Pre-Trip Reflection

This China Trip would be a once in a lifetime opportunity as a class to learn more about Shanghai. I hope to learn more about their school life in Shanghai. For instance, how they cope with studies and how much they focus on academic achievement. I want to be able to compare it with Singapore's education and to understand their differences. I would like to make new friends in Shanghai, to get to know my buddy more, though we only have about two days to interact with them. I want to see the way they conduct classes and if they also have to deal with the stress of homework. I'd like to understand more about their way of life. We seem to be visiting many historical sites during the trip. I assume we would learn a lot about Shanghai's past and heritage. What I'm interested in is the Madamn Tussads Museum as I would like to see the life sized figures of my favorite celebrities and historical icons. As a class, I hope we would be able to bond, interact more with one another and finally work better together to ensure that we all enjoy the trip to Shanghai. All in all, I am looking forward to the trip and hope that I would be able to take away as much as possible from this journey.

CID Graded Assignment

Annex A

Class:2A          Group Number:  4

Buddy 2

Name: Dai Nuo Suo
Learning Interest: She is in the environmental club in the school and is interested in the flora and a fauna in Singapore. She is vegetarian as she loves animals. She also needs to get souvenirs that represent Singapore for her parents and would like to spend a little time shopping. Her project back in China is called: “Lessons learnt from the Garden City”.

 Shortlisted Places and Rationale

No.	Location	Rationale/research
1	Jurong Point	It is the nearest shopping mall to River Valley High School. She would be able to buy some souvenirs there.
2	Singapore Zoo	She loves animals and there will be a variety of different animals there to see.
3	Singapore Botanic Gardens	Her interest is the flora and fauna in Singapore and the Singapore Botanic Gardens has recently been recognized as a UNESCO Heritage Site. I would be a rest opportunity for her to admire the greenery.
4	Gardens by the Bay	It is Singapore's awe inspiring 101 hectares garden, a nature park in the heart of Singapore.
5	Jurong Bird Park	It is an excellent park, full of hundreds of birds and animals. The shows are also great, exciting and colourful.
6	Universal Studios	It is a theme park and she will enjoy herself immensely there, as there are many rides.
7	Marina Barrage	It is a dam in Singapore built at the confluence of five rivers. There are galleries to discover how the barrage ingeniously prevents flooding to the city’s low-lying areas.
8	Bukit Timah Reservoir	It is a nature reserve near the geographic centre of Singapore and Singapore’s highest hill is located there too
9	Sea Aquarium	Her love for animals will allow her to enjoy herself at the Sea Aquarium as she will be able to get an overall view of the different aquatic species.
10	Chinese Garden	It is free of charge and it is around the Jurong area, with lots of different types of plants.
11	Thong Hup Garden	It is located in Jurong West, colorful vibrant plants with blossoming flowers on oils be able to purchase a plant if she wants.
12	Vivo City	It is a shopping mall that has a greater variety of Singapore souvenirs to choose from. It is also the largest shopping mall in Singapore.

Location	Cheapest	Most relevant to buddy’s interest	Most convenient(nearest to RVHS Hostel)	Most unique location (availability in Shanghai)	Fun Factor	Total
Bukit Timah Reservoir	9	6	8	4	4	9x3+6x3+8x1+4x3+4x2=73
Chinese Garden	12	9	9	2	3	12x3+9x3+9x1+2x3+3x2=84
Gardens by the bay	6	10	5	10	7	6x3+10x3+5x1+10x3+7x2=97
Jurong Bird Park	4	5	11	11	5	4x3+5x3+11x1+9x3=65
Jurong Point	10	4	12	2	9	10x3+4x3+12x1+2x3+9x2=78
Marina Barrage	7	2	4	9	8	7x3+2x3+4x1+9x3+8x2=74
Sea Aquarium	2	8	3	6	2	2x3+8x3+3x1+6x3+2x2=55
Singapore Botanic Gardens	11	12	6	12	6	11x3+12x3+6x1+12x3= 111
Singapore Zoo	5	11	7	1	11	5x3+11x3+7x3+1x3+11x2=80
Thong Hup Garden	8	7	10	7	1	8x3+7x3+10x1+7x3+1x2=78
Universal Studios	1	1	2	3	12	3x1+3x1+2x1+3x3+12x2=41
Vivo City	3	2	1	5	10	3x3+2x3+1x1+5x3+10x2=51
Weightage	x3	x3	x1	x3	x2

CID 2

The Decision Matrix

Note: The most/best is given the highest number and then the rest in descending order.

 Based on the decision matrix, we have prioritized the locations to bring our buddy to in the following order:

1.      Singapore Botanic Gardens(111)

2.      Gardens By The Bay(97)

3.      Chinese Garden(84)

4.      Singapore Zoo(80)

5.      Jurong Point(78)

6.      Thong Hup Garden(78)

7.      Marina Barrage(74)

8.      Bukit Timah Reservoir(73)

9.      Jurong Bird Park(65)

10.  Sea Aquarium(51)

11.  Vivo City(51)

12.  Universal Studios(41)

 Hence, we have shortlisted the top 5 locations:

●       Singapore Botanic Gardens

●       Gardens By The Bay

●       Chinese Garden

●       Singapore Zoo

●       Jurong Point

Annex B

Class:2A       Group:  4

CID 2 

The Itinerary

Time/h	Location	Information	Cost	Rationale	Lessons to be learnt
0800-0815	RVHS Hostel	Buddy is staying at the hostel	Free	Location where buddy is staying	Type of housing students staying at hostels are like.
0815-0830	RVHS Canteen (Prata House)	Prata House sells local Indian delicacies such as Roti Prata, Indian curry, etc.	$0.60	An opportunity to try out an Indian delicacy for breakfast. It's close to where buddy is staying	Singapore is a cosmopolitan city and multicultural country.
0830-0840	Walking to Jurong Point	Short, 10 minute walk.	Free	Save money by walking instead of taking the bus and buddy would be able to observe the greenery in Singapore better, closer up.	The buddy will get to view how Singapore integrates flora and fauna into the urban setting. For instance, the plants along the overhead bridges and trees along the roads.
0840-1030	Jurong Point	Variety of shops, ranging from clothing, restaurants and souvenir shops.	Free	Jurong Point is one of the heartland malls. Shopping spree for buddy, will introduce these stores –Pets Station because she is interested in animals. Buddy intends to shop for souvenirs so we will bring her to Minitoons. This place has Singapore-styled items and unique gifts to choose from.	She would be able to compare the price of living (food, goods, services) in Singapore and Shanghai.
1030-1120	Travelling via MRT to Singapore Botanical Gardens	Travel time: 50 min	$2.50	Travelling via MRT would allow buddy to experience the public transport in Singapore and compare it to Shanghai’s.	How public transport in Singapore works and how different it is from public transport in Shanghai
1120-1300	Singapore Botanical Gardens	The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a 156-year-old tropical garden located at the fringe of the Singapore's main shopping belt. It is one of three gardens, and the only tropical garden, to be honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.	Free	She is interested in the flora and fauna in Singapore and the Botanical Gardens is unique as it is the only tropical garden to be honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. She would definitely enjoy looking at these rare and exotic plants and it would be a once in a lifetime experience.	Learn about the various types of flora and fauna in Singapore. The information about Singaporean vegetation would help her in her project back in China, “Lessons learnt from the Garden City”.
1300-1330	Food Canopy	Food canopy is a chain of food courts and canteens that operates across Singapore, and having one in botanical gardens. It is eco-friendly, encourages healthy eating, and boast a successful cutlery return programme.	Depends on the food she orders	Situated in the Singapore Botanical Gardens, this eatery features six stalls serving a wide array of local delights such as chicken rice, mixed vegetable rice, western food, sandwiches, fruit juice and Thai food.	Buddy can learn about the variety of local food we have to offer in Singapore.
1330-1410	Travelling via MRT to Gardens By The Bay	Travel time: 40 min	$2.50	She can learn more about and compare Singapore’s public transport regarding its general features such as safety, comfort and reliability as well as fees to public transport in Shanghai.	How public transport in Singapore works and how different it is from public transport in Shanghai
1410-1630	Gardens By The Bay	The award-winning Gardens By The Bay attraction features more than 500000 plants from over 2200 species.	Free, due to the youth festival 2016 event	Not only can she appreciate and immerse herself in the nature, but can also watch the performances put up by the youths performing in the festival.	Buddy can learn about how the basis for Gardens By The Bay was to transform Singapore, the ‘Garden City’, into a ‘City in a Garden’.
1630-1730	Peach Garden Noodle House	Situated in Gardens By The Bay, it serves convenient and affordable Chinese cuisine in a relaxed environment while maintaining high culinary standards.	Depends on the food she orders	Buddy would feel at home with Chinese cuisine. The food is also affordable.	Nil
1730-1800	Travelling via MRT back to RVHS hostel		$2.50	Travelling via MRT would allow buddy to experience the public transport in Singapore and compare it to Shanghai’s.	How public transport in Singapore works and how different it is from public transport in Shanghai
Next Day	~	~	~	~	~
0800-0815	RVHS Hostel	Buddy is staying at the hostel	Free	Location where buddy is staying	Type of housing students staying at hostels are like.
0815-0855	Travelling via Bus 99 to Nature Cafe	Travel time: 40min	$0:60	Travelling via bus would allow buddy to experience the traffic situation in Singapore and compare it to Shanghai’s.	Difference between bus transport in Singapore and Shanghai
0855-0930	Nature Cafe	Nature Cafe serves vegetarian dishes at an affordable price.	Depends on what she's eating.	Pineapple fried rice (recommendation)	Nil
0930- 1020	Travelling via MRT to Chinese Garden	Travel Time: 50min	$2.50	Travelling via MRT would allow buddy to experience the public transport in Singapore and compare it to Shanghai’s.	How public transport in Singapore works and how different it is from public transport in Shanghai
1020-1230	Chinese Garden	Chinese Garden’s concept is based on Chinese gardening art. The main characteristic is the integration of splendid architectural features with the natural environment.	Free	Chinese Garden is inspired by the Chinese imperial style of architecture and landscaping. Buddy can learn about the Chinese architecture as well as the local wildlife and vegetation in Singapore.	Find out the types of flora being grown in Singapore and appreciate them. She can learn what types of plants grow in the two distinct climate and weather conditions.
1230- 1250	Travelling via car to Singapore Zoo	Travel Time: 20 min	Free	Taking car is cheaper and faster than taking train	She can find out about Singapore’s traffic condition and compare it with her homeland’s.
1250-1330 1400-1700	Singapore Zoo	Singapore Zoo displays animals in naturalistic, 'open' exhibits with hidden barriers, moats, and glass between the animals and visitors. It houses the largest captive colony of orangutans in the world.	$22 Money	She loves animals and the zoo has a lot of animals, and even animal shows and feeding sessions. Dai Nuo Suo will be able to have a close up interaction with many animals. She will even get to see tapirs, alligator snapping turtles and lions, which are rare animals and would not get to see them easily in Shanghai.	She can learn and observe that in Singapore, the animals are professionally taken care of and the state of the zoo is immaculate and the environment is extremely pleasant. Overall, the Singapore zoo organized and well maintained, one of the worthy attraction sites to visit.
1330-1400	Ah Meng Restaurant	Ah Meng Restaurant offers a casual and cozy environment for the enjoyment of food such as Briyani.	Depends on what she orders.	It is convenient from Zoo and offers vegetarian food, it also provides a casual and cozy atmosphere to enjoy the meal.	Allows her to learn more about our late Singapore icon Ah Meng.
1700-1800	Journey via MRT back to hostel		$2.50	Travelling via MRT would allow buddy to experience the public transport in Singapore and compare it to Shanghai’s.	How public transport in Singapore works and how different it is from public transport in Shanghai
0800-0815	RVHS Hostel	Buddy is staying at the hostel	Free	Location where buddy is staying	Type of housing students staying at hostels are like.
END	~	~	~	~	END

Done by: Chua Hui Xuan (6), David Soh Kee Kiat (23), Gwyneth Tan Yeh Xuan (8), Goh Wee Han (24), Leung Yan Suet (12).