I've just returned from a lunch treat given by a friend. Alas, she chose Holland Village, a place I set foot on no more than once every few years.
The reason is the horrendous parking situation there, which means setting out earlier than needed to ensure securing a lot. And because of the extra time parked, the parking charges could add up to a tidy sum.
As was the case today. Almost $11. But then, I was there be4 noon and finding the HDB multi-storey carpark already full, I thought myself lucky to secure the last parking lot at Holland Shopping Centre's Wilson Parking which obviously is more costly than HDB.
OK, I got a lunch treat as well the company of a reasonably good friend and I did some shopping as well. But I always find paying high carpark charges somewhat off-putting.
As does a nephew who once told me he was invited to a lunch in the CBD and parked at a carpark where the charges were even more heart stopping than those I had just paid. His host had discovered a great set lunch with all the works for under $10. As my nephew said, with ERP and car park charges, he could easily have bought two of the marvellously priced lunch himself.
Still neither he nor I are so dogmatically against paying car park charges like some very well-off dudes we know. Rather than pay, they would park illegally in private carparks; look for free car parks even if it entails walking at least 1 km to their destination etc
This well-heeled coterie would also drive several kms out of their way in order to avoid paying ERP charges, no thought for the petrol they are using and the time they are frittering away.
Clearly, their parsimony in respect of carpark and ERP charges may be the reason why they are so wealthy. If only they know the Hokein song with this instructive simile: Jit choon kong yim, jit choon kim (one inch of time is equal to one inch of gold).
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