Singapore Fifth Avenue - Orchard Road

Orchard Road in Singapore is one of the major tourist attraction especially during Christmas festive season every year. Tourists come here for shopping, eating adn accommodation.

Orchard Road is a one way street stretching 2.5 km from the intersection with Orange Grove Road and ends at the intersection with Handy Road. 3 Mass Rapid Transit stations serve the whole stretch of the Orchard Road.

Orchard Road has its name from the nutmeg, pepper and fruit orchard that was abound at both sides of the street in 1800s. Mr Orchard had a garden and plantation here and hence the road got its name.

Among the notable historical sites to visit along the Orchard Road are the Istana which is the residence of the President of Singapore. It is only open during open days usually during festive celebration.

Goodword Park Hotel is another historical site. Previously known as Teutonic Club, it exists since before World War I.

For those who are nature lover and who wishes to have relaxation, Singapore Botanic Garden should be his choice.

Orchard Road is synonymous to shopping paradise. It is ornamented by pedestrian shopping malls, upmarket restaurants, bistros, coffee chains, hotels, night clubs etc.

Tang Plaza with its typical Chinese pagoda tower is a homegrown department store. Situated at the junctin between Orchard Road and Scotts Road, it is founded in 1934 adn established on Orchard Road in 1950. Visitors can purchase garments, accessories etc here.

For visitors with deep pockets a visit to Ngee Ann City will not be disppointing. Its anchor tenants include branded boutiques like Louis Vuitton, Channel, Vacheron Constantin and a Japanese department store - Takashimaya. It also houses the Southeast Asia largest bookstore - Book Kinokuniya.

For learned visitors, beside Book Kinokuniya at Ngee Ann City, one may pay a visit to Wheelock Place - the Borders. It has a rich collection of not only books but also CDs, DVDs on various topics and themes. American visitors will definitely feel at home there even though you are in Singapore.

If one is looking for produces from the Philippines, Lucky Plaza is surely your choice. It is a focal point for domestic Filipino workers during weekend and public holidays.

Far East Plaza at Scotts Road is famous with its cheap fashion items and food outlets. Visitors may find cheap and good local food at the food courts.

Down near the Somerset MRT is the CenterPoint where one can find another old department store - Robinson and Mark & Spencer.

Plaza Singapura is located next to the Istana entrance. It houses the Golden Village Cineplex,Carrefour and other shops.

Written by Chai Yong from http://www.temasekmap.com/ and http://www.window-safety-lock.com/.

HOW TO CHOOSE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER FOR YOUR HOUSE

Fire extinguisher serves as first line batter against the fire before fire brigade arrives your house if there is any fire. It is advisable to have at least two fire extinguishers in your house.

Fire occurs if the following elements exist:-
(i) oxygen
(ii) heat
(iii) fuel and
(iv) chemical reaction.

These elements form the Fire Triangle.

Fire can be extinguished by removing or isolating any of those elements in the Fire Triangle from the rest.

There are many types of fire extinguisher available in the market. It is vital that you use the correct fire extinguisher to extinguish fire. The wrong type of fire extinguisher may not be able to put off the fire and hence not effective. Using incorrect agent can allow the fire to re-ignite after apparently being extinguished successfully.

Some suppliers are ignorant about the suitable type of fire extinguisher for different household use. It is advisable to check the fire extinguisher you have in your home.

Household use

Normally a fire in a house occurs on wood, paper, cloth, plastic etc. This type of fire is known as Class A fire.

Fire also quite often occurs in the kitchen involving cooking oil and grease e.g. animal fats and vegetable fats. This is Class K fire.

Sometimes, fire also occurs at electrical equipments like motor, transformer and appliances. This type of fire is Class C fire.

Recommendation

The suitable fire extinguisher for household use are:-

i. Dry chemical fire extinguisher
It is effective on Class A and Class C fire. It extinguishes fire primarily by interrupting the chemical reaction of the Fire Triangle. It works by creating a barrier between oxygen element and fuel element of Class A fire.

ii. Water mist
This type of fire extinguisher is primarily for Class A fire although they are safer for use on Class C fire. It extinguishes fire by taking away the heat element of the Fire Triangle.

iii. Cartridge operated dry chemical
This agent works by creating a barrier between the oxygen element and the fuel element on Class A fire. It is also suitable for Class C fire.

If you choose to use the above fire extinguishers, you may achieve cost-effectiveness as they are suitable for both Class A and C fire.

Other types of fire extinguisher which are suitable only for one type of fire are:-

i. Water and foam fire extinguisher
It is only suitable for Class A fire. It extinguishes fire by taking away the heat of the Fire Triangle. It is not suitable for Class C fire which involves electrical equipments. You may get electrocuted because the water is current conductor.

ii. Carbon dioxide fire extinguisher
It can be used on Class C fire. It operates by taking away the oxygen element of the Fire Triangle and removing heat.

iii. Clean agent and halogenated fire extinguisher
It extinguishes Class C fire only. It involves halon agents and halocarbon agents. They extinguish fire by interrupting the chemical reaction of the Fire Triangle.

For kitchen involving Class K fire, you need to use wet chemical fire extinguisher which operates by removing the heat of the Fire Triangle and preventing re-ignition by creating a barrier between the oxygen and fuel elements. This type of fire extinguisher can be used on Class C fire as well.

In conclusion, you need to have 2 fire extinguishers i.e. one for Class A fire and the other for Class K fire in the kitchen.

Tips

Fire extinguisher must be maintained in accordance with the relevant local regulations. In Malaysia, fire extinguisher has to be maintained by the supplier once per year and examined by the Fire Brigade Department. The Fire Brigade Department will issue Fire Brigade Certificate upon completion of examination and compliance of the regulations.

This article is written by Chai Yong from http://www.window-safety-lock.com/ which is about keyless Griloc window safety lock. Your navigation is welcome.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME BURGLARY PROOF

Burglary ranks the second among the crimes in most of the countries in the world.

Burglary is unlawful or forcible entry or attempted entry of a building, usually involving theft. Illegal entry may be by forces such as breaking window, door or roof. It may be without force by entering through unlocked door or an open window.

The majority of burglary was committed in residence (household burglary) followed by business burglary(commercial burglary) and other locations like schools, sheds, substations, detached garages etc.

There are various ways to make your home burglary proof:-

i. Reinforcing door

Door grille can be fixed at the external side of your door. It can be front door, side door or rear door.

Druing teh day time, your timber solid door may be left open with the door grille locked. Doing so has the advantages of having a nice view of movement outside your house and preventing burglar or unwanted people from entering your home. In the meantime, your house will have better ventilation with the solid door open.

ii. Reinforcing window

Window is one of the weakest points where a burglar likes to break in.

Window can be reinforced by fixing a window grille. There are 2 types of window grille i.e. fixed window grille and sliding window grille.

Sliding window grille is preferred as compared to fixed one as a sliding window grille can be padlocked. It can be opened for the purpose of cleaning the window or escape during emergency. However, at times people tend to be panic during emergency like fire. They cannot find the right key to the padlock.

Both fixed window grille and sliding window grille with padlock are in fact a trap for residents during emergency.

Sliding window grille could be made safer by having a keyless window safety lock.

iii. Reinforcing roof

Roof is another weakest point which is normally ignored.

The prevention steps must be started at the design stage.

Conventionally, roofing design is as follows:- top layer is the roof tile usually not nailed, insulation wool, sisalation - a thin layer of aluminum foil followed by wire mesh.

From the above design, you can visualize that a burglar can open the roof tile easily as it is not nailed. The insulation wool, sisalation and wire mesh can be cut easily. Therefore, it is a weakest point from the point of view of burglary.

To reinforce the roof, a layer of flat zink sheet (0.7-0.9mm) can be laid before fixing of roof timber batten where the roof tile sits on. Because of the thickness of the zink sheet, it is not easy to cut. This could prevent a burglar from breaking in.

iv. Fixing burglar alarm system

Burglar alarm system can be fixed at all openings or your home like door, window, ceiling openings etc.

v. Fixing CCTV

CCTV could be both preventive and detective measure. It could be made more useful if it is connected to a 24 hours recording device. This serves two purposes i.e. detecting any burglar so that immediate action could be taken and tracing any burglar if he has broken in and left.

vi. Good neighbourhood

A close neighbourhood could keep an eye on any stranger approaching your house.

Sometimes, a neighbourhood could have a neighbourhood program whereby patrolling at night could be conducted to prevent crimes from happening.

vii. Fencing

Fencing around your house or neighbourhood is definitely a proven way to prevent burglary.

Fencing has a psychological effect namely it prevents any stranger from trespassing your compound as it could be viewed as an illegal act or an act with wilful intent.

This article is written by Chai Yong from http://www.window-safety-lock.com/ which is about keyless Griloc window safety lock. Your navigation is welcome.

KEYLESS WINDOW LOCK

KEYLESS WINDOW LOCK

Everyone by nature wishes to live a happy and safe life. Believe it or not, sometime, you could do a minor thing which might make a big difference in your life.

I know in Malaysia, my home country a lot of people are safety and security conscious. They install window grille to prevent burglar from breaking in. There are 2 types of window grilles in the market i.e. (i) fixed window grille and (ii) sliding window grille which can be padlocked.

There is a big danger associated with the above 2 types of window grille.

For the fixed window grille, there is no way to escape during emergency like fire as it is fixed.

For the padlocked sliding window grille, most probably you could not find the key as you tend to be panic during emergency.

Either way, you are setting a trap for yourself when you fix a window grille.

Is there a solution to this problem?

Now, there is a product called Griloc window safety lock. It is keyless. The locking and opening mechanism is within the same device. The opening of the safety lock is just as simple as pulling a locking pin at the bottom case. Even a small kid can do it with ease. Of couse, it is burglary proof.

For details, please visit http://www.window-safety-lock.com/.

Your comment is welcome.