Flags of Korea

The flag of South Korea



The Flag of North Korea



Useful Websites
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-commonest-name-in-south-korea.html

Duolingo.com

About The Author
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Trump's and Kim Jong-Un's Visit To Singapore - see what they saw

Donald Trump, President of the United States of America. Photo from Wikipedia.

Problems
Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un met in Singapore, happily with a historic handshake and no security problems. Where did they go? What did they see? What did they eat? What did it cost!

Answers
I was delighted that Trump and Kim met in Singapore. What a boost to Singapore's image, spreading worldwide knowledge on the tourist scene.

Landmarks I expected and hoped they would visit. They missed Singapore Night Safari. But Kim saw the Marina Bay Sands hotel with its rooftop, infinity pool, and the riverside walk. Wonderful.

Triple tower of the Marina Bay Sands hotel, Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

You can walk around the marina and look up at the hotel. The lower floors are a complex of shopping arcade, upmarket shops, and restaurants. For twenty dollars you can ride up to the observation deck, and the twenty dollars is taken off the price of a drink or food.

The North Korean leader's bill was picked up by Singapore and cost millions, but it put Singapore on the world tourists' map.

Journalists got to see the Fullerton hotel and, I hope some of the surrounding waterside statues which I have described and photographed in previous posts.

I have also shown the parts of the Shangri-la hotel where Trump stayed, not the private tower, but the public areas which you can visit.

Interior of the Fullerton Hotel, Singapore, where journalists stayed. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

The doorman at the Shangri-la Hotel, Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

The grounds of the Shangri-la Hotel, Singapore, where Trump stayed. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

The lobby of the Shangri-la Hotel, Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

The public areas of the Shangri-la hotel grounds in Singapore.  Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Sentosa island is another popular tourist area with a beach, a hotel, several attractions.

You won't be flying on a private US air force plane, but you can enjoy great comforts on the award-winning Singapore Airlines.

Useful Websites
visitsingapore.com
singaporeair.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Trump and Kim Jong-Un lookalikes arrived in Singapore

Problem
The US President, Donald Trump, is due to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore this June, 2018. In advance, two lookalikes have arrived. Who is the real one and who is the imitation?

Answers
Trump arrives tomorrow, Sunday June 10th, but the lookalikes are already doing walkabouts. When they arrived, the authorities told them to keep away from the area where the real pair will be meeting, Sentosa Island. I won't mention any hotel names.

Real names?
The real Kim Jong Un, Kim is the surname which comes first, like surnames for boys in traditional public schools (private schools) in the good old days. Some peopled, such as the lookalike, hyphenate the two first names, Jong-Un which I like because I find it easier to remember. I think of it as Mr Kim, or honoured Mr Kim, and if you knew him or wished to distinguish him from another family member or even a complete stranger with the same kin name, you would use all three names, or the second two.

His lookalike is Lee Howard Ho Wun, according to the Straits Times (sign up with your particulars to gain access to the full article). Mr Lee (like Lee Kwan Yew, Lee is a family name or kinship or clan name). Howard is an added Western name. He is known as Howard X, and is Australian.

The Trump lookalike and impersonator - what's the difference - I might be a lookalike of a famous person and not realise it or even get annoyed. An impersonator likes to be identified with the person they look like and pretends to be that person and chooses to act like that person, either in an amateur way, or as a paid professional, usually to be amusing, occasionally to make political points, as a protest, to annoy, or to get publicity by being outrageous.

Back to the point, the Trump impersonator is Dennis Alan.

Interesting (if you want to book them for an event). I find it amusing. Very funny. They smile and shake hands. Maybe this will encourage the real ones to do the same. I am hoping for the best for everybody, for the real Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, for the two lookalikes, the hotels, for Singapore tourism and economy, for the world, a peaceful world in which we can all travel and meet people from different cultures and make new friends.

Useful Websites
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-44418560/trump-kim-impersonators-buddy-up-in-singapore
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/kim-jong-un-impersonator-questioned-on-arrival-in-singapore/2018/06/08/03
http://agt.wikia.com/wiki/The_Singing_Trump (Las Vegas impersonator who appeared on TV talent show.)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/08/north-korea-kim-jong-un-impersonators

Author
Angela Lansbury, author and speaker.

Update - Tanglin Club Singapore Is Inside The Exclusion Zone

Singapore flag with border.

Problem
Tanglin Club is inside the exclusion zone set up around the Shangri-La hotel, Singapore, where Donald Trump is said to be staying overnight before meeting his VIP counterpart from North Korea, this June 2018. Special event measures will take place June 10th-14th.

In addition to check, expect traffic delays, so allow extra time for your journeys.

Answer
If you were planning going swimming, having lunch, playing bridge, or being entertained as a guest by a friend who is a member of the Tanglin Club in Singapore, make sure you are carrying your passport or NRIC (Singapore identity document) for security checks.

Memory Aid
Are you bad at remembering names. Even if you are just having a conversation with somebody on a bus, or with reception at a hotel, it's handy to be accurate on the names of presidents and other VIPs. It was Ronald Regan (double r) but Donald Trump (DT) like Donald Trump.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.