ALIA - Halal Meat

We also had an interesting discovery; while looking out of the window of our bedroom, Agent SM saw ALIA - a halal butcher. We ended up going there to get some chicken, sausages and a few other things. Oh yeah...I forgot to mention, baclava; those sweet Lebanese / Turkish dessert. And this is the view from our window.

Waitrose is next door & TESCO is also just a few minutes walk away. Overall, very convenient.

Monarch House, 241 Kensington High Street

We finally arrived at our temporary abode at 730am. Monarch House is located right at the corner of Earls Court Road and Kensington High Street and the 3 bedrooms apartment that we got is simply great.

Weather in London is also great with temperature hovering just below 20. In any case, the fine weather had to wait - all of us ended up in bed for the next few hours until we woke up at around noon with empty stomach. The plan had been for us to go to walk around, grab lunch and head back.

We need to start planning for the next few days especially around school visits. Need to sort that out ASAP before we can look for houses etc.

London Heathrow - Arrival

We were on the fast-track lane for immigration which was good as the queue is barely existent. However, to our surprise we were asked for immunisation certificates. For what? And that brought us the to the Health Authority at the airport.

There we found out that for Malaysians going to the UK for more than 6 months, a chest x-ray is required. You must bring it with you in your hand-luggage (as you have not taken your checked-in luggages when you need to present it). That proved to be a problem for us because we simply did not have it. In fact, our relocation advisor simply did not highlight this requirement at all. A few thoughts crossed our minds including being sent back....but then may be not.

There was another Malaysian family there for exactly the same reason. In the end, we were given an address form which we need to fill up with our address once we've moved to our permanent home and mail back to the Health Authority. Then further instructions will be mailed to us.

With that, we were allowed entry into the United Kingdom.

Things progressed smoothly from there and we were met at the arrival hall by our drivers (drivers because we ended up on 2 cars - nice Volvo V50's). The cars were nice, but I digressed. We got to our temporary accommodation not long after that. Well, here begins our lives in London, UK.

MH002: KUL-LHR

Good flight to sleep in. 1150PM from KL and arriving at 0500AM in London Heathrow, the 13 hrs flights is best filled with sleep and a bit of reading / watching movies.

The kids enjoyed it, all Agent SH, Agent WG, Agent GF had a good time especially playing with the kids section of the Interactive mode of the in-flight entertainment system. Food was also good.

All in all, great, uneventful flight.....and we arrived 50mins earlier than scheduled.

Currency Exchange

Pound Sterling has been quite low lately hovering around RM5.2 to GBP1. What I noticed though is the spread between buy and sell at the banks versus those at independent licensed money changers. Banks have bigger spread therefore it's a lot better to change at money changers.

Tux & Blazer - final visit

I managed to get there at around 2PM; right before our journey to Penang. After looking at it, they agreed to fix it (again!!!). 2 hours later, I picked it up and just drove on.

I guess I will not be going there again....ever.....

Temporary Accommodation - PNB Darby Park

We opted to stay in a Service Apartment for the last 5 nights in KL. Service Apartment is more convenient for a family of 5 compared to hotel rooms. We ended up in a 3 rooms apartment in PNB Darby Park.

Decent place, good facilities and convenient location. The thing about service apartment is you get the space of an apartment together with the near-hotel service. The 'best' of both worlds. For those with kids, this is the best option for longer term stays.

Suit's ready

And what a disappointment. It did not feel like a custom-tailored piece at all. The sides were very loose and it felt more like an RM100 jacket I bought in a hurry from Reject Shop a few years ago for a last minute invitation for a function.

Instead of loosing up a bit, the whole sides were loosened. I got them to correct it and to deliver it to me at the office (very2 busy today being my last day at the office).

Only got to try it out just now back at Darby Park. Better but still does not fit nicely. Going to send back tomorrow...if I can find the time.

Terrible

Tux & Blazer vs Suit, Tux & Blazer

7 years ago I had a 2-piece suit made at Suit, Tux & Blazer at BSC. Great workmanship and 7 years + 10kgs later, it still fits me nicely. I wanted to get another piece made before we leave for London.

However, they are no longer at BSC. I was told there's a branch in Sri Hartamas so I gave them a visitand ended up getting a pair done. Cost is RM1550 for a 2-piece suit with an extra pair of pants. Charcoal grey and I have been looking forward to it. Fitting is next week.

Oh yeah, I digressed. Actually the one in Hartamas is not S, T n B but Tux & Blazer. Totally different company despite the similarity in the name. I just hope the suit will turn out to be good.

Will let you know.

Movers and Packers - last day

Today is the last day for packing. And the good news is, they've managed to bring the container up to our place as I had suggested two days ago. This easily saved 3 20km round-trips and time for everyone.

Everything was done and the container sealed at 12.30PM. Excellent work.

However, I got a distress call at 2.30PM. With all their efficiencies and professionalism, they've managed to leave a cabinet-full of dinnerware unpacked. After an urgent call to the person in charge, they agreed to come back on Saturday to sort it out.

Unfortunately, these cannot be included with the seafreight containers as those are sealed and considered done deal. May need to be airfreighted separately then.

Packers and Movers

15 - 17 of April are agreed 3 days for packings and moving. Initially the representative from Asian Tigers did not want to bring the container to our place. Instead, they wanted to 'shuttle' our things to a warehouse for final transfer into the container. Reason.....the bad road condition. After speaking to them and providing a solution, she'll try to see what can be done when they bring up the container - plan is on the 17th.

6 guys came and very quickly they set off to doing the packings. They know what they were doing and we know our roles too. This being our 7th move in the last 10 years. I have to say that this crew is the best I've had so far and everything went smoothly.

At the end of the day, they've cleared the whole of the 1st floor.

Tux & Blazer - Fitting

Went there after lunch today for fitting. Actually I was quite impressed. It fitted nicely and all seems to be good. Though the nice lady, Jenny, did suggest that they expand the part below the arms by an inch on both sides. I agree as it would give slightly better movement.

Can't wait to pick it up next week, 21st April. BTW, the colour is stunning.

Berkhatan

Today we were at the Al-Islam Medical Centre (previously called, Kampung Baru Medical Centre). The reason we were there was the circumcision of my youngest son. After checking around, we decided to come here based on a recommendation from a friend who had all her 3 sons done there.

After a nasi lemak breakfast, we headed to Kampung Baru with the Kampung Baru mosque being the landmark. The hospital is directly opposite the Masjid.

After registration and a slight wait, exactly at 11am as per our appointment, we were ushered into the operating theater. All in all, the whole process took just under 30 mins and as it's just an outpatient treatment, we were on our way home.

Key point about the treament, there's a choice of local or general anaesthetic. We opted for local as I don't think it's a major procedure and avoid all the complicatin of general anaesthetic. The hospital uses 'laser' for the procedure. Before any image of light saber enters your mind, it's more like a cauterizer.

Things getting more real.....

The last 1 week has been very hectic....and a lot of things done. With the Visa in hand, all the tentative plans before could now be firmed up. A lot of things to attend to.

Flights - reservation made for MH002 KUL-LHR on 29th April. As we are travelling from Penang, I have also booked us on a connecting flight from PEN-KUL. We always travel overseas out of Penang.

Car - agreed with MJ and Voon on prices for my Accord and Ria. Painful but prefer clean cut-off instead of other more 'creative' arrangements that may be tempting in the short term but can give bigger headache in the long run. Planning to hand over the cars on Wed, 15th. Will be using rented car from then on.

Movers - they'll be coming in on the 15th until 17th. I think 3 days are too long. In fact, they initially wanted to do it over 4 days. Unbelievable! In also my moves of more than 5 times, this would be the longest time for packing.

Leaves - I will be on leave from 22th onwards.

Visa approved!

"Please collect your passport from the Visa Application Centre between 10 AM and 3 PM.".

I got the above message on my phone this morning at 0830am. To our pleasant surprise, our visa's have been approved. In 3 working days. Considering we submitted last Wednesday.

NOW, we can really plan. All the tentative items are to be firmed up. Things are going to get really hectic next couple of weeks.

To those wondering, the RM6 for SMS updates is worth it....imho

Does it work?

I'm told that I can update the blog via email. Not sure if it'll work. Let's see.

Currently watching F1 in Sepang, where the race has been stopped due to rain.

Reminds me of the time I was in the UK before, where I never felt there had been any real rain over there. Just drizzles.

The stewards are still thinking about what to do now considering that it will get dark soon and Sepang, of course, is not equipped for night race.

Let's see....whether this works and what happens in Sepang.

At various points in live, we have to choose. Make decisions and move on.
That's the key word in my view.....move on. Don't spend your present thinking about the past that you end up not working for the future....

Visa Application Process

Having filled up the forms online and printed them out, we set an appointment with VFS MY for 0915 am on 1st April 2009. Security was tight going into VFS office but that's expected and once inside, everything was very smooth. Someone at the counter checked all our documents to ensure we've got everything that's required.

Then it's biometric scanning. Basically finger prints of all the 10 fingers and a photograph. There's an option to get SMS updates which cost RM6. The 1st update I got was, "Your visa application has been forwarded to the British High Commission".

Now we just wait. According to the lady at the counter, the turnaround time is around 5 to 15 days.

We'll see.