Illegal tour guide menace in Singapore

Extracted from The Straits Times  19 may 2012

"Although unable to put a figure on the number of illegal guides here, STB says a three-day enforcement operation at the Merlion Park last year found 86 suspected illegal guides......

“It's happening everywhere,” said Ngee Ann Polytechnic tourism senior lecturer Michael Chiam. “These illegal guides speak the lingo of tourists, as they are from the same country.”

Illegal guides are mostly from Malaysia, Thailand, China and Singapore. Those found guiding without a license can be fined up to S$5,000 (US$3,919). Those who employ them can be fined up to S$2,000.

Licensed guides say these imposters also impart incorrect information to tourists. One, for instance, was heard telling tourists that university graduates were allowed to marry only other university graduates here. Another said that Malaysia and Singapore are one country; and that the Merlion is a dragon.

STB said it would be conducting several enforcement operations this month.

It carried out 200 such enforcement drives last year, double the number in 2010.

It has also introduced a new, bigger and watermarked license card from this month."

Sentosa zip line back in service

Source: Todayonline May 17, 2012

The Megazip ride, an adventure zip line at Sentosa, has resumed operations after the operator Flying Dragon Adventure took steps to make the ride safer.

The Building and Construction Authority lifted the closure order yesterday. 

Australian tourist Michael Joseph McCarthy broke his back and was hospitalised after a ride on Sept 11 last year.

Mr McCarthy was on the zip line but did not slow down as he reached the end of the flying fox line. The force of his fall broke several vertebrae in his back.

The operator has added two "admin lines", which means each zip line will have a dedicated line for individual braking systems. In the previous set-up, all three zip lines shared a common system to stop trolleys zipping down with patrons.

The operator also added a primary braking system to stop the trolley as it reaches the end of the zip line. There is also a secondary braking system to serve as an additional protection should the primary braking system fails. It will take over the job of stopping of the trolley if the primary braking system fails. 

The operator has also enhanced the standard operating procedures for despatching ride patrons, maintenance and supervision. Channel NewsAsia

S'pore's first kids' beach club opens in Sentosa

Source: CNA 14 Apr 2012

Singapore now has its very own kids' club by the beach.

Costing some S$13 million, the attraction, called the 'Port of Lost Wonder' is Sentosa's newest attraction this year.

Located at Sentosa's Palawan Beach, the club has unique rules such as a hug for every child before entry to the club. Askmelah's Note: There is even a garden for children to try their hand at growing produce. Other attractions include pirate ship play area, Port of the Lost Wonder and foram pool.

The club is already proving to be a hit with children and parents alike.

The entry fee for a child on weekend is S$15 while an annual membership costs S$90.

Bay South Garden to open on June 29

Source:Todayonline  4 Apr 2012

Bay South Garden, the largest of three gardens that make up Gardens by the Bay, will open on June 29.

The sprawling 54ha site features man-made, tree-like structures known as "supertrees" with an aerial walkway linking two of them, as well as the Dragonfly Lake and four heritage gardens.

There are also two cooled conservatories, one of which is the Cloud Forest conservatory. It features a mountain covered in luscious plants with a 30m-high waterfall.

Entry to most parts of Bay South will be free, except for the conservatories and the aerial walkway.

To celebrate the opening of Bay South, there will be a series of events held over two weekends from June 29 to July 8.

These include "live" concerts by Grammy Award winner Jason Mraz and local songbird Corrine May. Six restaurants will also be opened.

Ching Ming Festival (清明节) Singapore Style

Ching Ming at Mandai ColumbariaQingming Festival is when Chinese people visit the graves or burial grounds of their ancestors. Qing Ming is not an official festival in Singapore unlike in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and China. The official Qing Ming festival for 2012 is 4 Apr 2012, one can pay respect to their ancestors and deceased within 10 days before and after the actual day. The biggest place to observed this ritual in Singapore is at the Mandai Columbaria, where heavy traffic jams during the three weekends are expected.

During the Ching Ming this yLuxury cars offering sold in supermarketear, some of the unique sightings include burning of offerings such as Ipad, Iphone and even airplane (see picture not one but two!). I am also surprise to see these offerings being sold in big Supermarket chain such as Seng Siong. Due to the limitation of land availability for burial, most of the bodies are cremated in Singapore and their ashes/urns are placed in HDB-style buildings here, the largest one is at the Mandai Columbaria. Due to religious reason,  Muslims still practise burials after their passing and the graves will be exhumed after 15 years in Singapore. Most Chinese and other races chose cremations instead of burials. Thus paying the respect to the deceased in Singapore during Ching Ming is very different from any other places in the world where Chinese reside which Ching Ming literally means sweeping and cleaning the ancestors' tombs but not in Singapore where the "letter boxes" where the ashes urns reside and the buildings are maintained by the State.

Ching Ming burning of airplane offering