Home Sweet Home - Revisited

Another quick update, celebrating the "completion" of the condo. Nothing is ever done, but it's pretty much where I want it and I've had a few requests.

The white sofa got a cover, and some other accessories to soften the starkness.

The fun piece is the rug under the dining table. Yes a cow, complete with a brand.

And who knew I'd go this long in my life without a shoe cabinet. I really need one of the "Flip Flop Parking Only" signs cause that's about all that people wear here. Oh and Croc's - but I just can't bring myself to wear the gator skins.

Of course the crown jewel in the condo was the balcony, and when it's not a god awful 26*C (79*F) or colder I spend my time out there. It turned out quite well I think.

Yes with a sofa at one end and a hammock at the other I am well equipment to sleep away the warm afternoons. I like to refer to them as Port and Starboard Bunks but no one listens anyway.

And finally if it is too hot or cold, there is the bedroom for air conditioned sleep. This shots actually from the balcony through the double doors which stay open most of the time. Surprising to me there are no bugs or crawlies on the 25th store.

But I often am asked (yes I am getting to the FAQ's) what are the big differences in Singapore. Well one of the first ones was Hot Water. Turns out that's a bit of an option in Singapore. As the agent was showing me the features on the day I moved in he bragged about the 2 separate Hot Water tanks, each controlled by a switch on the wall. "You can leave one off if it's just you here" he offered. I wanted to make sure I didn't lose such a basic amenity in the kitchen by turning off the wrong one, and asked "Which one runs the kitchen?" (a fair question I thought). That's when I go the look of 2 heads - "No one has hot water in a kitchen" - rolling his eyes at the same time. Sure enough my highly inaccurate research says no one has HW in a kitchen, and MANY of the locals don't even have it in the bathrooms. Now I know some of you would be aghast at the idea, but take comfort in knowing that a super high efficiency dishwasher could easily replace hand washing anyway, so no big deal. Wrong ! No dishwashers anywhere - the only one I've seen in captivity was imported from Germany and then rewired to run here. Singaporeans don't trust them. All that heat and chemical action unnecessary, good old cold water and a sponge. - lah

Don't worry, I'll buy paper plates if you come visit - or boil the kettle.