The entire experience of moving from Johor to Perak and settling down at our new rental place in Ipoh has been utterly humbling. On some days we hit milestones and got things set up nicely like fully functional, real adults. On some days we were so frustrated at setback after setback that we wished we had never left Johor.
Noel's integrity and supportive nature were evident throughout the process, and I am deeply grateful for him. With him around, the challenges seemed less daunting. Knowing Noel was by my side gave me the courage to bring my vision to life.
The cross is a gift from Papa Ng and Mama Ng.
If I understand it correctly, the wood used to be part of a larger cross in St. Theresa Church, Masai, Johor. In a way, we brought a piece of Johor back with us.
Finding a place
Given the tight timeframe we had to move and report for duty at our new schools, the first thing we did after checking in with our administrators was searching for a new rental place in Ipoh.
Theoretically, Noel and I could temporarily place all our belongings and stay in my dad's house while we searched for the most ideal unit after work. However, I knew that was not a realistic option because of the sheer amount of things Noel and I own and the potential stress of coping with our new schools.
We viewed three units in total, and within 24 hours of receiving our transfer results, we secured a place to live in Ipoh. We had a slight dilemma deciding if we should rent a new, fully furnished apartment or a 40-year-old, unfurnished double-storey terrace house. Both have three bedrooms and two bathrooms. We went with the latter eventually.
Noel favored the apartment for its facilities and the modern toilets, but he agreed to living in the terrace house because of its strategic location and the cheaper rent. Meanwhile, I felt strongly for the terrace house because of the huge space and the liberty to fill the place with pieces that I actually like.
I hated the furniture in the apartment because not only were some of them water-damaged pieces, but some also seemed so out of place, and I couldn't imagine how I would utilize them. The landlord agreed to remove some items, but I would still very much prefer the unit to be as empty as possible. Truth be told, I became accustomed to a very high standard of living after staying eight years in the beautiful and practical units designed by Mr. Cheah, my former landlord in Johor, who is also an interior designer.
In the end, we paid a high price, financially and emotionally, for my stubbornness. Nevertheless, Noel never once complained or questioned our decision with what-ifs. He repeatedly affirmed me, which I really needed to keep going.
The very first piece we purchased when we moved in was this tall towel rack.
It has been something I wanted to add to our previous apartment for the longest of time because I dislike reusing damp towels left hanging in the bathroom.
Moving our things
Initially, we planned to move our things using only our cars since we did not have any large pieces of furniture such as a bed or a fridge. Moreover, we were intimidated by the quotations offered by the moving companies. Of the four companies I contacted, only two were available, and both quoted a price of RM 2,300.
We planned to do two trips of two cars. We even borrowed Noel's dad's Toyota Sienta with the goal of transporting our longest pieces, an Ikea office desk and an Ikea metal rack, in it. However, after an entire day of packing and decluttering vigorously, we realized that we couldn't possibly fit everything in the cars even if we did three trips.
We packed the Sienta with all the recyclables and dropped them off at Ikea recycling center.
The staff even took all the non-recyclables off our hands. Thank God for that!
Feeling burdened and exasperated, we relented and tried to book a Lalamove truck on the app at 11 pm the night before our move. Literally in less than a minute, a truck driver accepted our order. 12 hours later, most of our belongings were loaded in the 10-feet truck, making their way to Ipoh.
The best part was that we paid much less, even after tipping, than we would have if we had hired movers. We only paid RM922 for the transportation and labor cost since we requested for a cargo delivering service instead of a house moving service. We tipped the driver generously because he brought his wife along as a helper. They also handled our items gently.
Noel still did a second trip down south, accompanied by Papa Ng, to bring back the remaining of his precious gadgets and to hand over the unit to the landlord. But all in all, Lalamove not only delivered our belongings, but it also delivered us from backache of driving multiple long-distance trips and all the loading and unloading.
This picture fails to capture all the things we brought from Johor as some bigger items were set aside to make way for easy access to everything.
But hopefully it gives you a glimpse of how much things we have.
Setback 1
A problem we encountered when we first moved in was that the electric gate responded very poorly to the remote controls. The remote's sensitivity was so poor that we had to be within a meter and aim it perfectly straight at the control box for it to work. We had to get off the car and attempt various Jojo poses every time we wanted to open or close the gate, which completely defeated the purpose of having an electric gate. The frequent rain in Ipoh and the busy road our house was at aggravated our inconvenience.
After a week of misaligned schedules, the technician finally found the right time to visit our house. He changed the remote controls and adjusted the frequency. Since then, we have been enjoying the luxury of entering and leaving the house at the click of a button.
Milestone 1
The first area that we completed was the dressing room. As much as living out of a suitcase sounds romantic, Noel and I have lots of clothes and bags and blankets and just soft things that readily collect dust. I urgently needed to tug them away so that they were not sitting on the floor blocking our access to our daily clothes.
Noel and I assembled the wardrobe together, and it was one of the easier pieces we worked with.
Since we go through all our work outfits regularly and we're always rushing in the morning to get ready, I opt for an open wardrobe and some plastic drawers to store our frequently worn clothes.
These two pieces are both from Johor. The white Ikea five-tier rack has been with me since I was living with the girls. I am so glad that it survived the truck ride with only a few scratches.
A special shoutout to my ex-colleagues from the English Panel for gifting us a three-tier plastic drawer. And a big thank you to Shahana and Kak Yani for the portable wardrobe with dust cover. It's perfect to keep all the clothes and items that we seldom use.
The hanging rack with wheels has two purposes. On normal days Noel and I hang clothes we want to re-wear there. When there're guests staying over, they can use the rack to hang their stuff.
Completing the dressing room gave me the adrenaline boost to hang on as we battled the second setback, which was something that had plagued us for days.
Setback 2
The day we moved in, I took a dump in our toilet upstairs. Soon, Noel realized that the toilet was clogged. We tried the DIY pipe clog-free cleaner but to no avail. The first plumber I contacted stood us up twice. The second plumber who came to inspect the situation regrettably informed us that the old, metal sewage pipe was so rusted that waste could not pass through.
In order to properly diagnose the cause, the second plumber pried open the sewage pipe in the kitchen that connected the toilet upstairs to the sewage storage tank underground. They collected most of the waste in a bucket to avoid creating a mess, but still some wastewater overflowed and gushed down from the pipe opening to the floor in a projectile motion.
As I watched to the side, I questioned my existence and the possibility to burn down the house. Of course, I eventually regained my sanity and cleaned up the place after the plumbing team left.
We contacted the landlord, and he sent his contractor over to decide on the next step. The next step was to get Indah Water staff to come over for desludging. Since this is an old house, the waste is stored in the sewage storage tank underground instead of being sent to the treatment plant via the common tunnel.
After the staff did their job, they told me that the tank was almost filled to the brim before this. Thank you, but I would rather not learn about previous tenants' shit, literally.
After that, the contractor and his men came on the weekend for a two-day renovation. They changed the entire metal pipe to a PVC pipe. The process was noisy and dusty since they had to remove some tiles in order to access the pipe underground.
At night, as I stood in the kitchen waiting for my water bottle to be filled, I felt incredibly overwhelmed. The smell of urine, concrete, and prawns* coalesced into a distinct stench, searing the smell of defeat into my memory.
*Our neighbor is a prawn mee vendor, so the smell of prawns is a staple in some parts of our house now.
Another shoutout to Noel for seeing things through after I mentally shut down. He liaised with the contractor while I focused on organizing the rest of the house.
The renovation was definitely a blessing in disguise though. Now, not only can we use the toilets at ease, but the bathroom upstairs is also much more pleasing to the eye with the PVC pipe instead of the dark, rusty metal pipe. It's something I appreciate since that's one of the first things I see when I wake up every day due to the way the two rooms are located.
Milestone 2
I had a clear goal of how I wanted to furnish the living room, and seeing my vision came to life was gratifying. Welcome to our living room, or more accurately, our largest storage space and my home office.
I wanted affordable yet durable pieces that could hold many large and heavy items. The best option was none other than heavy duty boltless racks made of metals and MDF boards. They are relatively lightweight, easy to assemble, and come in various lengths, heights, and widths.
They definitely make the room look like a warehouse. I prefer this industrial aesthetic though since I value functionality and tidiness over conventional interior design.
Noel and I had fun putting together these racks, and he also got one to put in his study. A big thank you to Papa Tan for giving us the table, which we have had for a long time. It has taken on many roles over the years, such as my sister's study desk and my family's dining table. I'll continue to use it and treasure it.
Setback 3
This will probably be something interesting or baffling for many of you.
A few years ago, the Ipoh City Council distributed free green trash bins to every household with the aim of making the city cleaner. However, many refused the bins, worrying that the bins would be stolen. Some just preferred the old way of doing things, hanging bags of trash outside the kitchen window with a hook. This house was one of the many houses which did not have a bin.
I certainly did not have the patience and acrobatic skill to balance multiple bags of 10-liter trash on a tiny hook. I made a few calls and got in touch with the right person in the public office to get this house a free bin. Later, when I went to the garbage management facility to collect the bin, I was disappointed to find out that I couldn't get one because of an address discrepancy.
The facility's records listed my house address as Z, which is also the address used by delivery services. However, the electricity bill I presented listed the address as X, and the water bill listed it as Y. Therefore, none of my documents matched the address they had on file.
I'm not sure if this problem is unique to my neighborhood or the city. Or perhaps it's a common problem many Malaysians across the country face as our areas undergo various developments. My dad's house has similar issue too. The address we grew up using is not the same address delivery services use nowadays.
In the end, all is well with the right amount of wealth. I purchased a similar green bin online for RM120. The landlord eventually sent me the Indah Water bill, which listed the correct house address. By then, I have been happily dumping bags of trash into my new bin for a week or so.
Milestone 3
Let's look at the dining room now. I love it too.
The white cabinet was a pain to assemble. Noel did a wonderful job.
The table was new, but the two rattan chairs were taken from Papa Tan's house. Noel and I had been talking about inheriting them every time we went back for holidays. Now, the rattan chairs are being used frequently once again. They are also the statement pieces for this area.
Milestone 4
The next room that we put together was our bedroom. Noel and I had agreed very early on that we would get a king-size bed because we enjoy our personal space very much. The mattress we ordered arrived on the third day we moved in, and we had been sleeping with the mattress on the floor.
However, my hair, the dust, and the small insects soon agitated me. The thought of all of them accumulating under the mattress drove me nuts. I searched everywhere on the Internet for a durable yet relatively cheap and lightweight bed frame. After comparing prices, Ikea bed frame won. I suppose it's no surprise to anyone.
The room does not have any air-conditioner.
So, aside from the ceiling fan, Noel and I each has a standing fan.
Behind the scenes
As usual, I didn't take any pictures of Noel's study since that's his personal space. So far, he has a rack, a 1.8-meter desk, and an office chair in his room. We ended up leaving his old Ikea office desk in Johor because it was too much of a hassle to transport it to Ipoh. He had used that desk for 6 years. That's good enough. He still has some things in his study he has yet to unpack, but I doubt those items would ever emerge from the suitcase.
The kitchen is still a work in progress. I didn't want to buy many things right off the bat. I wanted to experience cooking in the kitchen a few times first so that I could streamline my workflow and determine what I need and where the items should be placed.
Appreciation
There are truly many people we need to thank for this relocating journey. First of all, thank you to all our friends and ex-colleagues for the practical gifts.
Thank you, Papa Ng, for lending us the Sienta and following Noel to Johor for the second trip. Thank you, Mama Ng, for the oven, the floormats, and all the curtains in the house. Noel and I felt pampered to have the both of you coming down to Ipoh for two consecutive weekends even though you were busy with assorted matters yourselves.
Thank you, Papa Tan, for the table, the chairs, the fans, and many smaller items I just took from the house. Now, I have the best local guide telling me where to go whenever I need something really niche. Thank you, Mama Tan, for the inheritance. Because of that, Noel and I were able to relocate and furnish the house without stressing over money.
Last but not least, thank you once again to Noel. Your presence kept this entire experience fun. Now, we can pat ourselves on the back for surviving not just the relocation, but the deflated tire, the multiple laundry runs before our washing machine arrived, and the hospital runs while Papa Tan was hospitalized.
Allow me to digress.
I strongly recommend every driver to keep a pumping machine like this in your car.
Instead of changing to the spare tire, which was a labor intense effort, I used Mama Tan's machine to inflate my punctured tire temporarily so that I could drive to the nearest mechanic. It was a hassle-free and man-free process.
Now, if you need me, you can find me in my bedroom catching up on some much-needed sleep.
