Friends Of The Zoo

We decided to take the plunge and buy the Family Friends of the Zoo membership. We even added Siti so she can come along and help look after OO. I think it's a wise choice seeing how OO loves playing water so much. Plus with the new Caddy I was more confident to drive such a long way to Mandai.

OO lazing on Papa after water play & lunch

OO watching elephants

Cheerful as we make our way home

Good thing is that it only takes 2 trips to make it worth our money. And thankfully OO is getting better in the car these days.

OO @School - Mid Autumn Festival 2017

I didn’t know it but OO’s school organise a walkabout with lanterns to celebrate Mid Autumn Festival. Its a good thing OO is dressed appropriately ... I supposed Meimei and Mama must have known about the event.

OO looks pretty happy and contented to sit and wait. When OO’s at school she is the nice and obedient little girl ... not the little bossy tyrant she is at home.

Mid Autumn Festival 2017

I didn't know it but Meimei had a KPI to bring OO downstairs to play with lanterns. This is a rare occasion where we let OO out of the house after dark.

OO was especially hyped about holding a lantern with a candle. She keeps trying to stare at the candle light through the top. I think it reminds her of the birthday cake candles.

We went down for a short walk around the basketball court. There were other older children playing with lanterns too. We took turns to take selfies with OO and came up after about 20 minutes. OO seemed disappointed that we didn't play longer but we didn't want risking her catching a cold in the night breeze. We'll go for longer strolls next year :-)

Bringing Back Our First Maid

Our first maid Siti has always been in contact with Meimei and Mama. She had just finished a 2 years contract with another employer and was back in Indonesia. She didn’t extend her contract as her current employer was not willing to give her 2 weeks home visit. 

Because she has been conversing off and on with Meimei, she sounded out she would like to come back to work for us. Meimei immediately jumped at the idea as we couldn’t take Emi no more. But I was cautious that she may be using us to come back to Singapore before jumping to another employer yet again. We made sure it was 100% clear that we would not allow her to transfer before her 2 years was up.

It's important we set the expectations right and make sure Siti knows we are having to spend a lot to hire her. We are giving up the agency fee we paid to bring in Emi and potentially incurring as much to bring her into Singapore. Plus Emi still has a month to go before she clears her loan, which we already paid upfront to the agency. That's money down the drain too.

A lot is riding on Siti owning up to her commitments. To her credit she offered to pay her own flight to Singapore. While I'm sure she thinking about not having to pay the agency several months of commissions, it is still a nice touch to show keenness. So it's up to us to see how we can bring her into Singapore.

Naturally the first step we took was to check with our current maid agency to determine how much it cost. And it was a shocking amount. It would cost us $2.6K for the agency to help bring in a maid. They cite that this is without a loan burden for the maid and engaging an agency helps to ease the immigration entry at both the departure and entry customs.

Hmmm ... it doesn't sound right. Singapore isn't like other countries. The rule of the law is strong here and procedures are nicely set out and freely available 24/7 on the Ministry of Manpower website. Why do we have to pay such a hefty sum to bring in the maid? I was expecting a couple of hundred as administrative fee ... not the $2.6K.

Meimei and I both agreed we were not going to pay this no matter what. We'll either live with our useless maid or try to bring in Siti on our own. So that point on, Meimei began her research on how to get Siti back as our maid. It's now about saving that $2.6K ...

So lo and behold ... Meimei actually did it! And it cost not more than $500. $500 vs $2.6K ... imagine the margin the agencies earn just to fill up a couple of forms on your behalf. I'll share how Meimei did it in the next post.

We brought in Siti a day after letting the useless one go. It's been a month now and the efforts are totally worth it. Siti is just as capable as when we first had her 2 years ago. Mama was able to go back to Indonesia for a break without worrying about Meimei and OO. We just hope she will stick around and at least complete her 2 years contract with us. If she can stay longer that'll be perfect but well ... we are keeping ourselves grounded for now.

Breakfast With Nyama

Sometimes we don't know what to get OO for her breakfast. Thankfully Nyama is always looking out for her little grand daughter. And good thing OO likes the buns that Nyama makes.

Uniqlo Discount Bin Shopper

I've recently discovered that there are good deals at Uniqlo if you don't mind digging through the discount bins. Well, if a T-shirt is going for $5, why not??

So I've been raiding the men's discount bins ever so often when I walk past a Uniqlo store. I just go straight for the bins and quickly check if there are any deals. In and out in like 5 minutes if I don't find anything.

Some are pricier at $12 like the collar blue shirt above but still worth it. I do notice that Uniqlo stores in neighbourhood malls tend to have lesser 'finds'. I think good deals are quickly scooped up by the aunties and uncles. That's ok ... the store at Plaza Singapura is always stocked with lots of cheap finds ;-)

Rubber Mats For The Caddy

I had initially planned to buy the original rubber floor mats from Volkswagen but $350 for 4 pieces is too steep. Plus there isn't any original mat to cover the 3rd row so those were gonna be customised ones anyways.

So we went for the customised rubber mats. $120 for 5 pieces covering first two rows and additional $80 for the 3rd with specific requirements to cover the under-seat of the 2nd row. This will help cover the whole 'walkway' into the 3rd row.

As with all things rubber, there was a bad latex smell when I collected it. I left it outside the flat to let the smell pass before installing it in the car. I'm pretty happy with the mats, they were cut nicely to size.

Our Little Farmer

OO looks so cute in the basket straw hat.

Early Take On Caddy Maxi MPV

I've driven the Caddy Maxi for a fortnight. Most people will say that's not long enough to make a credible assessment of a car. But hey I'm just giving my first impressions of it. So don't burn me if it doesn't sound right to you. Plus if it's that contentious ... all the car magazines reviews can go down the incinerator since the editors are likely only to have test driven the demo cars for a couple of days before writing their full page reviews.

Let's start off with the good points to ease us in. 

Space

I drove home from the showroom with 2 baby seats in the boot on collection day and have since been storing an old baby seat in there. We could even fit in our large Peg Perego stroller with the baby seat in the boot when we go out with OO. That's all done without ever folding down the 3rd row of seats.

Even with the big boot space, the 3rd row can fit an adult comfortably, making it a true 7 seater rather than a 5+2. I am 1.8m tall and even I can sit in the 3rd row with ease. And it shows in its dimension at 4878mm, which is longer than most MPVs.

And just this afternoon, I removed OO's baby seat and threw it to the boot to drive the rest of the team out for lunch. That's 7 adults seating comfortably, with 2 baby chairs, my laptop bag and other gear tugged nicely in the boot. The team was amazed by the sheer space the Caddy Maxi offers.

I doubt you can find this amount of leg room and boot space in another passenger vehicle at the <$130K price bracket. This is the biggest factor that drew me to select the Caddy instead of the Touran.

Cabin Height
Well this is a boom and a slight bane. Clearly the extra headroom is welcomed. It gives the whole cabin an extra sense of spaciousness. And I like to think that it helps with the air circulation as hot air rises to the top of the cabin. I don't get this splash of hot stuffy air when I enter the car after parking under the sun the whole day.

The bane of it is that you have to watchful of sheltered carparks you are entering. The Caddy's at 1868mm high and anything below 1.9m is dangerous. Imagine going up a hump in the carpark and hitting the ceiling ... Most shopping centers are at 2m, so only the old ones are of concern. I hear that the older HDB multi-storey carparks may pose a problem too at 1.8m but I park in an open air carpark at home and at the factory office so no biggie for me. A very small inconvenience for the high ceiling feel.

Gently Elevated Back Rows
This came primarily as a feedback from the family. Meimei, Mama and Sis gets car sick easily when sitting at the back. And I can appreciate why the 'movie seats' helps. The slight elevation between each row gives them a clear and wide front view which helps to alleviate any claustrophobia.

Alcantara Leather Seats
I didn't quite believe our sales rep when she told us that you won't feel the hot seat as much as traditional leather seats. I park under the hot sun all day and the Alcantara Leather really makes a difference. Where I used to have to lay a jacket on seat on my old Lancer so I don't get bum-burned, I can now get into the Caddy right away. Well it's not like there is no heat at all, but definitely something bearable to sit on.

Front Styling
I love the front styling and headlights. I know it isn't anything special as it looks the same as the Touran. But the Bi-Xenon headlights and daytime running LED lights really helps to take the 'Van' out of the Caddy. If I stare hard enough only at the front of the Caddy, my view gets tunneled to the nice grill, VW badge and headlights and for a moment I feel like I'm driving a Touran or Sharan instead. Hahaha I'm dishonest with myself like that.

Now for things I wish would have been better. I know it's not fair to compare features to other cars like the Touran. But I can't help but think some of these I'm listing are simple basic features one would have assumed is available as standard on any passenger vehicle, and more so for one that cost between the $120k-$130k price bracket.

Under-powered
There is a delay of about half a second between me pressing on the accelerator to the Caddy moving off from stationery. It gets more pronounced on a gentle slope. I suppose the 1.4 TSI engine is really meant to fit the normal Caddy rather than the Maxi version. Caddy Maxi's unladen weight is about 1,700kg compared to normal Caddy's 1,580kg so that's a good 120kg more.

My sales rep says it's due to the way I drive but I don't think that's the case. When I need to accelerate urgently, I would pouch hard on the pedal. There is still a telling split second inertia before it gives me a big jerk forward. I find it dangerous since a second in driving can mean the difference between filtering properly or banging into another car. And the sudden surge after that split second wait tends to deliver a somewhat uncontrolled acceleration.

So with the Caddy Maxi, I have to pace my drive. Only gradual acceleration, no sudden moves. No more trying to overtake a car unless there is a big clearance on my right. No more filtering into a main road without it being totally clear of other on-coming vehicles a 100m away. Somehow my old GLX, which is not a powerful car in any shape or form, does a better job of accelerating when I needed it. I'm gonna have to adopt a 'patient old uncle and stay in your lane' type of driving.

I do wonder though if the inertia is a reflection of a bigger issue with the gearbox or something? And not because the vehicle is under-powered for its weight? I suppose I'll never know. But for my own sanity, I try to rationalise the weight inertia in that the Golf (1,400kg?) uses the same 1.4 TSI engine  as the Caddy Maxi (which is 300kg heavier). Is that why VW Singapore doesn't have the Maxi version for test drive? Haiz ... If only they would bring in the 2.0 diesel version. I'm sure that would be better suited to the Caddy Maxi.

Slow On Gear Dropping
It likes to go up to the higher gears quickly but when it comes to dropping it's slow to react. So I will often be juddering at 1,100rpm on gear 6 or 7 and the gearbox wouldn't react till I press harder on the accelerator. Which results in a second's inertia and then gives the un-intended burst of acceleration. I would have preferred a smoother gear change, smarter gear drop. I wonder if you can program the gearbox to hold a higher rpm before switching to higher gears. Again this goes back to ... 'stay in your lane, drive patiently'.

No Auto Folding Side Mirrors
I'm not sure if auto folding side mirrors are considered a luxury feature or not. But the manual toggling is troublesome. More so as its on the same dial as the side mirror adjustments. I have to turn 2 clicks to O to prevent myself from accidentally pushing against the nob and adjusting the left mirror inadvertently. So that's another 2 click again to close the mirrors. Irritating. Hmmm why don't they just make a separate button for the folding mirrors ... or even better that and give auto ones. Wishful thinking?

No Auto-lock On Driving Off
How do I start on this ... What the fish?! I mean my Kia Rio 1st generation which I drove 10 over years ago had auto-lock. That was the most basic of cars, a truly crappy one. And yet it still has auto-lock on drive off. And you know what? ... When another sale rep was showing us the function of the Caddy during our vehicle collection, he tried scrolling to the convenience menu and stared at the menu for a few seconds before muttering "never mind" and moving on to the next option on the dashboard. Hahaha I think he was shocked to find the option for auto-lock on driving off missing!

I've since checked with my VW sales rep if we can do an upgrade to activate the function but she says it can't be retrofitted in Singapore. Sigh ... as a workaround I now have the whole family remind me whenever I drive off to manually press the central locking button. This must be one of those van legacy design which they have not switch for the passenger version.

No Fuel Panel Lever
I'm guessing this is another legacy design from the van version. Unlike a normal passenger car, there is no lever below the driver's seat to open the fuel panel. The panel is just a panel without any clip ... anyone can push it open. So to secure the fuel cap and prevent anyone from messing with your fuel, the fuel cap comes with a lock which unlocks with the car key. That means having to off your engine and get down to the back to open the cap before the pump attendant can help you with the petrol. An inconvenience I'm trying to slowly get used to.

Low Display Console
The low display console makes it hard to use the rear camera. Typically I would check my side mirrors as well and my eye has to dip up and down as I scan from left to right. So because of its awkward position, I often ignore the rear camera at familiar car parks like home and factory and rely solely on my side mirrors. They should have built it like the Touran where the console is at the same eye level as the dashboard and side mirrors.

Besides the good and bad, I think its important to note one key feature.


Manual Sliding Rear Doors
I've only driven sedan cars before this so I've never enjoyed the luxury of auto rear doors. I can imagine the convenience of toggling a button and having the door open on its own. But most sedan cars don't have this so I'm ok with the manual sliding doors. It's like a swing door, so on par for my case.

Also I like to think from a maintenance perspective it cost a lot less for manual sliding doors. No electronic gadgets to worry about. The sliding mechanism looks exactly the same as that of the Caddy commercial van so I think parts should be readily available. For me the manual sliding doors don't come as a disadvantage or negative point. But if you are used to auto rear doors you might think very differently. My father-in-law drives a Sienta with auto doors so he has been talking about how convenient it is. Oh well, to each his own.

So is it value for money? Personally I would give it a big fat yes for value, simply because one of my key criteria is space. No other model, as far as my research goes, has this much useable space as the Caddy Maxi at the <$130k price.

Did I think it was a good buy? Well ... depends. It's ok I suppose, we are getting reasonable specs (Highline version if it means anything). If it wasn't for the space criteria, I would have jumped at the Touran TDI instead.

If space isn't a big deal for you, there is a whole wide range of other cars to choose from in this price range - the Touran TDI, Grand Scenic, Grand C4 Picasso, Wish, Sienta, Triplets, Biante, Mazda 5 etc. This may explain why you don't see many Caddy Maxi's on the road. It's a niche buy rather than a model that would come readily to any Singapore buyer's mind.

妹妹 Angry *Grunt!

"Papi No!" Holds up her finger to lecture me. "妹妹 go take milk, Papi go in!" *angry face "妹妹 angry already. Humph!" "Wait Papa, 妹妹 wait for milk~!" "Papi~~ go in! 妹妹 angry" *grunts.

It was bedtime and we had just gone into the bedroom. Just as I was going to out to take milk, OO dashed out of the room ahead of me. She stopped halfway along the hall and turns her head around and stops me from walking out of the room. "Papi, No!"

Muhahahahha, she is mimicking how we would tell her to stay in her room while we go get the milk. She is reprising the role of the "adult" and now I'm the little kid who has to stay put in the room and wait patiently for milk. She even has the angry and irritated look, plus growls and grunts to make her point.

I was half laughing while playing my part. I stayed at the bedroom door while OO stands by the kitchen door to receive her milk from the maid. And OO would constantly glanced over to the bedroom to make sure I was compliant with her instructions. 

If only I had my phone on hand ... this would have been pure video gold.

Broken 2 Pin Socket

Ikea durability ... or lack of. I suppose you cannot expect much from a $5 lamp.

Battery For Parking Mode

I couldn't help but feel uneasy that there is no recording when the engine is off. I've seen numerous video clips where errant drivers drive off when they hit another. I was also a victim many years ago when a lorry hit my Kia Rio at a carpark and ran off..

So I decided to invest in the Cellink B3 battery at $300 (battery + labour). Took roughly half an hour to install. I hope I'll never have to download a video to catch someone crashing into my vehicle. Now if there ever is an incident, at least I won't end up regreting not fixing the battery.

But ... the battery is giving a minor sort of irritation. Hahaha .... it beeps! Once when I start the engine to notify that it is charging and twice when charging stops. That shouldn't be much if not for the regular one beep two beep during start stop. I tried googling but there doesn't seem to be a way to switch off the beeping. Haiz. Self-inflicted 'torture' hahahaha.

Nyama's Little Helper

Nyama: "请了一个临时工人仔，越帮越忙😂😂”
Meimei: “哈哈哈哈还要包伙食”

OO @School - Colouring Dough

Playgroup activities usually center around touch and discovery. This week the kids are given colouring and dough to mix and feel.

Kids take turn to mix the colouring into the dough and watch it transform in colour.

And then the fun part digging their tiny hands in to mix the colour into the dough.

Begone, You Useless One

We are sending our useless maid back to the agency today. She is already the 4th one in 3 years and it seems with each it gets worser. Below are pictures of 'washed' items. I think a big part of why OO keeps falling sick over and over since she started working was because of her utter inaptness in cleaning anything.

This one is as blind as a bat and going one step further with hearing issues. Meimei and Mama speaks Indonesian so the language is not a barrier. But speaking the language is useless if the maid is plain lazy and doesn't follow the instructions. She is so much of a sloth that Mama and Meimei couldn't help themselves but scold her off and on.

We are not expecting miracles. We know that if a maid can competently do a perfect job of cleaning the house and look after OO ... it's likely she'll never be a maid in the first place. So we have lesser expectation that either the maid does housework well or looks after OO capably. We will put in the time and effort to make up for the other.

But this maid and the one before failed at both. And hence they have to go no matter what ... it's as good as not having a maid anyways. More frustration for everyone and we still have to feed them. Phhhfff. Begone, You Useless One!