PlanetEye

The Singapore Garden Festival will be held between 25 July and 1 August this year.

Claimed to be the Premier International Garden and Flower Show in the tropics, the event brings together a showcase of award-winning garden and floral work from experts worldwide.

To be held at the Suntec Convention Centre - from 10am to 10pm daily - the event is a ‘must see' for professionals and amateur gardeners alike.

Highlights of the Festival will include...

Landscape & Fantasy Gardens  - featuring creations by Local and International garden designers from Australia, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, South Africa, Thailand and the US.

Floral Windows to the World - colourful and vibrant cut flower displays as well as floral masterpieces featuring stunning set design and lighting by experts from Belgium, France, India, Norway, Macau ...and more.

Singapore Orchid Show -  a showcase of Southeast Asia's diverse heritage of orchids. A dazzling display highlighting this beautiful plant group...with exotic tropical blooms a'plenty on display.

Garden Fiesta -  provides educational, recreational and entertainment to visitors. Take a break among this calming corner.

Marketplace - offers a wide array of plants, gardening and landscape products. Everything on sale at bargain prices.

Award-winning Landscape and Garden designers such as Peter Cheok and Kelvin Chua will be present as will Charlie Evans from Australia and S K Gutgutia from India. Jim Fogarty - multi-Gardening awards winner in Singapore and Melbourne as well as the Chelsea Flower Show - will also be at the event.

Professionals, members of the public and visitors are all welcome at the Singapore Garden Festival  ---  where everything will be blooming lovely.

There were over 200,000 visitors last year and the organisers expect even more this year - why not be part of the crowd?

Bring your watering can along...

The most well-known, and notorious, fruit on the Singapore horizon has to be the Durian.

Called the King of Fruit - and the Fruit of Kings - the Durian is famous for its pungent taste and smell.

So smelly is it that when approaching a Durian Stall the pong hits you from about fifty yards away...if you are downwind, make that a hundred.

So bad can the aroma be that Durians are banned on buses, in trains and in most hotels. Many of the latter having paid the price for allowing guests to have a Durian party in their rooms and been unable to get rid of the smell thereafter...in many cases having to fumigate then redecorate the rooms.

The fruit though has many fans. If you are one (I'm not - hate it...) take yourself down to the raunchy suburb of Geylang one evening (MRT to Kallang Station - walk along Sims Avenue in the direction the buses are moving) settle down at any of the outdoor tables between Lorong 11 and Loring 21...and munch away to your heart's content.

Some long time ago (and keen to sample everything Singapore had to offer) I went to a Durian stall with friends and watched them pick and prod the spiky fruit, before smelling it - the last check on quality - a chosing the perfect offering. 

Ever the immediate integrator I did the same...which went well until I stuck my nose into the outer layer of the fruit.

The spikes pierced the skin and I ended up with a nose and face covered in blood. Enough already! I felt a real idiot...

‘It takes all sorts...' though. So if you are a Durian fan - or daring enough to try the famous fruit - off you go.  Enjoy ... but, as the boy scouts say ...

‘Be prepared...'

Singapore will host the world's first Formula 1 Motor Racing Grand Prix night race on September 28 this year.

Using a downtown street circuit of just over 5 kms, the race will be run anti-clockwise and take the cars past many of Singapore's iconic buildings. These include the Cricket Club, Esplanade Theatres, Sir Stamford Raffles statue and Padang - not that the drivers will see much while zooming past on full throttle!

The Start - and Finish - are close to the Singapore Flyer where a brand new pit lane and support buildings will house teams and their cars on this high-revved occasion.

Hotels such as the Oriental, Marina Mandarin, Pan Pacific and Swissotel the Stamford offer a birds-eye view of the race...so book soon.

When some drivers expressed concern about participating in a night race, F1 Supremo Bernie Eccleston pooh-poohed their worries. Grand Prix racing's boss-man gave assurances that the race would not take place at night were his people not certain it could be held without threat to the drivers.

Some 80,000 tickets will be available for the Race. So if you are a Formula 1 fan now is the time to grab your seats for the first night Grand Prix  - in a setting bound to make spectators - and drivers - pulses race.

Chances are that a lot of babies born in Singapore at the end of September will be given names like Lewis, Fernando and Kimi. Not forgetting Felipe and Jenson -with a Niko in there for good luck.

One can imagine these kids lining up for class in five years time. Lewis Wong next to Kimi Tan on the front row, Fernando Fang and Felipe Ng on the second row...others down the track. 

Gentlemen ... Start your engines... it's the Singapore Grand Prix!                               

Described as a Social & Community project creating a performance platform for local talent in performing arts, visual art, lifestyle trends, technology and environment...Singapore's Street Festival hits the pavements on May 23 with the Power Yo! Yo-Yo Competition.

Held over two days at Suntec City entrants are deft, dazzling and dedicated to their craft of making a Yo Yo dance, sing and all but ‘talk'. Catch it....as the Yo Yos whiz by!

Festival events take place across the island over a couple of weeks and include the Asia Belly-Dancing Competition on May 31 and June 1.

So take your own Navel Patrol to the streets - well, Vivo City actually...and shimmy away.

The Battle of the Break Dance Competition breaks out at Plaza Singapura Shopping Centre (Orchard Road) on June 7.

International judges will pick the best of the Breakers and a good time will be had by all. Be there ... better bring a Twitch approach with you.

POWer Graffiti has the theme Power to the People and features street artists seeking a ‘higher level of delivery' as far as their work is concerned -  on display at Suntec City.

Contestants are asked to be creative, powerful and imaginative with their work ...as well as visually appealing. Painting starts on May 21 ... and continues for two weeks.

POWer Adventure claims to be the first real live adventure in an Urban City. It's all about strength - strategies - energy and power combining in self-challenging projects to take on the impossible --- and beat it.

I have no idea what that means but if you get down to Suntec City on May 25 we can all find out, as I'l be there to satisfy my curiosity.

It's pure Street Talk ... so bring on Singapore's Street Revolution...let's join the movement!

It all started in 1972 as an advertising angle on the female cabin crew of the newly-formed Singapore Airlines.

Ad. agency guru Ian Batey  decided to focus on the unique charms and ethereal ways of Singapore Airlines' female crew for the initial advertising campaign --- and the Singapore Girl was born.

The image was well supported by Pierre Balmain designed sarong kebaya figure-hugging uniforms for the girls. All of them had height, weight and grooming standards to meet before being accepted - and kept on - by the airline.

So successful has the Singapore Girl campaign been that Singapore Airlines cabin crew have been voted ‘Worlds best cabin crew service' in Business Traveller magazine's Asia-Pacific Awards for 17 consecutive years.

The light, moody, music that accompanies Singapore Girl television advertisements ends with the message ‘A great way to fly'... and the airline - and its crew - work hard to maintain the claim.

So well-known around the world has the Singapore Girl become that she even landed in Madame Tussaud's waxworks in London in 1994 - and shows no signs of departing.

While the uniform of Singapore Airlines female crew has changed little over the years --- incorporating four background colours to indicate rank --- the coming of the giant double-decker A380 (the airline has ordered 19) aircraft brings with it a new uniform for male crew. The men though keep their places a step or two behind their female companions, as far as advertising is concerned.

The iconic Singapore Girl is claimed to be ‘caring - warm - gentle - elegant and serene'.

Long may she continue to be ‘all of the above'.  So fasten your seatbelts - prepare to be pampered...it really is a great way to fly.

Vesak Day falls on the full moon day of the fourth lunar month - which this year is May 19^{th  -} and is the most important event amongst the Buddhist community.

Commemorating the Birth, Enlightenment and resulting Nirvana of the Buddha the occasion is a day of devotion, reflection and appraisal of how one views andacts within the world.

In Buddhism the Five Precepts related to Life are reflected on at this time.  These are --- Not to Kill : Not to Steal : Not to Indulge in Senses : Not to Lie  and Not to take Intoxicants.

At this time Buddhists make offerings at shrines and chant sutras - holy words. They also participate in processions and listen to Buddhist sermons.

Most will eat only vegetarian food on Vesak Day as temples are decked out in their finery with flags, flowers, fruit and hundreds of lit candles on show.

This year's Vesak Day signals the arrival of year 2552 on the Buddhist Calendar.

Visitors to Singapore around this time can experience Vesak activities at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza - along Orchard Road - and join in the Vegetarian Food Fair on May 10 and 11.

The Buddha Tooth Temple, 288 South Bridge Road, Chinatown, is a ‘must visit' choice. Ceremonies take place during the 4^th Lunar Month at which a

Viewing of the Sacred Buddha Tooth can be seen. The Tang Dynasty-style temple is stunning, well worth a visit and opens daily from 0430 to 2100 hrs.

The four floors of the ornate Temple hold numerous artifacts and examples of Buddhism ...in a most beautiful setting.

Catch the Vesak Day parade along South Bridge Road --- it's well worth watching for the sounds and colour alone.

The ever-popular Great Singapore Sale runs from 23 May to 20 July this year.

Known by visitors for great across-the-board bargains, the Great Singapore Sale stimulates shopping activities in both city centre and suburbs.

This mega-event involves hundreds of retail outlet and is organised by the Singapore Retailers Association, supported by the Singapore Tourism Board with Mastercard as the official Credit Card. Use the Card for purchases and stand to win some amazing prizes.

For tourists the Sale has even more appeal as not only can they pick up some great bargains but at the end of their shopping spree (going broke saving money ...joke!) they can claim back the 7% GST paid on many purchases.

Shopping is a built-in interest for Singaporeans who also make the most of the discounts on offer (up to 70% in many cases) for the two months of the Great Sale. Now is your chance to join local shopping professionals in some bargain hunting moments.

Major areas to check out include... Orchard Road, Marina Square, VivoCity and Funan Centre (IT). Not forgetting Bugis, Chinatown, Kampong Glam & Arab Street, Geylang Serai and Little India for ethnic goods ... and Great World City on the city fringe - free coach transfer from outside Tangs on Orchard Road.

Remember that shops in Singapore open mid-morning and close around 9pm - daily.  During promotional times many stay open until 11pm - or later. Check this point before you head off with your bags at the ready.

So if you are heading for Singapore during the Great Singapore Sale come prepared to save a great deal on the great deals around.

In fact, you'd better bring an extra suitcase to accommodate immediate purchases - and check on shipping costs for that ancient Chinese Opium Bed you've always wanted.

The Great Singapore Sale - it's always great!