Education UK Exhibition 2010 is This Weekend!

Duvet & TOG

Most duvets you can buy in the UK usually come in ‘tog’ ratings – from as low as 4 to as high as 15.

A lightweight summer duvet will usually have a tog rating of around 4-5. A medium warmth duvet will probably have a tog rating of around 9 to 11. A winter duvet is likely to be rated from 12 togs upwards.

For me, I bought the 10.5 and literally can be used whole year all seasons hehehe…

Btw, anyone out there fancy ‘bolster’? I afraid you may need to bring one from Malaysia as you won’t be able to get them anywhere in Britain.

Choosing a Bank in UK – Part 1

If you’re an international student (non-EU), you may find the process of opening an account in the UK can be a nightmare. In the UK, there are laws to prevent money laundering or terrorist activities. In order to get an account, you need to prove who you are and where you live in the UK.

The following are the big names of the UK banks:

Question: Can I apply to open an account in the UK before I arrive? Short answer is NO.

If you’re applying to HSBC, you may submit your application online prior to your arrival HERE but you still need to bring the necessary documents such as passport, recommendation letter from the uni and tenancy agreement (proof of address).

Please note: For HSBC Passport account holder, £8/month will be debited from your account

In Part 2, I’ll discuss the requirements and the fees which may affect you, for example if there are any charges for withdrawing money from a cash machine, or how much it will cost if the balance in your account becomes negative (overdraft charges).

Ultimate Movie Lovers

I found this great offer and thought of sharing with you guys. For just £13.50* a month you have unlimited access to any Cineworld cinema and watch any movies anytime anywhere in the UK. Isn’t this a great offer if you’ve nothing to do at home and need entertainment?

More information, please check out http://www.cineworld.co.uk/unlimited

SIM ONLY – Pay Monthly

Recently, I received few requests asking how much would it cost to sign-up ‘Pay Monthly’ SIM ONLY service in the UK. The below table extracted from The Carphone Warehouse – one of the largest independent phone retailer in the UK and Europe.

Please note: If you’re student and have bank account in the UK, you should not have any problems to get one of this offer. Please speak to The Carphone Warehouse.

Mobile Phone in the UK

How much does it cost to use mobile phone?

Literally, it depends on how you use it. For ‘pay as you go’, you will probably need 10-15 pounds a month if you’re making few minutes of calls each day (average cost of 10p per minute for local call and 20p per minute to Malaysia).

What type of plan should I choose?

Pay as you Go is the most common plan if you don’t use the phone that much. Prepaid card can be purchased from any convenient shops or online.

Contract Phone is suitable for those who plan to stay in the UK for more than 12 months. You will need to have a UK bank account and a good credit rating. Normally Telcos in the UK offer 18 or 24 months contract and you’ll be given a free handset eg. Nokia, HTC, iPhone, etc.

The main Telcos in the UK are Vodafone, T-Mobile, 02, Orange and Three. The services provided by all these telco are pretty much the same. Before jump into the cheapest plan, I suggest you consider the following: -
1) How frequent you use the phone and how long you will be in the UK
2) Some tariffs are cheaper if you make call after office hours/weekend
3) check what your friends use – normally cheaper to call on the same network
4) Are you textmania? Some plans allow you to have free messages/minutes when you top-up
5) Do you need to have internet access/data plan/3G services on your mobile?
6) Check the signal strength with your friends, etc if you live in a basement or remote area.

Talkmobile is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in the UK, currently uses the Vodafone UK network. Their ‘pay as you go’ plan is quite attractive for international students/visitors. Talkmobile offers FREE International minutes which you can use to call home when you top-up:

£10 = 50 minutes*
£15 – 100 minutes*
£20 – 200 minutes*
*FREE International minute rewards

How to call Malaysia from UK?

Simply dial +6 follow by any mobile/landline phone number in Malaysia eg. +6012-3456789 or +603-12345678.

What to bring to the UK?

UK is expensive country and what more if you’re coming to big city like London. But please do not worry; if you are smart enough you can still buy lots of cheap household goods and cheap clothing in shops and in the markets eg. Poundland, Primax, etc. Before thinking what to bring, may worth checking with your airline how much luggage you can bring. Please note: paying for excess baggage can be very expensive at the airport.

Winter clothes ( sweater, jackets, glove, socks, scarf )

If you are arriving in September or later, you will need winter clothing. In winter you should layer your clothes to keep warm. Again, please do not spend too much at Winter Time etc. Reason no. 1 they’re expensive in KL and quality wise I think you can get much better jacket in the UK with similar budget. Reason no. 2 you will end up no space in your luggage for other stuffs. It may be better to wait until you come to the UK to buy much of your clothing. Many students in the UK find cheap clothes in highstreet shops or markets.

Passport, visa, relevant documents

By now you should have the approved visa attached to your passport. Other important documents could be your offer letter from the uni, prove of maintenance fund eg bank statements, etc, medical checkup/chest x-ray so on and so fought.

How much cash should I bring?

I suggest you bring enough cash for your daily food and expenses for your first two weeks in the UK. For me, I’ll probably look at 400-500pounds to settle down before waiting for my bank account to be approved. The remaining fund you could have it in pound sterling Bank Draft paying to UK banks under your name. Once you’ve your bank account sorted, you could bank in the draft to your new account.

Which bank to choose for student account?

Opening bank account in the UK needs a recommendation letter from your uni. Please get a copy before approaching the bank officer. Generally, all banks will allow international student to open a current account that comes with a visa debit card facility. A nominal fees will be charged eg 8pounds for HSBC, etc.

What medicine should I have?

If you easily gets cold or flu, I suggest you bring some antibiotics that works for you. Unlike Malaysia, the doctor in the UK will hardly prescribe you with antibiotic. Why No Antibiotic? The doctors believe many common infections are caused by viruses and antibiotics do not kill viruses. Also, many bacterial infections do not need antibiotics. J

Which mobile phone plan? Prepaid or Postpaid?

I would recommend you to start off with prepaid service. In the UK you need to have good credit rating before you could get a postpaid plan. Normally, once you’re in the UK for few months you will have no problem to switch to postpaid plan and get some free phone. Again, please discuss with your telco eg. Term and conditions, keep your old no, etc.

What are the daily essential and toiletries I should bring? Buying in UK or Malaysia?

Toiletries are not that expensive. The cheapest tissues, I saw in Sainsbury is 50p for 4 rolls. Toothbrush may be a bit costly eg 2-3 quids compare to MYR5 for 3 in KL. J  Colgate you could get it like 1 pound but if you’re a fan of Darlie/Darkie (like me), please bring your own. You won’t be able them here L

Hope that helps!

Btw, if you not sure things you would like to bring are cheaper or expensive in the UK, feel free to drop me a message.

Does anyone know, What not to bring to the UK?

Dental Treatments

Sakit Gigi? In the UK? Can really burn a hole in your pocket !!!

As as student, we’re entitle to free NHS treatment but not dental treatments. In the UK, dental treatment can be obtained from private dentist and NHS dentist.

Effective from 1 April, 2010 NHS Dental Charges are as follows: -

• Band 1: £16.50. This charge includes an examination, diagnosis and preventive advice. If necessary, it also includes X-rays, scale and polish and planning for further treatment.
• Band 2: £45.60. This charge includes all the necessary treatment covered by the £16.50 charge, plus additional treatment, such as fillings, root canal treatment or extractions.
• Band 3: £198. This charge includes all the necessary treatment that is covered by the £16.50 and £45.60 charges, plus more complex procedures, such as crowns, dentures and bridges.

For more information, please visit NHS website.

The table below extracted from Whatprice shows user submitted prices for both NHS and private dentists.

Dental Work Required	Private Prices	NHS Prices*
Apiectomy	£376	£198
Braces-Metal	£1112	£198
Bridge	£562	N/A
Cancellation fee	£33	N/A
Dental Crown-Gold	£406	£198
Dental Examination	£43	£16.2
Dentures-Full	£563	£198
First Consultation	£53	£16.2
Hygiene Clean	£63	N/A
Implants	£1202	N/A
Large Tooth Filling-Non-white	£101	£44.6
Root canal	£369	£198
Sedated tooth removal	£141	£44.6
Small tooth filling-Non-white	£78	£44.6
Tooth Extraction	£92	N/A
Tooth Scale and Polish	£46	£16.2
Veneer	£342	N/A
Whitening	£305	N/A
Wisdom tooth extraction	£177	N/A
X-ray	£28	£16.2

Credit to: http://www.whatprice.co.uk/dentist/nhs-private-prices.html

If you find the above price of dentist procedures shocking then you should consider to sign up Dentist Insurance. To be honest, if I’ve to pay few hundreds quids to fix my ‘gigi’, I think I’ll rather spend that money for a return ticket to KL and get it done for MYR1.00 at Klinik Pergigian and at the same time can have reunion gathering with my family and friends. What about you?

To find out about NHS dentists visit the official NHS dentist website.

1 Pound Shop

If you’re looking for cheap or reasonable every day household essential products, etc – the best shop to try out is Poundland.

Poundland is famous for its top brands where shoppers are guaranteed to find over 800 quality brands, offering famous brands such as Colgate, Walkers, Air Wick, Cadburys, Weight Watchers ®, Kodak and much, much more, all at just £1 each.

But too bad, I can’t get my favourite ‘Darlie‘ toothpaste from this store nor in the UK. Anyone out there willing to bring me one from KL?

How to keep warm?

Here is some advice to keep yourself warm while you are in the UK.

• In wintertime (especially in December, January and February), pay attention to weather forecasts on television or radio or websites such as: http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/ukweather. The day’s maximum and minimum temperature will help you to know what to wear. If it is going to be particularly cold, you may want to avoid going out if it means you may have to spend a long time outside. Remember that if there is a strong wind it may feel much colder than the minimum temperature stated (this is know as “windchill”). Make sure that you know how to get home if you are out late at night, and consider going to bed early (the coldest time is in the early hours of the morning).

• If the heating in your room can be adjusted, make sure that you know how to change it. Tell the owner of your property (your landlord) if you are too cold – it may be that the central heating can be kept on for longer during cold periods. Ask if you can use a small portable electric fan heater in your room. Some landlords will not allow this because of the cost of the electricity – if so, estimate the cost and offer to pay for this. Always be very careful about safety with portable heaters – keep them clear of other objects and do not leave them on while you are sleeping.

• Wear layers of clothes. You can take off some of these layers when you go somewhere that is well-heated. The air which is trapped between your layers of clothing will help to keep you warm. Much of your body heat is lost through your head and feet, so wear thick socks and a hat and scarf when it is very cold.

• Buy a hot water bottle and a cover. You can hold the bottle while you are sitting down in your room, and can use it in your bed at night. If you get a good quality cover (such as the sheepskin cover shown below) you will not feel too hot and the bottle will stay warm for longer.

• A “throw” sized woollen blanket is useful for keeping warm. Buying a sleeping bag can be useful – you can sleep inside this in your bed, or even sit inside it while you are studying, and you can use it at other times of the year if a friend stays overnight.

• Eating a warm meal, drinking hot drinks, or taking a bath will make your body feel warmer.