As a child I remember junket for what it was; a less than salubrious, congealed substance that masqueraded as dessert. A poor man's custard if you will.
If you have ever eaten a raw oyster then the sensation of it sliding down the throat was somewhat similar, with a markedly different taste and a lot less effect on the libido..
'Junket' in casino terms means something entirely different. A Junket is a organised group of gamblers, which is typically organised by the casino to attract players and this usually mean an increase in high rollers.
So it is not surprising that shares in Genting Singapore have surged 8.6 percent . This past Friday Singapore decided to license two Malaysian junket operators which will see high rollers coming across the Causeway - come to think of it they will probably fly in by private jet.
According to a report in TodayOnline, the licensing authority "does not intend to let junkets dominate the gaming business here and vowed to take a "cautious approach" to ensure criminal activities, which junket operators have been linked with, do not creep into the Republic's casinos."
Mind you, the government has had its hand forced a bit as it would appear illegal junket operations have been in place for a while. A Japanese businessman who is being sued by Marina Bay Sands over a $2 million gambling debt claims that he gained access to their VIP gaming rooms through a Nevada-licensed junket operator. It is not uncommon for illegal operators to get kick-backs from a casino so it is appropriate that Singapore's' Casino Controlling Authority takes a really dim view of such activity.
Now that they have two licensed operators there will be a modicum of control, but I doubt if it will remove the problem of illegal operators entirely.
And lets face it, without the profits from the two casinos (masquerading as 'resorts') the local economy in the global downturn could 'turn to custard'.
There is no way that the above could be confused for yours truly plunging into the wintry briny at Bucklands Beach in Auckland where I am now domiciled.
For a starter the water temperature in the rooftop pool at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore was probably in excess of thirty degrees when this swimmer ventured forth.
Secondly, I do not have a head for heights and the thought of a ride on the Singapore Flier or walking around the top of Marina Bay Sands holds no appeal whatsoever.
Last month they discovered to their horror that a couple of their airforce's jet engines had been illegally hocked off to Argentina and this past week comes news of a more recent purchase; a submarine that is unable to submerge.
Not that they are alone in buying dodgy subs from European sources.
A few years ago the Australians purchased some Collins Class submarines. The noise from their operational 'drive shafts' ensured that any enemy would not have to deploy sonar or acoustic monitoring to detect their movement many fathoms distant.
Today is Chinese New Year, our fourth in Singapore since arriving here in 2006. We have a ticket in the $10 million Hong Bao lottery which will be drawn tomorrow, as has the rest of the population. The odds of winning a prize are therefore not great.
With the odds firmly in mind it should also be noted that today signals another milestone in Singapore's gambing history. The first casino at Sentosa opened for business (or 'integrated resort' to mask its real purpose).
Having to front up with $2,000 for an anuual fee to enter it quarantees that we will not be visiting. Compared to Las Vegas where one can enter any number of casinos free and dress down in the process, why would a punter want to pay for the privilege of entering the Singapore version?
If this entry tax was designed to stop the compulsive gamblers amongst the locals and PR's I really cannot see it working. They will simply resort to taking the ferry from Tanah Merah to one of the gambling boats in international waters off Batam (which the 'Aunties' do on a regular basis according to a taxi driver I travelled with recently). The vessel in question is called the Leisure World.
One final comment about Chinese New Year; it is very difficult to find any food places open as most of the hawker stalls are closed.
Even our local Indian stall is closed as the coffee shop proprietor he rents from is Chinese. We had to resort to an Ikea meal of baked chicken after a quarter of hour walk in the mid day heat.
Golden Mile complex at dawn is a bustling place. It is from here that the majority of buses to Malaysia depart.
We began our third trip to the Genting Highlands from this location on December 20th and on this occasion we chose another coach line - Transtar. On past trips we had travelled with Formosa Travel which meant departing from less salubrious neighbourhoods about 6:30 am. This time there was the promise of a better bus and greater comfort.
Golden Mile at dawn
The coach turned out to be adequate with wider aircraft-styled passenger seats and air conditioning nozzles that were the worse for wear. This meant that it was impossible to switch off the icy blast for the entire journey and resulted in most of us having a case of the 'sniffles' by journey's end.
The style of the seat reminded me that these coach services are facing serious competition from the budget airlines; it is now possible to fly to Kuala Lumpur for about the same price as it is to take the bus. Flying takes an hour and the trip to Genting by bus, six and a half hours.
Even though this was a different coach line it stopped at the same diabolical refreshment centre as Formosa's buses did. The food was just as inedible as on previous occasions and the toilets no cleaner.
The journey was uneventful and we arrived at our destination at the allotted time - 3 pm.
I should point out that this time we had planned to stay at the four star Resort Hotel rather than the 3 star First World. Regrettably most of Singapore had the same idea and all rooms were taken as we had to settled for the First World once again. This time though we were promised as Deluxe Room with a View as opposed to the deluxe room we had on our last stay, which had a view of a brick wall a few metres away.
It is that point that the holiday experience takes a sharp turn for the worse.
Our original idea for a short break was to go to the Cameron Highlands but the thought of a nine hours bus journey put us off. The irony was that having spent more than six hours on a coach to Genting we had to wait in a crowded group tour room for a further three hours while staff processed our reservations and handed out room keys. It would have been as quick to go to the Cameron Highlands.
We had requested a non smoking room on a non smoking floor when our booking was accepted. When we finally got to the reception counter however there were no Deluxe Rooms with View on non smoking floors left in the more modern Tower Two. We therefore had to accept Tower One, which is in need of major renovation. There were holes where fittings had been and some deluded former occupier had even attempted to prize the perfectly hideous art print out of its frame. Unfortunately they had not succeeded.
The same old problems of people smoking on these non smoking floors re emerged and the staff chose simply to ignore it. Hotel security spent most of their time slouched over the morning newspaper or conversing on their personal mobiles.
Our room was indeed a room with a view and the view was.... cloud. To be more precise cloud with rain, which is not so surprising given the altitude.
On the third day there was a glimpse of the theme park below but it wasn't until the morning that we left that the sun broke through.
Click on the book for the larger images
The inclement weather meant that the hordes of children on their summer holiday were unable to spend much of it outside and had to be content with the video and games arcades within the complex.
The rain also meant leaks and buckets in the 24th floor lobby. As we were on the highest floor I can only presume that the roof immediately above was less than weather proof.
One final observation about our Genting experience and the First World hotel; at meals we had a choice watching China tour parties spitting their bones and lemon pips directly on to the table, or fighting off the Indian tour parties who attempted to commandeer our chairs at every opportunity.
