Let me take you on a little journey from yesterday, and then I will draw some conclusions...

Recently one of my "Stand-In Concierge" clients in Australia asked me to find out the lot number for a property he owned with his exwife.

Weirdly the title document he sent me did not show a lot number, only the Title Deed number.

So yesterday I went to see the Lands Office to get this sorted out on his behalf (that's what my Concierge service is all about)

Now, just finding the Lands Office is something of an adventure unless you know exactly where it is.

Fairly typically for Vanuatu, there is no sign. You just have to know where the building is. Then how to navigate the rabbit warren of buildings, corridors, and offices until you get to the actual office itself (THEN there is a sign!).  Oh, and they have a number of sections in different locations, so you need to know which department is most likely to be able to handle your enquiry, and start there.

After only one false destination I found the proper place. But it was closed until 2pm. I had waited until after the typical government lunch-time shutdown from 12 to 1:30, not knowing this particular section takes lunch from 12:30 to 2pm.

You see, even those of us "in the know" have more to learn.

So I am looking at the closed door and thinking I will just wait the twelve minutes. But the lady in the previous destination who had told me where the place I needed was located, came out and asked me what it was I wanted.

I tried to explain, and showed her the title document I had put in my phone. She took the phone and expertly navigated around the PDF. Then she said "This property does not have a lot number"

She explained that although strata title areas have lot numbers, others did not. When a new subdivision (not strata title) is formed, temporary lot numbers are assigned until the lots are sold and a new title is registered, at which time the lot number disappears.

I was a little unconvinced, until she explained that although I had found her visiting in another section on her lunch break, if I had waited and gone through the closed door after 2pm SHE is the one I would have dealt with. And she cited another area I was familiar with as an example of how this "no lot number after title is registered" scenario works.

I asked her name (it's always good to have the name of a contact in every department so you can phone instead of having to do the legwork each time)

She explained that the last 3 digits of the title number are often used by residents to define their property for deliveries and so forth.

Well, now I was convinced, and had all the information to take back to my client.

Lessons to learn:

In Vanuatu, "Island Time" rules. Sure, make your list of things to do when you are in town, but pad it generously, because often the times you THINK a place will be open are inaccurate to say the least.

In Vanuatu, Government offices are often very hard to find unless you know exactly where they are, and they move about a lot too, so the location you went to last time might be obsolete.

In Vanuatu, mostly the people are very open, friendly and helpful. Note their name for future reference.

And finally, if you are not actually in Vanuatu, to get something done, done quickly and done correctly, you probably need a service like this:
https://lanceinvanuatu.com/stand-in-concierge-service/

Lance in (flip-flops on the ground) Vanuatu

p.s. "Flip-flops" is a foreign term to me, in Australia they are called "thongs" but unfortunately my American readers think of underwear.  In Vanuatu they have many names, including savat and slipper.

https://in.vu/lance << voice
https://in.vu/cal << book a consultation

Website: https://LanceInVanuatu.com