While You Were Busy Sleeping, 300 Youths Did Their Part For OBS Project IsLand-A-Hand!

Debunking the myth that young Singaporeans lack idealism, more than 300 young volunteers lent their hands in various environmental conservation initiatives organized by Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) at Pulau Ubin and Coney Island earlier last weekend while all of us were still sleeping.

This is to commemorate the first death anniversary of Singapore’s founding father Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and honor his legacy of a clean and green Singapore.

These youths, aged between 15 and 35 years old proactively did their part for nature through reforestation, coastal and swamp cleanup, invasive weed clearing, flotsam fence maintenance, species survey and bird box construction. This is the second time OBS has organized this large-scale outdoor conservation classroom, with overwhelming participation.

To further encourage youths to appreciate the environment, OBS will also be opening its campus to the public for the first time for a series of March school holiday Nature Appreciation Programme.

A total of 11 workshops will be organized featuring activities such as nature treasure hunts, mangrove appreciation and nature photography to promote family bonding and a greater understanding of Pulau Ubin’s history, geography and ecology.

Members of public could register for the free workshops at which can be found on the OBS website.

[疯狂促销] 新加坡飞欧洲只需S$539元起

新加坡的朋友们看过来！近来，小编发现一个每位精打细算爱旅游的朋友们都应该要知道的欧洲优惠班机！由Saudi Arabian Airlines’提供的2016年促销航班中，从新加坡出发的来回经济舱航班都只需要基本票价S$539而已！航班路线将会经过的目的地包括伦敦、曼切斯特、巴黎、米兰和马德里等。

*票价未包括税额。

就算加入了附加的税额，价钱还是很值得！就让小编举出几个超值的航班总额吧！

• S$847.40 到英国伦敦
• S$796.50 到英国曼切斯特
• S$704.50 到法国巴黎
• S$670.20 到意大利米兰
• S$664.00 到西班牙马德里

这个超值配套的旅游时段是介于2016年9月1日至11月30日之间，有兴趣的朋友现在就可以开始订机票了！再也不用推迟你的欧洲之旅了！除此之外，非欧洲地区的航班如如纽约、开罗和突尼斯也同样有优惠喔！快点！趁机票还没卖光前赶快联络新加坡沙地阿拉伯航空(Saudi Arabian Airlines)吧！只需要发邮件到 [email protected] 或拨打 6298 2144 吧！

关于沙地阿拉伯航空(Saudi Arabian Airlines)

沙地阿拉伯航空公司(Saudi Arabian Airlines)是沙地阿拉伯的国家航空。它拥有超过一百个现代化的飞机，并且飞越不同的国内和国际目的地，是世界上最大和最好的航空公司之一。此外，身为全球航空联盟的会员之一，它也被一致公认为拥有最优秀的服务和最先进的舰队。现在，让我们来看一看他们的经济舱和商务舱长什么样吧！

SV Economy Class B777 – 268

• 座椅舒适，座位间距32“，宽18.5”和座位配置3-3-3保证。
• 允许46公斤寄舱（2件行李，最大每个行李23公斤）和7公斤的手提行李
• 全IFE系统配备专用显示器，9“用遥控器，多达40个视频波道，超过12个声音电台以及多样化的电动游戏选项。

SV Business Class seats B777- 300

• 世界级美食的跨国菜肴，包括阿拉伯餐，西餐，目的地国家的餐点以及素食的选择。
• 座椅舒适的保证，包括座椅调整高达170度，座位间距61“和座位配置2-2-2。
• 允许64公斤的行李寄舱以及9公斤的手提行李。
• 高科技娱乐系统，包括特殊的显示器，17“用遥控器，多达40视频波道，超过12声音电台，以及许多电动游戏可供选择。

此外，头等舱和商务舱乘客也可以使用以下服务：

• 商务舱和头等舱优先办理登机手续。
• 位于樟宜国际机场离境3号航站楼的贵宾SATS总理休息室设施。
• 位于沙地阿拉伯的沙地阿拉伯航空(Alfursan)贵宾室。

额外详情

• 从新加坡樟宜机场3号航站楼出发，登记柜台9号。
• 一个星期3趟飞往吉达(Jeddah)和利雅得(Riyadh)的航班，旅游时段期：2016年9月1日到2016年至11月30日。
• 通过吉达和利雅得前往伦敦，马德里，米兰，巴黎，曼彻斯特，纽约，突尼斯和开罗的航空连接。

随着沙特航空“2016年促销票价，一定可以让你只花一小部分的钱就可以体验到优良的服务、高科技飞机设备和世界一流的舒适航空！马上点击价钱和优惠的完整列表！之后，只要和Alkanaah国际旅游与旅行公司(Alkanaah International Tours & Travel )预定（[email protected]/62982144）或填写查询表格就可以啦！

赶快把这个好康分享给你身边的朋友知道吧！

8 Long Weekends In 2016 So You Can Plan That Holiday You’ve Been Eyeing!

Happy March everyone! We’re 3 months into the new year. If you find yourself listlessly flipping through that desk calendar and dreaming of your next getaway, you’ve clicked on the right article.

In this post, we’ll bring you through the 8 Long Weekends In 2016 So You Can Plan That Holiday You’ve Been Eyeing!

1. 25 – 27 March: Good Friday Weekend

3 days: First up, Good Friday (25 March) weekend

2. 30 April – 2 May: Labour Day Weekend

3 days: Since Labour Day (1 May) falls on a Sunday this year, Monday (2 May) is an off-in-lieu public holiday.

3. 21 – 23 May: Vesak Day

3 days: Vesak Day (21 May) falls on a Saturday. Take the Friday (20 May) or Monday (23 May) off for another 3 day weekend.

4. 6 – 10 July: Hari Raya Puasa

5 days: Hari Raya Puasa (6 July) falls on a Wednesday. Take 2 days of leave to enjoy this 5 day break.

5. 6 – 9 August: National Day

4 days: While National Day (9 August) falls on a Tuesday, you can take Monday (8 August) off for a 4 day weekend.

6. 10 – 12 September: Hari Raya Haji Weekend

3 days: Hari Raya Haji (12 September) falls on a Monday, giving you a 3 day weekend.

7. 9 – 31 October: Deepavali

3 days: Deepavali (29 October) falls on a Saturday. For an extended weekend, take the Friday (28 October) or Monday (31 October) off.

8. 24 – 26 December: Christmas Weekend

3 days: Last but not least, Christmas (25 December) falls on a Sunday this year, so Monday (26 December) will be an off-in-lieu holiday.

Even if you’re not going anywhere, holidays are a good time to unwind, relax, and spend some time with your loved ones.

Be sure to mark your calendars, apply for your off days, and share our infographic with your family and friends!

Food, Booze, and Chill Vibes: 4 Can’t-Miss Parties This March

March is set to be an awesome month with hipster street parties, great food, and plenty of booze (read on for how to score some free beer). Grab your best buds, here are the parties that you shouldn’t miss!

1. Juan Night in Bangkok (2 March)

A collaboration between the chicken-centric Thai eatery Bird Bird, and the casual Mexican snack bar, Hombre Catina, this Thai-Maxican mashup will be happening at Boat Quay for one night only on 2nd March.

Look forward to mouth-watering treats like the Tarmarind Chili Margaritas, Som Tum Carnitas Tacos, and Duck Grapow Nacho Supreme that’ll only be available during that night!

@Hombre Catina, from 7pm till sold out (no reservations). 

2. The Great Singapore Jerk Off Part 2 (19 March)

Vote for your favourite Jamaican-style BBQ chicken sauce at the second jerk off event happening this March. Hosted by the Singapore Dub Club, the BBQ pits will be out, and so will the sound system- expect ska, reggae, and dancehall beats livening up the street as the chicken marinade experts battle it out.

@Red Baron, from 2pm onwards. Tickets here.

3. Rail Collidoscope (19 March)

Brought to you by Noise Singapore and LushLovesLocal, don’t miss the Rail Corridor Art Space‘s last fiesta before it temporarily closes for piping works.

Food, drinks, DJs, and live street art, what’s not to like about this party? Details are scant at the moment, but keep an eye out for more updates on their Facebook events page.

@Rail Corridor Art Space, free admission.

Also read: The Music Run That Lets You Party, Run, And Choose The Soundtrack At The Same Time

4. St. Patrick’s Day Parade (19-20 March)

Grab a pint of Guinness and dress in something green. This year’s street festival will feature a parade by the Singapore River, and live music till late for you and your crew to party on!

More importantly, here’s what you’ve been waiting for: free booze. Send an SMS with your Name<SPACE>NRIC to 8151-5555, and successful applications will receive an SMS notification to redeem your free pint of Guinness Draught. You can redeem your beer from this list of participating bars, from 1-20 March.

@Singapore River, Circular Road, free admission.

Which party will you be attending? Let us know in the comments below!

Also Read: 

Muji无印良品欢庆网站一周年优惠！

相信大家都知道无印良品(Muji)这个日本杂货品牌吧？Muji在日文中意为无品牌标志的好产品。它们的产品类别以日常用品为主。产品注重纯朴、简洁、环保、以人为本等理念，在包装与产品设计上皆无品牌标志。产品类别从铅笔、笔记本、食品到厨房的基本用具都有。最近他们也开始进入房屋建筑、花店、咖啡店等产业类别。

良品计画株式会社社长金井政明说：“世界上存在很多商品，并非为了更方便地使用，而是为了卖得更好、更流行。追求商品本质的做法使MUJI无印良品不会在来去匆匆中过时。” 此外，他们的商品在简单实用的前提下，也能彰显人的品位和生活品质，小编也很喜欢呢！

最近，无印良品为了庆祝他们的网站成立一周年，特别推出了网上订购优惠，优惠详情如下：
优惠日期：2016年2月26日（星期五）至3月20日（星期日）

1. 周年纪念特备- 索取$11的电子礼券

2. 每周幸运抽奖

3. 每周特备- 独家在线发布家庭日用织品

*优惠附带条件

欲知更多详情，请浏览网站MUJI SG
或点击获得电子礼券$11

新加坡下令回收麦卢卡蜂蜜产品

(图：Fairprice.sg）

（新加坡27日讯）农粮兽医局下令进口商，立即从市场上回收纽西兰常青树有限公司（Evergreen Life Limited）的某些麦卢卡蜂蜜產品，同时建议已购买这些受影响蜂蜜的公眾立即停止食用或將之扔掉。

纽西兰初级產业部通知，该公司正在回收的某些麦卢卡蜂蜜（Manuka honey）產品，有关產品在处理过程中可能使用了不被批准的活性要素DHA（dihydroxyacetone）及甲基乙二醛（methylglyoxal）。

纽西兰初级產业部也指出，这些被令回收的蜂蜜不存在食品安全隱忧。

农粮局发言人透露，自去年1月至今年2月，共约43吨此牌子的蜂蜜產品进口新加坡。根据该局的食品规例，是不允许蜂蜜加入添加剂。该局建议，食用此產品后有任何健康问题的消费者可咨询医生意见。

资料来源：东方网

海洋水手号抵狮城！ 体验豪华游轮之旅

      全球十大游轮邮轮之一、也是亚洲最大的邮轮海洋水手号，将会在今年10月返回新加坡提供短程旅游航线！有没有人和小编一样想知道这架豪华游轮里边可以玩些什么呢？现在就让小编带你看个究竟吧！

游轮内部结构图

海洋水手号设计新颖，且设施齐全富有创意，13吨的容积可让搭客在行程中无限享受，也是最适合家人欢聚的豪华游轮。

餐厅

游轮上可享有各种国际美食，其中就设有西餐厅、咖啡厅、酒吧、剧院、健身院、按摩中心及儿童看护中心，给予游客无限享受！另外，甲板上宽敞的运动跑道可以让喜爱运动者跑步，其他的设施还包括打篮球、高尔夫球及攀岩活动等。

剧场

高尔夫球场

攀岩设施

房间内部

海洋水手号共有1千557间客房，其中套房及阳台房共占了775间、海景房164间、内航放618间及138间位皇家大道景观房，另外设有第三或第四人额度房间569间及无障碍设施客房26间。所有客房都提供电视机、电话和迷你吧等设施喔！

到了晚上，游轮上还呈现船上演出，像是舞台音乐剧、现代音乐剧、梦幻魔术表演、高难度的杂技表演等，还有美国百老汇专业演员表演的百老汇舞台剧、音乐演出和特别表演！让你体验最精彩的感官享受！

夜间的游轮看起来更美了！

小编看了这些豪华设施也好想乘搭这架游轮！说起来，乘坐游轮旅行好像也是很不错的选择！有兴趣的朋友们不妨联络各大旅游社，为自己定制最适合你的行程吧！

February 2016 Could Be The One Of The HOTTEST Februaries In 9 Decades!

Earlier this week, the Meterological Service in Singapore (MSS) announced that this February could be one of the top five warmest Februaries since 1929.

We all get too happy over the cooler temperatures during the Chinese New Year weekend – the average daily minimum temperature for the first half of this month was almost 2°C warmer than that of all the previous years. However, that’s going to change soon.

MSS reported that the second half of this month is forecasted to be hotter and drier compared to the first half of February with the temperature range expected to be between 25°C all the way until 34°C.  This could be ranked among the top five warmest Februaries since records began in 1929, which recorded the long term mean monthly temperature of 27.1°C.

Despite that, thundery showers are still forecasted for about five to six days for the rest of the month.

So brace yourself, the hot weather is coming in the next few days!

10 Facts You Didn’t Know About Singapore’s Last Surviving (And Well-Hidden) Battle Bunker!

Just a week ago, the National Parks Board announced that one of its projects – the Battle Box at Fort Canning Park, was given a $300,000 makeover.

The National Parks Board hopes that the revamp will attract more people to visit. Visitors will learn about this important place where critical decisions were made for Singapore. Before you pay this monumental site a visit, here’s 10 Facts You Didn’t Know About Singapore’s Battle Box.

(Image credit: Lim Sin Thai)

1. Back in World War 2, the Battle Box was built as the headquarters of the British Military Operations

The Battle Box was constructed to serve as the headquarters of the British Strategic Command during World War 2. More simply put, this was the place where all activities pertaining to the war in East Asia were controlled and managed. Decisions made in this emergency, bombproof command centre affected countries like Malaya and Hong Kong.

2. No battles took place at this bunker

The soldiers of the war termed this underground commander centre the ‘Battle Box’ even though no battle actually occurred here.

3. On 15 February 1942, the grave decision to surrender to the invading Japanese Forces was made at the Battle Box

On Sunday, the 15^th of February 1942, at 9:30am, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival held a conference in this very bunker to discuss the war situation with commanders of the Northern, Southern and Western areas. During this conference, the decision to surrender to the Japanese was made. The alternative choice, a counter attacking option, was deemed impractical.

4. The roof of the bunker conceals a secret exit

A simple search on Google reveals that there are only two entrances into the Battle Box Bunker – one on Cox Terrace and another on Dobbie Rise. What most people don’t know about is the third entrance located on the roof. Back in the past, the secret entrance was a guarded secret that has evidently lived on well till today.

5. The bunker is fully camouflaged

Despite its huge size (44 by 48.6 meters large, and 9.1 meters deep), the entire Battle Box remains camouflaged. As it is hard to spot, the place was spared from attacks. The top of the hill appears to be an area of greenery surrounded by the buildings on Dobbie Rise and Cox Terrace.

Only selected individuals knew of the Battle Box’s existence and were allowed access to it. Those who knew about it were made to swear to strict secrecy about their knowledge of the place. Even until today, many of them still refuse to talk about their experience at the site. Talk about loyalty!

6. There are a total of 29 rooms in the Battle Box Bunker

The Battle Box served a host of functions with 29 rooms. There was the signal room (also known as the post office). Here’s where messages were picked up or sent off. Signals received here were usually with regards to troop movements and new dispositions on the ground.

There’s the cipher room where all messages were decoded and encoded using various military codebooks and enciphering equipment. Messages received here are destroyed after 3 days using a large shredder machine located in the Battle Box.

Finally, there’s the signal control room. It was where people in the base would communicate with those in countries like Hong Kong, India and Indonesia. Messages would then be relayed to the base in London. Complete silence was essential in the room in order to take down the Morse code received, before sending it to the cipher room to be decoded.

7. Vacuum suction message tubes were used to send messages within the complex

Using a small container wrapped in rubber, an officer would place a document in a capsule and insert it in the tube. It would then be sucked to the other end of the pipe (the destination of the document). These tubes lined the entire complex, and gave a loud thud sound when it reached its destination – a fact recalled by many. This was also the system that massively inspired Elon Musk’s revolutionary Hyperloop.

8. Officers in the Battle Box communicated through the Telephone Exchange

Although the officers in the various rooms communicated with one another, most of them rarely saw their colleagues in the other rooms. They more often than not communicated through telephones routed through the telephone exchange system in the complex.

9. The soldiers stripped all but one room in the Battle Box when they surrendered and left the command center

(Image credit: Lim Sin Thai)

When the soldiers left the command center back in 1942, all but one room in the bunker was stripped. All items were burnt in a bonfire by the British a day before the surrender. The bunker remained abandoned until it was investigated on 23 February 1988 for possibilities of reconstructing World War II events.

10. Before the bunker’s reinvestigation, a journalist and her rookie photographer snuck into the bunker without official permission

In an attempt to get first hand exclusive scoop on the place, a journalist and her rookie photographer snuck into the bunker after being denied entry into the place by officials.

Upon entering, they found a number of things including:

• An empty blood stained stretcher that had been abandoned in the G Clerk’s room
• Toilets that were yellow stained and filled with fungus growth
• The remains of a dog that possibly got lost in the maze of rooms and died of starvation or disease.

The exclusive story eventually got published. More history on the bunker can be found at the 26^th July 1988 edition of the Straits Times (we are still trying to get our hands on a copy)!

Tour details:
The Battle Box will open in March 2016. Tours will cost $18 for adults, and $9 for children. For more information, You may call +65 6338 6133 or email [email protected].

So here’s your official scoop on 10 Facts You Didn’t Know About Singapore’s Battle Box! Let us know in the comments if you will be paying this interesting place a visit!

Democratic Design Is The Key To Great Furniture

I think I need some new furniture for my home. But here’s the thing: I’m terrible at shopping for furniture. There are just too many things to consider! The basic shape of the furniture, what it’s made of, does it have any extra useful features, does it match the rest of the furniture I already own, etc. etc.

When I think of what goes into good design of furniture, my mind tends to jump to form and function — it should serve its primary purpose, and it should also look good. After all, part of the purpose of furniture is decoration, right?

But this is where some of you might argue, “Hey! There are other things that go into good design too!” “I want my furniture to be affordable!” “Furniture should be durable and long-lasting!” And you’re not wrong. Like I said, there are many things to consider in furniture design.

Essentially, you can boil down what makes up good furniture design to five key features — form, function, sustainability, quality, and low price. IKEA dubs this Democratic Design.

I only learned about democratic design recently and it does a good job of letting me know what to look for when buying furniture. The 5 dimensions of democratic design make up the most important needs that furniture should satisfy:

• Function: This is pretty much step one. You want your furniture to be able to do what it’s supposed to do; a bookshelf should be able to hold books, a lamp should be able to produce light, and so on.
• Form: As mentioned before, furniture is supposed to look good; it’s supposed to embellish your house and make it look more appealing to live in. Have you ever seen a house without furniture? It’s really depressing.
• Sustainability: Ideally, furniture should be durable. I wouldn’t want a furniture shop to bamboozle me and sell me a product that I have to go back and buy every week because it keeps breaking.
• Quality: Sustainability comes with quality. If a piece of furniture is of good quality, in theory it would last longer. Imagine sitting on a chair and having it splinter every time you do, that’s bad quality, you don’t want that.
• Low Price: I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’m earning a lot. Sure, I might want lavish furniture, but more importantly it should be affordable… Unless you have a friend that keeps gifting you expensive furniture for free. (In that case, hook me up!)

In their decades-long experience in furniture production, democratic design is the philosophy that guides IKEA in everything they do. By creating products that meet all 5 facets of democratic design, IKEA continues to offer a range of products that is hard to dislike, simply because they’re likely to meet all our needs.

The Stories Furniture Tells

Speaking of IKEA, they have a series of videos that showcases some of their products that best encompass democratic design. But the most interesting thing about these videos is that they have a story to tell.

Have you ever wondered where the bamboo that makes up your chair comes from? Or who it was that decided to make the chair out of bamboo to start with? Well, there’s a video for that.

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the design, development and testing of a laundry basket? There’s a video for that too.

I have a fascination with storytelling and these videos intrigue me because we don’t normally think about the details behind our furniture, and it’s fun to learn about them. It’s also a reminder that stories don’t just come from books or films or video games, they’re all around us.

This article originally appeared on Vulcan Post.