DISCOUNT TICKETS AVAILABLE AT BETEL BOX

WOMAD Singapore 2007

10th year in Singapore, 25th year worldwide

Friday 24 to Sunday 26 August 2007

Fort Canning Park, Singapore

"Live" performances begin at 7.00pm on Friday and Saturday; 6.00pm on Sunday.

FESTIVAL WEBSITE: www.womadsingapore.com

WORLDWIDE: www.womad.org

Street children are a world wide phenomenon, but every city, town and country has its own idiosyncrasies and issues.

 Blue Dragon Children's Foundation works closely with hundreds of street children and victims of trafficking in Hanoi and throughout Vietnam. Why are children in this rapidly developing nation taking to the streets? What opportunities are they seeking, and what dangers are awaiting them? And most importantly of all – what can be done to help them?

Michael Brosowski, the director and founder of Blue Dragon, will present a short talk accompanied by a visual presentation at the Betel Box on Friday September 21, at 7.00pm. Michael will be accompanied by some young adults who he met as shoeshine boys but who are now in regular study or employment.

Attendance at this presentation is on invitation only. Please write to us at info@betelbox.com for an invite.

Read more on Street Kids in Vietnam

Come join us this Christmas!

Fri 22 Dec 2006 6pm: junk food @ hostel followed by Concert & Festive Floats

Sat 23 Dec 2006 7pm: Year End Concert @ Joo Chiat (bands, ShaoLin KungFu Monks, disco)

Sun 24 Dec 2006: Silent Nite..

Mon 25 Dec 2006: Christmas Lunch in Hostel

Hi Kai, goodbye Kai, good luck in London. Study hard for your actuarial science course!

Welcome XueLun and Tey!

XueLun is fresh out of National University of Singapore where she read European Studies. She is responsible for an alternative tour to Chinatown on Fridays.

Tey is just starting out in Singapore Management University. She is responsible for an alternative tour on Tuesdays to the city aptly named "Student Life in the City"

We bid a sad farewell to Ken (good luck in Reuters and Kens Delights), Camilia and Vivienne (study hard in NTU).

Welcome Dinesh! Dinesh is fresh out from National Service and pursuing a Tourist Guide License Course. Dinesh is responsible for the Pub Crawl on Wednesday nights and also responsible for countless dehydrated hangovers...

Betel Box Backpackers Hostel in Katong looking for part-time and full-time Assistants.

Candidates must be

• passionate about Singapore,
• interested in People and
• interesting!

Training will be provided. Send CV and enquiries to mailto:hr@betelbox.com

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival - Forum
Blue Dragon (Vietnam)
Street To School: A Discussion on Street Children in Vietnam

26 February 06
4 - 5.30 pm
Singapore History Museum, Bright Box

FROM shining shoes on the streets of Hanoi to working in reputable restaurants and earning a decent living is nothing short of a quantam leap. Street To School brings together Vietnamese teenagers who have made this leap with support from Blue Dragon Children's Foundation. Michael Brosowski, director of Blue Dragon, will talk about who Vietnam's street children are and what happens to them. Two Vietnamese teenagers, who were once ‘shoeshine boys’, will discuss their personal experiences of life on the streets. A discussion will follow on how such a transformation in their lives is possible and how Singaporeans can help make that happen.

We bid sad farewells to TK and Ding in the last one month and welcome Ken and Camilia to our hostel. Conversely, walks conducted by TK's (Friday Chinatown walk) and Ding's Pub Crawl are now in hiatus.

Camilia just finished her A Levels and is on her way to university in the autumn 2006. She is fanatical about basketball, fitness and nature. Camilia conducts the Wednesday Chinatown walk.

Ken owns and operates the famous Kens Delights Ice Desserts http://www.makansingapore.com/dessert/kensdelight1.php stall in Dunman Food Centre and is the creator of my favourite ice dessert "Mango Peach"

Camilia will now lead Wednesday's Chinatown Walk (aptly entitled Chin Chow, Liang Teh, Sinseh). Another tour "The Buffalo, The Thieves and Some Sheesha" is concocted by Ken and will run on Fridays.

Read more on Camilia's and Ken's thoughts on Singapore.

Thank you for popping into our website. We have had a tremendous year in 2005 and we would like to thank the following people that made it happen for us.

Mark Holleman- Thank you for sharing your vision and your faith. May FanMedia bring you more pleasures and present you the opportunities to bring City Fan Guides to the rest of the world.

To our Employee Numo Uno- Yi Tiong-Kheng (TK). Thanks dude. You have shared a vision of a backpacker hostel that extended our vision of how Singapore can be relevant to the new age backpackers.

Koh Ding Yue (Ding). You put your heart on your sleeves and each and every backpacker that went through here have been touched by your sincerity, optimism and laughs.

Tjerk Jan Schuitmaker, Ricky Palandeng, Robert Gustavsson, Marcel Balonier, Robert Miller, Diana Sim, Leslie Ho, Wendy Lee, Lyn, Steven Bloomer- so many stories/ tears/ laughters we have shared. You are missed. (Steven, the police may want to speak to you…. again. Robert, the girls are still talking about you.).

FINALLY. To Our Travellers that took a chance and found a kindred sanctury. Thank you. You made Betel Box.

Love you, Miss you, Thank you.

Betel Box Backpackers Hostel

Our first guests arrived 3 Dec 2003 and since then we have served thousands of travellers from over 50 countries. On Sat 3 Dec 2005 we are celebrating our second birthday with a party, come join us.