Moving to Thailand While Visiting Malaysia
Well, it is settled, the school is signed and money is down.
That was fast.
Mike’s Blog 189
So I write this out as I prepare to go to Malaysia, yes, on the road. Some say if we have picked Thailand why continue the trip to Malaysia and Nepal? Well, if you have been following closely – KL was for Wendy’s meditation retreat, and Nepal was to meet her Buddha master. So I am just tagging along for the rest of the trip.
The first 2 “legs” of this trip have been extremely jam packed and stressful. With the workshops and team building in Philippines (as well as 2 cities- Manila and Cebu) combined with the school hunt and apartment hunt in Thailand it has been non-stop. And of course keeping up with the normal work.
And yes, we made a decision to move to Thailand much faster than expected.
Why?
Well – the school year starts August 13 with orientation for parents on Friday Aug 10! We had the idea it would be the very end of August or early September – but this is like less than a month away.
Sure, the schools said we could start later in the semester, but we want the kids to start with everyone else. Actually when we went to Philippines to see schools – so many of them had a totally different calendar year – that was another challenge for picking there.
I know, we didn’t even go to KL or Nepal. Well Nepal was always a long shot and just too isolated. KL – maybe in the future depending on how it goes in Thailand – but the school is starting so soon that is the big kicker.
Some of you are excited to see the amazing videos of Thailand – but I feel today’s video blog is not going to live up to your expectations. We simply have a lot of “urban” shots. We are up in the mountains in North Thailand – that is one of the bummers – no beaches nearby. I know what you’re saying – why live in Thailand if you don’t have the beach. Well it isn’t too far – and we are moving here for the education.
Seriously – there are so many international schools in Chiang Mai it is unbelievable. It was hard to pick one – we picked a newer one called Unity Concord – with US education system, English all day with either Thai or Chinese language once a day, and really got the best “vibe” when going there.
Here is the craziest part – if you remember my schedule – we return to China August 8, and if you read above you’ll see school orientation in Thailand is August 10 – so – yup – I booked a flight with the kids (and grandpa) for August 9.
Life moves so fast, will hopefully “lay low” on the next couple “legs” of this trip – digest all of these changes and make things happen.
Which leads into…
Wife heading to a Meditation Retreat – Time on my own in Malaysia
On the move, time to get work done.
Wendy is so excited as I say goodbye to her for a few days.
We are trekking for real now – landed late in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from Chiang Mai, Thailand – different countries in Southeast Asia but the distance is closer than most flights in USA or China. The complexities in Southeast Asia is “real” – new SIM cards, new currencies, flights between all these island countries. Lots of new things to talk about on Mike’s Blog in the future. As well as business interviews and guides in the business blog Global From Asia.
We are over halfway through our 4 country, 4 week trip and it has been a great bonding experience with my wife again. Many married people must agree, the relationship changes quite a bit after marriage – and especially after having kids. So we have this month trip without the kids (and grandpa) to live as one again.
But in this trip – we get a few days apart – and now that it just beginning. We drove a few hours north of KL to the city where Wendy will be having her retreat. I joined her to check it out, and – ya – what else do I have to do?
Well, will stick around here a couple days (is the plan) and then going to an Amazon FBA seller meetup on Friday night in KL. Weekend on my own in the big city – and Wendy and I will re-sync up on Monday July 30. Tricky part is – how will we find each other – guess I will find a hotel and wechat her the name and hope she can find it? She has been ok traveling on her own but of course I worry.