Water Bill in UK

Water usage is charged in 2 ways: by meter or by fixed price. The following is a water bill by fixed prices for 5 months. No matters of much you use, this is the price you pay. Cheap or expensive? I can't tell.

Being thrifty in UK

Life in UK is not easy. You got to spend a lot in order to get a reasonable good life here. But there are a few trips here to help you save some money.

1. Buying reduced price items from supermarkets. Reduced price items concept is not common in Malaysia, but it is a big business in UK. Those items that are going to be expired soon will be sold in offered price. You can get cheap food from the "reduced to clear" corner if you just want to get food for the day.

2. Be simple at home. Unless you are staying for long term or have your own house in UK, otherwise, just be simple at home. You can get yourself a rubbish bin at home by using a used box and  a plastic bag, like this:

Proton / Peroduo Kancil in UK

It is always exciting to see Malaysian cars in UK. Am I proud of it? Yes, I am. But won't be telling anyone in UK.

Proton and Peroduo cars are not popular in UK. Those that I have seen are mostly have been used for donkey years, just like this one on the pitcture above. Obviously, our cars are not considered as decent models here. I hope I am wrong.

Equal rights, regardless of who you are

I received an application form from the Electors body of UK, that telling me I have the right to vote in UK. As long as you are a citizen from Commonwealth countries and eligibly staying UK, then you are entitled to the equal rights as a British. Your race, job, religion or origin.

Looking at Malaysia today, Malaysian Chinese and Indians have been staying in the country for generations. Yet, they are still not fairly recognised. Special privileges are still only entitled to the specific race.  I believe if you are not able to make a fair society, then you are not able to make a developed nation.

F*ck! It is only £2?

Of course the value of UK currency, pound, is much bigger than Malaysian's ringgit. But sometimes you will still get shocked by the price of the items in UK -- so shocked that you will curse "f*ck you"! The picture above shows long sleeve men's office wear sold in Primark at £2 only. I am not very sure it is easy to get the same item with the same value (about RM9?) in Malaysia.

The amazingly cheap price could be due to competitions and mass production.

However,

some businesses in UK are regulated by laws on Sunday -- it is against the law to earn early money on Sunday. This is unimaginable in Malaysia.

Life in UK...

Life in UK surely is difficult.  To earn a decent living, you really need to find ways to impress people -- even you are just a street performer.

It is even more difficult if you are a foreigner. You need to adapt to the culture, langauge, weather, food, transport, manners, occasionally pop up foxes, various taxes and various temptations, etc. Looking from certain angle of view, you definitely have more things to handle in UK than when you live in Malaysia. At some points, you would reckon it is actually more comfortable living in Malaysia.

Still, UK is always a magnet to those who want to do more and see more. Life here is hardly boring. You always find something interesting, something worths exploring and something looking forward to.

UK Jump Aeroplane in nutshell

Jump Aeroplane (跳飞机, Malaysian colloquial) - illegal stay in a country. The purpose of doing this is usually trying to earn more money by working in the country. Many of those also involved in illegal employment in UK because they do not have a valid residency status.

Why UK?
UK has been infamously considered one of the holy sites for many Malaysians to jump aeroplane. This is especially so when UK grants Malaysians 6 months visa free travel to the country. There is also a considerably big Asian community in UK which Malaysians can easily assimilate into.

However, the UK currency has been weakening in recent years. UK government has also tightened the control of illegal immigrants in the country. These reasons have made those who jump aeroplane seriously consider to go back to Malaysia.