This is my last night in Asia — the region I have called home for the past five years. From Japan to Hong Kong to China to Thailand to Malaysia and everywhere in between, it has been one hell of a journey, and always rich in content. Tomorrow I board a flight to Europe, where I will stay for roughly two months, until it is time for our ultimate relocation to our future home, Dubai. My boxes have been shipped, everything is packed, and this is it. So long Asia, hello Middle East!

I was thinking what are the things I would miss most about life in Asia. Here’s the list:

• Safety — and the wonderful freedom of never having to look over your shoulder
• Food — this is a no brainer!!
• Cheap shopping — I have a feeling London is going to be a huge shock to my wallet
• Friendly people — Well… maybe not so much in mainland China, ha!!! Just kidding.
• Cheap flights — but this will be replaced by free flights! Score!
• Convenience — everything works in Asia and life is extremely easy
• Beautiful beaches — though there are supposed to be nice beaches in the ME too
• Freedom? — I’ve been told to be very careful in the ME about drinking… this is gonna be a hard one to get used to after enjoying easy access in Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand…
• Cheap golf!!!!!!

Things I won’t particularly miss:

• Insane crowds, trains stuffed to the brim with people, congested sidewalks
• Dirty toilets with no toilet paper and no flushing water
• Industrial pollution (thank goodness Dubai does not manufacture anything!)
• Constantly getting ripped off because of the huge disparity between rich and poor
• Tiny Asian sizes for tiny Asian girls
• Markets that reek of decomposing food, and meat left out in the open with flies

But of course, in any country, you have to take the good with the bad. That’s just normal. I’m not sure what to expect of Dubai, though the people I know that live there seem to have a pretty high quality of life, are having fun, and seeing a heck of a lot of new countries. Since this move is going to be for the long run, I’m determined to not make the same mistakes that I made when I went to Hong Kong. I’m going to try to do as much as I can, join clubs and groups, and get more involved in society other than just working and liming with friends. And I do believe that with enough time and effort, any new place can become a good home.

Well, wish me luck! This blog is about to get a whole new flavour…