This house is such a crack up!

We're still rattling around an empty house due to the fact our furniture hasn't arrived yet, and as a result, the majority of the rooms aren't yet in use....but that doesn't seem to stop the deterioration!

Before I accepted this assignment, I had a conversation with the CEO.  This would have been back in August during my second or third visit to the country.  There were two statements that stuck in my mind - you can't drink the water, don't even try.  And, nothing is quite as it first appears.

The water statement was surprising since I had actually assumed that the water was 'bad' for foreigners, but locals would be able to consume it.  However, it turns out that piped water quality is very low and is likely to contain faecal matter or any variety of bugs...yuck!  The locals ALWAYS boil the tap water before consumption, or if they can afford it, they buy bottled water like us bule.

The second statement was a little more intriguing.  Manufacturing and building quality, in particular, seem to play second fiddle to keeping costs low.  The results in a constant stream of 'maintenance' and ill-fitting doors or windows and such like.

Despite the enlightening prophecy, I still was not prepared for this:

The above is a shot of our (empty) lounge room.  The main wall.  Need a closer look?

Yes, there's a ruddy great crack in the plaster.  It's not alone either as there's about half a dozen of the suckers making a 'crazy paving' of our wall!

Of course, it's fixable and will hopefully be repaired next week.  But how long will it be before we see a return?  Unfortunately, with the low cost materials being used I suspect we'll need several repairs a year.  Oh well....at least it povides someone with a job...