Image by Herve Boinay via Flickr
Malaysia is a pretty safe country for Asia. However, there are some things that anyone going on to a shoot in the region. I have been living, working, traveling in the country for a number of years, and I often see new-comers get into the same trouble. Malaysia can be a very helpful country, and at the same time it is easy to find yourself in trouble. It is always best to have your own hotel booking before you arrive. Malaysia hotels best suited for us expatriates are all online. Local hotels may be much cheaper, but there are a number of reasons why you do not want to stay in them. Read on, and you will understand why.
- Visa.Unless you are planning to stay and work for a considerable time, I would not bother to get a working permit or anything of the kind. As it stands, in Malaysia, freelance photographers don’t need to have their own company and pay tax. Make sure you get your payments back to your home country. I use PayPal accounts. Everyone in Malaysia is used to paying into PayPal.
- Equipment and Customs. There is no need to declare your equipment, as it is all yours and none of it is for sale. Their custom’s forms look at little complicated. If anyone asks, just tell them you are here on a holiday, and you are hobbyist photographer. All of your equipment is for your own hobby. Because you have a hotel booking at a reputable hotel, they will not give you much trouble. At the end of the day, it is an Asian country. They look at people in terms of their status. If you are staying in a decent hotel, they will leave you alone. Malaysia is a little more corrupt than most people think. If you look respectable, they will leave you alone.
- Getting Around. Taxi drivers like to haggle over the price instead of using the meter. It is better to go along with this. Most of them can speak English. If you don’t know the normal price of the distance, just tell them you will give them a few more dollars than the meter. As an expatriate, we are all targets to earn money from. It is just better to pay a little extra and get there without being taken for a ride. If you offer a little more, they will usually take you straight there. If you don’t, then they will give you the run-around.
- Shopping.You will probably need to buy some supplies while you are in Malaysia. Electronics are very cheap and it can be easy to forget you in a country that gets many of its electronics from dubious sources in China. Fake and counterfeit items are everywhere. Buying local takes some considerable experience. I have stayed in some of the better hotels, and found it is always best to ask the concierge where I can shop locally and find the non-counterfeit items. Even items that look like the real thing can have old or non-original parts on the inside. I always offer the concierge a tip or some form of compensation for getting me a reasonable price and getting me the real thing. If something is too cheap, you are buying a fake.
While Malaysia is known as a modern country and relatively more developed than other Asian countries, it is still an Asian country. There is corruption, and there are loads of counterfeit items. Keep your profile low, do your job, stay in decent accommodation and get your job done without any hassle.
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