Day 22 of the 60DWCC - Last Day of 2013

2013 has not been an easy year for the 3 of us but I believe we have manage to live through it pretty fine (no severe dents and bumps found the last time I checked). :P

In my opinion, living through life is very much like driving on a new and foreign road, you never know what's ahead and what's coming your way from a distance. But no matter how tough the roads ahead are in 2014, I believe the 3 of us will be able to 'drive' through it together as a family.

AT 11am, THL and I both agree that we do not want to stay at home since it is the last day of 2013, we wanted to enjoy the every last bit of 2013. We left the house around 1pm and we took a bus to Jurong East. We had lunch at JCube followed by THL ordering some ice-cream waffles for us at a popular ice-cream stall (Gelateria Italia) beside the foodcourt.

After we had our sinful desserts, we shopped around and THL managed to get another pair of 3/4 jean for herself. This is probably her last shopping spree in 2013. I hope...

Spent 2 Hours at West Gate

Yeah, i could believe my eyes when I looked at the watch, we spent the next 2 hours (almost) walking around West Gate, mostly around Isetan and basement stalls and shops. We had another round of tea-break at a Vietnamese stall before leaving for JEM. We tried one of the vietnamese popiah and it was very nice, the ingredients inside were very fresh and juicy. I am very sure we will be back soon to savour more items on their menu. :P

We bought quite a bit of necessities from NTUC at JEM and I was thinking that it should not be problem as we can always take a cab home. Well, to our dismay and utter disappointment, the entire taxi stand was very packed and after 5 minutes of waiting in the queue, THL and I decided to just carry our stuff and take a feeder bus home. While it is a kind of a hassle to have to carry all the stuff up the bus, it is far better than to stand in the queue and wait for at least another 1 hour for taxi.

To our surprise, the bus trip home was not as horrifying as we initially thought  since we were carrying quite a lot of stuff in our hands. The bus came within a minute the moment we reached the bus interchange and we were home before we knew it. We were so glad that we did not spent the extra money on taxi in which we would end up reach home at least an hour later. :D

We had claypot rice for dinner (from coffeeshop nearby) and we spent the rest of the evening in the comfort of our bed watching the countdown party at Marinebay on our 40 inch HD TV.

The 3 of us celebrated the coming of 2014 with a BANG! Yup, we fired a few party poppers and the 3 of us look forward to a better year ahead.

Happy New Year everyone!

Transport Expenses: $3.64

Bus Ride:

Bus to Jurong East => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

Jurong East to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82


Daily Afterthoughts:

Today is a very good example on why taking taxi is not always the fastest mode of transportation. While I do agree that we would have reached home much earlier had we drove a car but when it comes to justifying the cost of maintaining a car and reaching 10 - 15 minutes earlier vs taking a public transport, my wallet just could not agree more that taking public transport is a much better deal from a financial perspective. Don't you agree?

Day 21 of the 60DWCC - Busy Day Working From Home

The best part about working from home is the fact that you have absolute freedom on how you want to plan out the day. You can have a short break every 15 minutes, or have a 3 hours lunch break, no one really cares. :D But there are times when I have to rush out some work for my clients and yet have RK jumping and breathing down on me every 10 minutes or so.

Sigh.

That's life, isn't it?

At long last, after I was done with my work, I compensated RK by playing some online games with him. One of his all time favorite games is the Fire Boy and Water Girl series from Miniclip site. The series consists of 3 worlds namely Crystal, Light and Forest Temple. Each of the Temples has huge number of levels where the 2 players will need to work in unity (team work) to solves complex puzzles while collecting diamonds at the same time. It was really a fun game to play with the young ones.

Warning: The game can be addictive and never let your child play alone or he or she could easily spent 3 to 4 hours on it. You have been warned. :P

There are many other games over at the Miniclip sites and most of them are really great for training up your child's reflexes and creative mind.

At about 5.30pm, I went down to packet dinner back from coffee-shop and we had dinner together when THL reached home at 7pm.

Transport Expenses: $1.66

Bus to Work (THL) -> $0.83
Boon Lay Interchange to Home (THL) -> $0.83

Week 3 transport expenses stand at $174.85. That's like less than $60 a week so far, can't wait for see the figures for week 4.

Daily Afterthoughts:

It has been 3 weeks since we sold our car and to my surprise our lives have not gone upside down and in fact, I feel that I get to enjoy more quality family time with both THL and RK - something that would otherwise not be possible if I still have to drive the car and focus on the road most of the time. My attention would have been mostly devoted to the road and traffic and I would not be able to pay 100% attention to what they have to tell me. 

Ever since the car is gone, I have not had the chance to hear THL's "I told you" comments - THL loves to tell me things whenever I was driving. I have always hope that she can understand the fact that I could not possibly remember everything she said while I am on the wheel. Well, women are wired differently, aren't they? That's life again. :D

Day 20 of the 60DWCC - A Day Out at VivoCity

The 3 of us decided to take a trip down to Vivocity after we have settled our household chores and our usual routine. We had our breakfast at home and we left the house at around 1230pm.

We took Bus 99 to Clementi Bus Interchange and we had lunch at the Foodcourt inside Clementi Mall. The food there has always been both delicious and economical.

After our lunch, we took Bus 166 to Vivocity. After 25 minutes of bus ride, we reached Vivocity. We alighted and walked to Vivocity via the underground MRT walk way.

Since both THL and I has been looking around for 3/4 jeans, we shopped around for it and THL managed to get hers at Espirit for $50. After nearly 2 hours of walking around, our legs were tired and we took a short tea-break at Saint Marc Cafe which is located nearby Espirit.

After that we continued to shop around and finally at Uniqlo, I found the 3/4 pant that I wanted and since it was only $29 after discount, I bought it without much considerations.

We took a break sitting down at the Vivocity Sky Park enjoying the evening breeze and once RK and I have taken our fair share of the break, both of us went down to Timezone Arcade. I topped up some credits for RK to enjoy the last of his holiday escapade. :D

We had our dinner at a Pizza and Pasta shop which is located inside the Food Republic foodcourt. The pizza was quite good except for its thick layer of dough underneath. THL and RK did not complain about their Fish and Chip so I take it that their food tasted OK. :)

After walking around a bit more, we took Bus 97 to Jurong East Interchange followed by feeder bus home. The entire journey took about 75 minutes. RK and I did not really feel it as we were watching some Youtube movies over my handphone through most part of the journey. :D

Transport Expenses: $11.23

Bus Rides:

Bus 99 to Clementi Interchange => $1.11 x 2 + $0.55 = $2.77

Bus 166 to Vivocity => $1.31 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.2

Bus 97 to JE Interchange => $1.43 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.44

JE Feeder Bus to Home -> $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

Daily Afterthoughts:

Below is the time taken for the bus rides we have taken today and while it does take 1 hour longer across the board - compare to that of driving a car, I still think it is still worth it. If we are in a hurry, we can also hire or book a Taxi. Moreover do not forget that there will be extra time spent looking for parking lots.

Bus Ride:

Home to Clementi => 25 mins

Clementi to Vivocity => 35 mins

Vivocity to JE => 40 minutes

JE to Home => 20 mins

Driving Car:

Home to Clementi => 15 mins

Clementi to Vivocity => 20 mins

Vivocity to JE => 20 minutes

JE to Home => 10 mins

Total time spent on bus riders = 120 mins

Total time spent if driving a car => 65 mins

Day 19 of the 60DWCC - Long Distance Bus Ride to Toa Payoh

Unlike other Saturdays, we stayed at home for most part of the day. I managed to get some work done despite RK's constant attempts to torture and distract me. It has always been a challenge to work when you have a hyperactive 7 years old running around in the house, and taking every attempts (hair pulling, eyes blocking, talking and shouting etc) to prevent me from working and play with him.

THL cooked lunch and while it tasted good, the entire kitchen was again invaded by a strong pang of fishy smell. All thanks to the Saba fishes that we bought some months ago. THL and I agreed to never buy and cook Soba fish at home ever again.

After a shower, the 3 of us decided to take on the long distance bus ride challenge again. This time round, we decided to take bus 157 and travel all the way to Toa Payoh for dinner. Can we make it or will we surrender like we did the last time round when taking bus 30? Let's see...

The entire journey to Toa Payoh was surprising smooth and we made it to Toa Payoh in under an hour. 1 hour was only half the journey when we took Bus 30 the other time and it is pretty obvious that Bus 30 has many more stops than Bus 157.

The moment we touched down, our stomachs started to growl at us and so we decided to get some dinner fast. After a brief consideration, we decided to have our dinner at Mos Burger. The waiting time is shorter and the food is not as unhealthy as those from McDonalds and the like.

After dinner, we took a stroll around the central area and we stopped by the Popular Bookshop before heading home by Bus 157 again. The return journey home was faster and we reached our place in about 50 minutes. Thanks to the light traffic along the way. :)

Transport Expenses: $8.04

Bus Ride:

Home to Toa Payoh => $1.72 x 2 + $0.58 = $4.02
Toa Payoh to Home => $1.72 x 2 + $0.58 = $4.02


Daily Afterthoughts:

According to the GPS app on my handphone, the distance from our place to Toa Payoh is 27+ kilometers and it was easily about 55KM both ways. Driving a car for 55km is a piece of cake but when it comes to taking a bus ride with the bus making a stop about every 3 to 5 minutes, it is definitely quite a feat for someone who has been on the road for almost 10 years. I guess it will still take a while for my butts to get seasoned. :D

Day 18 of the 60DWCC - Dinner at Ayam Penyet Ria (Jurong Point)

Where has the time gone to...?

Time flies by faster than usual today. After my morning run and sending RK to the tuition center, I sat down to work on my project and when I looked at the time display on my computer again, 1.5 hour has passed and it really felt like only 10 minutes. OMG! I am late in fetching RK again.

Time Famine Strikes

After having lunch with RK at 12.30pm, I spent the rest of the afternoon slaving away on my never-ending projects. It was already 530pm by the time I am done with the daily financial updates and related activities. How I wish there are at least 8 more hours each day for me to catch up with all my work. :( I guess the fact that I am always suffering from time famine could be due to the fact that I tend to multitask and have always end up re-doing some of the work that I have completed. I will probably have to change up my working style soon.

After a shower, RK and I took a bus down to Jurong Point to meet THL. By the time we reached Jurong Point, THL has already arrived. We decided to have Ayam Penyet for dinner as it has been a while since we last eat there. So RK and I made our way there while THL queued up.

During peak hours like dinner and lunch times, there are always long queues and while the majority of the patrons are Malays, there are also quite a number of patrons from other races. Although the prices over at Ayam Penyet is definitely not the cheapest by comparison with other similar eateries, their food are always served hot and their service has been great so far.

We ordered some of our usual dishes and by the time we were done with our food, there was already a very long queue outside the restaurant. Thank God THL's transport arrived early if not, we could be the ones queuing outside. :D

We window-shopped for a bit before walking to the bus interchange and took a bus home. We stopped by Giant Supermart nearby our house to get some necessities before reaching home.

Transport Expenses: $4.14

Bus Fare:

Bus to Work (THL) -> $0.83
Home to Jurong Point -> $0.83 + $0.41 = $1.24
Jurong Point to Home => $0.83 x 2 + $0.41 = $2.07

Daily Afterthoughts:

Almost 3 weeks have gone by and I have to say the 3 of us have survived well without a car. We are getting very accustomed to taking bus rides and we only take a cab whenever there is really a need to. All in all, I sincerely believe we can easily make it to beyond the 60 days challenge.

Way to Go!!

Day 17 of the 60DWCC - Horrible Experience at Thomson Medical Center

As THL has a annual medical checkup scheduled at Thomson Medical Center (TMC), we left the house early to catch a feeder bus to Lakeside MRT. We then took a train all the way to Novena station. After which we took a cab (not knowing that there is a free shuttle bus to TMC) to TMC and managed to reached there at 9.20 am (10 mins before the appointment time).

As I was too lazy to climb the overhead bridge to the other side of the road where there is a coffeeshop, RK and I took our seriously overpriced breakfast at Delifrance - a Cheese and Ham croissant bread, a glass of lemon tea and a bowl of soup at $13. THL could not join us because she was told not to take any food before the medical checkup.

After our breakfast, our nightmare began... After nearly 4 hours of waiting, we were told the doctor has left for lunch and we had to come back in another hour. THL lost count on the number of times she had to travel up and down the lift just to have one checkup done after another - with a long time waiting time between each). THL & I agree that we will go to another medical center next year.

Our ordeal ended at 3.30 pm after paying the ridiculous medical bill of around $465 dollars. As it was drizzling, we took their free shuttle bus to Novena. The 3 of us enjoyed a short tea-break over at HANs Cafe and we walked around Square 1 and 2 for a bit before taking a train to Somerset 313.

At 313, we had our dinner at Marche. We notice that the variety here is not as good as the branch over at Vivocity. Anyway, we order a few dishes to share and we took a train home after that.

After a 55 minutes train ride, THL was too tired to walk home so we took a cab home from Chinese Garden MRT station.

Transport Expenses: $23.67

Bus Ride:

Feed bus to Lakeside MRT => $0.63 x 2 + $0.38 = $1.64

MRT Ride: $10.03

Lakeside to Novena => $1.77 x 2 + $0.58 = $4.12
Novena to Somerset -> $0.83 x 2 + $0.41 = $2.07
Somerset to Chinese Garden => $1.63 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.84

Taxi Fare: $12

Novena MRT station to TMC - $6
Chinese Garden Station to Home - $6

Daily Afterthoughts:

Although today's transport expenses were all time high (since we took 2 taxi rides), it could have been worse had we drove a car to the places we have been today.

Petrol consumption would have easily been $20 dollars, parking fees at TMC would have been $20++ for 6 hours of parking and parking at Novena Square 2 and Somerset 313 would have been $8 at least. Hence all in all, we could have spent at least $50 bucks on transport expenses had we drove a car.

Day 16 of the 60DWCC - Merry Christmas 2013

We decided to have a stay-at-home Christmas this year. There are arguably 2 reasons behind this. First reason (kinda lame one I know) is that the malls will be super crowded and the chances of us getting infected by airborne diseases will increase. :)

The second reason as you may have guessed is that without a car, commuting to some of the popular malls in Singapore (e.g.Takashimaya, Wisma, West Gate etc) can be nightmare (depending on what time you visit the mall) - imagine crowded trains, sardine-packed bus, majority of the shopping malls occupied by foreigners etc...haiz

Anyhow, RK was very anxious to have his Christmas present (Micro Chargers) unwrapped. We decided to get Micro Chargers as a Xmas gift for him because he has been eyeing it since March this year and despite his many attempts to persuade us to buy it, we did not give in to his request. We told him we may get it as a Christmas gift for him if he promise to behave himself. RK was also very happy as he watch us unwrap the little presents that he bought us using his own pocket money.

THL cooked lunch for the 3 of us. We catch up with some DVD movies for the most part of the afternoon. As I was also down with flu, I took a short nap after taking cold relief medication.

As for dinner, THL prepared Seafood BBQ dinner (remember the seafood that we bought yesterday?) and I have to say the seafoods were all very well done and the taste was fabulous. The only negative thing is that the seafoods left a very stinky smell inside the kitchen. Yuck!

We ended the night by watching some TV shows amid Internet surfing etc.

Transport Expenses: Nil

Daily Afterthoughts:

You Betcha! We definitely would have drove out somewhere had we not sold the car. Traditionally, we would have driven to places like Changi Airport or East Coast park to take a stroll and so on. From a transport expenses perspective, we would have at least spent about $20 odd dollars on petrol (enough for 80KM ride) and a few dollars more on carpark fee and so on. To me, Christmas Day is just another day in our life and what's really important (to me) is that I get to spent it with our loved one. :)

Day 15 of the 60DWCC - Christmas Eve Feast and Bloated Stomach

After my morning run and breakfast (at home), the 3 of us took a bus to Jurong Point to get some stuff from NTUC.

We had lunch at Old Town White Coffee at Jurong Point. The food there has always been decently priced but the same cannot be said about their drinks. THL ordered a small cup of lemon honey tea and we were charged $3.20 for that small mouthful. What a super overpriced drink...

Before going home, we went to the Fish Market shop at Jurong Point and bought close to $56 worth of seafood. These food is meant to be our dinner on Christmas Day itself. :D

We took a cab home and the rest of the afternoon was spent at home doing some cleansing and washing.

7.00pm - As it has always been, we would usually go to THL's brother house for Christmas Eve dinner celebration and this year is no exception. Uncle J (a close family friend of THL) came by and gave us a lift to THL's brother house.

The 3 of us enjoyed the huge spread of "christmas" food there and after all the picture taking and gift exchange, Uncle J was kind enough to send the 3 of us home. Yeah, the 3 of us came home with a bloated stomach and a huge bag of goodies (Xmas presents). :D

Transport Expenses: $9.52

Bus Fare:

Bus to Jurong Point => $0.83 x 2 + 1 x $0.41 = $2.07

Taxi Fare: $7.45


Daily Afterthoughts:

2 weeks has past and so far thanks to the very convenient public transport system in Singapore, we have not experienced any emotional setbacks. I can't wait to see our transport expenses for the first 30 days. Looking at the rate we are going, our first month of transport expenses may not even exceed $250 as opposed to $1700 (on average) previously when owning a SUV.

Day 14 of the 60DWCC - Scrumptious Brunch at TimHoWan - Singapore's Most Popular Tim Sum Restaurant

Having seen it been advertised on TV commercials and across various variety shows, THL and I decided to pamper our taste buds by having brunch at TimHoWan. This treat is also partly to compensate our tummies for the overpriced and low quality food that we ate the night before.

Since it was already 10.40am, we took a taxi to JEM and walked through to the restaurant at West gate. The restaurant's opening is 11am but we thought we would be among the first few customers to queue up since the 3 of us managed to reach there slightly before 11am. Ha...being kiasu singaporeans ourselves, we should have known better. A long queue has already formed by the time we reached there and by the time the restaurant opens, we were only among the first batch of customers to get seated. We had to hold on to our groaning tummy and waited on the queue for another 35 minutes before we were being ushered to our place inside.

Revenge of the Tummy

The 3 of us were so hungry we ordered about 10 dishes including desserts and we managed to devour all of them within an hour. Below are a few of the dishes that we manage to take picture of before they were gone.

Are the Tim Sum at TimHoWan more expensive than the typical Tim Sum? Yes. But they are not overpriced because they are really very well done and the fillings within most of the Tim Sum dishes are generous hence THL and I feel that they were all worth their $4 to $5 a dish prices.

After the brunch, we took MRT train down to Orchard to satisfy our craving for last minute Christmas shopping. The journey downtown was pretty smooth with no nasty traffic jams to tackle with, no carpark "full" headaches to worry about, we were able to shop till our heart's content without feeling a pinch for the car park charges which were usually more than $10 for just a few hours of parking.

We were able to shop from ION Orchard to Wisma and then to Takashimaya and all the way to Paragon. RK bought both of us a gift and he paid for them using his pocket money. Cool! :) There is a new confectionary shop at Takashimaya basement and THL could not resist and bought some breads for tomorrow morning's breakfast.

We took Bus 502 back home after we could no longer feel our legs (too tired to walk anymore). We had a somewhat light dinner at a nearby coffee-shop (if you consider Curry Fish Head a light dish) before going home.

Transport Expenses: $13.43

MRT Fare:

JE to Orchard => 2 x $1.55 + 1 x $0.58 = $3.68

Bus Fare:

Orchard Bus 502 to Home => 2 x $2.42 + 1 x $0.88 = $3.30

Taxi Fare: $6.45

Week 2 transport expenses stand at $116.59.

Daily Afterthoughts:

Today's trip down to Orchard makes me realize that while driving a car downtown could save us some traveling time but it will also give us unavoidable headaches such as:

• Traffic Jams
• Finding Carpark lots
• High Carpark Charges (especially at City area)

It has been 2 weeks since we go car-less and honestly speaking, I have not miss driving at all. Okay, maybe a little bit but not much as I expected. :D

Day 13 of the 60DWCC - Ugly Service from Local Coffeeshop

Since it was a Sunday, the 3 of us lazed around until 9am before having breakfast at home. After the first meal of the day, we watch a couple of China variety shows over Youtube until 11am before getting ready to go out.

Since tomorrow is the Lunar birthday of my mum, we decided pay her a visit today. Before that, the 3 of us took a bus to Jurong Point for lunch at Toastbox. The foodcourts at this hour are all super packed and so we have no choice but to get our lunch at Toastbox which is known for their overpriced and small-portion food.

Once we got lunch out of the way, we took a bus to my mum's place at Bukit Panjang. After a brief stay, RK and I went out to Bukit Panjang Plaza to get a birthday cake for my mum from Bengawan Solo and at the same time he also managed to grab a toy from Daiso for his entertainment at my mum's place. :)

Mum prepared some of her award winning Tang Yuan for us and it was really soft and tasty, it is probably better than those sold at foodcourts IMO. :D

5.15 pm - We sang birthday songs for my mum and THL took pictures of her and RK blowing the candles and cutting the cake.

6 pm - We took a feeder from their place and alighted at Fajar Shopping Centre for dinner. We had dinner at a Zi Char stall inside the coffeeshop - AStar. THL and I were totally turned off with the atrocious attitude of the service crew who took our order. We were told that if we could not think of what to order, we will have to wait for an hour if we wish to add additional dish in the future. That was downright ridiculous IMO! To be honest I sincerely pity the stall owner who hired this particular crew (fat and ugly lady) who was obviously trying her very best to ruin their reputation.

Another thing that makes me pretty edgy is that the A-Star coffee-shop drink stall charged us $2.50 for a simple glass of lime juice with a few plums added within.

The dishes of food came in slowly after 35 minutes of waiting. After the first few mouthful, we felt that some of the dishes were either too oily, salty or too bland. And what really made my blood boiled is that fact that the bill came up to $50++ dollar which is severely overpriced for the few dishes of low quality food served.

Poor Service, Low Quality and Overprice Food...I would avoid patronizing this Zi Char stall (Kim San Seafood) again at all cost in the future.

We took a cab home as it was almost 8pm. Had we taken public transport, we would have to take a LRT (Light Rapid Transport) to CCK (Choa Chu Kang) MRT station, take a connecting train to Jurong East and finally a feeder bus home which would have taken us more than 1.5 hours to reach home plus a transport expenses of $6.91. We took a cab and we reached home in 15 minutes time and the taxi fare was only about $4 more than that of us taking the public transport. Additional $4++ to reach home earlier and more comfortably, THL and I feel that it was totally worth it.

Don't you think so? :)

Transport Expenses: $16.76

Bus Ride:

Bus 157 to Jurong Point = $0.83 x 2 + 0.41 = 2.07

Bus 187 to Bt Panjang = 1.43 x 2 + 0.58 = 3.44

Taxi: $11.25

Daily Afterthoughts:

Although transportation expenses for today was the highest so far ($16.76) across the past 12 days, it is still very much lower than the daily expenses I spent on my SUV alone which was above $50. Hence from that perspective, I am still of the opinion that owning a car in Singapore is really like raising another child or paying installment for a 2 rooms Condominium.

Day 12 of the 60DWCC - A Heavy Breakfast at Long John Silvers Jurong Point

After procrastinating for a month, THL and I finally decided to bank in our big bag of coins at home. It has only been a few months and we have managed to collate about $350 worth of loose coins. :D

We took at bus to Jurong Point and we initially thought of having at Swenson but upon looking at their breakfast menu, we decided to give their severely overpriced breakfast a miss. We walked over to Long John Silvers which is not far ahead and we had a somewhat heavy breakfast there for half the price that of Swenson. As RK could not finish his share, I had to sacrifice my stomach space and ate some of his portion. :B

We banked in our coins at one of the local bank's coin deposit machine and we were always disgusted at the fee charged for depositing coins. This time round, we were charged nearly $12 for some $350 worth of coins.

Are the banks truly the modern day blood suckers?

We walked around Jurong Point after that for THL to get a few gifts for her family members and we took a bus home after that.

THL went off for her company dinner at around 4pm leaving me and RK at home. We took a short nap and we had Roti Prata for dinner at around 7pm. The prata from this shop is not really nice but it is good enough to satisfy both our cravings for prata. :D

Transport Expenses: $15.14

Bus Ride:

Bus to Jurong Point => $0.83 x 2 + $0.41 = $2.07

Jurong Point to Home => $0.83 x 2 + $0.41 = $2.07

Taxi Fare: $11 (THL taxi fare to and fro to her D&D venue)

Daily Afterthoughts:

Living standard in Singapore has really gone up tremendously over the last 2 years and I really pity those low income families who has to go on par with the raising standard of living. Speaking of which, just look at the fact that we can only "own" a car in Singapore for 10 years and after that we have to renew the COE again.

The Certificate of Entitlements (COE) had gone all time high since the last couple of years and if you still need owning a car in Singapore is cheap, think again. The money spent on a car in SG could really be saved and spent somewhere else (down-payment for Condo, Tour, Tonic, Enrichment programs for kids etc), no?

Day 11 of the 60DWCC - Watch Pacific Rim Followed by an Overpriced Dinner

The day went past quickly with me going through the usual routines. I did not go for my run this morning as I was feeling very tired and I was also down with a bit of a flu.

Both RK and I had McDonald for lunch while watch a rental DVD - Pacific Rim. It is a very nice show but the ending was somewhat unreal and short.

As for dinner, I arranged to meet THL at a nearby Kopitiam (singapore term for Coffeeshop) and we ordered 3 dishes from one of the food stalls selling BBQ stuff. The food (BBQ Stingray, Sambal Sotong and Butter Crayfish) arrived and to our disappointment, the portion of each dish was very little and yet they were charging $10 - $12 bucks for each dish.

The food did not taste particularly nice despite it being overprice and we both agreed that the stall has lost us as customer for good.

Transport Expenses: $1.86

Bus to Work (THL) -> $0.83
Bus Home (THL) -> $0.83

Daily Afterthoughts:

Many food stall owners are take advantage of the recent inflation by either raise the price of their food items or giving very much smaller portion of the food. Either ways, these greedy stall owners are losing customers and it is such stalls that usually close shop within a year if not months.