skype if you do not have free minutes/contract phone. really really cheap. even cheaper than those calling card + free minutes.

or another cheap option for prepaid. get the vodafone payg, register as stop-the-clock, then use calling card. 60 minutes for 3 minutes in the evening for local landline number.

Does UK have the similar law as Australia such as , we are not allowed to water the plants everyday, washing cars, not allowed to change bulbs etc? Just askin' =D.

its not that they are illegal, but not advisable during the summer particularly when the region is low on water.

as for changing bulb? never heard of it. plenty have advised on changing bulb to those of energy saver though.

As I know, Australians are not allowed to change bulbs. If not, the insurance company will not pay if anything happens. They have to hire someone who has a license on changing bulbs and fix the water pipes which costs $100-300 on each maintenance. Oh not advisable, hmm ... will the neighbors complain or report to the police if we water the plants everyday when the region is low on water? That happens to Australia. Can't live in this pretty bad condition as Aust Gov advised every1 to take 5 mins shower. >.>

well changing bulbs is still fine. but if other stuff, e.g. changing the whole light system or wiring etc or repairing any socket etc, you will need a licensed electrician. else if anything happened, the insurance company might not pay you for the damage.

you have to understand that when it comes to draught, you might want to save as much water. if you are reported, the most you will be fined, if it is really necessary to save water, or the goverment has already declared emergency state of draught. else they are just advisable when the region is said to be low on water.

besides, car rarely get dirty in UK anyway unless you drive into the farm. and even though you water the plant, esp. grass, they will eventually wit/dried up in the hot summer and regrown in the next spring.

azarimy, you were in UCL right?

How's the studies there? It's in my Masters list

Is that applicable to students who live in the University's hostel?

living in uni's accommodation, whatever it is, just call the office for them to sort it out. save trouble and your money. as long as you are either polite or being an annoyance to them, they will do the job fast.

If you stay in university hostel, then you are rest assured that what ever happens in your flat except for destroying personal properties on own account, things like blown bulb, stuck toilet, rusty door hinges you can call them to help get it replaced.

in deep sh*t...after moved into my new house i found that the carpet in my room had very bad odour, stains and toe nails stuck in it. we only viewed the house twice and each time less than 5 mins...and she promised to wash the carpet before we signed the contract...so i complained to the agent and then the landlady came to have a look. she offered to get something to cover the stains but i think the odour was from pets(either pee or poo...all over the room)...is damn obvious putting something on top wont remove the smell...i tried odour removal but the smell wont go...so i asked whether it is possible to change the carpet and i dont mind paying part of it...she agreed and asked for 50:50...so in few days she came to measure, got someone to ripped off the old carpet and i did ask her to let me know the price before changing it...so someone came n fitted in the new carpet last week and i was waiting for her to give me the receipt...not til just now, she knocked at my door and gave me a receipt of 160 pounds and ask me to pay for the full amount...told her i cant afford and she didnt let me know the price b4 changing it...then she started saying she wasted her time, spent money to ripped off the carpet, and some other costs..we argued a bit and she got pissed off..started scolding people then left...

i really dont want to argue with her and i got pissed when she asked me to pay for the whole thing...i am not saying that i wont pay but is unreasonable to ask me to pay for the whole thing...she did agree to pay half and on the phone she did say she gonna pay for the fitting and now she just throw the receipt to me and ask for the whole thing....she said she gonna rip off the carpet if i dont pay(honestly i dont mind if i dont have to pay and from her attitude we can tell there is no way we gonna get our deposit back)...

i know it's my own fault for not checking the house properly in the first place and i know am not in a good position and might end up paying for the whole thing..just wondering whether there is any chance for me to pay less??

did you ask the repairer send the bills to your landlady instead of you? because usually landlord or landlady is responsible to all repairing bills. Probably try ask city council to help you. what i know, there should be have one service, helping student who having any renting problem.

the landlady came to pass the receipt to me and asked me to pay for it. argued with her but she started saying she paid someone to ripped off the carpet, cost her money to dispose the old carpet, paid extra for them to fix it earlier bla bla bla......

gonna go to student union to ask for opinions...and show them the contract to see whether there is anything we can do...

How's the call quality (to M'sia landline) of Skype?
Is there any constraint? For example, GBP5 must be spent in one month, etc?

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Added on June 18, 2008, 5:12 am
Another question... Just chat with Vietnamese. He asked me how much I spent for the flight ticket. I told him, if I'm not mistaken, it's about RM3600 (or USD1143) for one-way ticket, frm KLIA to London on MAS. Then, he said why it's so expensive. His flight (Singapore Airline, one way ticket too) was from Vietnam to Singapore to Manchester, and it costed him about USD700 plus only. Why so much different?

This post has been edited by onemilimeter: Jun 18 2008, 05:14 AM

Because you were on MAS direct-flight

You just hv so many questions havent you.

skype line is good enough to chat, albeit occasional slight delay about 0.5 to 1 second. i'm not sure if there's a limit though. i havent spent my balance for about 2 months now, and it's still there.

anyways, about ur MAS ticket, i assume it's the sponsorship ticket? if it is, the price is marked higher than market value. this is one way the government "helps" MAS. normally MAS' ticket price is just slightly higher than Singapore Airline.

Err... I think the Vietnames was also on direct-flight from Singapore to Manchester, which is longer distance compared to KLIA to London Heathrow.
Yup Yup Yup... many questions... luckily to have you all knowledgeable people here who can answer most of my questions...

No, direct flight means you don't need to transit at some place. from pervious post, what you said is "from Vietnam to Singapore to Manchester". It means that your Vietnamese friend will travel from Vietnam fly to singapore then from singapore fly to manchester. This mean your flight is not direct-flight. Direct-flight is where you straight away fly from KL to Manchester/heathrow. Beside, it's depends on where did you get the ticket... if you compare price from KL, Vietnam and UK, the price will be different also.. Am i right?


btw, 'sponsor ticket'? what that's mean??

when a JPA scholar embarks on his journey to study overseas, JPA will issue one way tickets for him and his family to his destination, and later one way tickets back after he has finished. these tickets are part of the sponsorship, so u dont have to pay one cent. JPA will pay MAS directly.

i dunno how true it is about JPA paying the marked up price to MAS, but i've been on a coupe of sponsored trips, and it is marked pretty high than market price.

ahh.. ok now i understand.
But last time I took MAS, the price is more or less same, RM3k++, which paid myself.

quality does depend on your broadband connection. usual 512kbps can give a good quality call, but if the connection is heavy (someone is downloading), the quality is greatly affected too.

and not much restriction. i bought gbp10 last april, didnt finish it. and they prompt me to just make a call out in this april to keep the credit after 1 year.