Happy Chinese new year!

Istana open houses on Saturday

Istana to host guided nature walks during open houses from Saturday

The Istana will host guided nature walks of its expansive grounds during open houses starting from Saturday.

Led by volunteer guides with the National Parks Board, members of the public will get to tour areas such as the Spice Terrace and Queen Victoria Garden while learning facts about the flora and fauna there. For example, the Istana has two resident Oriental Pied Hornbills, other birds such as the Lesser Whistling Duck and the Oriental Magpie Robin, and a Tembusu tree more than 150 years old.

Visitors will also get to hear intimate anecdotes about some of the species. The Bread Flower climber found within the grounds, for instance, was a favourite of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and his late wife because of its sweet fragrance.

On Tuesday, President Tony Tan Keng Yam hosted about 30 students and visitors on a special preview of the guided tour. The tours on Saturday's Chinese New Year open house will be held at half-hour intervals between 10am and 4pm. They are priced at $4 for Singapore citizens and permanent residents and $10 for other visitors. All proceeds will be donated to the Community Chest.

~News courtesy of Straits Times~

River Hongbao 2014 celebrations to begin on Wednesday

River Hongbao 2014 celebrations to begin on Wednesday

The annual River Hongbao celebrations will begin on Wednesday night to usher in the Year of the Horse.

This year's celebrations will see more young Singaporeans volunteering compared to last year, while educational and interactive elements will also feature in the festivities.

The celebrations will be held at the Floating Platform @ Marina Bay, and features larger-than-life lantern displays, and local and regional performances by groups such as the Yunnan Opera Theatre and Taipei University of the Arts.

Visitors will get a chance to savour traditional new year delicacies, purchase handicrafts, and watch 'live' demonstrations of Chinese calligraphy and paper cutting.

The celebrations will last till February 8.

Low Yen Ling, parliamentary secretary at the Ministry of Social and Family Development, said: "We hope to impart the unique culture and values of the Chinese community.

"Having said that, this is a very important multi-racial, multi-cultural celebration platform for all Singaporean families. In fact, we are very happy to see an increase in the participation amongst the non-Chinese ethnic groups and amongst the younger Singaporeans."

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

Chinatown Food Street reopening date delayed again

Chinatown Food Street reopening date delayed again

The reopening of Chinatown Food Street has been delayed again from its original mid-January date.

The pillars supporting the glass-covered walkway are up and the outdoor stalls are ready.

The revamped Chinatown Food Street is just days away from completion and its operator Select Group estimates all finishing touches should be added by January 29.

However, the operator is still uncertain when the revamped food street can be open for business as it still needs to apply for a Temporary Occupation Permit from the Building & Construction Authority.

The operator believes that it will take a week or two to get the go ahead.

The group said construction of the revamped Chinatown Food Street was in part delayed by the growing crowd shopping for Lunar New Year goods.

This meant loading and unloading of equipment and building materials was restricted as some streets were closed to vehicles.

The new Chinatown Food Street is expected to feature 21 outdoor food stalls.

There are two rows of well-known restaurants nearby.

One of the restaurants, which opened early January, is relatively further away from the construction and has enjoyed brisk business.

Another restaurant, Chen Fu Ji, which faces the construction site, hopes the situation will improve.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

Traffic crunch expected at S’pore-M’sia land borders

Traffic crunch expected at S’pore-M’sia land borders over Lunar New Year weekend

Expect a traffic crunch going to and from Malaysia at Singapore's land borders over the coming Lunar New Year weekend.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has advised motorists to adjust travel plans if possible, with traffic expected to be especially heavy from January 28 to February 2.

The ICA said vehicle build-ups are inevitable, as it seeks to improve clearance efficiency without compromising security.

With a recent incident that saw a Malaysian woman slip past checkpoints, authorities will be watching every vehicle closely; add in the usual inspections, and delays will be likely.

If necessary, canines will be called upon to sniff out any suspicious activity.

Immigration and auxiliary police officers work together to facilitate smooth and orderly border clearances, and authorities have asked for travellers' understanding, especially in situations where motorists converge at checkpoints at the same time.

For now, motorists are bracing for the traffic crunch, or may even avoid it totally.

Businessman Tan Chee Seng said: "I’m not coming to the Causeway because the traffic is too (heavy)… the jam is three hours!"

Lee Cheng Hwi, a draftsman, said: "Maybe come out early, plan your time well, before you actually cross the border."

Tay Wee Khoon, a production line leader, said: "I want to avoid the (traffic) jam, that's why I don't want to cross over the bridge."

So for motorists still planning on making the road trip -- be prepared, or consider alternatives such as car-pooling.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

Jurong Bird Park relaunches Waterfall Aviary with new viewing terrace

Jurong Bird Park relaunches Waterfall Aviary with new viewing terrace

Jurong Bird Park relaunched its Waterfall Aviary on Thursday with new species of endangered birds and a viewing terrace for visitors and for private events.

The refurbished 43-year-old aviary, which has hosted famous people like Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, is home to at-risk sun conures from South America and common crowned pigeons from Papua. In total, it has more than 600 birds from about 50 species.

A viewing terrace has also replaced the now defunct panorail station within the aviary.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee said that he hoped more people would visit the Bird Park - Asia's largest - to be reminded of the rich biodiversity in the world.

~News courtesy of Straits Times~

Visitor arrivals and tourism spending increase

Singapore visitor arrivals and tourism spending increase in Q2 2013



Singapore recorded 3.9 million international visitor arrivals in the second quarter of 2013, representing a 10 per cent year-on-year growth, said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) on Wednesday in its latest tourism sector performance report.

The report also said that tourism receipts increased by 2 per cent to $5.6 billion from the same quarter a year ago.

The overall growth for the second quarter was driven by a 16 per cent increase in leisure visitors. Spending by this group, excluding expenditure on sightseeing and entertainment (including gaming), rose by 11 per cent. The number of business travellers increased by 5 per cent in Q2 2013, but their spending - excluding expenditure on sightseeing and entertainment (including gaming) - fell by 9 per cent, as businesses continued to cut back on travel budgets.

STB also placed the gazetted hotel room revenue at an estimated $0.7 billion. This represented a 3.8 per cent increase compared to the same quarter a year ago.

~News courtesy of Straits Times~

Little India awash with light, colour for Pongal

Little India awash with light, colour for Pongal

Little India is awash with light and colour, as celebrations for the harvest festival Pongal kick off this week.

The lights were switched on Friday night.

This arrangement continues every night for the whole of January.

Pongal marks the harvest season, and is mainly celebrated in Tamil Nadu, in South India.

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said being able to celebrate Pongal in Little India has added significance this year, after a riot in the neighbourhood took place last month.

Dr Balakrishnan said Little India continues to be a special place for the Indian community, including migrant workers.

He said: "They have sacrificed so much to work so hard, so far away from home to provide for their families. This celebration of the harvest, this celebration of provision for your family is one which I think the Indian foreign worker community can very much identify with."

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

Gardens by the Bay wins attractions sector 'Oscar'

Gardens by the Bay wins attractions sector 'Oscar'


A Thea Awards statement said: "More than a mere botanical display, Gardens by the Bay is a compelling and iconic experience." -- ST PHOTO: SEAH KWANG PENG

Singapore's "iconic" Gardens by the Bay has won an international award for themed entertainment alongside renowned attractions like Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida and Universal Studios Japan in Osaka.

The attraction at Marina South won the 2014 Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement - Botanical Garden, one of 13 awards handed out by the Themed Entertainment Association. Walt Disney and Universal Studios clinched their awards in separate categories.

The Thea Awards, which were first presented in 1994, are regarded as the Oscars of the attractions industry.

In a statement, the California-based association said: "More than a mere botanical display, Gardens by the Bay is a compelling and iconic experience.

~News courtesy of Straits Times~

Chinatown to usher in Lunar New Year

Chinatown to usher in Lunar New Year with horse-themed decorations

Chinatown is set to be transformed again to celebrate the Lunar New Year and usher in the Year of the Horse.

From January 11 to February 28, Chinatown will come alive with festive decorations, activities and performances.

Highlights include a street light-up featuring 88 horse-shaped lanterns, nightly stage shows and lion dance performances.

This year's celebration also plans to involve more youngsters through the use of social media, and also by roping in youths to lead free walking tours around Chinatown, which will be conducted by the Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng Citizens' Consultative Committee (KA-KS CCC) on January 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26.

The Chinese New Year's official light-up and opening ceremony will take place on January 11, and will be attended by President Tony Tan Keng Yam.

This year's theme and decor was a collaboration between the Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng Citizens' Consultative Committee and the Singapore University of Technology and Design.

To kick-start the Lunar New Year, MediaCorp's Channel 8 will be hosting a countdown party on January 30.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

A durian lantern to light up CNY festival

A durian lantern to light up CNY festival



The annual River Hongbao returns at the end of the month, ushering in the Year of the Horse with the largest number of lanterns on display in the carnival's 28-year history.

Behind the 28 large handmade lantern displays - which include elements such as the God of Fortune and the animals of the Chinese zodiac - is a team of 36 craftsmen flown in specially from China's Sichuan province.

They arrived in Singapore last Dec 8 to embark on a 45-day challenge to build all the installations from scratch.

Leading the team is master lantern-maker and artistic director Guo Wanlin, 63, who has been honing his skills since he was 13. It is the first time he is involved in the River Hongbao, but he has designed lantern displays in countries such as France, Canada and the United States.

~News courtesy of Straits Times~

Optical illusion museum to open at Resorts World Sentosa

Optical illusion museum to open at Resorts World Sentosa

Visitors to Resorts World Sentosa may soon be forgiven for thinking that their eyes are playing tricks on them.

An optical illusion museum from Seoul, South Korea will be opening at the integrated resort in the middle of this year.

The Trickeye Museum is an art gallery filled with 2D paintings that give the illusion of being three dimensional.

Each painting is interactive and visitors are invited to be part of the landscape and snap photos.

There will be 80 paintings in total, featuring six different themes.

Sujin Seong, director at Trickeye Museum, said: "We've been researching about the character of Singapore, which is the most cosmopolitan city in the world.

"So we take the idea and transfer it into sections in the museum -- which will be love, circus, safari, adventure, masterpiece and fairytales."

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

More than 12.9m foreign visitors in first 10 months of 2013

S’pore sees more than 12.9m foreign visitors in first 10 months of 2013

According to the Singapore Tourism Board, there were more than 12.9 million international visitor arrivals in the first 10 months of 2013.

That is an 8.4 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2012.

And while the Sing dollar remained strong in 2013, some tourist attractions in Singapore said this has not deterred visitors.

Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) said in the first three quarters of 2013, it had about 18,000 visitors each day.

It added one of the main contributing factors to these strong numbers was the opening of the new Marine Life Park in November 2012, which has attracted more than 3 million visitors as of October 2013.

The top five countries which saw visitors to RWS were Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Thailand and China.

Clement Ng, senior executive for communications at RWS, said: "Of course we are still continuing with our marketing strategies in all our cities and key markets, therefore we believe that is taking effect and we have more international tourists coming in.

“At the same time there are markets - for example, China - which are seeing a stronger currency actually, so we are still getting a lot of visitors from those markets and we see greater potential in their growth as well."

But some jewellery shops Channel NewsAsia spoke to said the strong Singapore currency has affected business.

The Indian rupee fell about eight per cent in 2013 against the Sing dollar compared to 2012.

Coupled with new duty fees imposed on those bringing gold into India, a shop in Little India said takings from Indian tourists buying gold has fallen by more than 40 per cent.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

2014 New Year Fireworks

Happy New Year 2014