Sunday, May 6, 2012
Singapore Trip #1: When 57 isn't so good
As beautiful as the infinity pool area is, there are some drawbacks to being 57 stories up in the air......notably when a storm moves in:
Singapore Trip #1: Gotham City
Wandering around Boat Quay Singapore at night is a lovely experience.
Singapore Trip #1: The Marina Bay Sands
So blessed are we, that we get to stay at the Marina Bay Sands hotel. A hotel made famous by its external architecture (looks like a ship floating in the sky) and the fact it hosts the largest infinity pool in the world.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Trip to Singapore
At last!! My visa has been granted and we need to leave the country to collect it, and the arrival stamp required for the next step in the process....which means a trip to Singapore. :)
Since company policy is to provide business class only for flights longer than 4 hours, we're back to the real world of economy...boo! This will also be our first experience of the national airline!
The first observation is that we're not allowed to simply check-in! No, we must first go visit the guy putting plastic ties around each suitcase - are they admitting they handle the bags so badly that they're liable to burst open without the strap? hmm.
The second attempt to check-in goes smoothly.
So what's the plane like? Well, the seats are uncomfortable in a similar fashion to those of Virgin Australia. However, they seem to be narrower (my shoulders seemed to overhang the seat and I'm hardly a 'big' build) and are very much closer together. The seat in front is close enough to make reading a magazine difficult because the size of the average magazine is greater that the distance between your belly and the seat in front. And if the person in front reclines, you're forced to lick the back of the headrest!
Then there's the food. We both took the tuna quiche option thinking 'how wrong can you go with tuna?'. Well......
Mine *looked* ok actually - a cubic lump of eggy stuff with bits of tuna in it. Shell's, however, had been steamed in its container and as a result of the condensation, kinda melted a bit - it looked like lumpy vomit! Complete with the requisite chunks of carrot!
Perhaps 'tuna' quiche was a bit of a mis-representation. The 'hints' of tuna could not compensate for unappetising taste of the 'quiche' - I think we each had maybe 2 or 3 forks worth before we gave up and accepted we would land hungry.
So not the best start to the trip, and certainly not a high rating recommendation for the national airline. Maybe things will improve when we land.....
Or not.
Immigration is quick and painless and we go to collect the suitcase. After we grabbed our case, we're interrupted by an lady offical asking to see our baggage tag. OK, no problem - I guess this is to ensure you collected the right case....except she took the tag, said thanks, and disappeared. She didn't seem to compare the tag to the one attached to the case at all...odd.
We next decided to stop off for a coffee. Being Singapore, we can expect fast efficient service right?
No.
There were at least five waiting staff in the airport cafe, and maybe two other tables of customers - call it eight individual customers, MAX.
We waited for about 30 minutes! Unbelievable! Whilst we're waiting I took a shot of the three staff hanging around doing absolutely nothing:
To add insult to injury, when the coffee arrived, it was crap. Especially disappointing considering their napkins:
Since company policy is to provide business class only for flights longer than 4 hours, we're back to the real world of economy...boo! This will also be our first experience of the national airline!
The first observation is that we're not allowed to simply check-in! No, we must first go visit the guy putting plastic ties around each suitcase - are they admitting they handle the bags so badly that they're liable to burst open without the strap? hmm.
The second attempt to check-in goes smoothly.
So what's the plane like? Well, the seats are uncomfortable in a similar fashion to those of Virgin Australia. However, they seem to be narrower (my shoulders seemed to overhang the seat and I'm hardly a 'big' build) and are very much closer together. The seat in front is close enough to make reading a magazine difficult because the size of the average magazine is greater that the distance between your belly and the seat in front. And if the person in front reclines, you're forced to lick the back of the headrest!
Then there's the food. We both took the tuna quiche option thinking 'how wrong can you go with tuna?'. Well......
Mine *looked* ok actually - a cubic lump of eggy stuff with bits of tuna in it. Shell's, however, had been steamed in its container and as a result of the condensation, kinda melted a bit - it looked like lumpy vomit! Complete with the requisite chunks of carrot!
Perhaps 'tuna' quiche was a bit of a mis-representation. The 'hints' of tuna could not compensate for unappetising taste of the 'quiche' - I think we each had maybe 2 or 3 forks worth before we gave up and accepted we would land hungry.
So not the best start to the trip, and certainly not a high rating recommendation for the national airline. Maybe things will improve when we land.....
Or not.
Immigration is quick and painless and we go to collect the suitcase. After we grabbed our case, we're interrupted by an lady offical asking to see our baggage tag. OK, no problem - I guess this is to ensure you collected the right case....except she took the tag, said thanks, and disappeared. She didn't seem to compare the tag to the one attached to the case at all...odd.
We next decided to stop off for a coffee. Being Singapore, we can expect fast efficient service right?
No.
There were at least five waiting staff in the airport cafe, and maybe two other tables of customers - call it eight individual customers, MAX.
We waited for about 30 minutes! Unbelievable! Whilst we're waiting I took a shot of the three staff hanging around doing absolutely nothing:
To add insult to injury, when the coffee arrived, it was crap. Especially disappointing considering their napkins:
Friday, May 4, 2012
A momentous occasion
Today represents something of a landmark occasion for Indonesia. I laughed at a friends Facebook status of 'May the fourth be with you!' but perhaps there was something to the statement after all.
Today, the Australian government downgraded the travel warning on Indonesia!
According to todays Smart Traveller the overall rating has been reduced to 'Exercise a high degree of caution'.
In case the situation changes again, here is the post:
This is great news for travellers as it should reduce travel insurance premiums, but of course it also indicates that our living environment should no longer be considered as relatively hostile. Of course, everyday life will inform you that the situation has been much safer than the Australian government would imply for several months now, but it is comforting to see it in writing :)
Today, the Australian government downgraded the travel warning on Indonesia!
According to todays Smart Traveller the overall rating has been reduced to 'Exercise a high degree of caution'.
In case the situation changes again, here is the post:
This Advice was last issued on Friday, 04 May 2012. The overall level of the advice has been lowered to 'Exercise a high degree of caution'. We continue to advise Australians to 'Reconsider their need to travel' to Central Sulawesi, Maluku, Papua and West Papua provinces due to recent communal and sectarian violence.
This is great news for travellers as it should reduce travel insurance premiums, but of course it also indicates that our living environment should no longer be considered as relatively hostile. Of course, everyday life will inform you that the situation has been much safer than the Australian government would imply for several months now, but it is comforting to see it in writing :)
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...
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:
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...
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
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