Founded in 1830, Middlesbrough is an industrial town on the south bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England's north-east coast. 

When I first reached this small town I was slightly disappointed as I was expecting to spend my months in a busy city in UK. Upon stepping out of the train station in Middlesbrough I could literally see no one on the road. At that particular moment I felt as if I was back in the village in Johor Bahru which was not a very good feeling as I had spent loads of money on visas, transportation and accommodation to get from one village to another. 

On a bright side, at least the weather was cooling with chilly breeze which was to my liking. Being born and raised in tropical country like Malaysia, the temperature remained relatively constant (hot) throughout the year. That being said, I did not experience four seasons like those who are living in the UK as it was summer all year long.

Is Middlesbrough a good place to live?

Before heading to Middlesbrough I had checked a little bit about the town via the internet and I was not really contented by the remarks. Based on the statistics, it was one of the worst performing UK regions making it one of the worst place to move to for quality of life. After living for couple of months, I would likely beg to differ regarding the statement. The town was very quiet and the people was very friendly (at least the ones I have met).

How about the food in Middlesbrough?


It was undeniable that I missed Malaysian food a lot when I was there. The main reason was the lack of flavour in most, if not all of the British food (pardon). I realised there was something missing in most of the food I have tried, and that was spice and chilli. They were the essentials in all Asian food and thus I was kind of not used to the food here which was quite bland.

Having said that, there were of course local delicacies that I have discovered in Middlesbrough. Apart from the amazing fish and chips, the most popular local dish was the Parmo. Originating in Middlesbrough, the parmo or Teeside Parmesan consisted of chicken chops in egg and breadcrumb batter being deep fried and smothered in Bechamel sauce before grilled with Parmesan cheese. The dish often came in huge portion that can be shared by two people.

What is the cost of living in Middlesbrough?


Truthfully speaking, the living expenses in Middlesbrough was not very high to be compared to major cities such as London and Edinburgh. When I was doing my elective in the UK, I was living in the hostels under the James Cook University Hospital. It cost about 80 pounds per month (which I thought was quite affordable since after conversion the rent was about the same as living in city like Kuala Lumpur albeit I could use the same amount of money to get a whole condominium for myself instead of a tiny room).


As for the food expenses, it really based on how you spent. Generally speaking if you want to save money, the most ideal way was to cook your own food instead of dining in the restaurants. The main reason was that the raw ingredients in the supermarkets were filthy cheap compared to ready made food in the restaurants. Having said that, the best option for supermarkets in the UK would be hands down German based supermarkets Aldi and Lidl. The other local brand supermarkets would be Tesco and Asda. Marks and Spencer and Waitrose would be for the higher end shoppers.


There was a small Asian store in Middlesbrough. My friends and I were thrilled to discover the existence of this shop as we were craving for Asian food after staying for a couple of weeks. Despite the availability of Asian groceries, the items were quite expensive compared to local produced items.

For weekly grocery shopping wise, I normally would spend only about 20 pounds and with that I was able to purchase a variety of ingredients such as fresh vegetables, fruits, rice, noodles, meats, yogurts, ice creams and more! If I were to dine in restaurant, each visit would cost me at least 15 to 20 pounds per meal which was really pricey. There were neither hawker stalls nor food courts which sold affordable and nice food such as the ones in Malaysia or Singapore.

Instead, all the restaurants were quite fancy. Of course there were fast food chains such as Pizza Hut, KFC and Mc Donalds as well. The local fast food chain that was worth trying was definitely Eat4Less which served healthy (not quite) sandwiches. It was like Subway but with much more choices. More importantly the price for the items could be as low as 2 pounds! Now that was definitely a catch as it would be impossible to get such affordable local meal when you were outside.

What are the attractions in Middlesbrough?


It was a quaint countryside and the locals were actually friendly during daytime ( we avoided going out night time as we were told that punks would be out by that time so it would be slightly dangerous for us Asians). There was this beautiful Stewart Park which was an open parkland with lake and pet section for deer, highland cattle, llamas and goats.

In addition, there was also the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum. Who knew Captain Cook was actually born and bred in Marton-in-Cleveland, Middlesborugh. For those who were oblivious to Captain James Cook, he was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer and captain in the Royal Navy. He was also the one who had discovered Australia. Besides that, he had also discovered much of the South Pacific for England.

There were also some impressive arts that were displayed in Middlesbrough. One of them was the Bottle of Notes that was completed in 1993. Furthermore, there was this public art sculpture of Scales of Justice by Graham Ibbeson whereby it portrayed a bronze sculpture of a woman holding apart two children who were squabbling in front of the law courts.

Image Source: enjoyteesvalley

One of the most famous attractions in Middlesbrough was undoubtedly the Tees Transporter Bridge. It was also known as the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge. The transporter connected Middlesbrough and Port Clarence. I tried to get to the Transporter Bridge but the attempt proved to be fruitless as it was kind of restricted. However, I got to look at the bridge in near distance which was good enough for me.


Honestly speaking, there were not much to see in Middlesbrough but it was convenient to travel around to visit other places such as the Roseberry Topping, Redcar, Whitby, Yarm, Saltburn-by-the-Sea and the likes. Having said that, I would end the post here since it had been quite a lengthy post. I hope you find this post useful. Till then, cheers.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the reader a Happy Chinese (Lunar) New Year 2019! It is one of the most celebrated occasion in the world, predominately in China. Having said that, oversea Chinese people who are in countries that have no holiday for the event celebrate it as well. Although one might say it is probably two weeks too late with the greeting, I am actually not. Below are some 10 interesting facts that you probably do not know about Chinese New Year!

Various terms for this festival

Other than the term Chinese New Year this event is also being called as the Spring Festival, That being said, people are celebrating the day as it marks the end of winter season despite the chilly wind is still present. The real celebration is perhaps about welcoming the spring as a new beginning for planting season to be initiated. Aside from that, Chinese New Year is also often being regarded as the Lunar New Year as the festival goes according to the lunar calendar which brings us to the next point.

Celebrates for more than a day

Chinese New Year is actually being celebrated for 15 days according to the Lunar calendar! It starts with the New moon on the first day of the lunar month and ends on the full moon which is 15 days later. It has dates of its own and does not follow the solar calendar which explains the confusion as why the date for Lunar New Year always changes in the Gregorian calendar each year! Even though Gregorian calendar is the standard that is used throughout the world, Lunar calendar still plays a vital role as traditional holidays such as Winter Solstice and Dragon Boat festival are still being celebrated worldwide.

Praying to Gods and Fending Off  Monsters

On this eventful day, people are praying to gods with food and joss-sticks in hope for a splendid planting and harvest season. Additionally, ancestors are also being prayed along side to gods as they as a way to portray their filial piety. There are myths saying that Chinese New Year is actually much more than just a mere celebration.

Legend says there was a monster named Nian that would come about on New Year's Eve each year and people would hide in their homes for being afraid of the monster. Until one day, a brave boy fought the monster by setting firecrackers at it. Fortunately the monster was terrified of the firecrackers and from that day onward, people celebrated their survival by setting off more firecrackers until it became a tradition that was passed down generations after generations.

Specific Zodiac Each Year

There are 12 Chinese zodiac animals that are used to represent years and 2019 is the Year of Pig. These zodiacs included (named in order) Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and lastly Pig. These zodiacs play significant roles in the Chinese culture as they are used to predict one's fortune, marriage compatibility, health, career fit and wealth for the year. 

The zodiac cycle will repeat itself every 12 years. While you may think that you will be lucky during your zodiac year, unfortunately it is the exact opposite way! More often than not, these unlucky lads and lasses would go to temple to avert evil by making donations and also praying to gods. These good deeds will ensure them to be safe from misfortunes and bad incidents.

No Sweeping or Throwing Rubbish

People will be refrained from any labour activities such as sweeping and throwing rubbish during the first three days of Chinese New Year. These measures have been done in order to prevent the good luck from being swept away from the house. Another explanation for not doing labour work is to avoid people from starting the year by working which means they will not have loads the work for the rest of the year.

On the contrary, most families will spend most of their time cleaning their houses before Chinese New Year Eves. During these times, fellow mothers will unleash their housekeeping powers and overhaul the normally messy houses into squeaky clean one. They will be very meticulous in doing everything, and that include commanding their children to help them with the chores; judging at their sloppy works and also scolding them for not helping at all.

These are some of the interesting facts that everyone should know about Chinese New Year. Furthermore, the children and single adolescents will receive red envelopes that include money from married couples (including parents) during the festival.

Other than being the last day of Chinese New Year, the 15th day is also known as the Chap Goh Mei. It is a Hokkien (Mandarin dialect) term and also known as the Lantern Festival (Yuan Xiao Jie in Mandarin). Chap Goh Mei is also made equivalent to Valentine's Day. Instead of using social dating app, our ancestors are not that technology savvy and Tinder has yet to exist back then, the bachelors and spinsters would write their names and contact details on mandarin oranges and toss them into the river. The opposite sex would then scoop the mandarin oranges and contact the names written on them.

Having said that, I hope you have had a blast during this year's Chinese New Year! As I have mentioned in previous post, I will start my UK blog posts series and hopefully I will be able to constantly upload new blog post every Tuesday. Stick around!

Stato della Città del Vaticano

While we were visiting Rome for four days and three nights, we took the opportunity to include Vatican City in the itinerary as well. Interestingly, Vatican City was the smallest state in the world. With an area of 110 acres, the independent nation state was encircled by a 2 mile border with Rome, Italy and was governed as an absolute monarchy with the pope being its head of the country.

Having said that, the Vatican City had their own currency, stamps, license plates and passports as well. It has also less than 1000 citizens making it having the smallest population in the world. Another significant fact to take note was that the Vatican City was built over the tomb of Saint Peter!