~~~Back from hunting and here is what i've found~~~

Ok a brief intro to the start of my journey this morning...

Left home at abt 8.30am..reached Bidor @ 10am...had breakfast there and left for Kampar abt 10.30am...Reached UTAR entrance at 11.45am...WOW the place looks just like in the brochures....begged the guard to let us in for a look...very very nice place...2 basketball courts, a football field, a jogging track around that, a futsal court beside the badminton court, two tennis courts...too bad no swimming pool....Western entrance is in front of West Lake Homes, Eastern entrance is about 5 min drive/ 10min cycle to Tesco...

After that we went to WEST LAKE to see houses there...those Wei Wern first suggested... REALLY nice place!! The houses are brand new! But need wait till 15/10/2008 to be able to start booking houses/rooms...

Houses are divided into 3 different types:
a) Manchester - 3 story house --> rental rates = single occupancy - RM215-245 per person per month / Twin sharing - RM190per person per month, some rooms share bathrooms less privacy
; MAX. can stay 15 people

b) Yale - Double story house --> rental rates = single occupancy - RM200-230 per person per month / Twin sharing - RM 190 per person per month / Triple sharing(Not really recommended) - RM175 per person per month, some rooms share bathrooms less privacy ; MAX. can stay 10 people

c) Tsing Hua (清华) - triple story house --> Most expensive !! Min RM210 ; Max RM290 ; depending on size of room...the bigger the room the more expensive, more privacy cuz each room has own bathroom ; MAX. can stay 15 people

Pro & Con

Pro's :
i. Provides basic facilities, laundry n house keeping once a week
ii. Internet service included - unlimited access
iii. Within cycling distance of: banks,UTAR, clinic, restaurants and bistros
iv. Facilities provided : a) Room - bed, mattress, wardrobe, study table, chair, ceiling fan, light. ; b) Common area - fridge, table, chairs & ceiling fan. ; c) Bathrooms -water heater
v. Laundry service : Max 7kg per week per room, 4 times a month
vi. Weekly basis of common area cleaning
vii. Subsidy of water & electric bills : a) water bill - less RM1.50 per person per month ; b) electricity bill - RM 10 per person per month ; if use more then must pay lor...simple.. :p
viii. Students only no other outsiders, all living here are either KTAR or UTAR students
ix. 24hr security services

Con's :
i. Manchester and Yale house less privacy
ii. Yale houses fully booked
iii. Tsing Hua house very the mahal!!!
iv. Expensive if u rent single de room
v. High chance of other people living with you if u cant find enough people to fill the house...
vi. Staying with outsiders can lead to misunderstandings and arguments - 50%-50% chance lar~~
vii. NO aircond, unless owner gt put lar...gt air-cond = higher cost in electric fee...

Here are the pics i took of West Lake homes:
Manchester House

2nd floor kitchen in Manchester house
Furniture that will be provided in rooms
Doubles de Room part I
Part II
Tsing Hua Front View of House, Manchester has similiar look...
Tsing Hua house Kitchen area
Tsing Hua house Dinning Area
Tsing Hua House doubles room - Part I
Tsing Hua House doubles room - Part II

Yale house no Pics cuz gt people staying there cannot go see...Year2-3 Degree /diploma people staying there....

Then took a break and went to Ipoh for makan and visit my aunt....

Went back to Kampar to meet up with Hui Yun @ 3.30pm...took a few pics of the lake( west lake) and the hills in the background.. The lake has a nice habitat.... gt fish = gt birds = zhen hui can rear his crocodile here~~~ Here are just a few pics that i took b4 Hui Yun showed up :

Western Entrance of UTAR (on the left of pic) Lake and Hill view in the back
Mum pointing at the West Lake home's Tsing Hua and Manchester houses across the lake
Bro and Mum posing in the wind by the lake nice back ground view

The Hui Yun arrived with her friend whose mum was the owner of the house which we were going to see~~~

Here are the pics first for a change~~~

Hui Yun's House front look
Downstair's single bedroom with bathroom
Master Bedroom - Can stay up to 3 people
Accessories of the master bedroom
2nd floor's 2 rooms are like this:
Bathrooms are all like this except slight differences in size

Details:
min. 7 minutes drive to western entrance
min. 15 minutes cycle to western entrance
min. 30 minutes walk to western entrance (not recommended - might die of exhaustion b4 sampai campus entrance)

*Rent per month if 7 people stay there : RM800 ; each pay about RM114.30 ; not inclusive of water, electric and internet bills - these have to sendiri go bayar at post office...

**Rent per month if 4 people stay ther : RM600 ; rent divided as follows : a) downstairs single room - RM 150 per month, gt own toilet ; b) 2 single rooms on 2nd floor, share 1 bathroom - each RM 125 per month ; c) master bedroom - RM 200 per month, has own bathroom.
ALL NO AIR-COND but if want means electricity bill more pain...

Fully furnished inclusive of: fridge, all bathroom got water heater, basic cooking stove, living area gt TV and sofa, lights, tables and chairs memang ada lar, washing machine & rack to hang clothes, 2-doored wardrobes, little garden patch on front porch...

2nd floor gt view of hills, all rooms got bed and wall fan, u can bring ur own fan if u think u nid more ventilation to sleep...


After evaluating the options, i think Wei Wern's first choice seems better..No offense ar Hui Yun...For RM190 per person per month in doubles room is reasonable considering that it has so many extras along with it...+ its so near to campus..walk there oso can...but slightly longer walk to Tesco lar...cycle through UTAR safer...

To get to Tesco from West Lake home follow these directions:

UTAR western entrance just out side guard house of West Lake homes --> cycle deep into campus till the other side--> eastern entrance of UTAR(currently not opened yet) --> cycle straight out then turn right --> Tesco and Eastside houses...gt many makan places here, but duno nice or not...no time try today~~~ Tesco got KFC though~~~ XP

I plan to buy a bicycle when i get there...My best choice would be to stay at West Lake Homes...Manchester houses good enough...Tsing Hua de SUPER expensive!! though much nicer n looks more high class~~~

So if u need more information do contact me at : msn --> wzlbrian@hotmail.com or contact number : cannot put here lar... get from fish, Nelson, Wei Wern or someone from my class(TB 2)

or you can discuss with me when the sem starts next week...thats all for now~~~ type till tired adi...morning fly up to Kampar, after done adi fly back home to write all this into blog before i forget any details...have terrible memory.... X(00)X