I was on the hunt for a new System 3 aircon for the past 2 weeks. My current 9-year-old Sanyo aircon broke down: one of the compressor serving 2 units no longer churn out cold air. Fortunately, the unit in Mayenne's room is still blowing coolness. Originally, we thought of surviving on the half-broken compressor till we shift out of the house then buy a new one before tenanting our flat out. But my wifey came to her senses that she should change it asap in order to enjoy the new aircon rather than offering the virgin blow to our future unknown tenants.
So last week she wandered around checking out the prices. She found a good deal at Best Denki for a Sanyo System 3 (non-inverter) for S$1899. The salesman convinced her to sign up for the BEST-OCBC Platinum Mastercard to enjoy even more savings. While discussing back home, we found that birthday month enjoys dollar discounts equivalent to your age. So I signed up too. And since we both are existing OCBC card holders, approval was swift and we got our cards within a week.
Today, we went down to Vivocity and placed our order. Here's a breakdown of what we spent and saved.
1. Sanyo System 3: $1899
2. 5-year extended warranty at 7% of purchase price: $132.90
3. Discount 8% for BEST-OCBC: $151.92
4. Discount for Birthday month with BEST-OCBC: $34 (for 34 years old)
5. Rebate for car park with BEST-OCBC: $5
6. BEST Vouchers $10 for every $500: $30 worth
7. BEST Gold points: $18.41 worth (1841 points)
8. 24 months 0% instalment with first month free: $76
9. Cost of dismantling old aircon: $150
10. 140+ worth of lucky draw coupons for a chance to win the BMW 318i
Original cost: $2181.90 (aircon + extended warranty + dismantling cost)
Real cost: $1866.57 (BEST-OCBC benefits + in-store offers)
Savings: $315.33
We grabbed almost every single eligible benefits for the BEST-OCBC card that it felt almost embarrassing to get so much out of a single purchase.
If you, like me, is going to spend a lot on electrical items, sign up for the BEST-OCBC card. 2-year fee waiver plus some other whatever 2.5% and 8% rebates thingie that's somewhat unsubstantial (unless you spend $10,000 above). But BEST-OCBC privileges like free delivery, car park rebates, free instalments) are very real and tangible cost savings. Go to OCBC website, do your math, and decide whether the savings work for you.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Mile High Movie Club
Watched 2 movies on the plane, to Hong Kong and from Hong Kong.
The first movie was "The Time Traveler's Wife". Although it's a rather far-fetched tale, it brings a fresh perspective about love and relationships that literally transcend time. What I find so surreal is that when Henry died, Claire his wife will have opportunity to meet him again in the future because of his time travel. It's such a beautiful thought: that even when your loved ones actually passed on, you will still get to meet them someday in future, randomly. No matter how short the duration is, that moment will be treasured for in eternity.
The second movie was on the way back from Hong Kong, "Julie & Julia". The storyline caught me by surprise because first of all, I didn't know Julia Child was so famous and lived in the post-WWII era, while Julie Powell, well, she' kindda famous too, with her blog. So it's pretty interesting how the screen writer intertwines the 2 tales together yet drawing to the same idea. And the best part is how the movie shows us that blogging can get you noticed and make you famous, if you blog about the right things.
I think watching such slow movies on the plane is a great way to relax yourself. Besides, the small TV screen on the plane is never conducive for fast-action movies, especially when the video quality and the sound is rather poor.
The first movie was "The Time Traveler's Wife". Although it's a rather far-fetched tale, it brings a fresh perspective about love and relationships that literally transcend time. What I find so surreal is that when Henry died, Claire his wife will have opportunity to meet him again in the future because of his time travel. It's such a beautiful thought: that even when your loved ones actually passed on, you will still get to meet them someday in future, randomly. No matter how short the duration is, that moment will be treasured for in eternity.
The second movie was on the way back from Hong Kong, "Julie & Julia". The storyline caught me by surprise because first of all, I didn't know Julia Child was so famous and lived in the post-WWII era, while Julie Powell, well, she' kindda famous too, with her blog. So it's pretty interesting how the screen writer intertwines the 2 tales together yet drawing to the same idea. And the best part is how the movie shows us that blogging can get you noticed and make you famous, if you blog about the right things.
I think watching such slow movies on the plane is a great way to relax yourself. Besides, the small TV screen on the plane is never conducive for fast-action movies, especially when the video quality and the sound is rather poor.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Hong Kong Nov 2009 - Day 4 and 5
29 Nov 2009
Morning to Day 4. Going for dimsum at Maxims then to Citygate factory outlets.
http://twitpic.com/re69b - Dim sum at Maxim's, located at City Hall.
When we arrived:
Before we left:
After the breakfast, we headed back to the MTR.
On the MTR heading to Tung Chung, the (2nd) last station of the line.
Tung Chung is where Citygate, the factory outlet shopping mall, is located. The train ride didn't feel very long, although it's actually one stop away from the airport. We forgot it was a Sunday, so that place was very packed. We spent the rest of the day there till about 3pm. I bought some shirts at Timberland and Esprit. Had lunch at Food Republic, tasted the Chicken Rice and "Hokkien" prawn mee. The chicken rice, apparently famous, tasted pretty authentic but the prawn mee lacks the prawn taste, it's more like a normal seafood noodles.
Done with Citygate. Now moving on to new destinations.
We took the MTR to Mongkok, visited a few electronic stores but bought nothing. Too many people. Walked along Ladies Street and bought a cheongsam for Mayenne to don during Chinese New Year.
Back to hotel. Getting earlier by the day, as we are really tired from all the walking. Maybe we'll go out again later after a rest. #fb Had dinner at a small cosy shop. The wantons are bigger, better and cheaper than Mak's!! I will recommend 桂记云吞面 along Carnarvon Rd.
30 Nov 2009
Day five in HK. About to check out at 8.3am.
Went to the rooftop for the last time to capture the morning glory.
Checked in at the airport. Waiting for the flight at 11.35am. #fb
Ok boarded the plane. It's been a good trip with a different experience from my previous vacations. This HK trip wouldn't be smooth without technology. Thanks to Google Maps, Facebook, Twitter, IM. Most impt, unlimited data service!!! #fb TOUCHDOWN to Singapore land!
Morning to Day 4. Going for dimsum at Maxims then to Citygate factory outlets.
http://twitpic.com/re69b - Dim sum at Maxim's, located at City Hall.
When we arrived:
Before we left:
After the breakfast, we headed back to the MTR.
On the MTR heading to Tung Chung, the (2nd) last station of the line.
Tung Chung is where Citygate, the factory outlet shopping mall, is located. The train ride didn't feel very long, although it's actually one stop away from the airport. We forgot it was a Sunday, so that place was very packed. We spent the rest of the day there till about 3pm. I bought some shirts at Timberland and Esprit. Had lunch at Food Republic, tasted the Chicken Rice and "Hokkien" prawn mee. The chicken rice, apparently famous, tasted pretty authentic but the prawn mee lacks the prawn taste, it's more like a normal seafood noodles.
Done with Citygate. Now moving on to new destinations.
We took the MTR to Mongkok, visited a few electronic stores but bought nothing. Too many people. Walked along Ladies Street and bought a cheongsam for Mayenne to don during Chinese New Year.
Back to hotel. Getting earlier by the day, as we are really tired from all the walking. Maybe we'll go out again later after a rest. #fb Had dinner at a small cosy shop. The wantons are bigger, better and cheaper than Mak's!! I will recommend 桂记云吞面 along Carnarvon Rd.
30 Nov 2009
Day five in HK. About to check out at 8.3am.
Went to the rooftop for the last time to capture the morning glory.
Checked in at the airport. Waiting for the flight at 11.35am. #fb
Ok boarded the plane. It's been a good trip with a different experience from my previous vacations. This HK trip wouldn't be smooth without technology. Thanks to Google Maps, Facebook, Twitter, IM. Most impt, unlimited data service!!! #fb TOUCHDOWN to Singapore land!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Hong Kong Nov 2009 - Day 3
28 Nov 2009
http://twitpic.com/r8r9i - We allowed ourselves to sleep in after 2 days of early wakes. A 9th flr view of hotel Panorama, 8.30am. http://twitpic.com/r9924 - First stop: Yung Kee's award-winning roast goose!!! Short walk from Central MTR exit D2. #fb
It's not as big as you think.
Those who like century egg will enjoy this. The yolk is very soft and doesn't have that strong alkali taste.
Good thing we reach there early. In no time, the place was full. We actually wanted to order just the goose but we didn't want to look too cheapo, so we order another kai lan. Our fears were unfounded, for many locals also went there just to order a bowl of goose noodles.
Yung Kee Restaurant
32-40 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong. (852) 2522 1624.
After the meal, we started our (or should I say, wifey's) shopping. She found the H&M outlet along Queen's Road Central and spent over an hour at the 4-storey store. I spent about 30 minutes, not finding anything that I like, then headed to the entrance to wait for wifey.
Standing near H&M entrance waiting for wifey. Alarm sounded, security asked person for the H&M shopping bag to rescan. No sound. Ok pass.
I thought to myself: if the shopper were to steal, wouldn't she put in her own bag rather than the H&M shopping bags? Ok the security checked another shopper's own bag when alarmed sounded again, but only because she didn't have a H&M shopping bag. The H&M entrance has lots of ppl waiting for their loved ones to finish shopping in the 4-storey store. Can stand but guard said no sitting.
Wifey finally emerged victorious with a bag of buys. We proceed along Queen's Road Central. We chanced upon this little girl distributing leaflets to promote a children's boutique. She looked very pretty, so we asked for a photo snap.
Lots of Christmas deco for sale.
Our next stop, Mak's Noodles.
http://twitpic.com/r9zkl - Now at Mak's Noodles to try their wanton mee, so good that even Sunday Times mentioned in Mar 12 2000 http://twitpic.com/raas4 - Waiting in line for Lucky Dessert, opposite World Trade Centre along Jaffe Road.
We were recommended to try Mango Grapefruit & Sago Sweet Soup 楊枝金露 and Durian Glutinous Rice Roll.
After the dessert, we headed to Hang Lung Centre, where there is a factory outlet of shoes. Then while thinking of what to eat for dinner, Angie suggested we go to Jiu Ji Beef Noodles at Gough Street, which is back to Sheung Wan MTR. Again, thanks to Google Maps, we figured a short cut through the lanes to get to our destination.
http://twitpic.com/raptb - We walked really far just to eat this beef noodles at 21 Gough St. And it's worth it.
http://twitpic.com/raqvi - Shopped at the smallest Toys'R'us ever, but bought the biggest Transformers find: 7 Devastator mini figures!!! Got back hotel. Our legs can't take us any further. Maybe later we might go out for supper. #fb http://twitpic.com/rb874 - Waiting for our BBQ hotdog for supper. http://twitpic.com/rb90q - Hotel Panorama got a great view & wind at 40th floor! Finally i'm feeling winter! #fb
That ends our Day 3!
http://twitpic.com/r8r9i - We allowed ourselves to sleep in after 2 days of early wakes. A 9th flr view of hotel Panorama, 8.30am. http://twitpic.com/r9924 - First stop: Yung Kee's award-winning roast goose!!! Short walk from Central MTR exit D2. #fb
It's not as big as you think.
Those who like century egg will enjoy this. The yolk is very soft and doesn't have that strong alkali taste.Good thing we reach there early. In no time, the place was full. We actually wanted to order just the goose but we didn't want to look too cheapo, so we order another kai lan. Our fears were unfounded, for many locals also went there just to order a bowl of goose noodles.
Yung Kee Restaurant
32-40 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong. (852) 2522 1624.
After the meal, we started our (or should I say, wifey's) shopping. She found the H&M outlet along Queen's Road Central and spent over an hour at the 4-storey store. I spent about 30 minutes, not finding anything that I like, then headed to the entrance to wait for wifey.
Standing near H&M entrance waiting for wifey. Alarm sounded, security asked person for the H&M shopping bag to rescan. No sound. Ok pass.
I thought to myself: if the shopper were to steal, wouldn't she put in her own bag rather than the H&M shopping bags? Ok the security checked another shopper's own bag when alarmed sounded again, but only because she didn't have a H&M shopping bag. The H&M entrance has lots of ppl waiting for their loved ones to finish shopping in the 4-storey store. Can stand but guard said no sitting.
Wifey finally emerged victorious with a bag of buys. We proceed along Queen's Road Central. We chanced upon this little girl distributing leaflets to promote a children's boutique. She looked very pretty, so we asked for a photo snap.
Lots of Christmas deco for sale.
Our next stop, Mak's Noodles.
http://twitpic.com/r9zkl - Now at Mak's Noodles to try their wanton mee, so good that even Sunday Times mentioned in Mar 12 2000 http://twitpic.com/raas4 - Waiting in line for Lucky Dessert, opposite World Trade Centre along Jaffe Road.
We were recommended to try Mango Grapefruit & Sago Sweet Soup 楊枝金露 and Durian Glutinous Rice Roll.
After the dessert, we headed to Hang Lung Centre, where there is a factory outlet of shoes. Then while thinking of what to eat for dinner, Angie suggested we go to Jiu Ji Beef Noodles at Gough Street, which is back to Sheung Wan MTR. Again, thanks to Google Maps, we figured a short cut through the lanes to get to our destination.
http://twitpic.com/raptb - We walked really far just to eat this beef noodles at 21 Gough St. And it's worth it.
http://twitpic.com/raqvi - Shopped at the smallest Toys'R'us ever, but bought the biggest Transformers find: 7 Devastator mini figures!!! Got back hotel. Our legs can't take us any further. Maybe later we might go out for supper. #fb http://twitpic.com/rb874 - Waiting for our BBQ hotdog for supper. http://twitpic.com/rb90q - Hotel Panorama got a great view & wind at 40th floor! Finally i'm feeling winter! #fb
That ends our Day 3!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Hong Kong Nov 2009 - Day 2
27 Nov 2009
On vacation but still have to wake up at 6.10am. Going to catch the 8.30am ferry to Macau.
We took a cab to China Hong Kong Harbour Ferry where we boarded the First Ferry Macau ship. We bought the tickets in Singapore via the Internet and so we just went to the e-ticket counter to get our tickets printed.
We chose First Ferry instead of TurboJet because
The above photo is Ponte da Amizade "Friendship Bridge", the man-made structure linking Macau with Cotai.
Once we arrive at Macau, we were advised by the tourist office to hop onto Lisboa Hotel's free shuttle bus that will bring us into the tourist belt.
Above: Grand Lisboa
Armed with the tourist map, we just walked down the main road and traced across several tourist attractions.
Below: this shop looks so rustic that the shop owner placed a "no photo" sign. Obviously his shop is a frequent target for avid photographers.
Finally approaching the main draw of Macau: The Ruins of St. Paul's.
Below, shot with Nokia E72. Looks fabulous!
From here, we walked back to Lisboa Hotel and checked out the casino. Angie played jackpot and initially lost almost half the capital. Then when she won back, I told her to let go, and so she won HK$9.50 (less than S$2). Wahahah. Then she went to another table to play some "wheel of fortune" thingie and lost HK$100.
By then it's already 1pm but we weren't hungry. I remembered there was this "Fisherman's Wharf" mentioned in the tourist map that there are some entertainment and shopping and I recalled \it was near the Ferry, so we tried to head back to the Ferry by hopping onto the Hotel Lisboa's shuttle bus. But neither did we realise that you can only take the bus if you had a ticket, and the ticket was given free inside the casino. We went back to the casion, found the staff and requested for tickets. She thought we were free-loaders, but we indeed played in the casino. Anyway, we got it and so headed back to Ferry.
Once we reached there, we found that the Fisherman's Wharf was actually quite a distance from the Ferry and didn't seem walkable, so we took a public bus and got off the next stop. And once we got off, reality set in: it's a freaking theme park!
I felt kindda cheated and embarrassed to bring my wife all the way there for nothing. So we decided to just grab a cab to The Venetian Macao, where it's guaranteed to be happening. With no cab in sight, we walked to Sands Casino and before we hopped on a cab, decided to visit the casino first. And wow it was much better than Hotel Lisboa. They had live shows featuring a guy performer with many other cabaret girls, with cheezy songs and dance movements.
And so we left the casino and walking towards the taxi stand when we saw The Venetian shuttle bus at the Sands Casino lobby area. Thinking that we might be able to hitch a ride, we walked further, and lo and behold! There really is a shuttle bus from Sands to The Venetian! We saved our cab fare!
So travel tip: if the Venetian shuttle bus at the Ferry is too crowded (and usually is), just hop on the Sands shuttle bus and transfer to The Venetian one.
Needless to say, The Venetian was breakthtaking. And by then, my ST550 totally died, so I used my E72 to shoot.
I had a great time shopping here. Bought some shirts, pants, a watch, some souvenirs. You can use HK$ in Macau cos it's about 3% higher value than MOP$. Technically, you lose when you use HK$ to pay for MOP$ priced items. Interestingly, some merchandise are quoted in HK$, like the G2000 I went. But when I paid by credit card, they will use the same amount and charge in MOP$. So you gain that 3%, but not withstanding the banks exchange rate.
We took the 8.30pm shuttle bus back to the Ferry terminal. Our e-ticket was pre-bought for 9.30pm trip, but it was just 8.50pm and we were already at the Ferry gate. We asked the gate keeper if we could just hop in the 9pm trip and he said no problem. Interesting, we thought. What if the Ferry was full? Perhaps they knew it won't be.
Back to HK! Waaaa! What an adventure in Macau, feels constipated not able to go online to share my experience. Now i can! So we saved half an hour's wait and reached HK around 10pm. We grabbed a cab back to hotel, but instead of heading back to our room, we walked to the nearest Guilinggao 龜苓膏 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilinggao) stall, the famous "Hoi Tin Tong" for our nightly bowl. And also got some BBQ sticks for supper.
On vacation but still have to wake up at 6.10am. Going to catch the 8.30am ferry to Macau.
We took a cab to China Hong Kong Harbour Ferry where we boarded the First Ferry Macau ship. We bought the tickets in Singapore via the Internet and so we just went to the e-ticket counter to get our tickets printed.
We chose First Ferry instead of TurboJet because
The above photo is Ponte da Amizade "Friendship Bridge", the man-made structure linking Macau with Cotai.
Once we arrive at Macau, we were advised by the tourist office to hop onto Lisboa Hotel's free shuttle bus that will bring us into the tourist belt.
Above: Grand LisboaArmed with the tourist map, we just walked down the main road and traced across several tourist attractions.
Below: this shop looks so rustic that the shop owner placed a "no photo" sign. Obviously his shop is a frequent target for avid photographers.
Finally approaching the main draw of Macau: The Ruins of St. Paul's.
Below, shot with Nokia E72. Looks fabulous!
From here, we walked back to Lisboa Hotel and checked out the casino. Angie played jackpot and initially lost almost half the capital. Then when she won back, I told her to let go, and so she won HK$9.50 (less than S$2). Wahahah. Then she went to another table to play some "wheel of fortune" thingie and lost HK$100.
By then it's already 1pm but we weren't hungry. I remembered there was this "Fisherman's Wharf" mentioned in the tourist map that there are some entertainment and shopping and I recalled \it was near the Ferry, so we tried to head back to the Ferry by hopping onto the Hotel Lisboa's shuttle bus. But neither did we realise that you can only take the bus if you had a ticket, and the ticket was given free inside the casino. We went back to the casion, found the staff and requested for tickets. She thought we were free-loaders, but we indeed played in the casino. Anyway, we got it and so headed back to Ferry.
Once we reached there, we found that the Fisherman's Wharf was actually quite a distance from the Ferry and didn't seem walkable, so we took a public bus and got off the next stop. And once we got off, reality set in: it's a freaking theme park!
I felt kindda cheated and embarrassed to bring my wife all the way there for nothing. So we decided to just grab a cab to The Venetian Macao, where it's guaranteed to be happening. With no cab in sight, we walked to Sands Casino and before we hopped on a cab, decided to visit the casino first. And wow it was much better than Hotel Lisboa. They had live shows featuring a guy performer with many other cabaret girls, with cheezy songs and dance movements.
And so we left the casino and walking towards the taxi stand when we saw The Venetian shuttle bus at the Sands Casino lobby area. Thinking that we might be able to hitch a ride, we walked further, and lo and behold! There really is a shuttle bus from Sands to The Venetian! We saved our cab fare!
So travel tip: if the Venetian shuttle bus at the Ferry is too crowded (and usually is), just hop on the Sands shuttle bus and transfer to The Venetian one.
Needless to say, The Venetian was breakthtaking. And by then, my ST550 totally died, so I used my E72 to shoot.
I had a great time shopping here. Bought some shirts, pants, a watch, some souvenirs. You can use HK$ in Macau cos it's about 3% higher value than MOP$. Technically, you lose when you use HK$ to pay for MOP$ priced items. Interestingly, some merchandise are quoted in HK$, like the G2000 I went. But when I paid by credit card, they will use the same amount and charge in MOP$. So you gain that 3%, but not withstanding the banks exchange rate.
We took the 8.30pm shuttle bus back to the Ferry terminal. Our e-ticket was pre-bought for 9.30pm trip, but it was just 8.50pm and we were already at the Ferry gate. We asked the gate keeper if we could just hop in the 9pm trip and he said no problem. Interesting, we thought. What if the Ferry was full? Perhaps they knew it won't be.
Back to HK! Waaaa! What an adventure in Macau, feels constipated not able to go online to share my experience. Now i can! So we saved half an hour's wait and reached HK around 10pm. We grabbed a cab back to hotel, but instead of heading back to our room, we walked to the nearest Guilinggao 龜苓膏 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilinggao) stall, the famous "Hoi Tin Tong" for our nightly bowl. And also got some BBQ sticks for supper.
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