Your quickest exit from planes and hotels

Four photos on Wizz Air flying into Tirana, capital of Albana. Photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

(NB no h in Wizz air.)

As Benjamin Franklin, the American ambassador to Britain, once said, and probably said several times, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

Seats next to exits should be reserved or allocated to able bodied people who can open the door in an emergency. On landing, stay seated until the plane comes to a standstill.

I have been hit on the head by items from overhead lockers. I am more nervous standing up than when seated.

 Every pilot, and every lawyer working for an insurance company knows safety rules. Every flight staff trainer knows and conveys this. Does, or should. The passengers will be depending on the staff to act quickly, calmly, decisively, and correctly, in an emergency.

When buying a place ticket, I consider, how cheap is this flight, how safe is this flight. What is the time of day, the number of engines on the plane, and the airline's reputation for safety? A relative of mine died in an air crash, and I read Unsafe at Any Height.

In a car, I try to sit beside the door and not in the middle seat. I have had three road traffic accidents.

I fly regularly. I am no longer nervous But I do try to select my seat.

THE PLANE EXITS

I was twice in planes which had trouble, engine trouble of warning lights. Once, taking off from Heathrow in an Air India flight. We had to wait at the airport many hours for another flight. Then the second leg of my flight, we circled and came to a standstill. The air hostess (as they were called in those days) ran to the pilot's cabin. She came running back in a panic, raced down the aisle and off the plane. Leaving us!

I now sit near an exit, on the aisle. In a train I like to sit near the exit, but mainly so  I can watch my luggage, and not have to race a long a long aisle to get off in time when I hear the station name announced, and cannot understand it, and suddenly find I am at the interchange or destination station in Wales.

Flying is safer than driving

This is normally considered true, but sounds ironic. If you drive on corniche roads, corniche is French for ledge, with a sheer drop on one side, the number of times you brace yourself, and stare anxiously at the scenery, on one journey, can exceed the number of times you brace yourself in an aircraft during turbulence. However, some people find that dangerous roads do not make flying seem safer. Any kind of alarm makes them more tense in all situations. 

Howeve, even if you are totally stress-free, and stoical, it may be despite, or because, of the fact that you have taken every care to maximize your chances of coming out of an accident safely.

Yes, but whether you are driving or on the road, many precautions can save lives. That is why we have a highway code, and driving tests, and the UK's car MOT, and road safety campaigns. That is why airlines have safety briefings. Ensure you are not one of the few, rare casualties, but one of the survivors.

Fear of Flying

I used to  be afraid of flying. I liked photography. I sat in the window seat. After we took off, I felt nervous looking down. 

Now I sit in the aisle seat. This has more than one advantage. Quick exit in emergency. Quick exit to toilet. Quick way to stop a passing flight attendant. Eyes on the long aisle beat claustrophobia. Inside plane activity distracts from the sight of the far off ground.

Preparation On Boarding

If you want a photo from the window, ask the passenger in the window seat to take it.

Listen to the exit and emergency instructions. That helps others. And may stop them obstructing your exit. 

Check you can find your inflatable floatation device.

Check you know which way to pull the lever on the emergency exit.

Keep your phone and credit cards and passport on you. That way you don't delay in any emergency. You don't leave the plane and leave your passport behind in the seat back pocket. You have a phone to call for help, and contact family to say you are safe. You have credit cards to buy food, a ticket home, clothes, a hotel to stay overnight, the airline number to call for help or another flight, to tell them where you are, to ask for a message to be sent to your family, and the taxi waiting for you at the destination airport.

Wear flat shoes, not heels, which damage the slide as you descend and slow your running away on land.

In your pocket have a small file of drinking water, a chocolate bar or vitamin tablets.

Thongs (underpants) in your pocket, spare socks, a small pen and paper to write a help me note, or location details.

HOTEL EXITS 

Note the exit. Note the number of doors between your bedroom and the exit.

RESTAURANTS

Note the exit. Ask, if there is a back exit for an emergency. 

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En Bloc Sale: What Is It? What Does It Mean For You And Me?

Problem
You rent a flat in Singapore. You are told that it is under en bloc sale? What could this mean?

Answers
En bloc sale means that every owner in the block sells so that the land can be redeveloped. We lived in one block which was under en bloc sale.

Why Sell?
The requirement at that time was for a minimum of 80% of owners to agree to sell. Why would anybody sell? Because you could make a lot of money. The en bloc sale organises it all and finds the buyer. All you have to do is sign and agree to their terms of sale. You make a huge profit. You can be sure of a buyer even if your property is run down, old, got insects or dry rot or things which need fixing - the whole thing is being pulled down anyway.

Renter's View
From a renter's point of view we found it was a disaster short term. As a renter you have no protection. If the owner wants to sell, or 80% of those in the block want to sell, you have to move.

Moving Problems
Short-term - disaster. Disruption. Every move we have made has resulted in things being broken, lost, or sold off cheaply, thrown away, because the member of the family in charge of moving has to make a quick decision.

Price Problems
You may have to move further from the center of the city to get a property at the price you are able to pay. In Singapore we have moved from the centre to far out. We had a very stressful time looking.

First we looked at the east coast near the airport and the beaches. Dreadful buildings, no lift, steep outside stairs, blocks like prisons. We found our dream place in the less expensive North West - Olympic size swimming pool - but in the middle of nowhere. However, a new MRT railway station was being built within six months.

We had to fly back from overseas in a hurry to move at an inconvenient time. You miss a hospital appointment, or a birthday, or business meeting, or radio or TV appearance, because you are moving that day.

Moving is considered one of the major stresses in life. It can tip you into a stress-related illness.

Against Selling
Why would you not sell? Because you have lived there a long time, or only just moved into your dream home, and you don't want the inconvenience and disruption of moving, the cost or moving, losing your neighbours and friends, not being able to get something so large because new build homes have lower ceilings and smaller rooms.

I was told that if you had just under the 80%, the last owner or two might refuse to sell, even though they wanted to sell, because they were 'greedy'. They would not agree until they were offered a financial incentive by one of the buyers or sellers.

This is only to set you thinking about what you want to find out. Please ask your property agent or lawyer for the latest legislation and circumstances in your area.

In London, I wanted to sell and move somewhere larger and near my son's new school. I found one house. But it had structural problems (rot). Then I found another, near a station, but spooky and deserted by trees at night. Finally, I found a new place. The selling agent for my property had promised I would get a great price for my property. The asking price for the new one was above my selling price but the difference was achievable with savings. I could not get a mortgage (self-employed).

My mother had always warned:
1 Don't take a mortgage - you could lose your home.
2 Buy before you sell. Otherwise, if the home you want is taken away you have no home.

She was proved right. I made a full price offer on my dream home to be sure of getting it. The agent selling my home had a keen buyer. However, the buyer was only keen if he could get a bargain. After several days of delay, he finally made an offer well under my asking price. I could not make the difference (between my selling price and my buying price) so the move fell through.

On the latest proposed sale I have heard:

Against The En Bloc Sale
"You will never find anything like this. Not at the price you get. Not at any price. We have an Olympic size pool, four tennis courts, two gyms, a meeting hall, spa jets, a sauna, a children's pool with fountains and a slide, children's playground, adult outdoor exercise, a grocery shop, hairdresser, a snack restaurant, parking, large rooms with high ceilings."

Locationwise, we are walking distance of two railway stations, a bus stop outside, view across to the hills. Trains to the city centre every three minutes. A busy low price shopping centre one stop away. An upmarket, elegant quiet shopping centre one stop in the opposite direction.

One man, against the sale, has a friend with a larger condo at the top of the block. "I say to him, you get big money, la."

What if you have the penthouse, the top floor?  He gets enough to look anywhere. "Correct. There are lovely places overlooking the sea at Marina Bay. But you don't get those for three million. More like five million!"

For The En Bloc Sales
This is what I heard when I asked a resident:
"Greedy people are holding out for even more money. But if you don't take this offer, you might not get another offer for another five years."

Get on with it. At the recent meeting, I was told, those who disagreed who asked to leave. Those who agreed were asked to 'sign on the spot.

A resident told me"
"We have lots of owners who are happy to go outside Singapore."
I asked, "Australia?"
"No. Malaysia. You can buy a nice house in Malaysia for that money, in fact you can buy two."
I know lots of people with two places in Singapore, or Malaysia. In one case the wife has one in Singapore, while the husband owns one in Malaysia.  "One to live in, one to rent for an income."

Neutral
An elderly resident told me: "I let them get on with it. Go with the flow. I If they want to sell, they will sell. I don't even bother going to meetings."

Another view:
When they sell this en bloc, several hundred people will be looking for new homes in Singapore, some in this area. Prices of what you want to buy will go up.

Freehold and Leasehold
This is freehold. The new flats will be leasehold. Nothing to leave your grandchildren.

Freehold property value stays up.

Once you get to the last twenty years of a freehold nobody wants to buy.
The value of your leasehold property goes down every two decades.

Affect On Local Residents
Lastly, local residents are not happy. It will be two years of noise pile-driving, water supplies cut off while they add new drains, electricity disruption, hoardings along the pavements, big delivery trucks. cranes looking over you and blocking your view. mud on the pavement. Noise early in the morning. Noise late at night. Dust and dirt on your washing and your curtains and on your furniture and carpets. Workers wearing dirty clothes watching you as you walk past, sitting cross-legged on the ground eating take away food.

I've lived next door to constructions sites. I've met ex-pat wives who went home with the baby because the noise and dirt and stress was intolerable.

Horrid to live next door.  You won't be able to hold a party or rent out your property.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.