Category Archives: Uncategorized

When the toddlers left the nest

Posted on March 26, 2016 admin

This weekend Shorty and I are in Singapore while our kids are in Penang with their grandparents. Let me back up a little and tell you why. Some months ago I agreed to attend my friend Derrick’s wedding in Singapore. At first I was thinking of bringing the kids along but then I later realized that my mom had planned her early birthday celebration that weekend. So we decided to send the kids back to Penang to spend time with my parents while Shorty and I flew down to Singapore. We were going to be away from the kids for a couple of days

This morning Shorty and I woke up and played with both the kids. While we would normally do our own things in the morning while the kids played on their own, this morning we sat with them and played because we knew they were going to leave by late morning. I repeatedly told Fighter that mommy and I will be going away and he’ll be going to Penang to see the rest of his cousins and relatives. I told Penny too… but only once because I wasn’t sure she would understand what I was saying anyway. While Fighter would normally whine and cry if we even mentioned going away, this morning he took it really well and just acknowledged it with a sharp “NGH”.

Late morning came and it was time for them to leave. We loaded them all up into the car and with FIghter strapped into his seat I gave him a kiss on his forehead. Once again I told him that he was leaving us behind and he still didn’t cry. I gave Penny a kiss too as we strapped her on to her seat and then watched as the van pulled away from us.

As we opened the door back into our apartment we began to feel emptiness. Our home was still crowded with all the furniture we use every day, its kitchen cabinets and fridge stocked with food and the TV still warm. Yet the silence felt odd. There were no toddlers fighting for toys on the play mat, no Penny trying to climb up the staircase boldly on her own and no Disney Junior music blasting in the background. I felt I missed them already. Then my mind went back to just 3 years ago. Just 3 years ago, we didn’t yet have Fighter and Penny. It was just Shorty and me at home and the house felt complete. Back then I couldn’t imagine what it was like to have kids running around the house. Now I don’t want to ever imagine not having them run around the house.

I held Shorty in one arm and I told her she will enjoy these two days. That once in a while it’s good to have some time alone and focus not on being a mom, but on being a person.That’s the odd thing about having kids. When they’re around we feel obligated to spend as much time as we can with them. We plan our own schedules around their nap or school times and we get used to interrupted personal time whenever they’re awake. As parents we embrace these new responsibilities and the new realities of life but sometimes it helps to get away. It helps to unwind, to have a meal without worrying about feeding the kids, to walk around a mall without worrying about any of them missing their nap time and to have conversations without being interrupted with a “mommy mommy mommy”.

When the kids left, something hit me. Fighter who would normally cry buckets when we left took it very well. He didn’t shed one tear. It’s almost as if he felt he needed some time away from mommy and daddy too. That made us a little sad at first, some sort of an empty nest feeling but perhaps he needs his space too, even at a young age.

I think this weekend is really going to pass by real quick. I think my full time mom of a wife is going to enjoy it but the best part of all is that I know when we reunite in a couple of days, my little family will be really happy to see one another.

Kyoto

Posted on March 17, 2016 admin

Hello everyone

You haven’t seen much updates this week in this space because I’m in Kyoto for a family holiday. When I’m traveling I find that something like Dayre or Snapchat seems to capture the day a bit better than on my blog here so I don’t have much to update.

So allow me to rest this week and enjoy Kyoto. It’s been a wonderful week so far (not one entirely without work) with the family. I love Kyoto. It’s such a beautiful place. I told my Dad that we should make this trip every year as long as we can.

Anyway check out my Dayre here for more updates on Kyoto. And my videos from Snapchat that I upload on my YouTube channel.

Until then have a great day ahead.

How to Experience Car Racing in KL Without Getting in Trouble

Posted on March 14, 2016 admin

This article is in collaboration with Shell

I think Formula 1 racing is so popular because it combines two things that men (and some women) love. Speed and competition. That’s why every time, after we walk out of the cinema from watching Fast & Furious, we sit in our car and daydream of what could be.

Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to own a fast car. Some of us have budgets that we have to keep within or some have bigger considerations when buying a car. Like, whether or not it can fit a baby chair or whether or not the wife would approve of it.

The good news is that there are other safer ways to experience the speed, adrenaline and energy that comes with racing (no, I’m not talking about night racing) .

1) Rent a Ferrari

As a kid growing up, I’ve always wanted to own a Ferrari. I never really understood the difference between owning and driving. The benefits of driving one was clear. There’s the sound of the engine, the speed or just how damned good you look in one.

Owning on the other hand is something else altogether. As an adult, I learned that owning something doesn’t mean just enjoying it. Owning comes with the burden of taking care of it. Keeping it clean, servicing it and sending it to the workshop if something breaks down. Oh, and did I mention the hefty bill that comes with every workshop visit?

There is another way. You can rent one.

A few years ago I went to an Extreme Racing circuit in Las Vegas. There I got to drive a number of cars around a race track; a Ferrari 458 and a Lamborghini Gallardo to name a couple. I got to push some of the fastest road cars to its limit on the race track and I learned that the 458 handles much, much better than the Gallardo.

In KL, there are a few services that let you do similar things. Yep, you can really rent a Ferrari in KL for a day. To name a couple of companies that do that, check out here and here. Or you can check out Red Ribbon Days for them too.

They typically cost RM6-7K per day, which is a lot more expensive than what I paid for in the US, but I guess it’s because it’s cheaper to run on the race track than to go out on the road. Plus the fact that the cars are a lot more expensive in Malaysia than in the US.

2) Go for a drifting experience

One of the other things I did at the Extreme Racing circuit in Las Vegas was to get into a car with a professional drifter. My first impressions were poor. He was driving me in some beat up Corvette and I thought come on… how quick can this go?

Then he revved up and the following 2 minutes felt like 20 minutes to me. As the car attacked turn after turn, I was swung from side-to-side and if I wasn’t so busy scared of hitting a wall, I would’ve felt the urge to projectile vomit.

It felt like a roller coaster… but in a car. Again, you can get this from Ken Leong’s Drift School or Speed City in KL. If you want to take it a step further, you can even take a drifting class and learn how to do it yourself, starting at RM60 per driver.

3) Go for extreme driving lessons

In KL, there is this thing called extreme driving lessons where they teach you how to drive in extreme situations. Rather than just racing, it actually teachers you how to be a better driver and avoid accidents.

You can find out more details in courses like this at the School of Advanced Motoring Principles.

4) Bring your own car to Sepang for Track Day

I have a couple of friends that regularly bring their cars to Sepang to race around the track. It typically costs RM300 per session, but it’s subject to availability because they get a lot of demand.

You can check out the Sepang Circuit Official Website for more info.

One thing to take note is that they often tell me that every time they go, they find the need to completely change all their tires. So prepare for that bill at the end of that thrill.

5) You could pump up your car with Formula 1 fuel

Shell, with its 120 scientists and specialists around the world, has a high-quality fuel from its performance segment called Shell V-Power Racing. This top performance fuel was made from Shell’s learnings on the Formula 1 race track with Shell V-Power race fuel, which contains 99% of the compounds typically used in Shell V-Power Racing. The fuel is developed with its Technical Partners at Scuderia Ferrari and delivers maximum performance and protection benefits such as its Friction Modifier Technology (FMT). FMT is used in race fuel for Formula 1 cars and is designed to reduce friction by introducing a surface coating component, which protects critical engine parts. This makes for a more efficient energy transfer from the fuel to the wheels.

Although Formula 1 fuel is one of the most tightly controlled fuels in the world, you can now get a feel of it in your car with Shell V-Power Racing. It is actual Formula 1 fuel and this is something many people don’t realize about Shell V-Power Racing even though it has been in the market for over 10 years now.

I’ve used Shell V-Power Racing for my Audi TTS and it feels noticeably different. The car accelerates much quicker and smoother. And if you drive a performance car, some people have told me that the only fuel you should be pumping is Shell V-Power Racing because it takes better care of your engine. In any case, performance car or not, if you’re looking for a better driving experience in your car, you can find it in a better fuel like Shell V-Power. For more details about the fuel, read more about it here or check out the full list of stations offering Shell V-Power Racing and try it out for yourself.

The Tiah Family photoshoot with One Way Tix

Posted on March 11, 2016 admin

Last week Shorty organized a photoshoot for the family with One Way Tix.

One Way Tix is this great photographer that sponsored our pre-wedding shoot and offered to do a family photo shoot for us. The best thing about One Way Tix is their ability to find the props needed to fit whatever theme we wanted. They did it so well for our wedding photos and now with our family photo shoot you’ll see the great job they did.

Here are some of my favorite photos they took that day.

Credit to my wife. I would never remember to plan a family photoshoot and sometimes I dread photoshoots but I’m glad she did.

Shorty also has a video of our family photo shoot so you can check it out here.

3 Tech Giants that cannibalized themselves before someone else did

Posted on March 8, 2016 admin

This article is in collaboration with Microsoft and this blog is hosted on Microsoft Azure.

One of Steve Jobs’ most famous quote was “If you don’t cannibalize yourself, someone else will“. In line with this thought, he released the iPhone knowing full well that it might cannibalize the sales of the iPod or the iPad knowing that it might cannibalize the sales of their Macbooks.

I thought this was a really powerful thought but a thought that is harder to execute than it looks for various reasons. The biggest reason of all though is fear. The fear that we might cannibalize an already profitable revenue stream for a new one that has an unknown outcome.

With this in mind I looked around for other tech giants apart from Apple that have cannibalized themselves and I managed to find it in 3 companies.

Netflix

Netflix first started in 1997 as a mail order DVD business. It did away with the traditional pay-per-rental model and introduced a monthly subscription concept in 1999 that allowed customers unlimited rentals with no due dates or late fees.

The company had done well and in 2000 offered itself for sale to DVD rental giant Blockbuster for $50 million. An offer that Blockbuster declined.

By 25th February 2007, Netflix had grown to deliver its billionth DVD. With the emergence of the internet, Netflix foresaw the opening of a new horizon for its DVD rental business that came in the form of online video streaming.

The company in 2008 decided to pursue the streaming business model and by 2010 had reached a five-year deal worth almost a billion dollars to stream films from major Hollywood studios Paramount Pictures, Lions Gate Entertainment and MGM,

Today we all know Netflix not as a mail order DVD rental company, but as the largest video streaming service for movies and TV shows.

Netflix today has 75 million subscribers globally. The effect on its DVD rental business can be seen from this one chart from their company report.

In retrospect though, Netflix cannibalized its DVD rental business but is as a whole a much larger business (with a market cap of $40 billion) than it was before. It’s once largest competitor in the DVD rental business Blockbuster is on the other hand closing stores at a fast rate.

2. Tencent

In December 2010, Tencent was already one of the most valuable internet companies in the world. Its QQ messenger had almost 650 million users making it the largest platforms in the world at the time. By 2011, the CEO and founder Pony Ma had launched what might potentially kill its own successful messenger app.

QQ messenger was the equivalent of MSN messenger at the time. It was a staple for all China internet users but there was one problem: It was desktop based in a world that was moving to mobile. Tencent quickly launched WeChat, its mobile focused chat app with so much success that it eventually led to internal struggles between the two apps for resources.

By 2015, WeChat had grown to the number one chat app in China with over 600 million monthly active users. The interesting part about this story is that QQ’s growth didn’t decline. It reported over 829 million active QQ accounts in 2015.

3. Microsoft

It’s amazing to think that Microsoft that was founded in 1975 will be 41 years old this year. The company Bill Gates has founded today has annual revenues of over $95 billion and a market cap of almost $400 billion, making it still one of the largest tech companies in the world.

Microsoft is a software company and for most of its life it sold software the old fashion way. By selling individual licenses tied to a computer or a device. For the first time in its 41 year history though, the world around it is changing to more cloud based software and Microsoft is embracing that change.

Satya Nadella became Microsoft CEO in 2014 and has since led the company to change from top to bottom. Here’s what he has done:

i) Focusing on the consumer

Satya realized that customers use products that they love so in order for people to use Microsoft products, they had to make products people would love. The result of that can be seen in Windows 10 which most tech journalists have reviewed and said it is the best Windows in a long long time. I personally use Windows 10 on my home desktop and it really feels like what you wished Windows always was.

ii) Making peace with rivals

For much of its history, Microsoft was a very competitive company. Competitive to the extent that it often saw competitors as a threat than as potential collaborators. CEO Satya brought in a different view. He believes that today’s business environment favours cooperation with rivals like Apple and Google.

Since then he has released Office for the iPad and Android devices as well as free Outlook for both of these competing platforms. To take it a step further, at a Microsoft hosted developer conference in 2014, Grant Peterson used an iPhone to showcase an iPhone document-signing app that runs on Microsoft’s cloud: Azure. (The cloud service that my blog is also hosted on now).

I love this quote from this Business Insider article on Satya.

Nadella has been making the point that using another company’s technology, even in public, shouldn’t matter. He wants Microsoft to build software, development tools, and cloud services that work with all the popular devices, iOS and Android included.

That’s a big shift in Microsoft’s culture, and a smart one.

iii) Microsoft changed the revenue model of Office 365 from selling licenses per device to selling them per user

Coming back to the point of this article, this is where I believe Microsoft risks cannibalizing itself. Microsoft’s old business model was to sell software licenses tied to devices. Considering that we live in a world where we no longer have just one device but many (our PCs, laptops, tablets and phones) it would be a great opportunity for Microsoft to sell more licenses right?

That’s not what Microsoft has done with Office 365. Focusing again on the user experience, Microsoft knows that users want to pay one fee for software and use it on whatever device they want to. They know that if a user has Office 365 on his laptop but not on his phone, he doesn’t have a full Office 365 experience. He has a very fragmented and limited one that limits productivity.

I’m not sure how this gamble will pay off for Microsoft as a company when it comes to profitability but as a user I love it. I’ve been on Office 365 now for a month and it’s great to be able to use Office on my Windows 10 PC/Surface, my MacBook and even my Huawei Android phone. I am now able to do things I never could do before, like edit a Powerpoint on my phone slide while on the way to a meeting.

I think we’re seeing a whole new Microsoft now and I’m looking forward to the products this new Microsoft will introduce to us in the coming years.

You may not have heard a lot about Room, but you gotta watch it

Posted on March 5, 2016 admin

For a month or more now Shorty has been asking me to watch Room, a movie I had never heard about until she mentioned it. Last night we finally watched it and I must say I was blown away.

Now before I let you watch the trailer let me tell you a bit about the movie. Room is about a woman who was kidnapped and locked in a room for many years by her captor. After a couple of years in captivity she gave birth to a boy and raised him in that room.

To protect him from the harsh truth of their reality she raised him telling him that the room was the world. Ok now watch the trailer.

Here’s what I loved about the movie.

Brie Larson the main actress was amazing!

Brie Larson played the role of the mother and she did it effortlessly. Or at least it appeared so. Emotional roles like the one she played often risk overacting from the actor but Brie managed to convey her emotions really subtly to the audience. You knew she was happy even if she wasn’t smiling or sad if she wasn’t frowning.

It’s no wonder she won an Oscar for Best Actress for this role.

2. Jacob Tremblay the boy in the movie was equally as awesome

Yes I said boy. The first time I saw the trailer I thought it was a little girl instead of a boy… because of the long hair. But no Jacob Tremblay plays a boy and he was amazing. I really admire child actors who can pull off such a performance. Again it requires just the right amount of acting… not over-acting.

3. The Storytelling

The movie can sound depressing when you first hear about its premise. Heck I’m not one for indy or artsy movies because they tend to be really draggy and all but Room told the story very well. It spent just enough time developing the characters and giving you an insight on how a day went by in the room. What I loved the most was the story between mother and son. The relationship they had and how they both kept each other sane. I gotta admit I teared man tears at some scenes and it’s not scenes that were obviously made just to make an audience cry. It’s scenes that emotions were so strong you felt you just had to cry. That crying was just a by product of you watching it.

I highly recommend watching Room. It’s an awesome movie and one that really deserved the Oscar Nominations it got.

How my wife raises my kids and why I admire her for it

Posted on February 29, 2016 admin

When Fighter first went to school it was heartbreaking for us. First, Fighter cried every single time we dropped him off at school and this went on for a month or more. Secondly we were afraid that Fighter would get bullied because he was really small for his age.

After 2 months of school, Shorty and I went to Fighter’s school for a parents-teachers meeting. This was a snippet of Fighter’s report card.

The teacher also commented that he knew his ABCs really well, was really good with following the beat of music and did well in many of the lessons.

After we left the school my wife told me that she was really proud of our two (and a half) year old. My response to my wife though was that Fighter was doing well not entirely because of his own doing, but because she raised him very well.

She looked puzzled until I explained to her the things that she knowing or unknowingly did. Here’s how my wife raises my son:

She encourages him to speak proper English

Shorty doesn’t like it when we baby talk Fighter or Penny. She believes that we should treat our kids like they were adults and we should speak to them in the same manner. That means no baby words but proper sentences.

Once she caught me saying to Fighter “Jude want this?” and she corrected me. I ended up saying “Jude would you like to have this?”.

She believes that kids learn how to speak from us and if we’re not speaking properly, they can’t either.

2. When he cries, she encourages him to vent out his anger

The way I know how to discipline is the way my Father disciplined me. When I cried as a kid he would raise his voice until I was too afraid to cry. Initially that’s how I disciplined Fighter too.

Shorty took a different approach. She would first ask why he’s crying and ask him how he feels. When he indicates he feels angry then she tells him that he has 5 seconds to cry as loud as he wants to express his anger. When she’s done counting to 5 he has to stop crying, or he’ll go into the naughty corner.

Believe it or not, it now works every single time. Shorty counts to 5, Fighter screams his heart out for those 5 seconds and then total silence. He stops.

3. She nurtures his love for music

We’ve known for a while that Fighter loves music. Ever since he was a baby he would react positively to the sound of music. Either by dancing to it or trying to hum along.

Shorty encourages him to love music. She often sang to him when he was a baby and now that he’s older she would teach him to sing songs. He can actually sing lots of songs now, everything from the alphabet song, to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, to an Filipino childrens’ song called Bahay Kubu.

We find Fighter singing to himself quite often now. He can often be found in his car baby seat singing to himself while looking out the window.

4. She patiently teaches him the name of things and what they’re called

Shorty makes it a point to bring Fighter out for walks and to see different things. Every time she does she would tell him what a particular item they see is called and after she does, she would test him again to make sure he remembers it.

Now Fighter has a huge vocabulary and every time he sees something he doesn’t know the word for he’ll ask “Mommy… what’s this?”.

When Shorty tells him what it’s called he would repeat after her as if to memorize it.

5. She coaches him on how to ask for things politely.

When Fighter first started speaking with his limited vocabulary, he would get used to saying “Jude want <insert item here>”.

As he grew older though he kept saying “Jude want this” or “Jude want that”.

Shorty arrested that habit and taught him to say “May I have this please?”.

Now if he says “Jude want….” he doesn’t get it.

He has to say “May I have this please?” and he does.

6. She doesn’t force any of our adult prejudices on him

We suspect that Fighter’s favourite colour is pink. He also happens to love Hello Kitty. Our first instinct was to tell him that these things are for girls and that he shouldn’t like them. But Shorty didn’t want to “corrupt” him with our adult prejudice. As a child, she wanted him to like whatever he liked and not tell him what to like.

Another example is when it comes to cats. I hate cats. I can’t explain why but I suspect the fact that my mom hates cats too rubbed off on me. The first time Fighter went near a cat I said “NO!” and tried to pull him away.

Shorty held me back. She said that just because I hate cats, doesn’t mean I should condition him to hate it too. Let him explore and make his own decisions. If he hates something then he does. If he doesn’t then he doesn’t.

I now let him play with cats if he likes to.

7. She never trivializes any of his concerns

Along with the notion of treating babies like adults, Shorty never down plays anything that Fighter is upset about, even if we as adults think it’s a small matter. When he throws a tantrum or whines, she asks him what’s wrong, hears him explain it and then explain to him why it’s going to be okay.

8. She encourages him to taste the different pleasures in life

I confess, at the tender age of 2, my son has tasted Coke, ice-cream, all sorts of junk food and even coffee. We know it’s unhealthy but Shorty believes that exploring how different things taste is part of the joy of life and growing up. So we let him try all sorts of things, healthy or not but with moderation of course.

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe there is a right or wrong way to raise a child. Every parent knows whats best for their own child and have their own way of raising. My key point is that while my wife is proud of how my son is, I am proud of how she has raised him. She is proud of him but I am proud of her.

I think she’s being an amazing mom with Fighter and I know she will be just as amazing with Penny too when she grows up.

PS: If you want to see how my wife interacts with our kids every day you can check out my wife’s YouTube videos on her channel here or on her Dayre here.

I am RM6000 poorer because of these tyres

Posted on February 28, 2016 admin

See this tyre?

Now the wheel. Just the black rubber part around the wheel. Well that cost me RM1500!!!! *bangs head on wall*

The story goes that I’ve had this car for some 5 years now but I’ve never changed the tyres. It still had some good trip though, maybe because I hardly use it these days. I drive it maybe once a week.

Anyhow I decided to change it because it looked a little hard and according to the workshop people that’s not a good thing.

I remember the first time I changed tyres for a car. It was about 12-13 years ago when I was still in college. I was driving this purple Proton Wira and someone told me that my tyres were balder than the Great American Bald Eagle. So I took it to the workshop and changed it. I went for the cheapest one. Dunlop. I thought hey I’ve heard of Dunlop before… can’t be that bad right?

Four tyres at RM100 each so that came up to a total of RM400.

So you would forgive me if I thought that the RM1500 I was quoted was for all four. No… it was PER TYRE. So to change all four it would be a grand total of RM6000!!! WHAT THE HECK?!?!!?

That’s just tyres. Now I understand that this car of mine had a larger wheel base so I needed 19 inch tyres. But woah that’s expensive!

I got it changed in the end. Dad told me that tyres are really important since they’re the only part of the car that contacts the road. So ok there. I am now RM6000 poorer.

I can’t complain though. This car overall has been really reliable and hasn’t really cost me much to maintain or service. So I’m grateful for that. Thank you my dear car.

Beautiful Chinese New Year Ang Pow Packets

Posted on February 20, 2016 admin

Chinese New Year used to be fun for me because of the money I would receive as a kid. Now that I’ve been married for a few years though I no longer get the joy of receiving, but replacing the joy of receiving is the joy of giving.

It’s only when I started giving Ang Pows that I started paying special attention to how Ang Pow packets look. In my experience the nicest ones come from all the private banks. I don’t really know why but they seem to be able to come up with much nicer ones that the other Ang Pow packets you see around.

This year though I noticed a slight drop in the standard of Ang Pow designs. Haha I’m not sure if it’s because the banks are cutting down because times are bad but well generally they’ve dropped.

Here are some of the nice ones I’ve seen this year though.

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Here’s one my God mum gave my kids. It’s from LV so it looks really atas. I particularly like the seal at the back.

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Shorty likes this colourful one from UBS.

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Doesn’t seem to be very monkey theme but she likes the colors and all.

This one is from Julius Bar. Not a bar but another private bank.

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One of my favorites though is this one from Coutts.

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It’s made not of paper but of velvet or something like that. Super atas! Super nice! Too bad I didn’t get any this year.

And finally there’s our Netccentric Ang Pow this year. Here’s how it looks like.

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Quite simple on the front and on the back just a little Netccentric logo.

What do you guys think?

Any other nice Ang Pow packets you’ve seen ? Do share!

When you realize that you’re going overseas in a few days and haven’t changed money…

Posted on February 17, 2016 admin

This article is a collaboration with the really useful money changer app eForex.

It normally happens rather suddenly. Like when a friend asks me if I can meet up the coming weekend and I think to remember that “Oh yeah I’m going to Hong Kong next week”.

This is how my thought process would go.

Oh yeah I haven’t packed yet for Hong Kong —-> Yeah need to arrange for transport to the airport —–> OH YEAH I NEED TO CHANGE MONEY!

Changing money is normally the most painful of all pre-trip tasks. Why? Because packing, and arranging for a cab to take you to the airport that morning can be done really quickly and from the comfort of your own home. Going to a money changer to change money though isn’t. Here’s the process:

You have to figure out which money changer to go to. The most convenient one would be the one at the nearest mall but we all know the ones at malls don’t necessarily have the best rates.
But there is the money changers at MidValley that have decent rates but the queue is normally so long you’d feel like you’re in North Korea lining up for food rations.
So you go for the other money changers with the best rates but those normally tend to be located at odd places where parking is as hard to find as a pink unicorn with diamond studded boots.
Once you’ve decided which money changer to go to, you also need to find the nearest ATM and withdraw cash to bring to the money changer.
You almost always have to line up. Sometimes the queue is short but just before you get to the front of the queue, the guy in front of you brings out a brick of Ringgit Malaysia from his sling bag to change.
At first you marvel at the amount of money on the counter wondering if that brick alone would be responsible for having the RM depreciate vs the USD by the end of the day. You wait.. for a long time for them to count the bills.
When you get to the front of the money changer it’s time to negotiate. You Google the spot rate on your phone and use that as some sort of a reference even though you know you’ll never get the spot rate.
Yes you take pride in your negotiation skills honed by the stalls of Chatuchak but you know you’ll never be able to out-negotiate a money changer. He deals with chumps like you 10 times a day.
You are not fully happy with the rate you’re quoted. You threaten to walk away but the money changer at the counter looks at you like he’s seen it many times before. You’re not going to walk away because you can’t be bothered to go line up at another money changer.
You take the deal. You don’t really know how much more you could have saved by getting it somewhere else but you try not to think about it.
You go get your car, pay parking and go home.

That’s what changing money feels like to me.

I’ve always wondered when technology would catch up to this. Isn’t there an app for everything?

That app is called eForex. With this app, you can

View LIVE rates of over 20 preferred currencies you want to buy.
Pay for it through your online banking account.
Then all you have to do is choose which of the many points you want to pick it up from (including the airport). Kinda like the Uber for money changers.

Plus even if you’re not changing money, eForex is useful as a currency converter and a more accurate one too. Most currency converters out there use the spot rate which isn’t the rate you’ll necessarily be able to get from any money changer. The rate in eForex is the rate you can get directly from them so it’s more accurate if you want to calculate how much RM you spent on your holiday in Thailand.

The app is backed by Merchantrade, the largest money exchange network in Malaysia so its a pretty credible app.

You can download eForex on the App Store or Google Play.

Timothy Tiah – Co-Founder of Colony, Kuala Lumpur Co-Working Space