Opening of Coney Island - Singapore

Coney Island is Open to the public again. I visited Coney Island on Oct 12, 2015.

This is not a very convenient location. From the Punggol MRT station, you still need to take a SBS Bus 84 to Punggol Settlement and walk about 1km to the west entrance.

On Google, it is called Serangoon Island. from the map, it is not too far from Punggol MRT station. The LRT line to Punggol Point is not open yet.

The 7-11 store is also our of any cold drinks, so remember to bring your water perhaps from somewhere else like at the MRT station.

Coney Island is basically an island without any electricity. It is said to be open from 7am - 7pm -- perhaps because there is no power on the island. Not to worry however, you can still get phone signals.

One thing to note: the pathways are very narrow, and with a lot of cyclists, it can be a place where kids can get injured, and this is not a very friendly location for an ambulance to come.

On the Island, you get to see Pulau Ubin and Pasir Gudang... And be careful when answering phone calls because you may get Malaysian Roaming on certain parts of the island.

What to see there?

Errr... Nature? There are monkeys, a disturbed bird of prey? Casuarina trees? Perhaps a lone cow which is rumored to be on the island? Because of the haze and the crowd, I did not see much other animals.

Coney Island was previously owned by the Aw brothers of Haw Par Villa fame. They built a beach villa which fell into disrepair. The building is structurally sound, and open to public visit via guided tours.

Reminder: The island is 2.4km long and the toilets is at one end of the island. So please visit the toilets before going to the island.

My advice: Don't go during the weekends. The huge crowds is a big turn off. The kids who visit are disturbing the animals on the island and despite their parents shouting at them, the kids are still throwing sand on the monkeys at the beach... Lots of cyclists cycling on narrow paths which are not meant for cycling. There are only 4 shelters on the island, so either bring an umbrella or make sure the weather is good.

Privatizing in Singapore, is it better?

Somehow, security is privatized to Cisco, a government linked company. Is is better?

Every Chinese New Year, you can find a lot of security guards that look like police officers in Chinatown Singapore. Instead of retaining more professional police officers, security is outsourced and security companies are making a lot of money.

Its not easy to find patrolling police officers in Singapore, but you can definitely see CISCO or other security guards around.

Are private security better than the police?

There are constant traffic blocks in Chinatown during Chinese New Year to regulate traffic. The traffic is sometimes not so packed but the paths are blocked anyways. And the security guards (or auxiliary policemen) are simply following orders.

There seems to be a Volunteer Special Constabulary but from the people I've met, they felt that joining the security companies provide more benefits and they get to do their part at these events anyways. However Cisco and many of the security companies in Singapore can hire foreigners.

Certis CISCO Security Private Limited, is one of the five commercial Auxiliary Police forces authorized to provide armed security officers to government organizations as well as private companies or individuals in Singapore. It has its roots as a department of the Singapore Police Force (SPF), which branched out as the Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation, a statutory board with a monopoly over most areas of the local private armed security industry.

With this setup, a private company can make $$$ providing security to banks and events, where the police force (which is part of their duty). Does this drive up costs of events and services?

Incidents (CISCO) is not free of controversial...

Since its inception, CISCO officers have been involved in a number of incidents. Several CISCO constables and Lance Corporals have been shot and killed while on duty, and others injured.Several officers has also been involved in some high-profile incidents, such as a gun-snatching incident and an attempted bank robbery by a CISCO officer in Bukit Timah. One Lance Corporal prevented a robbery by firing two rounds at a robber. On 22 December 2011, a CISCO guard committed suicide using service pistol at Vivocity after duty at a Citibank there. He was a relief officer. On 29 January 2013, another CISCO police officer shot himself at the Supreme Court. In July 2013, a senior police officer was arrested on suspicion of a brutal double murder in Kovan. The incident may be related to missing items in CISCO safe deposit boxes. Documents revealed that the senior police officer had been neck-deep in debt.

The difference between Cisco and Singapore Police Force is that Cisco which is kinda like the police hires foreigners and is totally for profit.

Its seems like Privatizing is a common thing. Singapore's public transport systems SMRT, SBS are all private companies, but the government is paying for upgrades and infrastructure while they raise fares and reap in the profits.

Is Privatizing beneficial for Singapore?

-- Robin Low

Anti-Gambling Ad Campaign #Fails

So good even Jimmy Fallon joins in the spoof...

With Germany trashing Brazil 7-1, this Singapore Ad has gone viral. But if this was true in real life, perhaps its not the problem of gambling that the kid's father has when he bets all the savings on Germany, it may be match fixing..

"The anti-gambling campaign comes as some Singaporeans have been embroiled in one of the world’s biggest match-fixing scandals. Last year, an inquiry by European police forces uncovered a global betting scam run from Singapore."

But for now, there are so many hashtags to be used on this ad that ran everyday during world cup, with the government spending a lot of money, and not getting international attention. Perhaps more attention than when Singapore an Youth Olympic Games.



#AlwaysTrustDad
#KidisGoingtoHaveGoodLife
#GamblingPays
#DadsCanTellFuture
#IMRichBiach
...



-- Robin Low

Beerfest Asia 2014 - Tips and Info for #BFA2014

Beerfest Asia 2014 is here again, and I visited it yesterday.

To me, Beerfest Asia started on a wrong note. I rode my motorcycle there and was turned away for reason: "No more motorcycle parking" However, as I turned around, 2 Harleys ridden by White Guys entered.

After parking at Marina Square, because places around like Singapore Flyer does not allow motorcycles as well, I managed to go back because I've already planned to meet some friends there, and I really did feel discriminated against as another few white guys on motorcycles are allowed to enter again.

Tip #1: Sistic pre-purchase of tickets sucks.

When arriving, for my friends who did not buy tickets, they paid $20 and bought a ticket, and entered. Easy...

When you pre-purchase tickets from SISTIC, you need to follow a long queue, wait for them to find your name, then they give you the tickets. For each ticket, you also pay a processing fee, so in short, you pay more to queue.

There was quite a few choices for beers at Beerfest, but upon closer inspection, I found even more ciders! Not that I have anything opposed to ciders, the choice of ciders is actually pretty good.

Being in a backdrop of Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay sands and the Singapore Flyer, the scenery is actually pretty good.

Tip #2:  Purchase your chips wisely.

The minimum purchase for the chips is $30, and the beers range from $5 - $??
Although the chips can be refunded for 80% of original cost, as there are $11 drinks and drinks of other denominations, sometimes the $1 more required makes you want to just pick another drink.

Good thing is, they do offer change. You get 3 - $10 chips and when you buy drinks, they do have $1 chips for change.

Go to the booths, talk to the folks, some stalls have great offers and I managed to get 6 drinks for $30, not a bad deal at all!

Tip #3: Come after dinner. Even though there is food provided by Harry's, much of the food is pre-prepared and relatively expensive. But heh, you are there for beer fest right? Might as well drink more beer to fill you up!

Find the beer kaki... For extra bonus.

Like I said, lots and lots of Cider. Nonetheless, good ciders... There is a relatively good selection of beer as well, but as I've been to the Good beer company, I've drank most of them before.

Overall, Beerfest Asia has comedy, lots of music and tons of beer.

Remember to bring along more friends to have a great time.

Tip #4: And don't ride motorcycle there parking is at Marina Square, pretty far walk, unless you are a white guy.

-- Robin Low

Chinese New Year in Malaysia vs Singapore

I was in Malaysia during Chinese New Year and the festive feeling is much more intense. On the weekends, there are fireworks everywhere and most buildings are decorated.

In Singapore there are various designated places where they have done it up, and some, still look like Christmas lights.

I do feel that in Kuala Lumpur, things are much more bustling and interesting. There is no comparison between having Chinese New Year in Malaysia as

1) More variety of things to do, temples open late.
2) Fire works / fire crackers are allowed.
3) Bukit Bintang and various other mall areas are heavily decorated giving the festive feel.

Singapore on the other hand, action is where the casinos are. and at various designated areas.

1) River Angpao
2) Sentosa RWS
3) Istana Open House
4) Gardens by the Bay
5) Chinatown.

As a result, there is a crush of people everywhere you go and forget about taking a taxi as they are impossible to flag down.

I do feel that even though the F&B take this opportunity to over charge, generally, the cost is 40% less in Malaysia and food tastes better.

I prefer fresh chicken/ pork rather than the frozen ones you get in Singapore, and most food places are still family owned, where as there are lots of franchises in Singapore.

I must agree, that in both countries, unless you go to a very high end restaurant, service is generally bad, but food can be exceptional.

If you have not been in Malaysia (KL) for Chinese New Year, you should give it a try.

-- Robin Low