As soon as I got my driving license I decided to shop for a car. Initially I was planning to get a new Honda Accord or something similar that costs around the AED100-110k range (~RM90-100K). Then I learnt of the thriving 2nd hand market here, and that I could buy from the showrooms, and they do all the testing, servicing and even put in warranties for a minimum of 1 year. So I went to check out a few second hand dealers and suddenly owning a luxury car seemed pretty do-able! So, I placed a deposit yesterday for a BMW 320i, 2008 model, 20,000K, 3 year full service warranty that covers everything except tyres plus a couple of very cool options, for a nice sum of AED100k. That's RM90k. Unbelievable..I figured this is likely to be the only time that I would ever drive a BMW as it's so cheap, so heck :) I'm hoping to get it latest by early next week!
It's interesting going around these 2nd hand car dealers, most are not interested in even talking to me, unless it's a proper showroom with english speaking sales people. I test drove a Lexus from a 2nd hand shop, the guy sent his assistant who couldn't speak English to get in the car with me. When I came back with the car, boss wasn't even around to talk to me, I was asked to wait for 5 mins till he comes back from prayers. 15mins later, still no boss so I left.
My colleagues are buying direct from owners and they have even funnier incidences. Yesterday, he went to check out a car, and asked to take it for a drive. Owner says no, because he took 1/2 hour to get his car parked 100m from his house and if he removed the car, there is no way he could ever find parking. So he asked my colleague to come back over the weekend! Then today, my colleague calls another guy, and the guy told my colleague that he asked too many questions and he can only test drive the car if he's really going to buy! He has also been trying to get some Audi dealers to let him test drive a couple of the 2nd hand units they have but it's 5 days later and they still haven't brought in the cars! It's quite funny but really infuriating as well. I'm so glad I'm sorted with the car, while I probably paid 10-15k more because I went to a showroom but being able to just breeze through the process really is worth something..
Monday, March 22, 2010
Ironing Shop Update
So..I went back to the ironing shop today to see if my clothes were ready. Voila, 9 pieces all ready and ironed perfectly.
But, where are my 2 pieces that I sent for dry cleaning? They couldn't find it in 5 minutes and I needed to leave as the cab was waiting..So fingers crossed that I will see my clothes again!!
But, where are my 2 pieces that I sent for dry cleaning? They couldn't find it in 5 minutes and I needed to leave as the cab was waiting..So fingers crossed that I will see my clothes again!!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Ironing Shop
I haven't ironed any of my clothes since coming to Abu Dhabi. Where I lived before, there was an in-compound dry cleaner who would also do ironing, which costs AED2.50 per shirt (that's like RM2.20 or AUD$0.90! Now that I've moved, there are a number of dry cleaners around my area. The closest is an "Ironing shop", who apparently also does dry cleaning but calls it an ironing shop because calling it a dry cleaner would cost AED500 more per year in registration fees.
So I went to the closest one today with my pile of clothes. My colleague had been there before (catch - he speaks Hindi, I don't!) and said they're fine. I rock up with my bags, 1 full bag of shirts and another bag for dry cleaning. The 2 guys stare at me.
I hand them my ironing bag and say "pressing only, ok?" and the other bag and say "dry cleaning"
Young Guy : "ah ok ok no problem"
Old Guy has quizzical look on his face, YG says something in Hindi and OG nods. OG gives me a marker pen and makes an indication to write on the plastic bag. I stare at them quizzically.
YG: "Phone number, phone number, name"
Me: "Ah ok ok" and I write my phone number and name on both bags.
YG: "OK thank you, bye bye"
Me: "No no, count how many pieces", so I start taking out and counting the pieces and write the number on the bags.
YG: "Ok OK, no problem"
Me: "Give me your number"
YG: "EH??"
Me: "Your phone number, mobile? Give me paper and pen" . I make a writing gesture
YG: "Ah ok ok". He gives me a piece of paper, I write down their number and name and the number of pieces.
Me: "When ready?"
YG: "samskera" (or something that sounded like that)
Me: "Err, when? tomorrow?"
YG: "Yes Yes tomorrow?"
Me: "Tomorrow yes? Or Monday (its saturday today)"
YG: "Yes yes, Monday"
Me: "Ok, tomorrow, or monday, or when?" and i proceed to count with my fingers the days of the week
YG blabs something in hindi, and it goes on for awhile. In the end I think the ironing is ready by tomorrow and the dry cleaning by who knows when. Actually I don't know if I'll see my clothes again..."fingers crossed!"
So I went to the closest one today with my pile of clothes. My colleague had been there before (catch - he speaks Hindi, I don't!) and said they're fine. I rock up with my bags, 1 full bag of shirts and another bag for dry cleaning. The 2 guys stare at me.
I hand them my ironing bag and say "pressing only, ok?" and the other bag and say "dry cleaning"
Young Guy : "ah ok ok no problem"
Old Guy has quizzical look on his face, YG says something in Hindi and OG nods. OG gives me a marker pen and makes an indication to write on the plastic bag. I stare at them quizzically.
YG: "Phone number, phone number, name"
Me: "Ah ok ok" and I write my phone number and name on both bags.
YG: "OK thank you, bye bye"
Me: "No no, count how many pieces", so I start taking out and counting the pieces and write the number on the bags.
YG: "Ok OK, no problem"
Me: "Give me your number"
YG: "EH??"
Me: "Your phone number, mobile? Give me paper and pen" . I make a writing gesture
YG: "Ah ok ok". He gives me a piece of paper, I write down their number and name and the number of pieces.
Me: "When ready?"
YG: "samskera" (or something that sounded like that)
Me: "Err, when? tomorrow?"
YG: "Yes Yes tomorrow?"
Me: "Tomorrow yes? Or Monday (its saturday today)"
YG: "Yes yes, Monday"
Me: "Ok, tomorrow, or monday, or when?" and i proceed to count with my fingers the days of the week
YG blabs something in hindi, and it goes on for awhile. In the end I think the ironing is ready by tomorrow and the dry cleaning by who knows when. Actually I don't know if I'll see my clothes again..."fingers crossed!"
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Driving License Yippee!
I passed my driving lesson today, so I shall go shop for a car this weekend. Cars are super cheap here..Initially I thought a new Honda Accord (~90k), but then I found out that I can buy used cars from the showroom and it comes with warranty so I figured might as well buy second hand. I went browsing with my colleague this evening and saw some pretty swanky cars going so cheap, so now I'm torn! A 2008 Merc C350 with 3 year warranty for AED115k, 2009 Lexus for AED110k, 2008 BMW 5 series for 125k with 3 year warranty, or a 2009 Honda Accord for 55k..hmmmm
Taking the test was interesting, and so were all the events that led up to it. I decided to take 2 hours of lesson from this instructor just to make sure I know what they're looking for..So I start my class, and he says you have no problem, just got to practise. Then I keep driving and making lots of u-turns and left turns, and then he asks me to pull over at this car park with no visible building around. I thought he wanted to drive but he asked me to wait. I was confused and walked out, but he told me to stay in the car, and he made the praying sign, waving his hands across his ears..and I went "Aaaah, i just gave him a ride to the mosque!" So i wait for 10 minutes for him while all these men walk across the car wondering what this asian girl is doing sitting in the car by herself. He comes back, I continue driving, and after 1 hour on the way back, he asks me to pull over the side of the highway where there are tons of cars pulled over with a cop too. He then told me to wait again, and I peek over the cars and lo and behold, there are people praying by the side of the highway with their mats! Amazing!
The test itself was 3 minutes long. Yes 3 minutes, no wonder people here drive like maniacs! We all get into this van (14 women) and follow the test car. Every 3 minutes someone else gets out of the van and into the car and does 1 u turn or 1 left turn, until everyone has had their turn. I think I drove the most, maybe 5 minutes as I was the last person to be tested and I had to drive back to the test centre. Hilarious! So I'm so pleased that this whole ordeal is over, though I'm AED1,300 poorer from it!
Taking the test was interesting, and so were all the events that led up to it. I decided to take 2 hours of lesson from this instructor just to make sure I know what they're looking for..So I start my class, and he says you have no problem, just got to practise. Then I keep driving and making lots of u-turns and left turns, and then he asks me to pull over at this car park with no visible building around. I thought he wanted to drive but he asked me to wait. I was confused and walked out, but he told me to stay in the car, and he made the praying sign, waving his hands across his ears..and I went "Aaaah, i just gave him a ride to the mosque!" So i wait for 10 minutes for him while all these men walk across the car wondering what this asian girl is doing sitting in the car by herself. He comes back, I continue driving, and after 1 hour on the way back, he asks me to pull over the side of the highway where there are tons of cars pulled over with a cop too. He then told me to wait again, and I peek over the cars and lo and behold, there are people praying by the side of the highway with their mats! Amazing!
The test itself was 3 minutes long. Yes 3 minutes, no wonder people here drive like maniacs! We all get into this van (14 women) and follow the test car. Every 3 minutes someone else gets out of the van and into the car and does 1 u turn or 1 left turn, until everyone has had their turn. I think I drove the most, maybe 5 minutes as I was the last person to be tested and I had to drive back to the test centre. Hilarious! So I'm so pleased that this whole ordeal is over, though I'm AED1,300 poorer from it!
3 Stooges the second time..
OK maybe it wasn't the 3 stooges but it sure reminded me of the incident..
I applied for internet connection at my new apartment from Etisalat (that's the monopoly provider here). The application was quick, fast, efficient and they said someone would call me in 2-3 days to install the stuff. Perfect I thought..
1 week later I still hadn't got a call from a technician. So I call Etisalat, and the conversation went like this:
Me: "Noone has called me and it's been a week"
Call Centre guy: "Mam, from your file, it shows that it is in progress, someone will call you very soon"
Me: "Ok, but when? I was told 2-3 days but it's been a week"
CC guy: "From your file, it shows it is in progress, a technician will call you very soon mam"
Me: "Can you tell me when I should expect a call? Then at least if there is a problem or if noone is working on it, I will know.."
CC guy: "It is in progress mam, and a technician will call you very soon mam, very soon"
Me: "OK, so when should I call back if I don't hear anything? How long, 2 days, 3 days, 3 weeks, 1 year???"
CC guy: "It is in progress mam, someone will call you very soon"
Me: "OK thanks" and promptly slam down the phone knowing that I was getting nowhere
Next day, still nothing, so I try my luck, hoping I can get someone else who can say more than 10 words
CC lady: "Yes mam, it is in progress and someone will call you very shortly"
Me: "I know, can you tell me when they will call, it has been 1 week, they told me 3 days"
CC lady: "No mam, it takes 14 days, so we are still in the normal time procedure"
Me: "14 days?? I was told 2-3 days!"
CC lady: "Well mam, sometimes it can take 2 days, sometimes even 1 day, but sometimes 14 days. Your file is in progress and someone will call you very soon"
Me: "OK can't you call the technician and ask him when he is coming? Or give me his number"
CC lady: "No mam, they are IT department, not customer service, we don't talk to them"
Me (still polite but boiling inside): "As a customer I call Etisalat, I don't care if you're Customer Service or IT. Why can't someone tell me when these guys might come so that I know when I should follow up if there is a problem? Should I call to follow up if there is a problem?"
CC lady: "Yes mam, you should definitely call to check"
Me: "OK when? Tomorrow, next day, next year?"
CC lady: "You can call us anytime mam, we can check your status online here"
Me (fuming): "Ok thanks"
CC lady: "Is there anything else I can help you with today mam?"
Me: NO THANKS (F**@(!)
Thankfully the guy came 3 days after I made those calls, within the 14 day period. Sheesh.
I applied for internet connection at my new apartment from Etisalat (that's the monopoly provider here). The application was quick, fast, efficient and they said someone would call me in 2-3 days to install the stuff. Perfect I thought..
1 week later I still hadn't got a call from a technician. So I call Etisalat, and the conversation went like this:
Me: "Noone has called me and it's been a week"
Call Centre guy: "Mam, from your file, it shows that it is in progress, someone will call you very soon"
Me: "Ok, but when? I was told 2-3 days but it's been a week"
CC guy: "From your file, it shows it is in progress, a technician will call you very soon mam"
Me: "Can you tell me when I should expect a call? Then at least if there is a problem or if noone is working on it, I will know.."
CC guy: "It is in progress mam, and a technician will call you very soon mam, very soon"
Me: "OK, so when should I call back if I don't hear anything? How long, 2 days, 3 days, 3 weeks, 1 year???"
CC guy: "It is in progress mam, someone will call you very soon"
Me: "OK thanks" and promptly slam down the phone knowing that I was getting nowhere
Next day, still nothing, so I try my luck, hoping I can get someone else who can say more than 10 words
CC lady: "Yes mam, it is in progress and someone will call you very shortly"
Me: "I know, can you tell me when they will call, it has been 1 week, they told me 3 days"
CC lady: "No mam, it takes 14 days, so we are still in the normal time procedure"
Me: "14 days?? I was told 2-3 days!"
CC lady: "Well mam, sometimes it can take 2 days, sometimes even 1 day, but sometimes 14 days. Your file is in progress and someone will call you very soon"
Me: "OK can't you call the technician and ask him when he is coming? Or give me his number"
CC lady: "No mam, they are IT department, not customer service, we don't talk to them"
Me (still polite but boiling inside): "As a customer I call Etisalat, I don't care if you're Customer Service or IT. Why can't someone tell me when these guys might come so that I know when I should follow up if there is a problem? Should I call to follow up if there is a problem?"
CC lady: "Yes mam, you should definitely call to check"
Me: "OK when? Tomorrow, next day, next year?"
CC lady: "You can call us anytime mam, we can check your status online here"
Me (fuming): "Ok thanks"
CC lady: "Is there anything else I can help you with today mam?"
Me: NO THANKS (F**@(!)
Thankfully the guy came 3 days after I made those calls, within the 14 day period. Sheesh.
The 3 Stooges
I had the 3 stooges deliver my furniture last Saturday. I bought most of my furniture from the same shop, and it is a pretty high end store so I did expect decent service. So 3 delivery guys rock up last Saturday and start lugging things up. The first thing they say is that it's 2 floors up, so high, no lifts! I had told the shop there were no lifts and they said it was not a problem as long as the stairway is wide, which it is. Then the conversation goes like this:
Stooge 1: "Mam we got big problem, your sofa too big, too high floors cannot carry, you got too much stuff you know, too much.."
Me (In my head - yes I bought shit loads from you guys so what are you complaining about) : "What do you mean? There was a much bigger sofa in here before"
Stooge 1 : "Oooh, but you got too much stuff madam, too much..it cannot turn, stair too narrow, we need help to carry. U know anyone to help??"
Me : "No, there is noone here to help. You can ask the washing machine delivery guys (2 guys were there fixing), but I don't think it is fair they should help, but you can ask them"
Stooge 1 talks to Machine guy in Hindi and the washing machine guy tells me that he can't help because what if he injures himself, which I think is fair enough
Stooge 1: "So madam, how now?"
Me (getting increasingly annoyed): "i don't know, you tell me! You want me to help, sorry I cannot carry a sofa! Why don't you call your office and ask them to send someone here, the store is only 5mins drive away"
Stooge 1: "Oh, it's very near mam?? OK I call them now.."
All this while, the other 2 delivery guys are not doing anything, there are only 3 boxes unloaded so far and in total there were more than 20 to be delivered..Stooge 1 gets store supervisor on the phone..
Stooge 1: "Mam you talk to the shop"
I start talking to the guy and he said the problem was that they needed someone else to help lift the sofa so that it can turn over the stairwell. So he said he would send someone over soon, no problem.
Me to Stooge 1: "Ok they are sending someone over, here talk to him"
Stooge 1 talks to the store guy, seems happier and the 3 stooges go downstairs to start lifting the other stuff up. They are up in my apartment with a new load every 15-20 minutes, so I wonder what takes them so long to walk up and down to carry stuff. I peer down the window that oversees the parking lot and realises that every time they unload something and go down, they start chatting, talking on the phone etc..geez
Then the 3 stooges come up lifting something that weighs 80kgs and puts it on the floor.
Stooge 2 : "You know this is very heavy, 80kgs, you see, 80kgs! U have water, water??!"
He then wipes his hand over his forehead and throws the sweat all over my box in a very melodramatic matter.
I was already very annoyed at that point, plus all his sweat all over my box! So i gave him toilet paper and said I would go and get water for them. They take another hour to unload and then there is nothing else but the sofas. The store guy hasn't come, and hey guess what, the 3 stooges manage to carry the sofa up without the help of the 4th person. What drama queens, obviously they were just moaning about having to do their jobs.
They then proceed to assemble my furniture and the whole process from the time they come till they left took about 2.5 hours. I only had 2 sofas, coffee table, tv console, sofa bed, dining table and chairs, a bed and a dresser. These guys were a hoot, and they expected a tip as well! Funnily enough, a colleague bought a fridge from the same shop and started talking about the 3 stooges behaving exactly the same way about lugging up his fridge - too high, too heavy, too much. When I look back it's funny but geez, these people sure have something to learn!
Stooge 1: "Mam we got big problem, your sofa too big, too high floors cannot carry, you got too much stuff you know, too much.."
Me (In my head - yes I bought shit loads from you guys so what are you complaining about) : "What do you mean? There was a much bigger sofa in here before"
Stooge 1 : "Oooh, but you got too much stuff madam, too much..it cannot turn, stair too narrow, we need help to carry. U know anyone to help??"
Me : "No, there is noone here to help. You can ask the washing machine delivery guys (2 guys were there fixing), but I don't think it is fair they should help, but you can ask them"
Stooge 1 talks to Machine guy in Hindi and the washing machine guy tells me that he can't help because what if he injures himself, which I think is fair enough
Stooge 1: "So madam, how now?"
Me (getting increasingly annoyed): "i don't know, you tell me! You want me to help, sorry I cannot carry a sofa! Why don't you call your office and ask them to send someone here, the store is only 5mins drive away"
Stooge 1: "Oh, it's very near mam?? OK I call them now.."
All this while, the other 2 delivery guys are not doing anything, there are only 3 boxes unloaded so far and in total there were more than 20 to be delivered..Stooge 1 gets store supervisor on the phone..
Stooge 1: "Mam you talk to the shop"
I start talking to the guy and he said the problem was that they needed someone else to help lift the sofa so that it can turn over the stairwell. So he said he would send someone over soon, no problem.
Me to Stooge 1: "Ok they are sending someone over, here talk to him"
Stooge 1 talks to the store guy, seems happier and the 3 stooges go downstairs to start lifting the other stuff up. They are up in my apartment with a new load every 15-20 minutes, so I wonder what takes them so long to walk up and down to carry stuff. I peer down the window that oversees the parking lot and realises that every time they unload something and go down, they start chatting, talking on the phone etc..geez
Then the 3 stooges come up lifting something that weighs 80kgs and puts it on the floor.
Stooge 2 : "You know this is very heavy, 80kgs, you see, 80kgs! U have water, water??!"
He then wipes his hand over his forehead and throws the sweat all over my box in a very melodramatic matter.
I was already very annoyed at that point, plus all his sweat all over my box! So i gave him toilet paper and said I would go and get water for them. They take another hour to unload and then there is nothing else but the sofas. The store guy hasn't come, and hey guess what, the 3 stooges manage to carry the sofa up without the help of the 4th person. What drama queens, obviously they were just moaning about having to do their jobs.
They then proceed to assemble my furniture and the whole process from the time they come till they left took about 2.5 hours. I only had 2 sofas, coffee table, tv console, sofa bed, dining table and chairs, a bed and a dresser. These guys were a hoot, and they expected a tip as well! Funnily enough, a colleague bought a fridge from the same shop and started talking about the 3 stooges behaving exactly the same way about lugging up his fridge - too high, too heavy, too much. When I look back it's funny but geez, these people sure have something to learn!
A week of craziness
I haven't had internet the last week at my old apartment or my new apartment hence my long silence..It has been a nutty week, with all the moving stress and crazy Abu Dhabi nuances!
The biggest thing that happened was a sudden departure of a colleague within a few hours of being told that he had to leave..it was pretty upsetting for all of us and definitely made me reflect on my very fragile position here. It took us a few days to get over it and for morale to pick up again but I guess that is life..
I've finally moved into my new pad and have been making many frequent trips to Ikea and other shops. I hate not having a car, I can't carry that much into a cab and it's so frustrating to have to keep making trips up and down. The worst thing is that I think either I'm jinxed or the quality of stuff here is really bad, or maybe a combination of both!
It started with my pot set - i bought a set of 5 pots in a box, I did not check it which was very stupid of me, and when i came home there were only 4 pots in there. So I had to go back to the shop and tell them what happened and luckily enough for me they found an excess one, which I thought was mine until I came back and realised that it is the same size as one of the other pots argh! So I decided to leave it and have 2 similar size pots, the hassle is just not worth it.
Then I bought a dinnerware set, the guy checked that nothing was broken before I left the shop, but when I came home and opened it, 3 of the plates were scratched very badly. So I had to bring back the 3 plates to exchange. I also bought a knife block, and when I came home to check, one of the knife handles was loose, so I had to carry that knife in my bag walking around the mall to exchange it. None of the above stuff are cheap things from Ikea, so I don't know, maybe I'm just jinxed.
Then I bought a dish rack from Ikea and when i came back to assemble it, one of the hooks was dented so now I have to bring that back for exchange.
The worst however, is that I bought a queen bed and mattress thinking that it would be Australian queen, which is the same as Malaysian queen. BUT NO, it's a king. Great..so now all the sheets that I shipped from Australia cannot be used! And there are no standard sizes here, every shop have their own unique quilt size and covers and I'm going nuts. So I'm going to struggle finding an Australian size, hopefully I do and then maybe I can use some of my linen..
Pretty tiring but I try to just brush it off and deal with 1 incident at a time..
The biggest thing that happened was a sudden departure of a colleague within a few hours of being told that he had to leave..it was pretty upsetting for all of us and definitely made me reflect on my very fragile position here. It took us a few days to get over it and for morale to pick up again but I guess that is life..
I've finally moved into my new pad and have been making many frequent trips to Ikea and other shops. I hate not having a car, I can't carry that much into a cab and it's so frustrating to have to keep making trips up and down. The worst thing is that I think either I'm jinxed or the quality of stuff here is really bad, or maybe a combination of both!
It started with my pot set - i bought a set of 5 pots in a box, I did not check it which was very stupid of me, and when i came home there were only 4 pots in there. So I had to go back to the shop and tell them what happened and luckily enough for me they found an excess one, which I thought was mine until I came back and realised that it is the same size as one of the other pots argh! So I decided to leave it and have 2 similar size pots, the hassle is just not worth it.
Then I bought a dinnerware set, the guy checked that nothing was broken before I left the shop, but when I came home and opened it, 3 of the plates were scratched very badly. So I had to bring back the 3 plates to exchange. I also bought a knife block, and when I came home to check, one of the knife handles was loose, so I had to carry that knife in my bag walking around the mall to exchange it. None of the above stuff are cheap things from Ikea, so I don't know, maybe I'm just jinxed.
Then I bought a dish rack from Ikea and when i came back to assemble it, one of the hooks was dented so now I have to bring that back for exchange.
The worst however, is that I bought a queen bed and mattress thinking that it would be Australian queen, which is the same as Malaysian queen. BUT NO, it's a king. Great..so now all the sheets that I shipped from Australia cannot be used! And there are no standard sizes here, every shop have their own unique quilt size and covers and I'm going nuts. So I'm going to struggle finding an Australian size, hopefully I do and then maybe I can use some of my linen..
Pretty tiring but I try to just brush it off and deal with 1 incident at a time..
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