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Tea with AK71: A day at MBLM.

What is MBLM? It stands for Marina Bay Link Mall. This is the underground mall at MBFC, the development which K-REIT and Suntec REIT would co-own with each having a 33% stake.

I was wondering where should I spend my vacation which starts today and I decided to stay in Singapore instead of going overseas. I would spend time going places here and help to stimulate the local economy. Singapore's domestic economy has been said to be tiny. So, I am doing my patriotic duty by spending my vacation money here instead of going away to a foreign land. Ahem.

So? I like the mall. Shops on both sides, it has a wide centre aisle with high ceiling. It is defnitely less claustrophobic compared to the Citylink Mall (which I somewhat dislike). In time, with the completion of the Downtown Line for the MRT, I am sure MBLM would be just as busy as Citylink Mall but the generous space allowance should be enough to cope with increased human traffic. MBLM also serves the residents of The Sail and Marina Bay Residences condominiums. In fact, half the shoppers at MBLM I saw today were foreigners, probably expatriates, with kids.

Go visit MBLM before it becomes crowded. Now till end of the year, spend $80 at MBLM and we will get $15 shopping voucher plus 4 hours of parking for free. There is also an instant lucky dip to win iPads and iPhones but that's for weekends only and I was so hoping to win an iPad. :(

So, I got my $15 voucher, free parking, wrapping paper for Christmas and 2 lucky draw chances. Hope that I would win 1st prize which is for $8,000 worth of shopping vouchers! Then, I would go to the Apple retailer in the mall and get my iPad, Macbook Air etc. Wah.... Day dreaming. Nice!

Anyway, with 4 hours of free parking, I had time to burn as MBLM is smallish with a floor plan shaped like the letter "L" and not many shops were ready for business. I walked to Marina Bay Sands (MBS) to explore the shopping mall.  It was my second time at MBS which has a much bigger shopping mall.  This time round, more shops were open and I didn't have to pay an exorbitant $10 per hour for parking my car! That makes me happy.

Apparently, MBS is now giving free parking for the first 3 hours but one would have to spend $200 at the mall to qualify. I won't qualify. Free parking at MBS costs more than MBLM, if you know what I mean. MBS is for the well heeled, obviously. I like MBLM more which might say something about me. ;)

These are some photos I took with my free Samsung mobile phone which comes with a 5.0 megapixel camera built in. Pretty good shots, aren't they? I still remember when digital cameras were 1.3 megapixel in resolution.

After spending almost 4 hours at Marina Bay, fully utilising my free parking privilege, I went back to Tiong Baru and had a bowl of freshly made bean curd (dou hua) for 60c. Where to find? Tiong Baru Market lor.

Now back in my bedroom, with the air-conditioning set at 25 deg celcius and blogging. Time for a nap! I am a happy man. :)

Tea with AK71: Bought an iPhone 4, almost.

I am an techno dinosaur.  Till today, I do not know how to use Excel.  When a reader asked if I would consider starting a Tweeter account, I couldn't figure out the reason why I should start one. At a recent visit to a customer's shop, one person asked how many in the room had an iPhone and I was the only one who did not answer in the affirmative. Why an iPhone? Maybe, I am an endangered species.

A few weeks ago, I read that people were selling their iPhone 4s at $1,300 to $1,400 at Sim Lim Square! They would re-contract, get their iPhone 4s and sell them for a quick buck.  Does it really work? Recently, my contract came to an end and remembering what I read, I went to Singtel to see if I could get an iPhone 4 and, perhaps, make a quick buck in the process too.

Here's the deal: I had to pay $480 for a new iPhone 4 and upgrade my plan which means paying an additional $20 per month.  I did some math. It worked out to be $480 + $20*24 = $960.  I figured if I could sell the phone for $1,300, I would make $340 right away!  That's not bad.  So, I told the salesman I would take the iPhone 4. 

The salesman gave me a look, that kind that suggested he had seen my type before. Was I that obvious? Maybe, I took too long to do my mental sums.  He asked in a voice that sounded rather bored if I had made a reservation.  A reservation?  Yes, apparently, we had to make a reservation to get an iPhone 4 as there was a long line of people waiting! 

Wow!  Apple is definitely rolling in the dough.  This is the best kind of business to be in, goods are presold and no stocking is required.  A HTC or a Samsung and I would not have to wait.  Nokia only came to mind belatedly.

Anyway, I went ahead and made the reservation after being advised that it would take about 3 weeks before I could get the phone.  I then found out that evening that the price of the iPhone 4 had fallen to $1,080 in Sim Lim Square.  Apparently, the price was very high weeks ago because of shortages.  The supply is not so tight now.  I was too slow. 

I could still make $120 at $1,080 but the price could drop more in another 3 weeks while I waited for my phone. Sheesh! So much work for so little profit plus lots of uncertainty thrown in.  I will stick to a free phone.

Tea with AK71: Singapore is going strong.

Have you noticed how packed the malls are these days?  The fastfood joints are packing in the crowd even on weeknights.  Even the Econ Minimart near my place is crowded in the evenings.  What's happening? 

Singapore's economy is powering ahead and would probably take the number one spot as the country with the highest growth rate this year.  It is all very impressive but one wonders how much longer this level of growth could continue for.

The feel good factor has affected everyone for sure and two articles in Yahoo! Singapore, placed side by side, show consumer confidence alive and kicking here.

Serangoon condo sells like hotcakes
By Angela Lim – July 29th, 2010

Units at The Scala, in five residential towers, are between 472 and 2,142 sg ft each and range from one to four-bedroom apartments. They were sold at a whopping average price of S$1,150 per sq ft (psf), setting a new benchmark price for the area.

Demand for the remaining 300 units of the 99-year leasehold project near Lorong Chuan MRT station was so strong that organisers had to resort to balloting to decide who entered the showflats first.

Read article here.

Mad rush for Apple’s iPhone 4
By Ewen Boey – July 30th, 2010

SingTel’s iPhone 4s were available at their store at Marina Bay Sands, while M1 and StarHub had their launches at Paragon and Plaza Singapura respectively.

The M1 queue at Paragon was by far the longest as it snaked around the basement of the shopping mall, while customers at Starhub’s Plaza Singapura had to register first before joining the queue.

Read article here.

Should we start thinking like a contrarian? There is a saying in Chinese which translates to say "in times of peace, think of the potential pitfalls". Enjoy the good times but stay cautious.

Tea with AK71: iPhone with private videos.

I was surprised to see a Nuffnang ad in my blog just now offering a $10,000 reward for the return of a lost iPhone with private videos. Owner: Mr. Eddy Sun.  This guy must be in his early 30s going by his email address: eddysun77@gmail.com.  He lost his phone at Borders last night.

He has put up a blog just for the purpose of recovering his iPhone and it comes with a video clip of him making a personal appeal:



His blog: http://helpfindmyphone.blogspot.com/

I am posting this to help the poor guy spread the word since his Nuffnang ad comes and goes. I don't make any money this way but what the heck. Just trying to help.

If this is real, I wish him luck.  If this is a prank, it is in very bad taste and it's not even Earl Grey!