Tag: tourism

The Royal Wedding’s Mind Boggling Numbers

May 1, 2011 • Blog • no comments

Waving to the crowds
Prince William and Catherine Middleton now known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Courtesy of The British Monarchy)

By now, possibly every man, woman and child with media access would have read, viewed or heard about the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine (Kate) Middleton. Many die-hard romantics around the world would have tuned into this once-in-a-blue-blooded-moon affair, oohing and aahing at the heart-warming courtship stories, elaborate regalia, immaculate trimmings, and pristine settings of this ethereal fairytale event.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

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World’s Biggest Rocking Horse and More

July 19, 2009 • Blog • no comments

Have you ever wondered how the Greeks defeated the Trojans in Homer’s epic tale? Or marvelled about the excesses of childhood fantasies?

Well, we had a chance to find out the answers to these questions recently when we visited the Biggest Rocking Horse in the World. Located close to the fertile wine producing Barossa Valleys of South Australia just north of Adelaide City, the wooden (or was it concrete and steel?) wonder was billed as one of the must-sees in the festival state. While the object in mind was certainly mind-blowingly colossal, the record according to the Guinness Book of Records belonged to a much smaller albeit truly rocking variety from Japan. I suppose if one takes out the need for motion, South Australia’s colossal artificial equine would win hands-down.

Here’s a photo journal of our journey in the South. Enjoy!

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Making Visitors Feel Truly Welcomed

February 18, 2009 • Blog • 1 comment

During my walks around the city of Melbourne today – in between running a couple of errands here and there – I chanced upon the Melbourne Visitor Centre located at Federation Square along Flinders Street. The building itself was pretty nondescript as it was literally a glass box with a contemporary minimalist touch as you can see below.

P1030691

However, what I experienced when I stepped inside totally blew me away! These guys have thought of possibly anything and everything needed to make a tourist feel welcomed, and they have gone to great lengths there.

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Scientific Success

March 13, 2007 • Blog • 7 comments


School kids making a beeline for the sake of science!

Since I was a kid, I have always enjoyed visiting the Singapore Science Centre. One of Singapore’s leading attractions and a member of the Museum Roundtable, the Science Centre has managed to reinvent and rejuvenate itself over the years. This can be seen in its growing list of accolades – including one which stated that it is one of the world’s best science museums. Visitorship has also been improving, with close to 800,000 visitors popping through its doors in 2005 and more expected this year.

What are the scientific techniques which lead to its growing popularity? Let me put forward a few educated hypotheses!

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Bangkok – SEA’s Hottest Tourism Destination?

January 23, 2007 • Blog • 4 comments

Bangkok’s Chinatown bustles with nightlife!

Bangkok has changed quite significantly in recent years. The city has positioned itself as one of Asia’s most happening shopping and dining destination, cleaned up its act, and become increasingly sophisticated, modern and cosmopolitan. In fact, if you look at the cityscape at night, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference from Singapore, Hong Kong or KL.

In our recent trip there (amidst the NYE bomb scare and other toddler catastrophes), I have observed several points which we may wish to note here in Singapore.

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Hokkaido Hiatus

December 10, 2006 • Blog • 3 comments

Will be going off for a holiday in the wintry wonderland of Hokkaido for next week or so. Do pardon the tardy updates and I will try to access the Internet if I can.
“Sleigh bells ring….. Are you listening…..”

How Resorts World Can Succeed

December 10, 2006 • Blog • 6 comments


Aerial view of Genting’s winning bid Resort World, courtesy of Channelnewsasia

By now, the news would already have been out. Genting International and Star Cruises, the widely-anticipated front runner in the $5 billion plus Sentosa Integrated Resorts stakes, had won the bid.

While the design of their Resorts World may not match the architectural statement and drama of Frank Gehry’s light and glass creation for Kerzner International, it had most of the right ingredients. This included the combination of Universal Studios theme park, Dreamworks Studio, record breaking aquarium, water theme park, and maritime museum. Add to that Genting’s expertise in the Asian tourism market (with 20 million annual visitors to their Genting Highlands Resort) and ability to keep to the nature focus of Sentosa (70% green cover) and it is clear why they won.

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