Monthly Archives: August 2007

Little India and Night Safari

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Note: I am post-dating these entries to make it more chronological. I apologize for any strange mistakes that I might make.

We headed out to Little India today to have lunch and for some shopping. We didn’t exactly know where we were going so just took the MRT to the Little India stop. We stopped by a random restaurant to eat and this is what we had:

It was known as a chicken meal set served on a banana leaf. It was chicken masala and pretty tasty. We found out we didn’t eat it right though as we used a fork and spoon. Other customers around us were using one hand to mix the food and sauces and to eat. Next time we know.

We walked down a bit further and stopped at Mustafa Center as we heard it has 24 hour shopping and has anything you want. It seriously was a bit overwhelming because there was so much to see. They have all electronics, clothing, food, linens, shoes, toiletries, makeup, sporting goods, luggage, stationary, books, purses, pens, automotive care, watches, jewelry, etc etc. I had to buy some better walking shoes and Ron got some socks. It was a bit exhausting so we headed back to rest a little before heading to the Night Safari

We met up around 6pm with our flatmates and Joyce, a prof at NUS and from the US. Look how happy we are BEFORE entering the attraction:

We had a bite to eat at Bongo Burger (not the same as in the US) waiting for it to get dark. We decided to do the walking trails and not take the tram. About an hour into the walk, it started to drizzle a little… then suddenly it started raining cats and dogs complete with thunder and lightning. We ended up having to seek shelter and get rain ponchos from one of the staff. They encouraged us to leave after waiting a bit to see if the storm would subside. It wasn’t going to so we took the tram (for free) back to the beginning. Look how happy we still are AFTER the rainstorm:

We realized the tram is a better idea as it takes you around to see more animals. The walking trail is limited but more upclose. So it’s probably a good idea to do both. We missed all the shows though because they were all cancelled for the storm.

We were sad we were rained out but at least we have a story to tell.

Dropping the big bucks

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Note: I am post-dating these entries to make it more chronological. I apologize for any strange mistakes that I might make.

After the crazy first day… we were ready for a slower day.

We met up with the Jeannie, the agent, and landlady to sign the letter of intent and put down a S$4.5K “good faith deposit”. Luckily we had enough to just cover the deposit.

We headed over to Holland Village to check out the banks since we needed to open an account. We needed to pay rent eventually…

We had a little snack at Bread Talk and saw this funny pastry (didn’t try it though):

Anyways, for banks, we ended up at POSB (owned by DBS) because they only required the student letter from INSEAD, a passport, and S$500 deposit. It took quite a while because there were many other INSEAD students opening accounts. The staff said it wasn’t as bad as the week before when NUS started, the wait time then was 1.5 hours.

There went bowling and had dinner at the Beach Hut which is located on Marine Cove. It’s near the water and we sat outdoors. It was rather nice to relax and have good conversation.

Apartment hunting

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Note: I am post-dating these entries to make it more chronological. I apologize for any strange mistakes that I might make.

After a night’s rest, the plan for the day was to start our apartment hunt. Ron had been looking at apartments online and talking to agents by phone while we were in the US but without much luck.

He started the morning by looking through the Straits Times and almost missed the following:

Heritage View 3+1 bdrms. 1163 sqft. Fully furn. High flr. Full facilities. Near MRT/sch/mkt/Biopolis. Immed. $4.8K. XXXX-XXXX

Ron called but no answer so he left a message. Prices have been crazy high with many other agents, in the $5K-6K range whereas last year it was only $3K. Apparently the real estate market has been going sky high the past year. In part because of the two new casinos being built here, one is being built by the Sands Las Vegas.

Anyways, we had our first meal in Holland Village at a noodle shop. I’ll have to go back and find out the name.

I had cha siu wonton noodles and Ron had some sort of saucy chicken dish:


We went shopping in Sim Lim Square for electronics. We just had to get a power adapter for our Wii. We had appointments with some tenant agents later in the afternoon… then the fun began.

One agent was nice enough to pick us up in her car and drove us around to a few places, Bayville had 2 apts and one at Himiko Court. They were all pretty far from school and a bit on the older side.

Jeannie for the above Heritage View (HV) listing eventually called us and we planned a viewing. The place was great! Newer and cleaner with nicer amenities BUT on the pricier side. We thought we could talk her and the landlady down to $4.5K but weren’t sure. The previous apts we viewed were $3.5K.

We had met up with our flatmates, Justine and Roli (and her husband) to view the last place and another apt in Normantan Park (NP). The Normantan apt was only $3K but it was lacking A/C in the bedrooms.

These agents though were kind of pushy and intimidating in a way. The two agents were rushing us to sign a letter of intent and make a deposit so we wouldn’t lose that apartment. They kept on encouraging us to make a counter offer and sign papers that evening. The flatmates decided to go have dinner to think it over and we ended up being together for quite a while.

We had a long debate about the benefits of HV apt versus NP. HV pluses included: walking distance to school (10 minutes), nice amenities, ability to network with other students, clean and spacious apartment, close to MRT and buses, landlady willing to negotiate, agent not pressuring us at all. NP pluses included: affordable rent, large and spacious apartment, landlady willing to install A/C units in the 3 rooms that did not have it. The decision at dinner was the bid for the Normantan Park apt for $3.3K and requiring the landlady to install the A/C. The cost savings was what drove the decision. The agents gladly made some calls and wanted us to sign papers ASAP.

Ron was having second thoughts and called the agent (Jeannie) for the HV apt but no answer… until we arrived back at the INSEAD residence but this was after we already agreed to meet with the agents for the NP apt. The NP agents were coming to meet up with Ron at 12AM! Seems pretty desperate, huh?

Jeannie told Ron that dropping the rent to $4.5K should not be a problem but she wouldn’t be able to confirm until she spoke with the landlady in the morning. The networking ability at HV drove the decision now to live in HV. So what to do with the NP agents coming over right now?

Ron had to go sit in the agent’s car for over an hour calling back and forth to all the flatmates trying to figure out what to do. It was after midnight and the agents were expecting a decision at this time? Sounds unreasonable to me. Eventually Ron was able to get away after making that argument and had to pay them off with S$200 each! They said they would apply it to the cost of the deposit if we decided in the morning that we wanted the place.

Well, we’re out S$400 because we chose the HV apt. It was a pretty stressful situation though with those 2 agents for NP pressuring us into making a decision that night. They were playing on our nervousness by convincing us that we would lose the apartment if we did not make a decision right then and there. They know how to play a good game. The apt we have is much better so I think we still won out.

Losing a day…

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Note: I am post-dating these entries to make it more chronological. I apologize for any strange mistakes that I might make.

We took United Airlines and our flight was at 11AM. We decided to stay at Ron’s parents’ house in Millbrae so we wouldn’t be late for our flight. We arrived at the airport early enough but there was a huge line at the UA counter so we went around to the other UA counter where it was marked Express check-in since I had checked in online. Once at the counter, they weighed our 4 pieces of luggage… very embarassingly, three were overweight! We had an extra empty luggage tucked away inside another bag so we shifted stuff over, we had to do some shifting three times. So we ended up paying for one extra piece of luggage ($109) plus two overweight bags ($50 each piece over 50 lbs). Not a great way to start out our trip, spending money already…

The flight itself was uneventful. I finally finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I was so into it that couldn’t put it down. Afterwards, I fell asleep until we reached Hong Kong.

We arrived in Hong Kong on Monday 8/20 around 3:30PM. We took advantage of the free wi-fi in the airport terminal to catch up on emails. Our flight was at 7PM. We finally arrived in SG around 11:30PM but after immigration and baggage collection, we didn’t really get out of the airport until 12:30AM. Ron’s dad’s friend came to pick us up at the airport and dropped us off a the INSEAD Residence. We didn’t get to bed until almost 2AM. It was already Tuesday 8/21.

One day lost in the air but oh well, at least 10 months on land 🙂

“Farewell For Now” BBQ

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Note: I am post-dating these entries to make it more chronological. I apologize for any strange mistakes that I might make.

We decided to throw ourselves a farewell BBQ the day before our departure. It was a beautiful sunny day in San Ramon and it was really great seeing friends and family before we began our adventure in Singapore.

We BBQ’ed kalbi, teriyaki chicken drumsticks, hot dogs, tri-tip steak, and corn. We also served up some veggies, fruits, and chips.

There was also a game of Texas Hold’em where my dad (Jen’s) took everyone’s money. Hee hee… as a warning to all, don’t underestimate his skills!

It was nice to kick back and relax as it has been a rather harrowing month cleaning up our house to get ready for rent and just getting things ready to leave for Singapore. We have hired Premium Properties as our management company and they have been a great help in getting our property ready. We are still waiting for a renter. Check out our listing on Premium Properties website or Craigslist.

Our biggest problem was finding temporary homes for our kitties. Maxwell ended up being homeless because the friend who was going to take him wasn’t able to afterall. He luckily found a home with one of the doctors I work with and will enjoy being an SF indoor/outdoor cat with two other cats: Handy and Sparkey. Mochi and Misu went to a new home for a few days but the person discovered she was allergic to them so they had to come home with us to WC for a few days. My co-worker saved my life (and their lives) by agreeing to take them for a month while another friend renovates her house, then she can take them for the remaining time. My co-worker has two cats of her own: Brutus and Bella so they’re going to have a full house.

I just feel bad for Mochi and Misu because they were transported from WC to SF, then SF to WC, then WC to SR, then SR to Millbrae, then finally Millbrae to Brisbane. Their final home will be in Millbrae. I hope they are not overly stressed.

Our flight to SG is on Sunday at 11:19AM… so the adventure begins!