Albys turn!

 So the rest of us have endured the pain of numerous vaccinations in order to be cleared for post. Yesterday was our beautiful dog Alby's turn for his medical. As I have previously posted, it’s a bit of a process to export a dog to Malaysia. We have engaged a pet shipping company who are guiding us through one step at a time. The first official step was to have him vaccinated against Rabies. He will need to continue to have a booster yearly to ensure a smooth transition back to Australia when the time comes. 

Not all vets here in Australia are qualified to administer  pet export vaccinations however my local vet was able to recommend a local who could do the job. I’m not sure who was more nervous, me or him….and he was nervous! All in all it was a painless process with a single shot. (Except for the bill….$230!). We needed to make sure his microchip was working and fill out the required paperwork which I need to send on to the pet exporter who will have an official government vet sign off on it. No side effects afterwards and it seemed no different to his yearly vaccinations.

On a side note the crate training is going well. The top is now on his transport crate and he makes the odd trip onto it to have a sniff around. I put a treat in every now and again  to make it a happy place for him. 

Keep Calm and Carry On

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There are varying degrees of miracles in life. There are some I thought I would never attain. Well, one at least. Alert the media…..I have for the first time ever travelled internationally with just carry on! 

Nick and I did a whirlwind trip to KL for one week to sort out some stuff for the posting. Having a bit of lead in time until we move we decided to purchase our own tickets and do a bit of a reconnaissance mission to check out our future home. A sneaky week to hopefully secure accomodation and to help us figure out what we need to take with us and what we can leave behind and buy in Malaysia. 

I honestly can’t remember when we have travelled with just the 2 of us sans kids. We flew Malaysian Airlines and had a grand total of 7kg each for the trip. Thankfully it’s much easier to travel to somewhere where it is hot. 7 pairs of undies (I don’t know why I always feel the need to pack more, it’s been more than a few years since I have wet my pants), and a few changes of clothes for casual and a few nights out. The biggest problem was the liquids which travelling from Aus you need to keep under 100g and place in a plastic bag for inspection at customs. My sunscreen that was 110ml was confiscated but otherwise we made it through unscathed. I cannot tell you how much easier it was without checked in bags! Straight though at check in with a seperate queue at both ends for those with no checked luggage. Saved us hours as the queues were huge. Best bit was landing back in Aus. Landed at 7.15pm and we were sitting on the couch at home eating a pizza by 8.15pm. 

I felt a bit like a snail carrying my home on my back. Everything was accessible the whole time and packing up was a breeze. We actually purchased a ticket with checked bags just in case but it all went smoothly. Malaysia was much more relaxed with weight limits than Australia. Not sure it will ever happen again but boy was it awesome! Who said I was high maintenance. (Well Nick did but I proved him wrong!)

 

Tall Tales

Thankfully the last of the family medical appointments are done. Gotta love a nurse who thinks on her feet when measuring the 17 year old giant!!

95 Days and Counting

Tick Tick Tick……. It really creeps up on you!  Things continue to click over at a blistering pace. So this happened this weekend…

It has begun! We have started the mammoth task of the dreaded “uplift”. So we have 4 categories to place our belongings in. Coming with us in uplift , storage in Aus, and coming with us as luggage. The fourth category is the “Donate” category which is actually quite cathartic. We have started donating things we will no longer need as well as selling a few things to make a few extra $$$.  It was a challenge to know where to start so we have started with our clothes. The moving company does not pack our clothes so it was a natural place to start. It was like Christmas for Scarlett as I found a heap of clothes that I had kidded myself I was going to fit back in to one day. Let’s just say she has a new “vintage” wardrobe. It still freaks me out that she is more or less fitting into this stuff! She looks great and it makes me so happy to see the clothes used again! I knew flares would come back! 

I have also started to buy a few things that may be hard to source  in KL. If Vietnam is anything to go buy, my size 14 is ENORMOUS so I have bought a few new clothes as well as some shoes for my apparent clown sized feet at size 8.5. 

We have all been to the dentist this week to get us cleared which forms part of our medical clearances. No biggie for most of us except for me who is petrified of the dentist. I had a heap of work done in Vietnam which stood me in good stead and I got the all clear. Phew! 

We continue to navigate the balance of the reality of leaving family and friends behind whilst juggling a son entering year 12 exams and the everyday pressures of work. It would be an understatement to say it’s not easy. This move is proving to be the most challenging we have ever undertaken for so many reasons. We continue as we always have, one bite at a time and chewing like hell…..thanks to you all for you amazing support and encouragement. It means more than you know. 

The Human Pin Cushion’s

So obviously the hot topic over the last few years has been vaccinations. 

It’s a bit of a no brainer for us. Basically our employer has a standard of vaccination that clears us for a posting. We have absolutely no problem with this. To each their own. My personal opinion is that years of research backed by science leaves us in good hands and best placed to have a happy and healthy posting. When we first deployed to Vietnam back in 2010 we all underwent a raft of checks and vaccinations. Thankfully that meant that this time around it would be a little less full on. Sort of! The kids obviously being older now were consulted and happy to receive the vaccinations that were required.

Re-live the fun here! 

http://moggymekongmadness.blogspot.com/2010/03/if-we-have-any-more-shots-we-are-going.html?m=

 

In 2010 Nick was already overseas when I had to spend the day with the kids at the Travel Doctor to get us all up to speed. As the kids were so young back then a lot of the required vaccines were split in to 2 seperate doses over a period of weeks. Let’s just say it was quite a challenge corralling in a 2.5 and 5 year old. Ever tried to get a urine sample from a 2 year old? Let the games begin! 

So, Nick owed me big time. This time it was his turn to deal with the natural nervousness of health checks and vaccinations. Right?

Bring on COVID. Nick tested positive to COVID the day before our family appointment so I had to step up once again and manage the fun filled day at the doctor. Huge credit to the kids who were patient and brave. It may have helped that I threw $50 on the table for whoever needed the most shots. I swear it was not rigged when I took home the chocolates with 6 and a blood test.   

So we survived. As far as I can tell none of us are glowing in the dark but our 5G is awesome!!