Adventures in Kulai

I was finally able to spend a weekend in Malaysia as I took my first holiday in Kulai Malaysia which is where my in-laws are living at during school holidays and weekends.  As I have spent my first month out of my legal practice training working intensely on my workshop,  I was unable to take advantage of the lack of GST in Malaysia until last weekend.

Coincidentally, one of the best articles comparing the cost of living in Malaysia and Singapore showed up on iMoney. You can access the link here and see for yourself just how different life is in Malaysia. They've done a great job compiling what it takes to geo-arbitrage between the two countries. With such numbers, I will not be surprised that many Singaporeans will retire in Malaysia over the next ten years as the PKR government try to pick up the pieces and restore the rule of law in that country.

Transitioning to Kulai can be hilarious, I just want to share a story with all the readers of this blog that I have already shared early on FB :

I was in AEON Mall in Kulai and for some strange reason, they have decided to become super environmentally friendly in Malaysia. I would alway begin my shopping journey at Popular Bookstore because I'd like to figure out the zeitgeist of the nation post-elections. So I would start by buying copies of the Malaysian Edition of the Edge as well as a few other Malaysian business magazines to understand what the business guys are thinking about.

When I got to the counter at Popular bookstore, they said that they do not have plastic bags. I even offered to pay for them, but there was none at the counter.

CCB !

Heavily encumbered with magazines and newspapers, I proceeded to go to mynews.com, which is like a convenience chain that sells even more magazines. The stupid Singaporean in me thought that a convenience store would mean convenience right ? So I bought even more magazine and assumed that I would get a plastic bag for my trouble. But, to my consternation, mynews.com did not stock any plastic bags as well. Volunteering to pay cash for them is also unhelpful.

KNNBCCB !

Kulai must be very environmentally friendly.

I lugged my pile of books into Starbucks and waited for my in-laws to show up. Then I asked them to look after my pile while I looked for a shopping bag. After walking through half the stretch of the mall ( And Malaysian malls are huge ! ), I finally chanced upon a Daiso that had shopping bags for sale at $5 MYR.

YES ! I FINALLY FOUND A SHOPPING BAG TO HOLD ALL MY MAGAZINES !

I triumphantly walked towards the cashier and paid for my shopping bag....

...then the cashier said to me...

Sir, would you like a plastic bag with that ?

LJ ! KNNBPCB !

The rest of my trip was basically throwing my Bullock Cart wheel money at random shit.

I'd like to invite fellow Singaporeans to take a look at this franchise called Mr. DIY. If you really enjoyed shopping at Decathlon at Joo Koon, the best way to imagine Mr. DIY is that it is the "Decathlon of Everything Else". They sell Chinese knock-off toy bricks for about $1.50 SGD each so I went crazy picking up the generic equivalent of Lego and gave it all to the kids who shoed up for my niece's birthday party. I even got six faux Transformer robots for about $20 SGD.

Oh yes, one more thing.

For some inexplicable reason, Kulai has the best beef noodles on Planet Earth. Each Hainanese family has their own formula and they waaaaay better than what we have in Singapore.

You might to consider this stall if you ever come to Kulai to get your fix.