March 8, 2008

Well it's Sunday morning and we're well rested from our excursion yesterday. Jim has been posting the last couple of days so I'll fill you in on what I've been doing.

On Friday I met with 1 of my real estate agents, Billie, she is Chinese but born here in Malaysia. She had arranged for me to see some properties in the Bangsar area that we prefer. I found her to be very nice and spunky (if anyone uses that term anymore). The first place I looked at was ok, it was located in a compound specifically for expats and if offered several amenities like swimming pools, restaurant, mini market, squash court (not that Jim and I play) and 24 hour security. The inside was about 1100 sq/f but the bedrooms were on the small side and very close to the living room so if Jim is sleeping he could still hear me in the kitchen banging around. Even though the outside was nice, the inside felt like some sort of government housing and not very homey. I scratched that one off my list immediately. The second place was very nice, about 2000 sq/ft and completely renovated so it was modern and clean although very white. This place also has amenities though not as many as the other place and it had hot water in the kitchen and an oven (something I'm finding out is considered a luxury). It's still in Bangsar but a little bit further away than what we want. The couple of places that I looked at Billie had already gotten a sense of what I liked and as soon as we walked into them, she turned me around and said "NO, this place is not for you!" So out of 4 locations, I only liked one and it was a condo, we really want something like a townhouse so Oso can have some kind of private yard. I had a nice conversation with Billie, she filled me in on the Malay way of life and the rife between Malay and Chinese and I filled her in on the Americans. She has been to L.A. and said that the best time she had was when she was driving the L.A. freeways, something I did not accomplish until after I lived there for over a year. I could see having her as a friend, she seems like she's a lot of fun.

On Saturday, we had an appointment to view a townhouse that we've viewed online and I really had my hopes up because the photos that I've seen were promising. The neighborhood was nice and close to where we want to be and the outside was well maintained with a private yard for Oso. Inside everything seemed nice, only slightly outdated but when it came to the kitchen and bathrooms is when it started going downhill. The kitchen had new cabinets but no oven or hot water and the stovetop was a portable one with only 2 burners. On average I use at least 3 pans when I cook. They say everything is negotiable but I think if I requested a new stove, hot water and a dryer (because there was only a washer present) the price would definitely be increased. It was a big space I think 2300 sq/ft with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths but the only bathroom that I liked was the master bedroom. The other ones were painted funky pastel colors and the fixtures were primitive, like the downstairs bathroom, if you took a shower, the toilet would get wet because it's just a shower head attached to the wall next to it and the other bathroom was a jack and jill style connecting 2 bedrooms but the tile was awful!! No amount of decorating could have improved it. Not to mention that all of the windows that faced the back of the house had bars on them which made me question the safety. As we were leaving we noticed the house next door had a for rent sign on it so I'm going to research it because from the outside it looks as if it would be nicer.

Yesterday was election day here so as we were walking around campaigners were out in full force. Much like at home there are 2 main parties. To put it simply, one is Muslim based and the other is non-Muslim. There are several states so whatever party wins the most states basically controls the country, not surprising the Muslim party won the most states. Jim's boss called this morning to say that even though they won, the opposition actually won more states than expected so there is a slight possibility that there will be some demonstrations and we should stay off of the subway for the next week and if we see a large group of people to walk away, not towards them. I think that I will take this advice seeing as how I haven't registered with the American embassy yet that we are here. I will take care of that within the next couple of days. When I was walking Oso one morning I ran into a lady who was from Texas and she told me where it was. I want to make sure that our government knows that we're here so they know where to find us if they have to!!

We had lunch in a place called the Canteen. When we walked in, if you could picture some dive Mexican restaurant with dark lighting and a dingy bar, but they served seafood, steaks and chicken. Jim got roasted chicken and I got a stuffed fish fillet. This thing looked like a deep fried fish burrito! It was stuffed with cheese, peppers, onions, and tomatoes and it was really good but I think we'll go back there if only for the chicken wings, we didn't get any but someone else had some and they looked delicious. The only other odd thing about this restaurant was when I went to bathroom there was a sign on the back of the door that said "Please do not wear shoes when squatting on the toilet" I don't know if anyone remembers the photos I sent out from our last trip here but there are 2 kinds of toilets, one you can sit on and one you can squat over. Apparently if there is no squatting toilet then there is a drain in the floor with a hose next to it people can use or according to this sign you can mount the toilet and squat over it. Needless to say after reading that sign I'm not putting my bum on any public toilet again!!

We were gone for a while so we came home and walked Oso and later Jim went up to the lounge to watch a rugby game with his new friend Alad who is really from Wales not Australia like Jim said in his last blog, the one with the jealous Chinese girlfriend/wife? who if I never see again will be fine with me. She kept giving me dirty looks because Alad and I were discussing politics, he seems very interested in our presidential election and is actually an Obama supporter. It was nice to talk to an ally however I could have done without all the drama that she brought. I was glad to see her go.

Today I plan on venturing out with Jim in the car. It's the first time I've been in his car with him driving so yes, I will wear my seatbelt!