From  RichardBarrow.com

By Richard Barrow

This is a guide to taking a train from Singapore to Bangkok via Kuala Lumpur and Penang in 2024. There are no trains that go all the way from Singapore to Bangkok. You must do it in at least four stages. I did it in five as I did a side trip to Penang. These are my notes detailing the trains that I caught and how much it cost me.

file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Singapore-to-Bangkok.pdf

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3387lrz5g4o

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8dymv623q0o

So what has the Singapore government decided to do with its Marina Bay Sand Hotel? Spend $8 billion to expand and renovate it. Well, hold on the renovation bit. Because the $8 billion is going to be spent on an extension. Not a fourth linked tower, but a totally new 55-storey tower all on its own which broke ground last Tuesday - and only a short distance from the original. 

Photos: Satdie Architects

The new tower adds 570 more suites, presumably for all the Chinese and other Asians who come to gamble at the original's casino, which had planned to forbid Singaporens entry! Now SIgaporeans can purchase a daily pass for S$150 (US$117) or an annual pass for S$3,000 (US$2,336). Non-Singaporeans presumably enter for free.

Not surprisingly, a lot of Singaporeans dislike the design of the new tower. "It sticks out like a sore thumb" is a common view whereas others compare it to a giant dehumidifier. The 87-year old Israeli architecht disagrees. "When it’s all said and done, people will feel it’s always been there,” Safdie argued. “And they will love it as much as they love this building, if not more, because I think the sum total of the two together is greater than the individual parts.” 

Hmmm! Time will no doubt tell.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/16/style/singapore-marina-bay-sands-expansion

So too were three MPs from the Workers' Party and two belonging to the ruling PAP party. Speaking to the media, PAP parliamentarian Alex Yeo said he was “very happy” to be at the rally to engage and listen to the concerns of the LGBTQ community. “They are part of the Singaporean community, very important part of our community, our overall social compact in our community. And so therefore we are very happy to be here,” Mr Yeo said. 

Yet Pink Dot still seems to be a big embarrassment to the Singapore government. That government has gone out of its way to attract many dozens of international companies with special tax relief and other fiscal measures to make it the financial and business hub of Asia. It regularly spends hundreds of milions of $$ bringing top international events to Singapore - e.g. Taylor Swift's recent S. E. Asian tour concerts were restricted to Singapore and no other country can afford all the hooplah of an F1 race - because it realised attracting executives from multi-national companies would require the same sort of experiences they could get in major western capitals. Many of those top international companies used to sponsor Pink Dot. Yet a few years ago, the government even banned international companies from sponsoring. Local companies stepped into the breach. This year 65 helped sponsor the event. 

As usual, a number of local organisations, including church groups, registered objections. Protect Singapore - which describes itself as a group that aims to protect the values of marriage, family, children and conscience - released a scorecard grading politicians based on their stances towards LGBTQ issues. The scorecard is to "help you evaluate whether your MP supports your values", said the group in a Facebook post. Among the grading criteria includes never attending Pink Dot.

Photo: Pink Dot SG

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/pink-dot-rally-thousands-support-lgbtq-community-5209151

https://pinkdot.sg/2025/06/thank-you-to-our-131-pink-dot-17-sponsors/

What is the reason?🤔

Is it expensive?💰

I have only had stopovers there ,I would love to explore the outside city 

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will step down next month and his deputy Lawrence Wong will take over, the second non-member of the Lee family to lead the wealthy nation.

“I will relinquish my role as Prime Minister on 15 May 2024 and DPM (Deputy Prime Minister) Lawrence Wong will be sworn in as the next Prime Minister on the same day,” Lee said on social media on Monday.

Wong, who is also the finance minister, was chosen as Lee’s heir-apparent in 2022 from a new generation of lawmakers from the People’s Action Party (PAP) which has ruled uninterrupted since independence in 1965.

“I accept this responsibility with humility and a deep sense of duty. I pledge to give you my all in this undertaking,” Wong said on social media.

The 51-year-old, US-educated economist is widely seen as a social media-savvy stalwart who effectively handled the Covid-19 crisis when he oversaw the government’s pandemic taskforce.

Traveling through one of the world’s best airports is set to get even smoother next year.

Starting in 2024, officials say Singapore’s Changi Airport will introduce automated immigration clearance, which will allow passengers to depart the city-state without passports, using only biometric data.

“Singapore will be one of the first few countries in the world to introduce automated, passport-free immigration clearance,” Communications Minister Josephine Teo announced during a parliament session on Monday, during which several changes to the country’s Immigration Act were passed.

Biometric technology, along with facial recognition software, is already in use to some extent in Changi Airport at automated lanes at immigration checkpoints.

But the upcoming changes will “reduce the need for passengers to repeatedly present their travel documents at touch points and allow for more seamless and convenient processing,” Teo said.

Perhaps ironically during the last 3 weeks the Singapore government has executed 2 men and a woman who had been alleged to have brought very small quantities of drugs into Singapore. Death is the penalty for 15 grams or more of a prohibited substance whether for trafficking or for personal use. Questions are now being asked what will happen to the 49 men from the orgy arrested and those who had left it prior to the police raid. Questions are also being asked why it is that the men elected to host their orgy at an hotel, albeit in a villa in the grounds. Would the presence of so many young and youngish men all entering a villa not have alerted the hotel management that something nefarious was going on?

Perhaps naturally, some are also speculating that more than just drugs were the reason for the party. Were they there for some sort of sex orgy? The photos of the men after they police entered the room do not indicate any nudity and there was no report of condoms or any sexual apparatius having been found.

Guess I am naive as I had never heard of drug orgies before!

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/drug-raid-sentosa-hotel-villa-49-men-arrested-cnb-3694766

SINGAPORE: Passengers flying out of Changi Airport will have to pay more in airport fees and levies from Nov 1 as the aviation industry continues to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Travellers on flights departing from Changi Airport currently pay a fee of S$52.30 - comprising S$35.40 in passenger service and security fee (PSSF), S$6.10 in aviation levy and S$10.80 in airport development levy. 

From Nov 1 to Mar 31 next year, the amount will go up to a total of S$59.20. That's after the passenger service and security fee increases to S$40.40 and the aviation levy rises to S$8.

The passenger service and security fee will subsequently go up again in phases from Apr 1, 2023, and Apr 1, 2024.

Announcing the charges on Thursday (Sep 15), the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) noted that planned increases were announced in 2018, but they were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Do you guys recommend any hotel you like and that you know have good internet and can be used for remote work? I already booked Capri by Fraser in Chinatown, as that's the area where I would mostly prefer to stay at.

Most people say the internet is good, but there also a few discordant reviews about it on TripAdvisor.

Supporters attend the annual "Pink Dot" event in a public show of support for the LGBT community at Hong Lim Park in Singapore on June 18, 2022. (AFP file photo)

Public discussion on a colonial-era law that criminalises sex between men is gaining momentum in Singapore, where a senior minister said any easing would ensure the current definition of marriage is protected.

While the government is reviewing the regulation, “at the same time we are considering how can we safeguard the current legal position on marriage from being challenged in the courts,” Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said in a Facebook video clip posted on the weekend. “We are now considering how best to achieve this balance.” 

Singapore has grappled with how to make its society more inclusive of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community even as some countries around the world move toward recognising same-sex marriages. Several attempts to overturn the legal ban on sex between men, known as Section 377A of the Penal Code, have failed in courts over the years. Thailand, regarded as conservative and deeply religious, became the first country in Southeast Asia to move toward legalising same-sex unions this year.

The colonial-era law reflected Singapore’s conservative stance toward the LGBTQ community, and any discussion of changing it in the past has drawn resistance from religious groups. Recent comments from the Catholic Church and an LGBTQ group signal a potential compromise that would address the biggest concerns of both sides -- decriminalising sex between men while stopping short of recognising same-sex marriages.

A 2014 court challenge against 377A failed when Singapore’s Supreme Court ruled it was a constitutional matter. In February, the Court of Appeal upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss three challenges to Section 377A, Channel NewsAsia reported. The law has not been actively enforced for over a decade. 

Dealing with 377A, while also maintaining the current legal definition that marriage is between a man and a woman, should be discussed and decided in Parliament and not in the courts, said Shanmugam.

The local LGBTQ community has no immediate plans to mount legal challenges to redefine marriage’s definition, Leow Yangfa, the executive director of rights group Oogachaga, was cited in Today newspaper as saying.

Taiwan is the only Asian jurisdiction that legally recognizes same-sex marriage. Vietnam allows same-sex couples to have symbolic weddings but doesn’t recognize the marriage. Hong Kong doesn’t allow it, but does permit gay expatriate workers to bring their spouses in on dependent visas. Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei have rules that outlaw sexual relations between people of the same gender.

SINGAPORE: The Court of Appeal on Monday (Feb 28) upheld a lower court's decision to dismiss three challenges to Section 377A of the Penal Code, which criminalises sex between men.

The challenges were mounted by: Disc jockey Johnson Ong Ming, retired general practitioner Roy Tan Seng Kee and Bryan Choong Chee Hoong, the former executive director of LGBT non-profit organisation Oogachaga.

High Court judge See Kee Oon had dismissed their challenges in March 2020, and the three men turned to the Apex Court to appeal against the decision.

According to Section 377A of the Penal Code, any man who commits any act of gross indecency with another man in public or in private can be jailed for up to two years. This extends to any man who abets such an act, procures or attempts to procure such an act.

In a 152-page written judgment delivered by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon on behalf of a five-judge panel, the Court of Appeal stressed that the appeals are "not about whether Section 377A should be retained or repealed", as this was "a matter beyond our remit".

"Nor are they about the moral worth of homosexual individuals," said the Chief Justice. He quoted Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's words that homosexual individuals are "part of our society" and "our kith and kin". 

The appeals are also "not about the fundamental nature of sexual orientation (whether immutable or not)", this being an "extra-legal question well beyond the purview of the courts", he said.

The Court of Appeal held that the entirety of Section 377A is "unenforceable" unless and until the Attorney-General of the day provides clear notice that he, in his capacity as the public prosecutor, intends to reassert his right to enforce the law by way of prosecution and will no longer abide by representations made by the then-AG in 2018 as to the prosecutorial policy that applies to certain conduct.

Chief Justice Menon said it is therefore "unnecessary" for the Court of Appeal to address the constitutional questions raised by the appellants.

"They do not face any real and credible threat of prosecution under Section 377A at this time and therefore do not have standing to pursue their constitutional challenges to that provision," said the Chief Justice.

"First, although Section 377A was retained in our statute books, this was on the terms that it would not be proactively enforced," said the Chief Justice.

"The Government's evident unwillingness to repeal Section 377A signals its assessment that society has yet to adequately integrate the opposing views of mainstream conservatives and the homosexual community, as well as its awareness that our multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-religious community remains vulnerable along such fault lines. The Government was especially cognisant that forcing the issue would polarise those who are 'presently willing to live and let live'."

Second, the retention of Section 377A in 2007 "was directed at addressing a deeply divisive socio-political issue in a pragmatic way", the court said.

But things are never that easy in conservative Singapore - conservative when it comes to matters of nudity and sex. In October last year police arrived and confiscated Titus Low's phone, iPad and details of his Only Fans account. Allegedly they stated he had transmitted obscene materials through his OnlyFans account. He was warned not to access the account any more as it would amount to a criminal offence. Allegedly, according to the police, he continued posting on his account and even opened a second one. In late December he was handcuffed and arrested. The two charges could result in up to 6 months in jail and a fine of S$5,000.

Professor of Law, Eugene Tan, has stated, "Those using the platform to produce and transmit obscene material are in the crosshairs of the [authorities]. Where the authorities know of their involvement, it is a question of when, rather than whether, the law will catch up with them." He adds, "In some jurisdiction like the UK and the US, the production and transmission of obscene material is not illegal ... [and] often connected with freedom of speech. The topic of sex is still one that remains largely taboo in conservative Singapore - a country where gay sex is still technically a crime and there are strict laws around sex work. The making, transmitting and sharing of obscene material is widely accepted as not being in accord with moral standards and norms of Singapore."

Back home, Low says he will now concentrate on posting on other sites like YouTube. His problem is that he will still be breaking the law which covers all allegedly obscene material transmitted by electronic means.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-60022424

SINGAPORE - As of 11.59pm on Thursday (Nov 11), most travellers can take an antigen rapid test (ART) performed by a trained professional overseas before flying into Singapore.

This applies to those returning via the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) and from countries in Categories II and III, which include Australia, Britain and the United States.

Previously, all travellers, except those aged two and below, had to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to return and test negative within 48 hours before departure.

Travellers now have a longer window to take the tests as a pre-departure test taken any time on Nov 12, for instance, can be valid until 11.59pm on Nov 14.

Here is what you need to know about the new measures and how to book an ART overseas.

Full story on this link

From Channel News Asia

SINGAPORE: The pandemic has had a decimating impact on international hub airports with Asia Pacific particularly hard hit due to border closures and travel restrictions.

Changi Airport handled only 3.05 million passengers in 2021, or 4.5 per cent of the 68.3 million passengers handled in 2019.

Changi has slipped completely out of the rankings of top airports globally after having ranked seventh in 2019 for international passenger traffic and eighteenth for total passenger traffic.

Changi is hardly alone as all Asia-Pacific airports have slipped out of the top 20 international rankings. 

Airports outside Asia have done much better, having benefited from a much earlier and broader reopening of their regions and neighbouring regions. Amsterdam, Dubai and Istanbul each handled over 25 million international passengers last year.

However, Changi has performed better during the pandemic than most of its peers in Asia.

It handled more international passengers in 2021 than five of the other six main international hub airports in Asia – Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Hong Kong International (HKIA), Kuala Lumpur International (KLIA), Taipei Taoyuan and Tokyo Narita.

Changi’s biggest rival is arguably HKIA given they have nearly identical profiles – they do not have domestic markets and are major financial centres.

The two also have similar traffic breakdowns in terms of inbound (roughly 40 per cent), outbound (30 per cent) and transit (roughly 30 per cent).

Both also have been investing in the future with third runways and new or expanded terminals to support growth over the next few decades.

HKIA was slightly bigger than Changi prior to the pandemic, handling 71.5 million passengers in 2019.

Since the start of the pandemic Changi has handled about twice as many passengers as HKIA. This gap widened significantly after Singapore started reopening with vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs).

Singapore currently permits quarantine free travel from 27 countries through VTLs while seven to 10 days home quarantine options are available for about another 60 countries.

The VTL scheme has boosted passenger traffic, which reached 7 per cent of pre-COVID levels in November 2021 and 13 per cent in December 2021 (compared to November 2019 and December 2019).

Meanwhile, Hong Kong has kept its borders shut and is currently requiring 14 days of hotel quarantine for all travellers as part of its zero-COVID strategy.

Cathay Pacific Group’s passenger capacity is currently at about 2 per cent of pre-COVID levels, compared to 11 per cent in December 2021, and is expected to stay at this extremely low level until crew quarantine requirements, unique to Hong Kong, are eased.

Cathay Pacific Group passenger numbers were already very low, at 3 per cent of pre-COVID levels in December 2021 compared to 17 per cent for SIA Group.

While Singapore has a golden opportunity to benefit from the current situation in Hong Kong and become the leading Asian hub, the window for seizing this opportunity could be short and the outcome is hardly certain.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/hong-kong-airport-changi-covid-air-travel-pandemic-travel-2463651