E010 - Prashanth's Travelling Journey From Malaysia To The UK!

James Doran (00:06.382)

Hello, my name is James your host and I'm joined by my friend and colleague Prashanth living in the UK. Hello, yeah, my name is Prashanth. I'm from Malaysia originally. I moved to the UK in 2011, I think, yeah, 2011, October. I moved here for uni and then graduated from uni and started work and been working.

in and around the Midlands ever since actually, yeah. I went to uni London in Imperial College, so yeah, I work as an engineer. I know James through work. Yeah, that's kind of the short version of my story, I'd say. Perfect. Well, we'll...

James Doran (00:57.518)

Hey, welcome to section one of the podcast all about getting there. So this is where I interview my guests all about how they managed to move from where they're from to where they're living now or anywhere. So Prashant, as a person from Malaysia living in the UK, how did you first move across from university? How did you find university here? What was the most important path you chose? Yeah, great question actually. So I guess coming from Malaysia, there's one advantage, which is that...

We learned a lot of English. We were a former British colony, obviously, so definitely wasn't like, you know, a huge change in the language. And UK universities actually advertise quite a lot in Malaysia to try and get foreign students, obviously, because foreign students pay more. And if you can speak English, that works for them, right? So I guess I was also...

I guess drawn to the fact that universities in the rest of the world were generally better than universities in Malaysia, sadly. I think Malaysian universities kind of had a bit of a peak at some point and then kind of never really kept up, especially with subjects like engineering. So these were the driving factors, I guess, for me to kind of look abroad. And so when I finished school,

with secondary school, essentially, I could have gone and done the equivalent of sixth form, which is just called form six. Or I could have done anything else in terms of like foreign, I guess, qualifications. So some people I know did IB, like International Black Laura. And I did A levels because...

a bunch of my friends were doing it and there was this college, and there is still this college in Malaysia, which is very funnily called, help. The college is just called help, like H -E -L -P. It's, it stands for something. I can't remember. It's like higher education learning. Yeah, it's an acronym. Yeah. But, yeah. And also, another really random fact about this place is that, yeah, this is a bit of a rabbit hole, but.

James Doran (03:23.63)

There was a period of time when North Korea and Malaysia had very warm relations. And during this period of time, HELP decided to award Kim Jong -un an honorary degree. So for a period of time, I think he was technically, we went to the same university or college. Yeah, yeah. I have a very famous... HELP offered scholarships for A -levels. So they kind of just paid most of your tuition fees.

And that seemed like a great idea. So I did A -levels. And then I guess kind of just looked at the universities that were available. As I said, they actually come over to Malaysia and advertise. So that was quite easy. You know, you just go to these fairs and there are all these universities. And yeah, there's just a picked a few that were really, I thought were really good. You apply through UCAS, which is

exactly the same as you do here so you know all that was really straightforward yeah no that was it really i got into imperial and did they help you with the flight i mean they kind of give you some sort of like guidance and stuff but it wasn't i mean again it wasn't really hard like you know you know where you have to go yeah and then you just find a way to get there so yeah that thing was pretty straightforward i'd say

I mean that kind of plot would make Lord of the Rings very small. You know where you're going, just find a way to get there. I guess London's a bit easier because there's so many airports. But if you went to like Lincoln or Cranfield, which is a quite good university near Cambridge, it's pretty harder to get to or harder to find. I guess Imperial is quite a well -known university internationally as well. So...

It's yeah, yeah, it's entirely true. Yeah, I can imagine. I said, did you have a correlation already built within the universe? Yeah. So that's one of the things that, you know, they assigned to you. So they tell you where your holes is and they give you directions to get to those holes. So that was quite interesting because that was kind of before the days when smartphones were like ubiquitous, you know, so they actually had to.

James Doran (05:47.31)

they'd like email me directions and I printed out this paper map that kind of directed me from the closest train station which I think was Gloucester Road just next to in the South Kensington area and then walked to my halt. And when you moved over you said obviously Malaysia's an ex -British colony. Was the visa application then easier because it was Commonwealth or was it still because my friend from South Africa had a thing with...

Yeah, ancestry visa? No, so we're not allowed ancestry visas and stuff sadly. We're not that British it seems. Not quite there. What if you were Singapore? Maybe. They might, yeah. I've always thought this sort of like ancestry visa thing has a lot to do with basically how much money you have, but anyway. No, so it wasn't difficult. I don't think it was kind of, you know, very rigorous, but I think that's kind of a part of the...

Or like I think that has more to do with the fact that Malaysia is kind of viewed as a safe country So that's why we generally have visa free travel to most other countries apart from Places like China or the US, you know, I don't need a tourist visa to come here for example or like no Malaysians need a tourist visa to come here It's just visa upon entry I guess but yeah, so getting the student visa wasn't

too hard. You kind of just went to this place, the British Embassy, and then said, I want a student visa. Give them some documents, give them your admission letter, and then come back, I think, like a week later and they'll have it. I don't know how it is today, but it was pretty straightforward back then. wow, that's quite seamless for you then. Yeah, I would say so. And was there anything else you needed to do before you moved? Were any friends moving with you or did your friends move into the UK as well?

I actually, yeah, I had friends coming to the UK, I had friends coming to London, and I had friends coming, I had even a couple of friends who came to the same university. So I was very lucky in that sense, that we could really sort of, guess help each other out and stuff. But I mean, I also had family here at the time, not exactly in London, but my sister was in, my sister and her husband were in Liverpool.

James Doran (08:13.87)

That's a good city. I actually think that I didn't even fly to London. Do you think you can back? I think I flew... I'm not sure. No, I think I did fly to London and then they came down from Liverpool, but they were there essentially to send me off into halls on my first day, which was nice. Yeah, I did really have to do anything else. I just had before and I just had to pack.

pack all your stuff, which that was kind of weird. I mean, I had you, but I guess that's weird for all everyone, right? I guess I just, I guess didn't have the advantage of like my parents turning up in their car with like a million things. it was more like I have one suitcase and this is it. This is going to be it. I went to university 12 miles from my childhood home. My dad drove past to get on the way to work. So if I needed anything, I would be like,

I get the train and be home in 27 minutes, you know, it's quite it was quite a luxurious Yeah, ration, but that's because Liverpool is much smaller than in London as well I guess if you and also you can have a car and it's a quite easily having a car in says a London is not that easy to do. Yeah

James Doran (09:34.414)

Welcome to section 2 of the podcast, all about being there, where I guess it's more about your first impressions of the situation, where you moved. So tell me about when you arrived in the UK, you said you would just have picked you up and had to get the whole thought. What was your first impression? You explained maybe at Christmas or into the city when you were back? So I had been to London before, so it wasn't really my first first impression.

I guess. I mean it was cold but I kind of expected that. It was just like, yeah, full of cars and stuff. I guess I remember kind of just noticing just how ridiculously busy it is. I mean I guess I come from a city as well and it's also quite busy there but I guess London's just really heavy on public transport.

There's all these buses and taxis everywhere, you know, whereas, yeah, and so many tube stations, just like, there are tube stations everywhere, tube stations and bus stops. That's what I kind of remember. And then I guess sort of interacting with people, interacting with the fellow students, people of my age, I started to realize that...

Yeah, everyone was quite different. My university and my halls were very international actually, so there were people from all over the world and I was just like, like, hell, this is, it's going to be interesting. Just like everyone's literally very different. Did that make it easier for you to kind of mingle because it wasn't just you moving into the bunch of British people, it was everyone was in the same situation, everyone is so far from home. So the openness to...

make friends as much easier? Yeah, I definitely think if it were just me, I would feel, yeah, kind of like I was sticking out. But I definitely didn't feel like that at all. I mean, it was pretty equal, I'd say. I think it was like 50 % international people and 50 % British people. So, yeah, it just felt like one of the crowded people. And yeah, that was good. And then I guess it was kind of getting to understand what...

James Doran (12:01.294)

what life was going to be like. I remember trying to understand what the money meant, but that happens like every time you go to a new country, right? Like trying to figure out like what coins are what. And that made me really self -conscious actually, because you know, like on freshers and stuff, I'd go out with people in my halls and then this like, this is how far, I feel like such an old man, but this is how long ago it was that there weren't really contactless cards and stuff.

And you'd have to pay for your tube ticket using paper money or coins. So I'd like try and buy my ticket and I'd just be standing there for ages figuring out what all the money meant. Whereas everyone else would just go ahead because they'd obviously be faster. Well they had Oyster cards. Yeah, Oyster cards, exactly. Yeah. Which I eventually quickly got one as well. The original contactless technology is tapping through and...

Like now you can use your bank card directly Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah I guess those are my first impressions And I actually remember that my first week when I was there It was actually reasonably warm It was like October time I remember walking out and walking around in like shorts and stuff And it was alright The second week it just gone The second week was just so cold I remember...

really hating it. Because London's quite warm, I think, compared to the rest of the country because of all the, I guess, the thermal math in London. It stays a much milder climate than the rest of the country. But no, that's very interesting. How did you find the language? Yeah, it was very strange. So I guess because I had been to Liverpool, I knew what a Liverpoolian accent was, right? And I was like, I know that...

that exists, right? And then I know what a London accent is, because that's kind of just like, you know, the standard accent that is portrayed in all media and stuff, right? But then everything else in between, yeah, that was just very confusing to me, because I was like, what is correct? You know, like, why do some people say things so differently? You know, like...

James Doran (14:30.99)

like a bath and bath. It was like, how is that possible? I mean, which one is correct? It's just like, I was genuinely very perplexed by it. But also what made it more confusing was that there weren't that many Northern people in Imperial College. I mean, there were, like, I'm not saying there were a tiny minority or anything. I'm just saying it was definitely... We feel like we are.

there's definitely more southern people and so every once in a while I'd hear it and then I'd just be like what where's this person from like why are they that doesn't I just couldn't understand that like you know couldn't understand how you could have such a fundamentally different pronunciation it's such a simple word yeah every city has their own their own accent I feel or even like Liverpool and Manchester they're so close yeah they speak completely differently and even like where I'm from

It's just normal. I don't know if they sound like a Scouser or a Lancastrian, but they also have completely different accents as well. It's quite interesting to understand. But also in London, there's so many voices. Like there's obviously your received pronunciation, which is your kind of BBC English, which is probably what everyone thinks of when they think of English. Then you go to the East End and it's completely different. I think it probably links to the class system back in the day. And obviously...

in the north there was a lot of like mining and milling and manufacturing which is maybe seen as a more blue collar accent that's maybe where they've come from and they've just evolved over time that's my opinion i'm not a linguist that's what i've heard as well and that's what i learned eventually about it i guess it's funny because the other day i was going to the airport like benningham airport and i realized just how close

Kenilworth and Birmingham are, you know, very close, right? And I've just started wondering where does the Birmingham accent start? Because it's very distinct, right? You wouldn't meet someone from Kenilworth who sounds like a Brummie. That's very, very rare. So yeah, I wonder where that line is. I think it'd be interesting to see. I think it's Solihull. Because you get both. okay. Not Brummies and Brummies in Solihull.

James Doran (16:56.462)

To me it feels like the existing perfect harmony. But that's just more time -consuming. It's like the South... South -East part of Bowie. As you get towards the M40, it kind of goes away. The biggest what, sorry? Cultural change. wow. I mean, yeah, this... Yeah, I guess how people interact is very different. I think people...

generally interact much more casually in Malaysia, so a lot less formally, even in even informal settings. But I also think that on the other hand people can be very... So I find that here if I guess it's... The UK I would say is actually...

pretty non -confrontational as it is, right? But I'd say in Malaysia it's even more non -confrontational. So, yeah. So that's kind of the thing as well. So even though people are less formal, that can actually be a bit of a problem. So instead of just telling you like, no, you can't do that, they'd end up kind of like going in circles and like being very evasive about the fact that they don't want you to do something.

And then I have a... wait, actually the second one. This maybe should be the first, but it's to do with punctuality. I actually have a good story about that. So... When I first moved here, I'm not sure if it was even the time that I came here, or like... As in, it may have been when I came here before going to uni, but I was going to take a bus at some point from some bus station. I actually think... yeah, I think it was...

I remember now. I think I went to Oxford for my interview in Oxford, which I didn't get in the end. So this was the year before I went to uni. And then I was going to go from Oxford to Liverpool, where my sister was, by bus. And so in Malaysia, time is usually just a suggestion. So if someone, if a bus says it's going to leave at a particular time.

James Doran (19:22.702)

That means they're going to leave around that time, right? So you turn up around that time and the bus is usually there and then you can like board the bus. And I kind of thought that's how it would be. So I turned up, I think my bus, let's say was leaving at 10 o 'clock. I turned up at like 10 .01 thinking I'm like perfectly on time right now. I wouldn't turn up this early normally. And then I just saw the bus leaving.

And I was like waving at the driver. Cause again, that's something that I would definitely do in Malaysia and they would definitely stop. They'd be like, there's a guy here. So we have to stop. And this driver just said like, no, and he just kept going. And I was like, how is that possible? It really just didn't, it didn't make sense to me. Then I realized that everything. Yeah. Everything here. I wouldn't say everything happens on time, but everything actually has a strict time. So.

If it can be on time, it's going to be on time and they're not going to wait. Like there's no waiting, you know, no one's going to ever going to wait for anything. No, I guess it's the, it's the compound of waiting. It's like the stack of intolerance. It everyone is waiting a minute and you've got 50 stops, isn't it? Being nearly an hour late. It's quite a substantial change. Yeah. Which I understand the reasons for. Yeah. I mean, I guess it's just more like, you see if everyone you see like, sure. You turn up late, right? But if.

everyone in a place takes time as a suggestion then you're not really being late for anything are you because the person that you're the meeting that you're gonna make is probably gonna treat time the same way right yeah but that would stress me out because i'd be like are they coming? it's been 10 minutes like what's going on? yeah i mean i'm like that now as well but i definitely wasn't like this

You know, there are entire countries that aren't like that. I definitely wasn't like that. And when I go back to Malaysia, I don't expect things to be how they are here. When I was there last week, my parents and I decided to do this boat trip just along the river in Malacca. And so we went to the guy and said, what time's the boat? And then he said five o 'clock. And it was, I think half past four. So we...

James Doran (21:51.534)

went to get a cup of tea to then come, like, fill the time. And we were back like five minutes before five. And we asked him like, where's the boat? And then he said, it's gone. We were like, what? What are you talking? And then he said, yeah, I mean, I said roughly five o 'clock. And we were like, okay, when's the next boat? And then he said, probably sometime around five. And I was like, wow, this guy.

Well, that would be really annoying because if you're going to say a time, always say earlier than later because you can always wait for it. But you're like, well, that was a waste of time, wasn't it? You can spend a half an hour doing something different or going somewhere else. But yeah, that's how it is. I mean, people just kind of, I think if you completely change your mindset for things to not happen at a specific time, then you're never stressed out about it anyway because you just come to expect it.

Yeah, and you can't control it, right? So that's maybe one of the whole points. It's probably quite mindful. Very zen. Perfect. Well, I think that's a good showing for section two. Shall we go into section three?

James Doran (23:11.054)

So hey, welcome back to section three of the podcast. If you could go back 12 years ago, what would you tell yourself? What advice would you give apart from the obvious of being aware of timing? Funnily enough, that's actually something my dad told me when I was on the drive to the airport and I just decided to completely ignore him. But anyway, what would I? Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, I think sort of try and get his...

There's, okay, so there's two parts, right? Recapping my time. That's kind of hard to do because it's 12 years. It's like a long time. I think obviously I have enjoyed it. otherwise I wouldn't kind of stay here. I think one of the greatest things about it is that, or like, I mean, I can only compare two countries, right? Where I was and where I am. and I think a big part about it, big reason that I've stayed here, is.

work. I can't really say that there's the same level of innovation and stuff that happens in Malaysia, not in my field at least. Like yeah, if I were a banker, worked in finance or I was in oil and gas, then I'd be okay, but I'm not in any of those things. So yeah, I mean, engineering isn't the UK's biggest, you know, industry, but it is actually, I think,

industry that always has stuff going on even like looking at Polestar wasn't around a few years ago and now it's pretty big in this area I'd say. Yeah my dad was like choose engineering because there's always be a job and that was very important because I was the first person to go to normal age. My dad went in his 30s.

And my parents were always worried about getting job prospects out of it. So we'd always look at the, yeah, take a break or employer rate of a course. And engineering was always like 96 to 98%. So they were like, right, engineering. Yeah. So I'd say that career wise, it's been good. I'd say that. Especially the last few years, I've actually started to kind of look around the UK.

James Doran (25:32.782)

bit more as in like enjoy the stuff that the UK has to offer. I mean everyone did that right because because of Covid. Everyone tried to start doing staycations and stuff and yeah there are actually some really nice places. What was your favourite place? I'd say Pembrokeshire. Quite far away. It's like very beautiful. Yeah I mean it's far but it's also not it's not as far as like Scotland. No, it depends on where you start. Yeah yeah yeah from here yeah. But yeah the Pembrokeshire is beautiful.

I've been a few times to get a lot of good surfing in the South Coast and my girlfriend did a play in Milford Haven which is like a town. yeah, yeah like you said good surfing and the coastal path and just like the coastal area is incredible. I mean I've never seen such clean seas it's just because because there's not much going on there really apart from like a little bit of farming and a tiny population of people that actually use.

the beaches and stuff. It's just, yeah, it's so picturesque and clean. Yeah. What would I advise myself? apart from being punctual, I'd say, I'd say, I think for a long time, I didn't really get used to, and it's not easy to get used to it, but I think for a long time, I didn't really get used to how people, it's going to sound weird, but like how people talk here. And I don't mean an accent. I mean more like expressions and stuff. Okay.

And I think in when British, I think like in casual settings, it's actually fine, right? It's very easy because you can just be usually I find that among friends, people are quite direct. But I think among non in like an informal setting, whether it's work or even in uni, if you're like speaking to your lecturers and stuff, people try to, you know, be around the bush a little bit. Like, you know, like, it's a great saying as well.

Yeah, yeah, like we'll look into that kind of means no. Yeah, it's like maybe is always a no. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And that took me ages to really understand, especially during like when I first started work, I think, you know, passive aggressiveness is also very high. And people are quite fake in the world to avoid promptly. So there'll be all smiles and email you afterwards saying, sorry, we can't do that. And I guess the thing is that I kind of just assumed that.

James Doran (28:00.878)

that wasn't a thing and that's what made me take longer. But if you just accept it, accept that that's a cultural difference and that it is massively different and then you can learn about it, you know? Or like just pick up on the signals. It's kind of like, it's funny because when people in Britain talk about other countries, they always mention things like that. They always say like, yeah, in China, the culture is very different because...

You have to like, you know, go for parties and stuff and that's where decisions get made or something like that. You know, when you're in a country, you never realize like, yeah, this is weird as well because no one ever says exactly what they need in a formal setting. No, I feel a lot of decisions in the UK get made at like coffee shops or in the water, at the water cooler or something. It's never in the meeting. It's always in the outside meetings and there's always a pre -meeting for a meeting.

So discuss, we can discuss. Everywhere I've worked, it's been the same thing. So if you want to get a decision made, you have to let the person who's making the decision know in advance what they're doing, rather than doing the job of, okay, here's all the inputs, here's the decision, this administration, they have to know it beforehand. And it feels like it's quite well supported, that second meeting, if they've approved it, then just approve it. It's like a ceremony. Yeah.

Yeah exactly. It's like the king's coronation. Yeah meetings, it's come to the point where like literally I'm not entirely sure what meetings are for anymore because people gather and they kind of talk about stuff but like you said everyone already knows what they're going to talk about or like they've had the discussion somewhere else already and then they say like yeah like we talked about in this meeting.

And then if it comes to something that is actually, this is quite interesting because this is exactly what another colleague of mine who came from India said as well. He just said like, so we go to a meeting and then we like sit and chat for ages. And then we come away with more things to do. This felt like meetings are meant to be places where you solve problems. So like you come away with fewer things to do, but then everyone just comes away with like more actions. And then there'll be like more meetings to solve those actions.

James Doran (30:31.246)

When does it end? Yeah. If you could give someone from Malaysia some advice before moving away anywhere, what would you give?

before moving anywhere. Anywhere, not just the UK, but anywhere in the world. Yeah, that's tough. I'd say definitely visit. I know it sounds weird, but like visit beforehand, you know, like before you actually get a place like, you know, go there for a week or so at least. And it's even better if you know someone who's lived there already. Like I said, my sister was living here, so I could, you know, see the world through.

lens of someone who had made that move and had already been living there. So that was really useful, I'd say, rather than just kind of going all in all on my own. If that's not possible, I'd say, you know, listen to some sort of travel podcast or read some sort of experience of someone that has...

done it done the same thing that you have done. Otherwise I'd say I guess a last one but I think is really important is try and keep a very open mind. One of the things I actually did was I, it's gonna sound a bit straight but I made it a point to not spend all my time or like actually minimize my time with other Malaysians when I was in the UK.

not because I didn't like them. I did, I did actually like have like, definitely my, a couple of my best friends were, even in the UK were Malaysian, but I guess if you, my opinion is that if you move somewhere, you want to get the whole experience. Like if you move somewhere and you only interact with people from your country, then it's not, it's kind of like you never really left, right?

James Doran (32:39.662)

Because you just go back to the language you used to all these how you would speak to me. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, yeah, I think if you I guess you also run the risk, I guess. I don't know. It never really happens to me, but you just run the risk of like becoming a clink. Then you like never really never really learn anything much.

about a place because you're just always in your in your circle and never don't really interact much outside of it. So yeah, I'd say definitely put yourself out there. And I know, I actually think it's really difficult for Malaysians because it's one of those things that seems really familiar, but it actually isn't as well. So I think, you know, people think that they can.

come here and just like instantly interact with everyone. But that's not going to be the case just because it's even though the language is very familiar. Culturally, it's quite different, right? And I think people run the risk of like finding that out and then instantly going into like back into their shell. Yeah, yeah. Seeking comfort among other Malaysians who thought the same way. I mean, that's fine. Like I'm not going to like.

say one thing is better than the other. If that's what someone wants to do, then that's fine as well. But I think it's definitely worth going out there and meeting someone or meeting people, locals that are just like people that you'd never really meet if you were in Malaysia, you know, and just really try and learn something from the whole experience. I guess that's one good thing about living in a city when you first move is you've got huge amounts of diversity. That's why I live in Liverpool for university.

I had a choice to go to campus universities, like Loughborough and other places, and I was always against them because all you have is students, and students from the same university. Great, so thanks, Pucham, for spending some time with me. Your honest opinion and your kind of journey, I suppose, was really interesting for me, and I would think that how you've managed to come over and thrive, and you're still here after 12 years, so it can't be that bad.

James Doran (35:02.99)

No, no, thank you. I'm more than happy to share my experience. So it was actually great to have an opportunity to do that. A good avenue. Perfect. And if you have found some significant information which you are using for yourself after this podcast, please let us know what you've used in the comments. And if you like it, then please obviously share it with your friends and send it around to anyone you think would find this useful or interesting.

or at most entertaining. But yeah, thank you and we'll see you next time.