To Each His Own

If you were to stay up till 2 a.m. and you can only choose one of the following 2 options, which would you rather do?

1. Blogging; or

Photo from www.acclaimimages.com

2. Visit Johor Bahru (JB), after the floods subside, of course.

I need not tell regular bloggers about the joys of blogging. Chris loves it because he finds it therapeutic (as he has several chronic ailments to cure). Chun See seems addicted to it because he loves to write (and the younger generation just won't listen to him when he relates his Ah Gong stories orally). As for Eastcoastlife, I don't really know but I guess it must be because she enjoys being in the limelight for she's always boasting about how popular her blog is becoming (especially when compared to mine). As for me, at first I blog to take up Chris' challenge. After the first few posts, I discovered that blogging is fun, especially when I can recount a story in a fun and humorous way.

Similarly, I don't have to tell regular Singaporean visitors to Malaysia about the advantages of visiting the country but I will do it anyway. Petrol is at half price there. Although you could only fill up one-quarter tank of it, motorists still find it worthwhile to make the trip there just for this purpose. Desperate ones even tilt one corner of the car by driving it up a wooden block so that they could fill in an extra litre or two of petrol! The food and groceries are cheap too. Even car services like polishing and oil servicing are at bargain prices. If you play golf, you will find their green fees are irresistible. And I haven't even mentioned about the prices of their other services that will surely keep the women around our Geylang district off the streets.

You probably would have guessed by now which of the above 2 options I would choose. If it isn't obvious to you, let me say that I have not visited Malaysia for nearly a decade now.

Today I received an email from a colleague whom I shall call MJM. The email, which was also addressed to Chris, contained a Malaysian news article about two socio-political bloggers being sued by New Straits Times Press (NSTP) over postings in their blogs that were deemed defamatory.

Now MJM is known to be a frequent visitor to JB. As for what cheap goods and services he goes to JB for, I really don't know. But I know that he always fills up his petrol tank to the brim, his stomach till it is bursting and his car boot till not even a 5-cent coin could be squeezed in before heading back home.

MJM is aware that Chris and I are avid bloggers. So I read MJM's purpose of sending the email as an indirect way of telling Chris and I to be careful about what we blog and not to end up like the 2 Malaysian bloggers. While MJM's intention is good, I feel that he has greater things to worry about.

I sent MJM the following reply, with cc to Chris:

"Dear MJM,

Thank you for writing to the desks of Chris and yours truly, and for taking an unwanted interest in our private lives.

Incidentally, it might interest your goodself that yesterday, there were separate headline articles in both Today and The New Paper. It was as if both newspapers decided to rebut you on our behalf. I don't know whether it was mere coincidence but both articles were about high crime rates in JB:

a. Today - With 777 cases per 100,000 residents, Johor has the 4th-highest crime rate in Malaysia. Recent examples:

i. Jan 6, 3am: IT consultant Fareed Hassan leaves a restaurant in Danga Bay, 10 minutes from the Causeway. He is attacked by men wielding a parang and a steering lock. When the robbers find just RM10 ($4.40) on him, they ask: "What kind of Singaporean are you?" They take his car, laptop and handphone.

ii. Jan 9, 4.10am: Ms Wati, 27, a mother of two, is hurled from her friend's motorbike and set upon by a group of 12 armed men on motorcycles. She is robbed of her money and belongings worth $1,600.

iii. Jan 10, time unknown: Singaporean hawker Mohamad Bolah is robbed, stabbed and left for dead in a mangrove swamp, just five minutes from where he lived in JB.

2. The New Paper - S'porean refuses to give JB man RM$1 (S$0.45). Man whips out syringe and threatens to jab him with HIV-tainted needle. This is not the first time that such an incident happened. In Feb 2005 and Apr 2005, similar robberies happened to two other Singaporeans in JB.

I wonder who will be the next victim. Just in case that this is the last time you are reading my mail before you go shopping forever in JB, I would like to express my sincere appreciation once again for the stale news article you forwarded to us and also for your unwarranted implicit concern. I am sure that they will be sorely missed when you leave us to go shopping forever in JB.

We remain yours truly,
Chris and Victor."

How Safe Are Singapore's Tourist Attractions?

Any Singaporean above 30 years' old is likely to remember the cable car accident that happened in 1983. In that accident, the derrick of the drilling ship Eniwetok strucked one of the cables of the cable car system while the ship was being towed. Two cable cars were dislodged and fell into the sea. Seven people were killed but 13 other people, who were literally hanging on for their dear lives, were eventually rescued by helicopter from another 4 cable cars. A two-year-old boy was rescued alive from the water but was seriously injured. That was the first and only fatal accident involving our cable car system and it was horrific news.

I vaguely remember fatal accidents that happened before at other now defunct attractions - at the roller coaster ride in the Wonderland Amusement Park in Kallang and also at the Wet And Wild Theme Park in Sentosa. Well to be fair, some fatalities are caused by the riders themselves because they failed to observe safety rules.

In May last year, I also blogged about the incident in which one of the cords of the G-Max reverse bungy ride at Clarke Quay snapped. Luckily in that incident, no one was injured.

On 13 Jan 2007, I was at Little India. What I saw there prompted me to write this post. From where I was standing, the DHL balloon looked like it was drifting dangerously close to a very sharp object. When the balloon virtually touched the sharp object, I very nearly covered my ears instinctively in anticipation of hearing a loud explosion. I didn't only because I was holding my camera in my hands to take the following series of photos:

Out of curiosity, I checked out the safety instruction at the balloon site the next day and this is what it says:

Admission Age - Flight is suitable for all ages. Please consult your physician if in doubt.

Flight Conditions - Safety is paramount and flight will be suspended if weather is not conducive for smooth flight. We will 'wait-out' for rain, lightning, wind gust condition. Gondola's capacity will be reduced in windy condition.

The balloon was built by the French 'Aerophile Group' which has maintained an 'impeccable safety record' of no incidents since 1994 when the group was established. The local company that operates the balloon is Aerophile Balloon (S) Pte Ltd, a 'duck and hippo' company. Incidentally, the tagline for the DHL balloon is 'U Can Fly' while that for the Duck Tour is 'Ride The Wacky Duck' and the Hippo Bus' ham sap (cheeky) tagline is 'It Is Hip To Go Topless'.

Despite what the safety records show, history has proven that accidents can and do happen. I have cited several incidents above. Consider the following possible risks:

1. Lightning strike - Although the balloon does not fly in foul weather, lightning can strike in fine weather too. Though uncommon, there have been people killed by lightning strikes that happened in not too foul weather. Remember the case of the Sinchi football player who was fatally struck by lightning during a light rain in Mar 2004? Therefore, it is hard to predict when and where a lightning will strike. After all, Aerophile itself admitted on a banner displayed at the gate that it was 'far from God'. When a lightning strikes, such a huge balloon in flight is a sitting duck.

2. Restraining rope snaps - Although regularly inspected and maintained, the rope can still snap unexpectedly. This was exactly what happened in the G-Max incident. If that happens, then you really 'can fly' (and never come back).

3. Sabotage/terrorism - Just like nobody expected a man-made incident like the NKF scandal to happen in Singapore, sabotage and terrorism is very real. It nearly happened in Singapore 5 years ago if not for the vigilance of our security agencies. I shudder to think that even a blind terrorist might be able to fire a rocket from his shoulder and not miss such a huge target in the sky.

As I am very kiasi (afraid to die), I haven't taken a ride on this balloon before. Not only because I fear for my life but I also fear for my pocket. You see, at $23.00 for an adult and $13.00 for a child, a 7-10 minute ride for my family of 4 would cost a whopping $82, enough to buy a promotional return air ticket to Bangkok on a budget airline. For those who still want to take in the aerial view of the city, I recommend a ride up one of the bubble lifts of the nearby Pan Pacific Hotel instead. This I have done before and I can assure you that the ride is just as breathtaking, free-of-charge but best of all, a lot safer.

However, don't despair as not all hopes are lost. Despite voicing my many concerns for the safety of the balloon, I can say safely (pun intended) that the likelihood of the balloon being pricked by a lightning conductor is well, quite remote.