Advance Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Everyone

BUYING A CAR AND GETTING A LICENSE IN CANADA

In Canada just like in the US it would be an advantage if you have a car to get around since public transportation is not that readily available everywhere not unless you stay in the heart of the city.

Thus it is important for you to get a drivers license immediately upon arriving in Canada.

The basic license given to newcomers is G1 which means that you can only drive if you are with a person who is a holder of a G2 drivers license. A G2 license will allow you to drive alone anywhere in Canada.

To get a G1 license you must pass a written test that consist of 40 questions  (multiple choice) and payment of a fee of C$125.00

If you have a valid drivers license anywhere in the world (except US) you still need to present additional proof like a letter from the Issuing agency in the home country before they can convert your G1 to G2 license.

Or you can schedule a practical driving test with the Drivers Test Office anywhere in Canada to covert your G1 to a G2 license.

Then and only then can you buy a vehicle under your name.Without the G2 license they wont issue a car insurance to you and thereby you cannot buy a vehicle. So its important that you complete all your documents including drivers licenses and certifications when you are migrating to Canada. 

I AM BUSY DOING SOME CRAFTS

Today, I bought two rolls of wallpaper at the dollar store. I saw from several online blogs and lifestyle TV programs how they decorated the stairs steps.

I bought a light blue and grey speckled design which looks like a floor laminate. You see our basement steps are still very rough and unpainted so I wanted it to look nice specially when I am going up the steps. 

I wanted to achieve something like this  

This is how my basement steps turned out. Not bad for half an hours job(pat on the back) 

  Now it looks better. Tomorrow,I shall attempt to paint our garage wall.

TRAVELLING IN 2010

     Its now October and two more months and its almost the end of 2010.

This year marked a big move for us, since its not like my usual travelling year(You see travelling is my hobby) .This year we have finally moved to Canada which will be our home for the next few years.

Evidently this move has clipped my wings(literally and figuratively) since travelling to Asia which is my favorite region will now be curtailed due to high costs of airfares.

It good I can still reminisce that I have somehow whet and satisfied my appetite for travel in 2010.

Here are the places I visited in 2010 before our move to Toronto in June 2010:

March- PHUKET,THAILAND, We revisited Phuket(its our 2nd time here) in time for my 2 boys school holidays. We stayed at Marriot Kamala beach courtesy of our Marriot membership.

April-BEIJING  and TIANJIN,CHINA. Hubby and I finally saw the Great Wall and are happy to have climbed to the top. Its one of our most remarkable and memorable trips as a couple. Again we made use of our Marriot Membership to stay for free at Marriot Beijings downtown hotel.

May, YOGYAKARTA,INDONESIA I. SInce hubby had work commitments I had to travel all by my lonesome self to Yogyakarta to see Borobodur,one of the temples that is in my wishlist of places to see. I stayed in a small but charming boutique hotel,Ruma Mertua which translated means Mother In Laws House.

June, PENANG & LANGKAWI,MALAYSIA -As a Huling Hirit(last Call), hubby invited me to join him in Penang and later Langkawi where he was winding off his work commitments before our transfer to Canada.

Lastly we arrived in Toronto ,Canada on June 7,2010.

I am surely missing the beaches of Asia and the warm weather. 

I am still dreaming of going places with hubby and the family but maybe that would be in 2011. 

SENDING YOUR CHILD TO SCHOOL IN CANADA

One of the benefits of migrating to Canada aside from Universal health system is the free educational system offered to most public as well as catholic schools here.My two sons have enrolled in Catholic schools here in Brampton.

My younger son Niles is going to Grade 8 at St Angela Merici Catholic Elementary School while my eldest Nygel will go to Grade 9 at St Edmund Campion Secondary School.

 When I registered my Grade 8 son to school a week ago, I was surprised and happy to find out I have nothing to pay for…no registration fee,no tuition fees, no uniforms,no canteen, no cellphones in class and most of all if your child lives more than 1.5 km away your child is also entitled to free school bus. For a parent that is a blessing .Imagine not paying school fees till they finish high school.

Today Tuesday, September 7, is the start of a new school year in Canada. Below is a breakdown of the expenses we incurred in enrolling our two sons in school. 

Grade 8 costs 

School supplies(from $1 store) estimate is $20

Art supplies (paid to school)                          $20

Locker Fee                                                            5

SUB TO                                                          $45.00

Grade 9(high school) costs 

Enrollment fee(cover lockers etc)             $60.00

Uniforms(expensive)                                   230.00

School Supplies($1 store)                            30.00

SUB TOTAL                                                     $320

TOTAL                                                                            $365.00 

Isn’t this wonderful?  Wait till they deduct it from our income which is about 25%. The HST(Harmonized Sales Tax) in Canada for all purchases(with no exception) is 13%.

To New Immigrants-What to do After Landing

Before we came to Canada I researched on the internet about what we would be doing soon after landing. Here are some of the things a new immigrant should do

First of all, some of the important things:

• If you don’t have somewhere already, find a place to live! In our case, I have my sister Bambi who generously opened her home to us;
• You should apply for your Social Insurance Number as soon as possible. The legalities of asking for the SIN seem to be a grey area, but banks will demand your SIN to open a bank account.
• You will also need a Medicare card to take advantage of the Canadian health care system.Be sure you have proof of address in Canada like a bank statement before applying for this card
• Open a bank account. This is the most important thing since if you dont open an account you will have a hard time getting credit. You can also try getting a line of credit, to start a Canadian credit history which is needed if you apply for home mortgage; In our case we have stumbled into a miracle, we got a good housing agent who was able to get a mortgage for us even though we didnt have a credit history in Canada.
• Get a driver’s licence. 
• Look for your childrens school;If you enroll your children in a catholic school you will have to attend an orientation and your children will be asked to attend an English as a Second language course;
• And some more other things:

• Take some time to settle in and enjoy your new environment. Don’t jump straight into work, unless you really can’t afford not to.
• Explore whatever city you are in, get to know the public transportation system and start learning your way around. 
• Do some sight-seeing, and some of the touristy things. You will probably have family and friends visiting at some point, so it’s good to know where to take them.Specially know where to get free tourist attractions visits.

Some people have reported PIDS (Post-Immigration Depression Syndrome), but we can’t say we ever felt that. I expect if you’re emigrating on your own , it could be a bit depressing. My family and my sisters family are like having a reunion of sorts thats why my kids are enjoying our new life in Canada. 

Canadian Life

We have been in Canada for almost two months now, so far we have completed almost everything we need to do:

1) Apply for our SIN(Security Information Number)

2) Look for housing and be approved for mortgage, we are moving to our new home by first week of AUgust

3) Find a school for our two boys

We are still on vacation mode(since I am not working) but hubby will be travelling to Asia by next week for his work and on August 9, we will be going to Quebec with him for a work assignment. 

Toronto is our new home

Talagang lagalag ang mga Pinoy katulad namin. We have filed our immigration papers about 4 years ago and after a year of saving up for this move we are finally here in Canada.

Toronto is our new home now. July 1st is Canada Day and to all Canadians, Happy Canada Day 

A Neglected Blog

I have been remiss in my blogging on this site. There are several reasons for this:

 One, I am maintaining two blogs (Turistangbarat- my travel blog) and (Febeth- my personal blog) as well as a facebook and a multiply account ,and

Secondly, I am a bit busy with our move from Singapore to Canada.We have finally migrated to Canada on the 7th of June 2010. My husband and two kids have so far been pretty settled.There seems to be no loneliness(yet) in our family. No homesickness (we have been away from the Philippines for 10 yrs) since sanay na kami sa buhay overseas.

But its a bit surprising that most of my enquiries or visitors actually come from this blog and most of them manage to locate me at my facebook account.

I hope to resurrect this blog soon after we have fully settled in our new home.   

Beijing Come True

Its a dream come true, visiting Beijing, eating Peking Duck,seeing Tianenmen Square and the Great Wall of China and most of all buying fake goods from the source(bought Uggs, Crocs,Burberry) the same products but much cheaper,evidently factory over runs from Chinese factories.

I cant use facebook and blogger and even multiply nor can I upload photos to my site.Terrible..its like being stranded.

Planning for a Trip To Beijing

The Great Wall of China is one of the places(not necessarily Beijing) that is in my wish iists of places to visit.

So when I saw this offering for initial budget trips to mark  the launch of Air Asia’s maiden trip to Tianjin(Beijing), I grabbed on the opportunity to book two tickets for hubby and myself.

Since I will be flying to Tianjing,I will still be riding on one of the worlds fastest bullet train, the Tianjing-Beijing  train which cuts down the travel time from these two cities from the normal 70 minutes to a record 30 minutes.

The two tickets which was flying out from Kuala Lumpur only costs RM760 for two which is about S$330 or (S$165@). How can you get lower than that for a trip to Beijing.Normally tickets to Beijing would costs somewhere between S$500-700.

The only hassle however was that I still have to fly to KL and stay overnight which means that I have to look at the prospect of sleeping again at the cold cement floors of the LCCT(Low Cost Terminal of Air Asia) or staying in Tune hotel for RM158 or getting into the Premier Lounge at RM106 for 5 hours or just sipping several cups of coffee at the LCCT McDonalds store.

At least this time I have 4 options, last year in February while going to Macau we had to sleep at the terminal while waiting for our morning connecting flight.

I really cannot cancel this trip since ,

1) I cant rebook and would totally lose my Beijing trip booking

2) I have already booked two nights at Courtyard Marriot Beijing using our Marriot card

3) I dont think I will be able to plan another trip to China now that we are moving to Toronto by June 7

Our budget for airfare and hotel

Airfare- Singapore to KL            S$80.00 (I bought another ticket going to KL)

              KL -Johor                             58.50 (RM136)

     KL-Tianjin to KL                         330.00 (RM 760) 

TOTAL AIRFARES                       S$  468.50  (S234.25 per person)

HOTELS (3 nights)                      Free courtesy of Marriot Vacation Club

allowance for 1 night hotel (KL)         54.00

TOTAL                                             S$     522.50 

Take a Look at Sentosa SIngapore’s New Hotels

Can You Beat this Low Air Ticket Fares?

The next time you book a flight compare these prices.

Singapore has a definite advantage in low cost airline travel since two of the regions low cost carriers are based in Singapore (Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia) while another low cost carrier Air Asia is based in nearby Kualu Lumpur:

Here are the lowest airplane tickets from SIngapore and Kuala Lumpur :.

Flights with less than 3 hours duration:

Singapore to Kuala Lumpur                S$25 roundtrip    April 2010          Air Asia

 Singapore to Bali ,Indonesia              S$40 roundtrip    Dec 2009         Air Asia

Singapore to Yogyakarta,Indonesia   S$42 roundtrip   May 3-5,2010    Air Asia

Singapore to Phuket,Thailand             S$63 round trip  Mar 16-18,2010  Air Asia

 Singapore to Ho CHi Min,Vietnam     S$76 roundtrip     Nov 2009         Tiger Airways

Flights over 5 hours in duration:

Singapore to Perth                                S$117.3 rndtrip     Sept 2009         Jetstar

Kuala Lumpur to Tianjin(Beijing)       S$157.5 rndtrip   April 2010         Air Asia

As a rule of thumb for me, I find fares low if they fall below S$100 for flights for less than

3 hours and for less than S$200 for flights for destinations 3-6 hours duration.

The next time you book, let these rates serve as a benchmark whether you are buying real cheap tickets

Tips for 2010