......because it is the only way to get them to operate smoothly!
I pose this question because of my experiences travelling about Singapore in taxis, buses and on trains.
A word of warning to intending visitors. If you have any hint of, or susceptibility to, neck injuries or other spinal problems be sure to bring a NECK BRACE with you. Whiplash injuries are a real prospect when using a taxi or bus.
I say this because it appears that transport drivers have a syndrome called 'NOBUT'. No Belief Understanding or Trust in or of the reliability, or continued running, of the engine contained within the vehicle they pilot.
As a consequence of this 'NOBUT syndrome' each PTV (Public Transport Vehicle) driver must confirm regularly that all is well with the engine and that it continues to operate.
This syndrome appears to be exacerbated by highly structured training.
I see proof of this in buses careening all over Singapore with TRAINING BUS displayed as the destination, piloted by drivers under the supervision of instructors, in a apparent attempt to perfect this 'syndrome'. How else could the end result be so consistent?
So how does the trainer train the trainee to ensure all is as it should be with the vehicle's engine? The steps taken appear to be as follows:
Step 1: Do not rely on any of the instruments residing on the dashboard in front. Nor any other auditory or visual sense. Rely totally on your right foot and the seat of your pants.
Step 2: From any stationary point - preferably, but not restricted to, a bus-stop - check engine operation by pressing FIRMLY on, and completely to its limit, the accelerator. This performs two functions:
Function A: confirms the engine is running by launching the bus out into the traffic flow.
Function B: sends all the OAPs (Old Age Persons - no pensioners in Singapore) who have just boarded the bus, plus their shopping, flying to the rear where they can be, if lucky, assisted from the floor and into a seat.
NOTE I: The second Function only works truly successfully if the snot-sniffing, under-thirty-something, ear-plugs-wearing, face-up-close-to-his/her Samsung-Galaxy (insert latest number) phone/tablet can be shamed out of a seat.
NOTE II: In order to achieve a desired level of physical and personal damage to the greatest number of passengers Step 1 must be initiated at a critical moment. To determine this moment drivers must check their rear-view mirror to ensure any standing passengers are bending over and/or pivoting in order to sit thus placing them at the point of greatest unbalance.
Step 3: Once Step 2 has been performed and the vehicle is moving, immediately release all pressure on the accelerator thus allowing engine braking to reduce the speed of the bus back to, and preferably below, some nominal speed-limit to be determined by whim or proximity to a vehicle in front.
Step 4: When the distance between the PTV (Public Transport Vehicle) and the vehicle ahead has increased to greater than three but no more than four metres, re-apply full pressure to the accelerator.
Step 5: Alternate Steps 3 and 4 at intervals of no more than 5 seconds until approaching the next stop, arrival at which should be at the greatest speed possible and with the greatest amount of braking-force required. Preferably after having again checked the rear-view mirror and confirmed that at least three alighting passengers have released hold of any supporting hardware - poles, seats, straps etc. The intention and result being to deposit them in a heap at the front of the bus.
Whilst most physical damage will be visited upon those boarding and alighting, the constant acceleration/deceleration of the bus between stops results in pronounced movement of the head fore-and-aft. Hence the need for 'whiplash-protection-gear'.
Discomfort and the potential for injury is not restricted to that perpetrated by bus-drivers. Taxi-drivers have apparently viewed the same training DVD, so with a better power-to-weight ratio than buses, the constant acceleration/deceleration can be even more uncomfortable.
To slightly digress I must mention the benefits of automatic, as against manual, gear-boxes in taxis. The new Hyundai taxis are auto, so no problems with them apart from the aforementioned 'whiplash', but the old (1980's??) Toyota Crowns have a manual box. My observation being, drivers of these older taxis tend to use just two of the, at least, four gears available. First and top only are to be used with the last one to be shifted into as soon as physically possible and not changed out of until the point of engine-stall. Use of the clutch is at the discretion of the driver. The noise and vibration throughout the vehicle is an experience.
Returning to trains, I make this observation. Following to the opening of the first Red and Green Line MRTs, both operated by a driver, planners realized the problem they had created. As a result, subsequent lines are now operated driver-less with computers controlling the process resulting in the ride improving immeasurably.
Now all we have to do is wait for technology in taxis and buses to catch up.
Sunday, 8 September 2013
Wednesday, 31 July 2013
Marina Bay Barrage
For those not aware, all of the rivers and creeks of Singapore have been blocked off from the sea by a system of barrages thus making the whole island a water-catchment 'dam'.
These images are of the area around one of the barrages which has created Marina Bay. They show how the area has been developed as a recreation place for locals to enjoy. Like a number of aspects about Singapore, someone appears to have put a great deal of time and thought into its creation. And more to the point, acted on the results, to the potential benefit of a lot of people. (Thinks.....unlike Barangaroo......)
The only access to this area is by walking from Bayfront MRT or by managing to locate a somewhat obscure bus service from the Marina Bay area which, strangely, does not appear to operate on week-ends.
Devoid of shade-producing trees at this time, it can be rather hot on cloudless days but, on the plus side, there is usually a breeze blowing to aid with cooling, flying of kites and the making of dramatic wedding photos.
Satay By the Bay is the nearest 'hawkers' market if you are looking for food and, on the day I visited, was not over-run with customers. At least as far as I and the cook could determine.
Saturday, 27 July 2013
Pulau Ubin
An island off the NE coast of Singapore. Accessed by 'bum-boat'
at a cost of SGD$3 from Changi Point.
There appears to be only limited access around the island with the main point of interest being the hiring of push-bikes to ride to the boardwalk at Chek Jawa which meanders through the mangroves and out into the strait .
Beware of pigs who like the look of shopping bags and don't know the meaning of 'no' plus monkeys that allegedly have a similar issue.
From the boardwalk views past the small island Pulau Sekudu (Frog Island) back to Changi await.
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| Changi Point to Pulau Ubin |
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| Pulau Ubin Jetty |
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| Bum-boat captain and crew |
at a cost of SGD$3 from Changi Point.
There appears to be only limited access around the island with the main point of interest being the hiring of push-bikes to ride to the boardwalk at Chek Jawa which meanders through the mangroves and out into the strait .
Beware of pigs who like the look of shopping bags and don't know the meaning of 'no' plus monkeys that allegedly have a similar issue.
From the boardwalk views past the small island Pulau Sekudu (Frog Island) back to Changi await.
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| View from Chek Jawa across to Changi |
Singapore by Bus
Travelling around Singapore by taxi and public transport is disarmingly easy, especially when compared to a similar exercise undertaken in a city like Sydney.
Arriving at Changi Airport you are through customs and out onto the concourse where taxis are plentiful and the traffic congestion is light. Totally unlike (again) Sydney Airport.
Taxis are cheap and plentiful. SGD$15 from the airport to the city, including the airport surcharge. Fifteen dollars in a taxi in Oz gets you about three kilometres on a quiet night, WITHOUT the addition of a surcharge.
What you don't find so easily at Changi are the MRT (train) and SBS (bus) services which are also available. The MRT system is magic. A train at every station on the island every three to five minutes. No ifs. No buts.
Wait, there is a "but". The "but" with taking the MRT, and this does not apply so much to the Green Line which services Changi Airport and which is above-ground almost its whole length across the island, is that the majority of MRT services travel below ground. All very well for speed but, as you find once you use it a bit, gives no feel for what the city is really like geographically or culturally.
Travel by MRT, whilst reassuring, leaves you with the confusion generally experienced when blind-folded, spun around a number of times and finally, with eye-sight restored, released to stagger off in search of one's goal.
Emerging from an MRT station has you popping up out of the air-conditioned cool invariably into either the stifling humidity outside, or most often the continued cool within, a huge and confusingly laid-out shopping centre or mall, with no firm idea of where you are in the larger, island picture or how to get elsewhere other than by once again taking to the MRT. This was not a problem initially because, as a newcomer, all I wanted to know was which shop or service I needed to access and the station at which I needed to alight in order to access it. Easy.
Another thing about using the MRT is that there is more than one entrance/exit to each station and, in most cases, they are not in close proximity to each other. There can be anything up to half a kilometre between entry/exit points. Which, to Singaporeans, is a taxi or bus ride away.
Once you have your head around the reliable and fast MRT it does become a little boring. Nothing to look at except hundreds of Singaporeans with their heads buried in their Samsung Galaxy Note 2's playing Candy Crush or watching the current-fad Chinese soapy or heaven forbid, and according to an expat (not me) who witnessed it, porn!!
So what's it like on the outside? Taxis are OK to get a feel for the place but you are low down and part of the problem.
The only place to be is up high. Preferably on the top level of a double-decker, SBS bus. From there you get the full Singapore picture.
Those we spoke to on our arrival advised that buses were OK as long as you were not in a hurry and this is certainly the case. Whilst they are supposed to turn up at regular intervals of say 7-10 or 12-15 minutes, depending on the time of day, the reality is that traffic and people impact on that schedule. A LOT.
Reality can be no bus for 30 minutes-plus and then two will appear one behind the other. Invariably they will be the same service number.
This situation has arisen because at some point the first bus's progress has been slowed due to the number of waiting passengers. This first bus, now full to overflowing and late, has the second, not having had to pick up any passengers for most of its journey, empty and on its rear bumper. This situation continues at subsequent stops thus continuing to slow the journey-time.
There appears to be some SBS rule that the second bus must never overtake the first because this situation can persist until both buses arrive at their destination. Hence, for speed and reliability, the MRT is the way to travel but buses are from where the real Singapore can be observed at a slower and less time-dependent pace.
By way of example you can make your way to Hougang bus interchange via the MRT and climb aboard a #51 to Jurong East which will take you on a ride from one side of the island to almost the absolute other. You will need to set aside a couple of hours for the whole trip but it is well worth it to observe locals working, playing, eating and shopping.
The final two being stated national (only?) past-times.
Just like the Hop-on/Hop-off tourist buses, you can jump off when you see something interesting, safe in the knowledge there will be another #51 along shortly to continue the journey.
I should mention at this point that the best way to facilitate all public transport travel, even taxis, is by using one of the EZ-Link travel cards.
These can only be purchased down in the MRT stations, next to the entry/exit gates, for a cost of $10. This gives you $7 of credit to use for transport and $3 being a deposit, refundable when you are finished using the card and it is returned to a ticket office. There is also a Tourist EZ-Link card available for an initial charge of SGD$20. This has SGD$10 of travel value and a SGD$10 deposit. The deposit being returned as per the above.
Topping up the card can be achieved at any of the ticket offices or at self-service kiosks located nearby. Be advised, the kiosks do not give change so whatever value note you insert is the amount of top-up you will get.
When it comes to time-tables for transport it is only the buses you need to be concerned with. The MRT trains turn up every 5-6 minutes, 5.30am to midnight.
SBS has an app called "iris nextbus" for your smart-phone which facilitates journey-planning and, from my observation across phone OS platforms, is one of the few apps that works better on Android than Apple. It does however require a bit of learning, together with a good internet connection, but allows you to plan bus journeys quite well.
SG Buses is another app which allows you to input bus numbers to determine their travel routes. This helps identify other bus numbers which use the same stops. This can be handy because other buses may be going past where you want to go and aren't necessarily offered via the iris nextbus app.
Price comparison. Hop on - Hop off bus @ $27 per day or EZ-Link card for less than $10.
Arriving at Changi Airport you are through customs and out onto the concourse where taxis are plentiful and the traffic congestion is light. Totally unlike (again) Sydney Airport.
Taxis are cheap and plentiful. SGD$15 from the airport to the city, including the airport surcharge. Fifteen dollars in a taxi in Oz gets you about three kilometres on a quiet night, WITHOUT the addition of a surcharge.
What you don't find so easily at Changi are the MRT (train) and SBS (bus) services which are also available. The MRT system is magic. A train at every station on the island every three to five minutes. No ifs. No buts.
Wait, there is a "but". The "but" with taking the MRT, and this does not apply so much to the Green Line which services Changi Airport and which is above-ground almost its whole length across the island, is that the majority of MRT services travel below ground. All very well for speed but, as you find once you use it a bit, gives no feel for what the city is really like geographically or culturally.
Travel by MRT, whilst reassuring, leaves you with the confusion generally experienced when blind-folded, spun around a number of times and finally, with eye-sight restored, released to stagger off in search of one's goal.
Emerging from an MRT station has you popping up out of the air-conditioned cool invariably into either the stifling humidity outside, or most often the continued cool within, a huge and confusingly laid-out shopping centre or mall, with no firm idea of where you are in the larger, island picture or how to get elsewhere other than by once again taking to the MRT. This was not a problem initially because, as a newcomer, all I wanted to know was which shop or service I needed to access and the station at which I needed to alight in order to access it. Easy.
Another thing about using the MRT is that there is more than one entrance/exit to each station and, in most cases, they are not in close proximity to each other. There can be anything up to half a kilometre between entry/exit points. Which, to Singaporeans, is a taxi or bus ride away.
Once you have your head around the reliable and fast MRT it does become a little boring. Nothing to look at except hundreds of Singaporeans with their heads buried in their Samsung Galaxy Note 2's playing Candy Crush or watching the current-fad Chinese soapy or heaven forbid, and according to an expat (not me) who witnessed it, porn!!
So what's it like on the outside? Taxis are OK to get a feel for the place but you are low down and part of the problem.
The only place to be is up high. Preferably on the top level of a double-decker, SBS bus. From there you get the full Singapore picture.
Reality can be no bus for 30 minutes-plus and then two will appear one behind the other. Invariably they will be the same service number.
This situation has arisen because at some point the first bus's progress has been slowed due to the number of waiting passengers. This first bus, now full to overflowing and late, has the second, not having had to pick up any passengers for most of its journey, empty and on its rear bumper. This situation continues at subsequent stops thus continuing to slow the journey-time.
There appears to be some SBS rule that the second bus must never overtake the first because this situation can persist until both buses arrive at their destination. Hence, for speed and reliability, the MRT is the way to travel but buses are from where the real Singapore can be observed at a slower and less time-dependent pace.
By way of example you can make your way to Hougang bus interchange via the MRT and climb aboard a #51 to Jurong East which will take you on a ride from one side of the island to almost the absolute other. You will need to set aside a couple of hours for the whole trip but it is well worth it to observe locals working, playing, eating and shopping.
The final two being stated national (only?) past-times.
Just like the Hop-on/Hop-off tourist buses, you can jump off when you see something interesting, safe in the knowledge there will be another #51 along shortly to continue the journey.
I should mention at this point that the best way to facilitate all public transport travel, even taxis, is by using one of the EZ-Link travel cards.
These can only be purchased down in the MRT stations, next to the entry/exit gates, for a cost of $10. This gives you $7 of credit to use for transport and $3 being a deposit, refundable when you are finished using the card and it is returned to a ticket office. There is also a Tourist EZ-Link card available for an initial charge of SGD$20. This has SGD$10 of travel value and a SGD$10 deposit. The deposit being returned as per the above.
Topping up the card can be achieved at any of the ticket offices or at self-service kiosks located nearby. Be advised, the kiosks do not give change so whatever value note you insert is the amount of top-up you will get.
When it comes to time-tables for transport it is only the buses you need to be concerned with. The MRT trains turn up every 5-6 minutes, 5.30am to midnight.
SBS has an app called "iris nextbus" for your smart-phone which facilitates journey-planning and, from my observation across phone OS platforms, is one of the few apps that works better on Android than Apple. It does however require a bit of learning, together with a good internet connection, but allows you to plan bus journeys quite well.
SG Buses is another app which allows you to input bus numbers to determine their travel routes. This helps identify other bus numbers which use the same stops. This can be handy because other buses may be going past where you want to go and aren't necessarily offered via the iris nextbus app.
Price comparison. Hop on - Hop off bus @ $27 per day or EZ-Link card for less than $10.
Sunday, 10 March 2013
Bank Queue Very Much
Into our third month in Singapore and, apart from the issues encountered in gaining accommodation, there are wonderful aspects about living here. It is those nicer aspects I have tried to concentrate on to date. There is however one rather aggravating thing I need to unload about and that is banking.
We needed to open a bank account for all the obvious reasons but alas the opening and operating of a bank account in Singapore is not what I would deem a simple and stress-free exercise. So at the risk of sounding like one of those "...it's all just so much better back home..." ex-pats, I simply can't NOT mention some of our experiences.
The opening of our account was a rather protracted affair firstly because, as mentioned in an earlier post, the rules for opening one varied between branches of the same bank. The sorts of problems that arose were as follows.
Problem No.1: To open an account you need a pass, either a Work Pass (WP) or a Dependent Pass (DP). We had neither, although Heather was in the process of gaining one. I had to wait for her to get her's before I could apply for mine. So.......to get a WP you needed to prove a job. To prove you had a job you needed to prove you were being paid. To be paid you needed a, wait for it, bank account.
Luckily by the time it was our turn to open the account this little chicken-and-egg issue had been sorted, with the bank's acceptance of everybody's work contract and passport.
Problem No.2 : Joint accounts, the like of which we wanted to open, appear to be frowned upon with a perceived preference being for all accounts to be singular ones. The decision was that, as neither of us had the required Pass, and I had yet to even apply for one, we should open a sole account and have me added in later. I did not see this as a problem as I intended to do as much transacting as possible via the net and ATMs. More on this later.
Problem No.3 : To operate an account via the net you require a mobile phone number and at this point Heather did not have a Singapore phone-sim. We decided to use my pre-paid one as we were told we could change things easily via the net. More on this later.
At last we had an account and it was at this point with an access card, a Secure Device
for logging onto our internet account and a spring in our step that I started noticing the length of queues at banks we passed. They were at this point of fairly minor interest because I had intended to do all our transacting via the internet.Was I just a tad naive? You bet!
Be aware, access to cash is not a problem, there are ATMs literally everywhere. Sometimes four or five at the one location. The thing is, almost ALL of them have the aforementioned queues. Closer inspection revealed that not all ATMs perform the same function. Some are for cheque deposits, others for cash withdrawals while others only accept deposits of coins and notes. Still others it appears, ONLY allow you to make changes to your account details with no money transactions permitted at all.
Bank branch shopfronts also appear to be in plentiful supply, at least for the DBS/POSB bank we are using. Each branch has at least three ATMs out front and each has the obligatory queue. Looking inside reveals even longer queues of people waiting to be attended to by tellers.
I had until now thought it was Poms who liked to queue. If this be true then they have some serious challengers in the Singaporeans. That is of course if the assumption is correct that Singaporeans actually LIKE to queue. And if they are in fact all Singaporeans.
Interesting point
You only ever see the HDB dwellers or plebs like us wearing sandals and thongs, waiting in the queues. Never any of the 'fast-boys' with their designer pants, flash shoes and Lamborghini Gallardo's parked out front. Nor, it must be said, any other of the merchant-wanker-type ex-pats. Where do they go I wondered?
I digress. At this point I started to become a little concerned. One or two queues on odd days I could handle but so many every day was a different kettle-of-fish and it didn't take long until the need to deal with an actual person/teller in one of the banks came about.
A word to the wise.
Do not enter a bank, even an apparently empty one, without at least 30 minutes to spare. Do not enter a bank having any sort of an internal queue unless you have 60 - 120 minutes to spare.
All those people behind the counters are not tellers, they are bank staff doing their own stuff and they are not there to serve you. The teller is that one guy/girl at the end counter studiously checking the paperwork in front of them, counting the cash and confirming the name on the cheque before then re-checking the paperwork, re-counting the cash and re-checking the spelling of the name on the cheque. Ah yes, and so we get to the name on the cheque.
I can understand that the actual name on the cheque is reasonably important. For most of us, or at least those not being questioned at ICAC investigations, the name on the cheque is not necessarily life-threateningly critical. As long as there is enough cash in the account to cover the cheque being deposited our banks tend not to have too much of an issue taking a cheque. Initially, not so true in Singapore.
Our experience of this had arisen because we attempted to deposit a cheque, over the counter, made out to Heather's initials and surname, which of course was not her full name and which weren't in the correct order, as per the account.
To explain. If the name appearing on my birth certificate, passport or NIC (National Identity Card) is John Malcolm Smith-Phillips and I wish to deposit a cheque in my Singaporian bank account then I had better make sure that THAT FULL NAME is to whom the cheque is made out. Should I have at some point decided to call myself Jack, dispensed with the double-barrelled Smith and then go into my bank to deposit a cheque made out to Jack Phillips, I will be setting myself up for a great deal of grief.
When I say 'grief' I mean that of the standing around, watching the teller find and read instructions on how to handle the situation, type of grief. The waiting for the teller to check numerous times with his/her supervisor, type of grief. Explaining to the teller why it is that I have a different name on the cheque to that appearing on other documentation. That kind of annoying, aggravating, time-wasting grief. Meanwhile, the queue behind gets larger and more crushing before spilling out the door and onto the hot and very humid street.
When this happens to you, be sure to have your NIC (National Identity Card) with you. Also, even though the NIC has your photo and name printed on it, it will not be sufficient so you should also take your passport. Even that will not be enough. You must prove an address so the leasing agreement for that unit you just moved into must be shown as well. God knows what happens if your name is not actually on the lease or worse, you are living in a hotel prior to finding a unit.
Never fear. Subsequent discussions with other, more experienced folk revealed that the cheque depositing scenario described above can in future be handled in one of three ways.
Method No.1 - present your cheque at a teller in person in full expectation of an argument.
Method No.2 - present your cheque at a teller after making doubly-sure the naming details are correct.
and having in both cases spent 30 to 60 minutes in a queue.
Or, by far the quickest........
Method No.3 - Simply write your account number on the back of the cheque and place it in the deposit slot out the front of the bank.
No questions asked, no-matter who it is made out to, it will appear in your account the next day.
Simple.
Returning to the problems mentioned earlier, I would like to address Problem No.2 more fully.
We had by now been issued with our Work and Dependent Passes so decided to brave the banking queues again to have me added to the account. During the previous cheque depositing fiasco we had asked about the joint account and were told we would need our Marriage Certificate. Who takes their Marriage Certificate everywhere with them? Well, we do as it turns out. Luckily.
Returning to the bank another day our teller stepped through the process. All was reasonable until we got to the mobile-phone number part. Because I had initially used my number for Heather's account, I was unable to use it again for mine so we put Heather's recently acquired number on my new account. "Don't worry.." we were told, "..you can change that later on the net..." All was good, and funnily enough without being asked for the Marriage Certificate. Oh wait, at the very last moment he remembered we had not shown it to him. Not a problem, we had it with us this time so very soon we had a second card and were set to go....or not!
Issues soon arose at home when I attempted to find something akin to our Oz B-Pay facility for paying bills via the net. To use a local expression, "...no can..." (whilst shaking the head in a negative fashion.) The only way to pay bills easily is set up a direct deposit arrangement with your bank. Crikey, you would think they had been taking advice from a self-storage facility owner in Oz.
As stated previously, it had been my intention to use the net as much as possible. Also, because Heather did not initially have a local mobile-phone number I had used mine when setting up the account.
Why is a mobile number needed? It is needed for all the SMSing that goes on when you transact via the net and, as it turns out, for some ATM transactions. Let me tell you, there is a LOT of SMSing.
Now that Heather had her own local mobile-phone number I logged onto our account, changed the notifying number from mine to her's and attempted to set up a direct deposit. Problem.
I had the Secure Device to punch in the numbers and access the account, but the SMS to finalise the transaction was going to Heather's phone and she was at work. I was also noticing that my new card was not appearing on our web account. Transactions made on it appeared but no details of the card itself. Hmmmmm, might be time to revisit the joint account scenario. Off to the bank, and the queues, yet again.
Luckily we managed to find a branch with a short-ish queue and were done in 30 minutes. The result being that I too was issued with a Secure Device for accessing the account. For good measure we had the teller swap our phone numbers over, as that was the only way I could get mine registered. All was good or so we thought until.....
Back to Problem No.3. As it turns out, one cannot change many account details via the web. Even with mobile-phone numbers and Secure Devices. Face-to-face transactions are the only way, which goes some way to explaining the queues I guess.
And even when you have done the face-to-face routine there are still problems. Two days after we thought we were all set up a letter arrived from the bank stating that Heather's number is already assigned to someone else and she must provide proof that it is hers. The annoying thing is, it is probably assigned to me because I used it when I was added to the account.
The saga continues......
We needed to open a bank account for all the obvious reasons but alas the opening and operating of a bank account in Singapore is not what I would deem a simple and stress-free exercise. So at the risk of sounding like one of those "...it's all just so much better back home..." ex-pats, I simply can't NOT mention some of our experiences.
The opening of our account was a rather protracted affair firstly because, as mentioned in an earlier post, the rules for opening one varied between branches of the same bank. The sorts of problems that arose were as follows.
Problem No.1: To open an account you need a pass, either a Work Pass (WP) or a Dependent Pass (DP). We had neither, although Heather was in the process of gaining one. I had to wait for her to get her's before I could apply for mine. So.......to get a WP you needed to prove a job. To prove you had a job you needed to prove you were being paid. To be paid you needed a, wait for it, bank account.
Luckily by the time it was our turn to open the account this little chicken-and-egg issue had been sorted, with the bank's acceptance of everybody's work contract and passport.
Problem No.2 : Joint accounts, the like of which we wanted to open, appear to be frowned upon with a perceived preference being for all accounts to be singular ones. The decision was that, as neither of us had the required Pass, and I had yet to even apply for one, we should open a sole account and have me added in later. I did not see this as a problem as I intended to do as much transacting as possible via the net and ATMs. More on this later.
Problem No.3 : To operate an account via the net you require a mobile phone number and at this point Heather did not have a Singapore phone-sim. We decided to use my pre-paid one as we were told we could change things easily via the net. More on this later.
At last we had an account and it was at this point with an access card, a Secure Device
 |
| My Secure Device which needs to affixed to my phone |
for logging onto our internet account and a spring in our step that I started noticing the length of queues at banks we passed. They were at this point of fairly minor interest because I had intended to do all our transacting via the internet.Was I just a tad naive? You bet!
Be aware, access to cash is not a problem, there are ATMs literally everywhere. Sometimes four or five at the one location. The thing is, almost ALL of them have the aforementioned queues. Closer inspection revealed that not all ATMs perform the same function. Some are for cheque deposits, others for cash withdrawals while others only accept deposits of coins and notes. Still others it appears, ONLY allow you to make changes to your account details with no money transactions permitted at all.
Bank branch shopfronts also appear to be in plentiful supply, at least for the DBS/POSB bank we are using. Each branch has at least three ATMs out front and each has the obligatory queue. Looking inside reveals even longer queues of people waiting to be attended to by tellers.
I had until now thought it was Poms who liked to queue. If this be true then they have some serious challengers in the Singaporeans. That is of course if the assumption is correct that Singaporeans actually LIKE to queue. And if they are in fact all Singaporeans.
Interesting point
You only ever see the HDB dwellers or plebs like us wearing sandals and thongs, waiting in the queues. Never any of the 'fast-boys' with their designer pants, flash shoes and Lamborghini Gallardo's parked out front. Nor, it must be said, any other of the merchant-wanker-type ex-pats. Where do they go I wondered?
I digress. At this point I started to become a little concerned. One or two queues on odd days I could handle but so many every day was a different kettle-of-fish and it didn't take long until the need to deal with an actual person/teller in one of the banks came about.
 |
| Sunday Afternoon 2.56pm and the queue is out the door |
A word to the wise.
Do not enter a bank, even an apparently empty one, without at least 30 minutes to spare. Do not enter a bank having any sort of an internal queue unless you have 60 - 120 minutes to spare.
All those people behind the counters are not tellers, they are bank staff doing their own stuff and they are not there to serve you. The teller is that one guy/girl at the end counter studiously checking the paperwork in front of them, counting the cash and confirming the name on the cheque before then re-checking the paperwork, re-counting the cash and re-checking the spelling of the name on the cheque. Ah yes, and so we get to the name on the cheque.
I can understand that the actual name on the cheque is reasonably important. For most of us, or at least those not being questioned at ICAC investigations, the name on the cheque is not necessarily life-threateningly critical. As long as there is enough cash in the account to cover the cheque being deposited our banks tend not to have too much of an issue taking a cheque. Initially, not so true in Singapore.
Our experience of this had arisen because we attempted to deposit a cheque, over the counter, made out to Heather's initials and surname, which of course was not her full name and which weren't in the correct order, as per the account.
To explain. If the name appearing on my birth certificate, passport or NIC (National Identity Card) is John Malcolm Smith-Phillips and I wish to deposit a cheque in my Singaporian bank account then I had better make sure that THAT FULL NAME is to whom the cheque is made out. Should I have at some point decided to call myself Jack, dispensed with the double-barrelled Smith and then go into my bank to deposit a cheque made out to Jack Phillips, I will be setting myself up for a great deal of grief.
When I say 'grief' I mean that of the standing around, watching the teller find and read instructions on how to handle the situation, type of grief. The waiting for the teller to check numerous times with his/her supervisor, type of grief. Explaining to the teller why it is that I have a different name on the cheque to that appearing on other documentation. That kind of annoying, aggravating, time-wasting grief. Meanwhile, the queue behind gets larger and more crushing before spilling out the door and onto the hot and very humid street.
When this happens to you, be sure to have your NIC (National Identity Card) with you. Also, even though the NIC has your photo and name printed on it, it will not be sufficient so you should also take your passport. Even that will not be enough. You must prove an address so the leasing agreement for that unit you just moved into must be shown as well. God knows what happens if your name is not actually on the lease or worse, you are living in a hotel prior to finding a unit.
Never fear. Subsequent discussions with other, more experienced folk revealed that the cheque depositing scenario described above can in future be handled in one of three ways.
Method No.1 - present your cheque at a teller in person in full expectation of an argument.
Method No.2 - present your cheque at a teller after making doubly-sure the naming details are correct.
and having in both cases spent 30 to 60 minutes in a queue.
Or, by far the quickest........
Method No.3 - Simply write your account number on the back of the cheque and place it in the deposit slot out the front of the bank.
No questions asked, no-matter who it is made out to, it will appear in your account the next day.
Simple.
Returning to the problems mentioned earlier, I would like to address Problem No.2 more fully.
We had by now been issued with our Work and Dependent Passes so decided to brave the banking queues again to have me added to the account. During the previous cheque depositing fiasco we had asked about the joint account and were told we would need our Marriage Certificate. Who takes their Marriage Certificate everywhere with them? Well, we do as it turns out. Luckily.
Returning to the bank another day our teller stepped through the process. All was reasonable until we got to the mobile-phone number part. Because I had initially used my number for Heather's account, I was unable to use it again for mine so we put Heather's recently acquired number on my new account. "Don't worry.." we were told, "..you can change that later on the net..." All was good, and funnily enough without being asked for the Marriage Certificate. Oh wait, at the very last moment he remembered we had not shown it to him. Not a problem, we had it with us this time so very soon we had a second card and were set to go....or not!
Issues soon arose at home when I attempted to find something akin to our Oz B-Pay facility for paying bills via the net. To use a local expression, "...no can..." (whilst shaking the head in a negative fashion.) The only way to pay bills easily is set up a direct deposit arrangement with your bank. Crikey, you would think they had been taking advice from a self-storage facility owner in Oz.
As stated previously, it had been my intention to use the net as much as possible. Also, because Heather did not initially have a local mobile-phone number I had used mine when setting up the account.
Why is a mobile number needed? It is needed for all the SMSing that goes on when you transact via the net and, as it turns out, for some ATM transactions. Let me tell you, there is a LOT of SMSing.
Now that Heather had her own local mobile-phone number I logged onto our account, changed the notifying number from mine to her's and attempted to set up a direct deposit. Problem.
I had the Secure Device to punch in the numbers and access the account, but the SMS to finalise the transaction was going to Heather's phone and she was at work. I was also noticing that my new card was not appearing on our web account. Transactions made on it appeared but no details of the card itself. Hmmmmm, might be time to revisit the joint account scenario. Off to the bank, and the queues, yet again.
Luckily we managed to find a branch with a short-ish queue and were done in 30 minutes. The result being that I too was issued with a Secure Device for accessing the account. For good measure we had the teller swap our phone numbers over, as that was the only way I could get mine registered. All was good or so we thought until.....
Back to Problem No.3. As it turns out, one cannot change many account details via the web. Even with mobile-phone numbers and Secure Devices. Face-to-face transactions are the only way, which goes some way to explaining the queues I guess.
And even when you have done the face-to-face routine there are still problems. Two days after we thought we were all set up a letter arrived from the bank stating that Heather's number is already assigned to someone else and she must provide proof that it is hers. The annoying thing is, it is probably assigned to me because I used it when I was added to the account.
The saga continues......
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Ignorant Aussies Abroad
It has been Chinese New Year for, what feels like, the whole time we have been here. Preparations for ages before, then the 'celebration period, followed by the recovery and clean-up. During this whole time I have watched armies of (Indian/Burmese) workers erect and dismantle huge pavilions on spare pieces of ground scattered throughout Hougang and other suburbs.
These became markets selling all manner of CNY decorations, flowers and food plus karaoke venues and they appeared and disappeared, seemingly over-night.
Following the witnessing of the recent karaoke tent down the road, it was with interest and trepidation that I watched the erection of another large white tent on a piece of spare ground below our bed-room window this past week. Tables and chairs filled the interior. Flowers decorated the spaces between tables and displays of Chinese art and signage were also created. Whilst generally quiet, there being no karaoke apparent for the first few nights, there were games of mahjong being played at some of the tables until well into the small hours of the morning.
Was this an international mahjong competition we had not been informed of? Who knew?
With this in the backs of our minds Heather and I made our way to Chinatown for a wander and lunch. Subsequent to these pleasant events we eventually made our way to a DBS bank to transact some business.
(NOTE: this process is a story in, and of, itself.)
On our way to the bank we noticed another of the aforementioned white tents filled with the same contents plus people dressed in, what appeared to be, a uniform of sorts. Filled with a curiosity and finally deciding to act on it by asking questions, your trusty correspondent strode into the midst of the tent gaining the attention of a young lady. Said young lady appeared somewhat startled by my approach. I, of course, did not let this phase me as it was the default reaction of most females with whom I attempt to converse.
Unable to understand what it was I was jabbering about she was saved by the arrival of another, older lady who, hearing and understanding what I was on about explained that it was a FUNERAL!!!!! And we were in the midst of it.
Back at Hougang we now understood what it was set up under our window.
Later the same night......
There comes a smell of something burning, followed shortly after by the sound of, what seems to us to be, Rugby players sending up cheers during a post-match drinking session. Peering through our window we see a large group of locals standing and chanting at a huge bonfire.
This fire being, as it turns out, the funeral pyre symbolical, we hope, of the recently departed.
Needless to say I had no further questions to ask about what was going on.
FOOTNOTE: Unfortunately I have prior history when it comes to this sort of thing. During a visit to Malacca last year, and whilst wandering the back-streets, we came upon a procession consisting of drums, trumpets, signs and, most significantly, a large black people-mover.
Hoping to get great shots of a some local pageant I jumped out into the middle of it all snapping away eagerly only to eventually realize its true significance.
DOUBLE FOOTNOTE: Further inquiries and observations have revealed more facts about Chinese funerals.
The bonfire we witnessed last night is not, in fact, the recently departed being disposed of. That happened this afternoon in a process more in tune with our experience back in Aus.
Be advised though, the body of the deceased remains in the marquee for the whole time, which in this case was around four days. The bonfire fuel consists of paper and cardboard replicas of items the deceased used, owned, wore or appreciated in this mortal life - yes, I am talking clothes, cars, furniture etc - and can be purchased in Chinatown at shops whose sole purpose is the supply of said replicas. The object being that they go with the deceased into the next life.
It is worth noting here that, should one of these tents appear in the vicinity of where one resides, it is a good idea on the third night to close any windows down-wind of the crematorial fire so as to block the ash and soot emanating from the fire when lit from entering one's unit. And no, eleven floors up is not high enough to get away from it. For the record, the sound of chanting is a good 'heads-up' that the fire is ignited.
Again for the record. The karaoke did happen. Lots of LOUD recorded music accompanied by equally loud and dreadful singing which could only be confirmation to the departed that they were going to a better place.
These became markets selling all manner of CNY decorations, flowers and food plus karaoke venues and they appeared and disappeared, seemingly over-night.
Following the witnessing of the recent karaoke tent down the road, it was with interest and trepidation that I watched the erection of another large white tent on a piece of spare ground below our bed-room window this past week. Tables and chairs filled the interior. Flowers decorated the spaces between tables and displays of Chinese art and signage were also created. Whilst generally quiet, there being no karaoke apparent for the first few nights, there were games of mahjong being played at some of the tables until well into the small hours of the morning.
Was this an international mahjong competition we had not been informed of? Who knew?
With this in the backs of our minds Heather and I made our way to Chinatown for a wander and lunch. Subsequent to these pleasant events we eventually made our way to a DBS bank to transact some business.
(NOTE: this process is a story in, and of, itself.)
On our way to the bank we noticed another of the aforementioned white tents filled with the same contents plus people dressed in, what appeared to be, a uniform of sorts. Filled with a curiosity and finally deciding to act on it by asking questions, your trusty correspondent strode into the midst of the tent gaining the attention of a young lady. Said young lady appeared somewhat startled by my approach. I, of course, did not let this phase me as it was the default reaction of most females with whom I attempt to converse.
Unable to understand what it was I was jabbering about she was saved by the arrival of another, older lady who, hearing and understanding what I was on about explained that it was a FUNERAL!!!!! And we were in the midst of it.
Back at Hougang we now understood what it was set up under our window.
Later the same night......
There comes a smell of something burning, followed shortly after by the sound of, what seems to us to be, Rugby players sending up cheers during a post-match drinking session. Peering through our window we see a large group of locals standing and chanting at a huge bonfire.
This fire being, as it turns out, the funeral pyre symbolical, we hope, of the recently departed.
Needless to say I had no further questions to ask about what was going on.
FOOTNOTE: Unfortunately I have prior history when it comes to this sort of thing. During a visit to Malacca last year, and whilst wandering the back-streets, we came upon a procession consisting of drums, trumpets, signs and, most significantly, a large black people-mover.
Hoping to get great shots of a some local pageant I jumped out into the middle of it all snapping away eagerly only to eventually realize its true significance.
DOUBLE FOOTNOTE: Further inquiries and observations have revealed more facts about Chinese funerals.
The bonfire we witnessed last night is not, in fact, the recently departed being disposed of. That happened this afternoon in a process more in tune with our experience back in Aus.
Be advised though, the body of the deceased remains in the marquee for the whole time, which in this case was around four days. The bonfire fuel consists of paper and cardboard replicas of items the deceased used, owned, wore or appreciated in this mortal life - yes, I am talking clothes, cars, furniture etc - and can be purchased in Chinatown at shops whose sole purpose is the supply of said replicas. The object being that they go with the deceased into the next life.
It is worth noting here that, should one of these tents appear in the vicinity of where one resides, it is a good idea on the third night to close any windows down-wind of the crematorial fire so as to block the ash and soot emanating from the fire when lit from entering one's unit. And no, eleven floors up is not high enough to get away from it. For the record, the sound of chanting is a good 'heads-up' that the fire is ignited.
Again for the record. The karaoke did happen. Lots of LOUD recorded music accompanied by equally loud and dreadful singing which could only be confirmation to the departed that they were going to a better place.
Saturday, 2 February 2013
Divine Times in Gotham City
When I was growing up in the 1960's I would always watch the Adam West/Burt Ward version of Batman. The setting was of course Gotham City and I have it in my mind that the city hall, where some of the action would take place, was somewhat of a dark and foreboding structure in an Art Deco style.
As it is, I find Art Deco items and buildings quite interesting and take notice when and where I find them.
Fast forward fifty-odd years and I find myself in Singapore. A place not necessarily renowned for its period architecture. That is, of course, unless there is something called a 'Now Deco' style. I say that because, apart from the 1800's 'colonial-style' buildings which have been preserved to some degree and developed internally and vertically from below to above, nothing seems to hang around in Singapore for long.
Things get built and then, twenty years later, they get knocked down, subsumed and redeveloped into something grander and more 'now'. History is twenty years ago and ancient history is before the Second World War.
With that said, you can imagine my interest being piqued at the sight of a very recent construction, possessing the appearance of 1930's New York and sitting in mid-town Singapore.
The building I refer to is Parkview Square.
NOTE: I chose this image in an attempt to high-light the juxtaposition of twenty-first century construction, in a mid-twentieth century style, overlooking a (potentially) nineteenth-century-created remnant. (Whew! What a mouthful)
By day, Parkview Square, obviously Art Deco, appears to be rather innocuous. It is only at night that the building takes on a more sinister persona.
The benign, slightly out of place, but none the less interesting, 'old' building turns into something quite suited to a Frankenstein or Austin Powers movie. Light shafts up the sides of the building lead the eye to lighted statues at the top appearing to survey all that which unfolds below.
From there a lit from within glass atrium at the summit gives the impression of being an observatory/control-centre for some malevolent ruler of the universe who could be either Austin Powers' Dr Evil, his cat and Mini-me or The Joker from Batman - The Dark Knight Rises.
One unsettling feature is that whenever you look up as you walk around Bugis and Arab St there is always this building looking down at you. A bit the Mona Lisa's eyes, it follows you around.
At ground level there is a courtyard which, again when viewed at night, could be the Reichstag of Nazi Germany. Statues of famous and long dead people encircle the courtyard and there appears no consistency of thought process as to who's likeness was chosen or why.
Which brings us neatly to what is on the inside.
The majority of the building is taken up with various diplomatic missions but it is the ground floor where the real show is. Divine wine-bar has to be one of the most attention grabbingly expensive 'drinking holes' I have ever frequented.
Opulent is probably a reasonable word to describe the layout. Over the top could be another. Either description certainly applies to the wine storage facility and bar pictured above. The lounge areas are no less so.
On our visit we chose to have cocktails. The reason being that, at $25 a pop, they were the least expensive items in the list. Should your tastes turn to wine then I include a sample of those on offer and their cost....
...and as far as the age of wines go, the last time I had a 2003 vintage wine was in.....um....2004 I believe.
Now, as you will have noticed in the image of the bar above, the wine storage rack is a very tall affair. How does the bar-tender retrieve the wines when ordered I hear you ask? Well he/she doesn't. The 'wine fairy' does it.
So, in drinking, as in some areas of (other people's) life, all you need to make her perform is the cash.
As it is, I find Art Deco items and buildings quite interesting and take notice when and where I find them.
Fast forward fifty-odd years and I find myself in Singapore. A place not necessarily renowned for its period architecture. That is, of course, unless there is something called a 'Now Deco' style. I say that because, apart from the 1800's 'colonial-style' buildings which have been preserved to some degree and developed internally and vertically from below to above, nothing seems to hang around in Singapore for long.
Things get built and then, twenty years later, they get knocked down, subsumed and redeveloped into something grander and more 'now'. History is twenty years ago and ancient history is before the Second World War.
With that said, you can imagine my interest being piqued at the sight of a very recent construction, possessing the appearance of 1930's New York and sitting in mid-town Singapore.
The building I refer to is Parkview Square.
NOTE: I chose this image in an attempt to high-light the juxtaposition of twenty-first century construction, in a mid-twentieth century style, overlooking a (potentially) nineteenth-century-created remnant. (Whew! What a mouthful)
By day, Parkview Square, obviously Art Deco, appears to be rather innocuous. It is only at night that the building takes on a more sinister persona.
The benign, slightly out of place, but none the less interesting, 'old' building turns into something quite suited to a Frankenstein or Austin Powers movie. Light shafts up the sides of the building lead the eye to lighted statues at the top appearing to survey all that which unfolds below.
From there a lit from within glass atrium at the summit gives the impression of being an observatory/control-centre for some malevolent ruler of the universe who could be either Austin Powers' Dr Evil, his cat and Mini-me or The Joker from Batman - The Dark Knight Rises.
One unsettling feature is that whenever you look up as you walk around Bugis and Arab St there is always this building looking down at you. A bit the Mona Lisa's eyes, it follows you around.
At ground level there is a courtyard which, again when viewed at night, could be the Reichstag of Nazi Germany. Statues of famous and long dead people encircle the courtyard and there appears no consistency of thought process as to who's likeness was chosen or why.
Which brings us neatly to what is on the inside.
On our visit we chose to have cocktails. The reason being that, at $25 a pop, they were the least expensive items in the list. Should your tastes turn to wine then I include a sample of those on offer and their cost....
Now, as you will have noticed in the image of the bar above, the wine storage rack is a very tall affair. How does the bar-tender retrieve the wines when ordered I hear you ask? Well he/she doesn't. The 'wine fairy' does it.
So, in drinking, as in some areas of (other people's) life, all you need to make her perform is the cash.
Friday, 1 February 2013
Take That, Bitch!..or....Life Is Cheap
Something you should not expect to see. Fast-forward to the two minute mark and watch.....
Saturday, 26 January 2013
Where We Live
I have just realised I probably now need to put a piece in about where have actually ended up living. So here it is.
Now the traumas of dealing in local real estate have settled (see previous Post) we are coming to enjoy our condominium in Hougang (pronounced hoeoo-gung), situated roughly twenty minutes by MRT form central Singapore in what is known as "the heartland" of Singapore republic.
Rio Vista is located on the banks of what Singaporeans call a river, the Serangoon, but what I would call, given the man-made nature of its banks, its width and the straightness of its flow, a canal. That issue aside it is still a 'water view' development which puts it in high demand. From our perspective it is as close to perfect as we could imagine.
We have views of and over the 'river' onto what, until recently, was 'forest' but which is now undergoing some sort of development. It has the potential to be noisy through the day with earth-moving activities taking place but this has not proved too problematic so far.
Also, off in the distance, just past the two large buildings visible in the back-ground of the image above is the Singapore Air-force Base at Paya Lebar. All good stuff with the jets doing training runs through the week. It can get a bit noisy at times but it suits me fine.
Have I mentioned the facilities? Well...........
...there is the pool(s) with the massaging water-fall.....
...and the barbeques...
... plus the pool-side cabanas...
...and a whole lot more. Suffice to say it should be difficult getting bored, unless of course you are watching cable TV, which is very easy to get bored with. But that is another story.
Finally, a bit of a montage of the internals of the condo.
Now the traumas of dealing in local real estate have settled (see previous Post) we are coming to enjoy our condominium in Hougang (pronounced hoeoo-gung), situated roughly twenty minutes by MRT form central Singapore in what is known as "the heartland" of Singapore republic.
Rio Vista is located on the banks of what Singaporeans call a river, the Serangoon, but what I would call, given the man-made nature of its banks, its width and the straightness of its flow, a canal. That issue aside it is still a 'water view' development which puts it in high demand. From our perspective it is as close to perfect as we could imagine.
We have views of and over the 'river' onto what, until recently, was 'forest' but which is now undergoing some sort of development. It has the potential to be noisy through the day with earth-moving activities taking place but this has not proved too problematic so far.
Also, off in the distance, just past the two large buildings visible in the back-ground of the image above is the Singapore Air-force Base at Paya Lebar. All good stuff with the jets doing training runs through the week. It can get a bit noisy at times but it suits me fine.
Have I mentioned the facilities? Well...........
...there is the pool(s) with the massaging water-fall.....
...and the barbeques...
... plus the pool-side cabanas...
Finally, a bit of a montage of the internals of the condo.
Friday, 25 January 2013
Wednesday, 23 January 2013
The Smartest Man in Singapore
I will leave it up to others to decide definitively, but will share a tale that may give back-ground thus enabling a considered decision. The person's name for this exercise will be Mower-man Mike who is one of the recent arrivals to Singapore. Like a number of us, he and wife Deb have taken up residence in a condominium and is setting about tending to some of the maintenance issues the locals appear able to ignore.
First on his list was getting the hot water to work which ended up being a simple fix of turning the switch, of which there were more than one, on. This type of fix is always the easiest. Other folk have come up against the problem of disconnected services, such as gas, which have not been as simple to fix.
For example. At home, when the gas or electricity is "disconnected" all hardware tends to remain in place and it is simply an administrative task to change ownership of the account and read a meter. In Singapore when they come to 'disconnect the gas' they really disconnect the gas. As one of us found when the gas did not work and the maintenance man was called to assess the problem.
Due to an inability on the part of one party to understand Singapore-English and on the other party, Aussie-English, the only way it could be explained was to take her down to the basement to point out the missing meter and the taped-up gas pipe amongst all the other meters for each unit.
Back to Mower-man Mike (MmM). At home, Mike was used to having a dual-flush toilet. The problem in his condo was, he couldn't work out how to make the dual-flush work. There was only one button on the top of the cistern. But wait, what's this? There was a metal lever affixed to the wall beside the cistern. The lever moved back-and-forth through an arc of a few inches. It must be used to determine how much water is used in the dual-flush cistern. But at the same time it appeared not to be making any difference to the amount of water being dispensed.
A visit to the building manager's office elicits the suggestion that a plumber be called
The plumber duly arrives and, in barely understood, accented English inquires as to the problem, "Good morning sir, I am Prabhakar* and I am here to be fixing the plumbing problem." MmM takes Prabhakar to the en-suite and as best he can, given his own lack of second and third-language skills, explains the problem. There being, at this point, some confusion with the concept of 'dual-flush'.
After moving the lever about a bit and looking into the cistern Prabhakar turns to MmM and says "...OK sir, I think I am seeing your problem. I will be getting some tools and be back to fixing it up for you, right away. Is that your only problem sir?" MmM replies in the affirmative and is relieved that the issue will be resolved.
Thirty minutes later, following much hammering, drilling, grunting and sweating MmM is called back to the en-suite. With a flourish, Prabhakar points to the lever. "All fixed sir", he says
MmM takes hold of the 'lever' and attempts to move it. Nothing happens. In fact, it does not budge at all. MmM looks across at Prabhakar questioningly. Prabhakar then takes hold of a roll of toilet paper located nearby. With delicate precision he gently slides the roll down over the 'lever', thus revealing its true purpose.
A chrome-plated, wall-mounted, ergonomically designed......toilet roll holder.
Moments after Prabhakar had made his exit MmM looked out of his lounge-room window, down at the pathway below. There, laughing hysterically into his mobile phone was someone who looked remarkably like Prabhakar.
* Prabhakar - (Hindi) light-maker, revealer of truth, pointer out of the bleeding obvious.
Monday, 14 January 2013
What's to Know About Renting in Singapore
This is a bit of a long one folks, so those of you who bore easily might want to give it a miss. I am putting it in here more as a reminder for me of how things are done and as potentially a How-To for anyone arriving in Singapore in similar circumstances to us and who may stumble across this blog.
So here we go.......
Finding accommodation as a newbie in any city is always stressful. As I have stated in earlier posts, Morris Allen English had arranged for various agents to be assigned to groups of us to ease the process. BJ was the man for us.
Real estate in Singapore works a little differently to Australia. No surprise there. You, as an owner, engage the services of an agent to locate a tenant. I, as a prospective tenant can engage the services of another, different type of, agent to locate suitable accommodation. The closest I can get to a description for BJ would be that of a buyer's advocate. He does not have listings himself but searches the market to locate suitable prospects.
Heather and I, plus roughly six others, were assigned BJ who I will now describe as our advocate.
Now BJ was polite, but possessed nothing of the effusive, 'maaaate' style we Aussies are familiar with in real estate agents. In and of itself this need not be a bad thing. The trouble was, he also didn't give the appearance of trying to be overly helpful either.
Even though we had all provided details of what it was we were looking for, when it came to the crunch he initially only had two places to show us all. To be fair, trying to make a bunch of late-stage teachers in the middle of a cultural change, the like of which most have never experienced, happy was always going to be a big ask. To this issue could be added the fact that pressure was being applied because our paid-for accommodation at the hotel was for a maximum of two weeks.
Consequently, as we approached the end of week one, only those of the group who had lived in Singapore before, and were therefore experienced hands, or single and prepared to accept share lodgings with locals, were in any sort of a position to depart the hotel.
It was with all his in mind that BJ, at last, came up with a 2BR unit in a condominium named Rio Vista at Hougang which looked like it could suit any of us. Present at the viewing was the listing agent Lawrence and his off-sider, Vincent.
NOTE: The agents appear ALWAYS to have an off-sider. As a corroborating witness to deals done, possibly.
This condo was the pick of the very small bunch to date and luckily I managed to get a look at Lawrence's full name on his badge. It was a name I recognised from propertyguru.com.sg.
The only problem now being BJ was off back to Malaysia to prepare for the New Year. "Back in a week or so...." was the message we heard.
Hmmmmmm, I was wanting to see that unit again ASAP. So I contacted Lawrence T direct and arranged a second viewing.
During the viewings I had noticed some water damage in the bathroom ceiling. Pointing this out to Lawrence I was assured it would be fixed - AFTER the new tenant moved in.
Back home, when renting property, the general expectation is all will be in a good state of repair BEFORE taking up residence. Not the same expectation in Singapore, apparently.
At the second viewing I made an offer some $200 below the asking price which Lawrence said he would put to the owner, together with our request for extra furniture.
The following day Lawrence was on the phone saying the Landlord had agreed the new price but not all the furniture. This was fine by us, so now we needed to get a Letter of Intent (LOI) drafted, which required also a deposit of one months rent be included.
Letters of Intent (LOI)
A Letter of Intent is a pre-Tenancy Agreement agreement. It states the monthly rental plus all the inclusions the prospective tenant expects and must be signed, in the first instance, by the tenant and subsequently by the owner. Once it is signed by the owner there is a valid contract which cannot easily be revoked.
Be advised. There is need to nominate a date after which the LOI becomes void. My initial thought was this date should be a good while into the future. Thirty days being my initial suggestion to BJ but he said ten days, maybe a week. We chose the shorter. This was to become significant.
We included with the LOI, a Cashiers Cheque from the bank as our deposit. For anyone renting in Singapore in the future please note the following:
1/ DO NOT GIVE THE AGENT OR YOUR ADVOCATE CASH.
2/ Use a personal cheque as a first preference.
3/ As a second preference use a Cashiers Cheque from your bank but be aware, it is as good as cash to whomsoever's name appears on the cheque and from the date appearing on the cheque.
4/ The process is for the cash/cheque to be handed to the Landlord by the agent, as a "good faith" gesture, at the point the Landlord signs the LOI.
5/ Once the Landlord has cashed the cheque, if there is a subsequent problem with either the LOI details or the actual Tenancy Agreement, and you wish to cancel the whole deal, there will be a BIG problem getting the your money back.
6/ Do not long-date the LOI. Make it only a few days hence. While the extra time may make you feel better and potentially give you time to get organised it also allows the owner and his agent to offer the place to someone else. A potential problem if you have negotiated a better price.
7/ Whatever you are told about the market don't feel pressured. There are lots out there and the turn-over is pretty constant.
8/ MAKE SURE YOU POST-DATE THE CHEQUE, PERSONAL OR CASHIER, TO THE DATE THE LOI EXPIRES. This allows you to cancel the LOI AND the cheque easily if negotiations break down.
9/ ALWAYS, ALWAYS get a receipt, which should include the NRIC/Passport No., of whomever you give the funds.
So what happened in our case?
We had negotiated a better price, signed the LOI, handed over the cashiers cheque - dated that day - to our advocate and didn't get a receipt.
Two days later I get a call from our advocate advising that the Landlord has decided to renege on the agreed price and we needed to come up with another $100 to put with the LOI.
WTF
When I ask whether we have to agree to this change and notate/initial the changes on the LOI BJ agrees but advises that if we agitate we could miss out on getting the unit. This is the point where I started to feel really uncomfortable.
Throughout this whole process we had been recommended the services of another advocate, one whom a number of other teachers in our position had ended up using to find accommodation over the past few years. Due to a "local politics" problem I am unable to name him directly so will use the nom de plume, Small Irishman of Arabia (SIoA).
I called SIoA and explained our situation. From that moment I knew I was dealing with a person who could and would do what was needed.
Within two hours he had three viewings lined up for us. Two of them, one of which we have now settled into, within the same complex we had a preference for and a third elsewhere.
From SIoA came the nine items of advice listed above. It was SIoA who gave me the words to use in what became my battle to get our initial deposit returned and the LOI cancelled.
What are the words to use when all the others do not work? When you are promised meetings to hand over cheques and/or cash which do not eventuate they are not words so much as acronyms and they are ERA and CEA.
The first is the body which oversees all dealers in real estate and, unlike the toothless, self-serving sycophant organisations in Aus, this one strikes genuine fear into the hearts of all real-estate agents and advocates. The second, the CEA, is the Singapore equivalent to Consumer Affairs. Again, this one is effective, unlike home. Any remains of your agent the ERA leaves behind after investigating complaints is finished off by the CEA, apparently.
Bearing that in mind, within two hours of sending an SMS to agent and advocate stating I was contacting both offices I was face-to-face with my original owner's agent to receive my cheque back.
Magic.
Finally, what is the significance of having a short-term LOI life?
Because I had dated ours a week ahead there was no compulsion on the agent to return the deposit until the LOI had lapsed. As explained by SIoA this keeps pressure on you, as the prospective tenant, to come back to the table and allows a malevolent agent/Landlord get further away with, or spend more of, your money thus potentially leaving you with an expensive legal battle for its return.
Here endeth the epistle.
So here we go.......
Finding accommodation as a newbie in any city is always stressful. As I have stated in earlier posts, Morris Allen English had arranged for various agents to be assigned to groups of us to ease the process. BJ was the man for us.
Real estate in Singapore works a little differently to Australia. No surprise there. You, as an owner, engage the services of an agent to locate a tenant. I, as a prospective tenant can engage the services of another, different type of, agent to locate suitable accommodation. The closest I can get to a description for BJ would be that of a buyer's advocate. He does not have listings himself but searches the market to locate suitable prospects.
Heather and I, plus roughly six others, were assigned BJ who I will now describe as our advocate.
Now BJ was polite, but possessed nothing of the effusive, 'maaaate' style we Aussies are familiar with in real estate agents. In and of itself this need not be a bad thing. The trouble was, he also didn't give the appearance of trying to be overly helpful either.
Even though we had all provided details of what it was we were looking for, when it came to the crunch he initially only had two places to show us all. To be fair, trying to make a bunch of late-stage teachers in the middle of a cultural change, the like of which most have never experienced, happy was always going to be a big ask. To this issue could be added the fact that pressure was being applied because our paid-for accommodation at the hotel was for a maximum of two weeks.
Consequently, as we approached the end of week one, only those of the group who had lived in Singapore before, and were therefore experienced hands, or single and prepared to accept share lodgings with locals, were in any sort of a position to depart the hotel.
It was with all his in mind that BJ, at last, came up with a 2BR unit in a condominium named Rio Vista at Hougang which looked like it could suit any of us. Present at the viewing was the listing agent Lawrence and his off-sider, Vincent.
NOTE: The agents appear ALWAYS to have an off-sider. As a corroborating witness to deals done, possibly.
This condo was the pick of the very small bunch to date and luckily I managed to get a look at Lawrence's full name on his badge. It was a name I recognised from propertyguru.com.sg.
The only problem now being BJ was off back to Malaysia to prepare for the New Year. "Back in a week or so...." was the message we heard.
Hmmmmmm, I was wanting to see that unit again ASAP. So I contacted Lawrence T direct and arranged a second viewing.
During the viewings I had noticed some water damage in the bathroom ceiling. Pointing this out to Lawrence I was assured it would be fixed - AFTER the new tenant moved in.
Back home, when renting property, the general expectation is all will be in a good state of repair BEFORE taking up residence. Not the same expectation in Singapore, apparently.
At the second viewing I made an offer some $200 below the asking price which Lawrence said he would put to the owner, together with our request for extra furniture.
The following day Lawrence was on the phone saying the Landlord had agreed the new price but not all the furniture. This was fine by us, so now we needed to get a Letter of Intent (LOI) drafted, which required also a deposit of one months rent be included.
Letters of Intent (LOI)
A Letter of Intent is a pre-Tenancy Agreement agreement. It states the monthly rental plus all the inclusions the prospective tenant expects and must be signed, in the first instance, by the tenant and subsequently by the owner. Once it is signed by the owner there is a valid contract which cannot easily be revoked.
Be advised. There is need to nominate a date after which the LOI becomes void. My initial thought was this date should be a good while into the future. Thirty days being my initial suggestion to BJ but he said ten days, maybe a week. We chose the shorter. This was to become significant.
We included with the LOI, a Cashiers Cheque from the bank as our deposit. For anyone renting in Singapore in the future please note the following:
1/ DO NOT GIVE THE AGENT OR YOUR ADVOCATE CASH.
2/ Use a personal cheque as a first preference.
3/ As a second preference use a Cashiers Cheque from your bank but be aware, it is as good as cash to whomsoever's name appears on the cheque and from the date appearing on the cheque.
4/ The process is for the cash/cheque to be handed to the Landlord by the agent, as a "good faith" gesture, at the point the Landlord signs the LOI.
5/ Once the Landlord has cashed the cheque, if there is a subsequent problem with either the LOI details or the actual Tenancy Agreement, and you wish to cancel the whole deal, there will be a BIG problem getting the your money back.
6/ Do not long-date the LOI. Make it only a few days hence. While the extra time may make you feel better and potentially give you time to get organised it also allows the owner and his agent to offer the place to someone else. A potential problem if you have negotiated a better price.
7/ Whatever you are told about the market don't feel pressured. There are lots out there and the turn-over is pretty constant.
8/ MAKE SURE YOU POST-DATE THE CHEQUE, PERSONAL OR CASHIER, TO THE DATE THE LOI EXPIRES. This allows you to cancel the LOI AND the cheque easily if negotiations break down.
9/ ALWAYS, ALWAYS get a receipt, which should include the NRIC/Passport No., of whomever you give the funds.
So what happened in our case?
We had negotiated a better price, signed the LOI, handed over the cashiers cheque - dated that day - to our advocate and didn't get a receipt.
Two days later I get a call from our advocate advising that the Landlord has decided to renege on the agreed price and we needed to come up with another $100 to put with the LOI.
WTF
When I ask whether we have to agree to this change and notate/initial the changes on the LOI BJ agrees but advises that if we agitate we could miss out on getting the unit. This is the point where I started to feel really uncomfortable.
Throughout this whole process we had been recommended the services of another advocate, one whom a number of other teachers in our position had ended up using to find accommodation over the past few years. Due to a "local politics" problem I am unable to name him directly so will use the nom de plume, Small Irishman of Arabia (SIoA).
I called SIoA and explained our situation. From that moment I knew I was dealing with a person who could and would do what was needed.
Within two hours he had three viewings lined up for us. Two of them, one of which we have now settled into, within the same complex we had a preference for and a third elsewhere.
From SIoA came the nine items of advice listed above. It was SIoA who gave me the words to use in what became my battle to get our initial deposit returned and the LOI cancelled.
What are the words to use when all the others do not work? When you are promised meetings to hand over cheques and/or cash which do not eventuate they are not words so much as acronyms and they are ERA and CEA.
The first is the body which oversees all dealers in real estate and, unlike the toothless, self-serving sycophant organisations in Aus, this one strikes genuine fear into the hearts of all real-estate agents and advocates. The second, the CEA, is the Singapore equivalent to Consumer Affairs. Again, this one is effective, unlike home. Any remains of your agent the ERA leaves behind after investigating complaints is finished off by the CEA, apparently.
Bearing that in mind, within two hours of sending an SMS to agent and advocate stating I was contacting both offices I was face-to-face with my original owner's agent to receive my cheque back.
Magic.
Finally, what is the significance of having a short-term LOI life?
Because I had dated ours a week ahead there was no compulsion on the agent to return the deposit until the LOI had lapsed. As explained by SIoA this keeps pressure on you, as the prospective tenant, to come back to the table and allows a malevolent agent/Landlord get further away with, or spend more of, your money thus potentially leaving you with an expensive legal battle for its return.
Here endeth the epistle.
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
People You See
The world is a small place it would seem and you do not have to try too hard to bump into familiar faces, especially somewhere as close to home as Singapore.
So there we were, meandering through Raffles City Mall, when Heather decides to enter one of the more up-market stores, British India, looking for bargains. I say 'bargains' because there is no point stepping into the place without wanting to spend at least $100.
Browsing our way the the back of the store we find a local-looking woman holding a very young child. When offered assistance by one of the employees she politely declines and both Heather and myself pause. There is something vaguely familiar with the voice, in that it was certainly Australian, but there was more to it.
As the woman turns toward us making a further statement to the shop-assistant, the 'Penny' drops. It was, of course, our Honourable member of Parliament and Finance Minister, Penny Wong in full family/mother(parent?)/holiday mode with recent arrival in-tow.
We beat a hasty retreat at that point, lest we make the poor Pol'y uncomfortable. The thing was, Ms Wong's reply to the shop-assistant, who had indicated to her that the garment she was holding looked like it would suit her was, ".....oh no, I am far too conservative for that.....".
So where does that put Labor on the spectrum of politics? If the Liberals are, well, liberal and Labor is conservative, who are the left-wingers looking after the workers (bruvver)?
So there we were, meandering through Raffles City Mall, when Heather decides to enter one of the more up-market stores, British India, looking for bargains. I say 'bargains' because there is no point stepping into the place without wanting to spend at least $100.
Browsing our way the the back of the store we find a local-looking woman holding a very young child. When offered assistance by one of the employees she politely declines and both Heather and myself pause. There is something vaguely familiar with the voice, in that it was certainly Australian, but there was more to it.
As the woman turns toward us making a further statement to the shop-assistant, the 'Penny' drops. It was, of course, our Honourable member of Parliament and Finance Minister, Penny Wong in full family/mother(parent?)/holiday mode with recent arrival in-tow.
We beat a hasty retreat at that point, lest we make the poor Pol'y uncomfortable. The thing was, Ms Wong's reply to the shop-assistant, who had indicated to her that the garment she was holding looked like it would suit her was, ".....oh no, I am far too conservative for that.....".
So where does that put Labor on the spectrum of politics? If the Liberals are, well, liberal and Labor is conservative, who are the left-wingers looking after the workers (bruvver)?
Friday, 4 January 2013
The First Week
The aircraft arrived on time where we were met by Renee and delivered by taxi to the Peninsula Excelsior Hotel in the centre of Singapore.
We were met at the hotel by Kerlyn, who is apparently the PA to Peter, the Head of Morris Allen English (MAE) and who, we found out later, lost her phone paying for the taxi.
Kerlyn is something of a "firecracker" whose age, given her size, could be put at anywhere between the ages of eight and thirteen but who is, in fact, around twenty-four. What she misses in height and weight is more than made up for by an ability to marshal people and organize events.
Room 1623 is our designated home for the moment and, while neat and functional, has a certain odour to the bathroom. It turns out the area may be a new "Little India" with cheap tailors underneath and shops containing all manner of sub-continent clothing, trinkets and food.
For our first meal we found the local, asian-style hawkers market around the corner from the hotel where we could get a meal, more than enough for two, for $7.00sg plus $6.50sg for a beer for me. All up, $15.00sg for a meal. At an exchange rate of $1.25sg to our dollar I will leave it up to others to do the sums but cheap is the word that springs to mind.
Now the plan was to split us up and go to three separate branches in order to speed up the process because, as we soon found out, they still have lonnnnnngggg queues at Singapore banks. Internet banking is something they appear only recently to be getting a handle on.
But.....
....the branch of DBS Bank we had chosen advised that the rules had changed regarding setting up an account and so now first, one must have a Work Permit. According to Peter this had changed at some random point between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.
This was a problem because we were unable to get work permits until the next week and that, of course, had a holiday for New Year in it which would slow the bureaucracy even more than usual.
This was going to be a portent of things to come.
Luckily, one of our group had found a branch in Chinatown which would do the account openings with no problems, so it was a rush there by all of us via underground walk-way - it is nearly ALL underground in central Singapore - and MRT (train) to get to the branch, only to find we had to make booking due to our significant numbers.
Lunch at the Hong Lim food hall in Chinatown was decided upon, which proved somewhat confronting due to a number of factors. These included the heat and humidity coupled with the sheer masses of people present, then having to decide on, and communicate, what we wanted to eat.
By late afternoon the banking was eventually done and we were off......
As part of a deal arranged by MAE, and based on information we had supplied in a form some weeks previous, we had been assigned an agent to locate us accommodation.
BJ was our designated man.
Unfortunately for us, at the point we met him, BJ didn't have much to offer. Two potential viewings, one miles from any transport and the other called Kovan Grandeur, which we couldn't view today and which didn't have any appeal anyway, were all he had. BJ however, insisted we do a drive-by and walk-around "to get an idea of the market".
It was just as well I had earlier in the day purchased my MRT travel-card as we had to make our own way back from Kovan with Nicole, Adam, Kristin and Kathy because BJ didn't want to make the trip back into town apparently.
Speaking with Adam on the return journey I ascertained that he wanted to explore the city but Nicole was keen on going straight back to the hotel with Kristin and Kathy. With me playing the devil's advocate the end result was us returning via Clarke Quay which, because of the lights, noise and people, impressed Adam immediately and Nicole eventually.
Once more dinner, which was very "spicy"(hot), was at "our" hawkers with Adam & Nicole and where we were later joined by Michael & Deb for a most enjoyable evening.
Unfortunately, there was a problem. For some of the group, not all paperwork had been filled out and not all paperwork which had been filled out had been filled out correctly. Because of this an extra doctor's visit was required for Heather, Michael and Deb to conform with all the health requirements.
Things were going a bit "pear-shaped" and Peter, Renee & Kerlyn began looking a little stressed.
Unit hunting also continued with the less-than-impressive organisational aspect we had come to expect.
That said, we actually got to inspect Kovan Grandeur, which turned out to be TINY, and another in Rio Vista, at Hougang, which appeared perfect. Once again we had to make our own way back and so it was dinner at the hawkers market once again.
NOTE: It is often somewhat of an unfortunate truism that an item having a word in its name which attempts to bestow some degree of size or quality to the item invariable means the item does not possess the quality so describing it. In this case the only thing grandeur about the condo in Kovan was the price, the huge dog living on the tiny balcony and the gall of the person who came up with the name.
Tripping out to Simei - Heather's brother Robert and wife Maria have a condo there - to do some washing was my allotted task for the day.
At night it was off to the sate (satay) capital of Singapore, Lau Pa Sat, for a magnificent meal which consisted of more than simply meat on sate sticks.
Having often caught, and thrown back, sting-rays as something no-one would eat I have now changed my mind. Done the special, Asian, way they are beautiful.
With a belly-full of sates and sting-ray it was time to hit the New Asia Bar on the 70th Floor of the Swissotel which has as one of its features stunning views of the Marina Bay/Boat Quay/Clarke Quay areas in particular and Singapore in general.
New Years Eve. A rather quiet day spent after the late night previous.
Given BJ's apparent lack of effort in coming up with viewings I decide to contact the Rio Vista agent directly to arrange another viewing.
FYI: Be aware, BJ is not an Agent per se. He is an agent's agent which means we are a further away from the bargaining action than we at first believed. Never assume.
At the second viewing I notice/remember there is some water-damage needing repair and draw the agents attention to it. It seems there will be no repair until a tenant is signed up. Hmmmmm, what are those voices in my head saying?
Anyway, I make an offer $200Sg/m below the asking price (which is subsequently accepted and later rejected - see later ) and leave the agent to sort things out with the owner and BJ.
An evening Junk trip on harbour with dinner provided had been arranged for us and, just like home, the rain started around mid-day as a thunder storm before continuing as rain until our tour was almost completed. A short bus ride from the Fairmont Hotel found us at the departure wharf where Kerlyn directed us into position for a photo opportunity.
Whilst the food was only average, and the space we had available to us quite small, the views of the city and the laser-light show at Sentosa were quite spectacular.
Following our return to the Fairmont, some of us made the decision to walk to the durian (the performing arts centre) to await the fireworks display at midnight.
This proved a very spectacular event with the pounding of explosions thumping into our chests.
What was also - and I struggle to find a suitable word here - confronting(?) was the humungous crowd we became part of as we attempted to leave. There are some five million people in Singapore and it felt as though all of them were with us now, wanting to go in the same direction of away. Well, not all. Some were trying to go against the tide, which managed to slow the exit even further.
I have seen images of Arabs on pilgrimage. Tens-of-thousands of people all jammed together and pushing. This night is how I imagine they would all feel.
New Year's Day and another late start after the night before.
Lunch was had with Michael & Deb and was a riotous event with Michael recounting lines from old Warner Bros cartoons.
We return to the hotel to find Adam on the phone giving BJ a serve about his lack of service in providing them with viewings.
Straight away BJ is on the phone to me making a belated arrangement for us to see a condo. The place turns out to be huge, in a set of towers called Florida, right next door to Rio Vista.
Although not initially one of our favoured areas, we are liking the Hougang precinct as it is close to amenities and the bus Heather will need to get to/from Punggol. As a result, the choice is coming down to either Rio Vista or Florida. The owner of Florida is offering deals if we let her have access to a room infrequently. This turns out to be a way of keeping a principal-place-of-residence in Singapore and saving on tax. Those voices in the back of my head are talking and they are getting louder.
It could be perfect for Adam & Nicole, as it fits within their budget, if they take 'the deal'.
BJ then offers to take us to Simei, which ends up being via a rather circuitous route after he got lost.
Dinner was with Robert & Maria at Simei.
First day at work for Heather in Punggol. Whilst Punggol appears to be in 'whoop-whoop', at the end of the MRT line and the furthest point on the light-rail (LRT), it has plenty of parkland greenery about and the shopping centre, which houses the MAE rooms, is very well supplied with all necessities.
I try to buy a TENS/electronic massage machine but ended up "breaking" the DBS card and spend the afternoon lying around.
Due to another 'administrative error' Heather, Michael (the other) and Deb plus myself, as a requirement for gaining a Dependent Visa, tomorrow must present ourselves at Raffles Private Hospital to undergo X-rays and HIV tests. This is despite the fact that the three workers were the only ones of the group to have the procedures performed back in Aus. It appears we were not given a particular form for the Aus. doctors to fill out and so have to go through the whole rigmarole again.
Hoped to sign Letter of Intent (LOI) for the condo with BJ tomorrow.
Wedding anniversary today but we forgot until later in the day.
Had to be going early to get to Raffles Hospital for the chest x-rays and medical exams.
It appears the doctor's dictum (air goes in and out, blood goes round and round, trust no bastard) applies in Singapore as well as Aus.
To the bank to arrange a deposit for the condo we look like getting at Hougang. So far this was about the only interaction with officialdom which has gone according to plan. Love the POSB. Handed the cheque to BJ and all appeared good.
Lunch was at 4th floor of Funan Centre then a sleep as Heather didn't get in until almost 11pm the night before. H then off to work and me in search of my TENS machine. Found one for about $100 and it is the BEST thing.
Dinner for me was at the Burmese hawkers over the road. I was the only Euro in the place. Followed that with a walk along the east-side of the river. Superb views of the financial district buildings then back along Boat Quay.
Highlight - being stopped by an Asian group and asked if I knew the way to Clarke Quay. After initially attempting to duck away with a "me-know-understand/want-to-buy-anything" reposte I suddenly realised I DID know how to get to Clarke Quay. So, I am a local after only 7 days.
Champagne was purchased for Heather's arrival home but we were both too tired to bother opening it. Who'd-a-thunkit (Sue)?
Maybe next year.
We were met at the hotel by Kerlyn, who is apparently the PA to Peter, the Head of Morris Allen English (MAE) and who, we found out later, lost her phone paying for the taxi.
Kerlyn is something of a "firecracker" whose age, given her size, could be put at anywhere between the ages of eight and thirteen but who is, in fact, around twenty-four. What she misses in height and weight is more than made up for by an ability to marshal people and organize events.
Room 1623 is our designated home for the moment and, while neat and functional, has a certain odour to the bathroom. It turns out the area may be a new "Little India" with cheap tailors underneath and shops containing all manner of sub-continent clothing, trinkets and food.
For our first meal we found the local, asian-style hawkers market around the corner from the hotel where we could get a meal, more than enough for two, for $7.00sg plus $6.50sg for a beer for me. All up, $15.00sg for a meal. At an exchange rate of $1.25sg to our dollar I will leave it up to others to do the sums but cheap is the word that springs to mind.
Day One
Breakfast was a meet and greet before setting off to the bank to gain accounts for each of us.Now the plan was to split us up and go to three separate branches in order to speed up the process because, as we soon found out, they still have lonnnnnngggg queues at Singapore banks. Internet banking is something they appear only recently to be getting a handle on.
But.....
....the branch of DBS Bank we had chosen advised that the rules had changed regarding setting up an account and so now first, one must have a Work Permit. According to Peter this had changed at some random point between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.
This was a problem because we were unable to get work permits until the next week and that, of course, had a holiday for New Year in it which would slow the bureaucracy even more than usual.
This was going to be a portent of things to come.
Luckily, one of our group had found a branch in Chinatown which would do the account openings with no problems, so it was a rush there by all of us via underground walk-way - it is nearly ALL underground in central Singapore - and MRT (train) to get to the branch, only to find we had to make booking due to our significant numbers.
Lunch at the Hong Lim food hall in Chinatown was decided upon, which proved somewhat confronting due to a number of factors. These included the heat and humidity coupled with the sheer masses of people present, then having to decide on, and communicate, what we wanted to eat.
By late afternoon the banking was eventually done and we were off......
Condo hunting
As part of a deal arranged by MAE, and based on information we had supplied in a form some weeks previous, we had been assigned an agent to locate us accommodation.
BJ was our designated man.
Unfortunately for us, at the point we met him, BJ didn't have much to offer. Two potential viewings, one miles from any transport and the other called Kovan Grandeur, which we couldn't view today and which didn't have any appeal anyway, were all he had. BJ however, insisted we do a drive-by and walk-around "to get an idea of the market".
It was just as well I had earlier in the day purchased my MRT travel-card as we had to make our own way back from Kovan with Nicole, Adam, Kristin and Kathy because BJ didn't want to make the trip back into town apparently.
Speaking with Adam on the return journey I ascertained that he wanted to explore the city but Nicole was keen on going straight back to the hotel with Kristin and Kathy. With me playing the devil's advocate the end result was us returning via Clarke Quay which, because of the lights, noise and people, impressed Adam immediately and Nicole eventually.
Once more dinner, which was very "spicy"(hot), was at "our" hawkers with Adam & Nicole and where we were later joined by Michael & Deb for a most enjoyable evening.
Day Two
Began with a breakfast meeting for Heather and then she was off to the Ministry of Manpower (M.O.M.)Unfortunately, there was a problem. For some of the group, not all paperwork had been filled out and not all paperwork which had been filled out had been filled out correctly. Because of this an extra doctor's visit was required for Heather, Michael and Deb to conform with all the health requirements.
Things were going a bit "pear-shaped" and Peter, Renee & Kerlyn began looking a little stressed.
Unit hunting also continued with the less-than-impressive organisational aspect we had come to expect.
That said, we actually got to inspect Kovan Grandeur, which turned out to be TINY, and another in Rio Vista, at Hougang, which appeared perfect. Once again we had to make our own way back and so it was dinner at the hawkers market once again.
NOTE: It is often somewhat of an unfortunate truism that an item having a word in its name which attempts to bestow some degree of size or quality to the item invariable means the item does not possess the quality so describing it. In this case the only thing grandeur about the condo in Kovan was the price, the huge dog living on the tiny balcony and the gall of the person who came up with the name.
Day Three
Sunday was a quieter day with not too much happening. Visits to the main MAE centre at Kovan for the workers and mooching about for me.Tripping out to Simei - Heather's brother Robert and wife Maria have a condo there - to do some washing was my allotted task for the day.
At night it was off to the sate (satay) capital of Singapore, Lau Pa Sat, for a magnificent meal which consisted of more than simply meat on sate sticks.
 |
| Sate master at work |
 |
| The new group (at back) |
 |
| Sting-ray all gone |
 |
| View over Marina Bay with the MB Sands hotel in the background |
 |
| Drinks in the New Asia Bar - 71st Floor |
Day Four
New Years Eve. A rather quiet day spent after the late night previous.
Given BJ's apparent lack of effort in coming up with viewings I decide to contact the Rio Vista agent directly to arrange another viewing.
FYI: Be aware, BJ is not an Agent per se. He is an agent's agent which means we are a further away from the bargaining action than we at first believed. Never assume.
At the second viewing I notice/remember there is some water-damage needing repair and draw the agents attention to it. It seems there will be no repair until a tenant is signed up. Hmmmmm, what are those voices in my head saying?
Anyway, I make an offer $200Sg/m below the asking price (which is subsequently accepted and later rejected - see later ) and leave the agent to sort things out with the owner and BJ.
An evening Junk trip on harbour with dinner provided had been arranged for us and, just like home, the rain started around mid-day as a thunder storm before continuing as rain until our tour was almost completed. A short bus ride from the Fairmont Hotel found us at the departure wharf where Kerlyn directed us into position for a photo opportunity.
 | ||
| Rear: Helen, Renee, Jacqui, ??, Kathy, Marilyn, ??, Kristin Middle: Maria, Heather, Deb, Nicole, Robert. Front: Michael, James, Peter, Adam, Michael |
 |
| Singapore Harbour through the rain |
Following our return to the Fairmont, some of us made the decision to walk to the durian (the performing arts centre) to await the fireworks display at midnight.
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| Midnight - New Years Day (note the time on the photograph) |
What was also - and I struggle to find a suitable word here - confronting(?) was the humungous crowd we became part of as we attempted to leave. There are some five million people in Singapore and it felt as though all of them were with us now, wanting to go in the same direction of away. Well, not all. Some were trying to go against the tide, which managed to slow the exit even further.
I have seen images of Arabs on pilgrimage. Tens-of-thousands of people all jammed together and pushing. This night is how I imagine they would all feel.
Day Five
New Year's Day and another late start after the night before.
Lunch was had with Michael & Deb and was a riotous event with Michael recounting lines from old Warner Bros cartoons.
We return to the hotel to find Adam on the phone giving BJ a serve about his lack of service in providing them with viewings.
Straight away BJ is on the phone to me making a belated arrangement for us to see a condo. The place turns out to be huge, in a set of towers called Florida, right next door to Rio Vista.
Although not initially one of our favoured areas, we are liking the Hougang precinct as it is close to amenities and the bus Heather will need to get to/from Punggol. As a result, the choice is coming down to either Rio Vista or Florida. The owner of Florida is offering deals if we let her have access to a room infrequently. This turns out to be a way of keeping a principal-place-of-residence in Singapore and saving on tax. Those voices in the back of my head are talking and they are getting louder.
It could be perfect for Adam & Nicole, as it fits within their budget, if they take 'the deal'.
BJ then offers to take us to Simei, which ends up being via a rather circuitous route after he got lost.
Dinner was with Robert & Maria at Simei.
Day Six
First day at work for Heather in Punggol. Whilst Punggol appears to be in 'whoop-whoop', at the end of the MRT line and the furthest point on the light-rail (LRT), it has plenty of parkland greenery about and the shopping centre, which houses the MAE rooms, is very well supplied with all necessities.
I try to buy a TENS/electronic massage machine but ended up "breaking" the DBS card and spend the afternoon lying around.
Due to another 'administrative error' Heather, Michael (the other) and Deb plus myself, as a requirement for gaining a Dependent Visa, tomorrow must present ourselves at Raffles Private Hospital to undergo X-rays and HIV tests. This is despite the fact that the three workers were the only ones of the group to have the procedures performed back in Aus. It appears we were not given a particular form for the Aus. doctors to fill out and so have to go through the whole rigmarole again.
Hoped to sign Letter of Intent (LOI) for the condo with BJ tomorrow.
Day Seven
Wedding anniversary today but we forgot until later in the day.
Had to be going early to get to Raffles Hospital for the chest x-rays and medical exams.
It appears the doctor's dictum (air goes in and out, blood goes round and round, trust no bastard) applies in Singapore as well as Aus.
To the bank to arrange a deposit for the condo we look like getting at Hougang. So far this was about the only interaction with officialdom which has gone according to plan. Love the POSB. Handed the cheque to BJ and all appeared good.
Lunch was at 4th floor of Funan Centre then a sleep as Heather didn't get in until almost 11pm the night before. H then off to work and me in search of my TENS machine. Found one for about $100 and it is the BEST thing.
Dinner for me was at the Burmese hawkers over the road. I was the only Euro in the place. Followed that with a walk along the east-side of the river. Superb views of the financial district buildings then back along Boat Quay.
Highlight - being stopped by an Asian group and asked if I knew the way to Clarke Quay. After initially attempting to duck away with a "me-know-understand/want-to-buy-anything" reposte I suddenly realised I DID know how to get to Clarke Quay. So, I am a local after only 7 days.
Champagne was purchased for Heather's arrival home but we were both too tired to bother opening it. Who'd-a-thunkit (Sue)?
Maybe next year.
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