Day 53 of the 60DWCC - Here's come the Ultimate Challenge!

At 7am, the 3 of us reluctantly tear ourselves away from our beloved beds. Within 30 minutes, we were all dressed up and ready to take on the ultimate challenge.

First challenge came very quickly as we wait for a feeder bus. The typical time (depending on our luck) has been a few minutes, but today THL and I were shocked that it will take about 18 minutes for the next bus to arriving according to the "SG Buses" (a super useful handphone app to check the bus arrival time).

As we were already running late, we did not want to waste another 18 minutes for a bus so after we recover from our shock, we decided to walk to the MRT station which is about a few minutes away (normal pace).

And luck has it that just as we started walking towards the path leading to the MRT station, an available Taxi came by. Yeah...appeared out of nowhere! We flagged it down within a heartbeat and we were able to reach our destination within minutes at a very reasonable rate of less than $7.

First challenge down - many more to go...

The chain of CNY house visits went by smoothly as we were being offered a lift by relatives of THL. The next challenge came when it is time to visit my parents' place. The 3 of us were dropped off at Lakeside MRT and we took a train to Jurong Point. From there we had to take a bus to my parents' place. The waiting time for the bus was somewhat reasonable but the journey there took almost an hour. The bus was more crowded than usual and we were lucky to have a seat, we were fighting for fresh air...:(

We felt so relieved after alighting from the bus as we walk towards my parents' house. We left 2 hours later and again we took the same bus service to Causeway Point for lunch.

As most of the eateries were closed, we had to settle for lower quality food. After checking out some available shops, we decided to get our lunch at Chicken Rice Shop.

After a less than satisfactory lunch, we took a bus back home after walking around rows of closed shops. The journey home was another long 1 hour ride and this time round, the bus just left hence we had to wait almost 15 minutes for the next one to come. As we were are the terminal, we are glad that we are guaranteed a seat on the bus and to our delight, the ride home was smooth. THL and I even manage to catch a short nap during the ride home.

The 3 of us took along afternoon nap till 7pm after we are all washed up. The nap was to compensate for the lost sleep that we had last night. THL cooked some light dinner and we again spent the rest of the evening watching Korean drama and some TV shows.

Transport Expenses: $16.99

Bus Rides:
Bus from Boon Lay to My Parent place => $1.43 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.44
Bus from My parent place to Causeway Point => $1.31 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.20
Bus from Causeway Point to Home => $1.66 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.90

Taxi Fare:
Home to THL's mum place => $6.45

Daily Afterthoughts:

Phew...we are glad the ultimate challenge is over and we were all safe and sound. :) While we did encountered some unpleasantries, it was really not as bad as we thought when we come to think about it. The availability of public buses are obviously lesser when it is public holidays epecially CNY (as most Chinese bus drivers will be on vacation).

All in all, we still think that the taking of public transport during festive seasons is still bearable and we will continue to take them until we get our next car.

Day 52 of the 60DWCC - Final Round of CNY Shopping at JEM

Although THL and I have declared that there is nothing else we will need to get for CNY, there is always something that we will buy whenever we do window shopping.

After we do our last swiping of credit card, we had lunch at HANs. The food wasn't really nice today but it is bearable for our already hungry stomachs.

We took a feeder bus home after that. The rest of the afternoon was spent doing some light touchups. As we were too lazy to cook, THL and I went down to a nearby McDonalds and bought back dinner.

We spent the rest of the evening watch TV shows and the all popular CNY countdown variety at 10.30pm.

Transport Expenses: $2.91

Bus Rides:
Feeder bus to Jurong East => $0.73 + $0.36 = $1.09
Feeder bus from Jurong East to Home -> $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

Daily Afterthoughts:

The ultimate challenge that we feared most is tomorrow. The first day of the Chinese New Year. As we do not know what kind of transport challenge we will get into, we are all hoping for the best tomorrow.

Pray for us...:D

Day 51 of the 60DWCC - Another Round of Shopping for CNY Goodies

Today is a pretty routine day. Apart from me tying up some loose ends from the spring cleaning done a couple of days ago, there isn't much thing to write about.

As for evening time, after sending RK to his tuition class, THL and I made another trip down to the nearby central to check out more CNY goodies. We were also trying to get a new dustbin for the kitchen too, but too bad we did not see any that suits our need and taste. :)

Although we have declared that we have enough CNY goodies already since we do not really have that many visitors to our house during CNY period, we still ended up getting a few more - just in case. :)

The rest of the evening was spent watch the last episode of the TV drama from Channel U namely Served Hot.

Transport Expenses: $4.78

Bus Rides:
Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Boon Lay Interchange to Home => $0.83
Home to Nearby Central => $0.83 x 2 = $1.66
Nearby Central to Home => $0.73 x 2 = $1.46

Daily Afterthoughts:

Wow...9 more days and the 60 Days Without Car Challenge will officially ends. Will we get another car soon after that? Well, while the temptation to quickly grab another car is there, much considerations have to be taken this time round. Moreover we are still keen in waiting for MAS's latest ruling on car loan and percentage to be loaned to come out. So while waiting for that, we might go browse around for a few models that we are earmarked so far.

And who knows, we might just grab another one if the bargain is superbly good. :)

Day 50 of the 60DWCC - Both RK and THL Took MC Today

THL and RK did not feel well early in the morning. RK was down with running nose and THL had a sore throat. Both of them went down to see doctor at around 930am.

Today also spells the last leg of my spring cleaning journey. Cleansing of the indoor and outdoor windows was a tough job and I am glad I got it over and done with. Since THL and RK were not feeling well, I had to do most of the spring cleaning myself.

THL manage to cook us lunch despite her illness. We watch a few episodes of "Run for Money" show in Youtube and took a nap together in the late afternoon.

THK and I went down to buy dinner and we also manage to get some more CNY decor and we also rented a few more DVDs to tide us over the CNY period. :)

Transport Expenses: $0

Daily Afterthoughts:

Now that the spring cleaning tasks are almost completed, THL and I made a resolution to not collect or bring home any junks for the entire year. Will we succeed? No one knows but I do know that old habits die hard. :)

We will see what happen next year.

Day 49 of the 60DWCC - Reunion Dinner at Ding Tai Feng

I did another round of spring cleaning today - singlehandedly. Hurray. Yeah, it was another tough day but at least we are almost done with our spring cleaning tasks.

As we had reunion dinner with my family this evening, RK and I took a bus to Jurong Point to meet up with THL. She was already at DIng Tai Feng restaurant when we reached Jurong Point. The reunion dinner started shortly after my parents and siblings arrive. Although the service at Ding Tai Feng was a little slow but the food was nice.

After dinner, we walked around Jurong Point before leaving for home. My family took a cab home while we took a direct bus back home.

Transport Expenses: $4.19

Bus Rides:

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83

Home to Jurong Point (RK and I) => $0.83 + $0.41 => $1.24

Jurong Point to Home => $0.83 x 2 + $0.46 = $2.12

Daily Afterthoughts:

Today was a short day. Time always passes by quickly when we are having a good time. Anyway, the real challenge is days away and we are really looking forward to it.

Day 48 of the 60DWCC - Reunion Dinner for the 3 of Us

Sunday morning is the perfect day to laze around in bed. The 3 of us woke up around 930am. After breakfast, we resumed our spring clean activities until late afternoon. We took a nap after having lunch cooked by our in-house chef (THL). :)

THL and I decided that we should have our reunion dinner today instead of waiting until a few days before the CNY eve. Most of the kitchen chef would have returned home (foreigners) and local ones would have taken leave to do their last minute CNY preparation. So what's left would be those relief chef whom the skills could be sub-par compared to those full-time chef.

Therefore THL and I decided to have our reunion dinner early. We took a bus to JEM and we had our dinner at Ambush -a casual European dining restaurant. You may be wondering why are we not having our reunion dinner at a traditional Chinese restaurant. Well, since there is only 3 of us, it does not really matter what we eat for reunion dinner. It really doesn't matter what we eat so long the 3 of us are together.

After the dinner, we bought some necessities from NTUC before taking a feeder bus home.

Transport Expenses: $3.64

Bus Rides:
Home to Jurong East Interchange => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82
Jurong East Interchange to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

Daily Afterthoughts:

Actually the 3 of us do not really to have reunion dinner because we are practically having dinner together every other day. :) But since it is a once a year event, it is still heartening that we go out somewhere as a family to enjoy a good meal together.

To many more good and memorable years ahead!

Day 47 of the 60DWCC - Evening Out at IKEA

As it was a Saturday, we woke up late. At 10am, the 3 of us have breakfast at the coffeeshop near our house. THL and I took a bus to Jurong East Central after sending RK off to the tuition centre.

We have not been to Jurong East central ever since we sold the car. Although there is nothing in mind that we wanted to buy but we still ended up buying some brushes for the toilet and a floor mat for the kitchen.

THL and I started another round of spring cleaning after fetching RK back from the tuition centre. It was not until evening time that we finished the planned spring cleaning activities for the day.

We took a bus down to Alexandra after washing up. We had dinner at Alexandra food centre before walking over to IKEA to get some stuff (e.g. Kitchen push cart) that we have on our To-Buy list.

As one of the items purchased was heavy and bulky, we have no choice but to take a Taxi home. Thank goodness it was already out of peak hour and therefore the cab fare was only $14.40 upon reaching our place.

We ended the night catching up with our Korean drama (DVD version).

Transport Expenses: $20.84

Bus Rides:

Bus to JE Central => $0.73 x 2 = $1.46

JE Central back to Home => $0.73 x 2 = $1.46

Home to Alexandra => $1.47 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.52

Taxi Fare:

IKEA to Home => $14.40

Daily Afterthoughts:

Today is another instance whereby it is more useful and convenient to have a car than to take public transport. We would have been in a drastic situation had IKEA not provide the shoppers with a Taxi stand. We would have to carry our heavy stuff and walk out to the main road to either hail a cab or to take a bus back home carrying our heavy stuff. 

As the distance back to our home is not exactly a stone throw away from the nearest bus stop, it would have been very tiring to carry the heavy stuff all the way back home. Or what if the weather turned bad on our way home and we have to wait for hours for the rain to stop? Owning a car in such cases would have help us avoid such pain points but then how often do we find ourselves in such all-bad-cards-in-a-row situation? 

Once in a while...I reckon.

Day 46 of the 60DWCC - Another Spring Cleaning Day

After my morning run and breakfast, I began the spring cleaning work for both our living and study room. Besides spring cleaning, I also moved some furniture around to make the house more space efficient. The moving of those super heavy furniture was indeed back-breaking but I manage to get them moved single-handedly. A round of applause for me, please.

After getting the furniture moved, I started to spring clean and get rid of junks that have been lying around for months, if not years. I stopped at around noon and start to make preparation for RK's return.

It was another afternoon with me doing my work and RK taking his afternoon nap. We met up THL for dinner at Jurong Point and we bought a few items off our To-Buy list. We took a bus home after that.

Transport Expenses: $3.89

Bus Rides:

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83

Home to Jurong Point (RK and I) => $0.83 + $0.41 => $1.24

Juroing Point to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

Daily Afterthoughts:

I was surprise how much real estate was reclaimed inside the house with the proper placement of furniture and throwing away of unwanted junks. We probably moved in too much junks from our old house few years ago. Yes, I was also shocked that some of the junks have been with us since we moved in 3 years ago and we have not used them once. 

Do you have lots of underutilized junks at home? How often do you get rid of them?

Day 45 of the 60DWCC - Medical Review at NUH

THL is on leave today. She has a dental appointment as well as a medical review at NUH. She left for her dental appointment after we had our breakfast at a nearby coffeeshop.

I took care of RK's lunch after he came back home. After which we took a train down to my Mother-in-law place for her to take care of RK while I accompany THL to NUH for her medical review. The medical review is for the doctor to check on the recovery status of her knee which underwent a surgery last year.

After THL's medical review at NUH, we took a direct bus to my mum's place. We reached within 30 minutes and we stayed until 7pm before leaving for our dinner at the foodcourt inside the nearby mall.

After dinner, we took a cab to fetch RK home. Although the cab fare was quite expensive when you add in all the extra peak hour charges, it saved us a lot of hassle having to switch over buses to buses to fetch RK home from my in-law's place.

Transport Expenses: $26.92

Bus to Jurong Point (THL) => $0.83
Bus to Mum's place => $.78 x 2 => $1.56

MRT Rides:
Boon Lay to Pioneer => $0.73
Pionner to Jurong East => $1.03 x 2 => $2.06
Jurong East to Kentridge Station => $1.27 x 2 => $2.54

Taxi Ride:
Mum place to Pioneer to Home => $19.20

Day 31 to Day 45 transport expenses is at $124.53 which is actually lower than the first 15 days of the 60DWCC which was at $126.11. The next update would be from Day 46 all the way till Day 60. Stay tuned...

Daily Afterthoughts:

Although the transport expense is on the high side today, I seriously think it would have been higher if we had driven a car. (after we add in the petrol consumption and parking fees).

If only owning a car is as cheap as just paying for petrol consumption and parking charges. Let's say if things like road tax, car insurance and COE are non-existent, I think owning a car in SG would have been so much cheaper but of course there would be twice or thrice as much cars on the road than it is today, something which could be a nightmare to a lot of people.

Day 44 of the 60DWCC - Spring Cleaning Kickstarted

After my morning run, I decided to postpone my daily work till afternoon and kick-start the spring cleaning activity in the morning. This is mainly to avoid having RK around in the house when I am clearing unwanted stuff away.

After 5 hours of hard work, I managed to clear and clean up the kitchen dining area and it is not cleared of unwanted junks and is sparkling clean. :)

I resumed my work after I washed up. RK came home at 1pm and he was surprised that I was able to clean up the dinning area of the kitchen when he was not around.

*Please note that the below picture does not remotely represent the current state of our kitchen or dining area.

After our dinner, THL and I took a bus down to a nearby central after sending RK off to his tuition class. We bought some CNY goodies and 2 sets of Korean DVDs. After that, we took a bus home and fetch RK home.

Transport Expenses: $4.78

Bus Rides:
Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Boon Lay Interchange to Home => $0.83
Home to Nearby Central => $0.83 x 2 = $1.66
Nearby Central to Home => $0.73 x 2 = $1.46

Daily Afterthoughts:

I never knew it was so tough when it comes to making a decision to throw away unwanted stuff that lingers around the house. Besides being emotionally attached to those junks, I believe it is also because we do not want to throw away things that we think we may need it in the future (which usual never happen).

Clearing away junks is a lot easier when there is no one in the house to challenge my every decision to throw away junks that have not been used for a long time. Just think about it, if that piece of junk is already lying there for the past one year, there is very slim chance that we will ever need it again, no?

Day 43 of the 60DWCC - Family Emergency

Just as I was going to get started on my daily routine, I was informed that there is a family emergency. I told THL about it and she too, decided to take a day off. As RK was already in school, the 2 of us dressed up, had some light breakfast and left for the hospital.

As it is peak hour in the morning, we knew that getting a cab may not be possible. Nevertheless, we tried our luck at the nearest Taxi stand and true enough, there is already a few people in the queue and there is no sign of any taxi. 

After waiting for 10 minutes, THL and I decided to take feeder bus to the nearest MRT station and take a train down to the hospital instead. Just as we were at the bus stop, a taxi came by and I flagged it down immediately. We were lucky.

After many hours of waiting, we were told by the doctor that our family member is conscious and there is no life threatening signs. It was already 1230pm then, so THL and I took a cab home (RK comes home at 2pm) after getting our lunch at the hospital.

Th rest of the day went by smoothly and THL cooked dinner for us. We spent the evening watching TV.

Transport Expenses: $25.40

Taxi Fares:

From Home to Hospital => $14.50

Hospital to Home => 10.90

Don't ask me about the huge difference in cab fare, I am no longer familiar how they are charging for peak hours among other misc charges. But it is obviously cheaper if we take a cab between 12pm to 6pm.

Daily Afterthoughts:

The transport expenses incurred today was totally worth it. As it was a family emergency, such expenses is nothing compared to the many hours of parking charges over at the Singapore hospitals. And it is during such times (emergencies) that we feel the importance of owning our own transport. But since such emergencies only happen once in a blue moon (hopefully), there is really no need to be really conscious about it at this point in time. 

What are your thoughts on this? Do you feel handicapped without a car in Singapore?

Day 42 of the 60DWCC - Pre Chinese New Year Spring Cleaning Tasks

With CNY being about 11 days away, I reckoned that it was time to draw up a list of spring cleaning tasks. Although we have been doing weekly housekeeping and cleansing chores, there are things that we only do once a year like clearing of junks and white elephants inside the storeroom as well as   cleansing of windows around the house among other things.

• Washing and cleansing of standing fans
• Clearing of junks from storeroom
• Cleansing of windows around the house
• Shifting and moving of furniture around the house
• Clearing and sorting of Music CDs, DVDs in and around TV console
• Clearing of junks from Kitchen cabinets
• Clearing of unwanted clothing from our wardrobes
• Clearing and sorting of RK's toys
• Clearing of cobweb from the ceilings around the whole
• Removal and dismantling of unwanted and spoilt furniture

The above list does not include routine activities like vacuuming and mopping of floors, washing of toilets and mirrors etc.

The 3 of us did not go anywhere today. THL came back home after getting dinner. We will be making a trip to IKEA over the weekends to get some items.

Transport Expenses: $1.66

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Boon Lay Interchange to Home => $0.83

Daily Afterthoughts:

THL and I are looking forward to the ultimate challenge that is coming our way - the inconvenience of not owning a car during the CNY period. While it may not turn out to be as bad as we would think, we are already mentally prepared that it is going to be a tough ride especially if the weather becomes unfriendly during the CNY period. We are keeping our fingers crossed. :)

Day 41 of the 60DWCC - Chinese New Year Decor Shopping Spree (Part 2)

As the amount of CNY decor we have got is somewhat lacking, we decided to visit Chinatown today to buy some more as well as to continue our traditional practice (THL and I have been doing that over the past many years) of visiting the CNY stalls at Chinatown every once a year.

The 3 of us left the house early since it is a Sunday and it is fast approaching Chinese New Year. We had breakfast at Wendy's which is located underneath the Jurong East MRT station.

After breakfast, we took a train to Clementi station and took a connecting bus to Chinatown. Upon reaching there, we first went to OG to shop for THL and RK's clothing. We bought a pair of shoe and a few clothing for RK. THL also bought herself 3 pieces of upper wear. 

After we are done with OG, we crossed over and started our CNY stall tour at Pagoda street. We bought a few sets of CNY decor as well as some fries and drinks from McDonalds. 

After we have finished our annual "Tour of Duty" at Chinatown, we took a bus back to Clementi central. We had lunch at the Japanese restaurant at CityVibes.

After our late lunch, we took a train to Jurong Point. We had a bite at Durian Empire before leaving for home. THL cooked some light stuff for dinner and we spent the night watching some TV shows.

Transport Expenses: $15.43

Bus Rides:

Feeder bus to JE => $.073 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

Bus from Clementi to Chinatown => $1.35 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.28

Bus from Chinatown back to Clementi => $1.47 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.52

Bus from Boon Lay Interchange to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

MRT Rides:

Train from JE to Clementi => $0.83 x 2 + $0.41 = $2.07

Clementi to Boon Lay => $1.17 x 2 + $0.58 = $2.92

Daily Afterthoughts:

Since we have started taking public transport, we have the chance to visit quite a few new places which we normally would not visit had we still own a car. It is through these many bus rides that we have started to discover many interesting shops and eateries around Singapore. Now that the 3 of us have gotten used to taking public transport, there is a very high chance that we will continue to take public transportation even after the 60DWCC. We will most likely continue to go car-less unless the MAS make positive changes such that car loan can be serviced over a long period than the existing 60 months as well as for the car loan percentage to go beyond the existing 50%.