Bye Bye Hong Kong, Hello Kuala Lumpur!

This view from the apartment shows the gathering storm over Repulse Bay Beach on our departure day. After 4 years in Hong Kong we were about to experience our first Typhoon as 'Nuri' delivered a direct hit.


All flights were cancelled, so having had to move out of the apartment that morning, we weathered the storm at an airport hotel (luckily found one of the last rooms!) and re-booked on the following day's flight. Saturday dawned with little sign of Nuri and as we could see flights arriving and departing we were hopeful of leaving that afternoon. Wishful thinking! After delays ad nauseum, we eventually arrived in KL, exhausted, close to 3 a.m., just 30 hours late !



Our temporary accommodation is a serviced apartment which is quite central, within walking distance of Jan's office (the cream building on the right). With supermarket and shopping mall close by, we have everything we need - good as we've no transport yet, of course.


We're on the 19th floor and have a grand view of KL - the photos show that we're not far from the famous twin towers.

Waiting for us in the apartment was this wonderful basket of orchids - gorgeous! To complete the scene all we needed now was Tia the cat who had travelled ahead of us. On Tuesday morning the man from her boarding place duly arrived, with her pet passport and bill to be paid - but no cat!! He'd forgotten her in his haste and had to rush back to collect her. Tia, who's spent the last weeks cooped up, looks well - a bit fatter even and she thoroughly enjoyed her first day investigating her new surroundings and being pampered!



Oddly though, she has spent several hours curled up in a bathroom drawer - obviously still needing the security of a confined space and definitely not appreciating the camera flash as I tried snapping her!



So far it has rained most days - this is supposed to be the dry season and everyone says how unusual it is. On Wednesday, torrential rains flooded the roads and brought traffic to a complete standstill; with many people stranded for over an hour.

All week I've been out and about with an estate agent viewing properties - always one of my favourite occupations as many will know! I've seen houses sporting 70's vintage bathrooms and kitchens well beyond their sell-by-date, others complete with new and noisy construction site opposite, yet more which had no room to swing a cat in or were so close to others that you could shake hands with your neighbours from the windows. Most had no soul and certainly didn't shout 'live in me'! However - I am pleased to report that one did!! My dream house was out there and after a nail biting period, a price eventually has been negotiated with the owner. The contract is yet to be signed, so keeping fingers crossed we should be moving at the beginning of October to lovely Taman Hillview, a peaceful, green residential area about 15 mins drive from here. Can't wait to move in - loved our house in Hong Kong, but that was mostly about the seaview - this place however, is gorgeous all round - can't wait to show you in photos.

All this property hunting has left little time for my daily walk, though I have ventured out a couple of times. I'm definitely missing the beautiful seaview promenade at Repulse Bay - here I've had to walk in the traffic fumes on pavements one could easily break a neck on. What with uncovered storm drains to fall down and broken tiles to stumble over, as well as having already gone A over T (lucky not to break something) on a wet slope just outside the apartment building, I'm being ultra-careful about where I put my feet! Add to that the possibility of handbag snatchers on motorcyles (a problem here, apparently) I'm not enjoying the experience too much. Think I'll have to stick to the relative safety of the gym for the time being.

I'm going to get going with something creative next week- possibly some painting- and will post again soon when there's something new to share.