Wednesday, January 15, 2014

How To Tell Whether An Expat Is Working In HK, Singapore or Malaysia

I think this is ripe for a repost. The first two categories (HK and Singapore was from the site expatspaytoomuch.com .... So I think I better add my contribution for expats in Malaysia.



Accidentally stumbled across a site for expats in Asia. They have a satirical write up on their welcome landing page. Its funny. The site is expatspaytoomuch.com


You know you are a Singapore Expat when:

You forget what chewing gum tastes like. You wear winter clothes indoors and summer clothes outdoors. You think a bus is incomplete without a TV. You say handphone, not cellphone. You order warm water because too much ice water is bad for you. No matter what you're doing at the moment, you'd rather be shopping You are certain that Holland Village has very few Dutch people and is a place for hippie bohemian artist types and overpaid yuppies. Your idea of a good night out consists of having dinner at a hawker centre and then eating again. Durian and belachan no longer stink. You justify every argument with the phrase "in order for us to be competitive in the 21st century". Most of these acronyms make sense to you: NUS, NTU, ERP, SDU, PAP, MRT LKY, GCT, PRC, TIBS, SBS, SMS, JB, JBJ, AMK, AYE, PIE, ECP, ISD, ISA, CPF, CHIJMES, SPG, CWO.


You get annoyed if you don't see a sign telling you how long your wait's going to be for a bus, a train, or the expressway. You think everything should be 'topped up'. You think there is nothing wrong with putting chilli sauce on everything you eat. You think US$1 million is reasonable for a smallish condo, but S$5 for a plate of fried noodles is a rip off.


You know you are an expat in HK when:


You have developed a taste for mooncakes. Your building's security guard is 4x older than the building itself. All your clothes are tailor-made or come from Giordano. You are not surprised to see an 85 year old lady pushing tons of garbage / cardboard boxes up the street. You believe shopping and eating are the only forms of entertainment. You have become a shameless-name-dropper. You have a MontBlanc pen clipped to your shirt pocket. You believe the HK Jockey Club is an honourable philanthropic organisation.

You can tell who is Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung and Hacken Lee.
You believe you are really tall when you are only 5' 8". You get offended when people admire your chopsticks skills. You speak enough Cantonese to make your colleagues laugh their heads off. You bring a coat and scarf to fight hypothermia in supermarkets, buses, ferries and cinemas. You are not surprised to find footprints on the edge of toilet bowls. You use the word "Ayyiiieeeaahh" to convey surprise, pain or anger. You are always looking forward to the next Typhoon 8. You think US$2m is a reasonable price for a flat but HK$40 for a plate of noodles is a ripoff.

Here is my contribution: 


You know you are an expat in Malaysia:

You think double parking is not really that unconscionable if you are within earshot of honking. Everytime you have to visit a government department, you have to take the whole bloody day off. You are so glad to have AirAsia so that you can go to Phuket, Krabi, Bali, Bangkok, KK, Penang for the weekend cheaply. You envy the salary packages of fellow expats in HK and Singapore but laugh at their expenses. You worship the sun, but even so, you do not wish to be out in the streets between 11am-3pm. You cannot believe the locals do not use sunblock. You thought OZ was slack, but secretly welcomes the most number of public holidays in a single country on earth. You go to the beach but can't bring yourself to swim in it.

You only meet up with friends at Mont Kiara or Ampang. You have never been to Kepong or Gombak. You are not sure if all the girls at Beach Club are really girls. You think the locals drive like failed F1 drivers. You think all Malaysians drive their cars without installing indicator lights. You think crossing the road is Malaysia's national sport. You think Malaysian food is the cheapest and the tastiest in the world. You snigger quietly at how low the rates are for 5-star Malaysian hotels. You think US$25,000 for a locally made car is the biggest ripoff in the world. You couldn't bring yourself to buy a new car at local prices, even though you can afford to, so you end up driving a 5 year old third hand deadbeat.


p/s photos: Rozita Che Wan

14 comments:

ronnie said...

SD. What about featuring beautiful women above 50?

Unknown said...

So true! So accurately analysed!

medial equipment said...

beautiful women i have never see.thanks for share.

wizardteo said...

I think most people will very like this topic, very funny n interesting, thks a lots.

Y said...

So Mr SD also has a sense of humour. That was quite humorous for a boring hot stuffy Sunday afternoon

bruno said...

Dali,you got to show really beautiful ladies all the time.When we are all in a good mood then good times are here again.

The Aussie got creamed these last couple of days.This morning is down 100 pips because of bad employment figs.Gone bottom fishing again at .8810.Stops at .8710 and move to breakeven when 50 pips in the money.

bruno said...

I am out of the Aussie longs at breakeven.Although it has been down almost 300 pips from Monday's high,there is not even a deadcat's bounce.

bruno said...

A couple of hours ago Aussie made a 3 1/2 yrs low at below .8765.It looks like a short term exaustion,at least for now.Just jumped in both feet at .8770.Some money is to be made here.Have a nice weekend guys and gals.

soho said...

Time to get some AUD ready for the trip!

bruno said...

Aussie stops moved to lock in 5 pips.Once again a trade that cannot lose.Hehe.

bruno said...

I have set 120 pips limit or 5 pips profit if stopped out of the Aussie long.

Just gone short the Eur/Usd at 1.3560.Although it is oversold,this trade is for holding for a longer period of time.Stops at 1.3850,with pending sell orders at 1.3598 and 1.3648.

Last Friday the Euro broke down from a daily trend line,although no strong follow through on a Friday,like I said before the greenback will be like a roaring lion these next few years.No point betting for a minor correction as it might fall out of bed later this week.The crowd will be back tomorrow from a long weekend.Cheers.

bruno said...

Just took 80 pips profit on the Aussie longs.Forget about that extra 40 pips.This morning in early European trading we almost got stop out in Aussie by a couple of pips.So we should be thankful and not be too greedy.

bruno said...

Our sell order of Euro at 1.3598 was just filled.

bruno said...

Just got filled on 2nd order at 1.3648.Now,or rather later the Euro can sink as low as it likes as our orders are already filled.