a malaysian abroad

What do you usually receive in your mailbox?  No, not your virtual email one; the physical one, where snail-mail arrives.

Swiss mailbox by Toni_V

Nowadays, this is what greets Kosh and me:

• Netflix DVD about once a week
• some statements/bills (many but not all have been switched to electronic statements viewed online)
• one or two birthday cards per person
• lots of spam (weekly adverts, local business announcements)

.

Back in Malaysia while growing up, I recall receiving:

• regular letters from grandparents in Switzerland
• semi-regular letters from pen-pals
• occasional wedding invitations
• bills / statements

.
From my observation, most of my “meaningful” mail no longer comes via snail-mail. Just as I am old school and prefer physical books to reading books onscreen, I have too many fond memories of the joys pen-palship — of finding my Swedish or US pen-pal’s letter waiting for me, the anticipation building up as I carefully opened the envelope, studying the stamp, the writing even, before devouring the letter proper — to let the electronic medium take over all communication.

A Letter from Malaysia by methTICALman

Remember the Postcard / Link Exchange earlier this year?  I had also done something similar back in 2007, and plan to continue with this effort for as long as there are blog readers who are game, whenever I have the opportunity to travel to Malaysia or other (cheap) destinations (I’m taking Switzerland off the list, though - too expensive!).

R2D2 mailbox by peyri

When is the next trip, you ask?  I don’t know yet — once I do, I’ll be sure to drum up some publicity, no worries!

All this wouldn’t be possible, however, if the Universal Postal Union hadn’t been founded — 135 years ago on October 9th, 1874 — in Bern, Switzerland.  With 191 member countries, they form the largest physical distribution network in the world!

To commemorate its anniversary, the Posts of many member countries offer specials such as free postage, special cancellation marks, commemorative stamps, free entry into postal museums, and many more.

Do you know if your local post office is doing anything special today?  Please share!

image source

One of the most important things to do when planning to live long-term in a foreign country is to find out and adhere to the immigration laws of the land.  The last thing you want is to be struggling to communicate with police/judges as they take you into custody / throw you in jail on charges you may or may not be guilty of, if only you could understand what was going on….

Thankfully, I’ve not faced such a situation… although paying taxi fare in Beijing and messing around in a casino in Manila already brought unpleasant brushes with communication breakdown… Strictly in terms of immigration rules, though, I made it a point never to overstay back when I was visiting and staying with Kosh while on my US tourist visa;  I also didn’t attempt any illegal work, etc, anything that would jeopardize future visits and changes of status.

Then there was this unfortunate gentleman, Lim Soon Heng, a Malaysian who traveled to Varanasi (formerly known as Benares), India, in order to pursue spiritual fulfillment and Vedic knowledge back in 2001.

Varanasi (Benares) [source]

For years, he donned orange robes and lived with fellow seekers while dutifully renewing his visa every year.

Then for reasons not revealed, he didn’t renew his passport when it expired in 2005.

Somehow or other the law caught up with him: in December 2007 he was thrown in jail for violating local immigration laws.

… but wait, here’s where it gets really bad …

No one was informed of his incarceration.
Not the Malaysian High Commission.
Not his family.

No one.

For almost two years, Lim languished in the Varanasi jail while his family believed he was meditating in the Himalayas.  It was only because a German Embassy official visiting an imprisoned German national came across Lim and brought word to the Malaysian High Commission did anyone find out about his predicament.

With intervention by Malaysian officials, Lim has since been released, and is now in Delhi awaiting the necessary paperwork that will allow him to return to Malaysia.  “Emotionally shattered, financially crippled and jobless, Lim will be returning home with unpleasant memories of Varanasi and also to an uncertain future.”

Yikes.

Reading about Lim’s experience underscores the importance of keeping someone abreast of how things are going, even as one pursues a life free of attachments such as what Lim was doing… if ever I were to try something like this, I can see myself still holding on to my cell phone: wouldn’t it be wise to arrange for a regular (weekly? daily?) phone call, text message or email to touch base with someone at home, someone who can raise the alarm if you don’t make contact as planned?

How about you… any adventures relating to breaking or bending immigration laws in countries you’ve visited/stayed in?  Do share, I’m all ears 

For your reading pleasure:
Indian spiritual journey lands Malaysian in jail, NST online, 31st August 2009