A visitor we Do Not Expect

With the news of us relocating to Beijing recently, our relatives and many of our friends have made promises and plans of their imminent visit while we are here and we are glad. After all, one of the reason that we took a three room unit in Beijing was to have an extra guest room for our visiting friends and relatives. 

However, there are two things that we did not expect. Firstly, we did not expect to receive a visitor from Malaysia within the first two weeks that we are here and secondly, the visitor himself was someone that we would NEVER have imagined or expect in a million years!

Not that I am complaining. In fact, I am totally ecstatic when he informed me that he would be coming to Beijing and would keep me updated on his arrangement. I remembered clearly informing my wife about his arrival and she could not believe her ears too.

I would have expect our first visitor would be relative or a close friend of ours but never, nope, never, a classmate whom I have not sat down casually to catch up and chit chat for over 3 decades after we both left ACS Ipoh after our Upper Six.

Oh yes, we still see each other on the professional basis, although he is probably the last person I would love to see in his capacity. You see, he is our children pediatrician, Dr Liew from Subang. If we were to make a trip to see him, it would be because it has became necessity arising from some form of illness or health issues we would have with our two super charged offspring. In other words, the less we see him, the better!

But, this is one friend that I have always admire and respect from the days when we were classmates back in Ipoh. He has always came across as the determined, extremely focus, always cheerful, shy, quiet and intelligent chap in the class who goes about doing nothing else but study and make sure that he excelled in his exams. And that he did with flying colors, not that it surprises me. I, on the other hand, was pleasantly surprised that I did not fail every subject and got enough to scrap into TAR College, considering the amount of activities and fun I had!

And what impressed me the most during his visit to Beijing were three things:-

• he made every effort to make sure that we do meet up so much so that he actually took a cab from where he was staying and made his way to our apartment.
• he was in Beijing to fulfill one of his childhood dreams after all these years.
• he was every bit the same old person I have grown to respect and admire with some pretty amazing transformation over the years. 

As we sat down over the two days that we have time together, we walked down our memory lane fondly together, caught up with what we were up to after we parted ways in school and how we got to where we were today. We talked of our age (oh yes, we are no longer in our youth), our changed priorities, our focus now in our lives, our aspiration and dreams yet to be fulfilled. As we exchanged our views , it has became increasing clear that we both share the view of how important to revisit and rekindle those friendships that we have built over the years.

The funny thing was that we actually shared similar nightmares albeit for different reasons. He has nightmares, even now, of going into an examination hall, not that he does not know the answers but for trivial reasons like forgetting to bring pencils or identification documents. I, on the other hand, have nightmares of sitting in the examination hall, starring blankly at the examination paper and not knowing a single thing, a true reflection of the difference between both our readiness towards examination!

The Dr Liew that I have the privilege to catch up with while in Beijing, although still very much the very likeable and cheerful person with an extremely positive outlook in life and still equally focus in his quest and dreams, however, is also an extremely open, confident and chatty chap, no longer shy nor quiet.

I am very glad that things have worked out very nicely for him and his lovely family and he is definitely a role model that my children could follow .... not only excelling in his studies but the determination, cheerfulness, positive outlook and the focus that he exhibits in pursuing his dreams. (My earlier post on Dr Liew under the post "Determination and never give in and never give up)

Oh yes, about his fulfilled childhood dream in Beijing. He is a trained wushu exponent as long as I have known him and to be trained in Beijing by the best teachers was one of his wish. I admired him for making it a point to realize that one dream (not many of us do. Many of us, even forgets what that dream was in our journey growing up) but more importantly, the same courage, determination and focus he has in being the oldest participant at 50 while the rest were in their teens and prime twenties.

He was definitely NOT the visitor we expect but the visitor that we are extremely thankful and glad to have.

A White 12 Dec 12 for us

A friend of mine wrote this on her FB "Every friggin date happens only "once in a lifetime". That is all". When you come to think of it, that is so true. So, what is so special about this particular day anyway.

Honestly, I do not know. I did not even realize it till I open my FB account while having my routine morning double espresso at Jamaica Blue, this nice, cozy cafe just outside our apartment in Beijing.

But 12.12.12 to us, will have some special albeit small meaning. It was the day when we saw the first sight of snow in Beijing, a place that we have come to call home over a month ago.

The weather has been cold since we first arrived and have dropped rather drastically over the last couple of weeks. Over the last couple of days, the day time temperature has already dropped below 0 and breaching negative 7 or 8 consistently over the last few nights. However, we were told that getting snow in Beijing is becoming rarer and rarer, compared to a decade ago. All this probably due to the over development of this huge city, messing up the eco system and the weather. Yet, we secretly harbored the wish and the hope that we could at least see some while we are here. After all, coming from a tropical county like Malaysia where the only two seasons we have is either dry or wet, seeing snow would really be an experience of a lifetime.

Wife called me on my mobile excitedly when she went out to grab her cab, "Hei..you know what? I think it's snowing ...but very little lar.."

"Ok..."I replied, not sounding particularly excited. I must have imagined that she would probably be `fuming' somewhat that I do not share her level of excitement, but then again, my brain was still half asleep, having to wake up at 7:20 and going through my daily routine of frantically getting Ryan ready before the school van arrives. Getting ready now takes a good extra 25 minutes, considering the layer of clothes that he has to wear and putting on his winter glove sometimes could take 5 to 10 minutes!

As we were walking out, I told Ryan "Mommy said got snow". "SNOW?" he asked excitedly. "Yupe. That is what mommy said. Let's see when we go out."

As we walked out of the main lobby, there they were, small tiny fluffy white snow flakes falling gently from above. As it lands on my face, you can a feel a tiny sensation of chill as they quickly melt by our body warmth.

Ryan was ecstatic. I can not blame him as I was getting equally excited too, having seen the first sight of snow in Beijing for this winter. This is part of the adventure and the experience that we were looking for as we uproot ourselves from the comfort our home in KL. 

The snow grew heavier after I got Ryan onto his school bus. As I sat at my regular cafe, by the window, looking out, I can see the snow growing thicker as heavier, and soon the pavements, the streets and the parked cars turning white, covered by a blanket of fresh snow.

When I took Zoewe out for her morning walk after my coffee, she was so baffled at the sight of these white fluffy `things' falling all around her, so much so, that she literally forgot how to shit or pee. She was just so busy sniffing around and slipping on the slippery pavement. I had to walk her two rounds instead of the normal one to make sure that she get her business done!

12.12.12 would be remembered as the day that we had fun in the snow as a family for the Very first time! When Ryan came back from school, we dressed everybody up in the thickest clothing possible and had a great time, running on the snow covered park in the cold chilling wind. 

Ryan was excited, Chenya was confused, Mommy was happy and Daddy....daddy with his uncovered hands, shivering and taking pictures, but contended that I have at my age, have finally had my experience of playing in the snow ....:)

An Expensive Treatment for COLD!

With the temperature dropping drastically and breaching zero by day and reaching negative seven or eight by night, both Ryan and Chenya are trying hard to cope. You can not last 5 minutes outside with insufficient clothing and by insufficient, I meant, nothing less than 3 layers with thick winter jacket, socks, hats or ear muffs and gloves.

Both have been coughing quite a fair lately and when Chenya's nose started running non-stop, and Ryan's coughing at night got worse, we got worried and decided to bring both of them for some medical consultation on Saturday.

When we first came for our orientation in Beijing, we were shown two medical facilities that caters mostly for foreigners and expats, one of which was the Beijing United Family Hospital. 

So, we made a call in the morning to see if we could bring both of them in for a quick check. We were asked if we had made any prior appointments of which we did not. Who would make prior appointment for this kind of treatment anyway. It's not that they planned on getting sick or anything. Well, according to them, their appointment book was all full and we could bring the children in as `walk-in' but be prepared to wait. We also told that there would be a surcharge of `walking in' ! (First time, we heard that but what could we do? Bringing them in the following day which was Sunday also attract surcharge and we were not prepare to wait another two days watching the discomfort of our angels).

We were there by 1pm and were told to register the kids. The forms were several pages thick and after all the necessary paperwork is done, we were brought into this very equipped and nice waiting room to have their weights, heights and basic medical history taken by two nurses.

Barely 10 minutes later, the paedetrician who happened to be an American came in. He went through the records and some detail checks of both the children. The conclusion was both were viral and nothing serious, aggravated by the cold and dry weather. The cough was a direct result of their running nose. He prescribed one teaspoon of honey at night for Ryan and half a teaspoon for Chenya to ease their cough, saline solution to flush their nose regularly and some menthol rub for the chest. Although cough mixture was prescribed for Ryan, he was not too keen that we give that to him, unless, his cough got worse.

The consultation took a little over 25 minutes for both and we were told to get our medication at the pharmacy and make payment there.

The bill came to RMB1300 (RM650) for Ryan and RMB1200 (RM600) for Chenya, a total of approximately RMB2500 (RM1250) for both after discount!!!

And oh yes, the `walk in' surcharge is RMB220 (RM110) per person! (nicely put in the invoice as `disruptive of daily office routine' or something to that effect!

Now, we understand why our medical insurance coverage runs into millions when we signed up. If a simple COLD treatment and consultation ran up a bill of over RMB2500, can you imagine having a more serious ailment or having to go in for a surgery. And now, we are glad that we did sign up for that additional coverage.

So, two things to remember if you are ever thinking of relocating to Beijing.

Firstly, negotiate for a comprehensive and adequate medical insurance coverage with your employer or get one yourself to make sure that you are adequately covered .....OR.....

...simply do not do not get sick, because if the sickness does not kill you, the bill surely will ! 

 

He speaks like an AMERICAN!

So, how is everyone adapting to life in Beijing after one month?

 

I must said that the children are adapting to the changes faster than anyone else. Chenya is enjoying herself running up and down the apartment which has a much bigger living hall as compared to the one back home.

 

The weather is getting extremely cold by the day. Day time high is now around 2 to 3 degrees and forecasted to be 0 tomorrow. Night temperature is dropping below 0 and expected to be negative 8 tomorrow night.

 

Imagine having to walk Zoewe twice daily for her morning and night `business' in such chilly weather. It is definitely quite an experience. Despite wearing my winter jacket, I can still feel the chilly air cutting right into my body. My fingers and face grows numb within minutes. My ears are stiff and pulling the hood over my head helps but not much.

 

Going out for a walk takes a good 15 minutes to prepare both Chenya and Ryan considering the layers of clothes they have to put on.

 

And the biggest change we noticed is the way Ryan talks.

 

He has been attending Ivy International Academy which is an International School where his class teacher is an American Phd holder, while his assistant, a charming Japanese expat with a very sweet young local Chinese assistant. After just attending school for merely 2 weeks or so, he is now speaking with an American accent. .... slap head....

 

Looks like he is feeling right at home here ...so far....

When MamyPoko is not the SAME in China!

We were excited when we saw it...we have found Mamy Poko in Carrefour in Beijing and for 100 pieces (M size), the price is only RMB129 or RM64.50. That is RM0.645 per piece, almost the price of which we will hunt for during bargains back in Malaysia!

 

And we were afraid that either we could not find any in Beijing or the price would be exorbitant. We actually shipped 5 packets via air which arrived yesterday with another 10 packets on the way via ship shipment, just to make sure that we have enough for Chenya.

 

So, we bought a packet home to try (which was rather smart of us I think) and fortunately we did. Not only are the diapers thinner but they actually do not absord as well as the one we used to use back home in Malaysia. We changed to Mamy Poko after trying out Pampers and Huggies because Mamy Poko has provened that leakages are far and few in between, even after long hours of use.

 

The same however, could NOT be said about the Mamy Poko here in China.

 

The first day we put them on Chenya, she sprang a leak only after 4 hours or so. Either she wee wee more here or than Ryan or the quality is simply not there, and we would like to think it is the latter.

 

We used to be rather confident when we bring Ryan or Chenya out with their Mamy Poko on, but with those made in China, we simply do not know when it will leak!

 

We are glad that we did ship those five packets and the other 10 which are on their way to our home in Beijing. It looks like, Mamy Poko will be another item for us to bring over each time we go back to Malaysia for a visit (until Chenya outgrows them).

 

The other item incidentally, that we shipped in volume (with restriction) over to Beijing are Pedisure, milk powder for Ryan currently and probably soon for Chenya too. The price for Pedisure here in Beijing is truly exhorbitant. We could get a can of 1.8kg for about RM138 back home but it cost RM128 for a smaller can here! The price is almost DOUBLED!

 

With the restriction that we could only ship a max of 10kg with our sea shipment, we max it out besides carrying two can each in our luggage. With Ryan's consumption of one 1.8kg can every two weeks, it also seemed like this would be another item that we would have to buy and carry over for every trip we made back to Malaysia ....or......

 

.....to any visitors who would love to visit us in Beijing.....

 

.....we promised to provide lodging (HAHAHAHA)....and Pauliner (if you drink) .....

His teacher has been `Unclefied!'

Ryan's new class teacher in Beijing, Jeff walked in, greeting us with a smile.

 

It was an impromptu arrangement and we were glad that Ryan (yes, he shared the same name as our cheeky Ryan), the Campus Director made that last minute meeting so that we could hear what his class teacher has to say about Ryan after a few days at his new school.

 

After all, we were a little worried as to how he has been adapting to his new environment, friends, routine and teachers.

 

For a start, he has started to take the school bus to and from school everyday instead of being fetched by me. To an extend, I think he likes it because there are other friends on board as well.

 

"Hello. I'm Jeff" Jeff extended his hand for a handshake...."and I am the UNCLE" with a smile.

 

For a moment, I could not comprehend what he meant.

 

"I am the UNCLE!" Jeff repeated.

 

And then, it dawned upon me that that was what Ryan has been calling him, his very own teacher "Uncle!"

 

He has managed to bring something very Malaysian over to Beijing China and introduced that to his school because it is customary for us back in Malaysia to teach our children to politely address an older gentlemen as `Uncle' and a lady 'Auntie', although not every lady would take to being called an `Auntie' happily as it suggest that they are no longer qualified to be categorised as sweet and young.

 

Well, at least, he was smart enough to only address his male teacher as Uncle and has not called his sweet looking assistant teacher as "Auntie".

 

We are glad that we have been told that he has been adapting well in school and getting along with his friends and teachers. With that anxiety finally put to rest, we know that our settling down process is taking shape quite nicely and soon, we could start exploring this new land and adventure.

Ryan's Farewell Speech

"Good morning children" Ms Mary greeted the children in Ryan's class.

"This morning we are here because Ryan Looi leaving you and will be going to China already. And he wants to say Good bye to all of you.." she continued.

 

We were having a small farewell gathering for Ryan Looi at his school before he flies off to Beijing to start his new adventure. Over the last two years, he has made quite a number of friends and he has several favourite teachers who in turn adores him.

 

As the day to leave drew near, we were told by the teachers that he has been going around telling his friends and teachers that he will be leaving soon and that he loves them. They were obviously very touched.

"Let's get Ryan Looi up here to say to few words, ok." Ms Mary, his class teacher went on.

"Come Ryan Looi..." she gestured Ryan to come forward.

 

In my heart, I was apprehensive as to what this hyper active and talkative son of mine would say. After all, this is going to be his first farewell speech in front of his class of about 20 other children.

 

"Now..what is he going to say?" I thought to myself.

"Is he going to say something totally stupid and make a fool of himself?"

 

As parents, we always wanted them to make us proud and I was just hoping that he would not go on rambling something about dinosaurs and Ultraman saving the world.

 

He got up the front of the class, stood there, looking very serious and composed. There was not a single iota of the ever playful and unfocused Ryan that he is.

 

He looked at his class for a second and two and said the most appropriate, beautiful and meaningful words that could come out from a 4 year old boy, saying farewell for the very first time to his classmates, words that totally knocked me off my senses and for one moment, he is a very mature, grown up boy.

 

"I LOVE YOU ALL VERY MUCH!" he said and bowed.

 

With these words, he left behind his pre-school days chapter in Malaysia and embarks on a new chapter, new adventures, new friends, teachers, culture and environment in Beijing China.

 

We are so proud of him.

First day to school in Beijing

The weather is 3 degrees outside but the sun is shining brightly and the skies blue and clear.

This is the day. This is the day that Ryan starts his first day at Ivy Academy at Beijing China. This is also his big adventure. This is also his next milestone, just like us, who are starting our life from scratch in this new land, new culture, new faces and un-chartered with unexplored territories.

Honestly, we were rather fearful that Ryan would not want to go to his new school as he was very very comfortable with his school back home in Malaysia. He said that he only want to go the school for only ONE day and he would want to return to his school back home in Malaysia.

But he got up without a fuss. We changed him and got him to wear so many clothes that he has never worn before. He was excited.

We were not quite sure what to pack for him today. We just packed what we thought was necessary. He looked dashing in his blue winter jacket.

While waiting for our rented apartment to be ready, we are currently staying at a service apartment which is just 10 minutes walk away from the school. Since, we have not arranged for the school bus to pick him up for this first day, we have to walk him to school and the experience was nothing short of memorable ….walking in freezing temperature in a country we hardly know, in winter clothing so thick that we all looked bloated up but surprising, pleasing to the eyes.

 

We were glad that he took to his new teachers rather well and was soon off to his class on his own while we wait at the administration office to settle all the necessary documentations and payments.

We are slowly settling down with our life in Beijing and getting Ryan to his school is just another step forward.

A New Chapter Begins in Beijing

The phone finally rang at approximately 9pm.

“Hello. I am your pet relocation agent. Your Zoewe has arrived. We are now downstairs at your service apartment.” the voice on the other side of the line said.

“OK OK.” We jumped to change and put on some thick clothing and rushed down to the lobby.

After all, we have been worried sick since she was taken from us 2 days ago by the agent in Malaysia to prepare her for her flight to Hong Kong, then to Shenzhen and from there, ultimately to Beijing, her new home for the next two years.

After all the formalities, there she was, finally with us in the living room, clinging on to us. I guessed she was fearful that she could be taken away again.

With her joining us, our family is now complete in Beijing, our new home for the next two years. The thought is only slowly sinking in that we have left Malaysia for our two years adventure in this land of the Dragon.

Events leading up to this week has been rather dramatic and stressful to say the least. With so much to pack  and not knowing what to pack, the discovery of our maid stealing from us and her sacking at the last hour, just before we proceed to process her visa to China, and arranging for my mother in law to step in for the next three months at least to help out in our new home, have certainly been a contributing factor to the additional few strands of white hair.

 

We thought that we would have little to pack. After all, we are only shifting our master bedroom king size mattress, a sofa bed and a single bed over. How much could that be? Right? WRONG!

Wrong for the two reasons. Firstly, we are shifting with two toddlers. Their clothes, winter clothing, toys, milk powder and diapers have already taken up several boxes.

Secondly, we might be shifting for good. Although we are expected to be here for the next two years, there is every possibility that we might either stay longer or move on to our next destination. Hence, if we do not pack those stuff now, what if we do not come back after two years. And we still have to pack the pots, pans, cutlery, pillows etc over, right? I am not going to spent money buying all these and leave them behind when we leave Beijing.

In the end, the final count was a STAGGERING 113 BOXES! But, we were glad that we got that done. The professional movers were a great motivating factor. They were literally behind our back, pushing us almost every minute to decide what to take and what to leave behind.

We were still packing our luggage just 3 hours before we left for the airport and my wife was so stressed out! Being a meticulous lady and a self claimed perfectionist, this move was ANYTHING but perfect and meticulous so to speak. I thought that at one point in time, she almost burst out in tears and that was when a totally random, careless and last minute guy, yours truly, stood in and took charge. I just told her to pack what she can remember, take it as a adventure, part and parcel of an experience and anything that we have forgotten to pack, we would just either have to make do in Beijing or buy them. After all, we are not moving to the Sahara desert or the interior jungles of the Amazon. We did just that!

We were glad that our flight into Beijing was only half full, and hence, we could have the entire row of seats to ourselves. Ryan was his usual irritating self, switching from games to movies to TV shows on board and wanting attention. Chenya, being her first flight was just as curious and refused to sit still for a good 2 hours!

They finally settled in half way through the flight and slept which gave us all, a time to rest and me, to enjoy my beers and wine.

We are fortunate that we still have the service apartment provided by the company till the 24^th Nov and hence, we do not have to worry about going straight into our rented apartment (although fully furnished) with no pillows and no cutlery. We still have the next 2 weeks to wait for our air shipment to arrive and prepare ourselves to shift into our new apartment.

Ryan will be going to his new school on the 12^th Nov which is next week and I will have to work out my new daily routine, but I am excited of the new uncharted path ahead. It’s not going to be rather that easy for a 50 years old man like me, but nothing is impossible and insurmountable. I am not a perfectionist and neither am I meticulous but I guess that those traits are playing to my advantage now.

To get myself right at home and to help everyone settling in into this new chapter of our lives, I do what I do best….I cooked our very first home cooked meal for dinner. A simple meal of Chicken Drumstick marinated with soy sauce and black pepper, fried with shallots, garlic, ginger slices and broccoli....that is the least I could do at this moment in time....

When in Rome do what the Romans do!

My first impression of Beijing China was not exactly nice nor charming. Having heard too many horror stories of how obnoxious the Chinese can be and their rather disgusting behavior, I was really apprehensive.

For one, Chinese in China do not seemed to understand the meaning of queuing up for anything. They seemed to be a rather single minded very focused people who only sees their objective and where they want to go and what they want to do, and in the process, are totally ignorant of the people around them or the inconvenience that they could have caused others in their pursuit of their objective.

They don't seemed to understand nor have ever heard of the concept of `first come first serve'. There seemed to be only one concept in China (or places that I have observed so far) and that concept is "Me First and Now!"

Hence, during my first visit, being accustomed to queuing up for anything and everything, I find myself totally frustrated at every turn. At the airport, we have people cutting queues without an iota of guilt. It was even frustrating when it comes to taking a good picture. While I am accustomed to waiting in line for my turn to take a picture from a certain location, I found out too soon that that does not always work. You could end up waiting for hours because there will always be some Chinese who would just sneaked in. And the worst part of it was, they don't leave after having their picture taken, oblivious that there are still others waiting to take a picture. Instead, they would linger on, either having a conversation or comparing their pictures in their camera.

Well, the phrase "When in Rome, do what the Romans do" holds true. On my subsequent visit to the Forbidden City, I told myself that I will not be intimated and I will behave exactly like how a Chinese in China would behaved. Although I would still queue as much as I can, I will do everything I can to ensure that no one would be able to sneak in front of me. As far as taking a pictures is concerned, no more Mr Nice Guy who would wait till the person in front is finished with their pictures. I will just stationed myself where I feel would give me the best angle and I will make sure that I will not move either until I am satisfied that I have captured the angle I wanted.

There were certain occasions when I find some inconsiderate idiots just walking up in front of my camera while I was taking my shot. Instead of being frustrated and gets totally irritated, I find myself coolly picking myself up and walking right in front of them, oblivious that they too are in the midst of taking a picture, and anchored myself for the shot that I have originally intended to take.

I find myself happier, less irritated and suddenly more at home in Beijing as if I am now just one of the crowd. After all, that is what everyone else is doing. I think I am going to do well and fit Beijing before too long.

His first trip to CHINA!

"I missed the children so much. Depressed...This is not working out..." my wife messaged me on skype...

...and that is only the 2nd day she was in Beijing alone. She still have at least two full months before the entire family can join her...

"OK..that's it" I told myself. 

"Since next week is Raya holidays, we will be coming to see you..ok?"

So, I got Ryan's China visa done, got our tickets and packed our bags for one week in Beijing. For Ryan, this would be longest flight ....6 hours. I have apprehension as to how he would cope with the hours but then, it would be a good preparation for his September's trip with us to Seattle which will take over 20 hours....

When I told him that he was going to China, he was over the moon and started telling teachers, friends, classmates and everybody he met that he is going to CHINA!

I told him that he cannot speak Mandarin and that he can't go. He said he will learn and ask his grandmother what "Eating Rice" is in Mandarin. Grandma said "吃饭". He repeated it and then proudly proclaimed "I can go CHINA already! I know how to speak 吃饭!"

He was so excited about the trip that he even offered to help to pack his own clothes and bag. On the way to the airport, he was talking non stop, telling the taxi driver about his going to China and to see his mommy. At the airport, he even helped to pull our hand held luggage, and stopped every now and then and asked for his picture to be taken...vain!

Waiting for boarding at the Premier Lounge .....

We took MAS and we managed to secure a window and aisle seat all to ourselves. By the time, he board the plane, he was totally exhausted and fell asleep even before the plane took off !!! He slept the entire 6 hours on my lap and only got up when we were about to land. 

So, the journey was much much much simpler than I anticipated and I guess he is ready for the long flight to US now.....

More on his visit to CHINA in the following post .....

Are we any different? I wondered ....

When I first informed some of my friends about our coming relocation to Beijing, one of the most common response that I have received was "Huh? You sure boh? You can get used to it ar? China wor?"

We have heard much about China. We have heard how China has turned from a rather conservative country into one of the big super powers that she is today, clearly a force to reckon with globally.

When China sneezes, the world stops ....

On the other hand, we have also heard much about the ugly side of China either through word of mouth, rumors, stories and the media. I must said that I have a lot of reservation about relocating there as well. Firstly, because I am a `banana' who could not read nor write Mandarin. My stammering Mandarin will probably be just enough to get myself a sunny side up in the hotel during breakfast. 

We all have heard or viewed the ugly video of how a poor little boy who was knocked down by a lorry and no one apparently stopped to help. I have seen for myself men in China sitting in coffee shops with their T-shirt rolled up exposing their belly, sipping their coffee and having a good time. I have seen for myself, cars and taxis that stopped by the middle of the road, oblivious of other users need to pass, just for their own convenience. I have seen cars cutting into cues without any signals, expecting you to give way. 

There were even stories of how unsafe it can become if you were to walk alone in China. But really, is it?

The question today is are we any different? 

Malaysia now is a proud owner of an equally interesting video of an old lady lying by the road side, hurt with passers by just walking past and not lending a helping hand. If this scene is somewhere in China, we would probably go "What lar this Chinese? No heart one ar? See people hurt like that also don't stop to help?" and another party would probably responded like "Ya lar. What to do? China ma. They are like that one...."

But the scene IS NOT CHINA! It is Penang. Like at the back of our very own courtyard.

And if you think only Chinese in China rolled up their T-shirt and expose their belly in the public, you are dead wrong. I was waiting for my wife to finish her facial in Subang and I was parking in front of a mamak store. Right in front of me was this middle aged man (race not important) with his T-shirt rolled up exposing his ugly belly, having his teh tarik with his friend.

Drivers in China are definitely aggressive but we have our fair share of aggressive drivers and road bullies back home. Just the other day, as I was taking a leisurely drive on Sunday to go out for breakfast, a blue E-class Mercedes driven by a lady driver just zoomed past on the outer lane which was meant to go straight and turned right, cutting right in front of my car because she wanted to beat the traffic light, expecting me to brake (which I had to). And this is in a residential area. If you drive in KL daily, driving any less aggressively in the morning or evening rush will get you no where and ages to get home because no one will give you the right of way. You would have to fight for it. Using the signal light to indicate intention of changing lanes is strongly not advised because this will disclose your intention to other drivers who will close up the gap to prevent you from doing so. Am I guilty of it? Very much so. Guilty as charged! So, then again, are we any different.

We have heard of how unsafe it is to walk the streets in China. I remembered I was told when we were visiting Shenzhen some years back to be extra careful. If we read the news of the crimes that were being committed today in our media, of how women are being assaulted in car parks of shopping complexes, of how little children were being abducted, molested and killed, of the number of innocent deaths due to snatch thieves and car windows being smashed at traffic lights ...the question today again is ....are we any different?

I have always treat our relocation to China as a learning experience and once in a lifetime opportunity albeit with reservation, and the first lesson that I have learnt is never judge another and arrive to a conclusion without first experiencing it yourself and always ask if you are any better.

"Let the one who have no sin, cast the first stone" Christ said.......

Are we any different? I truly wonder ........

The start of another Great Learning Experience

We just got back over the weekend from our one week scouting trip at Beijing. It was a tiring yet exciting and eye opening trip for the both of us and it certainly was a great learning experience for us.

For the uninitiated, we will be relocating to Beijing very likely in October this year for at least 2 years. For someone like me (well into my forties and well on the way to fifty) who have grown up with my roots well entrenched here in Malaysia, this is definitely going to be challenging. Of all the countries that I have visited so far, China is one of the country I least favoured. After having been to Kunming for a business golf trip and another one to Shenzhen on a holiday, where I was totally unimpressed, visiting China is clearly not one of the top destination I would consider, let alone living there.

We have been toying with the idea of relocating to another country for quite some time now but have not really work on it. Anyway, of all the countries in the world, China has never even come up in our list of countries we want to stay in. So, when my wife was offered this exciting and challenging role in Beijing, China, it certainly caught us by surprise.

But we took it with good faith, and thanks to some very sound advice from some of our friends who have moved from country to country for work purposes, we braced ourselves for the journey ahead, with an attitude that nothing is impossible and nothing is bad if taken positively and at the end of the day, our stay in Beijing would be another GREAT LEARNING experience for the whole family.

With that, our process to relocate was set in motion with our first visit to this HUGE city.

Well, Beijing is certainly a culture shock to us and, the first few days, I must say was exceptionally difficult for me at least to get used to.

Starting off with the negative, Beijing is definitely a polluted city with a perpetual haze the entire week we were there and talking to the locals confirmed that these happened rather often. Air filters are strongly recommended.

The sight of people sitting by the side of a busy street in the city center with their shirt half rolled up, revealing their belly can be rather shocking. Of course, then there is this local practice of the need to perpetually spit anywhere they find it convenient, which is ANYWHERE. On the humour side, we were visiting a bookstore and they have this little corner when visitors are encouraged to write something about Beijing in six words. This one caught my attention, "You spitted, I dodged, You missed!"

For a banana like me, framing up words to form a sentence to get around is a real challenge, especially since I hardly need to use my very limited vocabulary back here in Malaysia. I think that the two words I am so used to hearing and using during my trip there this round was "什麼?" (What?)

If you think that driving in KL is horrific, wait till you got onto the roads in Beijing. They are all right hand drive which is already something different from us but it is not which side of the road you should be driving that scares you, it is the attitude and the manner of which they drive. Basically, it seemed that everyone has the right of way and everyone is right at some point. So, it is all about how daring and stubborn you are on the road. It is certainly nerve wracking even for a seasoned driver like me.....

And the locals seemed to have this need to gamble. You can literally see people gambling by the road side almost anytime anywhere. While on a apartment scouting trip, I could see a couple of cars, vans or lorries parked by the roadside and a group of four or five people sitting there, playing cards, men and women alike. Simply unbelievable. When I was at Temple of Heaven, a popular tourist site, there was this walkway packed with locals gambling!

The local crowd, both man and woman, young and old, happily gambling away at the Temple of Heaven, Beijing.

The standard of living in Beijing is certainly exorbitant, not only to the locals but all the more so for foreigners like ourselves. Anything imported is unbelievably EXPENSIVE! An advice to those thinking about relocating to Beijing, negotiate and re-negotiate your package.

A decent 2 rooms apartment among the affluent locals or foreigners starts anything from RMB12000 (RM6000!) and a 3 rooms apartment could easily sets you back anything between RMB15000 to RMB22000 (RM7500 to RM11000). Unlike in Malaysia, where your apartment would already comes with full facilities such as the gym and swimming pool, these facilities are normally offered by a privately owned club where membership fees alone sets up back another RM3000 to RM5000 a year.

Our biggest challenge would be stuff related to our children. Sourcing for Pedisure mild powder in Beijing was certainly challenging. Of all the supermarkets and stores we went to, we only found one that have Pedisure and the price for their small can is the price of the big one we are getting here! A box of Kellog cornflakes is close to RM20 and Kraft cheese single pack is RM25!

Children education here is expensive for foreigners unlike the locals. Of the all the pre-schools that we visited, the cheapest and the least impressive is still RMB80,000 (RM40,000) a year or RM3300 a month excluding transportation and lunch. The more decent international ones that we were interested in cost between RMB140,000 to RMB160,000 annually (RM70,000 to RM80,000) or RM5800 to RM6700 a month, and that is only for children between 4 and 5.

But after spending an entire week in Beijing, are there anything positive about staying here? Well, there certainly is.

Beijingers are a friendly lot (if you can understand them or get them to understand you). We have made a number of friends during our week there. 

Although imported stuff are normally expensive (with the exception of beer), there are several very popular online stores that offers good quality stuff at reasonable prices with free delivery, trusted by both the affluent locals and expats alike.

Taxis are easily available and not exactly expensive. Cars are definitely much more affordable here. You don't see many local cars like the Cherry in Beijing. Beijing is packed with VW, BMWs and Mercs. Even Toyotas, Hondas and Nissans are a minority. A brand new 2.4 litre VW Passat Turbo is only around RM140K while a brand new Merc C class apparently cost a little more than RM150K. Fuel however are expensive at RM4 per litre.

Food is not unreasonably expensive and plenty of variety as in KL. The only advice of course is not to be overly adventurous while attempting street side delights.

Being a metropolitan city with an increasing influx of foreigners working and staying in Beijing, the government has done exceptionally well in making sure that the foreigners are well taken care of. There are two special, well equipped clinics set up to cater mostly for foreigners. The SOS clinic for example even have a 24 hour call center that one could call anytime and to ask for anything if assistance is required. For us, that is another one of our top priority need that we have to address, not so much for ourselves but more so, for both Ryan and Chenya when we are there.

Beijing offers a great diversity of attractions from lavish shopping malls offering the best and most expensive there is to historically rich relics and structures that will greatly enhance one's understanding of a proud civilization. 

There are certainly some mega rich citizens in Beijing but majority are still average income earners like ourselves trying to make a decent living.

After one week there, as we got ourselves more familiarized with this new city of which we will soon call HOME, we began to feel more at ease and comfortable dealing with the changes, preparing ourselves for our next trip in August where we would have to decide on the school and hopefully a reasonably priced and decent home.

After all, we are taking this as our NEXT GREAT LEARNING EXPERIENCE that will greatly enhance our knowledge and experience in life and widen our perspective on how we look at other cultures, appreciate them and at the same time, appreciate what we have been having here in Malaysia.