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Genting Highlands Trip 01 Apr 2012 - 06 Apr 2012

Transport On 01 Apr, our 7.30am coach was slightly late as there were too many coaches competing for the tight parking space beside Golden Mile Complex. We finally boarded at about 7.40am and it was a quite a quick boarding since everyone was already waiting and we left at about 7.50am. Our coach was Sri Maju Group SVIP 24 seater, and I purchased at easibook.com. The ticket price was 30 SGD plus 3 SGD surcharge and 2 SGD convenience fee, so total cost of one ticket was 35 SGD. When we were about to reach Singapore customs, we were told to leave our belongings on the coach and bring only valuables and passport for clearance. At Malaysia customs, we had to bring everything to crossover. For our return trip, it's the other way round, leave everything onboard at Malaysia customs, and bring everything to crossover back to Singapore. Just to share, if anyone is wondering. The entire ride was fine and I must emphasize that they have comfortable seats. They had an LCD TV onboard an

HDB Resale Flats - Public or Private Housing?

I think HDB has to be honest and reveal their master plan for resale HDB flat. Looking at the direction that resale flat is going, makes me wonder if one day they will decide to simply privatize resale flats. Just take away the subsidies and regulations and they can turn resale flats into condominiums. Who knows, maybe residents can setup their own management community, build swimming pools right below the block, put up fences and hire a few Ah Neh security guards to protect the block. It's an obvious contradiction here, is resale flat supposed to be public housing or private housing? It's a public housing that can be sold like a private housing, seller can set any price they wish. Market valuation is pointless to a buyer since there is COV, actually also pointless for the seller since they can set whatever amount they wish. If they still wish to refer to resale flat as public housing, I would expect HDB to do away with COV and strictly allow sales to proceed with ONLY valu

What is The Point of COV When There Already is Market Valuation?

This question was posted at  REACH  on 28 Mar 2012, 10.39AM What does market valuation of a resale flat do? Surveyors determine the market price of a resale flat by factors such as location of the block, surrounding amenities, level of the flat, interior condition of the flat and special features inside/outside the flat. Seller A asks for COV because he has renovated his flat and he has built a bar counter in his flat. Have the above been covered by market valuation? Seller B asks for COV because his flat location is good, near to MRT, near to bus interchange, schools, shopping malls and plenty of coffeeshops. Have the above been covered by market valuation? Seller C asks for COV because his flat is at the top floor of the block, with incredible view. Have the above been covered by market valuation? Then what is the point of market valuation if COV serves to do what it already is doing? How can HDB allow such a contradiction? This is one reason why HDB resale flat i

Condolences to Madam Samai Chatthahan and Family of Mr. Lim Wei Kwan, Jason

I only learned about the whole story today and I feel shocked, and very sad for the family but I'm glad that help has been swiftly offered by NTUC and MCYS, and also very glad that Mr. Lim's eldest son, young Mr. Lim Itthiphat has finally obtained his citizenship after 10 long years of trying. My heart feels heavy when I realized that the late Mr. Lim is unable to share the happiness with his family, but I'm sure he will be happy now, wherever he is. Now that I think back, let's look at the new LTVP+. One of the eligibility criteria is that a foreign widow of a Singaporean is allowed to apply, provided she has a Singaporean child. Doesn't that ring a bell? The incident happened around mid Dec 2011, and ICA is introducing the new pass on 01 Apr 2012. I also understand that the late Mr. Lim tried applying for permanent residency for Madam Samai,  3 times  but was all rejected. With the introduction of the new pass, Madam Samai will be eligible for LTVP+ and that

Long-Term Visit Pass - Plus (LTVP-PLUS)

http://www.ica.gov.sg/news_details.aspx?nid=12665 Good news for those of us who cannot get PR for our beloved spouse, because the Singapore government has come up with a enhanced long-term visit pass called LTVP-PLUS or LTVP+. I'll sum up the key points in the FAQ provided by ICA so you don't have to go through one big page. Do let me know if I missed out anything or correction is required by dropping a comment. GENERAL LTVP+ will be in effect from 01 Apr 2012. LTVP+ holders will enjoy extended duration of residency, public healthcare subsidies and easier access to employment. No separate application required for LTVP+; an application for LTVP will automatically include your spouse for LTVP+, if eligible. LTVP applications submitted from 01 Feb 2012 will automatically be considered for LTVP+. The first approved LTVP+ will grant 3 years residency and subsequent renewal will be 5 years. Current holders of LTVP will be considered for LTVP+ on next renewal. If holde

Homestay in Malacca

I recommend these two places because the owners are very nice people (and I mean really really nice), and they charge reasonably. If any doubt, just tell them and they'll be glad to help, I think that's the most important thing when one is abroad, you have hearty people willing to help, to enlighten, so you can really have fun and enjoy the trip. Homestay 1 @ Jalan Angkasa Nuri DT 1562, Jalan Angkasa Nuri, Taman Angkasa Nuri, Durian Tunggal, Melaka. Homestay 2 @ Jalan Taman Kota Laksamana 7A, (TKT 1) Jalan TKL 10, Taman Kota Laksamana, 75200 Melaka. If interested, please contact Cassie Chan - 012-6185628 Candy Chan - 017-3320728 Mr Chan - 016-2094593 Email - cassiebiz@live.com Facebook - cassiebiz

How to Marry a Thai in Singapore

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You should refer to here -  https://www.rom.gov.sg/reg_info/rom_marriage.asp Please spend some time to go through and understand the information on that section (legal provision, other information, filing of notice, solemnization and etc), if your still not sure, feel free to drop a comment here or you can use their FAQ . The ROM website did a really good job of putting together the information that you need in a well-organized manner. I've done it once and I think the guide is very easy to follow. The only hiccup I've had with my marriage is during the  Appointment for verification & Statutory Declaration where both of us were required to read out a wall of text and my wife had difficulty getting past the first few lines and the counter guy got fed up and told my wife to stop. Definitely my oversight as I didn't arrange for an interpreter beforehand but luckily, there was a licensed interpreter at the scene and we managed to get her to do the interpretation fo

Document Translation from Thai to English

Where to Translate Golden Mile Complex, Level 2 Royal Thai Embassy If I remember correctly, they charge around S$40-S$45 per page at Golden Mile but personally, I have not tried any of the above. I had my wife's documents translated at Professional Thai Linguistic Services. They charge S$30 per page e.g. birth cert, S$20 for a page with not many characters e.g. front and back of Thai ID card. If you are interested, following is more information. Professional Thai Linguistic Services 36B Hong Kong Street Holly Building Singapore 059675 Tel: +65 6774 2703 Fax: +65 6773 2778 Certification after Translation Note that the certification part is not specified on ICA website, as of publication of this article. Also note that according to one of my readers who did a translation recently, the Royal Thai Embassy in Singapore only accept submission on weekdays from 8am to 11am. After you receive the translated copy, according to ICA hotline, you need to g

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