My Singapore Adventure - My Next Chapter

One word to remember about HK – FOOD!!!

22 December 2012 abrigatti Holiday No comments

Everything in HK is about food, food and food (maybe with a sprinkling of shopping inbetween too!) :). And yes it is in this order. After spending a few days reminiscing the good ol’ days, we end up frequenting eating establishments often. I think it is generally, eat lots and often – but just make sure you never are full full, as you don’t know when the next eating episode is (for sure, it isn’t too far away!! Haha!!)

I am definitely sure that I am putting on weight. And most of the time we have been eating feasts, which in Asian style, means great food, a nice variety and plenty of it. It really is tough going, as you can imagine.

And this is in-between the shopping to find some items for my new apartment…ranging from rice cooker, kettle and iron (all of which is actually cheaper here than in Singapore … )

Right enough writing, best get back to the eating 🙂

Eventful flight to Hong Kong

21 December 2012 abrigatti Holiday No comments

The flight out was quite “interesting”, as a fight broke out about 3 hours into the flight. I think it started because the passenger in front moved her chair back, and it hit the other passenger behind, who was sleeping forward. Well what do you expect on a cheap airline flight, where the seats pitch isn’t that much between seats. Anyway, the lady in the back threw some punches after lady in the front swore at her (in Cantonese). It was quite amusing, and the it took all 3 of the cabin crew to calm things down. Even the pilot came out at the end of the bout – and I did overhear him say FFS and that he would call the police for our arrival. The passengers were split up with the front ones moved to the back of the plane.

After things returned to normal, we arrived at HK, and we were instructed to remain in our seats whilst a dozen or so police entered the plane, and took off the 4 people involved in the facade! What a flight – talk about creating ones own flight entertainment :). Hahaha…I’ve never quite seen anything like this before.

singapore_backdrop

20 December 2012 abrigatti New Chapter No comments

Holiday in Hong Kong

18 December 2012 abrigatti Holiday No comments

Having now sorted out my apartment, the last thing to do was to have a relaxing holiday abroad somewhere… Having looked around at the flight and resort prices – the options of Langkawi, Bali, Phuket etc were all starting to go up in the price, so we decided to visit Hong Kong and my mum’s family this year.

The flight prices on Tiger Airways weren’t too bad – about £475 return, and at least we saved a little bit on the cost of the holiday accommodatio, by staying with our family in HK instead. We left on Tuesday, 18th with the intention to spend Christmas in HK and returning back to Singapore on Thursday, 28th December – to allow me to sort out the apartment and make the final purchases, ahead of starting work on 2nd January.

I knew my apartment activities will continue after I departed, mainly the 2-month deposit transfer and the commission payment to the agent. I did make a request for my agent to manage the transfer on 24th December in my absence and pick up the keys – the agent will also sort out all of the utilities – except the telephone/Internet, which I can do when I return. Hopefully, it all goes well.

I don’t mind what we do in HK, I know my cousin and aunt will look after us, and hopefully we will have some good food, see some sights and sounds around HK, relax and re-charge our batteries 🙂

Note: apparently…”Hong Kok” is the new Hong Kong 🙂 Must be an attempt of humour at Tiger Airlines (or just that they are illiterate!) – see photo:

DBS Bank Account Opened (again!)

17 December 2012 abrigatti New Chapter No comments

Well I already had to sort out some of the basics, including setting up a bank account in Singapore – to help pay for my deposit and utilities for my new apartment, but also ensure that I am on the Amex Singapore payroll, so I can get paid in January 🙂

The problem is, they have changed the expat accounts on offer since last year, and diluted the benefits. Last year I opened one with a minimum S$500 deposit with no charges, apart if you close the account within 6 months where DBS would charge an administration fee of S$20 (which I did incur in December 2011). I was told that I could have left the account open, if I was returning (even if my Employment Pass was cancelled). The challenge is I wasn’t guaranteed to return at the time, so I had no choice but to cancel it. The minimum balance is a baseline, and if you go below it they will charge a servicing fee of S$2 per month that you are under the limit.

Now DBS have two main account options – they have raised the minimum balance limit to either S$1,000 or S$5,000 and they also limit the number of ATM withdrawals and servicing at the branches – e.g. charge servicing fees.

The options were as follows:

minimum balance of S$5,000. Closure fee of S$20 if closed within 6 months. No ATM withdrawal or branch visit fees.
minimum balance of S$1,000. Same closure fee and conditions. Limited of 4 ATM withdrawals per month, or you pay S$2 per additional withdrawal per month. Servicing at the branch counters charged at S$2 per visit.

I didn’t want to keep a S$5k balance so I opted for the S$1k minimum balance account – and just have to ‘plan’ around the other servicing fees. I guess most of the account servicing can be performed at the ATMs or Online – so I should hopefully not need to visit a branch 🙂

That’s the bank account sorted…now I need to find an appropriate credit card – all of which has membership and annual fees etc … Hopefully, I can get my Amex one fee-free … well I hope so 🙂

Condo Hunting – How joyful!

14 December 2012 abrigatti Apartment, New Chapter No comments

Apartment (condo) hunting is very tiring work – after seeing about 10 or so places from a couple of different agents, I think I’m condo’ed out!

I think I started really badly because I set my rental range too high – about S$4,000, my mum suggested that I reduce the range to S$2,500-3,000 to ensure I don’t spend more than I should on the accommodation. I think this is wise, as part of the purpose of coming to Singapore is to continue to enjoy the lifestyle and region. What made this decision more difficult is that I did so after seeing a few really nice apartments at the original S$4,000 range – hey-ho.

After short listing a few – I think Newton Edge, Alexis, 8-Woodleigh and One-North Residences were the apartment condos that’s I was very interest in, I continued to search on www.propertyguru.com.sg and found one at Novena called Suites@Shrewsbury. It was pretty reasonable at the S$2,900 rental range and was located at 84 Shrewsbury Road. It was a bit cramped inside, but suitably located near the local facilities and amenities in the Novena area – walking distance from the Novena MRT, so the red North-South MRT line to Marina Bay.

So I went for this – hopefully it means my needs. It was only partial furnished, so I sense a visit to Ikea is needed once the lease agreement has been signed. I now need to sort out the deposit, paperwork and then I will have an official base in Singapore :). Saved money to spend on Guinness too – hehe…

Fanastic Wedding Banquet

12 December 2012 abrigatti Food No comments

We received a spontaneous phone call for a family friend’s wedding a couple of days after my mum and I arrived in Singapore…and it was certainly a great event – held at the Grand Copthorne Hotel, my first ever Singaporian Chinese wedding.

The bridge and groom looked fantastic – and the food was…well delicious indeed! We were very fortunate to know some great friends in Singapore!

Oh and what was so special about the timing – well it was the 12th day of the 12th month of the 2012th year, of course…a truly 121212 wedding (I presume the wedding ceremony itself was held at 12:12 🙂

I wish Daniel and Felicia a magical life together!

Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore
392 Havelock Road
Singapore 169663
Tel: +65 6733 0880

Hotel Re – Retro Boutique Hotel

10 December 2012 abrigatti Hotel Re!, New Chapter No comments

Well the first port of call was the hotel to freshen up. Even though I arrived at 8am, I arrived at the hotel with the hope that they had my room available and allowed me an early check-in. The front desk were very accommodating and allowed me to check-in with penalty. I promptly arrived at my room, freshened up and felt actually very awake and rearing to go.

The hotel itself was conveniently located at Outram Park, just up from Pearl Hill. It was a few minutes away from Outram Park MRT – and the hotel offered a courtesy shuttle bus to take you to the MRT – a nice touch. The complimentary refreshments (daily replenished) are a nice treat; so Pepsi, Water, Oreo and a snack is free to eat. There is complimentary wi-fi available throughout the hotel – although it was a bit on the slow side (I guess that is always the risk of being free!).

I had already arranged for my blackberry to be sorted before I left the UK, so I knew it was ready to be picked-up later on in the day. I also had to make my way to pick-up mum when she arrived at 3pm from Hong Kong – would be good to have her around to support the condo hunting 🙂

So onwards and upwards…a trip to the office first 🙂

First Day – and a visit to the MBFC Office

10 December 2012 abrigatti Marina Bay, New Chapter No comments

Well I thought I’d be a loyal worker and arranged to pick-up my work blackberry from the office. Actually, it was great going through the routine the taking the MRT from my hotel to Raffles Place and walk through the mall to the Marina Bay Financial Centre office. Certainly brings back fond memories.

The thing that made this different was that I had to sign in as a visitor as I haven’t officially started yet 🙂

I picked up my blackberry – which should have taken all of 5 minutes, but about 30 minutes later, I was still chatting way to some of the great folks at the office. It was a great time to catch-up – and probably the only time that I could really ‘dress-down’ without anyone batting an eyelid – haha!

I am finitely looking forward to return on the 2nd January 2013 to start my new work routine…2013 is going to be all-change for me!!!

My Singapore Life Starts today

10 December 2012 abrigatti New Chapter No comments

Today, it is the start of a new chapter in my life, as I start my new adventure in Singapore. you may recall that I previously worked in Singapore on a secondment (placement) during the second half of 2011. The challenge was that this was such a short period, I really only felt settled after about 4-5 months, at which point I had to prepare to leave.

I turned to my home team in the UK, but with the intention to find a more permanent role in Singapore. Fortunately, I have now achieved this permanent relocation – and I am about to become a full expat with all the trimmings to finally get used to the Singapore life for good!

Not only is this a bold and huge move, it is also a scary episode in my life, with some elements of uncertainty and definitely a few unknowns, but actually I like the test of being slightly outside of my comfort zone. I am certainly up for the challenge and my head and heart both feel this is the right time to make this move.

So today, I am flying out and going to start sorting out the logistics to support my move. Do wish me luck :). My Singapore Adventure – the next chapter starts today!

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My Singapore Adventure – My Next Chapter