car washing in melbourne

yes, in australia, they do wash their cars too. yes, they also drive it to a petrol station to have it done. the difference between australia and singapore is that most australian drivers do the washing at the petrol kiosk themselves. nevertheless, there are a few places where you can get a 'hand wash' by a team of workers. you can even have your dog shampooed at the same car-wash, at a different area. because of water restriction in the state, you are not allowed to wash your car at home.

with the minimum wage policy and consequently, a higher labour cost, the petrol kiosk or station is mostly a self-service place. in australia, if you know how to drive a car, you must know how to operate the pump at the petrol kiosk. there is no pump attendant to do it for you. similarly, at the car-wash, do not expect anyone to serve you.

how much you spend at the car-wash may also depend on how many kinds of cleaning you want and how efficient you are. for the most basic wash, my son-in-law, ian, usually spends about $2 to give his car a wash whereas my daughter, ivy, feeds the machine $5 or $6 to get the same thing done. if you want a more thorough cleaning job, with waxing, thrown in, you may have to spend more than $10 at the coin-operated car wash.

car washing in singapore

in singapore, there are four ways to get your car washed. you can choose to wash it yourself; you can delegate your domestic help, if you have one, to do it for you; you can have it hand washed by workers at a car-wash, which is usually at a petrol station; or you can pay a car-washer to do the job on a regular basis, usually 4 or 5 days a week.

when you do the washing yourself, it is usually more thorough and you derive a certain amount of satisfaction as you inspect your car's bodywork after the job is done. at the same time, it gives you a good workout. if you live in a housing and development board (hdb) flat, you can do it at the car-wash bay, where you pay 25 cents, using the cash card, to collect about two pails of water. you can also opt to wash your car at a shady spot downstairs, with a pail of water taken from your flat. most of these do-it-yourself car washers own new cars or are first time car owners.

i have seen maids washing cars as early as 5.30 a.m. in the morning. the master or 'madam' will usually try to have the car parked on the level of the wash bay but sometimes the maid has to struggle with the two pails of water up to the 3rd or 4th level of the car-park. the maids are usually given the key to the car so that they can also clean up the interior. is washing car a household chore?

most car-washes at petrol kiosks have done away with the mechanical and automatic washing system. i wonder if it is because the tracks can cause damage, like scratches, to the body of the car. what had happened to the system that used those giant brushes, heavy rollers and mountains of suds as you drove your car through a tunnel? nowadays, they proclaim very loudly 'hand wash' and they employ a few workers, mostly mainland chinese, to do the washing by hands. i think the amount they charge depends on the services you ask for.

where i live, there is still this indian man who charges about $40 a month to wash the car on week days' evening. i think he has an assistant. he does not get his water from the wash bay in the car-park. he does not pay for the water that he uses to wash the cars. he has this mechanical device that allows him to tap on the water used by the cleaners. i wonder if those car-owners are aware that they are unwittingly abetting him in doing something illegal. i have also seen some authorised car washers stationed at certain hdb car-parks.

in my next blog posting, i will write about car washing in melbourne.

chope seat, chope parking space

i cannot help making comparison between australia - melbourne, to be specific - and my homeland, singapore, because each year i spend a few months in melbourne and the rest of the time in singapore. if i do seem to paint a better picture of certain aspects of life in melbourne, it is not because i like australia more but it is more because i want to point out that although singapore may be considered a great place to live, it can be an even better place if we change some of our ways.

i have blogged about reserving seats at food centres. my australian friends - former singaporeans - had this unpleasant experience at one of the popular food centres in singapore. i have blogged about it here.

seats at food courts are not the only things that singaporeans 'chope'. there is also this practice of 'choping' parking space. in australia, although the car population is much larger than singapore's, they do not go around staking their claims on parking territory.




in singapore, the mentality appears to be 'my own convenience overrides others', so i have the right to chope the space outside my house for my own use. apart from the usual dustbins, what other articles can be used for 'choping'? i have come across used tyres, flower pots, cones, chairs, incense paper burning bins, poles on a concrete base, bicycles and even, tables. however, not everyone who places a bin or flower pot does so for selfish reason; some do it to prevent inconsiderate motorists from parking right in front of their driveway.

in the commercial areas of the city, delivery men and shop-owners seem to have exclusive use of the parking space in front of the shops or restaurants. even if it is a space meant for coupon parking, you seldom gets a chance to park in the 'perpetually reserved' space.




in melbourne, at my daughter and son-in-law's place, the parking space in front of their terrace house is designated a public car-park. even non-residents have the right to park their vehicles at that space. if my daughter or son-in-law comes home and cannot find a space, then she or he will have to park the vehicle further away, without making any fuss about it.

autumn leaves by the late nat king cole

back in s'pore, back to nature

i prefer visiting the sungei buloh wetland reserve on a weekday during the school term time. first, you do not meet the crowds. second, there is no admission fee to pay. on weekends, the place can get quite packed, so much so that you may not get a parking space. also the noise generated by so many visitors, especially young children, scare away all the shy animals, like the smooth otters. on a normal weekday, if there is no organised group, you hardly meet anyone along the paths and the three marked routes.



this family of otters was rolling on some dried leaves on the track. there were two young ones in the water nearby. i do not know if they are the same otters that i used to see at the sand bath near the visitors' centre. the two cubs are definitely new additions. the otters are quite wary of humans. you have to approach them slowly because when you get within 'striking' distance, the big male will give a signal and they will all disappear. i think they have a better sense of smell compared to their sense of sight.




while on the main bridge, i noticed something unusual in the water below. from my many visits to the wetland, i could tell that it was not a huge monitor lizard. i suspected it was a crocodile. it turned out i was right. the creature seemed to be aware of my interest because it submerged and disappeared. i knew that it would re-surface somewhere, sometime. it re-appeared on the other side of the main bridge.




i stayed on the main bridge for about half an hour watching the crocodile, apparently stalking its prey. i do not know if it was after the monitor lizard or the common sandpiper. it was still like a piece of log, allowing the incoming tide to push it towards the land. when the bird flew away, it switched its attention to the monitor lizard. i had my camera ready for any swift action by the predator but the crocodile seemed to have loads of patience. i lost mine and decided to go on exploring the other parts of the reserve.



apart from the usual sightings of monitor lizards, plantain squirrels and waterfowls, and hearing the calls of the kingfishers, crows, white-bellied sea eagles and the orioles, i came across this creature up on a tree near platform 2.

what do you think it was?

was it a python? a common krait? a viper?

scroll down to find out

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the water monitor lizard is a good climber. so is the clouded monitor lizard. it was enjoying a nap up on the tree.