I lurve SG- National Day Parade 2007

WOOHOO! NDP 07 is a wrap!

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Pictures and text added on Friday evening

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The initial plan was to chope a parking lot at Marina Square early in the afternoon. “We could watch a movie before going to the NDP”, I said.

My mum had a better idea. Instead of racking up a crazy bill at Marina, the car was parked at her office building at Somerset. For free. She even provided an ezlink card because it was rather obvious I had not had the opportunity to take public transport in the last 1.5 years.

I was surprised to see so few people on Orchard Road on Thursday afternoon. Where was everyone?! And why weren’t people dressed in red? Hahaha.

After my morning shift, which usually entails more music and less talk on public holidays, I was at Lido to watch The Simpsons. I always felt that The Simpsons, despite being an cartoon, caters to an adult audience. The entire back row of Lido 4 was filled with kids under 10. Their adult minders were late and while walking to their seats, they (the kids, not the adults) created a hullabaloo so loud the anti-Homer mob lost hands down. And I was so amused when three whole rows of people turned their heads in unison and hissed a loud SSSSHHHHHHH! The kids apparently mistook the SSSHHHHHH as motivation to up the volume further…

Anyway, the movie was quite cool.

What happened to SpiderPig after the family left Springfield huh?

And oh! Did you hear Maggie utter her first word at the end of the credits?

Wah seh…

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Dressed in my now infamous Superman red tee, I walked an unbelievable distance from City Hall MRT Station to the world’s biggest floating platform with five others.

This is my family;
These are my friends;
We are Singapore;
Singaporeans!

Daniel (Ong, 987FM DJ), who anchored the pre parade segment was brilliant! Belinda (Lee)’s hosting has improved by leaps and bounds! And who was the smart aleck who chose the remaining emcees? I’m probably not in a very good position to judge, because I have not hosted a NDP before, but seriously, we need someone who deliver her lines coherently, and someone who speaks with enough enthusiasm so that I wouldn’t think I was attending a funeral. *Choy. Dai Ka Lai See..

The parade segment was magnificent, as always. And the military showcase, complete with air, land and sea elements was fantastic. Because the Navy hardly had a chance to flex its prowess at previous venues (ie the Padang and National Stadium), they went all out this year. Among other things, giant balloons filled with helium were tied on the boats which steered in as the skies darkened. Besides securing our waters, they were absolutely essentials in enhancing the whole “by-the-sea” experience.

I learnt this morning that the commentary on TV provided viewers with a better understanding of the mass display segment- Possibicity. It was a shame the people on site didn’t really understand much of the plot. While it is really convenient to brush that off as the least engaging part of the show, we really ought to give the performers a pat on their backs. These are people who spent weekend after weekend under the scorching sun with the intention of putting up a good show.

The much anticipated fireworks finale never never fails to please. Can you single out someone who doesn’t like fireworks?

Siao ah?! What’s there not to like about fireworks? Hahaha.

There was this series of green explosions with “spikes”, which I thought resembled durians. And this mega blast which almost covered the entire sky. I said, almost lah.
Lovely.

By the way, I didn’t take any pictures of the fireworks because my amateur camera cannot capture the complete splendour anyway. And even if I have a professional camera, I wouldn’t want to look at the fireworks through the lenses cos it’s way more breathtaking to see it with your own eyes!

And oh, singing the National Anthem with so many people is such an awesome experience!


***

While there are many people out there who would give an arm or a leg to have NDP tickets, there are some who gave the impression that they were forced to attend the parade. No, I’m not talking about the VIPs in the red sector lah.

Firstly, there were people who were not dressed in red. Well, white is fine, if you don’t have a red top. But going to the NDP in black? Grey? Blue?

And these were the people who picked up their goodie bags and left Marina Bay BEFORE the fireworks was over. They probably want to avoid the jam. But leaving before the finale?

Oh well. We’re supposed to pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion. If we can do that, we probably shouldn’t mind the colour difference after all. And to build a democratic society, based on justice and equality. Not on idiosyncrasies like leaving a show before the (arguably) top highlight…

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36 Responses to “I lurve SG- National Day Parade 2007”

  1. shing Says:

    cool… nice :)

    Reply

  2. sher Says:

    i love sg too!
    this yr’s parade is truely a phenomenal one.
    with great music, great perf n all the wonderful ppl ard..
    ndp 07 rawk!!!
    woots! (:

    Reply

  3. Darren Says:

    I just got my tix yesterday….won it on the organiser’s contest,This Year’s Parade is Superb!!!
    This year Music is By Mastero Tsung Yeh is wonderful!!!

    Reply

  4. Elise Says:

    I was from the River of dreams sector.. kekeke :p Haven’t got a chance to watch the whole show yet….

    Reply

  5. Princess Carol Says:

    impressive pic. the parade was indeed one hell-of-a-show, and the fireworks were simply stunning!

    Reply

  6. katherine Says:

    *envy*

    so heng of u to get actual day tix for NDP.. lost count of the nos of WOW u said rite? plane salute the nation, 42 “kites” flying like UFOs, many many NS stuff, wonderful fireworks.. gosh.. do share ur personal experience on-air in 5hrs time ya?..

    luv ur “IT’S FRIDAY!!”

    Reply

  7. yvonne Says:

    nice shot!

    Reply

  8. ruth Says:

    yup.. i simple love the way how the apache salute to the nation…
    lucky i catch it during the preview!! (*wink*)

    Reply

  9. mimi Says:

    hi,
    is cool & nice!!
    I was at home quickly get ready myself to sit infront of the TV and enjoy the program with my dinner.It’s wonderful!!!
    Although i was in the other country, i got a feeling: “do hope i was there or be part of your Singapore”!!!
    “Is Good”!!”WooHoo”………..
    and………………….
    It’s Friday!!!…………….
    Happy Birthday Singapore!

    Mimi.Johor.

    Reply

  10. Kelly Says:

    Wow!

    Where were you when you took the pic?

    Reply

  11. September Says:

    cool! cruz, if u are free, do post some photos up.. let us see your shooting skills.. and also make some of us jealous bah. :X

    Reply

  12. *huiling Says:

    sad case.. i didn’t get to watch the national parade at all =(( working in the zoo.. but i guess i will give the parade 10 out of 10 points! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE! ((: WoW WoW WoW! LOVE SINGAPORE! LOVE MY HOMELAND (((:

    Reply

  13. national day 'baby' Says:

    yup.. the ndp was great. anyway, i think i saw you on tv. have a great weekend ahead!

    Reply

  14. bee Says:

    The atmosphere must be fabulous! If only i managed to get tixs! Happy birthday Singapore~~~

    Reply

  15. Wei De Says:

    I miss Singapore!

    Too bad, din get to watch the NDP from Melbourne! Argghhh!!!

    Reply

  16. SM Says:

    woah.which camera u used?haha.nice one.

    Reply

  17. mk Says:

    for the first time in my whole life, i was actually interested to watch this year’s NDP. but by the time i realised i was interested, cldnt get tickets liao. haha…

    but was at marina square to listen to the parade, watch the fireworks. really cool! loved the fireworks. and the whole floating platform thing’s cool. nice pics! =D

    tt scenery’s totally WOW. Happy Birthday Singapore! =)

    Reply

  18. rainie Says:

    I like watching the fireworks. Happy 42nd Birthday Singapore!!

    Reply

  19. sUmmergaLz Says:

    It a nice NDP..love the way they march in, the performance and last but not least the firework…

    Too bad, i was lazy to get out of my cozy house and don’t want to squeeze with thousand of other people i was at home. Is a waste. Lol.. lucky for u to get the ticket.

    Reply

  20. Eunice Says:

    Called you this morning, if you still remember as it dates back 7:50am. hehe…, to tell about how wonderful to view the fireworks from padang. Do visit my site for more pictures for that night. Especially if you still 流连忘返on the fireworks.

    Hope they will ask you to host NDP 2008. I will support you.

    P/s: After this morning chat over the phone, made me realize why u are titled “万人迷” and “最亲切” DJ. You’re nice. =)

    Reply

  21. kel Says:

    umm…i saw some ppl not tt happy during the parade, which is captured on tv. like tt will give viewers bad impression u noe.

    Reply

  22. JT Says:

    Called in this morning, I was at blue sector, miss out :
    Woo! live band performance throughout the parade!
    Performance from left, right, centre, busy turning around, tried not to miss any of them!
    B U T….
    How come Kit didn’t sing at the end of the show?
    How come didn’t sing Ai Guo songs like past years? Choir sat there for hours, looked so bored..
    Some late comers, walking around to look for seat, notice that they didn’t wear red or white??
    Some audience still leave litters on the floor….

    Reply

  23. Bean Says:

    I wish i was there!! it’s really not easy to get tickets this yr..

    *cross fingers* will try again next yr~~!

    Reply

  24. Darren Says:

    I was in Blue Sector too…I am the last person to get the last pair of tix…Refer to My blog…4 the photos…used Olympus Old Version Digital camera…But I thot it’s rather clear..well,time 4 a change of my cam…Cruz…Do advice on the good camera?And This year Music seems to be only controlled by The Orchestra,not the CHOIR…look at the Choir…they are rather BORED…

    Reply

  25. Darren Says:

    and i REMEMBERED MR.X Saying the Xiang he ni chui chui feng…Sounds a little weird..

    Reply

  26. Elise Says:

    I think it’s quite sad that from the many comments I’ve heard abt the NDP, most did not understand the many details of what was going on. Being a participant myself, we didn’t have the fortune of being explained to, what the whole show was all about.

    Perhaps there should have been a brochure to explain the content of the whole NDP! Hehe.

    To Wei De (Melbourne): I thought there’s the official NDP website where we can watch the parade online??

    Reply

  27. mk Says:

    Just saw the side bar…
    so wanrenmi will be you, peifen n ai wei? hahas. looking forward to hearing u guys on air!
    =) jiayous~

    i think ndp can be watched on mobtv… should be foc. =D

    Reply

  28. chernozems Says:

    Wah, great pics and nicely written entry… Got ample disclaimers and answer-your-own-question parts. Haha… You never bring Ah Ang to the parade?

    Reply

  29. D Says:

    may i know what camera are you using?

    Reply

  30. ying Says:

    Hi Ziyong, u must hv a great time during national day right? Does weibin hv a blog?

    Reply

  31. xianz Says:

    I went too(on e actual day) !! Wheee…was in the blue sector n the fireworks juz exploded right before my eyes!! plus a fantastic view of e sea segment muahaha..

    Reply

  32. May Says:

    Hey Cruz, though your camera may be amateur but really great photos taken. Colours are captured well. May I know which brand and model are you using?

    Reply

  33. Stormy Says:

    The fireworks on that night was fantastic… woa….

    Reply

    Cruz's reply:

    Hi all who’re asking about my camera… It’s just a humble Canon ixus 7. Not some sophiscated SLR…
    And in this case, photoshop helps a lot. hee

    Reply

  34. badtzdiana Says:

    Hey Cruz, saw u at Shaw Isetan tat afternn n I recognized the T shirt straight away!!!
    U seem to feel uncomfortable becos there were ppl who recognized u right??

    Reply

  35. 85 Days to NDP 2009! | :: Woohoo :: Says:

    [...] pair of Preview tickets in 2005, after blatantly begging on air. And when the celebrations moved to Marina Floating Platform for the first time in 2007, I got a call from the NDP [...]

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