Well that’s me done and dusted in Malaysia.  This week, the local team here met with four different accommodation providers as well as visiting a number of sites that were either complete , nearing completion or partially constructed.

We’ve also updated operating procedures and looked at how best to ‘tie’ our services together – been busy but a lot achieved !

Next step is to decide which would be best for our students out here, do the negotiations and fingers crossed welcome the new intake in September 2018 !  Easier said than done I think as doing any sort of business over here can be at best lengthy and protracted, at worst like banging your head against a brick wall !!

As a final hurrah, last night I went to a restaurant specialising in Nyonya cooking – Baba-Nyonya is the termed used to describe the Chinese immigrants who first settled in what is now Malaysia and Indonesia.  Baba is man and Nyonya woman.  Given the large are the immigrants first lived in, it is little wonder that the food is so varied ! Not only have my taste buds been tingled, my chopstick skills are now second to none – by the end of last night I was picking up peanuts and rice with out any bother at all !!

For those of you concerned about my poor sleeping patterns I never did make it through the night so my fav films, in no particular order and after much debate are:  Brief Encounter, The Magnificent Seven (original), Get Carter, Field of Dreams, Toy Story, Breaker Morant, Sicario, The Third Man, Key Largo and Adams Rib

Finally, from reading the papers I understand that the Greggs Christmas advert is causing a bit of a stir.  From my point of view, and please don’t take this the wrong way, as much as I love stir fries, noodles, curry and rice the thought of the North Star guiding me towards a freshly baked sausage roll truly is the message of Christmas

Morning all !  For those of you with a delicate disposition I apologise in advance for pictures of me chomping on my noodles !  Someone once said that to know a country you must eat it, so with that in mind I set off for a traditional Chinese breakfast of Mee Siam which is chilli noodles Thai style.

Noodles that are extremely hot would be a better description, add this to the weather (86 degrees) probably not the wisest choice !! Malaysia has a multi-cultural population of Malay, Chinese and Indian so the food is varied, spicy and never dull.

Last night saw me in downtown Bukit Indah at a traditional Chinese restaurant – given my previous experiences of ‘traditional’ Chinese cuisine consisted of snake, intestines, turtle and bull’s unmentionables I was somewhat wary !  However, I needn’t have worried as my host explained that when ordering its custom to have a vegetable dish, meat dish and fish dish so it was with great relief that I recognised each of the ingredients and that the meat and fish weren’t heads or eyes !  All in all most tasty !!

Away from the giddy nightlife, I have been working – honest !

NUMed currently has 96 four person flats for it’s students and the agreement for these is now coming to an end so I’m working with the local team to identify new accommodation that’ll meet future requirements.  Malaysia is currently experiencing a building boom and there are plenty of options to choose from – getting the right one at the right price is the tricky part as is ensuring that the facilities, management and security all meet our requirements too.  At the end of the day, whether you’re coming to study in Newcastle or Malaysia parents and students want the assurances that their accommodation will be safe, secure and well managed – that’s what we’re trying to provide be that at home or abroad !

Finally, the difference in time does mean I spend a couple of hours awake between 2 and 4 am most mornings, given that counting bottles of tiger beer hasn’t done the trick I’m reduced to picking my top of things – having already picked my best Newcastle team (based on players I’ve seen and in a 4-3-3 formation) of Given;Frank Clarke,Jonathan Woodgate,Bobby Moncur,David Craig;Robert Lee, David Batty, Gazza;Chris Waddle, Malcolm MacDonald and Nobby Solano Ive done my desert island discs and tonight will move to films !!

Please comment or add your lists too or send any tips you have for a good nights sleep

See you soon

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Morning to you from a rather wet and humid Malaysia !

I spent yesterday afternoon visiting the University’s brand new Research and Innovation Institute in Singapore yesterday.  Newcastle University has been operating in Singapore since 2007.  I was really impressed with the student social and study space there and will post some pictures for you to look at – I would be interested to know what you think !

For more information about the our involvement in Singapore please visit

www.ncl.ac.uk/Singapore/about

its another fascinating tale !

Talking of fascinating tales, I took the opportunity to retrace the footsteps of my dad who frequently sailed out of Singapore in the late 50’s and early 60’s.  Though he passed away recently I remember his stories about the infamous Bugis Street in downtown Singapore as it was a renowned gathering place for sailors on shore leave – I’m sure you get my drift….

Anyway, I thought I’d best visit for old times sake as it were.  I have to say he was right when he said you could have the time of your life there and experience many new and wonderful things !  Bugis Street is now the largest shopping and outdoor market area in town with loads of traditional street food vendors, restaurants and trendy bars.  A far cry from days of old I imagine, and pretty sure not the type of shopping dad meant but who cares it was a great day !!

Catch you all soon

By rights Saturday’s are all about Strictly and a take away !  Not tonight though as I’m currently sat in Terminal 5 Heathrow on my way to Changi Airport, Singapore.  Blimey, is he off again I hear you say, he’s never in the office.

As you may know, the University has a medical school NUMed Malaysia, situated outside of Johor Bahru, which is just over the straits of Singapore.  I’ve been lucky enough to travel there on a number of occasions, the first time being 2014 to help set up the accommodation for students there.

The reason for this visit is to identify potential new accommodation probably nearer to the campus.  It seems students are the same all over the world in that the closer the accommodation the better !! It’s also true that students there want good quality and value for money so no pressure there for me to tick all the boxes !!

I may find time for a bit of R n R – hoping that the local football team, Johor Tigers are at home so I can cheer them on.

I’ll keep you posted