A Singaporean In Australia

We came back from the hospital on 3 November. Both kids were secured in their car seats. One facing the front, one facing the back. I couldn't help but notice there was no space left. There was perhaps enough space for one slim adult in the middle. Should my parents or friends visit again, we would never be able to go out together in a single car.

While Duchess M did not rave about her spare Kia Carnival, she did give good reviews about it. I hopped on to the middle tier seats once when it was parked in her garage. What attracted me was, of course, the sliding doors that opened like a van. I like this kind of things. It was also spacious enough even at the rear tier. 7 adults should find a ride in that car rather comfortable. The only thing I was skeptical about was the reliability of the car.

I decided to view a few Carnivals anyway. One brought me all the way to an inn in the city. Jen dropped me at the inn and went to the nearby park with Albany. That should be a couple of days before she went into labour. The seller appeared shortly after I informed that of my arrival. They were a pair of young German chaps, who looked almost like teenagers to me. What were they doing with a car, did they steal it or what?

It was a 2005 Kia Carnival, asking $3,000 for it. Mileage was low for its age. No visible damage or leaks. The Germans introduced themselves and told me where they came from when I asked.

"Ah.......... Jürgen Klopp people," I said.

"Ah, yes yes! Klopp! Liverpool. Yeah," said German kid 1.

German kid 2 decided to wait at the car park when I took the car for a test drive. German kid 1 came along with me. He told me they were backpacking and just arrived a few days ago. They took over the car but decided to swap it for a 4x4 so that they could go bush bashing. He told me they brought only a few grand with them and might work in the countryside to fund the rest of their trip if necessary. I asked German kid 1 if it was a common thing for kids from Germany who barely turned 20 to leave their country, be it on long term work or an eye opening backpacking trip far away from home. He told me it was a common practice and even German girls do the same thing.

Nice.

Though I have not visited Germany before, I have a good impression of the country and its people. In fact, if there is an opportunity to send my son to Germany for university in future, I will do that. But for the car deal, it was no deal the moment I heard they were back packers. The other buyers may do that but let it not be me. I did not have the heart to negotiate and try ripping off young teenagers leaving their country for the first time.

It was a nice drive. Back at the car park, I pointed to the back seats and asked German kid 2, "Where are the seats?" In their places was a rather well constructed bed, just enough for two people to sleep on.

"I don't know, the bed was there when we bought this. But we can remove it for you if you don't want it."

"Hmm.... okay but do you have the original seats?"

"No, but maybe you can find them on Gumtree?"

I told them I would think about it. Before I left, my parting question was, "So Jürgen Klopp any good?"

"He is very good and he will take Liverpool FC to glory," promised the German kids.

Great to have something to hope for, even if it was yet another failed car deal.