Shipping arrived...and advice on what to bring from UK

My shipping arrived from the UK as promised right before Chinese New Year. I must say the shipping company I used was very efficient from the UK end but when it came to Malaysian end...it was very worrying. I didn't know who to contact and when I was given a number, they were very unprofessional. Finally, I was given an office number and managed to speak to a proper person. Anyway, my shipping did arrive Alhamdulillah but I wouldn't recommend this company.

The best thing about bringing back things from the UK is that you have an instant home. It is a nice feeling to have familiar things and the kids seem more relaxed once they have their familiar toys and books.

I didn't bring back a lot of furniture, just the ones I really like. You can get nice furnitures from Malaysia and if you have a big budget, you could get beautiful wood furnitures. Just do some window shopping first and go to proper furniture shops rather than the ones inside the supermarket. Have a look around 'local' shops.

Things you would like to bring back from UK

1. Children's books: Books are expensive in Malaysia although there are some 'book fairs' around - at the moment there's a book fair at Jalan Tunku Abdur Rahman. Otherwise, try and get books from bargain bookshops in the UK (and I'm not talking about Waterstones) or you can get some cheap books from internet bookstores such as 'bookpeople' or 'red house' or amazon.

2. You can get all kitchen items for reasonable price especially if you go to 'Kedai serbaguna'. Cooking pots can be expensive especially branded ones so, if you have those in the UK then, bring them along in your shipping. Also can't seem to find any hand-blender here???

3. Baby items: I would advice you bring back a year's supply of nappies especially if your child is in nappy pants. Nappies are expensive around RM30 - RM40 if you want the good quality ones. I got some promotion packs back in the UK for easy up pants; they cost me £2.99 each. If your child is on powdered milk then, it is a good idea to bring a year's supply as well. Powdered milk here is expensive. However, if your child is already on cow's milk then, you'll be okay. They have fresh milk and full cream milk and low fat milk here. It taste nice (my Luqy loves it) and cost only RM4.50 - RM 5.50 for 1 Litre carton.

4. Spices - you might want to bring back Olive oil, rosemary, mixed herbs and other European spices. You can get them here but they are expensive. If you have a jar of them back in UK, just put them in a box. You can virtually get every kind of food here, you can even get strawberries if you miss them that much but they're just costly. And you know how me and kids love cheese...somehow...we don't seem to love cheese so much here in Malaysia; maybe due to the hot weather like I haven't had chocolates for ages.

5. Clothes: you can get clothes here for reasonable price.If you're one of those 'branded types' then, best to get all your kid's clothes from the UK. I used to get all of my children's clothes during the summer/winter sales and buy it for the whole year or two. Branded clothes are expensive here but you can always get clothes from Pasar Malam if it's only for pyjamas...

My advice from personal experience is that if you're spending for a whole container or half a container then, BRING EVERYTHING WITH YOU.