Asia Travel Guide

As my taxi pulled up at Changi airport, I knew this was going to be a special day - the day of the first A380 commercial flight was finally here.

Singapore Airlines - the first airline in the world to fly the new Airbus A380 - is preparing for the first commercial flight of the new double-decker jumbo jet, from Singapore to Sydney and return. It will take place in the month of October 2007.

And in an unprecedented move, all proceeds from the sale of tickets on the first flight will be donated to charities.

In response to requests from people all over the world to be passengers on the first flight, Singapore Airlines will auction the seats on global online marketplace, eBay.

Bids will be invited for seats on this history-making flight, and winning bidders will know that every dollar they pay will go to worthwhile charities. All customers will receive a personalised ceremonial certificate confirming they were part of the first-ever commercial A380 flight.

Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Officer, Chew Choon Seng, said the Airline wants to acknowledge the widespread interest in the entry into commercial service of this all-new airplane, and to use the opportunity to benefit worthwhile charities.

“The first commercial A380 flight will be a moment in aviation history. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, on an aircraft that will mark a new chapter in air travel.

“And while we will celebrate the event, we also wish to remember the people who are less fortunate and can be assisted by the charities to which all the proceeds will go,” Mr Chew said.

Singapore Airlines has secured support from three important partners for this charity event.

One of the Airline’s strategic fuel suppliers, and a key partner, ExxonMobil Aviation, will donate the fuel for the flights.

“We are pleased to support this event as a strategic partner of Singapore Airlines. This charity event is in line with our long-standing effort to make a positive impact on the communities in which we operate,” said Mr Kwa Chong Seng, Chairman
and Managing Director of ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.

eBay - the world’s leading online marketplace will subsidise the fees and charges from this auction, and PayPal, a global leader in online payment solutions, will rebate a portion of its fees and charges to help support the charities.

“eBay is uniquely positioned as a global online marketplace to provide boundless opportunity for fund-raising and social responsibility programs and we are delighted to support Singapore Airlines in this very unique charity auction,” said Sam McDonagh, Director for eBay Southeast Asia.

The actual date of the flight will be fixed soon, after final notification from Airbus about the delivery date this coming October.

The proceeds of the auction will be split evenly between the following exceptionally worthwhile organisations:

• One-third to Singapore’s Community Chest
• One-third split between the Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, both in Sydney
• One-third to Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders.

Singapore Airlines and eBay plan for the auction to be conducted some weeks prior to the flight. Those interested in pre-registering for notification on auction details - which will include the date of the flight and the charities to benefit from proceeds - may do so by visiting singaporeair.com/a380.

With so many ethnic groups and religions represented in Singapore, you’ll be unlucky if your trip doesn’t coincide with some sort of festival , either secular or religious. Most of the festivals have no fixed dates , but change annually according to the lunar calendar; check with the tourist office. Bear in mind that the major festival periods may play havoc with even the best-planned travel itineraries.

Over the month of Ramadan (between Jan & April) in particular, transport networks and hotel capacity are stretched to their limits, as countless Muslims return to their family homes; during Ramadan, Muslims fast during the daytime. Many hotels and restaurants shut for up to a week over Chinese New Year (early springtime). Some festivals are also public holidays (when everything closes) .

Not all religious festivals are celebrated in public, but some are marked with truly spectacular parades and street performances. In springtime, during Chinese New Year , Chinese operas and lion and dragon dances are performed in the streets, and colourful parades process along Orchard Road. And at Thaipusam , entranced Hindu penitents pierce their own flesh with elaborate steel arches, and process from the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple to the Chettiar Hindu Temple. Similar feats are executed by mediums on the occasion of the Birthday of the Monkey God (summer), best witnessed at the Monkey God Temple on Seng Poh Road. Every year, the whole island goes into an eating frenzy for the month-long Singapore Food Festival (July), with almost every food outlet staging events, tastings and special menus.

The Festival of the Hungry Ghosts (summer) is a good time to catch a free performance of a Chinese opera, or wayang, in which characters act out classic Chinese legends, accompanied by cymbals, gongs and singing; a few weeks later, the Moon Cake Festival , or Mid-Autumn Festival, is celebrated with children’s lantern parades after dark in the Chinese Gardens. For the nine nights of Navarathiri (autumn), Chettiar Temple stages classical Hindu dance and music, and at the Sri Mariamman Temple, the Hindu firewalking ceremony of Thimithi (autumn) is marked by devotees running across a pit of hot coals. Deepavali (Oct/Nov), the Hindu festival celebrating the victory of Light over Dark, is marked by the lighting of oil lamps outside homes.