Singapore IMAX Movie Schedule 2012

Singapore currently have 2 IMAX screens, one in Lido Theatres on Orchard Road and one in JCube at Jurong East. A third is on its way to be opened in 2014 at Waterway Point in Punggol. IMAX cinema technology is quite unique and if you have not experienced it yet, it is one of the great things to do in Singapore and you should catch one of the popular movie screenings in this unique technology.

 IMAX format can record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems. This way, it offers a far greater movie experience than conventional movies. If you are planning to visit Singapore and looking for a unique activity to do in Singapore, you should check IMAX experience out if you do not readily have it in your city or country. Here is a list of the current and upcoming movies which can be watched in IMAX cinemas:

Avengers (Now showing)

Marvel's dream Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

Men in Black 3 (24 May 2012)

The third installment of Men In Black will be in Singapore IMAX screens by May 24th 2012. This 3D science fiction comedy film starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones will be released as the sequel to the 2002 film Men in Black II.

Prometheus (07 June 2012)

This upcoming science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green and Charlize Theron. The movie is set in the late 21st century, the story follows the crew of the spaceship Prometheus as they explore an advanced alien civilization in search of the origins of humanity. According to Scott, though the film shares "strands of Alien's DNA, so to speak", and takes place in the same universe, Prometheus will explore its own mythology and ideas.

This movie is what I am waiting for this year. From the trailer, I can see that we will have some idea about the Space Jockey, the sceleton remains of the pilot of the spaceship carrying aliens in the first Alien movie.


The Amazing Spider-Man (03 July 2012)

The Dark Knight Rises (20 July 2012)

Resident Evil : Retribution (IMAX 3D)
September 13th 2012


The Umbrella Corporation’s deadly T-virus continues to ravage the Earth, transforming the global population into legions of the flesh eating Undead. The human race’s last and only hope, ALICE (Milla Jovovich), awakens in the heart of Umbrella's most clandestine operations facility and unveils more of her mysterious past as she delves further into the complex. Without a safe haven, Alice continues to hunt those responsible for the outbreak; a chase that takes her from Tokyo to New York, Washington, D.C. and Moscow, culminating in a mind-blowing revelation that will force her to rethink everything that she once thought to be true. Aided by newfound allies and familiar friends, Alice must fight to survive long enough to escape a hostile world on the brink of oblivion. The countdown has begun.

Singapore hotel room prices hit 4 years high

Singapore hotel prices are already the most expensive in Asia but this does not stop them to go even higher in 2012. With the exploded number of gambler and increased number of tourist arrivals, Singapore is increasingly becoming an unattractive destination for a tourist in terms of accommodation cost:

"The six-day Singapore Airshow in February helped to push hotel room rates in Singapore to a four-year high.Tourists paid an average room ate of $218 that month, according to preliminary Singapore Tourism Board (STB) statistics obtained by The Straits Times.

This is the highest since September 2008’s $241. The inaugural Singapore Grand Prix Formula One race was held that month.Barring that instance, February’s rate is the highest recorded in at least the past decade. The average occupancy rate was 89 percent."
Source : Hotel Room Rates Hit Four-Year High in Singapore

Experts forecast the hotel room rates to rise further in Singapore and some even predict that above 270 SGD per night will become a norm. Luckily you can still find hotels charging between 100 - 200 SGD per night region in Singapore. The trick is to avoid the worst times to come to Singapore in terms of accommodation.  These times are big event times like Singapore F1 (absolutely avoid Singapore during this time if you are not a ticketed F1 guest),  Singapore Air Show or other industry events. You can also use hotel search engines like hotels combined to find a hotel within your budget.

Capella Singapore on Sentosa is one of the top 100 resorts in Asia and the Pacific

Capella Singapore on Sentosa has been listed as one of the top 100 resorts in Asia and the Pacific by Luxury-lifestyle magazine Robb Report. The magazine has praised the hotel's sleek modern architecture and its serene surroundings.

Capella Singapore is on Singapore's famous Sentosa Island and offers a golf course, an outdoor pool and free Wi-Fi as well as a sauna, a steam room and a beauty centre. The hotel features a day spa, offering a range of relaxing treatments and beauty therapy. The hotel is about 10 minutes away from Singapore’s business, shopping and entertainment districts. The rates are 600++ SGD per night  for this ultra luxury accommodation. This price brings you a great island stay with big rooms, good service and tranquil surrounding.

Capella is mentioned alongside other luxury resorts like the Amansara in Siam Reap, The Bulgari Resort in Bali and the Four Seasons Resort in Langkawi.[1]

[1] - Capella Singapore makes it into luxe resort list

Bonus Trends in Singapore Report 2012: Paying bonuses in a challenging job market

Bonuses in financial services in Singapore are down and high-earning bankers suffered the worst decreases according to a report named Bonus Report 2012: Paying bonuses in a challenging job market by eFinanceCareers. The report is based on a recent eFinancialCareers survey which examines 2011
bonuses in Asia Pacific for finance professionals who are bonus eligible and know the
amount of their payment.

But although the outlook does not look bright, a significant minority (29%) has bonuses inreases. This is due to the strong Q1 and Q2 results which were before things started to go down in Q4. But 34 per cent of  financial services employee reported bonus decreases and only 22 per cent said their bonuses stayed same. Looking at country differences, finance professionals in Singapore did not fare quite as well as their counterparts in Australia, Hong Kong and China, with 34% saying their bonus fell.

44 per cent of the financial services employee reported that their bonuses were below expectation and 37 per cent said that the bonuses were within expectation.

Bonuses at top fell most in Asia Pacific region:

"Top earners across Asia Pacific experienced the highest decrease when comparing 2011 with 2010. Those in the upper base-salary quintile (ie the top 20%) were much more prone to report a decline in bonus (47%) than those in the bottom quintile (29%). These employees are most likely to have earned excessive 2010 bonuses, and with many firms now in a costconscious mood, reducing their payments for 2011 is a quick way to reduce expenditure. “It’s a cost issue,” says Chris Jay, managing director, Morgan McKinley Singapore. “If you usually pay someone who’s on $400k a year a six month bonus, that’s a lot of money which you could potentially save.” "

Median HDB flat rental prices as of Q1 2012

It seems like the continuous rally of HDB rental prices since the second quarter of 2009 is loosing its steam as the latest median rental data shows that rental price increase has slowed down for 5 room flats, at a plateau for 4 room flats and decreased for 2 room flats.

The rents for 3-room HDB flats has fell 2.4% in Q1 2012 compared to the previous quarter. The rents for 4-room flats have stayed relatively stable for a third quarter in row with only 0.4% increase in the last quarter. Rent increase for 5-room flats also came to a halt following sharp increases in the last few years.

Island wide median rental for 3-room flats decreased first time since third quarter of 2009 and is currently is about 1841 SGD per month. The rents of 4 room flats on the other hand slightly increased from 2229 SGD per month in Q4 2011 to 2238 SGD per month in Q1 2011. 5 room flat rentals continued to increase, albeit with a slower pace to 2476 SGD per month.

As we have written before median HDB rental prices in Singapore are published by HDB quarterly. Below chart shows the price trends for 3 most popular flat types, 3 room flats (2+1), 4 room flats (3+1) and 5 room flats.Median price means half of the sampled prices are below the median and half of the sampled prices are above the median.

As the price increases, more and more HDB flats are released for rent and as a result the number of Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats being sublet has more than tripled in the past five years:

"The reasons include the relaxation of subletting rules, and an increase in foreigners. With more HDB home-owners using their flats to earn rental income, some analysts are concerned this will lead to a shortage of supply in the resale market. The number of HDB flats on the rental market has shot up from about 12,500 in 2006 to 40,026 in 2011."[1]

The slowdown in price rise may be due to several factors such as increased supply, less foreigner demand for rental units and price resistance of tenants to further price increases.

[1] - More subletting HDB flats

Scoot adds flights from Singapore to Bangkok, competes with sister Tiger Airways

Surprise, surprise and surprise! Singapore Airlines' new low-cost long haul carrier Scoot has just announced  not so long-haul daily return flights to Bangkok from Singapore. This is interesting since the route is already served by Singapore Airlines itself and its budget arm Tiger Airways. Scoots founding CEO  Campbell Wilson has previously announced that the new airliner will not fly on the existing routes covered by SIA and will not compete with SIA's other budget venture, short haul player Tiger Airways[1]. But now it is rivaling Tiger Airways as well as Jetstar and Airasia which are serving budget flights daily from Singapore to Bangkok.

Scoot is offering return tickets for 88 SGD as a promotion. Scoot has previously announced long-haul budget flights from Singapore to Sydney,  from Singapore to Gold Coast and from Singapore to Tianjin China.

Scoot is offering different flight options so you pay only for what you want, meaning you are not
subsidising the choices of others. Basic option Fly buys you just a seat while FlyBag buys a seat plus 15kg of checked baggage allowance, all for less than buying them separately. FlyBagEat is essentially FlyBag + one meal.  And at the top end, Scoot offers ScootBiz, which is basically a business class on a budget flight.[2]

[1] - Singapore Airlines announces its new budget airline: Scoot
[2] - Save on the frills. Spend on the thrills.

The house always wins

Every day, tens of thousands of visitors go to casinos to gamble. Among all, a few leaves “the house” with a smiling face while many leaves the house with a lighter bank account. This is the way it is, scientifically.

Consider a simple bet on the red of a roulette wheel that has 18 red, 18 black, and 2 green slots. This bet is at even money so a $10 wager on red has an expected profit of

Expected Profit = (10) x (18/38) + (-10) x (20/38) = -.526

The negative expected profit says we expect to lose an average of 52.6 cents on every $10 bet. Over a long series of bets, the relative frequency of winning will approach the probability (18/38) and that of losing will approach (20/38) so a player will lose a substantial amount of money.

All other bets against the house have a similar negative expected profit. Or how else could a casino stay in business? Haven't you heard what they say about it : “the house always wins”?[1]

MBS - Source : Relax

And one of the two houses here, Marina Bay Sands, explodes this negative expected profit against many rich punters and countless not so rich gamblers successfully so that MBS' first-quarter operating profits is up 66 per cent compared to the same period last year.

During the soft opening of Marina Bay Sands,Las Vegas Sands CEO Mr Sheldon Adelson has said he expects the Marina IR casino to break even in just five years[3]. Looking back from now, it looks like he was very conservative about the gambling craze in this part of the world.

[1] - No Casino Game Has a Positive Expected Profit, Statistics Principles & Methods Sixth Edition
[2] - Marina Bay Sands rings up record profits last quarter
[3] - Marina Bay Sands Inside the casino

Backpacker Savings Guide: Southeast Asia E-book

South East Asia is one of the most popular destinations for backpackers. It is reputed as a cheap destination for many westerners; accommodation, travel and food costs much cheaper in many South East Asian countries compared to Europe and USA.

But the region can depart you from more of your money you may have planned initially. Throughout your backpacker trip you can lose a lot of money by not knowing the best option available in flights, travel and food. Most of the backpackers fall into a rich variety of scams designed to depart them with their money. These scams range from ones costing you a few extra dollars to ones which can basically live you without a single penny in your pocket in the middle of nowhere. Many of these are avoidable if you know the best option you have and where scams are very likely. For example, it is very likely that you will encounter a scam if you take taxi from Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City or Kuala Lumpur airport. Knowing which taxis to take, which taxis to avoid and where to take airport bus/train can save you a lot of money and headache. There are also very dangerous and costly scams out there, for example ‘Jet Ski scam’ off Pattaya & Phuket. If you are not warned to never rent a jet ski in Thailand, you will fall into this scam 80% of the time and say goodbye to thousands of dollars you have.

Backpacker Savings Guide: Southeast Asia E-book is compiled by one of many backpackers to help others not to make financial mistakes and fall into scams which would cost a lot ans short-cut a dream trip with a nightmare. Southeast Asia Savings Guide has over 35 tips that totaled hundreds of dollars in savings. Author says if he had had this list before leaving, he could have spent at least two more weeks in Southeast Asia:


The guide has country by country breakdown of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos with 36 highly practical tips that can save you hundreds of dollars. General Tips section that apply regardless of where you are. The guide shows ways to save money when doing transport between highly popular locations, free access to further editions.

Discover Singapore: All You Ever Need To Know About The Lion City

Discover Singapore is a book where businessman, footballer, actor/model and authorNelson Tan  introduce all you need to know about Singapore. The book covers topics such as business and economy, entertainment, wine & dine, shopping and travel, places of interests and lifestyle.

Luxurious suites in Asia

Here are some luxurious suites, including the ultra high flyer presidential suites, of Asia:

Presidential Suite, Banyan Tree Macau

This 888 sq meter 11,000+ USD per night suite in Banyan Tree Macau comes with a private gambling room and a dazzling view of the Cotai strip from 31st floor of the hotel. Other luxuries of the suite includes a 5.7x2.5 meter relaxation pool, a marble island style bath tube in the master bedroom and a sauna room and a treatment area with massage beds.

Presidential Suite, World Summit Wing, Beijing

No, this is not a conference venue, World Summit Wing is a luxury hotel in Beijing and is a part of Shangri-La hotel chain. Presidential Suite offers China World Summit Wing's most impressive and luxurious accommodation. It comes with a separate sitting room, master bedroom and master bathroom and a spacious dining room to entertain guests. The floor-to-ceiling windows of this 14,000+ USD per night suite overlooks the Forbidden City.

Ritz-Carlton Suite, Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong

The Ritz-Carlton Suite, located at the 117th floor of The Ritz Carlton Hong Kong, is 468 meters above the sea level and it is the highest hotel suite in the world. And the breathtaking panoramic views Victoria Harbour and Island views from this 365 sq meter suite is around 13,000 USD per night before taxes which will also get you a private chef and a 24 hours butler.

Tropical Oasis Suite, W Retreat Koh Samui

With its own 11x2.5 meter private pool, this 557 USD (before taxes) per night suite in W Retreat Koh Samui is ideal for a luxurious tropical island escape. There is a huge wooden deck, complete with oversized day-bed, two sun lounge chairs, a wooden dining table for two in its large garden.

Tropical Oasis Suite, W Retreat Koh Samui

La Residence, Intercontinental Hua Hin Resort


This is a two storey beach front house with a garden and parking. La Residence at Intercontinental Hua Hin Resort (Thailand) comes with an infinity pool, marble bathrooms and a fully equipped kitchen. The rate to stay here is 3,500 USD per night and the price also includes a 24-hour live in personal butler.

Maharajah's Pavilion, The Raj Palace Grand Heritage Hotel


This was a residence of an Indian king. This suite is actually a four storey apartment in The Raj Palace Grand Heritage Hotel with its own entrance and can take 8 guests. And with the price tag of 15,000 USD per night comes a panoramic view of the city, a private spa, a private rooftop terrace and a library.