At home in Singapore my condo's flat gave me views of palm trees and the blue swimming pool. However, when we flew to Sydney, Australia, where my husband was at a conference for a week. The hotel where we were staying gave me a bedroom with a view of the building site next door. I asked if we could change rooms. No fully booked, upgrades would be expensive.
Photo of construction site supplied by Park Taeho to Wikipedia article on construction.
Next morning I spent three hours glowering at the view, unable to leave the room because my husband was likely to come back at lunch time.At lunch time he phoned to say he was going out to a working lunch. Have lunch in the room.
Yes, I thought, enjoying the view of the tractors and scaffolding. I went down to reception. Another girl was on duty.
I said, I'm not keen on the view from my window.
I'm sorry, she said. We can't change the view.
No, I said, but I can change hotel. How long are we booked in for.
She checked. "A week."
I replied, "I am checking out in an hour. I shall look for another hotel which doesn't have a view of scaffolding. If I can't find one, I shall go back to Singapore where I have a lovely view of palm trees and the swimming pool. I am going up to my room and packing now. Could you please send a porter to collect my luggage in an hour, tell customer relations, and ask your supervisor to prepare our early checkout bill."
I got to the room and there was a phone call. They had found me a new room. The room was booked in my husband's name and they wanted to speak to him about our changing rooms.
My husband was in a meeting, but everybody at his end heard the conversation with the hotel. I think the company agreed to pay for an upgrade. But the hotel waived it anyway.
But what if your expat home overlooks a building site? Or simply the neighbour's wheelie bins?
Building Sites
To drown out noise you have to play music and/or wear earphones. In Singapore the work must desist at night.
I remember visiting an American expat whose husband was a pilot. He was kept awake by night noise and went down to tell the contractors it was illegal to work at night.
The workers' supervisor replied, "We have to work. It's an emergency. Trouble with your underground gas supply! "
"Really?" replied the pilot. "Then I shall call the gas supply company and complain. They will be most surprised. In this street we have bottled gas."
Five minutes later, the workers on the building site had all gone.
What if it is simply wheelie bins, as we say in England.
You can buy stickers. Or a screen.
Wall covering
Amazon had a wine bottle background.
Window Covering
Put pot plants on your window sill.
Buy cafe curtains, which are suspended at the horizon of the window. The curtains let in light and a view of the nearby cathedral towers, but shield the view of traffic and stop people outside from watching you eat.
In France net curtains are designed with views of countryside and quaint villages, cats flower pots and all sort of things. I admired them at a French friends' house. She said, 'You can buy them everywhere.' She was right. Curtain shops, supermarkets, hardware stores.
I bought sets to take back to the UK. In the UK we have merely plain nets and repeated patterns of flowers or leaves or geometric patterns. I used mine on an indoor archway.
This is a pair on sale at ebay. If you show a picture like this to a shop in France they will know what you mean and find you a set or send you to a shop which is likely to have stocks.
Bin Pictures
You can stick small or large pictures on bins. If you love your holiday photos and are short of wall space, or want to disguise bins, you can print your own.
Useful Websites
https://www.fishpond.com.sg/Homeware/Wheelie-Bin-Self-Adhesive-Sticker-Kit-Butterfly-Design/
http://www.mywheeliebin.com/your-photo-on-a-bin
https://www.gardentrellis.co.uk/
https://www.wheeliebinstoragedirect.co.uk/best-wheelie-bin-screens/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Selections-Willow-Wheelie-Screen-Double/
Glass window stick on which looks like stained glass:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PNNXMT3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_G74Y2JTNX92QN5V9SKNT?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&fbclid=IwAR0yD3dr-hXXGJJR3uWK80ykwX6lXLLl-dspndl2AFAKtVOOLN26mmAtbhE&pldnSite=1
About The Author Angela
Angela Lansbury is a British author who has lived in the USA.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.
Angela Lansbury teacher of English (advanced and English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language, French and other languages, aspiring polyglot.
No comments:
Post a Comment