The only bit that matters. Easy two Range Rovers wide, with doors open.
The beauty of it is that the garage floor is near as damnit flat until the last bit that slopes down. Means jacking things up is safe. Most, like our current one, slope across the whole floor. One other we saw today was like a ski-slope!
As to the rest; 500sqm bungalow, three huge bedrooms (master with en-suite and dressing room - ooh, get you ), good kitchen with 5 burner stove and, more importantly for me and Tania, proper eye-level oven. Dining room, lounge and all sorts of other rooms that we haven't thought of a use for yet, a sheltered outside-y bit, with 3-piece suite, large garden, all sheltered with trees and a whole concrete shed, all for my stuff.
Got a very good deal on a two-year lease and will be signing up in the morning.
Oh, and yes, some handy watering holes nearby. A job for another day.
More pics tomorrow when I sign, just before me and Tania go demolish a breakfast.
The only bit that matters. Easy two Range Rovers wide, with doors open.
The beauty of it is that the garage floor is near as damnit flat until the last bit that slopes down. Means jacking things up is safe. Most, like our current one, slope across the whole floor. One other we saw today was like a ski-slope!
As to the rest; 500sqm bungalow, three huge bedrooms (master with en-suite and dressing room - ooh, get you :, good kitchen with 5 burner stove and, more importantly for me and Tania, proper eye-level oven. Dining room, lounge and all sorts of other rooms that we haven't thought of a use for yet, a sheltered outside-y bit, with 3-piece suite, large garden, all sheltered with trees and a whole concrete shed, all for my stuff.
Got a very good deal on a two-year lease and will be signing up in the morning.
Oh, and yes, some handy watering holes nearby. A job for another day.
More pics tomorrow when I sign, just before me and Tania go demolish a breakfast.
Happy with that, and it only took one day.
Not going to lie other than the visible children's cage that seems about 100 time quicker and 100 times more painless than I anticipated.
Not amazing kerb appeal but sounds like it ticks all the boxes... im sure a celebratory beer or two will be sampled once the deal is watertight!
Pete - Hate to point out the obvious but this is Manila - A location where virtually nothing that should be watertight is and everywhere else just floods !
Some of you will have read of my earlier abode moving shenanigans before. If so, you’ll understand what an utter, utter pain it is in this part of the world.
We’ve had agents who don’t talk, agents that show you places completely different from what you want and agents who don’t even listen to where you want to live!
We’ve had owners who lie, don’t honour deals, owners who are plain and simply bloody loco!
My advice, phone a friend.
Now, as an aside, I like a nice watch. I’m not a snob about it, doesn’t have to be Rolex (just as well, I’m not keen on most of them) or Omega, but do I like TAG Hueur. They’re good quality, sensibly priced, not stupid big and have one or two models I really like. To this end, I connected with a girl who deals in second-hand (or pre-owned in the latest parlance) and have over the last couple of years, equipped the family. I’ve always bought from Debs, she describes accurately, isn’t stupid on price and does everything she says she’ll do. So we’ve got quite matey over the time.
Now, it’s moving time again. We need to be further south than we are now, due to My Little Darlin’ wanting a career in aviation, so Parañaque (pronounced Para-knee-a-key, the ñ giving the knee sound) was our target.
I got in touch with three agents. 1, used Viber almost exclusively to contact me then, when she dicked me around, claimed it wasn’t her fault as she hardly ever checked her Viber account. 2, promised to call and I never heard from him again. 3, was very willing, great at contacting me, fit as a butcher’s dog, but the houses were nothing like I’d asked for.
In the meantime, I’d contacted Debs. “Looking at moving down your way, know any agents?”
“No, but a friend of mine is looking to rent one.”
Off we pop on Saturday morning. Saw the house, it was everything we’d asked for. I said what I was prepared to pay and Debs negotiated a deal that both me and the owner was happy with (so a good one for all). This morning, met the owners, signed up, paid deposit and security and get the keys on 12th March. How easy is that?
The place is vast. The main bedroom, as said before, has a dressing room and en-suite and we've two rooms (over and above kitchen, dining and lounge) at the front we don't know what to do with yet! Garden for the dogs, always in shade from trees, massive garage and a couple of handy outbuildings for storing my car bits and bobs. Happy with that.
Haven't found one yet, but then we've not moved in!
One concern was beer supplies. There's a 7-11 within Ate Crazy striking distance, so that's in-house sorted, but it's the local watering holes that are a bit of a mystery.
Obviously we've only been there bright and early on a weekend morning, so there's nowhere open anyway, but I don't know which of those I've seen are actually operational, or even if they're allowed to be at the moment. The latter varies from city to city within Metro Manila, so assumptions are wasteful
However, it turns out my garage and P38 owning pal only lives around the corner and, given we share a liking for the odd cold one, I have no doubts that I'll soon be up to speed!
Well, we’re off to a mixed start. We moved in (I say we, I’m here, Madam is still sorting stuff at the old place, so probably tomorrow) on Sunday, and today, Parañaque announced it was going dry along with implementation of the Metro Manila wide curfew to try and quell the latest COVID rash. Not a good start.
I’ve yet to work out how my sitting at home having a cold beer after a long day’s toil on the nation’s railways has any effect on the level of my infectivity, but apparently the city mayor deems the world to be a safer place if George has no San Mig, so be it.
However, and reminiscent of a WW2 arms drop to the French Resistance, “essential supplies” were delivered today from friendly cities unmentioned, but with an obviously more enlightened view on the matter and the neighbours haven’t yet keeled over, hacking dryly. So that’s okay then.
Secondly, we ran into a snag yesterday. The ’38 is too tall to go in the garage. To be more accurate, the height of the door, coupled with the steep slope at the entrance, meant that reversing in, even set to “access” height, was a no-no. I parked outside and pondered.
This morning, whist being told by a young lady at 7-11 that I couldn’t purchase beers, despite the sign on the fridge saying, very clearly, “Alcoholic beverages may be purchased between 6am and 8pm,” I had an Epi-fanny. That was whilst the centre of pivot, where the leading wheels were now up the slope and on the flat, was too far back when reversing, it may be doable if we go in forwards.
And so it came to pass (maybe there’s something in this being dry malarkey) and in she went with a good half inch to spare. Just gotta remember to drop the suspension each time. Mind, a hideous grating noise from the roof will probably serve as a timely reminder!
I’ll get a couple of pics tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I’ve got water running down a bathroom wall from who knows where. Plumber in tomorrow to sort that one.
All in all, though, we’re pretty pleased. Yesterday Madam came over bearing new beds, bringing a mate with her and it was very pleasant sitting in the plentiful shade of our very own mango tree, sipping cold ones, chatting, whilst the dogs ran loose and free in the garden. Very pleasant indeed.
Get this drink ban out of the way, and I could enjoy it here.
Glad the move went ok, at least the running water is in the bathroom!
I think the solution to the P38 height problem is it needs additional weight? so perhaps keep numerous cases of the beverage of choice in the back which will hopefully help with the height problem and beverage shortage?!!
I think the only reasonable solution to the height issues is to knock it down and start again. with a nice build thread to keep us all entertained with the additional antics of doing it all in the Philipines. Hopefully the "essential supplys" air drops can keep up with the cosumption rate.
looking at the gorilla cage again , i would have thought with the relevant persuasion/permission/teeth gnashing/back handers , you could cut out the row of bars above the gates and invert and weld to the top of said gates to increase had height but maintain integrity?
Glad the move went ok, at least the running water is in the bathroom!
I think the solution to the P38 height problem is it needs additional weight? so perhaps keep numerous cases of the beverage of choice in the back which will hopefully help with the height problem and beverage shortage?!!
And this is where the '38 has pros and cons. If I'd kept it in its as-bought "upgraded" to coils state, then with a couple of tons on board, it may have worked. Air suspension doesn't care how many bottles you stick on it but, by the same token, you can lower it instead.
Cant drink in your own gaff??!!. ..id like to see bojo try that one!
I know! It's the same with bars though. In Manila City, they've all been closed for the best part of a year, across the street in Makati, you can sit and have a quiet beer, no problem! If I drive a few kms north or south, I can buy beer with no issue. It's the inconsistency that does me.
I think the only reasonable solution to the height issues is to knock it down and start again. with a nice build thread to keep us all entertained with the additional antics of doing it all in the Philippines. Hopefully the "essential supplys" air drops can keep up with the cosumption rate.
I may be daft, but I'm not a complete and utter masochist! Having two mates who've built houses here, that's a very, very large no-no! Anyway, given my age, and their experience, I'd be long dead before it was finished!
looking at the gorilla cage again , i would have thought with the relevant persuasion/permission/teeth gnashing/back handers , you could cut out the row of bars above the gates and invert and weld to the top of said gates to increase had height but maintain integrity?
That was Plan A and I was going to speak to the owner yesterday. However, now she's off the road and safely tucked up, the urgency has diminished somewhat and the ability to reverse in becomes a "nice to have" rather than imperative. It can wait until we're chatting about other things.
The next job is to dog-proof the garden fence.
We've also got a couple of squirrels dancing about in the trees outside this morning. This is the first time I've seen any wildlife, other than rats, sparrows and beggars, in the entire time I've lived in Manila!