Last evening I went to view service apartments within walking distance of my office and felt almost grownup doing so. The smallest apartment I saw was scary. The door opened right into the bed which filled nearly the entire room. When the curtains were drawn, you could see everybody down on the streets below (well, meaning they could see you too). When the agent saw my astonished look, he told me I could elevate the bed to the ceiling to make room when I wasn't sleeping. Riight.

Basically it boiled down to a choice between a small (200+ sq feet) service apartment which felt like an impersonal hotel bedroom (without gym but including a mini-bar), or a bigger (500+ sq feet) service apartment in a noisier district which had a bedroom adjoining a living/ dining room area which allowed for cooking and had a tiny gym. The catch is the bigger place is 1.5 times the rent of the smaller one. This probably means I should budget for fewer trips back home.

Anyway, I've slept over it and the bigger place is still the winner. Will call the agent and arrange to move in on my next trip here. Wish me luck. :)