Is Wendy from Carousell selling discounted Singapore attraction ticket a scam?

To make it short - she is totally reliable.

But to make sure we are talking about the same Wendy, this is her profile in Carousell:-
https://carousell.com/attraction_tickets_sg/

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For the full story, you might be interested to know that I planned to bring my son to Singapore Zoo before he turns 3 since it's free entrance and free tram ride to children below 3 years old.

Otherwise the entrance is S$22 for children (3 - 12 years old) and S$33 for adult. Tram ride within the park is S$3 (child) and S$5 (adult).

FYI there are no concession fare for senior citizens UNLESS your are Singapore citizens or PR holders. Dang!!

My search for discounted tickets on the internet was unfruitful and the best deal I can find is 5% for early online purchase as the 15% discounts are only for Singaporeans.. Double Dang!

But thankfully a week before my trip, a seller on Carousell suddenly followed my account and she sells.. "discounted tickets for ALL Singapore Attractions"!! Wow!! Talk about answered prayers!

Only S$27 for adult bundled with tram ride ticket! That is like almost 30% discount off the regular price!

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But then came the inner conflict of can I trust her..?? Even though she had more than 1,000 positive reviews, I had my reservations since the reviews were mostly Singaporeans buyers except 1 from Philippines. Maybe she's only genuine to Singaporeans...

Another down side was she only accepts Singapore credit / debit card. So that leave me with 2 options. Either COD or bank in through ATM machines when I am in Singapore.

Plus a call to her on whatsapp kind of give the impression that she is from China from her accent in speaking english (ok.. before you judge me, I just feel that China is kind of famous for scams.. think fake eggs.. fake oils.. fake baby milk powder).

I actually thought of just buying half of the tickets from her and the other half from the Zoo itself, as I figured if I have been scammed, at least it's not total loss.

Anyhow, I decided to take the plunge and buy all 4 tickets from her through UOB cash deposit machine because:-

a) her COD locations are mostly in Singapore's West side. Her COD schedule are as follows:-

9:40 - 11am      Harbourfront MRT
12pm                Dhoby Ghaut MRT
12:30pm           Orchard MRT
2 - 3pm            Harbourfront MRT
5:30 - 6:20pm   Raffles Place MRT
7 - 10pm          Clementi MRT

As I am in East, it will take me 40mins of travel time (one way) to meet her in the evening.

b) UOB accepts S$2, 5 and 10 which is great cos certain banks' ATM only accepts S$10 and S$5.

And bear in mind that normally ATM with cash deposits functions are found in the bank's branch and not in shopping malls. Do ask the Information Counter at shopping malls for the nearest ATM which accepts cash deposits.

c) UOB branch in Bedok Central offers free WIFI but you need roaming to receive the activation code through SMS.

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In conclusion, I banked into her account at 8am and whatsapp her using UOB free WIFI and I received the e-tickets from her at 8:30am using the Zoo free WIFI at the entrance.

My e-ticket for Singapore Zoo

The e-ticket contained a collection code which I have to keyed into kiosk or machines located at the right end of the ticketing counter. The machine will also ask for your nationality and once completed, it will auto print and dispense the tickets.

It was really easy and convenient and the best news is that she not only sells Singapore Zoo tickets! Most, if not all attractions tickets can be bought through her and they are all discounted tickets! Jackpot baby!!

My dog ate my RM50 note... went to Bank Negara for help

So your dog ate your money? Welcome to the club!

It happened when my husband was taking out his keys to the door, a RM50 note fell out from his pocket. Since it was dark, he did not notice until morning and all that was left was shreds and pieces.

Sob.. the dogs ate my RM50...

All that was left from the back   :(

So a bit research show that you can actually go to Bank Negara Malaysia to get "mutilated" or damaged notes exchanged for a brand new one.

The guidelines from Bank Negara as per their website at http://www.bnm.gov.my was:-

"There are three categories of redemption value of a mutilated note as follows :-
(i) Full value should be awarded to any piece of note which is more than two-thirds (2/3) in size of the original note or;

(ii) Half value should be awarded to any piece of note which is more than half (1/2) but less than two-thirds (2/3) in size of the original note or;

(iii) No value should be awarded to any piece of note which is less than half (1/2) in size of the original note".

Err.. so my case is 2/3 or 1/2? Plus my notes did not have the full serial number... Yikes!

So I went to Bank Negara to try and was basically given a piece of paper to glue the mutilated notes (see photo below for sample of the white paper). Then the "expert" will determine how many percent is left.

Sample of the white paper

The staff at the counter was sure my case was a total write off but thankfully, perhaps due to the fact that it was during Chinese New Year week, I was given FULL VALUE!

Yippee..! This was good news to the dogs otherwise they might have to fork out RM25 (since I was quite sure that it's more than 1/2) by hook or by crook through food rationing (evil laughing - Hey don't judge me.. RM50 is not money to be eaten by dogs you know).

So as member of this club, now you know about the implications of 2/3 and halves in money changing.

Are Citibank credit cards good? Or other local Malaysian cards better?

If you are looking for a credit card with high instant cash rebates, look no further than Ambank credit cards.

Because for every RM1 spent, you will earn 1 points and every 30,000 points can be converted to RM150 cash rebates. For easy calculation, take 30,000 x 0.5% = RM150.

This I believe is the best there is in the current market.

My Citibank Platinum card used to offer the same cash rebate but this was amended sometime in March 2015.

So now for Citibank cash rebate, you will need to have 80,000 points to get back RM200!! Meaning 80,000 x 0.25% = RM200.

This is a very significant difference because with the same points at Ambank I can get back RM400, which is double!

FOR FURTHER READING

I highlighted my grievance to Citibank on the unfairness of this amendment and sad to say, my loyalty to the Citibank is completely ignored.

In fact the latest reply from Citibank's customer service Mr Panglima Jagumba, which came after a few reminders was such an insult to my intelligence!

I quote him, "Even though vouchers redemption requires higher points than last year, we are still competitive compared to other banks".

Well, let's do a COMPARISON then on voucher redemption since Citibank is already the undisputed loser in the cash rebate department.

The above is a screenshot of latest Ambank's latest voucher redemption or you can click AmBonusECatalogue.pdf

And this is what Citibank is offering to their platinum cardholders.

Just comparing PARKSON RM100 vouchers, it's a no brainer that Citibank is ripping off its platinum cardholders.

Ambank 22,280 points
Citibank 42,900 points

So Mr Panglima Jagumba, may I ask in what way is Citibank COMPETITIVE..??

my brain hurts cos it's been ripped off by Citibank

So IN CONCLUSION, I have stopped using my Citi card and exclusively using my Ambank card to earn points faster.

Before buying a Medela breast pump, read this.. - UPDATED

It's undisputed that the Mother of all breast pumps is Medela Freestyle because it seems to be on every mom's wishlist.

But the price factor makes many especially me think twice. Maybe because one is never sure how long she can breastfeed and how many children will she have.

Also I was afraid that cheaper brands will hurt the nipple or not work as well or worst, break down easily. Cos even cheaper brands will cost a few hundred ringgits and this money can instead go towards "Medela Freestyle fund".

It was because of these reasons that I bought a Medela Harmony manual pump at RM215 when I had sore and cracked nipples in Day 5.

And I was very content with the manual pump and used it during my confinement to stock up more than 30 bottles of 90ml milk in the freezer.

my stockpile :D

I'll use it on one side as my son direct latch on the other breast.

But once I began work full time, in less than a week of pumping using the manual pump, I knew I need to get a double electric pump.

Because not only was tiring to empty 2 breasts, it took too long. Almost 45 minutes away from work desk do not rest well with my bosses especially after 2 months confinement leave.

So in my quest to look for a reliable electric pump, I chanced upon a mother using SPECTRA M1 in a nursing room which we shared in Jusco MidValley,

SPECTRA M1

Seeing the ease of pumping, low noise as well as the affordable price tag of less than RM600 and most importantly real testimony of its reliability, I was elated that there are other pumps beside Medela!

I was convinced to get myself a Spectra M1 until my cousin told me that I can go to PUMP ON THE GO (a retail shop in Kelana Jaya area - click PumpOnTheGo website) to try it out.

At Pump on the Go, moms can try all the popular brands and they even provide breastmilk storage bags for you to pack the milk expressed during the trial.

It was in Pump on the Go that I was convinced that:-

- Medela Freestyle is not for me because of the LOUD noise and
- Spectra M1 is not for me because of it's too-powerful suction.

The very informative saleslady reasoned that since I am a Medela Harmony manual pump user, I will not like Spectra.

Indeed Spectra made me felt like a cow because not only is the sucking pulling my nipple from front to back, it even  shake it!

During the trial I was most impressed with Mango Ilaria and Lacte Duet double pump.

 Here is comparison between Malish and Lacte:-

MALISH ILARIA

LACTE DUET

Besides these 4 brands (Medela, Spectra, Malish and Lacte) , you can even try Eve Love and Autumnz at PumpOnTheGo and also other manual and single electric pumps!

So now you know these alternatives, you can make a good decision for a breast pump. One which will work for you. For all you know, you might still end up buying a Medela Freestyle but at least you know you have tried other brands. So happy breastfeeding to you!! :D

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UPDATED @ 28 July 2015

Having been pumping for 12 months and still counting, this is my humble opinion on breastpump:-

1) get a pump (double and electric if you are in for the long haul) that have LESS PARTS TO CLEAN.

This is because cleaning the pump will be a CHORE that you have to do almost DAILY! So the less parts, the less things to clean and less time spent on cleaning!

Somehow the pump especially the part which attaches the membrane is prone to "fungal" growth cos our milk is really ALIVE!

This does not only affect Lacte pumps as my friend using Medela faces the same problem.

2) if you can afford Medela, then might as well GET A FEW PUMPS.

For me, initially I pump in the house, car and office. So why not buy a few pumps and keep a pump in each location. Also the one in house and car can be single pump since you might not be pumping both breasts at the same time.

Why is this good? Well, it will translates to less one item to carry.

KKIA Kuchai (Klinik Kesihatan Ibu dan Anak)

These are my experience and opinion of KKIA Kuchai which serves Sri Petaling and Bukit Jalil:-

The contact number for KKIA Kuchai is 03-79801178. The number listed in the website is wrong.

1) the clinic is NOT on the ground floor. You press for your number on the ground floor but you will need to go one floor up to wait for your turn.

2) be there early because it covers a wide area therefore there's a crowd by 10am. I arrived at 8:06am and got number 35.

3) for new cases, it's best to go on Wednesdays as the nurse takes blood every Wednesday. Also note that they handle new cases from 8am to 10am only.

UPDATE:-
They handle new cases on Tuesday and Wednesday but they require you to make an appointment through phone before going.

4) the best time to go is when you are 12 to 13 weeks into your pregnancy.

5) as with all government clinics, expect to wait. Then again even with good private gynae, the wait is the same.

6) do not be alarmed if the numbers being called jumped from 20 to 50. This is because in this clinic, every patient is automatically assigned a nurse. This will be the same nurse that will attend to you from Day 1 until you deliver (unless she is on leave that day).

So the numbering progresses according to that particular nurse's list of patients and the tests (blood, urine, blood pressure etc) which the patients have to take.

7) the clinic is very organized with rooms assigned for taking blood, checking heart beat, opening account and explaining the do's and don't of pregnancy (but I personally think that by filling in your highest education in the pink book, the nurse know the level of information they need to impart).

Anyhow many important information can be found from the pink book itself.

8) lastly, there are a lot of foreign nationals moms to be there.. possibly from the influx of foreign workers in Kuala Lumpur, thus adding to the crowd but all the nurses are very patient even when they have to write the same information twice (once in your pink book and then another time in the clinic's pink book which they keep as a record).

9) there is NO ultrascan machine in KKIA Kuchai :(
That is why you are requested to bring your own ultrascan printout at the time of registration.

Not many KKIA have the machine but I know KKIA Puchong has one.

So basically in this KKIA the nurse will feel for the baby with their bare hands and use the doppler to listen for the heart beat.

I commented to the nurse on this and she recommends that I write to Kementerian Kesihatan to complain, which I did.

The Kementerian was very efficient in replying through an acknowledgment email and a phone call follow by an official reply:-

Basically they are saying that since March 2013 they have requested for the machines but reiterates that for every acquisition by the government will take time and there's a process which they have to follow.

So let's see if my baby will enjoy this machine and if not, I hope other moms to be will not have to wait too long for this one important piece of equipment.

UPDATE @ 4 December 2014:
Yahoo!! KKIA Kuchai just received their spanking new ultrasound machine last week!! Yeah.. but it's not up and running yet as the doctors need to go for training first on how to use it.

Still it's great news! :D

Audio test for baby with high jaundice (BSER)

Since my baby had jaundice of 361, the doctor in HUKM prescribed an audio test, Brain Stem Evoked Responds (BSER) to be taken when he is 3 months old.

Imagine the anxiety of having to wait that long before you can breath a sigh of relief that the jaundice ordeal is completely over.

At HUKM government hospital we had to book the date when baby was one month plus and the hospital gave a set of instructions to ensure that the test can be carried out without any hitch.

Because for the test to be successful, baby must be sleeping. So it is suggested that we wake the baby earlier and not let him sleep during the journey to the hospital.

Otherwise if the baby is awake, they will give medicine in syrup form that will cause baby to sleep. If the medicine does not work, then the last option will be to fix another date where the baby will be admitted one day before the test and then in the morning, they will apply anaesthesia.

Gulp! So scary..

So I was sleepless and up early at 5am plus on the day of appointment

For the test, the attendant attached 4 wires to his head, 2 in the center and 2 behind both his ears.

Initially she will apply a type of abrasive gel with a paper to remove dead skin to ensure strong adhesion.

Then she will scoop another type of adhesive gel with the cup shape connecting point to be attached to the head.

It was not easy to mount these things plus there is also an ear piece (the blue wire) which play the sound. Left ear first and then the right ear.

Thank God, baby was very cooperative and to help him to sleep, I breastfed him during the test.

The readings are captured by the computer which comes out in a graph form. For each ear, there were 3 graphs.

The results came back good! Praise God!

But the doctor did asked if I have other babies and when I said this is my first child, he mentioned that since there is no other siblings to compare with, he would recommend self monitoring.

Meaning babies will usually talk between 12 months to 18 months.

So if baby still do not know how to make 2 syllable sounds by then, I will need to make another appointment for audio test.

But for now, I'll leave it as that cos the results showed that my baby can hear so I am ecstatic that the jaundice did not affect him physically. Woo HOo!!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

But the funny thing was, a few days AFTER the test, I almost wet the baby's ear during bath... so me being overly concerned that water may have seeped into his ear, used babies cotton buds to "dry" his ear.

I was surprised to find on the cotton bud very strong dark coloured earwax.. Motivated by this "find", I proceeded to clean the next ear with cotton bud.

Having cleaned both his ears, I felt a niggling feeling that perhaps it is not safe to clean his ears... so I googled on it.

Lo and behold... to my horror!! We are NOT supposed to use cotton buds on babies ear.. Those earwax will somehow make it's way out and you just clean the outer part of the ear http://www.babycenter.com!!

And to think that we have just done the audio test a few days earlier to confirm baby's hearing is ok and here am I causing potential damage to his hearing... GULP!!

My only saving grace was that I did not dig real deep plus I was using cotton buds for babies with large tips. Phew!

So mothers out there.. Know what you can and cannot do! Google first before you do it and not like me.. do then check.. Hehe..

So cotton buds on ears are a definite no no.. no matter how "dirty" the ear may look inside.

Breastfeeding + Eu Yang Sang "So Hup" Pills = JAUNDICE

If you plan to breastfeed your baby, then don't take any herbal pills like 'SO HUP' pills, regardless of what the salesperson said.

Take it from me.. I paid a heavy price for trusting a saleslady from Mid Valley Eu Yang Sang branch.

Through breastfeeding my baby was indirectly consuming those herbs and his small-yet-to-fully-develop liver was unable to process it and it became toxic to his body.

It was these toxic which caused him to have high *jaundice or skin appearing yellow.

*[granted that having assisted vacuum during natural delivery will also contribute to higher risk of jaundice.. Yes you read correctly, babies which were delivered through natural birth using vacuum to suck the baby out will also tend to have jaundice].

But consuming more than 1 1/2 boxes of 'so hup' pills push the jaundice reading higher.

By Day 6 when I sent my baby for check up, his jaundice reading was 361 umol/l approximately 20.63mg/dL.

Apparently in Malaysia once the level reach 400 umol/l the baby will have to go for a blood exchange with possible risk of brain and ear damage.

Since it was 361, my baby went through hospital admission for 2 days 1 night with photo therapy with 2 lights.

While he was in hospital, the jaundice level had to be monitored every 6 hours through blood test. It was really heart wrenching to hear his loud cries as the doctors try to find the correct tiny veins on his tiny hands. Imagine doing this every 6 hours  T.T

After checking out of the hospital, we have to continue to monitor the level at local government clinic by drawing blood too but thankfully this time from his heel.

The whole ordeal took 2 weeks to end and all because of the simple mistake of taking herbal concoctions while breastfeeding!

So if you plan to breastfeed, please steer clear of ALL herbal potions. Just consume normal chicken soup etc for nourishment.

Because apparently most emergency wards are not as effective as it should be, especially when your emergencies happen at night!

It can really SAVE LIVES if you know what to do and where to go for medical help. I hope what I learnt the hard way can help you avoid the same mistake and HEARTBREAK which I went through with Hospital Pantai Cheras and Ampang services, so CLICK baby-jaundice-emergency-what-to-do.

Yokohama car battery warranty procedure

I drive a MYVI and being a local car, one is not surprised if the car battery die on you shortly after the 1st year.

Since it happened after dinner at my parents house, I called a mechanic friend, Mr Koh Chon Wai ("Mr Koh") and went to his workshop (STM Motor) nearby to buy a Yokohama battery for RM220. Mr Koh mentioned that the price was higher because the battery was a dry type battery which is better and will last longer.

Since it was late, I just paid and he did not give me any bill (which on hindsight was a very grave mistake on my part). 

On 3/9/2013 the Yokohama battery which is supposed to last longer died.. But since I do not have any bill, I cannot remember the exact date of purchase but my husband feel that it is definitely less than a year.

So I contacted Mr Koh through WhatsApp and ask for his help.

To cut the story short, what I learnt from this are:-
1) always ask for bill
2) for Yokohama car battery, you can go directly to Yokohama to claim a new unit if it is less than a year
3) Yokohama CANNOT trace the warranty date through the serial number on the warranty card.
4) the date is written on the car battery itself.

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The ending of my story? It was quite sad actually.

I bought a new dry type Yokohama battery for RM200 elsewhere.

And I had stupidly given back the old battery together with warranty card to Mr Koh thinking he can help me to check.

But instead he just told me that warranty was over and proceeded to offer me another battery at cheaper price of RM170.

Below are the excepts of my WhatsApp conversation with Mr Koh:-

See.. he's a friend because he asked
about a mutual friend's wedding..

Finally on 2/10/2013 I found the entry in my 2012 diary which recorded me buying the battery on 4/12/2012.

But when I called him on 2/10/2013 to ask, he first said he sold the unit and then changed it to he threw it away. Tsk.. What kind of answers are those??

But since he would know how to check the warranty date, he either:-
a) sold me an old unit hence the warranty was really over OR
b) the warranty was still there and he claimed a new unit from Yokohama.

Then he proceeded to offer me a new unit for RM150 but when I protested he offer to share half half and offered me a battery for RM100 whenever I need one since he reasoned that we cannot keep a car battery for too long.

VERDICT:-
I will NOT recommend Mr Koh's workshop to anybody because he charges higher than others and has questionable honesty and integrity. Besides, it does not make sense to send your car to a motorcycle workshop for repair / service. Lesson learnt!

Photos courtesy of withelwyn.com

Photos courtesy of withelwyn.com

SEA Park Animal Polyclinic @ Taman Desa

This was my experience at SEA Park Animal Polyclinic recently with our dog.

Without sounding too prejudicial, I'll just sum it as:-
You get what you pay for.
Smelly clinic.
Unsympathetic and irresponsible vet assistant.

My scenario was my husband sent our schnauzer for neuter for RM150 (yeah that's why I said you get what you paid for cos normally it's RM180- 240) on 9 November 2013 but the dog came back with so much pain that he was immobile for 2 days and his balls were unbelievably swollen.

So sensing something wrong with the dog (not eating, drinking, barking or moving about), on 11 November 2013 he sent the dog back to this vet to see if there's anything he can do about it.

The doctor was not in and the assistant's response were:-
- did you give the dog the antibiotic tablets?
- you sure he ate it?
- because if the dog did take the antibiotic, there should not be any infection.

- He then ended by saying that the swelling is normal and the dog will recover in a week's time.

But since my husband was there with the dog, he wanted leave the dog there for the vet to have a look but the assistant said that the clinic's full.

So we decide to increase the dosage of the antibiotic from 1 tablet to 1 1/2 and wait another 5 days.

Lo and behold, we waited and by this time, the infection was so bad that there's a recess the size of our old 50 sen coin at the surgery site.

Finally we had enough and on 16 November 2013 we sent the dog to a different and more compassionate vet.

The new vet was appalled by the state of the dog and immediately cleaned the wound, gave 2 jabs and told us to leave the dog there for 3 nights as the dog needs daily wound cleaning.

Hopefully the wound will dry up and close, otherwise he will need to perform another surgery to remove all the infected skin and stitch it up again.

Loss of money is one thing, but to see the dog suffer and in pain is really heart wrenching and only an unsympathetic and irresponsible vet / clinic / assistant can turn away a dog who is suffering!

So take my advice, good thing no cheap. Cheap thing no good.

VERDICT:- Go to SEA Park Animal Polyclinic at your dog's risk. I tell you it's no fun hearing your dog moan and howl at night.

You can see how pus are forming at the surgery site. So my poor dog suffered for more than 7 days after his neuter surgery at SEA Park Animal Polyclinic.

Below are photos of the inflammation. The wound can be quite graphic so do not scroll further unless you can stomach it.

WARNING!!