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Thursday, January 03, 2013

Wacky Duck Tour - Singapore's original DUCKtours

My ex-company had a high ratio of expatriates given the nature of the higher-education industry and the administrative team thought it through before deciding on a Singapore Flyer + Duck Tour  bonding package for department staff.

I am super excited as it would definitely be a novel experience! Imagine taking in the city sights by travelling on an amphibious vehicle known affectionately as the Duck that doesn't quack! 

Navigation wise, the layout seemed pretty simple. Maybe i should apply for a position in the company since the tourism industry is shining with perpetual record number of tourists visiting Singapore! 

The ride began from Singapore Flyer (instead of the original Suntec location) and the commentary came from a machine and not a human guide despite the existence of one staff member accompanying us. His role appeared to be more of a safety marshal, in case someone jumps off the vehicle. 

Driving past the esplanade!

Having the commentary via a machine has its benefits; a foreigner with a poor grasp of English would be delighted to know that direct translation to other languages (Mandarin, French, German, Koran, Japanese and Bahasa Indonesia) is available. 

Refurbishment of Singapore's old supreme court. It would be transformed to an arts and cultural centre in the future! It would be interesting to see if there would be any drastic change to the facade; like the eye-catching MICA building. 

Way back to Marina Bay although we were only halfway through the tour. 

*SPLASH* and we have come to the water 'adventure'! That was the only excitement of the tour as most of the commentaries touched on basic information that any informed Singaporean would know. 

One segment of the recorded speech made me laughed though as it was so true. When any Singaporean couple want to get married, the 'romantic' proposal that come out of either party's mouth is not "would you marry me?" but "you want to apply for a flat?".

Singapore Flyer - the eye of Singapore; i would talk about this soon! 

Going underneath the Helix Bridge. Check out my post here

Initially i thought workers were dismantling the metal structure at The Float@Marina Bay. A closer look revealed that it is more likely a team bonding or adventure session!

The vehicle would make a U-turn upon reaching the sick Merlion that could never stop vomiting. Check out the merlion family here

Marina Bay Sands - i must make it a point to stay one night at this hotel!!! 

Not so much to visit the expensive ArtScience Museum. I am more keen with the free entry to the infinity pool and complimentary access to the skypark! 

Reaching land again. The entire tour took us 50 minutes and although i could not say on behalf of my colleagues, i was totally drained out at the end. 

Even though no yawning was allowed, i was so bored; i could hardly keep my mouth closed. 

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For ticketing and other details, please visit 
http://www.ducktours.com.sg/.

[Update on 09 Jan 2013]
Someone from DUCKtours sent me an email after reading my take on their signature tour; not a nasty one in case you are wondering. Hahaha. 

She noted my feedback and clarified that the lack of a "live" commentary was because we did a charter via Singapore Flyer. Good news is that come March 2013, ALL DUCK tours will have “live” commentaries! 

4 comments:

  1. Happy New Year!

    Why they keep using this <<'romantic' proposal>>. Not in STB interest to use this. Foreigners will not catch the irony

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    Replies
    1. i guess it is more a sentence that would help to get the foreigners to ask more questions about it; my foreign colleagues did ask why is that so actually. hahaha

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  2. Very nice Duck tour pictures.Keep update more things regularly in the blog.Thanks for sharing the blog with us.

    singapore

    ReplyDelete