Singapore - The lion city

Taxi fares increased - So how are you going to commute !!

2011-12-13T14:57:00.003+08:00

ComfortDelGro did it !!

Now it is SMRT's turn from 20 dec 2011.
SO it is $3 from $2.80 for standard taxis
$3.40 from $3.20 for an Epica/Azera taxi

If you want go more luxuriously then pay $3.90 for the Mercedes, London, Ssangyong and Starex cabs.

Distance-based charges will increase by between 2 cents and 3 cents per kilometer, on the average.

Booking fees for standard taxis will be $3.30 but bookings for Mercedes, London, Ssangyong and Starex cabs will soon cost $10.

Extra charges :

1) Lowered peak hour surcharge: From 35 per cent of metered fare to 25 per cent of metered fare, Mondays to Fridays (6am to 9:30am) and Mondays to Sundays and Public Holidays (6pm to midnight).

Note the longer duration - it will start an hour earlier, at 6am from Mondays to Fridays and run from 6pm to midnight all week, including Sundays and public holidays.

2) $1 public holiday surcharge is removed

3) $3 location surcharge to Marina Bay Sands shortened from 6am to midnight, to 6am to 4:59pm on Sundays and Public Holidays.

4) $2 per additional passenger for Ssangyong and London Cab fleets, from current $2 flat rate.

I think my commute by taxi will surely go down. I would be going out for lunch rather than for dinner with my family. I will have to shop nearby frequently and take a shopping cart. But are the buses and trains going to get more crowded now !!

Oh my god ! That is worse , let's see ..

Lewis Hamilton wins F1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix

2009-09-27T22:05:00.003+08:00

Reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who tried to come first from the beginning, was the first driver to cross the finish line after 61 laps at the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix. Next was Toyota’s Timo Glock and the third last year’s winner, Fernando Alonso.
Championship contender, Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull managed to finish in fourth place, ahead of championship leader Jenson Button. Sixth place was taken up by Button’s team mate, Rubens Barrichello.

Next stage of circle line stations to open in early 2010

2009-09-08T14:16:00.002+08:00

Few stations of the circle line have been running successfully. There is not much crowd in the train but it is very convenient for people staying , studying and working there. The next phase of the Circle Line – Stages 1 and 2 – will start operations in the first half of 2010. WE do not know the exact dates , however, it will only be finalised after engineers complete the necessary tests.
Stage 1 of the Circle Line starts from Dhoby Ghaut, through MRT stations like Esplanade and Nicoll Highway, and ends at Stadium, while Stage 2 starts from Mountbatten, through interchange station Paya Lebar, and ends at Tai Seng.
The other 13 stations from Marymount to Harbourfront will be ready by 2011. Daily ridership of this 33.3-kilometre line is estimated to be close to half a million when it is fully operational.

Swine Flu update in Singapore

2009-07-06T02:46:00.002+08:00

Swine Flu has been the talk of the town and we find that SIngapore has been affected a lot by this in many ways. Singapore has confirmed 52 new cases of H1N1 flu as of July 5th so totalling it to 1,055. 69 cases have been investigated and 50 were found to be local cases while 19 were imported ones. Of the cumulative number of 1,003 cases investigated thus far, 591 were local cases and 412 were imported ones.
The Health Ministry says that the current strain remains mild, except for high-risk individuals with underlying medical conditions where complications and even deaths may occur. The ministry urges members of the public who feel unwell with flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose) to promptly seek medical attention.
So be careful when you are out and try to avoid spreading it to others. Hygiene is the most important thing. Always wash your hands and close your mouth while coughing.

Mas selamat has been arrested in Malaysia

2009-05-09T01:16:00.003+08:00

Mas Selamat Kastari, Singapore's Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leader who escaped from Whitley Road Detention Centre on February 27 ,2008, has been arrested. That is surely a big relief I know for everyone. He was arrested in Malaysia in a joint intelligence operation involving the internal security agencies of the two countries. Well they say that Mas Selamat was actually arrested on April 1 , 2009 , over a month ago but had been under interrogation in Malaysia. He should be brought to Singapore soon.
Last December, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had said: "He is one up on us, but the game is not over. One day we will catch him."
Most security experts had expected the fugitive to head for Indonesia, where other JI members are believed to be based. So, it came as a surprise to some that he was arrested in Malaysia. The escape sparked the largest manhunt in Singapore's history. You must all be remembering the posters bearing his face and description were put up everywhere and every mobile phone here was sent either a text description or a picture of him.

Miss Singapore Universe 2009 on 9th May

2009-05-09T01:07:00.001+08:00

Miss Singapore Universe 2009 Grand Finals will be held on 9 May 2009 at Shangri La Hotel. The 15 finalists have been trained by Glamour Beaute Consultancy. Styling is to be performed by Makeup Forever. The finalists also hit Dermasolutions and Orchards Scotts Dental where they get to tone their body and perfect their smile respectively.
The winner will be crowned by Shenise Wong. Miss Singapore Universe 2009 will represent Singapore at Miss Universe 2009 in the Bahamas in August. The preliminary evening gown for the Miss Universe 2009 will be designed by Hayden Ng, a professional designer who also crafted the evening gown for Miss Singapore Universe 1987 Marion Nicole Teo, where she placed top 10 in Miss Universe 1987. so let us all wait and watch who wins??

First case of Swine flu reported in Hong Kong

2009-05-02T02:10:00.001+08:00

Swine flu spread to Asia on Friday, as Hong Kong authorities announced the continent’s first case, a 25-year-old traveler who came from Mexico via Shanghai. They immediately quarantined an entire hotel where the traveler had stayed on Thursday night. Flu experts have warned that it would be harder to manage the disease if it becomes established in Asia’s densely populated countries.
Worldwide, the number of confirmed cases of what is now known as influenza A(H1N1) continued to climb. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised its total number of confirmed cases in the United States on Friday to 141 cases in 19 states, up from 109 cases in 11 states a day earlier.
Hong Kong’s first confirmed arrived Thursday afternoon on a China Eastern flight, then checked into a local hotel and fell ill, health officials said in an evening press briefing. Hong Kong authorities responded quickly, quarantining the man at a local hospital, declaring a health emergency, and then quarantining all 200 guests at the hotel, the Metropark, for seven days — whether or not they had contact with the man. About 100 members of the hotel staff are also being kept in the building, and will be moved to rural campgrounds that are being converted overnight into medical quarantine areas, authorities said. Health workers in blue uniforms and green surgical masks also arrived to distribute boxes of Tamiflu, which is used to shorten the duration of the flu, to hotel guests and staff.
“No one can enter or leave the hotel without the permission of a health officer,” said Dr. Lam Ping-yan, Hong Kong’s director of health.
Despite the alarm the epidemic has raised in Hong Kong and other areas, the epidemic has so far resulted in mild illness in many of those infected outside Mexico, and worldwide caused one death in the United States and fifteen in Mexico. There are 358 confirmed cases of infection in Mexico, believed to be the outbreak’s epicenter, and tests are continuing to see if more of 159 people who recently died of respiratory ailments had the flu, Mexican authorities said.

Elderly women hit by train in Clementi MRT is dead

2009-03-25T00:56:00.003+08:00

Train accidents have become so common now. Who is to be blamed, I have no idea. Today an elderly woman was killed after she was hit by a train at the Clementi MRT station. So this in turn had disturbed the westbound train service between Queenstown and Jurong East stations for about 50 minutes. The woman, believed to be a 71-year-old Chinese, was hit by an oncoming train at 6.15 am, said SMRT in a statement. The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it received a call about the incident at 6.18am. SCDF officers found the body lying under the third carriage of the train and had to manually extricate it. The woman was pronounced dead by paramedics at about 6.57am.
To maintain service on the unaffected stretch of the East-West line, westbound trains were turned around at Queenstown MRT Station. Train service between Jurong East and Joo Koon stations were not affected by the incident. SMRT said it activated a bus bridging service from Queenstown to Jurong East stations to ferry affected commuters. The first bus arrived at Queenstown MRT Station at about 6.50am. About 6,250 passengers were affected during the incident. Westbound train service resumed at 7.03am.
Passengers were informed of the service disruption and the free bus services through announcements, notices and the rail travel information system at affected stations.
Passengers who were unable to complete their journeys due to the disruption can claim a full fare refund from any of the 53 SMRT stations within the next three working days.
SMRT is assisting Police in its investigations.

NTU student stabs professor and kills himself

2009-03-03T11:20:00.004+08:00

Why, Why would you kill someone if you have not got ur grades. All this happened in NTU (Nanyang Technological University) in the morning of 2nd March. A final-year engineering student (EEE) at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU),21, David Hartanto Widjaja stabbed his professor, Chan Kap Luk, several times with a kitchen knife and jumped from a campus block. The professor was in his office at the engineering faculty when the student stabbed him in the back. He then slit his wrists and jumped off a five - storey building. Police said they received a call about the incident at 10.35am, and arrived to find the student dead at the bottom of the engineering block. Eyewitnesses also told about this incident to the police.
Professor Chan, a Singaporean in his 40s, was sent to the National University Hospital for treatment and is said to be in a stable condition.
Why all this happened was that he did not get the expected grades for his project. For sometime he was not doing very well in his subjects.
He was indeed a good student, as told by many professors. They called him a 'genius' in maths who had previously represented Indonesia in the International Mathematical Olympiad. A former president of the NTU Electronic Sports Club, he enjoyed computer gaming, they said, but he was a private person who preferred to indulge in this alone in his hostel room. He had a single-room in Hall Four, and was not known to be social.
Well u can see that mostly people who are kind of lonely, try to attempt such things.
He is a Chinese- Indonesian who came to SIngapore with Asean scholarship.
Pictures of the crime scene of NTU student stabbing

Alexis@Alexandra condominium giving discounts for homebuyers !!

2009-02-13T11:03:00.002+08:00

Well the property prices here in Singapore has been going down now. But Alexis is not only going down but also giving discounts. Yi Kai Development and Fission Group, the developers of the 293-unit condominium Alexis@Alexandra, are offering discounts of 28 per cent to make people buy and attract. Well that actually did pay off and homebuyers flocked to the opening of the development near Queenstown MRT. The offer ends on Thursday. The development includes 100 studio apartments, priced at about S$450,000 each. Two-bedroom units cost approximately S$660,000. Some of them thought it was a good deal while some were little cautious. The whole situation is that they think it might still go down and so some also want to keep waiting. well let us see what is going to happen !!

Circle Line MRT to open on May 30th !!

2009-02-13T10:53:00.003+08:00

Are you residing in areas such as Lorong Chuan and Bartley Road, then the circle line MRT is just on its way to open on May 30th 2009. Circle Line Stage 3, which has five stations, will open on May 30 instead of June, Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced in Parliament during yesterday's debate on his ministry's budget.
The remaining 24 stations on the new line will open slowly from next year, thereby reducing the crowd in other trains. When completed, the Circle Line will take about 10 to 15 per cent of commuter trips from existing lines. '(It) will help commuters save travel time, by reducing the need to make detours into the city centre to transfer across MRT lines,' said Mr Lim.
The five stations that will open are Marymount, Bishan, Lorong Chuan, Serangoon and Bartley. Bishan will be the interchange station for the North-South line and Serangoon, the North-East line.
The Circle Line is among $40 billion worth of rail projects that will double Singapore's rail network. Besides adding new rail lines, the Transport Ministry is also intent on reducing waiting time along existing lines, which introduced 900 extra train trips a week last year. One major move is the purchase of 22 new trains, to be delivered in 2011. Another is to expand Jurong East MRT station, where there is a bottleneck. Trains arriving there from Bukit Batok now have only one platform and track to stop at before they turn around. A second train will have to wait for the first to leave before it pulls into Jurong East. A project to add another platform and track will be completed by 2011 instead of 2012, said Mr Lim.
The changes to Jurong East station and the new trains will cost $800 million in all. They will help boost carrying capacity along the North-South and East-West lines by 15 per cent and slash the waiting time between trains to two minutes in 2011 from the current 2.1 to 4 minutes.
Yet another project that will come onstream earlier is the extension of the North-South MRT line to Marina South. It will be completed a year earlier, in 2014.
Singapore's trains pack in four people per square metre, which is similar to those in Hong Kong but lower than London's (five people) , Tokyo's (seven) and Shanghai's (eight).

Chingay Parade 2009 road closure details !!

2009-01-29T13:29:00.004+08:00

Chingay Parade will be held tomorrow and on Saturday and many roads in the vicinity of the Padang will be closed.The Singapore Police Force and People's Association announced yesterday that Republic Boulevard, Temasek Avenue, Fullerton Road, Raffles Link and Parliament Place will be closed from 5.30pm to 1am tomorrow. Stamford Road, between Connaught Drive and St Andrew's Road, will be closed between 6.30pm and 11pm tomorrow. On Saturday, when City Alive!, said to be Singapore's biggest street dance party, takes place, Republic Boulevard, Raffles Avenue and Raffles Link will be closed from 5.30pm to 1am.Other roads such as Connaught Drive and Coleman Street will be closed until 5am. Stamford Road, between Connaught Drive and St Andrew's Road, will also be closed between 7pm and 1am on Sunday.
During the Chingay parade rehearsal, which takes place today, two out of four lanes - in the direction of Connaught Drive towards Beach Road/Stamford Road - will be closed from 10pm to 2am. Traffic and buses will be diverted as the lanes and roads will be closed along City Hall to Raffles Avenue. Motorists should avoid the affected areas and there will be auxiliary police officers present to regulate the traffic.
Train service arrangements :
Chingay Parade - 30 Jan -
The train service between Marina Bay and Yishun from 9pm to 11.45pm will run at a frequency of 3.5 mins, whilst the rest of North-South Line remains at the off-peak service frequency of 7.0mins.
For East-West line, the train service will run at a frequency of 4.8 mins from 10pm to 11.15pm.
Chingay Parade - 31 Jan -
The train service between Marina Bay and Yishun from 5pm to 11.45pm will run at a frequency of 3.5 mins, whilst the rest of North-South Line remains at the off-peak service frequency of 7.0mins.
For East-West line, the train service will run at a frequency of 5mins from 7.45pm to 11.45pm.

Singapore's DBS CEO Richard Stanley with Leukemia !!

2009-01-29T13:23:00.003+08:00

The Chief Executive Officer Richard Stanley,48, of DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Southeast Asia’s biggest bank has been diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia. He will be starting the medical treatment soon. Chairman Koh Boon Hwee, 58, will assume “active management oversight” while Stanley takes a leave of absence that may last as long as six months, the company said.
Stanley’s illness comes days after DBS completed a S$4 billion ($2.66 billion) rights offer that drew more bids than securities offered. The bank is turning to shareholders for cash after a slowdown in Singapore’s economy and rising provisions for losses on credit investments caused DBS’s steepest earnings decline in two years.
Stanley was appointed chief executive officer on May 1, 2008. He was Citigroup Inc.’s top China banker before he joined DBS.

Singapore is in 12th place for most expensive cities in the world !!

2008-12-05T16:39:00.003+08:00

How expensive is Singapore?? Standard of living has been high for sometime now. But where does it stand now ?? Singapore is the 12th most expensive city in Asia, now according to a global survey on cost of living by international human resource company ECA International. Well it has jumped 27 places, and is one of Asia's biggest movers. Hong Kong was ranked 6th, while Tokyo took the top spot. This time Beijing overtook Hong Kong as the most expensive Chinese city. The survey noted that the cost of living for Asian cities such as Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei has gone up in the past year due to fluctuating currency and inflation rates.
Living costs in Hong Kong are now approximately 15 per cent higher than in Singapore, an increase from 12 per cent last year.
According to ECA International, the last two months have seen goods and services in Hong Kong swing from being 10 per cent cheaper than in London to being almost 10 per cent more expensive. The financial crisis has relegated London, once regarded internationally as one of the most expensive cities in the world, to a lowly 72nd place, making it cheaper than dozens of cities including Paris, Munich, Amsterdam and Brussels. Last year London came 10th.
Beijing is now three times more expensive than Singapore compared to last year, while cost of living for foreigners visiting Korea and Singapore is now almost on par.Big change in Japan this year, goods and services in Japan are now 68 per cent more expensive than in Singapore - around 43 per cent more from sep last year.
Who is the cheapest in Asia ?? It is Islamabad.Goods and services there are 70 per cent cheaper than in Japan.
In Europe, Moscow is the most expensive location, replacing Oslo. The weakening of the pound has seen central London off the list of the world's top ten most expensive cities.
The study compares the costs of 125 consumer goods and services commonly purchased by expatriates – ranging from groceries and electrical goods to clothing and motoring expenses - in 370 locations around the world.

Loletta Chu marries Vincent Lo !!

2008-11-29T18:03:00.002+08:00

Hong Kong - Former Miss Hong Kong Loletta Chu,48 has married real estate billionaire Vincent Lo,60 in a low-key wedding in Singapore. They tied the knot at Four Seasons Hotel, with pop star Sally Yeh as the bridesmaid, reported Ming Pao Daily News.
Yeh's husband, singer George Lam, was among the 30 or so guests. Hairstylist David Gan, who was spotted at the hotel, admitted he was the make-up artist.
Chu was crowned Miss Hong Kong in 1977 and is celebrated as the most gorgeous winner in the history of the pageant. She is the former wife of the late tycoon Henry Fok's son, Timothy, and has three sons by him. Her eldest, Kenneth, is the boyfriend of Chinese diving champ Guo Jingjing. Mr Lo, chairman of developer Shui On Land, is worth US$2.5 billion (S$3.8 billion), according to Forbes magazine.

White tiger kills Malaysian man in Singapore Zoo !!

2008-11-15T14:14:00.003+08:00

A big tragedy tho' the three white tigers in the Singapore Zoo mauled a Malaysian contract worker to death after the man jumped into their enclosure, a zoo official said. Nordin Bin Montong, 32, a Malaysian working as a cleaner at the zoo, leapt into the moat of the white tiger exhibit and was attacked, said Biswajit Guha, assistant director of zoology at the Singapore Zoo in a statement. The screams of the attack caught the attention of zookeepers nearby and they eventually managed to distract the tigers and rescue Nordin. But one did not leave him at all and attacked his head and neck. But then though they tried to help him, he died coz of the injury.
"Keepers managed to separate the worker from the tiger. While waiting for the ambulance, our vets attended to him," said Guha. "The worker tragically succumbed to his wound."
Singapore's Straits Times newspaper said on its website that Nordin was seen behaving in an agitated manner before he fell into the moat. Terrified visitors near the section watched the vicious attack in horror and screamed, the paper said.
White tigers are very rare because they suffer from a genetic condition that strips their fur of the orange pigment, leaving the animal with snow white fur, black stripes and blue eyes.

Iggy's Singapore rated best restaurant in Miele Guide !!

2008-11-03T17:52:00.002+08:00

A restaurant guide ?? Well it is useful ofcourse if u are really a food lover. Asia's
first truly independent and authoritative restaurant guide was officially launched on Oct 31st at a star-studded dinner held in Singapore. The 2008/2009 edition of this new annual guide, The Miele Guide,is also available via The Miele Guide’s website (mieleguide.com) and Amazon.com. So the first on the list was Iggy's,a modern-European eatery in the Regent Singapore hotel.This function was attended by approximately 350 guests. Results of the Miele Guide, rated Iggy's above even French chef Joel Robuchon's Asian outlets (ranked second, 6th and 13th) and culinary institutions like Hong Kong's Yung Kee (8th) and Fook Lam Moon (18th).

Asia’s Top 20 Restaurants 2008/2009

1. Iggy’s, Singapore
2. L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Hong Kong, China
3. Les Amis, Singapore
4. Gunther’s, Singapore
5. Mozaic, Bali, Indonesia
6. Robuchon a Galera, Macau, China
7. Garibaldi, Singapore
8. Yung Kee, Hong Kong, China
9. Hutong, Hong Kong, China
10. Antonio’s, Tagaytay, The Philippines
11. Caprice, Hong Kong, China
12. Zuma, Hong Kong, China
13. L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Tokyo, Japan
14. Bukhara, New Delhi, India
15. Grissini, Hong Kong, China
16. Nobu, Hong Kong, China
17. M on the Bund, Shanghai, China
18. Fook Lam Moon, Hong Kong, China
19. Zanotti, Bangkok, Thailand
20. Kyubey, Tokyo, Japan

Jetstar Asia increases flights to KL and offers free seats now !!

2008-09-29T10:44:00.002+08:00

Jetstar Asia offers passengers 50,000 FREE SEATS* for bookings from 26 September (12 noon) to 3 October 2008.
That is a good deal and they have announced that from December 2008, they will be increasing their flights between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur from 7 times weekly to 19 times weekly. This announcement follows the full liberalization of the SIN-KUL market. So it is in this celebration that they are offering free seats (*not inclusive of surcharges and taxes) for bookings made from 26 September to 3 October 2008 and travel from 1 December 2008 to 31 July 2009. Passengers can start booking from 12 noon on 26 September (Friday).
When asked on the impact of the full liberalization of the market for low cost carriers, CEO Chong Phit Lian shared, “It is definitely good news. The flight time between Singapore and KL is short and passengers in both cities are very familiar about the benefits of low cost carriers. Our SIN-KUL-SIN flights have thus been very well-received since we commenced daily flights from 1 February this year. Currently, with only one flight daily, our load factor has already exceeded our expectations with seats filling more than 65% on average. The liberalization of the market would mean that we can provide more convenience and connectivity for passengers between two closely-knit cities.”
Jetstar Asia continues to attract passengers by operating out of Changi Airport Terminal One and KLIA’s main terminal, free online seat selection, leather seats and a generous free 20-kg luggage allowance.

Grand Prix Formula 1 Singapore - Fernando Alonso wins the night race !!

2008-09-29T10:16:00.005+08:00

It was really an electrifying night in the first ever Formula 1 night race Grand Prix. There was little drama atleast and small crashes here and there, but still the race went on very well. So who won the Grand Prix race in Singapore ??
Well it was Renault's Fernando Alonso who captured the Singapore Grand Prix after starting 15th on the grid while McLaren's Lewis Hamilton extended his championship lead.
It was Alonso's 20th time in his career, his first victory since last year's Italian Grand Prix. Williams' Nico Rosberg was second, his best Grand Prix finish, and Lewis Hamilton was third.
First in the race, Massa was leading but in the last it was Alonso who made it to the finish first. Alonso was way back on the grid after a fuel pump failed during qualifying.
"After qualifying, our hopes were gone already," Alonso said. "It was nearly over, but it shows that Formula One is unpredictable on Sunday."
Hamilton extended his championship lead to seven points because of a turn of events that cost title rival Felipe Massa of Ferrari any points.
Felipe Massa really had a bad day as his race was ruined when he pitted after the end of a safety car period at the start of the 20th lap.Massa pulled away from his stop prematurely, taking the fuel rig and hose with him up the pit lane. He knocked over one of his mechanics, who needed medical treatment, and almost collided with another car. By the time the crew sprinted the length of pit lane and got the rig out of the car, Massa had dropped from the lead to 18th and last. He then incurred a drive-through penalty for an "unsafe release from a pit stop." Massa finished in 13th place.
Frrari's trouble,followed with reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen crashing out on the 58th of 61 laps. The Italian team's pointless finish and Hamilton's third place lifted McLaren to the top of the constructors' standings by one point.
Toyota's Timo Glock was fourth and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel took fifth. In sixth was BMW's Nick Heidfeld, ahead of Red Bull's David Coulthard and Williams' Kazuki Nakajima.
Red Bull's Mark Webber was running in second place, a second behind Alonso, when gear trouble forced him to quit in the middle of the race.
The safety car was deployed again on the 52nd lap after Force India's Adrian Sutil hit a barrier and blocked turn 18. That stacked the field together, negating the 23.5-second lead Alonso built. The Spaniard, however, immediately sprinted away from the field upon resumption of racing and won by 2.9 seconds.
So all together it was a really a thrilling race and in any point no one could really tell as to who was winning the race !!

1	F Alonso	Renault	1:57:16.304
2	N Rosberg	Williams Toyota	+2.957
3	L Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	+5.917
4	T Glock	Toyota	+8.155
5	S Vettel	STR Ferrari	+10.268
6	N Heidfeld	BMW	+11.101
7	D Coulthard	Red Bull Renault	+16.387
8	K Nakajima	Williams Toyota	+18.489
9	J Button	Honda	+19.885
10	H Kovalainen	McLaren Mercedes	+26.902
11	R Kubica	BMW	+27.975
12	S Bourdais	STR Ferrari	+29.432
13	F Massa	Ferrari	+35.170
14	G Fisichella	Force India	+43.571
15	K Raikkonen	Ferrari	+4
16	J Trulli	Toyota	Not Classified
17	A Sutil	Force India	Not Classified
18	M Webber	Red Bull Renault	Not Classified
19	R Barrichello	Honda	Not Classified
20	N Piquet	Renault	Not Classified

Formula 1 tickets still selling !!

2008-09-26T12:16:00.002+08:00

Some of them really knew the way to make little money by getting the F1 tickets before hand. What did they do then?? They did not buy to go to the night race but to sell at a more bigger price. More than 300 tickets have been spotted for sale on popular auction websites such as Ebay. One of them was offering a three-day pit grandstand ticket for more than S$2,000. That’s S$600 above the official price of S$1,400. But however, a large number of the tickets sold online are going for as much as 60 per cent below the official price also. Its just ur luck on what u get.
But some of them really dont want to struggle going there and watching from that crowd. They are happy to watch from their homes.
One respondent said: “I guess the only tickets worth buying will be the ones over the pitstop if I can afford it. If you get seats anywhere else even at the turn, you’d probably be seeing the cars for a couple of seconds and back to the screen anyway, so might as well watch from home.”
“I would prefer to stay at home, reason being that I can watch it in the comfort of my own home, and not squeeze with all the people as well as be in air-conditioned environment,” said another respondent.
The practice of selling tickets like this is prohibited. Under the official purchase terms and conditions, tickets may not be resold or transferred for free or otherwise.
All of you be caredul about this. Dont get caught.

Pay 5 dollar surcharge for taxi to go to F1 Grand Prix !!

2008-09-26T12:05:00.004+08:00

If u want to go to the Grand Prix in a taxi, u have to pay extra money. Isn't that too much. More taxi companies are imposing an extra surcharge in the Formula One SingTel Singapore Grand Prix area during the coming weekend. Comfort DelGro said it will be charging $5 extra to pick up passengers in the area surrounding the Marina Bay street circuit this weekend. Smart Taxis also said it would levy that charge, with the same timings and locations as SMRT. SMRT announced that its taxis would be charging an extra $5 surcharge to pick up passengers from 14 locations in and around the F1 track.
It will apply only from 10.30pm to midnight on Friday (practice) and Saturday (qualifying), and from 9.30pm to midnight on Sunday, the night of the race.
Premier Taxis said it is still considering whether to levy the surcharge while Trans-Cab was uncontactable at press time.
Only Prime Taxis said it would not join in. 'This is our contribution to our customers,' said its managing director, Neo Nam Heng.
So now as most of them know about the surchage they would not be taking the taxi. Again the taxi drivers might not take the chance to go in the traffic jam. It is also going to be affecting the shops which are in that area and the restauarants. I guess it is kind of annoying and surprising as to why they have to just increase and keep surcharge. I am sure most of them would be taking the trains from there. So lets see how it goes.

Singapore weather for F1 Grand Prix !!

2008-09-26T11:59:00.002+08:00

You must have seen the storm in the morning today. Oh ho !! That was not good for the Formula One drivers' in the night race that is going to be held. The first practice session for the sport's inaugural floodlit grand prix is due to take place at 7 pm local time (1100 GMT) later today. Meteorologists had predicted a 50 percent chance of rain over the weekend and drivers have already voiced some concern about the combination of rain, floodlights and an untested street circuit.
"I think the biggest thing really is if we have a downpour and knowing what it's going to be like in the spray with the light refracting through the water," Red Bull driver David Coulthard told reporters.
"We don't know how much it's going to hang in the air, so that would be the most difficult thing I think."
Sauber's Nick Heidfeld echoed Coulthard's thoughts. "I would have welcomed the chance to test on the track, especially in the rain," he told reporters.
"Rain combined with the artificial light is the great unknown for me with this race.
"The climate should be similar to that in nearby Kuala Lumpur, and -- from experience -- it rains frequently there, especially in the early evening."
Heidfeld's teammate Robert Kubica added: "There are still some question marks regarding weather conditions and, related to the chance of rain, the light situation.
"I am sure the (sport's governing body) FIA have done everything to make it a safe race."
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton has said he would rather the race be in the dry, saying that would make things "easier".
But the Briton, who leads the drivers' standings by one point from Ferrari's Felipe Massa with four races to go, has not expressed any anxiety about the expected rain.
His chief executive at McLaren Martin Whitmarsh is less blasé about the problems rain poses, however.
"If it rains, there is the unknown of whether there will be a problem with glare or the sparkle of light from droplets of rain that is greater than you would ordinarily get," he said.
"To manage this we are using coatings for the visors that won't allow droplets to collect."
Williams's Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima also acknowledged the difficulties the tropical conditions could pose.
"We've been doing quite a bit of work in our simulator in preparation for this race and it looks like Singapore could be quite a complex circuit with lots of corners, but it should still suit our car," he told reporters.
"I don't think driving at night will be a problem if it's dry but, if it's wet which it looks like it will be, it could be quite difficult with the reflection."

Grand prix road closure map and details !!

2008-09-23T11:38:00.002+08:00

YOU can visit the Singapore Grand Prix circuit without a ticket only before the Formula One race starts on Friday. At a press conference,the Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Mr S Iswaran, said substantial road closures around the Marina Bay circuit would begin on Wednesday. Private vehicles will not be allowed onto the closed roads, but pedestrians will be able to walk through the area on Wednesday and Thursday.
Mr Iswaran said: 'By Thursday, the FIA (International Automobile Federation, motorsport's governing body) will do an inspection to certify the circuit is ready to go.' 'Essentially, the key thing is to try and find a way to distribute the load. One major source of human traffic is the MRT station at City Hall but then those who are on the other side, the Padang area, they can come by Raffles Place.
Motorists should note that Coleman Street, Colombo Court and Parliament Place will be closed.
Suntec City will still be accessible via East Coast Parkway and Nicoll Highway.
But dance studio Jitterbugs Singapore in Millenia Walk has chosen to suspend operations during the race.
U can check the GP race road closure map here.

Road closure maps

Pre-race:
Sept 20 - 22
Sept 23 - 25

Race weekend:
Sept 26 - 28

Post-race road opening:
Sept 29 - Oct 2

Food markets recall 15 brands of Chinese food products !!

2008-09-23T11:10:00.004+08:00

Over 15 brands of China—made products have been removed from all stores coz of the growing consumer concern in Singapore over the tainted milk scandal. Major supermarkets such as Cold Storage and NTUC FairPrice are also playing it safe by checking that items made in other countries do not contain dairy from China. Sheng Siong supermarket ha just been piling all boxes of China—made food items. The chain has removed over 20 products as a precautionary measure, including bread and biscuits. These include Want Want Crunchy Wafer, Oreo Wafer Sticks, Snickers Peanut snack—sized bars, and Dove Hazelnut Milk Chocolate.,Cold Storage and NTUC FairPrice have also recalled items such as condensed milk, crackers and butter.
So now what happens is that everyone would be very cautious and will not go near Chinese products. That is just better than getting sick. I guess now the health will be more important than how much milk or crackers cost.
Chong Nyet Chin, director, Food Safety and Quality, NTUC FairPrice, said: "We also take some precautionary measure on our end. We see whether there are other products which may not be made in China but the source of the raw material was purchased from China."
Some distributors here have been assured by their suppliers in China that their products have not been contaminated. Others will also provide laboratory test results to verify that their items are safe.
However, major supermarkets like NTUC FairPrice and Sheng Siong said that until Singapore’s food safety authority gives the green light, many of the affected items will remain off the shelf.

'White Rabbit Cream candy' has melamine.

2008-09-22T14:54:00.002+08:00

China has been having now lot of problems due to Melamine in the milk they produce. So everyone country is testing if their products are safe. Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has said that its laboratory test have shown that the "White Rabbit Creamy Candy" from China is also contaminated with melamine. Consumers who have bought the affected products are advised not to consume them, the AVA said in a statement. The latest test results bring the total number of milk and related products from China imported into Singapore that are found to be contaminated with melamine to three.
So friends make a note :
The other two affected products are "Yili Brand" Choice Dairy Fruit Bar Yogurt Flavoured Ice Confection" and "Dutch Lady" brand of strawberry flavoured milk.
All the affected products have been recalled earlier. Since Sept 19, 2008, AVA has suspended the import and sale of all milk and milk products from China.
These products include milk, ice-cream, yoghurt, confectionery such as chocolates, biscuits and sweets as well as any other products containing milk from China as an ingredient.Retailers and importers have also been instructed to recall these products and withhold them from sale.
People have to be careful now both in consuming and selling these kind of products else anyone found selling unwholesome food can be fined up to $10,000 and/or sentenced to three months jail, or both.
All of you have to be very careful now when consuming products esp. from China and otherwise also. I guess it is always better to go for pasteurised and homogenized products. Take care everyone !!

Singapore airlines makes Krisflyer redemption easier !!

2008-09-22T14:50:00.003+08:00

Getting miles with airlines is not always easy, Singapore airlines is now trying to make it asier for everyone. Members of the Singapore flagship carrier's frequent flyer program have been told one-way award tickets will from September 29 cost 50% of the number of points normally required for a round-trip ticket - rather than 70% as is the case now. There is no change to the Saver Award but the Unrestricted Award would be renamed Standard Award."The Standard award will continue to offer extended ticket validity as well as two free stopovers per round-trip," the airline said.
More seats will become available on a new award type Full Award.
"Currently, there are two award types available for redemption – Saver Award and Unrestricted Award. We are introducing the Full Award, a new award type that helps meet the demand on popular flights, especially during peak periods. This means that you will soon have a choice of three award types for redemption – Saver, Standard and Full."
The airline said passengers could mix and match their desired award types and classes of travel on any booking. "With three award types and reduced number of miles for one-way award tickets, we will offer members the flexibility to mix and match the various award types and even different classes of travel," the airline said.

Temasek not decided on Merrill Lynch stake !!

2008-09-15T15:08:00.002+08:00

State-linked Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings has not yet decided on what to do with its stake in Merrill Lynch, which is to be bought by Bank of America, sources said.Temasek Holdings, which holds about 13 to 14 percent in the US investment bank was not available for comment but Dow Jones Newswires, citing unnamed sources, said the Singapore firm was holding a meeting to discuss the matter.
"The investment team is meeting now. Their decision on how to handle the Bank of America shares will depend on how they view the long-term prospects of the bank," the source said. "Temasek always looks at the long term."
The Wall Street Journal reported that Bank of America would be buying Merrill Lynch for 50 billion dollars at 29 dollars a share. Temasek is the single largest investor in Merrill Lynch after making investments totalling 8.3 billion dollars.
Merrill Lynch has been forced to sell itself to seek fresh capital after making huge losses following the meltdown in the subprime, or higher risk, US mortgage market.

China's Li Xiaoxia wins Volkswagen World cup in Table tennis - Womens

2008-09-09T10:53:00.004+08:00

China’s Li Xiaoxia was ranked third in the world but did not get to play in the Beijing Olympics last month and so she made way for veteran Wang Nan. So now she made a crushing win over Hong Kong’s Tie Yana in the final of the Volkswagen World Cup women’s tournament at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium in Cheras. The lanky 20-year-old from Wuxi Province continued China’s domination of the game with a superb 11-4, 11-3, 11-3, 14-12 win over Yana. Yana, the world number 10, was bidding to become the first player from outside China to lift the World Cup title.

Coca-Cola Company Offers To Buy Huiyuan Juice Group !!

2008-09-03T16:32:00.001+08:00

The Coca-Cola Company announced today its intention to make cash offers to purchase China Huiyuan Juice Group Limited, a Hong Kong listed company which owns the Huiyuan juice business throughout China.

The Coca-Cola business in China has been operating since 1979 and is well known for its sparkling beverage brands such as Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta. In the last few years, the Company has also introduced a number of still beverage brands, including Guo Li Chen (Minute Maid Pulpy) and Yuan Ye (Original Leaf Tea), with the objective of offering consumers a wide range of beverage choices. In line with this, the Company is seeking to further develop its beverage business through this acquisition.

“Huiyuan is a long-established and successful juice brand in China and is highly complementary to the Coca-Cola China business,” said Muhtar Kent, President and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.

“This acquisition will deliver value to our shareholders and provide a unique opportunity to strengthen our business in China, especially since the juice segment is so dynamic and fast growing in China. It is also further evidence of our deep commitment to China and to providing Chinese consumers with the beverage choices that meet their needs,” Mr Kent said.

If successful with the offers, the Company will use its expertise as a global beverage company to further develop the Huiyuan brand to address the evolving needs of consumers. There are anticipated synergies that will drive operational efficiencies, particularly in the Huiyuan business’ production footprint and in Coca-Cola’s distribution and raw material purchasing capabilities.

The making of the offers is subject to preconditions relating to Chinese regulatory approvals.

The Coca-Cola Company intends that the Huiyuan business will continue to carry on its business, while reviewing its operations and synergies over time.

Baby perks in Singapore will start now !!

2008-08-22T12:11:00.002+08:00

Now in Singapore it is just about having a baby news. Well with all the surveys and big findings they are really scared about the population growth. SO the government is trying to do all kinds of things for people to have children. THE Government has brought forward the start date for the new parenthood perks, in response to parents-to-be who appealed for the change. The government had planned to give 4 months of maternity leave for women as against 3 months before. Well some of them really like the idea and others think it is of no big deal. First they had proposed this for Jan 1. Instead of Jan 1 next year, the benefits will be given from Aug 17, the day Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the changes at his National Day Rally.
The speedy reversal allows possibly 10,000 more women whose babies will be born between now and Dec 31 to enjoy an extra month of maternity leave, a bigger Baby Bonus and fatter tax benefits, among other goodies in the enhanced Marriage and Parenthood package.
The Parenthood Tax Rebate will still apply to babies born from Jan 1 this year. The enhanced tax reliefs can be claimed for income earned in 2008.The Parenthood Tax Rebate for working parents is $5,000 for the first child, $10,000 for the second and $20,000 for all subsequent children.
Mr Wong, who chairs the National Population Committee, stated the Government's commitment to support Singaporean couples who wish to marry and have children in Singapore. 'While it wishes to be as inclusive as possible, there is a need to start the new measures at a specific date,' he said.
So what do u think about all these baby bonus and perks. Do share ur thoughts !!

Li Jiawei vs Zhang Yining in semifinals !!

2008-08-22T12:02:00.002+08:00

Singapore's top paddler Li Jiawei falls to China's World No.1 table tennis player Zhang Yining in the table tennis semi-finals at the Peking University Gymnasium.
Li came out firing in the first game with some aggressive shots, racing ahead before Zhang saved four game points, only for the Singaporean to edge over the line. Five games were played, with Zhang Yining taking 4 games, to Li Jiawei's one. (9-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-8, 11-5). Zhang has now guaranteed either a gold or silver for China in the Ladies Singles Table Tennis finals. She still has one final chance for individual Olympic glory this evening in the bronze medal play-off, where she would meet China's Guo Yue.

Cebu Pacific back with zero international fares !!

2008-08-21T17:57:00.002+08:00

Cebu Pacific, the country’s leading airline to the ASEAN region, is offering a zero fare international seat sale to welcome the Ber-months of 2008. The promotional sale will run from August 21-27, 2008 and is valid for travel from September 16 to December 17, 2008. The promo fare is exclusive of taxes and applicable surcharges. Surcharges range from USD 46 to 90 depending on the destination.
More than 35,000 seats across 12 international destinations have been allocated and so travel becomes more interesting esp in Asia.
Cebu Pacific’s zero fare seat sale includes flights from:

1. Manila to Bangkok, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kaohsiung, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Ho Chi Minh, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei; and
2. Cebu-Hong Kong and Cebu-Singapore.

The airline also offers hotel and tour packages online. Interested passengers can avail of Funtour packages through the Cebu Pacific’s website.

Now in its 13th year, Cebu Pacific has the youngest aircraft fleet in the Philippines, comprised of 10 A319s, eight A320s, and two ATR72-500 aircraft.

Lee Eon passes away in Motorbike accident !!

2008-08-21T17:47:00.002+08:00

Lee Eon had attended the post-wrap party for his drama “Strongest Chilwoo” which ended early this morning and was already back home. But he was out again soon to the club where he worked as a DJ on his motorbike when the unfortunate happened. He lost control of his motorbike and rammed into the guardrail of an overpass. It was later announced that he had broken his neck on impact and died instantly. (could he be intoxicated?)
Lee Eon’s management expressed, “He doesn’t ride a motorbike normally. And he doesn’t drink either. During the first gathering, he didn’t drink at all. But I am not sure for the second gathering.” Lee Eon’s parents are now in Seoul handing his funeral and they are pretty devastated by this as he’s their only child. “Because of work, he isn’t by his parents side often. And thus I can understand how devastated they must be at losing their only child from this.”
Lee Eon’s last role was as an assassin in “Strongest Chilwoo” which just ended two days ago and it’s still quite unbelievable to many who are just learning of the truth right now. His most memorable role must be the one last year in “Coffee Shop 1st Prince” which made him more known to the world.

iPhone 3g coming to Singapore !!

2008-08-21T17:22:00.001+08:00

So Singapore wait for the iPhone 3g. It's just on its way.As what has been reported by PCW Business Center; Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) will be offering unlocked iPhone 3G on August 22nd, the promo is shown at SingTel website. But customers won't get one of iPhone 3G's standout feature; the visual voicemail, and no music or video downloads from iTunes as well. "On launch, customers will not be able to buy content from the iTunes store. However, they will be able to buy applications from the Apple application store," SingTel said in its FAQ page, did not offer an explanation why. The iPhone 3G will be available for free to Singaporean customers who sign a two-year contract that costs S$205 (US$145) per month, including 1,500 minutes of outgoing talk time and 3G bytes of data access. The cheapest plan for new subscribers costs S$348 for the 8G-byte iPhone 3G and S$508 for the 16G-byte model, and requires them to sign a two-year contract that costs S$56 per month and includes 200 minutes of outgoing talk time and 1G byte of data. Of course with this unlocked iPhone 3G coming to Singapore, will mean easier for neighboor countries close to Singapore to get their hands on the most coveted mobile phone right now. Although with the known iPhone bugs, those issues still don't slow down iPhone popularity yet.
So great offers ahead. I am sure you are going to grab one !!

Hong Kong actress Jacqueline Law marries Singapore business tycoon !!

2008-08-14T15:39:00.002+08:00

Hong Kong actress Jacqueline Law, 41, tied the knot with a Singaporean finance executive on Tuesday.She and her beau of 10 years, Mr Liu Chee Ming, 57, shed tears of joy at a morning marriage ceremony in St John's Cathedral in Hong Kong's Central district. The groom's two sons by his late wife were the best men, and actresses Monica Chan and Kitty Lai were among the bridal party.Actress Shereen Tang, actor Dicky Cheung, TVB general manager Stephen Chan and Bank of East Asia chairman David Li were some of the couple's guests. Mr Liu, group managing director of the Hong Kong-based investment firm Platinum Securities, has been widowed for many years.
According to Apple Daily, the couple met after he fell for the actress at first sight at an event and asked his friends, film producer Charles Heung and his wife Tiffany Chen, to introduce them. Asked about her baby plans at the wedding, the bride said she would leave things to nature, seeing that she has 'three sons' - her husband and stepsons - to look after. As for their honeymoon, the couple will go to Beijing to watch the closing ceremony of the Olympics, she said.

Singapore's Tao Li in 5th place in 100m Butterfly - Olympics Beijing 2008 !!

2008-08-13T14:03:00.004+08:00

Singapore’s Olympic swimming medal hopeful Tao Li on Monday finished in fifth place in the women’s 100—metre butterfly finals. The 18—year—old, who advanced to the finals on Sunday with an Asian record of 57.54 seconds in her heat, failed to top the record with a timing of 57.99 seconds in the finals. Australia’s Lisbeth Trickett won the gold with a timing of 56.73 seconds, the second fastest timing in the history of the sport. American Christine Magnuson took silver, while another Australian, Jessicah Schipper came in third. Although Tao Li did not win a medal, her spirited effort won praise from the sports fraternity in Singapore on Monday. Tao Li’s achievement was also applauded by those gathered at the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) to catch the live telecast of the women’s 100—metre butterfly finals on MediaCorp’s Channel 5.
Tao Li finished fifth in her women’s 200—metre butterfly heats on Tuesday. So she is out of the 200m also. She clocked a new national record of 2 minutes 12.63 seconds, but that was not enough to keep her in the race.

Kuselan in Singapore released !!!

2008-08-01T11:34:00.004+08:00

Kuselan has released in Singapore. The movie is running in Cathay - Downtown East,Pasir Ris and Causeway point in Woodlands. Well I m sure u cannot get the tickets if u go to the theatre directly, so better book it online. Well for the first day, it seems pretty much booked. So book it soon and watch the movie. Do give ur reviews.
Waiting for yet another Rajnikanth movie. Cant wait to watch it. I am all excited. I am sure u will be also excited to watch his movie and something about his real life too.
Book the tickets here : Kuselan movie tickets

Night Festival 2008 in National Museum of Singapore !!

2008-07-23T13:10:00.006+08:00

Well July seems to be events and events everywhere in Singapore !! Lots of activities in the malls !! National Museum of Singapore is having Night Festival !! It was there on 18th & 19th July. Next would be 25 & 26th July.
It was an amazing shoe - dance, music, theatre, visual arts. The 11.30 pm show started with Italian group performing - The Dancing sky .It was great and beautiful. It was a man and a woman dancing to the tunes where she was flying in the air. It was Studio Festi. This was held just outside the museum in Stamford green and SMU campus Green. Then there was this girl on the piano and another girl dancing for the tunes. Both of them were in the sky flying. Waw that must have been so heavy. Then there was a boat kinda with a girl dancing and flying the air. Everything was in the air. How they were flying was people were tried to ropes and these guys down would pull them back and forth. Then a girl inside a big ball of air was dancing inside it. Again she was tied. It was just mind blowing. Then again two other girls were tied to big balls and they were dancing. Then came those doll like girls, who were doing great steps in stamford road. U can watch the pictures and videos of National Museum of Singapore - Night festival of Dancing sky.

Singapore food festival !!

2008-07-04T14:45:00.003+08:00

Food is so important isn't it !! How can we survive without that. What happens when u have a festival just for food. Well that is the Singapore food festival and it starts from today July 4 - 27, 2008. Singapore Food Festival has become one of the most highly anticipated events festivals during the peak summer travel season aimed at attracting Middle East visitors. “The Singapore Food Festival is an ideal time for tourists from the region to come share in our nationwide passion for food and experience the tantalizing cuisine that Singapore is renowned for,” said Jason Ong, Area Director, Middle East and Africa, Singapore Tourism Board.
A unique programme of activities and events are lined up for the summer extravaganza, which will take visitors on a culinary journey of the city-state’s rich blend of Malay, Indian and Chinese-influenced cuisine. Culinary workshops and cooking classes will also be available at various venues across Singapore during the festival, giving aspiring chefs a chance to create some of their favorite Singaporean dishes.
Commonly referred to as the ‘Food Capital of Asia’, Singapore has become one of the world’s leading gastronomic destinations due to the wide availability of fresh foods and an eclectic mix of spices and ingredients from around the globe.
For more information, please visit Singapore food festival

Tiger Airways recognized for its reliable service !!

2008-07-01T13:13:00.001+08:00

Tiger Airways has reported zero cancellations and the highest level of on time departures in April, 2008. The low-cost airline proved to be the most reliable Australian airline with no reports of flight cancellations in April. Passengers flying on other Australian carriers did not fare as well with Qantas reporting the second highest percentage of cancellations for April 2008 with 242 flights cancelled (2.3% of all flights). Qantas was followed by Virgin Blue with 200 cancellations (1.9% of all flights), QantasLink and Skywest reported 1.3 per cent, Regional Express at 1.1% and Jetstar cancelled 30 flights (0.6% of all flights). Tiger Australia’s Managing Director, Chris Ward spoke about flight cancellations, “why did our competitors cancel so many flights when Tiger Airways managed not to cancel a single flight? Could it be that they cancel purely for commercial reasons such a low bookings or a desperate attempt to keep their other flights on-time. Either way the other airlines are needlessly inconveniencing travellers”. Tiger Airways proved itself further in April through its successful on time performance of 81.3 per cent.
Mr Ward spoke of Tiger Airways’ achieving the highest level of on time departures, “Yes we were better than all other Australian airlines even the full cost, full service expensive airlines like Qantas. A true low fare airline like Tiger Airways cuts down on complexity. It means that our model is simpler and cheaper. As a result Tiger Airways is less prone to delay or cancelled flights. It is simple really; if you want the lowest fares and the best on time service and you want to reduce the risk of being stuck at the airport then fly Tiger Airways”

Gregory Yong dies !!

2008-06-30T13:02:00.001+08:00

Gregory Yong, Singapore Ex-Archbishop, died of heart failure on 28th Jun 2008, at approximately 2.40pm. He was 83. His successor, Archbishop Nicholas Chia said “he was saddened by the news but added that he had lived a good life.” Gregory Yong’s body, which is lying at St. Joseph’s Home, will be transferred to the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd on Monday, 30th Jun 2008.

Will an election ruin Singapore ??

2008-06-26T11:24:00.001+08:00

One freak election result is all it would take to wipe out Singapore's success in building up the city-state, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew warned Wednesday night. It could happen if voters became bored and decided to give the "vociferous opposition" a chance - out of "light-heartedness, fickleness or sheer madness," Lee told 650 participants in the World Cities Summit and International Water Week. "In five years, you can ruin this place, and it's very difficult to pick up the pieces," said Singapore's founding father and first prime minister. His remarks were published Thursday in The Straits Times. There are only two opposition members in Parliament, controlled by the People's Action Party, which has ruled since independence. More opposition members could result in an unintended change of government, Lee said.
Larger countries rich in resources can survive such a freak outcome, but not Singapore, he said. The problem with popular democracy is that candidates are not judged during elections on how well they can govern, but on their persuasive powers. He presented the first Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize to Dr Andrew Benedek for the 64-year-old Hungarian native's pioneering work in membrane technology for water treatment. In a separate development, an informal network of 16 countries was set up to share ideas and expertise to pursue sustainable development. The network includes the 10 members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations, plus India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

ZARA sale begins today !!

2008-06-26T11:16:00.002+08:00

The day has come and the ZARA sale starts today !!! So hurry up and have fun shopping!! SIngapore sale is still on and will be till july end. Get more money !!!

Big FM and MediaCorp radio come together with Bollywood channel !!

2008-06-26T11:03:00.003+08:00

Oli FM - 96.8 is a channel which has tamil songs, hindi songs, malayalam songs, telugu songs. Now Big FM has joined hands with Singapore’s MediaCorp Radio for a new FM station, Big Bollywood 96.3 FM, which will broadcast ‘live’ Bollywood entertainment daily. Waw isnt that so good. So v can listen to hindi songs from July 1st. Big Bollywood will play exclusive Big FM content from 5 pm to 8 pm. The programming mix has been put together after research, and would largely cover Bollywood gossip and trivia, interviews with Bollywood celebrities, humour capsules from comedians like Shekhar Suman, Raju Shrivastav and Sunil Pal, besides news from India – covering general news, financial news as well as sports news. Tarun Katial, Chief Operating Officer, Big FM, said, “This partnership only strengthens Big FM’s endeavour to reach out to audiences the world over who are seeking Bollywood entertainment on radio. We are extremely excited to join hands with Singapore’s most premier and popular radio network, MediaCorp.” He added, “Our effort is to entertain the Indian Diaspora, giving them the flavour of radio back home. We also believe, with the increasing popularity of Bollywood movies across Asia and the world, there is an international audience who will also be interested in consuming our content.”
The Hindi expatriate community is possibly the fastest growing one in Singapore’s quest to attract foreign talent to our shores.

Singapore 's best directory - StreetDB

2008-06-18T11:15:00.003+08:00

Want to go somewhere, want the directions, want to know which is the best route to take, the quickest service, StreetDB.com is the best way for u to know all this. It is an interactive online Street Directory which guides u to do anything in Singapore.
It has been updated and is very user-friendly, so by the click of a button u can totally explore Singapore. They have useful information for tourists, drivers and expatriates. It is one of the sites which is always in the favorites of all Singaporeans. U can find about anything like hotels, bars, temples, department stores, buildings. They have amazing maps which give u all the necessary information. I hope this site will be useful to all of u.
StreetDB - Best Singapore directory

Dasavatharam in Singapore !!

2008-06-14T14:02:00.005+08:00

So did u see Dasavatharam?? want to know where u can watch Dasavatharam in Singapore?? It is running in Cathay Causeway point in Woodlands and Downtown East Cathay in Pasir ris ..U can book the tickets online so that u dont have to wait or be disappointed in the theater. I saw the tickets were S$10. But dunno y the theater was not full at all. So many seats were empty. But the movie is really good. All of u must watch it.So have fun and do give ur comments and the review. U can watch the review in Dasavatharam review U can book the tickets from Cathay

Xiaoyun from Sichuan ??

2008-06-13T17:52:00.002+08:00

Xiaoyun from sichuan ?? Heard of her before . So, who is Xiao Yun from Sichuan?
Xiaoyun says she was from Sichuan, and she was posting the photos to encourage people to donate money to earthquake relief. Some Chinese netizens are condemning Xiaoyun, calling her a “shameless 90s generation girl”, while others are praising her altruistic spirit.What do you think of Xiaoyun from Sichuan?.SHE poses suggestively and flashes a megawatt smile. Her plea: ‘Donate money to help my compatriots in Sichuan, please.’ Known only as Xiaoyun, the Beijing-based teen wrote in a recent forum post that she had decided to circulate revealing pictures of herself to ‘encourage people to donate’. More than 100 photographs of her are now circulating online. There are also pictures of her posing in what appears to be her bedroom.
Her post has caused an online uproar with mixed reactions. Some have applauded her for ‘expressing herself’, while others have labelled her an attention seeker.
Since the pictures were posted online last week, they have attracted more than one million hits, according to online news reports. A blog search with the keywords ‘Xiaoyun’ and ‘Sichuan’ yielded more than 6,500 related blog posts. In the original forum post, Xiaoyun claimed her efforts were inspired by her affinity with Sichuan, her hometown. She wrote in Chinese: ‘I am from Sichuan. My hometown has been badly hit by the recent earthquake. It’s encouraging to see people donating to help - I will release more photographs of myself to encourage more people to donate.’ About 69,000 people were killed in the earthquake that struck the province on 12 May. It is not known whether she is personally collecting donations, or how much she has managed to raise. ‘I just want to give something back to my hometown,’ she wrote.

Here are some links:
* Asiaone.com: Attention seeker or charitable soul?
* 90life.com (Chinese): Shameless 90s generation girl Xiao Yun uses Sichuan eartquake as excuse to post naked photos
* Chinashuo.com (Chinese): Xiao Yun photo gallery
* Baidu Zhidao (Chinese): 90s generation Sichuan girl Xiao Yun photos and information

Great Singapore shopping sale in summer !!

2008-06-10T12:47:00.001+08:00

Well the Great Singapore sale is going on. It is summer time and holidays for the kids. U can see crowd everywhere esp. on the weekends. Do where did u shop. U may be knowing that u get prizes everywhere here in Singapore for shoppping in malls. Great shopping Oggi is an amazing site that gives all the deals and happenings in Singapore. You can check that out. Happy shopping!!

Duck Tour in Singapore !!

2008-05-26T10:40:00.004+08:00

Well when u visit a place, u want to see it with a difference, right!! In Singapore there is something called as a Duck Tour !! A duck ??? where did that come from ?? It is a Boat, a Bus, a DUCK! It is the 1st and only amphibious theme tour attraction in Asia. These Duck tours offer both city and harbour tours without changing the vehicle. Its amazing, you keep going in the road and suddenly u are in the water. A unique kind of boat on big wheels. The guide is just amazing. Very informative about every place there and it becomes so interactive. We played games and they gave the duck quack. U will be seeing historical landmarks on land around the colonial Civic District on the Singapore Heritage Tour. Then, you will be going through the woods for the ride's climax as you splash into water! Enjoy the breeze as you go on water to view highlights like Merlion Park, the Esplanade and Clifford Pier, all set against the city skyline.

Price range SGD 33 adults
SGD 17 children 4-12 years
SGD 2 children 1-3 years
Full Duck charter SGD 550 weekends
SGD 450 weekdays
Pick up location The DUCKcounter @ Suntec City Mall Galleria
Duration 1 hr (depending on traffic conditions)
Frequency Hourly Departure (weather permitting)

I am sure you must all go in this Duck tour when you visit Singapore !!

Housing agents / brokers in Singapore !!

2008-05-20T11:10:00.002+08:00

When u want to rent or buy a house you first think of someone to help u in the process. Let me tel u with my experience that they are all just people who are looking for money and more money. Somehow they try to rip u off. They play 2 sided game,with u and with the owner. First when i started with the HDB hunt the agents were in the middle. They wanted to make the highest offer so that they get good commission. They do not tell all the details properly. Before u sign they would cal u 100 times and tel take the offer, it is good then it would be gone in the night. They basically pressurize u . Dont ever fall into that. There is always another one if u dont get this. Believe in that. There are lots of houses always in the market. Before u really meet them, first ask them all the details. If ur nationality is fine with the owner, how much the rent is, how much the deposit is, if u vil get the whole house for urself, or vil they keep one room for themselves, wht abt the maintainence, wht abt the agent fee. Well there are lotsa rules the agents should follow. ERA, Propnex, C & H are some big names in the market. They might help u . But again dont believe everyone. They are all for more and more money. Some ofcourse do their jobs well. Tell them ur requirements, ur area, ur budget and everything. See to it that they dont go out of the line. What i found was tht in HDB dealing there are lots of procedures. U got to see if the building is approved, I mean the unit u want to stay. That is very important. If it is not, then u are in trouble. So get that cleared. Dont go for something that is not. I faced that problem and did not end up with that. Totallt if u are satisfied give the deposit else wait. Read the agreement 10 times. There might be some clause tht is missing. Talking to the agent. Ask them for a sample agreement. Sometimes if u dont take the house in the end they might not give the deposit , so be careful. I saw that condo rental was not so tough. ofcourse they are expensive, but u get the facilities and security. Anyways I found the agent also to be very nice. If u see that as of now if u are taking a unit for more than S$2500 u dont have to pay the agent fee. Only the owner pays it, if u are going for a 1 year lease. So be careful in that. This is for condo. Anyways, all the best in house hunting. i can surely help u friends in searching and any queries. Its fun also .

Transportation in Singapore ??

2008-05-13T11:05:00.003+08:00

Oh, Singapore is so well connected. U dont have to have a car at all and cars are very very expensive here, they would be like starting S$80,000. So what else then. Well there are trains and buses. There is the SMRT and SBS. These are the two companies that do bus and train services. So u can always take them everywhere. Here how do we get tickets for buses and trains. There is something called as the EZ link. This is a card which almost every person would be having in Singapore. This card basically is a discounted card where u tap before u enter the train and after u come out of the train. Same thing with the buses. So u have to do tht always, if u fail to do it then u would be caught. Suppose u dont have the EZ link card, u would be paying the full fare. for ex. the lowest is .90 for a short trip. But with a EZ link card it would be .67 , And when u do transfers u get discount also, like .25 or so. Well u can get these cards in the staions. u can top them up always using credit card, nets or cash. u can also top them in few stores. Well the trains are not 24 hrs. they operate from like ex. 6 am to 12 am.Different stations may have different times, but during the late nights. So at that time people can take the Night rider buses. they might take some time to come, but then there are night time services. So dont worry, u vil reach to ur place safely.
But suppose u want to reach faster, u can always take the taxis or the cabs. They accept cash, nets and sometimes credit cards too. Comfort , SMrt are big names in cabs. they are not very expensive.

Housing in Singapore - HDB, Condo, Bungalows !!

2008-05-07T15:21:00.005+08:00

So first when you move to a place, you need to stay somewhere. What can you do ???There are many options - firstly, u can stay in HDB, HUDC or in a condo.So what is this new term HDB??? It is the Housing & Development Board. This is by the government,so u wont be having any great facilities,but the rents might be little cheaper.But then again now this year in 2008,all the rents are very high friends,so a HDB or a condo does not matter.Ofcourse u go places away from the city HDB is cheap.Condominiums will be a better living with facilities like security,swimming pool, gym, recreation center, tennis and other games.One thing in Singapore is that its pretty safe.But again u got to be careful always.
Then there is also the other options of bungalows, landed houses.They vil be very expensive and not near to the trains and buses.Usually people who have cars might live there.HDB's always are well connected and have small shops inside.They would be closer to mrts and buses.Some condo's will be very far from the trains and buses.Next where can u find these.There are many websites nowadays classifieds where landlords and tenants advertise.so u can look into them.Or u can go to agents who can help u out in finding houses.Ofcourse there is always this broker fee.But sometimes you might not have to give.it depends
Few sites are: http://www.rentinsingapore.com
http://www.sg-house.com
http://www.singaporeexpats.com
http://www.adpost.com
Few good agents are : ERA, Propnex, C&H
So any help do ask me friends.!!!!

Moving to Singapore !!!

2008-05-05T17:10:00.002+08:00

Well are you moving to Singapore??.. I shall help you out in anything u want and u need...Firstly it's a big culture shock and you vil find everything very different if u are coming from the west.. But there are many Australians here as it is near and so they settle....Next ofcourse Malaysia is so close, so naturally u can find many Malaysians....Then Indians and other small groups...Mainly Singapore has Chinese...As they settled here long back they became Singaporeans...Ok..so next what can u find special in Singapore...??...Nothing much...frankly speaking nothing really grows here....nothing is natural...Everything Singapore gets is imported....from the milk u drink to everything here is brought from Malaysia or Australia or China or other nearby countries....On the whole, if so see u can find everyone in Singapore...that's an amazing thing!!!....

Mas Selamat escape - What really happened ??

2008-04-24T16:59:00.003+08:00

So now I am sure everyone in Singapore knows who is Mas Selamat Kastari !!....He escaped on Feb 27th...and is still somewhere here in Singapore....Cmon...Singapore is so small and still they have not found him....Well he ran away on the day of his family's weekly visit....What happened there .... do u know.??.. He was very clever... knew the situation well and planned for a great escape...So u must have thought what about the cameras there....dint they capture him ...No!!! A big No !!!!....The CCTV surveillance system was being upgraded and the 2 cameras were not recording....Isn't that his luck !!!!....But what lead to the big escape....The window in the restroom!!!...A window...wont they have grills....Even in ur house, you would have them...and here they did not bother to put them.....Secondly the window' handle was sawn off and so they thought this was enough and that the detainee would always be in sight....But how!!!....When u leave him alone and when he closes the door....How is he in your sight !!!...This is what Mas Selamat did !!! When he was shaving and combing....he took so much time....and meanwhile even closed the door...He left the tap open so that it would seem as though he was using it...He left his pants over the cubicle door, making the watcher believe that he was there...But the security outside did not notice all this.....and only later when he thought it was so late and he was not out that...he went and informed someone...this that....and at last when they saw inside....he was missing....Well...y couldnt that Gurkha guard go and see first....Y would he have to go and tel someone...before he could actually solve it...This was such a big mistake he did....So he went through the ventilation window...a great jump with his limp and the next was the double perimeter fence with barbed wires....well somehow he tried to pass that also and leave the detention centre....But his yellow 'baju kurung' was found in the forested area....After that the Whitley Road complex was shut and they all tried to search for him....So well now it is 57 days....and still there are no traces of where he is !!!..........
What I think is that, the government has been really irresponsible and that they have just been complacent....Y wouldn't you construct a jail effectively...y would u give way for a detainee to think as to how he can escape when u have such irresponsible Gurkhas....I dont understand how still they have not found him...When they are so strict about rules and fines and everythin.A big terrorist is still out !!!!!!!!!!..........Cmon Singapore find him...!!!..No use putting posters everywhere in the city...when u are not capable of finding him and keeping him in a place !!!!

Singapore events and festivals !!!

2008-04-10T15:09:00.002+08:00

Singapore temple events for april:
Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple - Sri Thendayuthapani temple :
- Skanda Homam on 11th april - Sanghalpam at 5.15 am...Homam by 6.30am...followed by Abhishegam to holy vel and deeparathanai
- Chitthirai 1st - Tamil varusha pirappu - Tamil new year on 13th April - Special deeparathanai at 7 pm followed by swami procession in golden peacock
- Chitthirai 4th - Sri Meenachiyamman Letcharchanai 1st day on 16th april - Sanghalpam at 6 pm ..start of letcharchanai at 6:30 pm
- Chitthirai 5th - Sri Meenachiyamman Letcharchanai 2nd day on 17th april - Sanghalpam at 6 pm ..start of letcharchanai at 6:30 pm. pradosham by 4 pm followed by Abhishegam and deeparathanai
- Sankadahara chathurthi 24th april - Ganapathi homam by 5 am followed by deeparathanai, special Sahasranama archanai at 6 pm and santhanakappu alangaram
- Natarajar abhishegam, Thaeyipirai ashtami by 7:30am followed by abhishegam and deeparathanai

Sri Lakshminarayan Temple :
- Durga path by Mahila satsang from 7th - 13th april...2pm - 5pm ..
- Shri Ramanavami celebration on 14th april - programme -
8.00 am to 11.00 am - Havan Purnahuti / Bhajans
11.00 am to 11.55 am - Bhajans by Temple Devotees
12.00 noon - Shree Ram Janam (Birth of Lord Ram)followed by Aarti Shantipath Jaighosh &
Charnamrit / Prasad / Preetbhoj
- Mahavir Jayanthi on 18th april
- Hanuman Jayanthi on 20th april

Singapore Flyer celebration !!!

2008-04-10T14:48:00.001+08:00

Singapore flyer is going to celebrate its official opening on april 15 from 5:20 pm to 12 am... They have live entertainment @ concert ground ...rock with Shaggies band...soul kool of StJames power station, wicked Aura fire dancers and fire twirlers...They have promotions for this day alone where 2 adults get 2 free kids ticket for free....if u dress up in ur national colors you also get a free ride....only for 6 guests per embassy...U can get there by going to City hall mrt...There u have free shuttle to the Singapore flyer...All taxi drivers will get a free ride till 14th april...so enjoy !!!

Haw Par Villa - Theme park !!!

2008-04-04T12:37:00.026+08:00

Haw Par Villa is a theme park in Singapore which has around 1000 statues which depict the Chinese legends and history... The big ones are the Laughing Buddha, The Goddess of Mercy,The statue of Liberty, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Ten courts of hell.. It was called the 'Tiger Balm Gardens' before by the brothers Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par..Now it is under the Singpaore Tourism board..Admission is free and it is open from 9am to 7 pm... The 'Ten courts of hell' is in shape of a dragon where - one is punished in 'hell' for sins committed by them in their life...its the concept of you do a mistake u gotta face the consequences..Well some of those are those scary and cant be believed...But it has a dollar one entry fee...There are small fishes and turtles there..

Deals and discounts in Singapore - cards, flights, shopping!!

2008-04-02T14:35:00.003+08:00

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Fashion Escapade escapade Fashion Reward - Spend a minimum of $80* at any fashion or beauty store to redeem a $5 Marina Square Gift Voucher. Get Stylish Spend a minimum of $150* at any fashion or beauty store to redeem a stylish fashion necklace, worth $26.

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Schools' out, fun's in with Jetstar! Jetstar flight deals Book between 02 - 08 Apr 2008, Travel between 10 Apr - 30 Jun 2008

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Clarke Quay riverside !!!

2008-04-02T12:01:00.005+08:00

Clarke Quay is a happening riverside quay in Singapore. Water flowing with bridges and restaurants, Clarke Quay is also the name of the road along the quay. Now it a big night out place with boat like restaurants, bars and entertainment. One of the big names are Hooters, Indo Chine and Ministry of Sound.There are river cruises and boats which can be taken from that place on the Singapore river. A great thrilling G-MAX reverse bungee is there....it goes up and comes down reverse...that is amazing. u cant even look at it...god knows how they take the ride..The other one is the Extreme swing. that also looks quite thrilling. Clarke quay mrt station is also situated there...There is a big mall 'Central'...

Singapore - The Fine city !!

2008-04-01T18:24:00.002+08:00

Singapore - Always green,cloudy,rainy or sunny...U can see this everytime...A different culture, different people, variety of food.. Pretty clean and the government totally rules. A very small city well connected with the trains and buses. Cars are very expensive. But now Singapore is just very expensive.Everything they have is imported. Nothing grows in the place. Its in Top 10 most expensive places to live. For the past one year everything has increased inlcuding house rents. They have HDB and condos. Private bungalows are usually not in the city, they become little outskirts. A very busy harbour and the most busiest airport - Changi aiport. U do something wrong u are fined. That is why - A fine city... So let us explore Singapore here..