A GLIMPSE OF SG50 NDP PREVIEW AT MARINA BAY

If I have to pick a place in Singapore that I like the most, it would be none other than the Marina Bay area.  I love the beautiful skyline of the Marina Bay area and have always been impressed with the transformation of this part of Singapore in the last 10 years.  The credit goes to the government of Singapore.  In my humble opinion, this is a place that we Singaporeans can be proud of and also should be thankful to our government for what they have done, even though as a matter of fact, many of us have been feeling uncomfortable and even unhappy with some of the issues very close to our hearts, in particular population, housing and transportation, in the recent years.

Marina Bay Sand (MBS) with its SkyPark and ArtScience Museum (the lotus-look-alike building on the left)

Beautiful skyline aside, the Marina Bay area has also been the favourite venue of NDP (National Day Parade) crowds for watching some of the actions in the event, such as aerial flypast, Presidential Gun Salute and fireworks.

This year being the Golden Jubilee or SG50 celebration year, the NDP is surely going to be very special and even more spectacular than ever.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luck to win two tickets to watch the Parade at the Padang.  Not wanting to miss the opportunity to be part of this celebration, hubby and I decided to join the crowds at Marina Bay instead, to catch glimpses of the event preview last Saturday (1 Aug).

(If you are a foreigner reading this, you may want to visit the SG50 or Singapore50 Website to find out more about SG50).

Oops, we were not kiasu (a local word meaning afraid to lose) enough!  By the time we got down to the Marina Bay area at about 6pm, the entire bay area was already swarmed with spectators that packed like sardines!

We managed to squeeze into a spot facing the MBS which turned out to be a pretty good spot.  Spectators on my left.

Spectators on my right

Spectators in front of MBS (opposite where we were) and…

… up on the SkyPark

It took a lot of patience though, to wait for the “actions” to take place at different stages of the NDP.  We were in a spot further away from the big LED screen showing live-streaming of the NDP at the Padang, so we couldn’t see what was actually going on over there except some of the commentaries amid the noises from the spectators.

The aerial display this year is indeed very spectacular, featuring a total of 50 aircraft from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF).  An A380 flight adorned with our national flag from the Singapore Airlines was part of this segment too.

A380

State Flag Flypast

Salute-to-Nation : formation of the number “50” by 20 F-16.  This won a lot of cheers!

Impressive aerial manoeuvers

Getting ready for the Presidential Gun Salute

21-Gun Salute during the inspection of the Parade by the “President”.  My first-time seeing a Gun Salute so up-close, and it was really loud.

After dark, as we were still waiting for the fireworks

ArtScience Museum with its SG50 light projection

Here’s a video that I have put together for the aerial display and fireworks.  Watching the fireworks so close for the first time was a breathtaking experience but it was too close to capture them well even with my wide-angle camera.  Alas, I also forget to use the manual-focus function. 😦 So, I am not very satisfied with the recording quality of the fireworks.

It was past 8:20pm when the fireworks ended.  Spectators began to disperse and restaurants there were getting even more crowded.  We had to wait for a while to get our table even with an advanced booking!  Fortunately the food was satisfactory (though a bit pricey), or it would have spoilt our night!

Palm Beach seafood restaurant

While in the restaurant, we observed that there were a number of tables with diners wearing red tops.  Many came from the NDP Preview (as they were carrying the Fun Packs).  I have observed that majority of the NDP attendees would automatically wear red for the occasion, even without being told to do so.  I think this is something rather uniquely Singapore.  Perhaps this is a kind of Singapore Spirit we have at this time of the year.  I actually like it!

We had about half an hour to spare after dinner and before the next event at 11pm.  We took a stroll around the Merlion Park to enjoy the beauty of the night.  There were still many people hanging around there, many of whom were tourists.

Our national icon and also a popular tourist icon, this 8.6m-tall Merlion spouts water all day long

The 2m-tall Merlion cub.  This doesn’t spout water

The 260m-long Esplanade Bridge (left) and the newly completed 220m-long Jubilee Bridge with Esplanade Theatres by the Bay at the background.  The Jubilee Bridge was the brainchild of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, first Prime Minister of Singapore.  It is a bridge with no steps and provides barrier-free access.

And the finale for the night – a music and light display by The Fullerton Hotel, as a tribute to SG50.

A Celebration of Our Heritage

“A Celebration of Our Heritage” showcases the iconic moments that took place at the Fullerton Square, including scenes from the election rallies in Singapore.   It is showing until 9 August, 2015 at the following timings.

Majulah Singapura!

• Aug 1 – 8pm, 9pm, 10pm, 11pm
• Aug 2 – 8pm, 9pm, 10pm, 11pm
• Aug 3 to 7 – 8pm, 9pm, 10pm
• Aug 8 – 8pm, 9pm, 10pm, 11pm
• Aug 9 – 8pm, 9pm, 10pm, 11pm

This is the second time The Fullerton Hotel has put up such a display in celebration of Singapore’s 50th year of Independence this year.  The first was “Journey of Singapore”, a 2-minute montage of sketches and graphics on the milestones of Singapore, shown at the end of 2014.

Journey of Singapore

Six more days to Singapore’s 50th Birthday!  Although we have no interesting arrangement planned for the coming Jubilee weekend yet, we are surely looking forward to the 4-day break (7-10 Aug).  It’s a rare treat to have one extra holiday declared this year, in celebration of SG50! 🙂

IPOH FOOD HAVEN

Hubby and I went on a week-long break in Ipoh (Malaysia) during the Hari Raya festive holiday earlier this month.  This was my third trip to Ipoh in slightly over 3 years.   We were there to visit my uncle and his family.  It was more of a trip to spend time with the young children of my cousins who seem to like us a lot, but not so much about sightseeing.

The first thing we did after arrival was to pick up my cousin niece from her school.  It was the last day of school (15 Jul) before Hari Raya.  In Malaysia, schools dismiss early every day during the Ramadan month and are typically closed for a week or longer for the Hari Raya festival.  In Singapore, our children never have such “treats”! 😦

Many parents waiting at the entrance of the school to pick up their children.  For afternoon session (primary 1 to 3 pupils), school dismissed at 5pm

Mobile hawkers selling a variety of kachang (nuts), ice cream and even Yakult outside the school.  This is so nostalgic!

We were received with great hospitality, as always,  and were pampered with lots of good local food every day and of course, that include a few vegetarian meals and tubs of durians which my aunty bought.  My uncle and aunty are vegetarians.

Whenever we were in Ipoh, we were not so keen on their restaurant food.  It was the local hawker food that we looked forward to.  I think it is not an overstatement to say that Ipoh is a haven for food!  Thanks to our hosts (my uncle and aunty, cousin and her hubby) who drove us around every day to savour a variety of yummy local food in some of the very popular stalls that the locals go to.

Moon De Moon (满中满) is famous for Curry Mee (咖喱面) and Gai Si (shredded chicken) Hor Fun (鸡丝河粉).  All tables were already taken up by the time we arrived at 845am.

Just look at all the amount of bowls stacked up at the Gai Si Hor Fun stall.  They were customer orders waiting to be served.  We waited for almost an hour to get our food but it was worth doing so.

Dry chicken curry mee which we ate for the first time.

Gai Si Hor Fun in chicken and prawn soup.  The portion was not big, so it was in addition to the dry chicken curry mee!

Spotted this very old car in front of the coffee shop when we left.  Some parts of the car have already rusted.  Unlike Singapore, there is no age limit for cars in Malaysia.  One can drive his car as long as he wants.  I remember one of my aunties in Johor used to drive a Volkswagen for over 40 years!

Lei Ching coffee shop (丽晶) is famous for beef brisket noodles/Hor Fun (牛腩面／河粉) and Mee Rebus (爪哇面)

This Mee Rebus is different from what we have in Singapore.  It has a tinge of sour taste that I found it rather refreshing, and the gravy is orangey in colour.

The Hor Fun was served separately from the bowl of stewed beef briskets in tasty broth

Chee Cheong Fun (猪肠粉) in curry gravy from a stall in the foodcourt of Parkson shopping mall.  In Ipoh, Chee Cheong Fun is typically served in minced pork and mushroom sauce with deep-fried shallots but some stalls serve the curry version too.  Shiok!

   

Some fried stuff like fish cakes to go with the Chee Cheong Fun.  Very nicely fried, fresh and crispy

Kedai Kopi Ah Chow looks a bit rundown but the food is definitely good

Another version of curry Hor Fun served with shredded chicken and Char Siew.  Customers can opt for dry or soupy version.  Love it!

Seaweed Mianxian (紫菜粉).  In Ipoh, the word 粉 (meaning powder in English) means any kind of noodles such as Kway Teow, noodles, Mianxian etc.

This gives you an idea of the price of the food. I would say very reasonable for such delicious food

Kedai Makan Canning Garden (桂和园) sells Chap Fun (or economy rice). See the queue?  So, what’s so good here?

It’s the fried chicken!  My cousin said it is better than KFC’s and I can agree with her.  Unlike the rest of the dishes which were already cooked in advance, these fried chickens were freshly fried at the back of the shop and brought out in batches.  The stall opens from 10:30am but the fried chicken would be sold out by around 1-2pm.

Fresh and tasty. Soft and crispy in the outer layer and tender inside even for the breast meat

I don’t have a record on where I ate this fried Kway Teow which has very good wok hei (charred wok flavour).   Freshly fried Kway Teow & noodles (commonly known as Cao Fun 炒粉 in Ipoh)  is another common local breakfast food.  The Ipoh version of Char Kway Teow seems to have a sourish flavour that makes it rather special.

Another not-to-miss food in Ipoh – Salt-baked chicken (盐焗鸡).  There are quite a number of shops selling salt-baked chickens but my cousin considers Aun Keng Lim (宴琼林)’s is the best and this brand is available only in Ipoh.

The salt-baked chicken is generally not big in size, and best eaten when it is still warm

One very popular biscuit shop downtown, in an area with many other eateries frequented by tourists.  See that long queue extending out of the shop?

Sin Eng Heong sells a variety of biscuits but these kaya puffs are the most popular.  They got snatched up immediately after they were taken out of the oven!

What’s selling here?  Funny Mountain (奇峰) soya milk and soya beancurd.  It is  very popular not just amongst the locals, but also tourists.  We actually had to queue (in the car) for our take-away.

See that man wearing a blue cap and white shirt, with an apron?  He is the staff who runs to the customers queuing in the car to take and deliver their orders.  That saves the customers the trouble of finding a parking lot and getting out of their cars.  That’s how thoughtful the service is despite its good business!

In Ipoh, one is spoilt with choices for vegetarian food too.

Shi Fang Zhai (十方斋) vegetarian restaurant is located at Menglembu (a town within Ipoh City, about 15 to 20 minutes drive away from Ipoh downtown)。  It serves pretty good vegetarian food and it was our second time there.

This coffee shop (随缘素食店) sells vegetarian Char Siew and chicken rice and some other vegetarian dishes.  The owner runs a real chicken rice stall in another location during the day, and operates this vegetarian stall from late afternoon.  He is surely one very hardworking man!  I heard that it is also popular.

Don’t they look like real Char Siew?  Nice!

Vegetarian chicken rice

Jiu Jiu Fu (99福) offers a good variety of Taiwanese, local and even Japanese vegetarian dishes.

Vegetarian Unagi Temaki (hand rolls)

Vegetarian salmon Makizushi

Vegetarian mee goreng

Above are just some but not all of the food we have savoured during the week.

I noticed that almost all the food stalls that we went to are owned/manned by middle-aged and older locals.  This probably speaks of the authenticity of the food.  I wonder given another 10 or 20 years, will they also be faced with the issue of losing their local food heritage just like what we are facing with the hawker food here in Singapore.  Hopefully not or it will be a sad thing.

It’s really very convenient now to travel between Singapore and Ipoh with up to three airlines serving this sector.  Firefly (a community airline wholly-owned by Malaysian Airlines) was the sole player when it started flying between these two cities in June 2009.  Just in the middle of this year, Tiger Airways and Malindo Air (a hybrid airlines between Malaysia and Indonesia which was established in 2013) started flights between Singapore and Ipoh too.  We still flew on Firefly (for the third time now) which has been reliable in terms of its services based on our experience, although its airfares were more expensive than the other two budget airlines.

This propeller aircraft has a capacity of only less than 80 passengers.

Malaysia is one favourite travel destination of Singaporeans, when it comes to short and affordable (or even cheap) getaway holidays.  This is mainly due to the great advantage of our currency exchange rate against RM (Ringgit Malaysia).  This aside, I actually think that Malaysia has not only been blessed with rich natural resources which is total lacking in Singapore, it can also be an even better destination for tourism (not just for Singaporeans),  be it for sightseeing, food, shopping, history and culture, relaxation etc., if the country is better managed, and more effort is put in to improve its tourism sector.  I have actually shared my thoughts with a few of my Malaysian friends, and they can’t agree with me more.

I have not travelled much in Malaysia.  Safety is always my biggest concern when it comes to holidaying in Malaysia.  There have been many reports about robbery, attack etc.  in Malaysia.  My cousin, and also my friends in KL were robbed of their handbags before. In my cousin’s case, she was approached and robbed in bright daylight, right in front of my uncle’s house!  The same had happened to her daughter’s piano teacher in front of her house. That’s scary!  Safety and stability are definitely important factors for tourism.  Unfortunately, many Malaysians are very unhappy and have even lost their confidence in their government now.

GETAI CHALLENGE 歌台星力量 (Episode 5 : 29 June 2015)

Here are for the fans out there, photos and video which I managed to snap at the recording session of Getai Challenge on 22 May 2015.  Not many though, since they did not actually allow taking of photos and videos initially.

Getai Challenge (歌台星力量) TV programme is being telecast on MediaCorp’s Channel 8, at 8pm, every Monday.  The recording session (Episode 5) which I went to was telecast tonight.  There are going to be 13 episodes for this programme.

From left to right – Emcees : Wang Wei Liang (王伟良), Pornsak and contestants : Xie Wei Na (谢伟娜), Cheng Ze (承泽) & Xiu Ping (秀萍), Luo Yi Qi (罗翊绮) & Bao Bei Sisters (宝贝姐妹)

 

Contestants : Zhu Li Li (朱莉莉), 2Z Sisters (2Z 姐妹), Li Bao En (李宝恩) & Chen Jian Bin (陈建彬)

Contestants : Hao Hao (皓皓) and Huang Zhen Long (黄振隆). 

Seen on the screens were the judges for episode 5 (left to right) : Huang Lei (黄雷), Liu Ling Ling (刘玲玲), Irene Ang (洪爱玲) & Lin Qi Yu (林倛玉)

Chen Jian Bin & Li Bao En listening to comments from the judges after their performance.  Their unique costumes might have won them some additional points.  Chen emerged as the winner in this episode and maintained his number 1 position since episode 1.

Pornsak is definitely one good and talented emcee but I think the chemistry of emceeing would be very different and even better if Pornsak were to partner with Mark Lee (李国煌) instead.

While the judges were busy finalising the results for this round of challenge behind the stage, audience were treated with some entertainments by a few of the younger contestants.  Here’s what I have put together – their performances which were not shown on TV.

It was new to me that these Getai singers do have their pools of fans too, many of whom are middle-aged or senior citizens.  This goes to say how little I know about Getai.  Just like the fans of Mandopop or K-Pop singers, these Getai fans seem to follow their idols through their performances everywhere.  I learned about this when I briefly chatted with one of the fans while waiting to get into the theatre for the recording session.   In fact, she (a fan of Hao Hao) asked if I would like to join the group as a fan, and she offered me a T-shirt (with Hao Hao’s name printed on it) to wear into the theatre.  I politely declined.

If I remember correctly, Getai began to gain its increasing popularity after the movie 881 (by Royston Tan) in 2007.  There have also been annual Getai Awards in recent years, to honour popular Getai singers.  Surely these Getai singers deserved to be recognised and awarded too.  In my opinion, Getai is one important cultural aspect of Singapore and it needs to be preserved.  It is good to see that there are actually quite many young Getai singers.  They sure boost the vibrancy of Getai performances.  I don’t have any issues with Getai singers speaking/singing in dialects like Hokkien, Cantonese etc. on stage but I think it is time for them to do away with all the less refined jokes or raunchy contents, and raise the sophistication level of Getai performances.

If you are interested to find out more about Getai in Singapore, Singapore Infopedia offers a good read.

Entertaining Getai Challenge  (歌台星力量) But With Pains (my previous posting).

ENTERTAINING GETAI CHALLENGE (歌台星力量) BUT WITH PAINS

I went to MediaCorp last Friday (22 May) to watch the recording of a new Channel 8 variety show called Getai Challenge (歌台星力量).  Joining me was my hubby who happened to be off that day, and a friend.  As the programme organiser was giving out tickets for the recording, and prompted by the thought of visiting MediaCorp before it moves out of Caldecott Hill next year, I jumped at this opportunity.

The building where the reception and TV Theatre are.  TV Theatre was the venue where the recording was carried out.

Most Singaporeans are familiar with Getai (歌台) – live outdoor stage performances (mostly singing) which are common in Singapore and Malaysia and generally held during the Ghost Festival (lunar 7th month) and other Chinese festivals or temple events.  It is a unique culture in this part of Asia but I was not exposed much to it in my growing up years.  Neither my parents, aunties nor my late grandma went to such performances.  However, many years ago, I did go with my hubby to catch one or two Getai (that’s about all) in our neighbourhood. I would say the performances were entertaining, and the singers were not bad too although we were only there briefly.  Many of the performers spoke in Hokkien dialect.  This was not an issue even though I couldn’t understand some of it, but what I didn’t like were the dirty jokes they cracked.  This was partly the reason why I didn’t go again subsequently.

Back to the indoor recording of Getai Challenge in MediaCorp.  It was actually quite entertaining and interesting to see the flow of the programme etc. although the mood was completely different from that of a real Getai held outdoor.  This is understandable. The programme is going to be broadcasted on our national TV, so it has to be recorded in Mandarin and of course, dirty jokes are not allowed too. (For the benefit of foreigners reading this posting, Chinese dialects such as Hokkien, Cantonese etc. are not allowed on Singapore’s national TV stations.)

The entire recording took about 3 hours but we know it will be edited to an one-hour programme (or rather, about 45 minutes after deducting the commercial breaks) when it is aired.  So, it was kind of fun to watch the recording and then to see on TV later how it has been edited for broadcast.

The two hosts for Getai Challenge – Pornsak (newly crowned Best Variety Show Host at Star Awards 2015) and Wei Liang

The participants

Out of respect, I shall not share or reveal more details about the recording for now since this programme has not been aired yet.

However, the entertainment did not come without “pains” though.  In fact, it was quite frustrating and unpleasant waiting to get into the theatre.

The recording was supposed to start at 12 noon and audience were to be seated 15 minutes before recording, according to the information printed at the back of the tickets.  We arrived in a taxi past 11:30am, and not knowing where to alight, the taxi driver dropped us at TV Gate which turned out to be the entrance for staff only.  Fortunately, it was not a long walk over to the TV Theatre, as the weather of very hot then.  On arriving at the relatively small reception area (where the TV Theatre is located), it was already packed with people who were earlier than us.  Many of them were middle-aged people or senior citizens.  This was not unexpected.  You would imagine only people who are not working to be able to make it in such an odd timing, unless they took a day off but how many would do that? Seats at the reception area were limited. I made an attempt to speak with one of the receptionists in trying to gather more information but in vain.  She was friendly but all I found out was that the entrance into the TV Theatre is at the basement carpark.

Groups of people waiting at the basement carpark.  I later found out (from speaking to one of them) that they were fans of the different participants (singers).

Names of Getai singers pasted on the wall of the carpark pillars but can you guess what they meant?  I only found out later that they were meant for the different groups of fans to gather/queue but how do they expect a first-timer to know?

The basement carpark area was very warm.  Can you imagine the entrance to the theatre of a National TV station is through a basement carpark without a proper queuing area and air-conditioned?  There were many wall mounted fans but none was turned on until so much later when the staff were out past 12 noon to organise the various groups into the theatre.  We also had to watch out for the incoming/outgoing vehicles.

So, we were totally at the mercy of MediaCorp, not knowing when we could get into the theatre even it was way past 12 noon.  No one came to brief us or give any update.  One aunty among the fans group was lamenting that two nights ago, in a different recording session for the same programme, the recording didn’t start until close to 9pm, despite the actual start time of 7pm.  And the recording didn’t complete until past 12 midnight.  That’s how MediaCorp take their supporters’ time for granted!

To cut the long story short, it was already close to 1pm by the time it was our turn (as non-fans) to get in.  We were allowed into the theatre in groups, and priority was given to all the fans or special group such as students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, so we were the last. 

At 1250pm, we were still waiting outside the theatre

There was more waiting after we were finally seated in the theatre at closed to 1pm!

It was almost 4:45pm by the time we stepped out of the theatre.  My stomach was growling badly.  What a day!  Food was not allowed in the theatre.  At the expected time to be seated in the theatre at 11:45am, we haven’t had our lunch and we naively thought that the recording would probably take about 2 hours since MediaCorp arranged the recording at such an odd timing, neither before nor after lunch.  It was such a bad experience without sufficient information and proper instructions from MediaCorp in advance.

Hearing from others who had attended the previous recordings, it seems that such poorly organised programme is the norm.  It is very disappointing that MediaCorp takes their audience for granted.  Even the tickets are free, that doesn’t give them the rights to waste the time of the audiences and cause unnecessary suffering. I doubt I will ever be interested in another experience like this in future, not even in the new location.  Once is enough.

THE JOY OF WALKING (2)

After talking about it for many years, hubby and I finally made it to the Bedok Reservoir Park last weekend for an evening jog cum walk.  And, it was our first time there, after being residents in the eastern part of Singapore for over 12 years!  I know this has taken too long.

Bedok Reservoir Park with the 88-hectare Bedok Reservoir in it, is located along Bedok Reservoir Road which holds some very fond memories of my teenage years.  In my recent posting on Goodbye Mr Lee Kuan Yew, I have mentioned about coming to Singapore for holidays when I was young.  During my upper secondary school days, after I became more independent and was allowed to travel with friends, I had made a few visits to Singapore with a very close childhood friend of mine on school holidays.  We would stay with her relatives who owned a flat in Bedok Reservoir Road.  Then, the housing estate was still pretty new, and the reservoir area was not developed into a park yet.  However, the time spent with my dear friend and her relatives in Bedok Reservoir Road, formed beautiful memories which I still cherish to this day.

It took hubby and I close to an hour to complete the 4.3km track of the reservoir’s shoreline that evening, and we registered 7000+ steps.  It was a very lovely walk.  There were many joggers, walkers and strollers, but the beautiful greenery and the tranquility of the reservoir against the backdrop of setting sun simply made our exercise very enjoyable.  I also noticed that there are quite a number of nice facilities there.

The first thing I spotted as we walked in to the park …. a water cooler!  That’s nice but perhaps, NParks can consider adding a couple more along the running track. 🙂

Wawawa Bistro by the Reservoir

Fishing deck for the fishing enthusiasts

Water sports such as sailing, kayaking, canoeing, wakeboarding etc are allowed on the reservoir but we didn’t see any of these activities when we were there, apart from some fishing activities.  I have read that the water-skiing competition in the upcoming SEA Games 2015  in June will be held here at this reservoir

What a beautiful living environment for the residents of this area!

Forest Adventure (Aerial Tree Obstacle Course)

Campus of Temasek Polytechnic, seen from the jogging track

Part of the track along the reservoir shoreline

A fruitful mango tree!  It reminded me of the old mango tree in my parents’ home and how I used to enjoy harvesting the fruits together with my aunties, during my school days.  That mango tree is gone for many years now.

The hilly part of the park.  A great place to rest and relax,  to enjoy the beauty scenery and be soaked in its serenity.  It is also a great place for picnic and other activities etc. 🙂

The Floating Deck, another great spot to make a stop

Too bad, it was too cloudy to catch the sunset.  Hubby and I have seen very beautiful sunset (not just once but a few times) while touring Japan but somehow we still haven’t had the chance to see one in Singapore.  I suppose it needs a bit of luck!

The fitness corner seemed well made use of …

…. so was the playground

And, what are these? So many poles for hanging bird cages!

I also spotted a lone solar panel.  Still wondering what it is for, and why only one panel.

After sunset

Perhaps, many are not aware that Bedok Reservoir was actually a sand quarry in the early years of Singapore’s independence.  Thanks to the great work by the authorities in converting it into a reservoir by the mid 80’s. Together with Bedok Reservoir Park, they make a great place for many to enjoy.  Singapore is a very small country in terms of its land space (about 718 square kilometre) but has a high population density of about 7,618 people per square kilometre(*) – a number too high for comfort, in my opinion.  Nevertheless, I am thankful that there are still many parks and greenery for us to enjoy.

(*) Calculated based on the the total population of 5.47 million (according to data on countryeconomy.com) as of end 2014.