Just remembering..

It's almost 2 months since I left Perth, Western Australia. It has been home for the last two and half years (on and off) and I must stay that I am beginning to miss the place, food and the friends there. I enjoyed the quiet and laidback lifestyle, food and the company of my church friends. When I first arrive there in early 2010, I was quite concern as most of the residential houses there do not have any perimeter fencing or gates. Back home in Malaysia, almost, if not all, residential properties are fortified with brick or metal grilles fencing, often times additionally installed with electronic survelliance cameras and equipment to keep out any intruders. One could not avoid observing in the passing that some of the fencing walls are constructed at such a height that the occupants seems to be living behind "prison walls". Of course, some of the wealthier malaysians could also employ security guards to man their premises. Thus, the phrase " gated and guarded" communities are the catchword of most developers nowadays, especially those in bigger cities like Kuala Lumpur, etc.

As such, when we first moved into our rented property without the fencing and gates, Ruth and I had a few sleepless nights as any slight noise outside the house will keep us on alert. It took a while for us to get use to the situation until I heard from one of my friends that some families do not even lock up their houses when they go out! Some of homes do not have any garage, so the cars are just parked in the open carport.

Needless to say, the issue of security and incidences of house break-in in Perth depends very much on the suburb one is staying. There are comparatively less of such incidents in the better suburbs compared with the others. I must say, that comparatively, I felt safer living in Perth than in Malaysia.