All posts by The Beetle

Beetle Diary

It was with a sense of relief rather than rather than elation or sadness, that I escaped London. First stop was Singapore. The weather here in Singapore has been horrendous – extremely hot, around 34 degrees centigrade each day with 100% humidity, but grey and overcast skies. The newspapers say the overcast weather is as a result of air pollution from forest fires in Indonesia. I’m not so sure, maybe it is that but also the amount of exhaust fumes in Singapore too. It’s not like you can sit by the pool and enjoy the sun. I was extremely jet lagged and pretty much non functioning for the first three days – never had jet lag this bad before and could only manage to grab around four hours sleep each day starting at 6am Singapore time which was not good at all!

I’ve been here many times before and enjoy its company. It’s spotlessly clean, technologically advanced in a way Europe is not – for example, wi-fi hot spots all over the city, there’s very little crime, you don’t see gangs of hooded youths hanging around the place, its transport system is by far and away the best I’ve ever encountered and there seems to be plenty to do. If you are a shopper, the place is an absolute delight – shops routinely open until 9pm and sometimes later. It’s not all built up commercialism, there are rawer, grittier edges such as Little India, and there are a surprising number of green places, you just have to seek them out. There are plenty of coffee shops, and my favourite place to hang out was the Coffee Bean next to the IT Funan mall, a place to cater for any type of electronic goods, especially computers. Food is great, with a wide choice from food courts usually to be found on the top floor of the shopping malls, or supermarkets, usually in the basements of shopping malls, street food, food cooked in the open air at hawker centres, or a wide range of restaurants from the quick and cheap to real top notch stuff.

Singapore is a tiny place with a lot of people – around 4.2 million people and 800,000 non residents i.e. foreigners in 647.5 sq km making it a pretty densely populated country. The population make up is around 76% Chinese, 15% Malay, 6% Indian. Languages spoken include English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.

Would it be a good place to settle and live and work? I don’t know. I’ve spoken to many people who have worked in Singapore; great standard of living – over 92% of Singaporeans own their own home, and over 91% have a mobile phone, which incidentally work on the MRT, deep in underground tunnels, there’s good housing and an excellent (private i.e. paid for) health care system. It’s very easy to get about, which is just as well, as owning a car is horrendously expensive and a very complicated procedure.

Downside, it can get very claustrophobic – it’s small and samey – and many people say that they leave the islands at least once a month, just to get away – but at least it is well placed to hop over to other places. Close by is Malaysia, just a short drive across the bridge to Johor Bahru. There’s also Indonesia, many of whose islands can be reached by ferry from Singapore. Places like mainland Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Borneo, Bali are just short plane trips away, which have got to be a good thing in my book.

Then there’s the single female syndrome. Many of my friends who know Singapore well have warned me that it is very hard for expat women to find a partner. The expat men, it seems, are pursued by local women at every turn (so I’m told) and also that expat women generally don’t fancy or hook up with local men. Who knows!

I have to say, the idea of living and working in Singapore does appeal, perhaps on a short term basis, maybe a couple of years, but the culture is decidedly different from Europe, it’s so technologically advanced, safe, clean and ordered. Maybe too ordered. One of the things I liked about London was its cultural diversity, not just ethnic diversity, but the different ways people dressed, the different languages, different ways of living. I’m not sure I would find that here.

And of course, there’s the issue of finding work here. It proved quite hard. If you are a foreigner, you need to have an employment pass EP to be eligible to work. But, you need an offer of work to get an EP. Hhhmmm. Chicken and egg. Large companies will sponsor you and I understand that the process of getting an EP through this route has been much simplified, but even so, you have to find a willing employer who would see you in the first instance, without an EP and then be such an outstanding candidate, that they will employ you. And don’t get me wrong, the standard of education in Singapore is excellent, and there is a pool of good and well qualified people in Singapore. So it’s a tricky one, but an appealing idea to pursue.

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Many people have lived through life defining events. Some remember where they were and what they were doing when John F Kennedy died. I’m not old enough for that, but mine first happened when I was a student preparing breakfast in my bedsit when I heard on the radio that John Lennon had been shot in December 1980.

But these events get uglier and uglier – the next event in my psyche being 9/11. My friend Sally in Portugal texted me to tell me to turn on the TV immediately when I saw the ghastly replay over and over that has never left me of the planes’ last flights. Then on December 26th the tsunami hit in SE Asia. I was diving in Sulawesi, Indonesia when the tsunami hit. I was numb, along with hundreds of thousands of people in Indonesia and around the world.

On Thursday 7th July, I was in my room, on line and I received a travel newsflash e-mail that started to unfold the events of today 7th July 2005: central London has been rocked by a coordinated and calculated series of terrorist attacks. It feels surreal. I’m thousands of miles away, a seven hours time difference, but this, London, is my home, where I live(d). I even shed a few tears as I watched the BBC World news broadcasts during the day. Yes, I know I said that I had fallen out of love with London, but now it seems that this has shown to me that my loyalties still very much lie in London, with my friends, the place, physically, the streets I know so well, the buses I complained about, (the number 30 I used to take, one of which was bombed,) the tubes I griped about. I’m sure all of our thoughts go out to the people of London and those injured and killed by the blasts.

Globetrotters Travel Award

A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested in a £1,000 travel award?

Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?

Then see our legacy page on our Website, where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip and we’ll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!

Being Careful: Aceh

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office advise against all travel to Aceh except for those involved in post-tsunami humanitarian and reconstruction work under the auspices of a recognised aid organisation that has a security plan approved by the Indonesian authorities to ensure the safety and security of its personnel. Parts of Aceh remain affected by a long running internal conflict with the possibility of armed clashes. An aid worker was shot and injured while travelling at night in West Aceh on 23 June. Relief agencies should check the local security advice of the UN Office for Crisis and Humanitarian Affairs in Banda Aceh.

We advise against travel to some parts of Maluku, especially Ambon, and some parts of Central Sulawesi, which are experiencing civilian unrest. At least 22 people were killed in a bomb attack in Central Sulawesi on Saturday 28 May.

There remains a high threat from terrorism in Indonesia. We continue to receive reports that terrorists in Indonesia are planning further attacks on Westerners and Western interests. Attacks could occur at any time, anywhere in Indonesia and are likely to be directed against locations and buildings frequented by foreigners.

The Indonesian Police are on a state of high alert in Jakarta, and have deployed additional personnel around the city, including additional security arrangements for embassies.

Terrorists have shown in previous attacks, like the attack on the Australian Embassy, the Marriott Hotel, Jakarta and the Bali bombings, that they have the means and the motivation to carry out successful attacks.

Penalties for illegal drug importation and use are severe and can include the death penalty.

US Airport Screening

A US official has said that International travellers should get used to having their fingerprints taken or their irises scanned because traditional airport security tests are outdated and open to abuse.

“As a general principle, certainly in the area of international travel, biometrics is the way forward in virtually every respect,” said Michael Chertoff, US Homeland Security Secretary.

“When we screen based on names, we’re screening on the most primitive and least technological basis of identification — it’s the most susceptible to misspelling, or people changing their identity, or fraud. Biometrics is the way ahead.”

Mr Chertoff visited the Netherlands, which will pilot a scheme later this year to allow passengers flying between New York’s Kennedy airport and Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport to pass through border controls using a biometric card. If they produce the card, travellers will not be subjected to further questioning or screening.

The scheme is the first of its kind to be launched between the United States and a European country and, if it works, could be adopted elsewhere.

The United States hopes the use of biometric testing will help prevent potential terrorists entering the country and cut down confusion about who is allowed in and who is not.

The UK is one of 27 countries whose citizens do not need a visa to enter the United States if they intend to stay less than 90 days. Washington wants all 27 to issue new passports by October 26 this year containing a computer chip and a digital photograph of the holder.

Camel Cull In Oz

Camels were introduced to Australia in the 19th Century as desert transport creatures. Australian officials say the country’s camel population has grown to about 700,000 in recent years and because they have no local predators, their numbers are growing by an estimated 11% per year, and population size has been doubling about once every eight years. State land officials decided a cull was the most efficient way to manage camel numbers. “The simplest, quickest and most cost effective way of doing that is an aerial cull,” said rural lands inspector Chris Turner. Marksmen riding in helicopters would track the camels and shoot them from the air, Mr Turner told Australia’s ABC radio.

So You Think You're Well Travelled?

Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on currencies. See how many you get right! Go on, have a guess!

Where would you find the following currencies?

  1. Lek
  2. Loti
  3. Pula
  4. Ruble
  5. Cedi

For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.

Avoid Illicit Brew

Do not drink home made alcohol – anywhere, not just Kenya. Over 50 people have died after drinking home made alcohol laced with a substance believed to have been methanol in Machakos, south east of Nairobi. Local newspaper, The People Daily, identifies its own culprit. “The provincial administration and the police are squarely to blame. They have failed to arrest and charge individuals involved in the brewing and distribution of illegal liquors.” This is not the first time that such a tragedy has occurred. Just don’t do it!

Mutual Aid

Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid

New Rat Found in Laos

A completely new family of rodents, a kind of rat has been found in Laos. The animal has long whiskers, stubby legs and a tail covered in dense hair and was on sale in a hunters’ market. Dr Robert Timmins working with the Wildlife Conservation Society in Thailand saw that it was probably unknown to science and brought it to the attention of his colleagues. “It was for sale on a table next to some vegetables,” said Dr Timmins. “I knew immediately it was something I had never seen before.” “To find something so distinct in this day and age is just extraordinary. For all we know, this could be the last remaining mammal family left to be discovered,” Dr Timmins said.

Drunk and Disorderly

Two former America West pilots Christopher Hughes and Thomas Cloyd were removed from an Airbus A319 in Miami on July 1, 2002, and charged with operating a plane under the influence of alcohol.

They were in the cockpit as the aircraft was being towed to the runway for takeoff from Miami International Airport on a flight to Phoenix, Arizona. But after a security screener reported the pilots were red-eyed, flushed and reeking of alcohol, air traffic controllers ordered the plane back to the gate.

The jury were told that the pair had played pool at a bar until 5 a.m. before the 10:30 a.m. flight and consumed 350 ounces of beer between them, the equivalent of nearly 22 pint glasses (10 litres), after earlier sharing a bottle of wine with two flight attendants.

World Airport News June 2005

Spanish travel group Marsans, which owns Aerolineas Argentinas, plans to create a new unit in Peru and begin flights there within five months.

An Aerolineas spokesman said they expected the debut of the new Peruvian company, called Aerolineas del Peru, to take no longer than five months because of the Peruvian government’s warm welcome.

As we previously reported, one of the key competitors in Peru, Chilean airline LAN, has become unpopular with the Peruvian government due to a scandal over an in-flight video depicting images of Lima considered offensive.

Pretoria May be Renamed

Pretoria was named after Andries Pretorius, a Boer settler and a folk hero of Afrikaners who later set up the apartheid racial discrimination system. The city council approved the switch to Tshwane in March as part of moves to make place names more African, but opposition campaigners say they feel marginalised. Hundreds of predominantly white South Africans have staged a demonstration against plans to change the capital’s name from Pretoria to Tshwane which means “we are the same”. and was the name of pre-colonial local chief.

Direct Flights to Cuba

Virgin Atlantic Airways have started direct flights from the UK to Cuba that are expected to boost growing British tourism to the communist-run Caribbean island. “This is good for Cuba, because British tourism has become our second most-important market after Canada,” said Cuban Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero, at the airport to meet Branson on the inaugural flight. Tourism generates 40 percent of Cuba’s foreign currency earnings. Cuba hosted a record 2 million tourists last year.

Virgin Atlantic’s rival British Airways stopped flying to Havana three years ago. The number of British tourists visiting Cuba rose 35 percent in the first quarter of 2005, to 43,900 arrivals. British visitors have outnumbered Italian, French and German tourists this year, Cuban officials said.

Branson said Virgin Atlantic expects to carry 42,000 passengers to Cuba in the first year, flying a Boeing 747-400 twice a week from London’s Gatwick Airport to Havana. The airline could be flying 150,000 to 200,000 people a year to Cuba within three to four years, he estimated.

Japanese Table Manners

According to a recent survey conducted by condiments giant Ajinomoto, it seems that traditional eating habits are changing fast in Japanese homes. The report says that only about 20 percent of married women in major city areas lay out eating utensils correctly in accordance with traditional Japanese etiquette standards.

The survey showed that modern families are showing little regard for traditional Japanese table manners, often placing bowls in the wrong spots or lining chopsticks incorrectly. The survey discovered that the role of soup, once an essential accompaniment of almost every Japanese meal, is declining as people consume beverages like tea with their meals instead of waiting until they had finished as had been the custom in the past.

Families served rice with nearly every evening meal. Proper etiquette requires the rice bowl be placed on the left and the soup bowl on the right, but the correct method was used by only 20 percent of the 235 married women from 20 to 64 living in and around Tokyo and Osaka.

According to correct tradition in Japan, chopsticks are supposed to be arranged horizontally in front of the eater with the fatter of the two ends where the sticks are held on the right. However, 21 percent of the respondents lined chopsticks with the fat end either left or right, another 7 percent placed them on a stand or holder, 6 percent placed them on dishes and 2 percent lined them vertically.

And finally, around 70 percent of women served beverages at the beginning of meals instead of waiting until after the meal as tradition demands.

Chocolate Bar Scare in Oz

Tens of thousands of Snickers and Mars chocolate bars have been withdrawn from sale in Australia’s New South Wales after the manufacturer was sent a letter threatening to poison a member of the public. The letter warned that up to seven Snickers and Mars bars in the metropolitan Sydney area had been contaminated. Police believed the products were randomly chosen and may have been tampered with.

Be Careful with Luggage Tampering

You may have heard about Schappelle Corby, the Australian surfer who has been arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison for smuggling in 4.5 kgs of cannabis in her boogie board case into Bali. Some people say that the drugs were put inside her case by luggage handlers in Australia – and if true, this is not the first time Australian baggage handlers have come under suspicion for this kind of thing. It makes you wonder about how just safe your luggage is from tampering. Many airports offer plastic shrinkwrap around suitcases and yet the US advises that luggage should be left unlocked so that customs can make routine inspections. What to do – what do you think?

Getting to Stansted Airport

John from London wrote in to share some information about getting to London Stansted airport. He says:

I share your frustrations about the cost and unreliability of the train service to Stansted, but do you know about the National Express bus service from Stratford BR/Underground station?

It costs £7 single and £12 for a return, (a saving of £2), it leaves every half an hour, even during the night and takes 45 minutes because it’s only a spit from Stratford to the M11.

For more information, see: NationalExpress.