Twice Lucky!

Aha! I received a call this morning.

"Hello, may I speak to the holder of NRIC No. XXXXXXXX?"

"Yes, can I help you?"

"Can you please repeat the NRIC No.?"

"Ok, XXXXXXXX."

"Congratulations! You have been alloted 2 tickets for NDP08 Preview. The tickets can be collected from........"

Woah! M is really fortunate! Twice lucky now - especially since they had earlier announced that they would tweak the computer balloting system such that it would be much more difficult to be successfully balloted for successive years! And Mother's NRIC No. had been picked last year already! Hahahhaa.a.....

Only thing now is, I need to get M's NRIC to go help her collect her tickets. I hope she hasn't stashed it away somewhere obscure.

NDP2007 - Part 3

After the arrival of the various groups of VIPs culminating with the arrival of the President, we rose to sing our National Anthem. It sounded ok, though I think acoustics were no good at this venue because it is simply too 'open'. I personally still prefer the good old Kallang Stadium - somehow, there was a 'surrond sound' stereo effect there. At Marina Bay, it was purely 'mono'.

Anyway, the giant flag was flown past in less than a minute. Soon after, the President mounted a polished-till-it-shines jeep to inspect the contingents (this year, because he didn't need to walk, they made him inspect all the contingents!). We could hardly see anything from our seats, so I didn't bother to try to crane my neck to take any pictures.

Although my colleague had warned me earlier about the nearness of the canons this year, we were still 'shocked' by the very 1st shot of the canon salutes! And it was so smoky after several shots, the whole of the opposite bank of the Bay was quickly engulfed in smoke! I am sure all Aedes mosquitoes wold have been smoked out, for sure!

I didn't try to get any photo of the flypast. Reason was simple - I had no idea which direction the jets would be coming from! But CP got a few good shots, good for her! The jets were really booming and sounded a little scary. No wonder some parents swiftly covered their children's ears; WF covered his own. Hahahaa...

The water and air-borne displays by the various armed forces were quite impressive. There was the Chinook which hovered just above the waters (right in front of the blue sector seats - lucky Mother & CP!) to 'let off' several pairs of Naval divers. The divers were then swiftly picked up by some speeding Naval dinghies. Actions all very swift and neat.

Then there were the 2 agile Apache assault-helicopters which performed some low-flying manoeuvres (again, right in front of the blue sector seats!). To the delight of the audience, these choppers also did some 'bowing' action as a form of salute to the spectators! Wow, this was new and quite impressive!

The Police Coast Guards' speeding crafts also looked quite powerful when they did the 'circling' formation which the MCs told the spectators was called 'Donut Formation'. I tried to imagine how terrifying they would all look to some ignorant/blur illegal immigrants trying to swim into our waters - it must be very scary to be surrounded by all these powerful speedboats, especially when armed and stern-looking Coast Guards are standing atop them!

Then the MCs announced that the Red Berets were rappelling from the Sheares Bridge, so we all turned to our left. Woah, finally, some action closer to our side of the gallery. But alas! We couldn't see anything except some dinghies waiting under the bright lights hanging from the Bridge - where were the Commandoes?! Even the TV audience agreed with me the next day that they didn't see any commandoes. What a letdown.

The spectators got a breather from all these action-packed stunts when the SCDF showed off some of their sophisticated vehicles armed with multiple hi-tech equipment. Most looked like normal fire-engines (ok, lah, maybe with just that little bit sleeker look). Maybe it was because we couldn't see them properly from our seats.

For all that stunning display of our 'formidable military prowess' (?!!), we have no photos of our own. So here, I borrow some from the official NDP website for viewing only. Rights of owner fully acknowledged.



As the skies got darker, it was time for the more leisurely mass-display performances. I didn't try to take any photos here because from my past experience, I knew we would have to contend with pictures like these (with dizzy + 'ghostly'-lights look):



Awful, right?! So, I will spare you all the agony of looking at such photos. :)

There was nothing exceptional about these mass-display performances, but WY and I were very impressed by the fountain-cum-light shows. They were almost like Sentosa's musical fountain - what with simulated doves flying against a curtain of water sprays & laser rays etc. Quite pretty, actually.

I took some video clips of these performances only selectively. I was trying to conserve the tape for the Grand Finale - the Fireworks. So, as the performancers re-gathered on the floating platform, WY and I got our cameras and video-cam ready.

When the 1st shot of fireworks was finally let off, it was a loud burst of colours in the sky and the crowd cheered at the top of its voice! WF also shouted, "Mama! Look! Fireworks!"

Yes, this was the Highlight and the Finale we had all been waiting for. The array of bright sparkles and accompanying cheers of "oohs" and "ahs" from all over the gallery probably more than made up for whatever letdowns there had been earlier in the programme. Never mind the resulting 'smoky' air; the proximity to the Fireworks always makes watching it 'live' a thrill, somehow!

As with all other NDPs, when the Fireworks ended, it was time to rise for the Anthem again. The Pledge followed immediately after that, and then it was the official end of the evening party.

We packed up, checked our bags and waited in our seats till there was some walking space before we headed for the stairs. The walk back to our car at Suntec City took a long long time, and was full of detours and was rather confusing. There was also much trampling on the grass verge and planting strips along the way.

Poor grass and poor shrubs - R and I agreed, this was the result of poor crowd dispersal because unlike past NDPs, there was no sign or notice anywhere in sight to guide the people where they should go or should not go. The police & quasi-police personnel stationed at some selected points outside the nearby hotels merely told people that they were not allowed to enter the hotel to get to other points.

Going by my observation of crowd-control measures in past mega-events like NDPs and Orchard Road Parties (they no longer have these nowadays, I think), I think the organisers could have done better in this dispersal 'process'. Positioning armed Gurkhas at 'strategic' points does not help, does it? I wonder why they did it anyway.

WF fell asleep on R's shoulders as we trekked to the carpark. So WY and I relieved R of all the loads of goodie bags except one. And between WY and myself, we took charge of one camera bag (luckily, we put all cameras, video-cam, binoculars into one single bag), 3 goodie bags and the tripod (also luckily, this is not too bulky and has a sling bag).

By the time we got to our car, it was almost 9:30pm. The moment R put WF into the car, WF awoke and asked to go to the toilet. So, while R went off with WF again in search of a toilet, WY and I sat in the car to 'rest'.

After R and WF returned, WF asked enthusiastically, "So, where are we going for dinner?" At the mention of 'dinner', WY promptly supported and said, "We are hungry, leh, Mama."

So, after much deliberation as R made our way out onto the road, we decided that we would give that much talked-about Taiwanese Porridge Restaurant at The Oasis a try. Afterall, the Floating Restaurants will be gone by end of the year to make way for the 'grand' sports complex being planned for. So, we might as well try it out before it becomes just another page of history.

At this restaurant, we had scalding-hot sweet-potato porridge with some simple dishes like chai-po omelette, stir fried prawns, sotong balls (these were rather big)& french beans. Food was so-so, price also so-so; service not very good and overall ambience, nothing to cry about. The view outside, though, was quite refreshing. A gentle breeze brushed against us as we stood briefly at the corridors overlooking the tranquil waters of the Kallang Basin.

As we got into our car to go home, I told R that the entire place felt so different from past National Days. Just 365 days ago, the whole area was still abuzz with activities and crowded with NDP revellers. The Oasis, which WY and WF know as 'The Floating Restaurant' (collectively), was still very much an 'in' place.

With the move of the NDP to Marina Bay (so near and yet so far), the crowds are now almost completely gone. Only a shroud of eerie silence surrounded this forsaken soon-to-be-gone area. It felt really sad.

After getting home, we all went to bed after our late-night showers. Fortunately, we had taken the following day off because both KHS and CH school would be closed. So we could rest. And we did just that.

Now, just for completeness, here are some pictures of the can-light-up gadgets in the goodie bags this year:

NDP2007 - Part 2

YP had specifically requested me to try to get a purple goodie bag and a XXX colour (I call this XXX colour because I couldn't remember at all what this other colour was supposed to be!) goodie bag for the person who had kindly offered us the 4 tickets. So, when we reached the green sector and came to this bag-collection point, I asked the army boy for 4 bags, including a purple one.

There was a gigantic heap of bags behind the army boy, but the only purple ones were beyond his reach - he would have had to climb onto the heap of bags to get one. So he very obligingly opened a new carton right at the foot of the heap and started to take a purple bag from there. I was of course very grateful for his 'extra' effort, so I said happily to him, "Thank you very much. This is really great!"

To my shock and dismay, however, another army person handing out the programme booklets nearby started to tell this army boy in a less-than-friendly tone, "Next time, say cannot choose colours. Just give whatever colour you take. They have to just take whatever you give them. No choice of colours. Otherwise later will get jam."

The smile on the army boy vanished instantly. To make him feel better, I just uttered a "Sorry" to him and repeated my "Thanks" to him. Darn that other army person. Where got jam behind?! Excuse only. I think any jam (actually, there was really none) would have been caused more by his 'instructing' than my request for specific colour bags!

Anyway, I didn't want to spoil our own mood for the Parade, so I just let things go. R held WY's hand while I did WF's as we all started to climb the 3-storey flight of stairs up the gallery. When we finally emerged from the 'opening', it was such a relief! There was a pleasant breeze although the sun was blazing!

After some confusion amongst some 'senior citizens' just ahead of us in the queue who wanted to 'choose' seats, we finally got to our light green seats. We quickly put the bags on the floor and tried to settle down. Surprisingly, the leg space was more generous than that in the Kallang Stadium although with 4 bags stuffed with NDP 'gadgets' and drinks & snacks, it felt like we could do with just a bit more leg space still.

R, WY and I looked around. Hmm, the elevated view of the Marina Bay from our seats was new. We have never had this view before, so it felt quite refreshing. This was our view of the city's skyline. The giant balloons by the side of the much talked-about floating platform were some NDP accessories which some soldiers later moved to the back of the gallery.



Meanwhile, WF was more keen to check out the goodie bags. Luckily, before we set off from home, I had already explained that we were going to reserve the purple bag and another bag for YP and so, we all knew that we would keep these 2 bags' content intact (except for the drinks which we would take). So WF opened one of the non-reserved bags.

To his delight, there was a big pack of crackers and some other smaller packs of nuts etc. And so, those snacks from "our" 2 bags kept him occupied for the next half hour or so as R and WY set up the tripod for the video-cam. We also ate the Sunshine Buns which were distributed to us at the gate.



The pre-Parade show was largely a scrambler-bike show. We didn't have a good view because the angle from our seats was a little awkward and we were too far from the slides/platform. But with whatever little I could do with our cameras, I managed to take several photos of the bikers in their mid-air stunts. I did not like this segment though, because it was simply too boring to watch 4 bikers going about their stunts over and over again for almost an entire hour!

Then I helped WF put on his tattoos. WY saw us and quickly declared, "I don't want the tattoos, please. No, no, no, not me! Thank you!" The henna painting of the cars was done by WF's form teacher at CH school the day earlier.

Unlike the usual red & white caps/hats which were used in the previous NDPs, the headgear given in this year's goodie bags was an animal visor. We only took out one from our bags and it was a lion - Singa, I suppose?! Hahahaha.... When I looked around, it was quite interesting to see that there were so many other animal designs: giraffe, shark, hornbill, zebra, butterfly etc.

Notice also the "Singapore Flyer" in the background of the photo above. They have started to install the capsules on the ferris wheel already.



Soon, they sent in the brightly-clad student 'cheerleaders' and balloon-twisting lads. The 'cheerleaders' looked rather odd in their polka-dotted costumes. I think they were supposed to resemble some sea creatures although they looked more like mini-dinosaur costumes. One of the young men who went around with a goodie bag to twist balloons for children made a 'gun' for WF.

It was a pity that the MCs were no good. Unlike veterens like Gurmit Singh and Sharon Au, these newer persons somehow could not conjure up that special NDP atmosphere and excitement. Even the 'Marina Wave' was like a half-hearted ripple and felt nothing close to our Kallang Wave.

It was difficult to capture pictures of the ripple, although I tried very hard. In the 1st photo below, I also have no idea what that awful-looking elderly uncle was trying to do - secure some buckle or something. The rest of the photos simply show some flag-waving while we waited. R and WY also kept themselves occupied with our video-cam & binoculars.



I was quite surprised that the SSO was actually part of the pre-Parade show this year. It was seated just right in front of the blue sector (where Mother and CP were seated) and so very far from us. I didn't attempt to take any pictures of the SSO or choir. I only took one of the dance performance by the Singapore Dance Theatre with the main focus on the fountains at the front of the floating platform.

After some awful song-singing by some artistes I have never heard of, and some even more ear-piercing crowing of old national day songs re-organised in new music arrangements by some 'opera-sounding' sopranos (imagine singing 'Singapura' trying to sound like an Italian opera maestro, accompanied by the SSO!!), it was finally time for the Red Lions' jump.

Five 'red dots' gradually decended and let off their customary trails of red smoke. The Red Lions won the loudest cheers and appplause from the spectators when they touched down.



Soon after that, the contingents marched in. And with the march-in of the Guards-Of-Honour and the Colours Party, the pre-Parade show finally ended.

NDP2007 - Part 1

On 8 August 2007, I was the 1st to get up from bed. Nothing unusual about that (because I am the 1st to wake up every working/schooling day anyway), except that it was 9:45am and (yet) there was no rush.

After settling the morning routine chores (eg boiling water etc), I went about waking the rest up from their slumber. It was especially nice to remain in bed that morning because the early morning heavy rain had just subsided to a drizzle and the sun had not come out yet.

Once everyone was up, we had a leisurely breakfast at home. This was followed by our packing our cameras, video-cam and binoculars ready for the Parade we have all been waiting for. Then we all showered and got ready to meet up with Mother and CP downstairs at 2:30pm. Then the 6 of us, all donned in red t-shirts, got into the car and set off for Suntec City.

When we arrived at Suntec City, we saw many other people also dressed in red. Some had their red-and-white caps on, and some held small flags in their hands. A group of youngsters even had their flags stuck on their caps! R and WY quickly went to grab some new tapes for the video-cam.

Then we proceeded to walk to Marina Bay. When we arrived at the security checkpoint, we were handed some clear pastic bags and told to empty our bags of all metallic items, including coins and keys. Although it wasn't exactly very troublesome (most people have already come to accept such checks as 'necessary'), I personally feel that such checks do nothing more than just giving us all a false sense of security - which is extremely dangerous.

I mean, will such checks be good enough to detect a terrorist-minded person trying to smuggle some non-metallic weapon into the area? Metallic weapons are probably the last thing any person intending to do mischief will bring to the venue, right? And there are plenty of other non-metallic stuff which can do just as much damage (if not more damage) than metallic weapons, right?

Anyway, no questions are asked these days about such security checks. I suspect that it is even considered 'wrong' to question their effectiveness. So, we all just walked through the frame and were done with it quite quickly.

From this point onwards, Mother and CP made their way to their blue-sector seats while the rest of us just carried on walking towards the other end of the gallery. See if you can spot familiar faces in some of the photos taken:

Hip-Hip Hooray!

In an earlier entry, I explained how we have 2 very precious NDP tickets this year from the ballot. And the plan was to let R bring WY to watch the NDP at Marina Bay.

Well, last Saturday, YP managed to get 4 more tickets! Yeah!! So now the plan has changed.

All of Mother, CP, R, WY, WF and myself will go to watch the NDP! Mother and CP will take the 2 blue tickets which we had been allocated under the ballot earlier while the rest of us will take the 4 green tickets given to us by YP.

Yes, WF is very excited about it. So is WY. Actually, I am also looking forward to this NDP because my colleague has told me that the show is extra-exciting. Action will be all around - in the air, on the land and in the waters.

So, here's 3 cheers to YP for helping to get for us these 4 tickets which enable us to have a go at enjoying this NDP "live", altogether!

Hip-Hip Hooray! (x3)

NDP

When I first started work at my current office, there was this little part of my portfolio which was regarded as 'public service' and because of it, I used to be 'automatically' offered a GrandStand seat for each year's NDP Preview. (That part of my portfolio has become obsolete now, so there is no longer such a privilege as far as NDP tickets are concerned.)

Back then, I didn't really appreciate the offer, and for several years, I would simply give the ticket away to colleagues who asked for it. Some years, there would be one single ticket; other years, it would be a pair of tickets.

Then, one year, Mother suddenly became interested in the NDP and asked if I had tickets for it. I hadn't the faintest idea that she would be interested in being part of that giant NDP crowd and so, by the time she asked, I had already given away my tickets. Mother scolded me quite harshly for it (weird, hor?), saying that I should have offered them to her 1st before I released them to colleagues! Sigh.

Then, as WY became older, we thought it would be a good idea to let him experience what watching the NDP 'live' at the stadium involved and how it felt. So, we started to get YP to use her lobangs to try to get tickets to the NDP Previews or Rehearsals.

Thanks to YP who successfully got us tickets for several years, WY was able to join that giant NDP crowd at the stadium/Padang for the parades. The year before last year, YP managed to get enough tickets for herself + BK + WS + WP as well as for R + WY + WF + me! Father, Mother and CP were not keen to go.

Last year, WS watched the NDP rehearsal called the NE Show which is open to all P5 students. And because YP herself, BK & WP were not so keen to go to the stadium again (because they didn't want to be showered again with all those fireworks dust which was what happened to them in the preceding year because they had sat close to the spot where the fireworks were shot from), YP passed all her tickets to us.

In the end, we even had 2 spare tickets which we then offered to the Director of WY and WF's CH school plus her daughter. They were both so grateful for the 'treat'. WY and WF also had great fun at the stadium watching the NDP 'live'.

This year, with the passing of the Kallang Stadium, the NDP has been moved to Marina Bay. According to media and feedback from colleagues who have been to the rehearsals a fortnight ago, it is going to be an NDP worth going to.

YP's lobangs didn't yield any tickets this year. So I submitted all our names and NRIC numbers for the national ballot for the much sought-after NDP tickets. By a stroke of luck, we managed to successfully ballot for 2 tickets for the actual-day event. Actually, it was Mother' NRIC number which was drawn for the tickets, but Mother said she would prefer to watch this year's parade from the comfort of her sofa.

So it has already been decided by now: R will bring WY to the NDP at Marina Bay whilst all the rest of us will watch the broadcast from home. Going by the traffic advisories, I think they probably should take the public transport.