Rain and estate agents

It has been quite overcast since we arrived over a week ago but only yesterday it rained for the first time and well!!!! did it rain. It started to trickle down at about 3am and by 7am it was pouring buckets and buckets of fat, heavy drops. Locals have been complaining about the weather not standing up to the usual expectations in the past months due to an unusual lack of rain and it is true that the grass appears to be dry and patchy in some areas even if the constant humidity certainly does not remind one of the Sahara desert.

However the sun came out by midday and the air now is cleaner and fresher. I also wore a long sleeved shirt!

I am now sitting by the pool after a gruelling discussion with our estate agent. After long consideration we decided that the area we liked so much to the west of the city is not practical as it would take over 1 hour for Max to get to his office so we went back to the east of Singapore in District 15 for a second viewing of a flat we visited last week. The flat is on the second floor with a balcony that overlooks the long, slim pool. The flat is positioned in such a way it never gets the sun and there is always a lovely breeze. This will allow us to reduce the use of air conditioning which is good because we use less electricity but mostly because we really do not like the blast of chilly air in our faces. The floors in the living area are laid with white big tiles and the kitchen, though a bit on the small side, has everything we need apart from a dishwasher. Dishwashers are not very well known here as everybody has a live in maid so as usual we got a funny look when we enquired about putting one in each flat we visited. But the good thing about this flat is that one can take the lift to the 13th floor and walk into an open space the size of the whole building with decking and plants overlooking the whole city. One can see the ocean and all the tall rises and especially the almost completed Marina Bay Sands http://www.marinabaysands.com/en/index.html. Wow!

I must say that the idea of living in a rented accommodation once again after having owned our own house feels a bit like stepping back however the flat is only 3 years old and it is really new, fresh and bright . The estate agent has just called to say that the owner has accepted our offer which is below the asking price. Usually we try to be clever but we chicken out as soon as the stronger party gets stroppy. It seems that for once we win if only by a few dollars a month...:-).

Time for a dip in the pool, all this negotiation has made we sweat!