Photo sharing Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Hey carley, I have got something interesting to show you!!!
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Girl on a swing |
This sculpture
reminds me of when I was young. I always enjoy sitting on the swing, it makes
me feel so carefree.
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Chang Kuda |
Chang in malay
is defined as "piggyback" while kuda means "horse". Hence,
it literally means "piggyback on a horse". It is a famous childhood
game back in the 50s and 60s. this sculpture is situated directly opposite the
swan lake.
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Guided tour for the disabled people |
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Bandstand
This octagonal structure was constructed in 1930 and staged for evening performances by military bands. The bandstand is one of the best known features of the gardens
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FUN FACTS
#1 Did you know
that the piquant taste of the local salad, rojak, comes from the young
inflorescence of the torch ginger(Etlingera elatior)?
This beautiful
inflorescence is used as the logo for Ginger Garden.
#2 Singapore botanic garden is more than 150 years old!!
I hope you have gained something invaluable from here! Hope to see you soon. Have a great day!
The clock says
it is time to close and I will end my post with this quote: A garden isn’t meant to be useful. It's
for joy. -Rumer Godden
With love,
Ting Ting service product and challenges faced Monday, May 13, 2013 On the other hand, I would like to share with you the nature of
service product in the context of SBG.
- The staff involved in
producing and delivering the product are part of the product itself.
Scenario
encountered: I started my trip from the Bukit Timah gate and after strolling in
the garden for more than 2km, I reached the visitor centre near Nparks
headquarter. I approached one of the staff there on how to get over to the swan
lake as I have always been fascinated with swans ever since reading the ugly
duckling as a child. The staff was friendly and helpful, he handed me a
brochure and showed me the best route to reach my destination. I was really
grateful for his help.
- The customer themselves
are involved in the production process.
Scenario
encountered: As I was making my way to the swan lake, I travelled by the shaw
foundation symphony stage. I saw a few senior citizens practicing tai chi while
some of the families were having picnic while enjoying the breeze. Besides
that, I have observed that there were a handful of tourists in the garden. They
were sightseeing at the different parts of the garden and they were all busy
snapping photos and seem to be having a good time there. Upon reaching the swan lake, I noticed
that many visitors were happily feeding the swans and fishes. As I was gazing
at the swans, a young girl came forward and handed me a piece of bread. I was
moved by her small gesture.
- The service product is
not standardized.
Scenario encountered:
I have realized that the weather plays an important role in shaping our
experience too. For instance, it was scotching hot at the beginning but towards
the late afternoon, it started to rain. As a result, the visitors ran to look
for shelter and others got drenched. The visitors who were caught in the rain
were grumping away. Hence, I have learnt that uncontrollable factor which are
not related to the attraction can affect the visitor's experience.
- The product is
perishable, cannot be stored.
Example: SBG
has a Food For Thought restaurant which sells contemporary cuisine. If my school Temasek Polytechnic (TP) were to hold
their special event and reserve table for 50 and supposing TP failed to show up
and leaving the seats stay empty, it would be a loss to the restaurant as the
seats no longer count and are perishable.
- There is no tangible
product to carry home.
The aim of the Singapore Botanic Gardens is to
offer unique experience and connect people and plants through horticultural,
educational outreach and events to each of its effective visitors. The
experience is formed on the existence of tangible elements like botanical
displays, shops, restaurants and service activities provided by the staff at
the garden. The services are all intangible and insubstantial.
- The surroundings of the
service delivery process are a feature of the service.
In the
service industries, the surrounding in which the service is delivered got to be
appealing and functional to the visitors. Meaning to say, the landscape of the
tropical botanic garden has to keep up its well-refined cultural aesthetic
appearance which includes rich variety of historic traits and demonstrates the development
of the gardens over 150 years.
Challenges pose for the attraction
The Singapore
Botanic Gardens face difficulties such as the wet weather programs. Since the
wet weather can affect the day to day visitor turnout in SBG as stated above. On
the other hand, it would be how providing a better public facilities, aesthetic
amenities and also meeting the needs and expectation of the visitors.
How has SBG meet the needs of the visitors? Has it been successful promoting
itself?
Singapore
Botanic Gardens has actually divided the broad market into subsets customers
who have common needs. Their primary target market would be the locals and
tourists, while their secondary target market would be the sophisticated travellers.
The gardens have played an essential role in promoting the development of
agriculture and the region through growing, gathering and experimenting useful
plants. In SBG, there are ginger garden, evolution garden, healing garden and
botany centre which allow visitors to have a hands on exploration. Singapore
Botanic Gardens is basically a garden of learning and exploring new and
interesting plants.
The botany garden is a facilitating product in SBG, as it
houses new amenities for research and education including laboratories and
heritage collections. In order to meet the needs of the visitors, the botany
centre has been retained and refurbished. Furthermore, they schedule a few events
every months to make sure that the garden is lively and vibrant.
Why is Singapore botanic
gardens better than the competition? Eg: Gardens by the bay
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Singapore Botany Centre |
Singapore
Botanic Gardens is beautiful and tranquil. It features the largest collection
of tropical plant specimens and also it is the first botanical and experimental
garden in Singapore. These unique resources provide visitors with educational
and recreational facilities. Most of the rare plants and flowers in SBG can
never be found in Garden by the bay.
To a certain extent, I would say that SBG has
been successful in promoting itself. For the reason that, the botanic gardens
may not be the first stop on every tourist's "things to do" list as
it competes with the integrated resorts, shopping, and Gardens by the Bay in
Singapore.
Even though, the marketing and public relations management have put
up banners and posters within the vicinity of SBG, it could only reaches out to
a fraction of the local.
The impact of the attraction on Singapore
Not only Singapore Botanic Gardens has
position itself to generate interest but also in public education and
horticultural science that would benefit many.
Economic impact
To a certain degree, the gardens in SBG are
expensive to maintain as it is reliant on grants, sponsorships and the
workshop, tours and ticket admission fee.
- Generation
of income
- Generation
of employment
- Improvement
of economic structure
Environmental impact
- Preservation
of garden heritage
- Positive
value could be passed
- There
could be increase in crime activities
- There
could be change in attitude and lifestyle
Socio-cultural impact
- Growth
of ecology of tourism has encouraged preservation and conservation of
nature and gardens
- Increase
in the choice of garden facilities
- Natural
beauty may be destroyed to make way for new hotels, roads and railroads.
motivating factors Sunday, May 12, 2013
Hello Carley,
Today I would like to share with you the motivating factors that will interest you to visit Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Here are some of the motivating factors:
- Education
- Recreation
facilities
- Ease
of access
- Rich
history and wonderful plant collection globally
- Learning
new plants
- Cosmopolitan
environment
- Rest
and relaxation
Here are some benefits that you will get to enjoy during your visit:
- Get to
discover history through plants
- Enjoy the
400 varieties of plants used medicinally in the Healing garden
- Rest and
learn about the interesting gingers at the Ginger Shelter
- Try to spot awesome sculptures, sunbirds, spiderhunters and some rare migratory birds
With love,
Ting Ting
Classification of Attraction Saturday, May 11, 2013
Hey carley,
How have you been
doing? Thank you for your patience in waiting. As promised, here are my findings
on Singapore botanic gardens.
This is how the story
goes,
I would classify Singapore botanic garden
under ownership - public. Reason being, the garden come under the management of
National Parks Board. Their roles are conservation, education and research
studies in plants.
Visitor profile of SBG
Age: 5 - 70 years old
Gender: Both female and male
Stage in family life cycle: Bachelor, young
couple, childless couple, single parent, full nest, older couple
Means of transportation: By bicycle, bus, car,
MRT
When they visit: usually the weekends
Visitor personality and lifestyle: curiosity, keen,
adventurous, sophisticated, relax and peaceful nature.
The key characteristics of the people visiting
the attraction are due to family and psychological factors. Parents, spouse and
children have significant influence on visiting SGB. Besides that, a person has
many needs at any given time. Satisfying the need reduces the tensions like the
need for belonging, recognition etc.. For instance, why did visitor go to
Singapore Botanic Gardens?
It has been a long, tiring and fruitful day for me. I shall continue blogging tomorrow. Have a good rest girl. Good night!
Best regards,
Ting Ting
Pre visit reflection Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Hi carley,
I have seen the list
of tripadvisor recommended attraction being sent by you. Honestly speaking, I
was taken aback by the result as shown on the tripadvisor site. After much
consideration and days of intensive research, I would suggest that Singapore Botanic
Garden would help you to learn more about the attraction in Singapore.
You might be pondering,
why is Singapore Botanic Garden ranked as the #1 cultural attraction. I have
quoted some of the reviews from tripadvisor.
Reviewed April 2, 2012
Was this review helpful?Yes
Beautiful gardens. Orchid lovers should not miss the Orchid gardens and there a nice cafe/restaurant called food for thought. Children can also have fun at the Jacob Ballast Children's Playground.
Reviewed April 16, 2012
Was this review helpful?Yes
Have visited botanic gardens in different countries but still find the Singapore Botanic Gardens one of the best. Its varied collection of orchids (including the Vanda Miss Joachim), ginger, healing plants, herbs, spices, fruit trees, medicinal plants and heritage trees including the rubber tree are awesome.
Reviewed October 25, 2012
Was this review helpful?Yes
The Botanic Gardens are one of the few places left in Singapore relatively serene and not touched by too much modernity. It's always fun to go for a stroll here or simply have a picnic, especially for locals. As for foreign visitors, it may pale in comparison to some of the public parks and gardens that can be found in other parts of the world in terms of size and variety of plant life, it is worth a visit and a break from all that shopping.
Reviewed July 3, 2012
Was this review helpful?Yes1
The Botanical Gardens is one of the best places in Singapore to relax. Head there with a good book, laze under a tree and wile the hours away. The place is huge and it will take more than one visit to see all it has to offer. It also has some excellent eateries.
One of the many reasons would be, it is
a haven away from the busy city and the botanic gardens are one of the few
places left in Singapore which is relatively serene and not touched by too much
modernity as stated by one of the reviewer.
On the other hand, the
Singapore Botanic Garden is one of the biggest garden in Singapore. It is clean
and well manicured too. On this coming weekend, I will be making my way to the
Botanic Gardens to conduct the site visit. I will fill you in on the details.
Stay tuned for more
updates.
Have a great day.
Cheers!
With love,
Ting Ting
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