What did you wish you bought back home thats expensive in Malaysia

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And a big german truck for negotiating the traffic on Burma road (sorry Jalan Burma, or should that be Lebuh Myanmar)

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A couple of others, take a good look at the first two and see how much better life would be with them

Chillow Pillows http://www.chillow.co.uk/2010/template/ keep the pillow cool throughout the night - Essential
The bed fan http://www.bedfan.com - another essential! - now you have seen it don't you wish you had one??

Didn't know these things even existed but wouldn't a/c take care of this?

You will have a/c wont you?

"Most" places I have stayed in Asia have been more than cool during the night, certainly a lot cooler than my own home in Australia during summer

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Hi Breathless

Not sure that I share the same experiences as you of Asia being 'more than cool at night'? Unless you have the aircon on or a ceiling fan blowing away all night you are more often than not going to be hot! - this is the tropics

The main advantage of the bedfan is that it costs something like 40-60% less to run at night than Air conditioning (not exactly sure of the figure), Ceiling mounted fans are a useful alternative but they only blow downwards onto the covers. If you have a medical problem, e.g the sweats, hot flushes, menopausal problems etc the bedfan can make you more comfortable at night.

I always seem to get hot, so the aircon will be on during the night, often it gives me a sore throat. I don't have the bedfan but if it kept me cool, was cheaper to run and I didn't get a sore throat then thats a good enough reason for me to buy one!

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One of the other things I would (in hindsight) buy back home instead of buying in Malaysia is a decent car!
'As long as I bought a model that was capable of being serviced in Malaysia'

I'd probably buy a 2 or three year old car with a full service history, a bit of a petrol guzzler, the type off car that no one wants in the UK but is easy run here due to the cheap fuel costs. Often these types of cars are fully specced up.

For example:

Lexus 300 3.0 SE 2008 4dr Auto. 13000miles - £21,599 (about 105,000rm)
http://www.motorpoint.co.uk/(S(zb44dv45c5c3az45p0q4jcr3))/Search/Stock.aspx?make=Lexus&model=GS&trim=300%203.0%20SE%202008%204dr%20Auto&body=Saloon&fuel=Unleaded&type=0&auto=yes

or

VW Toureg 3.0 V6 TDI 240 DPF 5dr Tip leather Auto 4000miles - £27,999 (about 135,000rm)
http://www.motorpoint.co.uk/(S(zb44dv45c5c3az45p0q4jcr3))/Search/Stock.aspx?make=Volkswagen&model=Touareg&trim=3.0%20V6%20TDI%20240%20DPF%205dr%20Tip%20Auto%20[Leather]&body=Estate&fuel=Diesel&type=0

You won't find a like for like in Malaysia for twice the money!

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Been going through this with interest.  Any more that people have come across?  Still undecided about the car and electrical items (TVs, Home Cinema etc and white goods).  When I was in the UAE most stuff I had was Japanese, quite cheap and no problem.  Personally I'm not that 'brand loyal' to the likes of AEG and Zanussi, the last two purchases being crap!!!

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If you bring in a container, fill it up as much as you can.
A bed and a quality mattresss is a good idea if you are oversized relative to the average Malaysian.
Good quality bed linen and curtains.
And any favourite furniture of course.
If from Dubai, you can buy LED TV made in MY cheaper there and also many other household electronics and goods.
For example we brought a 'Turbo' hot air oven, it is basically a hot air blower and a glass bowl.
Ready available in Kuwait but not found in MY, you cook a chicken fat free in 20 minutes.
I don't like the plastic furniture for outdoors & balcony they have in MY (Or maybe Penang)
Not sturdy enough. In ME there is an abundancy of this available.

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And a big german truck for negotiating the traffic on Burma road (sorry Jalan Burma, or should that be Lebuh Myanmar)

I think I missed this one first time around. That's so funny if you've seen Burma road. What's happened to Qj ?

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Driving that lorry you would have to stop every 100.metres to wipe the bikes of the bumper !

The trouble with big foreign cars is the cost of getting them serviced, let alone driving them around these narrow roads in Penang with bikes going by on all sides in all directions, a friend of mine just had to have his Land Rover (lovely big comfortable thing forget which model) towed from JB to the dealer in KL to get it fixed.

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I need to look at the container option when I get back.  Plan to use Pickfords from the UK.  Will decide when I've checked out prices and quaility etc whilst in Malaysia.  It will depend on costs (freight and related charges taken into account).  Essentially I don't want to find I'm paying more to bring in stuff from the UK than I can buy it for there.  If I DO bring in a container then beds etc no problem.  It's only really if the MY options are poorer, more expensive and such like that it actually makes sense to ship/import.  If it does, than I'll likely fill it up and bring more.