Restrictions on carry-on luggage

Mainstream media has been awashed with the latest updates from airlines and airports taking action to start screening /banning liquids, gels and aerosols that are taken onboard.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has issued guidelines for international practices and has urged all its participation countries to enforce a single-minded guideline that can be applied worldwide. The deadline set is 31 March 2007 and I'm waiting with bated breath as to how airlines will line up.

As it is, before we leave for a flight, we need to find out the quarantine laws of the country so we know what we can bring as gifts, the duty-free allowances so we know how much perfume, alcohol etc we can buy, if the airline allows outside food to be brought onboard (do they??) etc.

With this move, it would help a lot if we knew what we can buy at airport duty-free shops, what we should discard before boarding least we be fined upon landing and what we can bring onboard least we shrivel up from a lack of adequate skin lotion on that long distance flight!

Looking forward to comments that I'm not alone in my thoughts!

Where's the best place for a honeymoon?

A few months ago, I was doing some destination research for my honeymoon due in April.. and there are so many nice countries that we should visit! Travellers now are definitely spoilt with choices!

After looking at a few destination websites, I was already getting fickled minded! Hmm..driving and touring around New Zealand seems good, Shopping in Hong Kong sounds fantastic...or maybe a farm stay in Australia? Gosh! I cannot decide anymore!

There are so many countries I want to visit and so many things I want to do! I was sharing this with my good friend and then she knocked some sense into me... She said: " Honeymoon is a time to enjoy each other's company rather than a hectic holiday filled with activities!"

That' so true and I believe there is a time for everything! If it's a family holiday, then shopping in Hong Kong will be the right destination, if we are bringing our kids (in the future), then a farm stay in Australia will be ideal! As for our honeymoon (at least for me), it should be a tranquil and secluded retreat in a nice and cosy resort... and yes, we are going to Alila Hotels and Resorts in Bali Ubud and Manggis. That's exactly what we need....

What's your say on the best honeymoon destination?

A Prosperous Year of the Pig

Has the year of the Dog treated you well? Well, to most job seekers it would seem so. 2006 saw a whopping 173,300 jobs being created in Singapore (not to mention more than half to Singaporeans), which is 60,000 more than a year before.

The year of the Pig seems to be just as good if not better. With the government raising the growth forecast to 4.5 - 6.5%, we can expect the employment market to be just as bouyant.

High job creation translates into high turnover of staff in most organisations. An employee's market would mean that people now find it easier to move on.

This mixture of strong economic and employment growth coupled with a previous five year lull makes staff migration an even more acute issue.

Does your organisation experience such exodus? If so, how are you coping with the (temporary) extra load? What's your company's strategy to this big question?

Valentine's Day is around the corner!

I thought it would be educational and interesting to share with everyone how Valentine's Day came about.

According to Menstuff.com, the history of Valentine's Day can be traced back to the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia held on 15 February. During the festival to honour the gods, young men would draw names of young women from a box and each couple would be paired to stay together throughout the festival till the next celebration.

Emperor Claudius II of Rome believed that young men should stay as bachelors to stay concentrated on fighting for their country. At that time, he had difficulties recruiting young men as soldiers and cancelled all forms of engagement and weddings. Without his knowledge, St. Valentine, a Roman priest defied the Emperor and secretly continued to wed couples and hold wedding ceremonies. Unfortunately, he was caught and put to death on the 14 February. After his death, he was named a saint. As Christianity spread through Rome, the priests moved Lupercalia from 15 February to 14 February and renamed it St. Valentine's Day to honour him.

Now that we all know how Valentine's Day came about, what will you be doing on this day with your other half or friends to honour St Valentine? As for me, my creative juices are still at work. I've bought all the possible gifts - ties, shirts, pants, accessories, you name it.

Maybe it's time to do something different to honour the real significance of Valentine's Day this year...

Travelling to the land of smiles

I love being in Thailand. Its shopping, food and sights all appeal to me. But with the recent spate of reports on its new airport not being ready to cater to the amount of traffic (human & planes!), unhappiness amongst the locals of Singapore's purchase of their main telco company, martial law, suspected terrorist bombings AND suspicions of the Singapore government being able to tap into the land's leaders telecommunications through the telco purchase... is it safe for a Singaporean girl like me to still want to be there amidst all these?

Anyone out there, do shed some light!

OAG Superstars 2007 - VERSION Karaoke

Move over American Idol, Singapore Idol and Project Superstars! Make way for OAG's Superstars!

Recently, we had an informal get-together with all the employees of OAG at one of the karaoke bars downtown. Thinking that it was just another karaoke session, many of us were caught off-guarded when the quest was unveiled to us - The search for the OAG Superstar 2007 - Version Karaoke!

The challenge was to sing 2 songs - An English and Mandarin piece. Points were not only awarded for singing but also to creativity, choreography, coordination, and stage presence.

There were a total of 5 teams: After few hours of competitive singing, dancing and acting, the winners were crowned! It was without doubt the best team who mesmerised us with their extraordinary dance choreography.

The OAG Superstars 2007
From Left to Right: Fred, Jessica, Linda, Pauline, Amy, and Eunice

2007 - year of SUVs?

Thinking of changing your ride this year? With the impending GST hike, car dealers are pitching to potential buyers to log in their purchases before it turns 7%. Is that called GST marketing?

This is also the year with arguably the most number of new SUVs or cross-over models to reach our shores. There's the new Honda CRV, Subaru Tribeca, Mazda CX-7, Suzuki SX4, Audi Q7 just to name a few. Lifestyle cars are steadily gaining in popularity versus the family sedan. SUV owners typically like the commanding driving experience due to its size and height; giving it the road presence that smaller cars tend to give way when they see one of them in their rear view mirror.

The higher ride and better visibility are common reasons why SUV fans love them...

So now, what happens to the rest of us non-SUV motorists? Do we get lesser and lesser road visibility and presence as this trend continues?