The Good, The Bad And The Fucked Up.

The Good.

I received an e-mail from my Director of Sales in KL which contained a scanned copy of the official correspondence that they will be sending out to all our travel agents. It states that we will now only open our doors in the 1st Quarter of 2011. It also went on to state that we will open with the swimming pool ready which was originally scheduled for Phase 2. So... at least I now know more. That's the Good.

The Bad.

That's another 5 months of ding-donging around for me.

The Fucked Up.

I am of the same level of importance as the travel agents as my boss does not see it necessary for her to tell me on her own. Just copy me... hmmm... she really takes things for granted and maybe that's how they managed to build a property with no access road and the whole of Langkawi is laughing at us now. More on that later.

Last week, I forget which day. I got home late and found that there was no water in my unit. It being late I shrugged it off. The next morning, still no water. Hmmm... something wrong. I brushed my teeth with cold water from the refrigerator.... wow... you should try it. Then I decided to find out if it was just my unit or the whole block. I asked a couple of people that I met and they told me that they had water. So, I called my 'agent' and told her. She said she would call me back. An hour passes by and no call. I called her again and she 'sounds' surprised that the water had not been reconnected. She then tells me some tale of the owner wanting to evict me as he had other prospects. She claims that he can't do this and that she would call him again and if he still doesn't reconnect the water then she will make a report. I have seen the landlord before but never did exchange words. A short while later I hear some noises outside... the water meters are just in front of my unit. I open the door and there was the landlord reconnecting the water. I confronted him.

He said that he deliberately disconnected the water as he wanted me to call the agent. Apparently, she has not paid him the rent and she has not been answering his calls nor answering the messages. Then he say because of that he had to use his money to pay the landlord first. Huh? I thought you were the landlord? He says he is not the landlord but he lets on behalf of the landlord. Messy... now I know why I am paying RM850.00 for a 31feet x 14feet pigeon hole. Anyway, I told him that he should not have done what he did. He could have easily asked me to call the agent and I would have.

I then realised that when I signed up for this tenancy it was meant for a fixed period of two months for which I had paid in advance. I have since been extending month to month with no deposit. SO, they could kick me out anytime and I could disappear anytime... dangerous. I decided that it's time to move. I think I should find a place closer to where I work. 22kms away is ridiculous. So I have been hunting for a new place.

I found the ideal place HERE (click to see pics). It's about 350m away from the property. I e-mailed the guy and the rate was... RM1850.00 per month. I kid you not... Pantai Tengah and Pantai Cenang is prime area so rent is high. I asked around Pantai Tengah... there were a few units but none available at the moment and I was told the cheapest would be around RM1500.00. Then I moved on to Pantai Cenang to look for a place. I found THIS... and it's located HERE. I called the landlord. The going rate was between RM100-160.00 per day depending on season. She was willing to give me a rate of RM1000.00 per month but she could not slot me in for a 3-month stretch as she had taken some other dates as fillers. I checked all along Pantai Cenang... the range was RM1500.00 onwards. Rooms were between RM400-500.00 per month unfurnished. Just a bed. Utilities separate.

Finally, I got a break... on Ralph's recommendation (the tenant in the RM1000.00 unit) I decided to check out White Lodge. According to Ralph they might be able to give good rates for long term. When I got there I asked the chap behind the counter if he had rooms for long term. He said he did have units for long term but asked me why not house if long term? House? If you have houses why not? In fact I was actually looking for a house. He had two units... One occupied and one available but a bit run down. The rate was RM500.00 a month... unfurnished... two-bedroom.

This is the hall. It's pretty small but about the same size as my current hall though this is slightly narrower but longer. Note the door to the second bedroom. I CANNOT enter the rooms without ducking. The top of the door frame is the same level as my brow. They made these houses for people like Miss D and Lian. Hahaha...

This is the first bedroom located on the left of the hall as you enter. Enough space for a single bed, closet and maybe a small desk.

Second bedroom. Same size as the first. I dunno... my guess is probably about 8feet by 8feet in dimensions.

The mini kitchen.

The washroom.

Overall, I think it's about the same size as my current place. I'm sold on this place due to its proximity to the property and for the long term plan where I can use this as staff quarters and take the other unit as well. The logic is pretty simple... If I took a 3-bedroom apartment, which would cost me about RM1600.00 onwards I can only put 6 persons in an apartment, max... and it would be very far from the property. We're talking minimum 15 kms away. So, price per head vs proximity... this is the logical choice. I'll speak to the boss on Monday and hopefully I can move in next month (fingers crossed). Oh... for me... it's 5 minutes walk to the beach. For Lian... 30 minutes if she just woke up and 5 minutes if she has warmed up. Oh, yes... she walks pretty fast for a vertically challenged person. Hahahahaha... this is where the house is.

And before I go... the guy at the reception turned out to be the Director for this place. We got into some chit-chat and and he asked where I worked and so on. I was telling him that I needed a place due to some delays and he said... let me guess... no access road? Never mind... you can fly your guests in by helicopter or bring them in by sea... after all you are a 4-star boutique right? I just smiled but I would have smacked him for being so cheeky. I asked him... how would you know about the access road? He says... this is Langkawi... small place. Apparently, this is quite normal. Even his land does not have access. He is currently using the access at the graces of the owner of the land in front... a Chinese chap.

So... there you go. My thesis for this week. Hahaha...