your application"). The second one said that they were not taking any more new people. Fed up, I called up the NHS helpline and got a list of clinics (or surgeries) in the area. We finally got one, which were accepting new applications but about 10 minutes drive. The whole process of registering was quite easy. On the positive side, the service is totally free. So far, we have been to the Surgery twice - Once to register and the last one for the kid's vaccination jabs (which should cost us at least RM600 in Malaysia). Both times, we never got to see a doctor. It seems like the nurses handle everything, unlike in Malaysia where the nurses are only supposed to help the doctor.

I think these are the 3 most important things that all Malaysian newbies in UK need to think about. There are more but that's another post.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Hari raya gatherings and a birthday

The Malaysian community here in Coventry had a Hari Raya gathering yesterday. A lot of nice Malaysian food including Penang Laksa, pulut, etc. Nice to have a taste of Malaysian dishes so far away from home.

Even though the population is not as big as in Birmingham, the community (most of them, post graduate students) here is quite close knit with almost everyone knowing each other. They have even arranged to have a Quran reading class for the kids every saturday here at a commmunity centre.

Anyway, just realised that we have been in UK for a month now. Time seems to fly so fast. Gives me an idea about a series of blog posts - about the difficulties and challenges we faced, handy tips - what every Malaysian planning to come to the UK should know.

We were lucky to have good friends to guide us around but not everyone is that lucky. For example, I heard about a family who couldn't find a suitable place to stay and had to 'tumpang' at someone's place for quite sometime.

Today is the 29th of October and the last Sunday of this month. "So what's so special about this day?" you ask. Well we had to turn back our watches and clocks by an hour as UK changes to winter time. Rahil also turns 3 today.

Went to the car boot sale at Stoneleigh Park again today. Bought a lot of stuff including several books and toys for Rahil. We later bought a small cake for her and some balloons. I had to drive around quite a bit to search for the birthday candles as it was Sunday and most of the shops were closed. Finally found one in an shop in Foleshill road and it was the last packet. We didn't invite anyone but Rahil was really happy.

Tags: Birthday Car boot sale CJ's Car Boot Rahil

Car Booty in Coventry

A few days after we arrived in the UK, we were introduced to the favourite weekend pastime of most Malaysian families here in Coventry (and non-Malaysian families too, if I dare say). The famous car boot sales.

Going to a car boot sale is always an exciting experience – find something you fancy, the bargaining, etc. You will be surprise at some of the stuff you find at these sales. As they say, “someone else’s junk, another man’s treasure.” Our favourite is CJ's Car Boot Sale - Coventry at Stoneleight Park. Here is the address: B4113, Stoneleigh, Coventry, Warwickshire, CV8 2LZ.

Last week was a disappointment as it was held in a open air field (usually they hold it in a covered place). The place was muddy and with a chilly wind blowing in our faces. Also we reminded ourselves not to bring the kids along. Rahil was in a bad mood. Also this time there were fewer sellers as compared to the week before.

As I mentioned before, Malaysians (mostly students) love to visit the car boot sales and it becomes something like a small get-together – you will bump into at least 6 different families at each sale. Their houses are stocked with stuff they bought at great bargain prices - “Got that mini Hi-Fi at £5!” “The entire Royal Dalton bone china dinnerware set for £6”.

We too got some great bargains. For example, a portable Sony Trinitron TV for £4. A brand new Ikea clock for 80p, unused Cristal d’arques 6 glass set (with the box and stickers) for just 50p among others.

However, we learnt a few lessons along the way. What we thought was a great deal for an entire dinner set turned out to be a disappointment when we found out that several of the plates and bowls had chipped edges. Also found out that a Lucent phone (£3) isn’t compatible with our line. It is always a gamble but we never come back without buying something. However, we are more careful now. We are learning a lot from the car boot professionals here on how to bargain, how to check the items, what brands to look out for and so on.

Looking forward to the next Sunday car boot sale. The weather forecast is sunny but we never know.

Tags: Car boot sale CJ's Car Boot

Raya in UK

We celebrated Hari Raya Aidilfitri yesterday - one day earlier than in Malaysia. We drove over to Foleshill where several Malaysian families are residing, including our very good friends - En. Wahab and his wife Kak Lin.

Oh! Yeah! We bought a second-hand Ford Escort recently. Has made such a welcome change to our life. We are much more mobile now, less dependent on other people.

As we drove over to the place, we found out that a road on the route which we normally take was closed. Had to go back to our house and get the map of Coventry and find another way there. Got lost along the way but we finally got there - about 20 minutes more than it would normally take.

It's nice to see that the unique Malaysian culture of open houses are also practised here. Got to know some more Malaysians here. Afer 3 house and some very good food, we started on our journey to Birmingham. One of our friends had invited us to attend their daughter's birthday cum hari raya party. After some excellent road directions from En. Wahab, we were on our way.

As we were getting ready to leave, I heard a lady calling my name loudly - "Adam! Adam!"

Discovered that it was Wan who had come to UK all the way from Belgium to celebrate her Raya here. It was by pure chance that her friend's house was on the same lane with En. Wahab's.

Altogether, it took us about 30 mintues to get to Birmingham, going through the M6. I Was a bit anxious as it was my first time driving there and was really relieved when we finally reached their house without any mishaps. Was plesantly surprised to find my former colleague and his wife there too. The World is getting smaller indeed.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL FITRI
MAAF ZAHIR DAN BATIN

Tags: Hari Raya

From KLIA to Coventry

We left KLIA on the 28th at around 2 am in the morning. Lot of wet eyes as we took the elevator down to the departure hall.

We choose Emirates instead of MAS based on friends' recommendations. And we were quite happy with the service -better than MAS, I would say. The online flight entertainment was great with several movies on demand. It was a bit tough with the two kids and all the stuff but we did OK.

Stopped in Dubai for a few hours. Went around the duty free shops but didn't buy anything even though it was quite tempting. We didn't need to remind ourselves that we needed every sen we had (or should I say, penny), when we reached UK.

Finally landed at Birmingham airport. We were the last out of the plane and last in the line. Was a bit pissed off when we found out that a wheel from the new stroller was missing. Filed a complaint. Reminds me, it's been more than a week since they took it away. They were supposed to send us a replacement by then.

We were met at the airport by En. Wahab and another guy (we needed 2 cars for all the luggage we had). We stayed at his place in Coventry until we got our own house. We are really grateful to them. Can't imagine how we would have managed without their help.

Thanks a lot guys.