Tales by a Hoteliers Wife.

Long Time No Post

2009-10-05T12:37:00.000-07:00

Not much to blog about these days as the Hotel is still not opened for business :(

It's set to open Mid Jan so my blog will be pretty quite until then :(

hmmm ?!?!

2009-02-24T07:25:00.000-08:00

We received a letter from the Police yesterday requesting Name, D.O.B & photographs of all residents living in the apartment, I checked with a few other people in the community & they had received the same letter.

Before I filled in the questionnaire with Amelia Earheart & Jimmy Hoffa's details I thought I would investigate why the information was required & I came across this gem. (copy/pasted from http://www.planetpowai.com/news/2202200901.htm)

Yeah so If I disappear of the face of the earth in the next few days, You'll know why.

Tues, Feb 24, 2009
8:55:09 PM

NEWS Archive
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Police taking it seriously, no reason to panic

Serial Blasts Threat Warning on Builder’s Email, Hiranandani Gardens on Target

In an exclusive meeting with 'Planet Powai' the Zone 'X' Dy Commissioner of Police KMM Prasanna said, “There is no reason to panic, we have taken the threat seriously and swung into action to locate the IP address of the email sender. The police are taking all measures for security. I would appeal to each and every citizen to be cautious and alert. They should report any suspicious person to us immediately. Without public cooperation our task would become difficult.”

By: Staff Reporter

Powai - 22 February 09 : Are we on terror target? A serial blast threat email received on the 14th Feb night on info@hiranandani.net by an unknown person sent from karmavisva@yahoo.com has sent the authorities in a spin. The email went unnoticed until Monday on the 16th when it was discovered. The Hiranandani group's admin dept immediately reported the matter to Powai police and Zone X Deputy Commissioner of Police.

The said email states, “A person, who goes by the name “JJ” stays as a paying guest at one of the buildings in the complex (Hiranandani Gardens), is the local contact for terrorists. He has taken the terrorists around and shown them all the sites. He had helped terrorists get blueprints of several buildings in the complex. As soon as things are in place he (JJ) will move out and the blasts will take place.”

Speaking to Niranajan Hiranandani, he said, “Though the email seems to be a bogus one, we are not dismissing it. We have taken the matter with highest level in police and investigations have started to track the sender. The Cyber Crime Cell will definitely be able to uncover the same. However, I would like inform all residents and more than 40 societies in the complex to intensify their security and remain vigilant, it is the alertness at the micro-level that is going to work. I would appeal to residents not to panic and be cooperative with the police.”

While speaking to the DCP he revealed that the police have issued instructions to all CHS in Powai jurisdiction to list out residents by name in their respective housing societies, now it shall be enforced. People renting out flats will have to inform police, this is being made mandatory as it would entail police verification. He could not reveal any further progress in the investigation at this stage but maintained they would be able to nab the email sender with the help of Cyber Crime Cell of Mumbai Police. It would be too premature to rule out any thing.

Not only that, he emphasised the support of residents in reporting suspicious movement of persons, their identity and doubtful items or vehicles in any area. He maintains, no doubt intelligence is being beefed up in the area but it has to be complemented with public support.

Speaking to a veteran resident of Hiranandani Gardens (name withheld) said, “Living in such terror times, life can be risky. We would like our builder and the police to show some visible signs to beef up overall security measures in the complex. I recommend armed patrolling by police with mobile phones to be contacted through control. The builder should increase his mobile security force and make it 24x7. They should be provided with jeeps too for quick response. Private detectives should be put on under cover job to gather intelligence in the area.”

It may be recalled, a few years back in Kashmir some photographs of Hiranandani Gardens were recovered from an arrested terrorist. Apparently, he had done recce of this complex. That time too intelligence was beefed by police up for the security of the complex.

The Hiranandani Gardens today has some 43 residential buildings with approx 30,000 people staying in them and more than a dozen commercial buildings where approx 25,000 work. With its cosmopolitan flavour and profile of residents and offices, it has gained an international reputation to be Mumbai's iconic address. This could always give the terrorists a good target.

Botox being a ratbag

2009-02-05T09:32:00.000-08:00

The Hotel Caught fire, Oops No it Didn't

2009-02-02T20:40:00.000-08:00

A hotel that was formerly a Holiday Inn now a Novotel & is currently closed for refurbishments caught fire on the weekend.

The press in all their wisdom reported it was "Mumbai's Holiday Inn Hotel" um, Actually it's not as H.T is here to open the NEW & ONLY HOLIDAY INN in MUMBAI H.T is now busy wasting time (oxymoron ?) fielding phone calls due to the error in reporting.

Check out the article here:

http://news.indiainfo.com/2009/01/31/0901311726_holiday-inn.html

Slum Dog Millionaire

2009-02-02T20:32:00.000-08:00

I finally saw the movie on the weekend, Seems every one in India already has a ripped copy of it although it was only released recently,

Russel Peters quote of "Bollywood movies are great for people with no expectations" seems to apply here, It has all the typical cliches (Evil Gangsters maiming kids & putting them to work as beggars, Can't forget the Taj Mahal & stupid American Tourists, overcrowded trains, add a few songs by M.I.A in the sound track)& a story line that doesn't make sense either that or the Brother in the movie has a split personality.

It's an alright movie but doesn't deserve all the accolades & does nothing to help stereotypes.

Say Hello to my little Friend ...

2009-01-18T00:16:00.000-08:00

My new pug puppy "Botox" ....

Happy New Year

2009-01-04T06:09:00.000-08:00

New years was quietly spent at The Dome restaurant in Mumbai, India. Most celebrations were canceled due to the recent terrorist attacks. At midnight we didn't even get a count down or fireworks so it was all very anti climatic.

Here are a few happy snaps from the night.

Merry Xmas Every One

2008-12-24T03:08:00.000-08:00

Ok so after I got back form Oz H.T (The hubby)casually mentioned we host an Xmas lunch for 7 people, He failed to mention they had already RSVP'd & he wanted me to cook Roast pork, beef & chicken.

No dramas there cos I did the same last year when we were in Indonesia.

Anyways on Saturday I spent 5 & a half freaking hours & visited 4 supermarkets trying to find beef, pork & basic ingredients for a cheesecake. In the end we used his hotel contacts so anyway its now 5pm on Xmas eve & still no pork loin (we had some form of meat delivered yesterday that was supposed to be pork, but it's red & funny smelling, maybe Rudolph?)

The chicken still has his damn head & feet attached & it's beady little black eyes were staring at me when I took it out the freezer to defrost so I have left that for H.T to deal with, I'm not even going to consider touching it again let alone sticking my hand up it's ass to see if the innards are still intact.

And Finally, I've noticed about $700 AUD worth of cosmetics missing from the apartment ever since I got back from Oz, I'm pissed off about that, not so much that they are missing cos I have more than enough make up to last me a life time! It's more the fact the have been taken from my home, I don't think its the maid as it's all high end stuff & she wouldn't know NYX from MAC.

Yeah so anyway Merry Xmas every one :)

Heartbeats, Music from within.

2008-12-17T21:28:00.000-08:00

Last night we headed off to a concert called "Heartbeats, The music within" that the hotel sponsored. I wasn't expecting much as I'm not a fan of Hindi music but was really blown away by the performance. The genre was more world music/tribal than the Hindi/Bollywood song & dance type that I was expecting & it was like a jam session between a singer (who sung chords not actual words), guitarist & 3 drummers.

The musicians would take turns playing/singing/drumming tune or rhythm then the others would match it individually then they would come together & play as a group.

2 drummers were playing "traditional" type drums, I've got no idea what they're called & the third had a kit of about 25 drums & also incorporated a suitcase & water bottle into the performance.

I can't really describe it as this genre is new to me & it's one of those things you really have to see live to appreciate.

Man, I need to start taking my camera to these functions in the future.

Mumbai Apartment

2008-12-15T21:41:00.000-08:00

Hmm Just playing around with the camera & trying to figure out how to upload videos.

Please excuse the shaky camera work It's only really the second time I've played with the camcorder.

Neglecting The Blog

2008-12-15T21:36:00.000-08:00

So I spent 2 months in Melbourne just enjoying not being in India, I missed the terror attacks & all the excitement that happened in Mumbai.

I'm back again & trying to figure out how to upload vids to youtube so you can have something to watch.

So far I have learnt ..... iMovie 08 is PURE EVIL, I'm undecided on Windows movie maker atm, If the next post is a youtube vid well then it worked :)

Update for the Sake of updating again

2008-10-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

Australia is damn cold so I've been in hibernation for the past week enjoying some peace & quite.

GM has been attending a cultural sensitivity course in Delhi for the past few days, I was supposed to attend also but seeing I'm in Oz that's not possible.

He's updated me on the course events & advised it's all very shallow & basic common sense that they are teaching (I know a few outlaws that need to learn some common sense. lol).

He's also traveled far more than the course trainer so the whole thing sounds like a big fat waste of time, Thankfully the cost of the course wasn't coming straight out of our pockets.

Toto, Were not in Kansas anymore...

2008-10-17T07:06:00.000-07:00

I'm back in the land of Oz again, Had a run in with the Wicked Witch of the East along the way, haha (cryptic, I know)

Not much to blog about these days as the new hotel is still under construction & not scheduled to open till July 2008 so no crazy guests to deals with, So I'm killing time in Oz for a month or so before heading back to Mumbai.

Tragic News

2008-10-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

We have just got word that a young boy died at Hubby's former Hotel.

The story below is copy pasted from: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/10/3/nation/2176153&sec=nation

GEORGE TOWN: A festive holiday trip turned tragic for a family when a 12-year-old boy accidentally fell and drowned in a swimming pool at a hotel in Batu Ferringhi here.

The boy, had come to Penang with his parents and elder brother from Kajang, Selangor, for a two-day trip on Wednesday.

His father Mr X, 59, said the family started looking for him at 7pm after they realised he was missing.

“I spotted him in the pool some time after 8pm,” he told pressmen at the Penang Hospital forensic unit yesterday, where he was with his inconsolable wife Mrs X, 53, elder son MrZ, 26, and several other family members to claim the body.

Mr X said paramedics in the ambulance tried to resuscitate the boy but failed.

It is believed that the boy slipped and fell into the pool that was closed after 8pm.

His body was found fully clothed.

Police said they did not suspect foul play.

Grrrrrr !!!

2008-09-22T23:59:00.000-07:00

I'm sick of living in hotels, We are still waiting for the green light to move in to a rental aprtment.

Fingers crossed we should get the lease signed by weeks end.

Hmmm, well …………………

2008-09-19T03:57:00.000-07:00

My 2nd last post made mention of a “nightmare” check in experience I had at a particular hotel. I like to review hotels I stay at on Trip advisor so did the usual with this one & btw it didn’t get a 5 star rating, I never bother to review one of Hubby’s hotels as I see that as a conflict of interest & I would be biased anyway.

Well some astute individual put 2 & 2 together & figured the less than stellar review was composed by me & I seem to have ruffled a few feathers in the camp with my factual, based on experience, non opinionated review.
Hubby received a call yesterday from the area regional manager condemning him for the review (even though it was written by myself) & was advised it displayed a lack of loyalty (never knew I was supposed to be loyal to husbands company ?!?) was detrimental to business & will be revenue impacting ! Seems it’s ok to review hotels belonging to the chain as long as it’s positive & benefits the company. I guess fascism is alive & well.

Geez instead of getting defensive & trying to intimidate a mere housewife (me!) perhaps the Hotel management should take the constructive criticism on board and deal with the maintenance & customer service issues I raised in order to better the product otherwise where is the integrity ?

I won’t post the offending review here as who knows what will happen if this blog is discovered.

I suppose If you log on 1 day & discover this site no longer exists it won’t be hard to guess why.

Other than that (for the moment at least) I’m loving Mumbai.

Delhi Belli Strikes Again

2008-09-11T05:02:00.000-07:00

Not much happening as I've been struck down with the dreaded Delhi Belly (& it's not fun) !

We leave Delhi on Sunday for Mumbai then basically I have a month to settle in there & I'm off again to Malaysia & Australia.

Um, Nature calls (AGAIN).

Here are pics of today's excursion...

Travelling Around

2008-08-31T01:55:00.000-07:00

I've been busy travelling around for the past week, my itinerary has been something like this; Penang, K.L, Phnom Penh, K.L, New Delhi.

So after a terrible flight with M.A.S & equally bad check in experience at Crowne Plaza, Gurgoan we are currently in ND, India - Land of the power outage, I swear power cuts happen at least 10 times daily here ! I'm used to living in hardship locations & so far the power outages here have been the worst I've experienced in a long time.

G.M is back at work on Monday, Initially at head office for 2 weeks then its off to Mumbai for a pre opening position at a new build hotel which is scheduled to open mid 2009.

Only good thing about the move is we finally get to live in a house again rather than a Hotel/Resort. I've been living in Hotels for almost 3 years now, I'm looking forward to being inconspicuous again & maybe even buying a little doggy or kitten.

Here are some pics from the killing fields, Cambodia. Not a particularly pleasant place to visit hence the grumpy look on my face.

On The Move ... Again

2008-08-15T19:22:00.000-07:00

GM finished his posting here yesterday, So is now officially in between jobs.

Our visa applications for India are currently being processed & should be ready & in hand by this time next week.

As soon as we get our passports back I want to head off to Phnom Pehn, I've been to Siem Reap twice but never Phnom Pehn. I can only manage 3 days or so before we head off to New Delhi but regardless it'll be better than sitting around here.

And 6 in laws have turned up today to impose (oh joy!!)

Duty Manager Report,

2008-08-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

0230 hours - Czech Republic Dragon Boat team was drunk and making noise at the beach front. Some of them was naked. I had informed group leader to advised
his team members to be well behave and stop making noise as it will cause other guest complaint.

0300 hours - 2 guest from the same group swimming at pool and *** had chased them out.

at least some one is having fun here.

Long Time No Post,

2008-08-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

They say if you can't say anything nice, Don't say anything at all.

That's how things are at the moment.

GM has been pissed off with the delays with his transfer & the way the news was broken to us.

It's peak season and being an Islamic country the majority of the tourists are from the UAE. No one seems to like them much, the beach boys have gotten into fights with them, as have the fishermen. Every day the Arabs report a "stolen" mobile phones (always from a public area). When the guest is invited to view CCTV footage they quickly back down and suddenly the phone re appears. They pull all sorts of stunts to try & get discounts but writing about them will just piss me off.

We had a security guard take our car out the other day, He was on suspension for a week pending the outcome of the investigation, Then terminated.

He is trying to take the Hotel to court for unfair dismissal, Little does he realise we have CCTV footage catching him in the act & GM likes to make an example out of these clowns so is prepared to hire a lawyer & fight the case rather than pay the hush money to make it go away as is usually what these idiots ask for (its generally about half what the legal fee's will add up to hence from a business perspective its usually cheaper to pay up, extortion at its finest.)

Anyway on the bright side: Last day is 15th August, then a week off, will probably go to Batam, Bali or Singapore for some R&R. Then off to Delhi then Mumbai on the 1st September.

Blame The President

2008-07-08T23:32:00.000-07:00

The new GM was set to start here on the 28th July,

I've been plodding away at my charity thing trying to get that set up & running, ready to hand over by the time we are set to depart, At the close of June hubby was pleased that he wouldn't have to do any more month end reporting for the Hotel as "the new GM is coming in".

Well yesterday the New GM was chatting to Hubby, She casually advised her start date was in fact mid August, not the end of July as we understood it to be.

Hubby informed her that, the new date was news to him & asked if the date was 100% confirmed.

She replied "Not Sure, I haven't even received my contract yet"

Great, so fuming hubby sent a curt email to head office, 5 mins later receives a quick call from HR to say "Received the email, will call with details in 40 mins"

Pissed off Hubby switches off phone.

Fast forward to this morning, after a lot of ass kissing on HR's side and a few phone calls.

Turns out, YES indeed New GM's start date is delayed by approximately 2 weeks.

Why? New GM currently holds the position of 2IC at a sister property in Thailand, The Pres (yup, Bush himself) has decided to stay at that Hotel during an impending trip to Thailand, So it's all hands on deck there in preparation for his arrival !

I questioned why The Pres & his crew wanted to stay at that particular Hotel, I was curious as it's doesn't have a 5 star rating & I personally like to stay at the Shangri-la when I'm out that way. Seems that secret service was out on a recon mission recently and this particular hotel is the only one that meets security requirements & has an approved escape route i.e The hotel sits at an intersection so if the proverbial hits the fan and Pressy needs to abscond he can have 4 different escape routes as opposed to possibly being stuck in one way traffic if he stays at the other hotel.

Oh well, 35 days to go & counting ....

Finally some gossip

2008-07-01T22:35:00.000-07:00

We are approaching peak season at the hotel & business has really picked up in the last month.

One thing has also become apparent in the last 2 weeks, We have a thief in our midst.

On 2 occasions guests returned to their rooms to find cash & valuables missing, This kind of thing in NOT TOLERATED at the hotel, Security has investigated, found a suspect & advised the guests to report the matter to the local police as theft is definitely within their jurisdiction, Not the GM's.

The Suspect: Not difficult to figure this one out, You know the keycard access locks that Hotels use? Well the retain information on all comings & goings from each room. All security needed to do was see what card accessed the lock after the guests had left.
On both occasions it was the same key belonging to one of the housekeepers.

On the first 2 occasions the guests refrained from filing police reports.
GM's hands were tied in the matter & he was unable to terminate the staff member with out an admission of guilt or the police reports being filed.

Yesterday another guest reported money missing from his room, This time the guest did wish to file a police report. Security & police investigated & found the same housekeeper had accessed the room during the time the guest claimed to have been away from it.

She was questioned on the hotel premises, denied any guilt so was handed over to the police to be taken to the police station for further questioning. A union member went along with her to represent.

This morning, the proverbial has hit the fan. The unions are up in arms & threatening strikes! Why? Because while in police custody the housekeeper was strip searched.

GM is now off holding an emergency meeting trying to explain to the dim witted union members that he has no control over police policies or procedures on how they deal with suspects. If a cop chooses to strip search a suspected thief, GM is powerless to stop them, furthermore a union member accompanied the housekeeper to the station. So he was present to object to the strip search & contact legal aid for advise prior to it taking place.

Oh well, it's just another day in paradise.

P.S GM's time is coming to a close here, Looks like Mumbai is the next location with a tentative start date of mid August.

Update for the sake of updating

2008-06-27T21:34:00.000-07:00

So,

My Bro in Law is here at the moment competing in the "battle of the chefs". Day 1 he placed in the Top 5, Today is Day 2 and he is currently at the convention centre competing against other Chefs from the Asia Pacific region. Good Luck !!

GM was interviewed this morning for a Chinese travel show called "Travel World" produced by Shenzhen media group . The segment will play on a Chinese station and an Astro channel in about 6 - 8 weeks.

I'm keeping busy doing the charity thing, I'm about to head off to view another orphanage as we are still looking into "adopting" a charity, similar to what we did in Indonesia.

And the goddamn postman has decided to start stealing my parcels, 2 missing so far, grrrr !!!!

Here's some of the orphans I've been working with.

Pics from the weekend.

2008-06-25T20:42:00.001-07:00

I've been away for the last 6 days, Finally arrived back home yesterday (yay!!!)
Snapped these pics a few days ago.
Enjoy.

Pork Recipe.

2008-06-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

PORK RIBS with Tangy Glaze

Ingredients:

Baby Back or Short ribs (thawed)

For Glaze:

½ Cup Balsamic Vinegar

½ Cup Water

4 tbs Soy Sauce

1 cup Brown Sugar

2 tbs Corn flour

Method:

Wash & pat dry dribs, wrap in aluminum foil

Pre heat oven to 160 degrees C slow cook ribs in the foil for about 1 hour 45 mins, Check on them after 1.5 hours, To test readiness take out a rack (no need to unwrap it from foil) and pierce with a knife. If there is no resistance when the knife goes through the meat is cooked.

While the ribs are cooking, put all the glaze ingredients in a small pot (add the corn flour dry, no need to make a paste) and stir over a medium low heat until the mixture bubbles and thickens.

Finish the ribs on a BBQ or Grill (This is for presentation to get the black grill lines on the meat) and pour the glaze over before serving.

For Smokey BBQ Ribs, Make a marinade for the below ingredients, place ribs on aluminum foil, pour over marinade. Cover & refrigerate overnight. Follow above cooking instructions.

For Marinade:

Heinz smokey BBQ Sauce
Tomato Sauce
1 tbs Honey (or Brown sugar)
A dash of Paprika
A dash of Onion Powder

Busy, Busy, Busy

2008-06-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

Been so busy of late,

I had 5 in laws turn up last week & it's almost a full time job playing host to them.

I've just started helping with another Charity, more hands on this time round.

Still making small batches of mineral make up.

Have had friends arrive from Oz unannounced (not staying at this hotel) & send me a message to say "Oi we're here Biyatch!" so will host a catch up dinner tomorrow night.

Tasted a durian for the first time today (finally! Only took me 3 years). OMG , it certainly is an 'acquired taste'. Think of 'Garlic Pudding' multiple that taste by 1000 and that will give you an idea of what a durian is like to eat. yuck, yuck, yuck.

Shopped until hubby dropped today, I was still raring to go, he was tired & hungry.

The hotel is pretty boring this week, We did have some wait staff deliver room service earlier and took the opportunity to dob on the kitchen staff (no white bread, no chicken burgers, no apple, pineapple or carrot juice. Lots of customer complaints ) So just need to figure out why the Exec Chef is running every thing down so low. He's new to the hotel, first week on. So I assume the low stock has more to do with the old chef not stock taking during his last few weeks here.

No Monkey or Snake Sightings.

Oh a guest came down with typhus, I know him fairly well so jokingly told him not to poke around in dirty holes and to disinfect his clothes. Good thing I did as I wiki'd "Typhus" & seems it's transmitted via body lice. I think body lice is a nice name for "crabs".

M&M & Choc Chip Cookies

2008-06-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

Drama's at the moment with the Hubby as he is being an inconsiderate jerk. So Here's a yummy cookie recipe. (um joining those 2 sentences made sense in my mind)

I'm quite a good little baker and was asked to make this recipe as morning tea for a S.E Asian F&B conference held at the hotel once, They were a big hit.

M&M & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes approx 20

Ingredients

125g Butter

½ Cup caster sugar

½ cup light brown sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 & ¾ cups SR Flour

½ tsp salt

2 x 200g packets of M&M’s (add more is desired)

180g Choc chips (add more is desired)

Method

Pre heat oven to 180C and line biscuit trays with baking paper.
Cream together butter, both sugars and vanilla until mixture is pale. Add egg and mix until well combined. Sift in flour and salt mix well with wooden spoon.
Add in M&M’s and choc chips mixing until all combined.
Shape dough into small round balls and place on trays allowing room for cookie to spread. Bake for approx 15mins, Cool on tray for 5 mins before transferring to wire rack.

* 15 mins baking time gives the cookie a soft moist centre, increase the cooking time to 18 mins if you want a crunchy centre.

Business as Usual

2008-06-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

So GM is back from Mumbai.

He has an inbox full of guest complaints, mostly boring things like:

1. Guest asked for "Doctor". Engineering guy turned up with an "adapter"

2. Guest complains she did not receive a complimentary fruit basket on arrival. (Get over yourself lovey)

I might start posting recipes on this site, I love cooking & one of the perks here is I can get my hands on a lot of delicious recipes from the management company's top executive chefs.

Need to call the Expat Women's Association regarding charity work, Then I'm going shopping.

*I think I'll start referring to Husband as GM in my posts as its quicker to type.

My Happy New Year, 2006/07

2008-06-04T03:45:00.000-07:00

My Husband is still not back from Mumbai. Since I've had a few days of peace and quite I took the opportunity to get a lot of my stories typed up and published.

My New Years Eve, 2006, Count down to 2007.

NYE is always spent at the Hotel, All major Holidays are, When we host huge parties GM & Wife can't exactly take a rain check and be a no show can we?

NYE 2007 was no different, We had a 1000 balloon drop happen at the stroke of midnight and partied the night away to an 8 piece local band who did covers of Black Eyed Peas, Rihana (ella, ella, ella) and other current chart toppers.

1st Jan 2007 was the last night the band was scheduled to play, After a very successful NYE party the night before, GM (husband) and I really let our hair down. drinks were flowing & a great time was had by all. The night ended for us around 4 o'clock in the morning.

8:00 am the phone rings, it's the The F&B Manager (I'll call him Chen), whom Say's "Police are here, They need to verify GM's work permit" we are both nursing nasty hangovers so Husband (GM) queries whether or not he has to do this straight away. Chen says he'll find out and ends the call.

8:10 am Phone rings, Chen again, speaking to GM "Um, The Police would like to see a copy of your work permit and visa" Hung over Cranky GM snaps "they have no authority or jurisdiction over my work permit & visa, if there is an issue with it get an immigration officer to contact me" and hangs up.

8:30 am Phone Rings, Chen again, speaking to GM "The Police have left, One of the engineering guys as well as the chief engineer have been arrested, The police have requested you to the police station to assist with their enquiries"

GM then gets out of bed, showers & dresses and is off to sort this mess out (with a pounding headache & an empty belly) he is accompanies by "Beth" The HR manager whom also holds a law degree ....

At the police station GM learns what prompted the current events.

Police: At 6am this morning police witnessed a member of your staff (the engineering guy) tampering with a fire hydrant. A hose was connected to the hydrant and run off water was seen to be collected and deposited into the fish pond.

Beth is handed a pen & paper then asked to draw the company org chart. Naturally GM sits at the top of the chart.

Police show GM the handwritten org chart and advise he is being help on suspicion of theft of water! as he is the boss of this organization he is the man responsible. (Gotta love the corrupt police in South East Asia)

The Chief engineer tries to explain to the police that as there is no fire department in the area and the Hotel has a volunteer fire fighting team on staff to service the hotel and immediate area (which is basically vacant land & small village). The Engineering guy was servicing the Hydrant and instead of wasting the run off water he was recycling it into the fish pond. Why at 6am? Well the resort was running at 100% occupancy and the task was performed early before the breakfast rush.

Police don't care for explanations at this stage, They're quite smug and happy with themselves in the knowledge they have cracked this huge organized crime syndicate.

Now mind you this is all taking place at a snails pace, The police are taking smoke breaks every 15 mins and 2 finger typing the statements into the computer.

GM gets impatient and snaps at the police about their incompetence (BIG MISTAKE)

Police man decides its lunch time and heads out, I get a phone call from GM to say he's ok & doesn't know how long he'll be.

5pm rolls by, Nnother phone call from GM to me "Police have gone for dinner, no new updates, should be finished when the police get back"

Midnight I fall asleep alone.

6am next day, I call the Hotel 2IC for an update, Beth had had left the station that night so we had no further developments to report but the 2IC is a local and assures me GM will be ok.

I'm advised the police are just after money and this is a common occurrence here. I'm also advised GM has started a hunger strike (lol, I actually found humour in this and thought "way to go with the non violent resistance, hun").

So the 2IC advises Beth was on her way back to the station via the hotel, So I get the Exec Chef to make some sandwiches for hubby & gather a change of clothes for him also, I ask if I can go with Beth to the station but am told No, as I may be roped into this mess and as I am "white" the bribe money will go up dramatically because as we all know "White Westerners are millionaires" (This is a common misconception with many S.E Asians)

Off Beth goes while I wait at home, Back at the station when 24 hours lapse from the time the initial report was taken in strolls the police man and goes straight for the sandwiches packed for GM. (Legally Police can hold suspects for 24 hours with out formal arrest & Damn it I should of requested ham sandwishes !) After the Police have had the morning snack intended for GM They are now ready to negotiate.

In steps Beth (Law degree holder) to begin negotiations. Initially the asking price to secure GM's release is $100,000 SGD (Yup, one hundred thousand Singapore dollars)

During negotiations the Police explain the situation like this "Pay or we charge him with theft, he could sit in jail for months before the courts even think of setting a date for the hearing" (And S.E Asian prisons are BAD! read a book titled "The Damage Done" for an honest insight into it)

Negotiations go back and forth until eventually a $50,000 SGD payment is settled upon.
By this stage the hotel owners, owners rep, GM's regional manager and the head office are all well aware of the situation.

Beth heads off to the bank and is met by the owners rep who authorises the withdrawal of funds from the owners bank account.

The money is then delivered in a brown paper bag and my fugitive husband is set free !!!!!

He showers, eats, then sleeps till the next morning. I question him about his hunger strike, he advises the cell at the station was filthy, with roaches and lizards running around every where.

He was offered food but was served sludge with half a rat in it. So the hunger strike wasn't a form of non violent protest after all.

The only good thing to come out of this ordeal was Beth, we always thought she was as dumb as a box of hammers and was on the verge of being fired but she shone through this ordeal and managed to hold onto her job.

Also just want to add, corruption exists on all levels but NEVER have I experienced it like this. This was not corruption rather Extortion.

P.S This did not take place in Singapore, The Singapore sums I mention are the equivalents of the currency here.

* Hmmm, No pictures of this drama to post so here is one of me taken in March. I was building sand castles, you can see them in the background, lol - I'm tired, need to sleep now.

The Exorcism of ..... A housekeeper ?!?

2008-06-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

This event happened back in April and was one of the reasons for starting this blog as after relaying the story to friends, they commented that I should keep a journal of daily life here.

Here goes,

One Sunday, My Husband's only day off during the week. He and I decided to do a spot of fishing, I don't particularly like fishing I enjoy getting out on the open waters for a few hours for a change of scenery .

We had a great half days fishing expedition, headed out for a long boozy lunch then it was off to a bar to watch the F1 (We are huge F1 fans.)

Fast forward to Monday, Husband comes home from work & first thing out of his mouth is "You would never believe what happened yesterday". Husband has been in the game for over 15 years and I thought had seen it all. So hearing him utter that phrase, instantly he had my attention and I'm thinking "This ought to be good."

Turns out while we were enjoying an eventful Sunday so was one of the housekeepers, we'll call her "Sue".

Sue unknown to us at the time, has a history of mental illness (note: In S.E Asia there is not a very thorough understanding of mental illness amongst the general public. People are referred to as "Crazy" or "Not Crazy") Sue is one of the "Crazy" ones.

Anyway Sue had a turn while at work, initially she "fainted" and was passed out for around an hour, She came to, Jumped up and ran at full speed into a door, went down for the count (again), not before managing to bust up the door, it had a huge dent in it and was taken off a hinge.

On hearing this I'm thinking WTF?!?!? How is this scenario even possible in a work place?!?! OH&S anyone ?!?!

But wait there is more to the story,

The housekeeping supervisor in all her wisdom decided to leave Sue when she initially fainted, I guess in her expert medical opinion a Doctor was not necessary.

Upon Sue awakening and having her up close & personal encounter with the door, The supervisor then decided (medical) attention was required.

So naturally a call is placed to the local Muslim holy man to come & preform an exorcism on poor "possessed" Sue.

The events of Sunday had all been relayed by the weekend duty manager report during morning briefing, Husband then had to call an emergency meeting with all department heads to educate them on the dangers of believing in this supernatural nonsense. Then an "emergency" first aid refresher course was scheduled to begin the following week.

Sue was placed on sick leave and husband was left trying to figure out who to bill for the broken door. Sue, Satan or charge it out as a maintence expense.

Seeing as I can't post pics of any one involved in the event, Here's my attempted shot of Ferrari (No idea if its Kimi or Massa) at Sepang, Malaysia.

Stereo Types

2008-06-02T00:02:00.000-07:00

When I was still living in Sydney I would always jump on my high horse and reprimand people for using ethnic stereo types.

Fast forward 3 years and I'm one of those people !! After you travel abroad and experience different cultures stereo types do become apparent. Yes I know not ALL people of a particular race behave in a certain manner (duh !) But this is what I have observed:

1. Germans: Yes they do wake up first thing in the morning to beat the crowd & reserve a deck chair by placing a towel or book on it.

2. Koreans: Loud talkers, every conversation sounds like an argument, like wearing caps with wide brimmed visors & sparkles/lace/sequin tops. Plus they love the "all you can eat" breakfast buffet.

3. Aussies: like a drink, very easy going types, but some (when visiting S.E Asia) tend to have the mentality that although geographically neighbours; they are some how Superior to their Asian counterparts.

4. Americans: Loud talkers - Hey buddy sitting at the table 7 meters from me, you seem like a nice guy but I don't care to hear your conversation about how every thing is so much better in the U.S, especially over breakfast when I am nursing a hang over!!

5. Singaporeans: Very image conscious and materialistic, if it ain't branded they ain't wearing it.

6. Malaysians: Life revolves around food! The don't ask "how are you today?" rather "Have you had breakfast/lunch/dinner yet? And no wonder ! Malaysian Makan (food) is the best S.E Asian cuisine in my book!!!

7. Malaysians & Singaporeans: Have no shame in asking for a discount on anything & everything! I've picked up this habit, You'll be surprised how often it works even in stores with fixed pricing !

8. English: Um, like to brag & whinge (I'll blog about one particular pom later)

9. Russians: There is a reason why people day "Never trust a Russian" lol

10. Italians: take them to any Michelin Star restaurant any were in the world for a meal but rest assured "Their Mamma" can make it better.

11. Chinese: OMG! side track for a moment:

Our Chinese Chef will kill & cook anything he can get his hands on !!!

Pythons - Taste like chicken
Turtles - Hubby caught Chef in the nick of time & saved the turtle from becoming the chefs special soup of the day.
Crocodile - Tastes like chicken
Whale - Tastes like chicken, nah joking, I couldn't bring my self to sample this "specialty"

Ok, I'm cutting this post short now as I have probably offended just about every one out there.

"Thank You, Come Again"

2008-06-01T05:39:00.000-07:00

Husband has left for India, He is doing a whirlwind trip to attend an interview for a new GM role in Mumbai.

Looks like a move in on the cards soon.

Mean while Im still sick, I really hope that monkey bite has nothing to do with me getting ill, I keep reminding my self that it didn't break the skin, I'm being paranoid and my flu/fever can't be related to it.

My friend sent me this youtube clip when I told him about Hubbys Indian trip, It's the funniest thing I've seen in a long time.

The Raffles Place Ghost

2008-05-28T00:46:00.000-07:00

Garrghhh !!!

I Think I'm coming down with the flu & I feel awful so apologies if this post ends up making no sense at all.

There is currently a video doing rounds on email titled "The Raffles Place Ghost"

The video was created by a HR & Recruitment company called GMP as part of a "work/life balance" campaign Meaning: IT'S A HOAX PEOPLE.

Also I might add Raffles is a very prestigious building in Singapore consisting of a Hotel, Shops and the famous "Long bar" (birth place of the Singapore Sling).

1. All Hotels & Resorts my husband has ever worked in have reputedly been haunted.
2. The Ghost stories usually stem from a housekeeper on the night shift catching sight of a shadow out of the corner of his/her eye.
3. Housekeeper shares the story with co workers and like Chinese whispers the story under goes some embellishments and with in a week we have a fully fledged "Haunting" happening.

Ghost Story 1.1

Background info:
The last Resort we lived at was built next door to a casino, occupancy was high, The town was bustling and there was a lot of money thrown around.

One particular night a man with a gambling addiction gambled away all his money, Depression & alcohol got the better of him and he jumped from a 10th story balcony at the Hotel ending his life with a splat.

Not long after a change of government took place. A pro Islamic party came into power and the Casino was shut down, Almost over night the town became a ghost town (excuse the pun). The Resort managed to remain open despite the loss of revenue from the lack of gamblers as it had an international award winning spa plus there was enough business around town to ensure a steady flow of out of town business men checking in during the week.

The Casino had been operational for 3 years before closing, Hubby took a GM position at the Resort 4 years later.

Our Spa girls first reported seeing the "Ghost" hanging around the spa therapy villas at night. Quite a few of the girls reported seeing him & this started to impact their work as many were to scared to remain in the villas after dark.

Hubby approved for a priest/witch doctor to come in to do a blessing on the grounds although he doesn't believe in the paranormal, As he likes to address the concerns of his staff & keep them happy.

On this occasion the blessing was successful and no more Ghost was seen hanging about, I personally never had an experience with him although I did see a chair move once on its own on the same 10th storey floor as the jumper. I don't really believe in Ghosts so I'm quick to rationalize what I saw as being due to exhaustion or one to many vodka tonics :)

I know the story wasn't very scary, It's just that the "Raffles Place" video reminded me of it.
We did have another bizarre "paranormal" incident occur recently at the hotel I am currently at but it is more funny than scary, I'll post that one later when I get over this flu.

The Great Singapore Sale

2008-05-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy this past week, I spent a few days in Singapore for the famous "Great Singapore Sale" caught up with a few friends while there and had family fly in from Oz . So I have been playing tour guide for the last few days as well.

Yesterday I took my Mum & Sis to a Snake Temple to have their photos taken with a couple of Pythons & Vipers. While I was snapping pics for them I felt tiny clammy little hands wrap around my ankle, Then tiny little teeth start chomping on my leg, I looked down and saw a monkey gnawing at my leg !! So I shook him off and continued to snap away, Luckily he didn't break the skin so no need for a rabies or tetanus jab.

Today we've had heavy rainfall most of the morning and the hotel is leaking like a sieve so husband is stuck dealing with a bunch of guests complaints, he is not a happy chappy right now.

BTW, The pesky monkeys I have been mentioning look like this one, the pic was taken when I visited Monkey Beach, it's not the monkey that bit me.

& More Snakes & Monkeys

2008-05-15T19:43:00.000-07:00

Funny thing happened since my last post,

A viper was found outside our suite, Now we live on the top floor of a tower block, There is only the Penthouse, A VIP suite and The GM's apartment here. None of the other suites on this floor are currently occupied so it's not as if the viper hitched a lift in a guests bag and found its way up here and I doubt the snake managed to crawl up the stairs or elevator shaft, I never actually saw the viper I only heard the report from security, perhaps it hitched a lift in the housekeeping cart ?

But the funniest thing I have seen in a while happened 2 days ago, Hubby and I had just returned from dinner and were down stairs in the staff car park .

The monkeys were out again, quite a few of them playing in the trees & running along the drive way. One was sitting on a staff members motor bike, He was grabbing hold of the handle bars and mimicking a motorbike rider, It was so cute.

Monkey then caught sight of himself in the side mirror of the bike, His facial expressions changed from shock, to puzzlement and finally excitment as he realised it was his relfection staring back at him.

Monkey caught sight of us and looked almost embarassed that we had caught him checking himself out in the mirror, so he looked away and played with the handle bars again, hehehe so cute !

As soon as monkey thought we weren't looking he went for the mirror again this time grabbing and pulling at it until it was free.

He then hopped off the bike and was on his way back to his jungle home, stopping every few steps to check himself out with his new mirror.

Can't wait for him to show his friends, I wonder if they will all pop down to the car park to get their free mirrors.

Cats & Snakes & Monkeys …. Oh My!

2008-05-09T02:07:00.000-07:00

Cats

When we moved into this Hotel, There was a stray cat problem, it’s quite common in predominately Islamic areas, No dogs to chase them away you see.

The staff set about rounding up the cats for relocation, Other GM’s will set baits to poison them as they’re considered pests. Hubby initially considered this to but I couldn’t let that happen to the poor lil kitties. So a “catch and relocate” plan was devised.

I even caught a few felines myself popped them into a purpose built cage that engineering knocked together and had our driver relocate them to the fish markets. I know it’s not ideal but it’s the best option we have here.

Snakes

Who knew that stray cats were a great deterrent for snakes? Not long after our cat problem was resolved the monsoon season began. The nearby mangroves flooded and we had new little visitors take up residence on the hotel grounds, driven in land due to the flooding.

Pythons, This was a first at the hotel, we do see snakes near the perimeter some times but never on the grounds. One decided to slither up a palm and enter a suite via an open balcony door, After a bit of research (read: google) by myself, I found that snakes don’t like pungent smelling plants so will avoid them also sulfur & mothballs act as a good deterrent. Me personally I think stray cats are the best deterrent as the seemed to keep them at bay for so long.

Monkeys

Months later the sulfur/moth ball mix is working wonders around the hotel. We’ve had no snakes on the grounds for quite some time now.

What we do have is funny little white faced monkeys! Maybe Gibbons? I’m not to sure.

They’re cute silly looking things so we leave them be and they reciprocate. Occasionally the cheeky lil monkeys get a bit to close for comfort and inhabit our sky walk (it’s a bridge that connects the hotels towers together). They were out again the other day when Hubby was using it, The monkeys started hissing and screeching at him so he called up the engineering guys to chase them away, I have no idea why he chose the engineering dept over say, housekeeping or the porters and come to think of it, this is also not the first time monkeys have acted aggressively towards him. I recall being at “Monkey Beach” once and hand feeding wild monkeys, up walked Hubby the monkeys screeched at him, ran off then started doing wild monkey sex to each other!!

Once again I’ll put in the disclaimer that my stories are 100% true, trust me I could not make this stuff up if I tried, I’m not that imaginative.

Me, Mans Best Friend ?

2008-05-07T21:08:00.000-07:00

My eyes have been red & sensitive to light for the past couple of days,

Hubby was heading out of the Hotel for lunch so I asked him to stop by an Apotek (drug store) and pick up some conjunctivitis ointment for me. ( Why no Doctors visit?..... Because YOU DO NOT VISIT DOCTORS in remote S.E Asia)

"Sure no problems" he says, sounds easy enough I thought.

Later on he came back, handed me a tube of ointment, So I slathered it all over my pink eye then thought, hmm I better google the name of the cream. "Terramycin" manufactured by Phizer.

After a quick search I click on a link and wait for the page to load up, Scan the page quickly thinking "Phew, The cream seems legit, not a generic no frills made is China but banned every where else brand ".

Then I take a closer look the the web page & think "Huh?!?!, Phizer ANIMAL HEALTH....... WTF!?! "
Scrolled down the pages a bit to see these 2 magic sentences,

For animal use only. Not for human use.

Restricted drug in California; use only as directed.

My initial reaction went like this: F%$#& !?! #$%^@!!! #*&^$%!!!!

Then after a few deep breathes: PMSL, LOL, hahaha So typical here even the simplest things turn into a drama !

I do think it's kinda ironic the Apotek is dispensing dog medicine considering this is a predominately Islamic area I'm in.

Wonder if Terramycin is halal ?

Beware of the men in Blue

2008-04-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

I just heard this little bit of gossip that happened at one of our sister hotels.

The hotel has undergone a refurb and had LCD T.Vs installed in all rooms as well as around the public areas like the lobby & bar as that has become the brand standard.

Anyway last week a couple of guys in blue overalls came into the hotel, I guess all the staff just assumed these guys were either in house engineering or contractors because nobody batted an eyelid as these guys went about their business of removing the LCD’s from the walls.

Only after they had finished the task & left, did the staff realize the blue overall guys were actually thieves, lol.

How embarrassing would that police report be to make, hehehe.
It’s all on CCTV but I bet that tape never see’s the light of day.

From tomorrow onwards I’ve requested no engineering enter the GM’s apartment with out prior authorization from me, just to be on the safe side.

Duty managers report 16th April 2008:

2008-04-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Another Naked Sleepwalker last night (female).
A Pilot one of the aircrew that are currently checked in found her wandering around the hall, Retrieved a blanket from his room covered her and her naughty bits up then called through to front desk.

The aftermath is one very embarrassed lady, She has checked out already.

Thankfully The Pilot that found her handled the situation is a professional manner.

Now that reminds me of the “Dirty Hotel Room”, I mentioned in my earlier post.

At the time Hubby was looking after a city hotel in Australia, Airline crew (from a very well known airline) had checked in for the night.

After the aircrew had checked out the following day, An issue arose with a housekeeper refusing to clean one of the vacated rooms. A flurry of activity and discussions went down between cleaners, head housekeepers, supervisors, onto “Joe” the house keeping manager and eventually to Hubby.

“Um we have a problem with one of the Pilots rooms” Joe advised Hubby.

A brief and very vague description of the issue, left hubby intrigued & also a little annoyed that the supervisor & housekeeping manager were unable to resolve an issue of a housekeeper refusing to clean a “dirty room” after all it was occupied by a Pilot & he had stayed there for less than 24 hours.
How bad could it be?
So off hubby went with Joe in tow to check it out for himself.

At the room, Joe swipes the access card into the card reader, hears the click of the lock, swings the door wide open and……

The first thing that hits Hubby is the stench,

Then the sight of what can politely be described as a pilots abstract expressionist art using feces as a medium and 4 walls as a canvas Or to put it bluntly there was SHIT EVERYWHERE, It was smeared all over the walls as well as the sheets, floor, lamps, sides tables, t.v, just about everything he could hit !!

Immediately Hubby made his retreat back to the confines of his office and booked “ABC Cleaning Co” a specialist cleaning company that was able (willing) to disinfect, sanitize and deodorize the room to remove all traces of the Pilots art works.

“ABC Cleaning Co” turn up to begin the job & guess what? Not even the ABC cleaners with their hazmat suites on would touch the room, It was THAT BAD !!! Perhaps the Pilot had a curry feed and a few beers the night before?

ABC cleaners were sent back to the cleaners (hehehe). Leaving Hubby to come up with “Plan B”. So as we all know Money Talks and Hubby dangled that carrot in front of his housekeeping staff until finally a few accepted the offer of the extra cash to venture into the “Poop Shoot Den” and clean it up.

An official complaint was sent to the airline along with an invoice for cleaning the room.
As for the Pilot? Who Knows, Perhaps he is still flying the friendly skies.

Chili Crab

2008-04-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

Housekeeping reported a crab infestation in room 3502, eeww Gross !

Makes me glad I insist on using my own linen (we live in house).

3502 is currently “Out Of Order” and being disinfected, Hubby is moaning that he should charge the guest for the added cleaning costs and for losing a room night and bitching about “filthy hookers” lol.

I see them scurry out of the hotel in the early hours some times, wearing their camel toe jeans, white patent leather hooker heels and too tight backless halter neck tops. All Class, eh?

Some of the working girls around here really have no other options but to sell themselves, as they have kids to feed, little education and jobs are scare as it is, I don’t mind chatting to those girls when they rock up on the arm of a western hotel guest for the GM’s cocktail party but most are the of the skanky variety.

Dirty Hotel rooms…. Reminds me of an event that took place at another property we were at in Australia of all places, I’ll post about that one later.

Any One read Hotel Babylon ?

2008-04-07T00:10:00.000-07:00

I have, long after the hype about it had died down, I finally picked up the book, read it cover to cover, nodded knowingly and smiled to myself.

I'm a regular down to earth Aussie girl, living in S.E Asia, I'm also a hoteliers wife, The eyes & ears of the Hotel, so to speak. I hear all the gossip from the Staff, Guests & Hubby.

Now, if you have read the book and think to yourself "Nah, That cant be real" I can assure you, It is !! I have seen it all and more.

I will be randomly blogging here jotting down the events and happenings at the hotel, As I am still in S.E Asia and Hubby is still actively working as a GM, to remain anonymous, I wont disclose the name of the Hotel or Location and will use pseudonyms to protect the innocent & stupid.

Rest assured, Times, dates & places may have changed by the events are all 100% True.