Showing posts with label big house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label big house. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The Big White House

Our Palembang house's rental contract will be due within the next few months. The land lord wanted to extend his lease for another 2 years but we are trying to get him to agree to the following first:

1) Repaint the walls and gates of the house.

2) Agree to pay for the repair cost for roof leaks (past & future).

3) Change a new set of sofas - one of the seats have broken through, the fabric is 15 years old and dirty!

We have been eyeing one of the corner houses on the next road to ours that used to be rented by a Malaysian. The guy had left and the WHITE HOUSE (everything outside and inside are all painted white) is now for rent.

I called the contact person to make an appointment to take a look. To our surprise, the house is actually very big inside. The master bedroom leads to another smaller room and a connected bathroom. The airwell space is smaller and does not have any ponds for our fishes. The kitchen is just adjacent to the living room without any partitions. There are 2 guest rooms but of a size smaller than ours. The place is also empty (does not come with any furniture). At the back there's a store room, a wet kitchen room, a maid's room, a garage for the car and a staircase leading to another level that has 2 more rooms and an open area (balcony) for hanging washed clothes.

This house's rental costs Rp50 million/year compared to our semi-furnished Rp30 million/year. The grass is always greener on the other side (its true for this house - they have nice Japanese spiky grass) but can we afford these kind of luxury? I doubt the company will pay 65% more for an empty house for me, my wife, my son and my maid....







Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Big Mansions In Palembang

In the city of Palembang, the poor can be very poor but the rich can be extremely rich.

Normally the rich Indonesian-Chinese would buy their own land and build their own mansions (or should I say "Palaces"!).

A few weeks back, I was invited to some parishioner's "blessing of the house mass". It was held on a Thursday evening. I think that guy invited the whole parish, including all the priests and sisters around the neighborhood.

The house was located near the Palembang Golf Club. We had to drive through several KMs of dirt road before arriving at this 30m x 70m 3 storey house. This guy Pak Hendra (Indon-Chinese) is a contractor that has regional offices in Jawa and Sumatra (big shot businessman).

The priest said mass and went to bless every room in that house with holy water (including their toilets). We had to sit in one of the 3 rooms outside the main hall because its fully occupied. After mass, we had a buffet supper session.

My wife would have loved to visit one of these houses. Unfortunately I do not know Pak Hendra that well to take her for a second visit.....

2009/10 United Squad

2009/10 United Squad

Kings of Europe 2007/2008 - Manchester United

Kings of Europe 2007/2008 - Manchester United
UEFA Champions League & English Premier League Champions