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Expat Life: Trying out Haftarent – Malaysia’s Hassle-Free and Long Term AirBnB

** This is a review of the service. For my article about Haftarent on Forbes, click here.

Being married to a diplomat, I’ve been thrusted into a life that entails periodic moves for the next couple of decades. Not that I’m complaining but I have to be honest here: While moving to a different country may be a fun adventure, the moving process itself is stressful. Those who tell you otherwise, are lying.

All the farewell dinners you have to be in where you’ll feel sad knowing that it will be a while before you see your family and friends, the tedious packing, the journey, and finally arriving at your destination – these can really take their toll on your energy reserves. When we arrived in Malaysia, there was the flat hunting to consider, the furniture, how we would decorate our home, and settling in. Again, fun yet tiring.

We got lucky that our embassy has a go-to landlord and once my husband and I visited the units in his building, we fell in love with the location, the size of the unit, and the view. (A separate post on moving, flat hunting, and buying furniture in KL coming up!)

That part was easy for us, thank goodness. A lot of expats in Malaysia, however, are not as lucky. I’ve heard of flat hunting that took from several days to weeks and people who had to deal with inconsistent deposits.

I was recently introduced to a new service that a lot of expats and diplomats can use for convenience. Haftarent is a service that connects landlords to possible renters and all transactions are done online. I tried it out last month and here’s how the experience went:

Booking and checking in

Booking through the site was a breeze and so was check in during a sunny weekday. I was met by one of Haftarent’s people at the lobby of Vipod Residences where the unit I will be staying in was located. I chose this building among the properties listed on the site due to its location. It’s along Jalan Kia Peng, a street that’s a few minutes from Pavilion Mall, the KL Convention Centre, Suria KLCC, and the Petronas Towers.

Also, I was quite curious with this building. Alvin and I considered renting here but after seeing our current unit, we never looked back. Later on, a Singaporean diplomat told us that her unit in Vipod (which is a new building, only a few years old) has cockroaches. I still went for the Vipod property though since I heard they have a gorgeous pool. I was praying not to see roaches as we went up as I am deathly afraid of them.

Spoiler alert: No roaches. Whew! Thanks goodness for neat landlords.

When I arrived, this is what welcomed me:

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in Beauty & Fashion

Hair: La Biosthetique’s Scalp Treatment at Andy Ho Haute Coiffure

La Biosthetique, Hair Care, Salon, Salon Exclusive Products, High End Hair Care Products, Body Care, Face, Shampoo, Conditioner, Beauty, Andy Ho, Andy Ho Haute Coiffure, French Products, Scalp Treatment,

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to La Biosthetique’s Press Launch held in Damansara Perdana. I was thrilled, of course, as La Biosthetique is one of the salon-exclusive brands that I trust and I’m happy to find them here in Malaysia!

La Biosthetique, Hair Care, Salon, Salon Exclusive Products, High End Hair Care Products, Body Care, Face, Shampoo, Conditioner, Beauty, Andy Ho, Andy Ho Haute Coiffure, French Products, Scalp Treatment,

It’s always so comforting to know that there’s a go-to brand you can choose in a salon even when you’re in a different country. 😉 I’ve trusted La Biosthetique ever since it was first introduced to me in Europe a couple of years ago and my impression hasn’t changed.

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