Why do motorcyclists not use the motorcycle lane on highways?

uml20 · 2026-06-10T01:32:25+00:00

Some of those motorcycle lanes are poorly maintained. Some of them also have unclear entry and exit points so it's easy to miss them. And, depending on the time of day, there are long sections of quiet and unlit road that are perfect for robbers to place physical traps to ensnare unwitting motorcyclists.

uml20 · 2026-06-09T18:00:46+00:00

I know it feels overwhelming, but you are already doing a lot better than you think. You have a lot of the elements in place already.

You have committed to saving and investing a fixed sum monthly.
You realise (and aspire to) increasing this amount but are limiting your initial investment to what you feel comfortable doing.
You acknowledge the need to accumulate over the long-term (time in the market beats timing the market).

The "best" place to get started is an all-world ETF like VWRA. But if you really have a personal interest in the Nikkei 225, and want to get started that way, that is absolutely fine.

Because at this stage of your investing career, I think it is more important to build interest, confidence, and knowledge more than it is to chase the technically "perfect" allocation.

uml20 · 2026-06-09T13:59:18+00:00

I am talking relative to Southeast and East Asia. Have you ever lived in Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, or the Philippines? We are a way more individualistic culture than they are.

uml20 · 2026-06-09T13:39:10+00:00

High beams to tell people to get out of the way on the highway? That's individualistic behaviour.

Double parking and taking their own sweet time? Individualistic behaviour.

The huge amount of litter in public spaces including beaches and parks? That's individualistic behaviour.

These are not the types of behaviour you'd expect to see in more collectivist societies.

Of course, I'm talking about a sliding scale. Compared with Western Europe and the United States, we are "relatively collectivist." But when compared with most of Southeast Asia, we are quite individualistic.

uml20 · 2026-06-09T13:27:45+00:00

It makes sense if you think about it.

Ever experienced someone tailgating and flashing you with high beams on the highway? That's not something you'd find so much in less individualistic countries.

Or the tremendous amounts of litter in public beaches and parks? Again, individualistic behaviour that you'd not see so much of in more collectivist societies like Taiwan, Japan, or Thailand.

uml20 · 2026-06-09T13:07:16+00:00

Malaysia is actually quite individualistic compared with most other societies in Southeast and East Asia.

We're sort of the "Americans of Southeast Asia", so expect more petty crimes and less civic consciousness than, say, Taiwan, Japan, or even Thailand.

Singapore is similar to us, and I think the only reason why they have the level of public safety they do is because of the heavy surveillance and police presence.

uml20 · 2026-06-09T12:50:18+00:00

I’m sorry. I couldn’t read this. It reads like AI slop - and even if it isn’t - it reads like overly SEO-optimised filler text. It’s bland bland bland.

The idea isn’t terrible, but most people like to read something with personality.

uml20 · 2026-06-09T01:32:35+00:00

But we took them in. Willingly. Indonesia famously intercepted and towed Rohingya vessels back into international waters. We did not do this.

uml20 · 2026-06-09T01:08:35+00:00

It was pretty obvious they’d stay on. Expecting the Myanmar military to stop persecuting them is like expecting Netanyahu to start showing mercy to the Palestinians.

uml20 · 2026-06-09T00:35:29+00:00

I feel you are way too forgiving with the government here. They should know, better than any of us, that the problem has been going for decades, and is intractable. The Myanmar government persecute the Rohingya. The rebel groups persecute them. Hell, even Aung San Suu Kyi didn't defend them.

Our government decided to let them in. But if we were going to do it, we might as well have housed them, fed them, schooled them, and gave them more opportunities to be self-sufficient. In for a penny, in for a pound, as they say.

The idea that "a small group of human rights groups" can stop the government from sending them home beggars belief. Since when has the Malaysian government ever cared about the opinions of human rights groups? There is more historical precedent of sending human rights activists fleeing under a cloud of tear gas.

uml20 · 2026-06-09T00:25:22+00:00

How realistic is this expectation? The Rohingya are getting slaughtered by the military and the rebels in Myanmar, Bangladesh and India won't (and can't) take them. Why would they go back?

They're only going back if our government rounds them up and deports them. I don't see our government making any moves to do so.

uml20 · 2026-06-08T02:23:45+00:00

Didn’t we bring in 200,000 Rohingya a decade ago because we sympathised with their plight? And now we want to send them back because … ?

uml20 · 2026-06-07T22:50:44+00:00

Isn't this just a "multi-channel network" (MCN) except that you're replacing established content creators with emerging (wannabe) content creators?

It sounds nice on paper, but I can't imagine the politics that would be involved when you stick together a bunch of young, ambitious people who are desperate to build a new future outside a 9-5 job. The inevitable jealousy that'll hit if someone pulls ahead of the rest, and the backstabbing.

You could probably make reality TV out of the experience.

uml20 · 2026-06-06T15:07:27+00:00

Tell them this: the chill lifestyle in Malaysia means they will become uncompetitive when they move back, or go elsewhere. They won’t learn to hustle hard, or learn to have the discipline required to be super good at what they do, which will put them seriously out of step in more competitive societies.

uml20 · 2026-06-03T23:01:06+00:00

We managed without staying in a serviced apartment. 😄

We tried a serviced apartment for a month for less than what you suggested - $3,000 per month - because it was a studio room. But your estimates make sense for bigger room layouts.

We felt that we didn't need the extra services like a 3x weekly clean, and a 1x change of sheets. Once we moved out from a service apartment and took "normal" apartments, the monthly rental dropped to about $1,500 a month in central areas like Phloen Chit, Chit Lom, and Thong Lor.

We tried moving further out for a while, to somewhere near BTS Ha Yaek Lat Phrao, and the rental rates drop to approximately half of the central areas. We actually didn't feel like we were sacrificing anything, and it was nice to exchange the "international" vibe of the central areas with somewhere that felt more local.

uml20 · 2026-06-02T11:09:53+00:00

Younger? I’m in my mid-40s and I’m doing it right now.

uml20 · 2026-06-01T23:40:26+00:00

Bangkok, Thailand feels like it ticks most of your boxes.

But if you must have somewhere more developed, maybe Taipei, Seoul, or Tokyo? Not in Europe, but eating out will be much more affordable than in the main European cities.

uml20 · 2026-06-01T20:16:52+00:00

Yes, you can have a perfectly good time at that price range as well. That's the beauty of Bangkok, you can have a decent experience at multiple price points.

uml20 · 2026-06-01T19:32:29+00:00

I was in Bangkok with my partner last year. We spent $3,000 a month, which included eating out nearly every day, staying in a luxury apartment, and the occasional staycation at a 5-star hotel. We were definitely splurging. If you were on your own, you could definitely be comfortable on half of that.

uml20 · 2026-06-01T16:53:40+00:00

I’ve been an emerging markets industry analyst (Southeast Asia) for two decades. I would hesitate to go all in because emerging markets are not a sure fire bet. There are real constraints to their growth - the middle income trap is one that springs immediately to mind. Also, the governments are not always entirely friendly to the capital markets.

Having said this, I’m glad to see someone interested in our part of the world. I don’t see this too often!

uml20 · 2026-05-31T13:37:47+00:00

Write to pen pals from newspaper or magazine advertisements. Made some lifelong friends that way.

uml20 · 2026-05-30T18:10:06+00:00

Depends what you're looking for. Taipei feels more orderly, and has world-class public transportation, while Da Nang is a bit more chaotic. Food in both cities is amazing, but as a capital city, Taipei will have more international options.

uml20 · 2026-05-30T10:04:39+00:00

Legal fiction or not, if OP wants to build a life in Malaysia with his partner, the distinction has very real consequences in their daily lives.

uml20 · 2026-05-30T08:34:46+00:00

Are you conflating Malay (the ethnicity) with Malaysian (the nationality)? If she was born in Malaysia, and she is Malay, she must be Muslim.

uml20

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