F1 Grand Prix: Something great is happening in Singapore

In the runup to the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, events organizer Singapore GP announces that it will be releasing 70,000 tickets and official passes on Feb. 14 at 9 am (Singapore time GMT+8). The first batch of Singapore GP tickets will consist of 15,000 walkabout passes and 55,000 grandstand seats at strategic locations throughout the circuit.

Where to get tickets

Three-day passes to the Singapore GP are priced from S$168 (walkabout) to S$1,388 (Premier Pit Grandstand). They include a separate ticket for each race day and can be used by three different people over the three days. However, tickets cannot be interchangeable on the same day.

All prices include the relevant processing fee and Goods and Services Tax. Singapore GP patrons will receive a printed confirmation at the time of the booking, which they can then use in June to claim the plastic commemorative tickets and lanyard currently on hold for security reason.

Singapore GP bookings can be made through OmniTicket Network outlets located at Forum Shopping Centre, Marina Square Shopping Centre, and Singapore Visitors Centre at Orchard Road, or via Singapore GP sales counters at post offices across the island.

Online, F1 patrons can log on to the official Singapore Grand Prix website for tickets reservation, seating chart, grandstand descriptions, and details on the historic F1 races at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

Where to sleep

Singapore GP is set to break cover on a street circuit around the Marina Bay area. With downtown Singapore as backdrop, spectators get a glimpse of the exotic garden city of Singapore with its quaint mix of historical landmarks and modern-day buildings.

Marina Bay is the district in Singapore that flanks the sheltered waters off the Raffles Boulevard, Beach Road, and Esplanade Drive. Across the district are Singapore hotels that range from budget to luxury.

The Singapore Beach Hotel on Beach Road offers room-per-night as well as long-term hotel accommodation at special rates, which can be luxuriously economical for the lengthy schedule of Singapore GP events.

Over at downtown Singapore, where Singapore GP fever is most likely to be evident on island residents, Singapore visitors can opt to stay at the upscale classic accommodations of Claremont Hotel in Singapore.

The hotel in Singapore of Claremont is in the vicinity of Farrer Park, near in the heart of Singapore while accessible from the rest of the island through the Farrer Park MRT Station.

Need a crib near enough to feel the rush of Singapore GP yet not isolating from other must-sees in Singapore? YWCA Singapore offers its Fort Canning Lodge to Singapore visitors looking for rooms within reach.

The YWCA Singapore Hotel is located on the outskirts of the Fort Canning Park, adjacent to Orchard Road that leads to downtown Singapore, and to Fort Canning Road that heads toward the get-go flag of Singapore SG at Raffles Boulevard.

What to expect

The 5-km street circuit of Singapore GP features wide tracks and sharp turns that can only make overtaking and cornering all the more electrifying. At 300 kph on average, F1 entries from Ferrari to Mercedes will rev up in the heart of Singapore’s garden city with the charming blend of old and new buildings in the background.

The 2008 F1 Singapore GP races are scheduled to run at nighttime, so expect the Marina Bay area in Singapore to be bathed in light at night and exude an impression of a city full of activities that it never sleeps. Clark Quay and the Esplanade are just around the corner, so expect as well a zoom-zooming nightlife well into sunup.

How great cuisine and fine wine can cook up a unique dining experience in Singapore at the 2008 World Gourmet Summit

Wine and food make every meal an occasion, every table more elegant, and every day more civilized. As in any attempt at sophistication, however, there is art in mixing and matching food and wine, which if followed ignorantly can leave a bad taste in the mouth.

It used to be that white wine is paired with fish and chicken, and red wine is partnered with meat and game. The rule, however, is no longer cast in stone and from April 7 to 28, gourmet luminaries across the world are scheduled to showcase new ideas on food and wine cultures as the 2008 World Gourmet Culture kicks off in the “island spice” of Singapore.

Host to the 2008 World Gourmet Summit, Singapore relives its glory days as the premier trading post on the Asian spice route as the celebrations of the gourmet summit gather the big names in the food industry and conduct workshops and luncheons for the benefit of food aficionados in Singapore.

Masterchefs and Good Life celebs Curtis Stone and Ian Wright, as well as renowned Singapore hoteliers are set to grace the 2008 World Gourmet Summit in Singapore with a one-night-only presentation on how to create a unique gastronomic experience from choice food and wine.

A gala dinner on April 11 will feature the first growth of Spanish wines for the season—a must-see for every wine aficionado. On April 12, a special luncheon will be held to commemorate the best in the food and beverage industry. Billed as the “Oscars” of food and wine, the World Gourmet Summit aims to keep Singapore visitors in the loop of the latest industry trends.

The 2008 World Gourmet Summit spans across Singapore, hopping from one luxury hotel to another in order to provide an industry-wide conference on the gourmet culture. With a carefully selected hotel in Singapore, one can follow each event of the World Gourmet Summit easily.

HarbourVille Hotel, a chic and cheap hotel in Singapore that offers convenience and comfort to every Singapore visitor, is located at Harbourfront Singapore and can be an ideal jump-off point to follow the 2008 World Gourmet Summit in Singapore.

At Harbourfront, Singapore guests gain easy access to the MRT system and bus transport lines of Singapore. The Singapore hotel of HarbourVille leads not only to the gourmet summit, but to the two most civilized things in the world as well: food and wine.

Because food and wine need more than a tongue and a stomach for appreciation, there is no set formula in pairing a good food and a fine wine for a unique dining experience. And such element of ambiguity, as in the case of the arts, casts a light on the gourmet culture now shining in Singapore.