Latest news with #tourguide
Independent Singapore
6 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Burnt-out S'porean looks for recommendations for jobs that are 'low-stress, not demanding or exploitative'
SINGAPORE: A 36-year-old local Reddit user who recently quit their job took to the platform to ask for recommendations for part-time positions that they hope won't take too much out of them. In a post on r/askSingapore, u/Common_Measurement47 wrote that they left their job after working in a government agency for 14 years because they've got burnt out. And now, they'd like to work for one to two days a week in a job that is ' low-stress, not demanding or exploitative'. Fortunately, money is not a prime consideration, since they've achieved FIRE (financial independence, retire early), but would like to find a job that pays at least S$500 a month. 'I read that relief security guard is decent, but I don't think it's feasible since I don't want to work very frequently?' they wrote, adding in an edit that they have an honours degree in accountancy, banking & finance, and while they've tried auditing and tax advisory internships in the past, these positions are not for them. Many commenters were kind enough to oblige the post author with a number of suggestions. 'Might be good to look into jobs that typically hire older folks. My mom's best friend works part-time at MBS, where they rotate her to different departments (eg, theatre, art science museum). She gets decent benefits, all meals covered when she's at work, and CPF too. Worth looking into,' wrote one. 'I know a guy who did that, retired early, and became a part-time tour guide. He spent his days bringing tourists around Singapore, visiting museums and all the tourist spots,' one added. Another 36-year-old who also quit this year 'due to stress, mental, and health issues,' wrote that 'It all boils down to what you prefer, what skill set you have'. They suggested the post author could be a freelance dance instructor, swim instructor, do Kumon tuition, Grab or foodpanda delivery, dog walking, or cleaning. 'The sky is the limit. Just want you to know, you are not alone,' they added. See also We're revealing 10 more exhibitors for Echelon Asia Summit 2019! Others suggested the post author could work as a museum or art gallery sitter or a security guard. 'Scoot recently has a part-time cabin crew position,' another suggested, while another wrote, 'I suggest you take private tuitions in accountancy. You can easily get $40 per hour. For $500 per month just need to work 12.5 hrs a month i.e. slightly more than 3 hrs per week.' /TISG Read also: PHV driver says there are too many part-timers in Singapore, and they 'all claim to make over $1K gross weekly'
The Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Ex-Chelsea star offers help to family of tragic tourist who died after plunging into active volcano crater during hike
AN EX-Chelsea footie star has offered to help the family of a young backpacker who died after slipping into a volcano during a hike. Juliana Marins, 26, tumbled more than 1,000ft from the ridge of Mount Rinjani in Indonesia down into the active crater, where she became trapped. 8 8 8 8 A desperate rescue mission ensued, but when teams reached her after four days she had tragically died from her injuries and exposure. She fell on the Saturday and her body was removed from the area on Wednesday. Now, Alexandre Pato - a former Brazil and Chelsea player - has offered to cover the cost of repatriating her body back to Brazil. It's unclear whether Juliana's family have accepted the kind gesture. The devastated family has already gone public wit fierce criticism of Juliana's tour guide and the rescue effort. Her sister Marianna told Fantástico that Juliana was abandoned by her guide on the hike when she "got very tired" and stopped for a rest. Marianna said: "They continued on, and the guide didn't stay with her." Juliana was one of five travellers on the hike, led by a single tour guide. And her family accused the Indonesian authorities of not doing enough to reach Juliana in time. They wrote: 'Juliana suffered serious negligence from the rescue team. Two killed and one injured in plane crash after pilot lost control while trying to dodge a turtle on the runway 'If they had reached her within the estimated seven-hour window, Juliana would still be alive. 'She deserved so much more. Now we will seek justice for her, because that's what she deserves.' Juliana was from Rio de Janeiro and lived in neighbouring Niterói. She had graduated in advertising and worked as a pole dancer and publicist. 8 8 8 In a heartbreaking clip shared by her friend Federica, Juliana could be seen smiling at the base camp of the volcano before she fell. The two young women joked about the view, as it had clouded over. In the clip Federica says sarcastically: "The view is amazing, you can tell it was so worth it." Juliana jokes: "Yeh, we did it for the view, so I'm glad, amazing!". While searches were still underway, her sister, Mariana, said: 'We were told that Juliana panicked because she didn't know what to do – and that's what led to her disappearance. 'When the guide realised she was taking too long, he returned and saw she had fallen far below.' Pato, 35, hung his boots in 2023 and last November began a career as a sports commentator. He scored 10 goals in 27 appearances for Brazil's national team between 2008 and 2013. He only played twice for Chelsea – in 2016 – but still managed to find the net in an away match against Aston Villa. In his career, he also played for Italian giants AC Milan and Spanish side Villareal.
CNA
06-06-2025
- CNA
How I learnt to appreciate goodbyes – even the painful ones
During a recent trip to Osaka, my husband and I took a one-day guided tour to Northern Kyoto where we stopped by scenic viewpoints such as Amanohashidate, Ine Fishing Village and Funaya. Our guide was a bespectacled, well-dressed Japanese man named Jay. We enjoyed his company very much – he was polite, thoughtful, and unexpectedly funny. The bus arrived back in Osaka around 7pm. Before dispersing the tour group, Jay left us with this parting statement: 'In Japan, we don't say 'sayonara'. We say 'mata' because 'sayonara' usually means 'goodbye and I will not see you again'. 'Mata', on the other hand, means 'goodbye, and see you next time again'. So instead of saying 'sayonara' to you, I will say 'mata' because I will want to see you all again someday.' His words stuck with me. Days passed, and still they lingered in my mind. Unable to shake the idea, I did some research to understand more. The full Japanese term is 'mata itsuka' which directly translates to 'someday, again'. It is used when you're expressing a wish to either do something again (which was previously unsuccessfully attempted or unfortunately ended), or to meet someone again (even though you do not know if it will come true). DIFFERENT SHADES OF 'GOODBYE' 'Goodbye' is a complicated word, often loaded with big feelings. We've all had our fair share of saying goodbyes, and we say it all the time: A casual 'see you tomorrow' to a coworker at the end of the workday; a bittersweet farewell to a lover with whom you hope not to cross paths again; a sombre goodbye to a departed loved one, where you fervently wish for one final moment together. Some goodbyes are light-hearted and full of gratitude. On my trip to Osaka, I spent five days exploring the city and indulging in hearty street food. On the last day, I boarded the plane bound for Singapore. While it was being readied for take-off, I looked out of the window and saw the ground crew waving goodbye to us passengers on-board. I waved back – to thank the ground crew and also Osaka, for the days spent and memories forged. Some goodbyes are uneasy and difficult – but necessary, to pave the way for new beginnings. This is when we close certain doors behind us, in order for new doors to be opened ahead of us. In June 2022, I left my first corporate job – the job I'd had for seven years. It was the job that had seen me through young adulthood and even becoming a wife. It was the place where I'd met colleagues who became dear friends, where I had bosses and mentors who opened up my world. We had bonded through afternoon bubble-tea breaks, birthdays and festive celebrations. It was the place where my career first sprouted – where I'd picked up and honed important skills for work I still use today, and learnt to speak up for myself. Just going by my emotions, I wanted to stay. But I also knew staying put was not what I truly needed. I needed new ways to grow, new goals to work towards. So I made the difficult decision to say goodbye to the camaraderie, comfort and familiarity. Recently, a friend of mine sold her matrimonial home of five years. During our conversation, she confessed that saying goodbye to the house was harder than she'd expected. She teared up recounting the times spent in the home that had seen her and her husband welcoming their bundle of joy, and all the milestones in their child's first few years of life. She knew it was time for them to move to a bigger place. Still, it takes courage to move on and let something new take root. WHEN 'GOODBYE' HURTS Some goodbyes come with pain, loss and grief. My dad lost my mother many years ago to cancer; and I lost him when he too died two years ago. Bidding Dad goodbye was probably the hardest farewell I've ever said. My grandmother – my dad's mum – told me many years ago: 'There's nothing scary about death. You say bye-bye to everyone you love and go where you need to go next.' She is now 92 years old, and has outlived her husband and two sons – my grandpa, my uncle and, most recently, my father. During my father's funeral, I'll never forget the sight of my grandmother bursting into tears when she saw his portrait placed in the middle of the altar. She wept and said: 'How can you just leave me alone and go off first?' She'd been 'prepared' to say goodbye – but even rational understanding couldn't really protect her from the full hurt of a painful goodbye. She's mostly bed-ridden now, and is sometimes unable to remember or recognise me as her granddaughter. Still, I always make sure to show up in her room whenever I visit for weekly family dinners to greet her: 'Ah Ma, I am Ah Bi. I'm here.' Sometimes she remembers me; sometimes she doesn't. Sometimes she reaches for my hand; sometimes she is unresponsive. Occasionally, she asks, 'Why you never tell me you're coming? I could've asked the helper to cook more dishes' – forgetting that Sunday dinners are a weekly standing affair for our family. Now, in her twilight years, I often remind myself to cherish and appreciate each moment with her a little more – because as clichéd as it sounds, we really do not know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory. Some goodbyes, we simply never get to say. It could be as simple as another phone call, another 'I love you', or even getting to say 'I'm sorry for not doing enough for you'. But life doesn't always give us the opportunity for goodbyes or closure – and this is a grief of its own. AGAIN, SOMEDAY 'Goodbye' doesn't just mark endings and changes. It reminds us that life is a series of comings and goings. Sometimes we have regrets about the way things ended or changed. But what matters most is that we learn and grow from each goodbye – each ending and each loss – before we centre ourselves for new beginnings again. We all need to learn to say goodbye to what is no longer meant for us, whether it's a job, a relationship, or even a fun hobby. We need grace and courage to walk away from something that no longer serves us, so that we can find something else that does – new opportunities and experiences, new chances to fall in love again, new interests that make us feel alive. Not all things are forever, and that is perfectly okay. Perhaps there may come a day where I rekindle old friendships that I thought were lost; where I reunite with people that I had once let go of; or where a door that had been shut to me will reopen. When the time is right. When I am ready. Till then, mata itsuka. Chua Jia Ling, 32, is a bank executive.
Globe and Mail
06-06-2025
- Globe and Mail
Lawyer Brian Greenspan's summer on Niagara tour bus taught him an unexpected lesson
Every day, prominent criminal defence lawyer Brian Greenspan guides (upset, angry, difficult, despondent) clients through the complicated legal progress. In this instalment of 'How I Spent My Summer,' Mr. Greenspan shares how it's not altogether dissimilar from his summer job at 22 years old: shepherding groups of (tired, cranky, bored, drunk) tourists around Niagara Falls in a tour bus. Either way, if you want to get paid, it's all about composure. I was born and grew up in Niagara Falls, a city for which I still have enormous affection and wonderful memories. My computer screen is Niagara Falls, I hang paintings of Niagara around my office. I just love the place – probably even more so when I moved away to Toronto for law school in '68. To pay for school, I drove a taxi in Toronto during the winter, but every summer, I'd come home to my mother's house. I looked forward to it all year. At home, from May until Labour Day, I had to be available twelve hours a day, seven days a week to drive a tour bus for the City of Niagara Falls. I didn't work all those hours, but I had to be ready to take three tours a day at three-and-a-half hours each. I called in most of the time to be both the tour guide – with a microphone in front of the steering wheel – and also the bus driver of a huge 42-passenger blue and white bus. Taxi-driving made me better at driving the bus, and vice versa. I would get primarily American tourists for the comprehensive tour: We started above the Falls, went to the power plants and the Table Rock House, down the river to the Great Gorge Trip, we stopped at the newly-built Skylon Tower – I could give you the whole tour, right now, as I have probably a thousand times over the years. I'm a bit obsessed with the Falls. Knowing this, a friend got me a job with the tour guide company. He sold tour tickets in the street and they'd get on my bus for my lesson. I knew a lot already but I read a great deal to learn more. Did you know the drop of Niagara Falls is about half the drop between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario? Or that Niagara River is one of the few rivers in North America that flows north? All of this is still in my head fifty years later. It's not going anywhere. I can't remember what they paid me per hour, it was that low. The real money was in tips. There was a sign by the door at the bus, placed there deliberately so you'd pass it every time you got on and off the bus, that said 'Unless completely satisfied, please do NOT tip the driver.' Most people wouldn't have even thought of tipping until they were told not to. Reverse psychology works very well. Unbeknownst to the passengers, tour guides got kickbacks every time they bought a ticket to something. If they paid $6 to go up the tower, for example, I got a buck. If they went to the restaurant I recommended, the restaurant let me eat for free. If they bought a souvenir, I'd get a 10 per cent kickback. All of these were good incentives, though I was being honest with passengers too, because I really was enthusiastic about the Falls. It must have shown, because some weeks I'd make upwards of $300. That amount of money today [about $2,700] was lucrative. That said, I had to earn it. I had to be very even-tempered and accommodating and not get frustrated. There'd be angry people who needed to be calmed down, sometimes intoxicated people, people with a lot of cranky kids who cried. The human element of managing 40 different personalities could be very difficult some days. Staying patient and maintaining composure was always the most important thing. I use these very same skills every day when practising law. Whenever a client comes into my office, I have to assess what they need and how to best interact with them to get the best results. I have to be patient, I have to keep their interests in mind, I have to respect the fact that they're relying on me to guide them through the legal process. I know about something they don't know, and I need to tell them what they need to know and answer their specific questions but not be too complicated about it that it's overwhelming or confusing. And if they're angry or difficult, just like the people on the bus, it's my job to stay calm and try very hard to be understanding and empathetic to their problems. If I want to get paid, that's the job. As told to Rosemary Counter
Telegraph
20-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
‘I retired from my six-figure banking job to be a tour guide'
This is the first in a series about early retirement: how our readers did it, and what they are doing now. Would you like to take part? Get in touch at money@ The only word on the exterior of St Paul's Cathedral is 'resurgam', meaning 'I shall rise again' in Latin. The discreet reference to the second coming of Christ is one David Harry is keen to point out to guests on his walking history tours of London. But Harry feels the motto also reflects a second coming of his own. 'It's a symbol for my ongoing change in career; my own rebirth, as it were.' For the past five years, the 61-year-old has been one of the capital's most prominent tour guides. Donning a stripey blazer, Hawaiian shirt and a Panama hat, Harry leads guests through London's forgotten back alleys and ancient landmarks to reveal a history 'you can't Google,' he says. His evenings are spent combing through his own extensive archive of old magazines, books and sundries to unearth forgotten chapters in London's storied past that can be related to his guests. This second career came after an early retirement from a stressful job in a bank. 'I can't believe how happy it makes me,' says Harry of his new role. 'I just love every minute of it. I am glad I made the decision to retire when I did and I can't believe how lucky I am.' 'I gave up a six-figure salary willingly' Harry's life is unrecognisable from what it was before the pandemic. After almost 25 years in a corporate job, he retired in 2020 aged 55 and gave up his comfortable six-figure salary. Most people can only dream of doing this. Just 5pc of workers retired when they turned 55 last year, normally the earliest someone can access their pension pot, according to analysis by cash deposit firm Flagstone. The majority of workers retire at state pension age, which is 66 for both men and women and expected to rise to 68 by the middle of the 2040s. About one million people have continued to work full-time after hitting the current pension age, according to official figures last year. Fortunately for Harry, when he began his career in 1996 he signed on with one of the last remaining gold-plated private sector pension schemes. It meant the former Deutsche Bank vice president – who joined the German financial giant as a photocopy operator and worked his way up – retired with about £40,000 a year. 'I knew you could retire at 55 and I was in the final salary pension scheme, so I was very lucky indeed,' Harry says. 'My friend left [his job] and told me how much better life was outside the bank too. I realised I could afford to do it and if I did well as a tour guide I could live comfortably.' It was then that he decided to take the leap and hand in his notice. The money would serve as a safety net, Harry planned, allowing him to turn a hobby into a second career. Shortly after retiring, Harry's mother died, leaving him with a modest inheritance that allowed him to further cushion himself during the transition. He says she would have backed his decision to quit, having given him plenty of encouragement when he trained to become a magician. 'My mother had always been very supportive of me and she passed away between when I made my decision to leave the bank and hand in my notice.' He had qualified with the City of London as an official tour guide while working at Deutsche Bank and steadily built up his confidence in the role. 'I was moonlighting in the last few years before I made the jump,' Harry says. Years performing as a Magic Circle magician under the pseudonym 'the Delusionist' at corporate events in his spare time had also convinced Harry of his ability to hold an audience. 'I was already a performing magician so I had those presentation skills,' he says. 'I used to wake up in terror every morning' Looking back on his time in the corporate world, Harry says he was 'institutionalised'. He adds: 'I had been there for 25 years, I didn't understand how much freedom could come from being self employed.' He says that overall he enjoyed his time with Deutsche Bank. 'They trained me up and paid me reasonably well.' Yet he recalls how the 'pressure from deadlines and enormous decisions' that came with his senior position 'wears you down' over time. 'Every morning I would wake up in terror before having to look at my inbox thinking what's the next thing I am going to be asked to do or look at.' The father-of-two soon saw a steady trickle of interest in his tours of London, building out a small following from his existing work tour guiding in the Square Mile. Despite losing 'about 60pc' of his salary, he soon qualified as a tour guide with the City of Westminster, receiving hundreds of positive reviews on travel website TripAdvisor. His first tours took guests to filming locations from the Harry Potter franchise, following the young wizard's journey through London from being dropped off by the purple Knight Bus in Borough Market to the Ministry of Magic entrance in Westminster. 'I started doing Harry Potter tours straight away,' says Harry. Other tours led by Harry focus on London's espionage history, following the footsteps figures like Ian Fleming and notorious Cambridge Five member Kim Philby. He says his success as a guide has matched the income from his pension, while he also sees healthy demand from corporate clients, for whom he creates bespoke tours, as well as occasional viral hits on TikTok. 'Two and a half years ago I posted a random video on TikTok and it went viral. Now I post every day about London stories, so TikTok pays me and I sometimes get recognised in the streets.' His best ever month on the video sharing platform earned him £1,000, after signing a monetisation agreement which pays content creators a small fee per 10,000 views they receive. A recent video of Harry's on the site attracted almost 200,000 views and delves into how an IRA bomb explosion in 1992 at the foot of the City's Gherkin had the effect of revealing the remains of a teenage Roman girl. A Latin inscription now marks her final resting place. 'Now I have got more work than I need and I have to turn it down,' says Harry. He is kept busiest in the summer months, when tourists flock to London. 'It's seasonal,' he adds. 'In the winter I can do two or three tours a week, and in the summer I have done up to three tours a day. But that's quite tiring.' Some of his favourite guests are Londoners. 'I love guiding Londoners because they've already got quite a lot of knowledge.' He adds he only wishes his mother could have seen how he has spent his retirement because he knows it would have won her approval. 'It's the one regret I have that she wasn't around to see what I have done with my career.'
