South East Asia - Malaysia & Singapore

The trip's disaster (a bit dramatic but it is what it is) started the day before we were due to fly - I sprained my ankle by stepping into a pot hole when we went out for a little jog. The blessing in all that is we get VIP treatment at the airports throughout the trip. Wheelchair (see picture) can get you a very long way at airports in any country. We never had to queue for checking in, boarding etc. It was slightly embarrassing but by the time we got to Doha (half was on our journey), I got over the embarrassment...got used to the stares as part of the privileges that I receive.

We arrived in Singapore first. Dylan got to meet a few of my cousins (mum's side of the family) that night who have immigrated to Singapore years ago. We were treated to a wonderful Japanese meal! Yummy. The next day, we attended the Wong's church. We became friends with the Wongs in Pittsburgh. Jon attended the same seminary as Dylan. We used to go out for Chinese food in Pittsburgh as treats. We also celebrated Chinese New Year over "hot pot" in Pittsburgh in the winter with the Wongs....good times! Anyway, we feasted over lunch after church. That night, Dylan got really sick!! :-( Initial diagnosis is food poisoning but later we realise it might have been some sort of stomach flu since the entire Wong household got sick after we left!

We arrived in KL (Kuala Lumpur) on day 3/4. There, Dylan got to meet more cousins - dad's side of the family. And guess what...I got sick. Dylan got to go around with "our" (notice it's ours not just mine anymore) cousins and had a jolly good time while I stayed back to nurse my out-of-body illness. As you can tell from the photos, there's Dylan having a great time, and JQ was nowhere to be seen not because she was behind the camera but because she was not there! But honestly, I am quite happy he got to experience Kuala Lumpur even though I was not able to accompany him. :-) Some of the sights that Dylan got to witness are Batu Cave (literally means Rock Cave), where the Indian gods reside; the Petronas Twin Towers; and Selangor Pewter factory. And he made me a "begging bowl" (insider's joke) with our names carved on it. How sweet.



































Next we arrived at Penang. There, I got to whine to my mummy about my illness and as always, mum the walking pharmacy was equipped with any and every possible medication I needed to help me get better.

In Penang, besides getting fed fervently by my mum and "mama" (my auntie, who is also my god-mother), we got to visit some Buddhist temple, including a snake temple, wet market, dad's grave, as well as some Malaysian "historic" sites. See pictures.
















































Four and half days later, we took off to Pulau Langkawi (Langkawi Island) which is about an hour and a half to two hours away by ferry. By the time we got to Langkawi, I was thoroughly exhausted from sight-seeing, the heat, not to mention the limping around (yes, still limping by then) made the entire trip doubly exhausting. We decided to remain in the hotel and soaked up the sun by the pool the entire 3/4 days we were in Langkawi. Living in Scotland has taught us to be content with very little. We were more than content.
After Langkawi, it was back to Penang for a day or so, then back to Singapore and then off to London from Singapore, and London to Edinburgh. Phew! A world wind trip indeed! Unfortunately for me, it was back to work the following day. It' only been 3/4 weeks (by now) and I am badly in need of another holiday!!!!

A day at the beach - Gullane Bents Beach

Another gorgeous weekend in Edinburgh! We went to the beach with a couple from our church - Kit & Angie. We had a great time sunning and eating and lazing around. Angie was such a wonderful cook and prepare some really yummy quiche, potato salad (with chorizo), cake, and topping it off with chips, salad and french loaf. We brought a bottle of wine to contribute. Ha ha. Here are some pictures ....

Average Household Income

I suppose as a responsible analyst, to make the comparison more meaningful, I should have included the Average Household Income across the same countries.

GDP (in USD - base on CIA World Fact Book)

Turkey - $9,400
France - $33,800
UK - $35,300
Germany - $34,400
Italy - $31,000
US - $46,000
Russia - $14,600
Malaysia - $14,400
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) - $20,700

Gas / Petrol Prices

For those of you who are feeling the pinch of gas / petrol price increase in the States, count yourselves blessed. Yes, you heard me right, blessed. Here's why - check out the comparison globally (see below). Bear in mind that the US also tend to have a higher potential earning comparatively. Now you feel better? :-) How about giving the US govt. a break, huh?

Per Gallon on Average in USD (sample countries)
Turkey - $11.00
France - $10.00
UK - $9.54
Germany - $8.75
Italy - $8.65

US - $4.02

Russia - $3.68
Malaysia - $2.63 (courtesy of mum)
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) - $0.46 (courtesy of Richard)

Moment of Fame

Last week, I readily offered my modeling skills to my work place for their up-coming brochure! I did it for giggles and of course was inspired by America's Top Model! Besides, it gave me 2 hours of break from work. Why not. I was the DIY girl for one of their products - Mortgage. Others had really fun roles ie. Bride-to-be, Mom-to-be etc. but I got to dress in scrubs. Oh well. Here's a picture HR decided to share with me from that day. Enjoy!! :-)

Botanical Garden

Let me just start by saying that it's been awfully chilly lately. As north-easterners from the US, just like Spring flowers, our bodies are conditioned to expect sunshine and increasingly warm temperature during this time of the year. It's quite the opposite so far. It'll be warm (mind you, low 50's) one day, and mid 40's (with gusting wind) the next. You never know how to dress for the weather here!

As much as I have whined about the horrible weather in Scotland lately to anyone who is willing to listen, I have to say the weather today is worth shutting me up for at least a week (or so)! It's been beautiful all day, warm (low 70's) and very mild wind. We cannot ask for a better day. That said, we decided to take a walk to the Royal Botanical Gardens. Believe it or not, it's just 1/2 mile from us and we've never ventured beyond the gates. A few weeks ago, we learned that it's FREE (!!) so we decided not to waste this rare and momentous warm day and ventured to the Botanics.

Beyond the gates, we were so surprise that this beautifully kept, gorgeous and spacious garden is free. We wondered how they can afford to maintain it?? Perhaps that's why everything is so expensive - to pay for all the free stuff?? Even more amazing, we were approached by a Chinese girl for a free guided tour to ~7 different green houses - this they typically charge ~GBP3.50/person. They were conducting a bi-lingual tour (today only), introducing plants that were brought over from China years ago. Well, I will unashamedly take full credit for this. I think Dylan truly benefited from this street cred by standing/married to an Asian girl!

Without further ado, here are some pictures that will speak louder than words.

Bank Holiday!

Hey y'all - sorry for dropping off the surface of the earth!!! Yes, we are still alive and well! Life just got really busy since I started work slightly over a month ago - yes, when you stopped seeing entries! ha ha. It's a bank holiday today which allows me a little free time to catch up on things which is why you are seeing this entry now. :-) It's quite strange that they call their holidays "bank holiday", don't you think? There's another bank holiday coming up in 2-3 weeks. Yes, it's also called "bank holiday". I'm not sure if they just can't be bothered to be creative or thought it trivial to randomly name a holiday?

Anyway, we are well but busy. We recently renewed our lease for another 6 months so we'll be in this apartment/flat for another 6 months. It's small but we are adjusting to it though at times we still find ourselves on top of one another, especially on the weekends when I am home all day! :-) Needless to say, looking for a bigger place is next on our list of things to do. At this point, we are hoping to buy. Yes, buy. What we can afford, we don't know. House prices are insanely high in Edinburgh. And the sad thing is, it's not even as bad as London. Unreal. I would say house prices are at par with LA or Manhattan in the U.S.. For example, as an average (mind you "average"), a 500 square feet one-bedroom flat (yes, not even a real house), is about ₤160K, which is about $320K. Average income in the UK is ₤33.5K. To further put it into perspective, for a college grad with about 1-2 years working experience, you can expect to earn about ₤19K per annum. If you convert it into $$ ($38K), it's actually on the low end of average salary for a college grad in Manhattan. You can arguably and reasonably survive in LA or Manhattan with a take home pay of say $2.1K a month. At ₤19K, take home pay is around ₤1,358/mth. After rent and utilities + all bills (on the low end), one is left with say around ₤650. If one chooses to get a car, car payment and insurance (again on the low end) is around ₤200, which now leaves you with ₤450. If you are really good, stay in and cook your own meals all the time, you can get away with ₤150 of groceries. But we know that this is not realistic for a young person. So let's budget for the person to eat out say twice a week (₤17 typical meal + a drink x 2), that's roughly ₤140 rounding. So where are we....we are now left with ₤160. Bear in mind, I have yet to account for toiletries (ie essentials such as shampoo, soap etc.) or incidentals such as movies, clothes, shoes etc. Walk into say a gap in the US and for a decent shirt, it'll cost you $20. That same shirt at Gap UK will cost ₤20. Same goes for shoes, toiletries etc. etc. A basic sedan car which cost $17K in the US will cost ~₤13K in the UK. Going to the movies cost $9 in the US, it cost ~₤7-9 in the UK. And the best parallel comparison that is closest to all your hearts - gas prices - ~$4/gallon in the US, ₤4.40/gallon in the UK. Oh, not to mention, college loan payback that I did not factor into the equation. All that is to say, I don't know how young people (or any average person really) live/survive in the UK?! Anyway, if you are still curious and not bored/confused to death after my rambling, you can go to http://www.espc.com and have a browse on house prices in the UK/Scotland. :-)

We had a brief opportunity to visit London a couple of weeks ago. I had to go down to London for work for a few days and Dylan tagged along for a visit. He managed to see the Tower Bridge, Big Ben, St. Paul's cathedral, London Bridge (which was a HUGE disappointment - I warned him), British library, Tower of London etc.. We didn't get to go around together (I had to work) so we'll try to head down there another time when I am not there for work. But since I have been to London before (maybe 10 years ago, also for a business trip) so it's great that Dylan is now caught up so we can extend our tour together the next time we're there. :-)

What else is new...well, Dylan turned in his first big paper a couple of weeks ago - 14,000 words. Next step I believe is he'll have to defend his paper to a panel of profs. before he moves on to the next phase (year 2). He's still teaching Finance/Business. The semester ends end of June. We are heading to Malaysia/Singapore for slightly over 2 weeks as soon as he's done with teaching. We are very much looking forward to that. It'll be a great opportunity for me to introduce him to my extended family (so far he's only met my mum and sis) as well as for me to show him around my home town.

Now that we have settled into a routine, there really isn't anything exciting to report. We'll keep you posted on our travels in our future updates.