Friday, February 16, 2007

Taken for an easy ride

Today I caught a taxi from the Hotel Kristal to the closest Carrefours supermarket.
I paid 150 000RP ($21.00) for the 6 min ride.........Yes I really did get taken for a ride. Unfortunately I did not realise the discrepancy until I was half way up the escalator........
Mr Yardi and our security guard are giving me the sweetest lectures about my stupidity....
At least I won't do it again!
Apparently I could go from Jakarta to Bogor for this amount.

For reference sake and in hindsight, I should of paid about 18 000RP or $3.00.

I used a silver bird taxi, the reputable firm......

We have had to postpone the Friday night Margaritas at Amigo's Mexican restaurant due to flash flooding this afternoon. Saturday night hopefully will be alright.

We are off to the mall tomorrow as our security guard has informed me that he will expire without fresh drinking water. It must be socially unacceptable to pack a lunch box and a drink each morning before you go to work.
You can not drink the tap water in Jakarta and as we have no furniture in the new house the security guard is feeling unloved......
I wonder if it will be donuts and biscuits next month?
A nice man who lives down the road looks after the pool and garden... I asked him how much today and he quoted me 1 500 000 RP per month for gardening and pool cleaning 3 days per week (he must of heard how much I pay taxi drivers LOL) , I think I will get some advise before agreeing to this.

Ben and I are still feeling slightly under the weather. You can probably tell by the way I have be massacring the English language in my last two posts. (I noticed about 5 errors in a comment I left on Aces blog).

I have interviewed a lovely lady who is interested in a job helping me out at home. She has a sick elderly father who she has to make care arrangements for and then she will be able to work with us.

We signed the official lease yesterday, so the house is ours for the next 3 years. Today I celebrated by cleaning 2 of the 6 toilets and bathrooms. Unfortunately the house has not been locked for the last 2 weeks and the security guards and visitors have all been availing themselves of our facilities.....The CEO's wife sorted it all out for me, Ms A told them all to stay in the garage and maids quarters and locked all the doors. Now I have to figure out how to get a cigarette burn mark off the toilet seat.....

I had better go and have a glass of wine, I sound a bit cynical.

4 comments:

Stephanie said...

As always, your life sounds magical - burn marks & all! Sorry to disappear for such a time. I missed reading up on you & have my work cut out for me... I'VE 20 POSTS TO READ NOW! Bottle of wine? CHECK! Bloglines booted? CHECK! We're good to go.

Devi Girsang, MD said...

Just let you know, yes Silver Bird is the most luxurious taxi here. They have their own facilities to keep the passengers feel secured (as I heard they use satellite to be able to search the location of their taxis) and comfort. Perhaps you already knew about taxi crimes in Jakarta, just make sure you always see the driver's ID first before getting in car. ;)

Unknown said...

silver bird is usually very good, if you file a complain, they'll respond real quick, especially to that sort of abuse.

that 1.5m a month sounds reasonable, a bit high, but not too unreasonable.

tip: security guards and the rest of the household staff, get them a cheap small telly on the post, they'll watch the game all night and will most definitely feel the love.

stay dry

Anonymous said...

Nay, and I say again, nay! RP1.5 mill for 3 days a week? What on earth are they/treespotter thinking of?? Never heard of such a salary. A corporate driver in Jkt gets about 1.4 mill for six days a week 6am to 9pm.
The guy should get about RP500,000 for 3 days a week.
Good luck!