Batam Bargains

We had the opportunity to visit Batam, Indonesia, with our family and friends for a fruitful one-day tour to revitalise ourselves. It was a much sought after personal trip for seafood lovers, shopaholics hungry for a good bargain and those who just wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

The tour started off with a visit to the keropok shop where we were met with shoving elbows and baskets by other shoppers eager for a crack at the snacks and foodstuff. Thankfully unscathed, we left quite hurriedly to visit the Polo Ralph Lauren warehouse where the legendary polo tees were going for a song at just S$18.

But the best catch of the day was a sumptuous seafood lunch consisting of shellfish, chilli crab, calamari, prawns and fried kangkong. We had a wonderful time getting to know one another before we wound up at a neighbourbood shop for ointment and the mega malls for more deals till the sun set. Talk about ‘shop till you drop’!
 

By Yvonne Chia, DSS

ENTER THE DRAGON BOAT – FOR CHARITY

A group of dragon boat enthusiasts will be testing their strength and endurance by embarking on a 150 kilometre “Round The Island” paddling challenge. This is the first official attempt to challenge the Singapore coast line distance in a dragon boat within a record-setting time of 30 hours. The event, organised by the challengers, Lions Club of Singapore Metropolitan and the SAF Yacht Club, is part of President’s Challenge 2007.

Leader of the team Captain Yong Yang Ching, a 36-year-old National Junior College teacher, said that they have been training very hard for months and hope to raise diabetes awareness and funds for the President’s Challenge with some proceeds to DSS.

The team comprises 22 members, both male and female, who are mainly from the Mountbatten Community Club and the National Junior College Alumni. On 1 September 2007 at 8.00 am, they will depart from Changi Yacht Club and return the following day at 2:00 pm.

Among the challengers, four of them are record-holders in last year’s Sub-30 hour Round Singapore Canoeing Challenge 2006, which was jointly organised in aid of DSS. This event was officiated by the Singapore Book of Records and was featured by Channel News Asia in August 2006 and October - December 2006 issue of Diabetes Singapore which is published by DSS.