I can’t help feeling annoyed with what I have come across these two days, in two locations in the eastern part of Singapore.
An apartment block in Changi Village. Can you see what’s wrong?
A closer look
Apartment block near Bedok central.
A national flag symbolises a country, its sovereignty, pride and honour. It should therefore be treated with respect. One may argue that he/she did not put them up but there should be no excuse at all, regardless of who have put them up, and what your nationality is.
Obviously these people have shown no respect at all for our national flag. They need to be educated!
Hubby and I started our day amidst a drizzle, as we headed to Changi beach – another part of Singapore that we like – in the quietness of dawn. The floor was still very wet from the rain in the middle of the night, but the air was cool and fresh.
Thanks to all our transport operators for the island-wide free-travel service today!
We strolled along the beach, listening to the sea waves and enjoying the cool morning breeze, as we watched the rising sun, passing ships/boats and the approaching air planes landing. Such is our simple joy in life, away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
More than 20 (commercial and cargo) planes were making their way to land at Changi Airport, in the short one hour we were at the beach, many of which were Singapore Airlines planes. Just as much fun watching these big planes, instead of the Black Knights!
Some campers here and there, by the beach
Changi Jetty
C
Oh, we sighted an otter very briefly at Changi Jetty! This was our second time catching sight of otters in Singapore. The first was at Gardens by the Bay. Too bad, it disappeared before I could take a shot of it.
What a beautiful morning on this special day! But of course, we didn’t miss the broadcast on the proclamation of independence of Singapore at 9am. We recorded it so that we could it watch after we got home. 🙂
And, we have a birthday cake too. Hubby and I do not have this practice of eating birthday cake on our birthdays but we decided to get one for Singapore’s 50th birthday! I also made two wishes for our people and the country. 🙂
Bless Our Singapore – a song specially composed and sung by Corrinne May, on behalf of the Catholic Church, for Singapore.
Today is the start of our 4-day Golden Jubilee Weekend in celebration of Singapore’s 50th Birthday. In my last posting, I have mentioned that it is a rare treat to have one extra public holiday on 7 Aug this year.
50 years is not a very long journey, if we compared with many other countries in the world. However, looking at the remarkable progress we have achieved in the last 50 years, this is surely a special occasion and an important milestone in the history and development of Singapore that we can be proud of, and joyfully celebrate as a nation. On the other hand, as more and more information about the celebration was unveiled over the past months, I can’t help questioning the value(s) of such an extent of celebration and the huge funding by the governments in many of the activities. I don’t want to sound unappreciative but has our government gone a little overboard in this?
The whole country is now buzzing with excitements with a whole lot of activities being lined up everywhere these four days, so many that I am finding it hard to keep track of them!
Of all the celebration activities and events, I was most heartened by the good news that many attractions island-wide are offering free entrance for Singaporeans and permanent residents this Golden Jubilee Weekend as a mark of celebrations. I thought this is a great idea for many especially those who can’t normally afford the cost of the entrance tickets which could be rather expensive in some places.
I have no intention to join in the anticipated extreme crowds this weekend except for one place. So, this morning, hubby and I started early and happily headed west to the Science Centre which is one of the attractions which offers free entry. We had been there a number of times with children of my siblings and friends but wanted to go again on our own this time. We thought it wouldn’t be so crowded there as compared to places like Sentosa Island, Museums or events like concerts and carnivals. BUT, we were so wrong! When we arrived at about 10am (the opening time), it was already packed with people!! It looks like we actually have many Science enthusiasts.
A counter that provides hand/face tattoo for children. They also give out party hats and mini flags to jazz up the mood of celebration
Long queue even for the Omni Theatre!
Needless to say, I was very disappointed and we made a decision to go home instead. It was a wasted trip all the way there but there was no point joining the long queue, and even if we did, it would be too crowded for us to enjoy the exhibitions in there.
Throngs of people making their way to the Science Centre as we made our way out
While the idea of offering free entrances may be good, it can only work well if a small number of people take up the offers. With such a high population and the high likelihood of many people rushing to such rare good offers, such plans often turn out to be unmanageable and would spoil the experience of many.
I am still harping on not making a decision to get out of the country during this time. Although our ministers have urged Singaporeans to stay back for the occasion, I still think that it does not make me less patriotic by being out of Singapore this weekend. Since it is too late to do anything now, I guess it is best to just stay in and enjoy the comfort of my home.
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! 🙂
So, Hello Kitty has arrived to join in the celebration for Singapore’s 50th Birthday!
Two sets ordered – one for myself and the other is my younger sister’s.
Beside 6 Value Meal vouchers worth a total of S$30 and 6 SG50 Hello Kitty plushies, the collector’s set also comes with one limited edition Singapore landscape booklet, 6 standees for the plushies, 6 Hello Kitty cards and a SG50 Flyer.
The 6 plushies – Samsui Woman, Trishaw Uncle, Durian Lover, Orchid Lover, SG Parade and MacDonald’s Crew
It’s nice that MacDonald’s has included 6 paper standees this time for the plushies but I am not folding them up until I am ready with the space to display them.
From MacDonald’s website
Surely fans of Hello Kitty (especially Singaporean fans) will not want to miss this set that commemorates Singapore’s Golden Jubilee. I was actually surprised when my younger sister expressed her desire to get a set too. I never thought that she would be interested. Perhaps this goes to say how little I know my younger sister! In fact, she also bought the set offered by SingPost earlier this year but I decided to give that a miss. When hubby read about this collector’s set that was going to hit Singapore, he actually told me that the plushies look cute. Woohoo, looks like he has fallen in love with Hello Kitty too! We have visited Puroland Japan (indoor theme park of Sanrio characters with Hello Kitty as the star character) twice, in two consecutive years. Believe it or not, it was hubby’s idea to re-visit. Of course, I was more than happy to say yes!
Back to the order. I was ordering them from Ipoh while holidaying there, on the first day when the online sales started at 11am but met with some difficulties. I thought MacDonald’s would have improved their online system after the hiccups last year.
Already sold out at the start of the sales?
So, it actually took me a while to finally be able to get through the transaction. Phew…..
QING Moments 