IF YOU have only just decided to go to the Olympics in Beijing: On your marks, get set, go! You will need to hotfoot it now to a travel agent.

There were some packages that included tickets to the games left when Life! checked.

That is great news for Singapore's Olympics squad, who will lap up all the homeside cheers they can get when they compete.

But the bad news is, the packages are being offered by only three out of 15 tour agencies checked.

Agents who opted not to go for Olympic gold said it was impossible to snare tickets for the mega sporting event, plus arranging tourist visas to be approved was a hassle, and the prices of airfares and hotel rooms were sky-high.

Some Singaporeans have already won their Olympic race, though.

Take sports-lover May Loh, 40, who readily forked out more than $3,000 - twice the normal price for a jaunt to Beijing - to achieve her Olympic dream of seeing the event live.

Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times' Life!