Visitors to Australia now have another question to answer in addition to declaring whether they are carrying any firearms, weapons or illicit drugs. Are they bringing in any pornography?
The additional query was introduced in September 2009. This was designed to pick up prohibited items such as child pornography at the border. But the Australian Sex Party described it as a “monstrous invasion of people’s privacy” which would leave the laptops and mobile phones of anyone entering the country open to scrutiny.
“If you and your partner have filmed or photographed yourselves making love in an exotic destination or even taking a bath, you will have to answer ‘Yes’ to the question or you will be breaking the law,” president Fiona Patten said.
The change means that travellers must declare X-rated erotic material that is legal in Australia and potentially have these items examined by Customs officers. Customs said many items of pornography were legitimately bought, possessed and viewed and these items would be returned to the passenger. But offensive material containing child pornography, bestiality, explicit sexual violence and graphic degradation needed to be detected.
“The inclusion of the question on the passenger card is intended to give a traveller the opportunity to declare adult material if they are uncertain as to whether their material would be deemed prohibited,” a Customs statement said. “Declaring the goods will minimise any action that would be considered against someone possessing such goods, unless it involves child pornography.”
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Carrying any porn to Australian?
Monday, May 17, 2010
Jetstar to launch long-haul budget flights
First of all, will you ever consider taking budget airlines for flights that's more than 5 hours? Having to stuck in the crampy restricted space really put me off. Not to mention when you have a big size traveller siting right next to you.
New budget service is expected to commence from Singapore's Changi airport late this year. Jetstar, the low-cost offshoot of Australian flag-carrier Qantas will launch long-haul flights from Singapore to Australia, North Asia and Europe to tap on growing demand. This is a good news for travellers here who prefer long-haul flights that are easy on their wallets.
Being a tourist hub, Singapore has a “strong appetite” for low-cost long-haul services, and Jetstar is expecting travellers here to be “really responsive” with their new destinations as they are stepping up to cater to the demand.
Monday, April 19, 2010
A Family Trip to Tibet - 1 Apr 2010
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| 1 Apr 2010 - Tibet |
Just 2 days after my parents got back from Qinghai, strong quake of magnitude 6.9 killed about 300 people in the mountainous Tibetan Plateau in southwest China and left more than 8000 injured as houses, schools and offices collapsed.
The Tibetan plateau is regularly shaken by earthquakes, but casualties are usually minimal because so few people live there. Many residents of the remote area was left without shelter in temperatures that hover near freezing. The quake was centred in the mountains that divide Qinghai province from the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Lets enjoy the view of Tibet through my parents eyes..
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
No short trips to Bangkok for a good while
Tensions remained high on the bloodstained streets of Bangkok after the country's worst political violence in almost two decades left 21 dead and over 800 injured. Protest leaders have promised to maintain their campaign until the government dissolves parliament and calls fresh elections despite the deaths of 17 civilians and 4 soldiers in last Saturday's clashes.
The Red Shirt protesters, supporters of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, maintain they want Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to step down and leave the country.
On last Sunday evening, Reds gathered to mourn the loss of their comrades at the city's Democracy Monument - the scene of a fierce battle on Saturday - where grieving relatives led a procession holding gold-framed pictures of the dead. They were followed by weeping men carrying caskets, a couple containing bodies draped with Thai flags and flowers.
It is the latest chapter in years of turmoil pitting the ruling elite against the mainly poor and rural Reds, who say the government is illegitimate as it came to power in 2008 after a court ousted Thaksin's allies from power. Saturday's violence erupted when troops tried to clear one of two sites in the centre of the capital occupied by the protesters for the past month.
Soldiers fired in the air and used tear gas while the Reds responded by hurling rocks. As the clashes intensified gunshots echoed around the city and both sides accused the other of using live ammunition. Emergency services said two protesters were killed by gunshot wounds to the head. The army later retreated, calling for a truce with the demonstrators, who were holding five soldiers hostage.
The government said an investigation had been launched into the violence and that negotiations were under way to bring about a resolution to the stand-off without further unrest. The protesters called on the country's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej to intervene to prevent further bloodshed. Tensions briefly escalated again late Sunday as around 200 Reds drove motorcycles to a nearby bridge, on apparently unfounded rumours that the army was approaching.
Thai flags, red roses and incense sticks were placed on pools of blood where protesters were killed or wounded in the Khaosan Road backpacker district, a few yards from a number of ruined cars with their windows smashed in.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Italy Honeymoon Trip - 20 Mar 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Sentosa Theme Park opens March 18
Resorts World Sentosa will open the gates of the Universal Studios Singapore theme park on March 18 at 8.28am.
Ticket sales for the soft opening phase will begin at 9 am on March 10 and on March 13, the park's first guests will be team members of Resorts World Sentosa, who will be the first to enjoy Universal Studios Singapore with their families.
As it's still during the theme park's preview phase, there will be limited tickets and certain attractions may be temporarily unavailable as Universal Studios Singapore continues its technical and creative adjustments.
A news release from Resorts World Sentosa said ticket prices will therefore be partially rebated by shopping and dining vouchers valid for use at Universal Studios Singapore.
Tickets for the preview phase must be purchased online at http://www.rwsentosa.com, or via phone bookings at +65 6577 8899. Tickets can also be purchased for future dates only at the ticket booths from 9am to 6pm daily at Universal Studios Singapore.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
MacRitchie to Bukit Timah Trekking - 27 Feb 2010
Yes!! We did it! In 4hrs 30min over a distance of about 20km. Lucky for us, it was not raining & the weather was cool until mid day. Hope everyone enjoyed our little trekking trip & looking forward to our next in april.
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| 27 Feb 2010 - MacRitchie to Bukit Timah Trekking |
MacRitchie
We took the Pink route from MacRitchie (the starting point), than take the Blue/Orange route to the Tree Top Walk & continue back on Pink route to Bukit Timah.
Bukit Timah
After crossing the BKE via Rife Range Flyover, we continue on Rife Range road, cut into the Belukar Track towards higher land & cut into Catchment Path to Catchment Hut. Than we took the Green route to the Summit Hut. Than, all the way down!
Members of this trekking trip : Yanwei, Meiyan, Jeffrey, Riki & Myself
Monday, February 22, 2010
NATAS Travel 2010
Your dream holiday awaits you! Yes, NATAS (National Association of Travel Agents Singapore) Fair is back this February.
Essential Information
Fair Dates : 26 - 28 February 2010 (Fri - Sun)
Opening Hours : 10am – 10pm
Admission Fee : Adults: S$4.00 / Children below 12yrs Free
Location : Singapore Expo, Halls 4 & 5
Official URL : http://www.natastravelfair.travel
Come and discover inspiring holiday moments; be it an adventure, an exotic getaway or a romantic escapade, NATAS Travel 2010 brings the world to you in one convenient place. Opportunities abound with the vast selection of choices and visitors can indulge in their passion for new discoveries in travels, cruises, cultures, adventures, shopping and culinary delights at the fair.
A short & simply getaway keeps you healthy!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Casino at Resorts World Sentosa goes live
Singapore's first casino opened for business Sunday as the first punter was allowed into the gaming section of Resorts World Sentosa complex. The opening to be followed within months by a second casino resort is part of a multi-billion-dollar effort to transform Singapore's tourism industry.
The doors to the cavernous and carpeted casino were thrown open to the public at 12:18 pm on the first day of the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese lunar calendar. When pronounced in the Cantonese dialect, 12:18 sounds like "prosperity". A middle-aged Singaporean woman was the first gambler allowed in, followed by an initial crowd of about 200.
The US$4.4-billion resort features Southeast Asia's first Universal Studios movie theme park, which also opened for a week of sneak previews from Sunday.
Singapore's second casino complex, Marina Bay Sands, is being completed by US-based Las Vegas Sands and is expected to open in April. Officials hope the casinos will help Singapore achieve its target of 17 million visitors a year generating more than US$21 billion by 2015, boosting the services sector and reducing the role of manufacturing in the economy.
Monday, February 1, 2010
London-to-Sydney Touring cyclist hits S'pore roadblock
In the course of 11 months, Greg Browning's bicycle survived the deserts of Uzbekistan and the mountains of Sichuan. But during the Singapore stopover of his London-to-Sydney adventure, it was stolen on Orchard Road.
It has been the adventure of a lifetime for English cyclist Greg Browning: pedalling nearly 30,000km from London to Sydney, through some of the harshest terrains on this planet. But it was in Singapore that his journey hit its most demoralising roadblock.
Greg said that his first reaction was of disbelief. He have been in so many countries where people said that he would get robbed, but then this happened in Singapore, which he was being told that this is one of the safest places in the world.
There may yet be a happy ending as local bike shop Treknology Bikes 3 is in touch with Mr Browning about a donation.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Pigs' heads found at Malaysia mosque amid Allah row
Pig heads were found at two mosques near a neighbourhood hit by an ethnic clash nine years ago, Malaysian police said, following a series of recent arson and vandalism attacks on religious places of worship. The discovery of the pig heads - an animal considered offensive to Muslims and whose consumption is prohibited - could further inflame tensions in the mainly Muslim country, prompting police to issue a stern warning against stirring up emotions.
Eleven churches, a Catholic school, a Sikh temple, three mosques and two Muslim prayer rooms so far have been hit by arson or vandalism in recent weeks amid a row over the use of the word "Allah" by Christians.
Police said that two pig heads were found at a mosque in a mainly Malay but racially mixed neighbourhood in Kuala Lumpur, and another two at a mosque on the outskirts of the capital. The mosques are located near a neighbourhood which in 2001 was hit by an ethnic clash that local media said left six people dead.
Khalid said police were working closely with local mosque and neighbourhood committees to try and keep residents calm.
The row stems from a court ruling on Dec. 31 last year allowing a Catholic newspaper to use the word "Allah" in its Malay-language editions to describe the Christian God. The use of the word is common among Malay-speaking Christians, who account for 9.1 percent of the 28 million population, mostly in the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak. A group created in the online networking site Facebook to protest the use of the word by non-Muslims has so far attracted more than 250,000 people.
Police have so far arrested 19 people over the attacks, and a 25-year-old Malay student was charged in court on Jan. 15 with threatening public safety following a comment he allegedly made on his Facebook page offering to throw petrol bombs.
The government of Prime Minister Najib Razak is appealing against the court verdict and has condemned the arson and vandalism attacks, but analysts say he may lose votes among non-Muslims unhappy with the row.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Mr Troubled Need Advice
Imagine that you are going to a scenic country like Italy, which camera will you bring if you need to travel light?
Contestant Camera 1 - Sony WX1 Point & Shoot
Its has great feature like f/2.4 Sony G lens, Exmor R CMOS Sensor, Handheld Twilight, Sweep Panorama, Anti-Motion Blur, 10fps continuous shooting, Intelligent Scene Recognition, High Definition Movie Recording and 24-120mm Focal Length.
Contestant Camera 2 - Sony A330 DSLR
A DSLR with Advanced D-Range Optimiser, SteadyShot Inside, BIONZ Image Processing Engine and a great all purpose lens SAL18250 of f/3.5 & 18-250mm Focal Length.
Which one will you pick?
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Leave Planning for 2010
Many Public Holiday in 2010 falls on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday which means we only need to take 1 extra day either on Thursday or Tuesday & we will have a super long weekends. Ideal for those who love to travel.
If you are having 18 days of annual leave, just nice with the below planning. For those who don't work on Saturday & get to credit off days for those holidays that falls on a Saturday, you will have extra 2 days off.
Chinese New Year - Take 2 days on 12/2 & 17/2 to plan for a 6 days trip
Good Friday - Take 2 days on 1/4 & 5/4 to plan for a 5 days trip
Labour Day - Take 2 days on 30/4 & 3/5 to plan for a 4 days trip
Vesak Day - Take 2 days on 27/5 & 31/5 to plan for a 5 days trip
National Day - Take 2 days on 6/8 & 10/8 to plan for a 5 days trip
Hari Raya Puasa - Take 2 days on 9/9 & 13/9 to plan for a 5 days trip
Deepavali - Take 2 days on 4/11 & 8/11 to plan for a 5 days trip
Hari Raya Haji - Take 2 days on 18/11 & 19/11 to plan for a 5 days trip
Christmas Day - Take 2 days on 24/12 & 27/12 to plan for a 4 days trip
So.. Are you planning any trip any where soon?
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sentosa revises vehicle fees
Parking your car in Sentosa will cost dearly from 18 Jan but it will also be less expensive to take public transport. It is hoped that these adjustments will encourage visitors to take public transport and, if they were to drive, to car-pool.
The shuttle-bus service operating from Seah Im bus interchange to Sentosa will now cost $2, down from $3 previously. The revised fare will include the present $2 admission fee to the island.
The current gantry charge is $2 for every car, and another $2 for each passenger inside. This will be amended to a flat fee on a per-car basis. Also, the fee will vary depending on the time and day of the week. The flat-fee system will reduce processing time at the gantry as staff will not need to do manual head counts.
From Jan 18, the current per-entry parking rate of $3.21 that applies at all times will be replaced with a staggered and variable time-based system. A flat fee will be charged for the first four hours of parking, after which an hourly rate will apply. On weekends, the rate we will pay is $5 for the first four hours of parking, and $2 per hour thereafter.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
The Forsaken Desaru - 28 Dec 2009
Had a really good short break last week at the forsaken Desaru beach. As my auto roaming was not activated, without those disturbing calls, my iPhone is just another hand held arcades machine. Best of all, the hotel internet connection is also down. Basically, communication back to Singapore is almost impossible except for the resort land line.
Most of the hotel or resort there were as old as I am. Without further refurbish or upgrading, no wonder it was forsaken by tourist nowadays. Furthermore, things are not cheap there too. Their mini excursion to the waterfall, fruit farm & firefly has a minimum number of pax to go. If you do not have the minimum, you will need to topup the rest in order to go for the little sightseeing trip. Food at the cafe is expensive too, but very tasty & worth every ringgit spent. At the end of the trip, we are just another carrot touring Desaru.
On our last day there, while walking down the beach, we came across not one, but two Hermit Crabs. Wanna see how cute they are? Stay tune, will be uploading their video to YouTube soon. Till than, hope your enjoy the photos taken.
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Friday, November 20, 2009
Universal Studios Theme Park on Sentosa
Visitors are one step closer to visiting Southeast Asia’s first and only Universal Studios theme park opening on Sentosa’s Resorts World, now that ticket prices have been revealed.
Sale of tickets should’t be too far on the horizon with Resorts World Sentosa announcing on Wednesday its one—day, two—day and express pass ticket prices that range from S$32 to S$118 to access all attractions.
The Universal Studios Singapore passes start from a weekday rate of S$66 for an adult and S$48 for a child, with seniors enjoying a special rate of S$32. The price is S$72 and S$52 for visits on weekends, black out date and public holidays. The price is also attractive for tickets to visit the theme park over two consecutive days, with the highest tag being S$118 for an adult two day pass.
Resorts World Sentosa, will open early next year with four hotels, a casino and a host of shopping, dining and entertainment offerings, along with the Universal Studios Singapore theme park.
Universal Studios Singapore will feature 24 attractions, including the world’s biggest single collection of DreamWorks Animation attractions such as the world’s first Far Far Away Castle from the world of Shrek; Madagascar theme park ride and the world’s tallest dueling roller coaster.
Ticket sales and room reservations will be launched at a later date, in conjunction with exclusive packages for a charity auction.
Looking at the admission price tag, although its comparable to HK Disneyland, but its really too much to go too often. We don't have a rich nation like China beside us that don't mind paying the peanuts amount. So, maybe their targeted customers are not local Singaporean after all. Maybe we just have to wait till the day we are promoted to the purple ezlink card than we can pay them a visit.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Bangkok Trip - 19 Sep 2009
Good time usually passes fast & great holiday ends even faster. Now, I'm back again with a big hole in my wallet. But I'm mentally happy.
Its just another relaxing trip to Bangkok for endless shopping, yummy street food & bone cracking massage. What really surprise me is that I actually met my colleague while taking the BTS to town from Chatuchak. Someone called my name & when I turn back.. Its Christine!! Haha.. What a small world.
It has been awhile since my last visit to Bangkok & notices that alot has changed. For example, the taxi rate from airport to town is not caps at 300B anymore, now its on meter plus 50B surcharge & toll fee. So, it cost about 450B to get to town now.
As more & more wholesales center coming up at Pratunam area, the old Chatuchak Weekend Market now has become less crowded & more shop space on lease. Guess most of the tenant had already moved out to Pratunam area as those malls has air con & much more easier for tourists get there.
NPNT... This time, my wife don't let me bring my DSLR, so all photos taken with my backup PNS (Point and Shoot). Enjoy!!
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Friday, September 18, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Momo @ NATAS 2009
So sad that Bangkok Hotels are getting expansive nowadays & they don't have ticket price slash for Jan to Mar 2010. What a wasted trip!!
Hokkaido Trip
Bali Trip
Jeju, South Korea
Johor, Malaysia
Phuket, Thailand
GuangZhou, China
Hong Kong, China
Macau, China
Taipei, Taiwan
Singapore, Singapore
Melbourne, Australia
Honolulu, United States
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Rome, Italy
Dubai, United Arab Emirates