NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATION

On 9 August, 2007 Singapore celebrated its 42nd National Day and I had the pleasure of watching the celebrations very closely. We started at around 2 from NUS. We had earlier tried to have lunch inside NUS, but the canteens were closed (National Day!! obviously it was a holiday). So we went to City Hall and hoped we could get something there. Alighting at City Hall I was surprised to find a big mall there. We searched for an Indian/Vegetarian food stall. Having found one, we had our late lunch there. The roti prata (they spelt it this way) we were given was bathed in oil. Even mess food seems much tastier in front of all this. Well, we got out and I got the first view of 'Durian' or 'The Esplanade'. It is similar to the Sydney Opera House in functionality. It is shaped like a microphone (mic). This one building that the Singaporeans are proud of.

After roaming about for a while, we reached the place where the celebrations were to be held. There was a sea of people lining up for the event. Actually there are tickets sold for the event, but as it is done 2-3 weeks prior to the day, we and many others had none. We lined up on the bridge and the area surrounding the platform. As the usual stadium was under renovation, this year it was held on a floating platform. At 4pm the bikers provided entertainment for the crowd by performing stunts. At around 5pm the paratroopers started their bit. They jumped off a helicopter and sprinkled red color all over the place. They land accurately on the platform though they jump from far off place. As the natural lights grew dimmer, the natural lights took over. The crowd grew excited and the major part of the show began. There were performances (songs and dances) for the people who bought the tickets, we had nothing to do. So we snacked. There were many helicopters flying above our heads at regular intervals so as to keep us awake for the fireworks. If that was not enough they brought a copter at a very low level on the river and this copter splashed water on us. The air from the copter was so fast that the river water flew everywhere and it felt like a shower when it dropped on us. Then the big balls of light (they are called mermaid or something) tied on the motor boats moved from one corner of the river to the other. They looked like floating balls of light. There was laser lights and fountains too. Will see more of them in Sentosa. Then after the singers had sung their lungs out, the dancers had danced their strength out and the crowd swore their tongues out - it started.

The most awaited fireworks. It lasted for just 10 minutes. After having seen Diwali celebrations year after year, I didn't feel that it was worth the wait, but yes it was awesome. Everybody ran for the MRT station as soon as the fireworks went out. The crowd in the train was too much. Policemen had been stationed to guide us along the way and to maintain proper order. We had dinner at the same place we had lunch, only this time we barely managed to get vegetarian food. We had salad with rice, no dal or sambar. It was okay and as I was hungry I liked it. We took the MRT to Buona Vista and then the bus 95. At 11pm on a national holiday we didn't expect the internal shuttle bus to function. So we walked our way back to PGPR. I was too tired to do anything and fell asleep the time I hit the bed.