This is my 3rd summer in UK, we have reached 31ºC today, it is so hot, you will be surprised that I can survive 37º-40ºC in Malaysia, what is 31ºC to me?
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| Priory Garden |
It also got me thinking about how differently people experience daily comfort depending on where they live. In Malaysia, air-conditioning is almost everywhere — in cars, buses, homes, shopping malls, and offices. Even without air-conditioning, it’s common to have at least a fan in every room because of the constant heat and humidity.
The UK, however, feels completely different. Air-conditioned spaces are relatively rare, even in some commercial buildings. Electricity and gas costs can be quite high, so cooling appliances are used more sparingly. In fact, owning an electric fan is not always considered essential, simply because truly hot days are limited to only a small part of the year. Most of the time, the weather is cool or cold enough that people can live comfortably without much need for artificial cooling.
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| A beautiful scene unfolded before my eyes as I walked along the roadside in Green Street Green on my way home from Ashley Garden at around 7:30pm. |
Looking back, I didn’t really notice it during my first and second year in the UK. Perhaps it was because I had air-conditioned rooms while working around Central London’s Avenue Road, and later near Kenwood House on Ingram Avenue. The environment felt so comfortable that I never truly experienced the summer heat or even thought about needing a fan.
But by my third year, after moving to Orpington, summer felt completely different. The nights became much harder to endure. I often struggled to fall asleep and would spend a long time fanning myself by hand just to feel a little relief from the heat. It made me appreciate the colder days much more than I ever had before.
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| Enjoying ice-cream, burnt cheese cake and mango pudding in Auntie Laura’s house at about 9pm |
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| I love these mini daisies. |