Party of the year!

I was at the National Day Parade of course. Can't miss the show of the year. Actually this is my first time viewing it as a spectator.(Grandstand seats too, thanks Adam!) I took part in 2 National Day Parades a few years before, but I was, naturally, too tire to feel anything but relief when the Day finally arrives and we put on our last performance.


There was a sea of red and white at Kallang MRT station. Everyone was very corporative, wearing red and/or white. I did spotted a few in jeans and non-singapore-flag-colored shirt, wah lau, make some effect can? McDonald was also showing an enterprising spirit by placing wooden tables outside its shop to make space for the thousands strong crowd.


The traffic marshal was, as per tradition, a NS man. Hey, kind of remind me of myself 2 years ago. They play a great role. Seriously.


We met a couple of young people on stilt, and I got a sticker off one of them. Wonderful people.




There are place cards of cow like this everywhere. What's with the cow?


There was time for a little history lesson. I was counting the number of times MM Lee appeared.


As we neared the stadium,

I felt a strong sense of patriotism, and I saluted. Wow. You can't see it from here, but I was almost in tears.


We spotted this near the stadium. It seems friendly enough...


...so we posed for a picture. Check out my teeth!

Turns out there are a lot of stuff going on around the stadium.

Different groups were performing and I like the skipping best. I think they are from my old primary school, so there might be something there, but it's the pure spirit they display that attracted me. And also the ear-splitting screams of their supporters.


Also a young man blowing his trumpet.


And a little girl getting her face painted.


More wonderful people,


I may not be able to walk on stilt, but I can definely do the balloons. Yah, it's a hobby of mine. I can be creative too you know.


And we are finally in! We got tire of walking around and made our way onto our seats. This will be the last year the NDP will be held inside the national stadium, so there is a certain amount of sadness there.


The balloon lady got real close.




And our Ministers and MPs arrived! Mostly in white. You won't know this if you wasn't there. They were playing the song "(I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be) Free" just before the VIPs arrives.


Now the real show begins.


The fly pass.


The march pass.


The drive pass.


Oh yah, not forgetting the poor soldiers.


What a extraordinary day.


And I sit and contemplate it all.

The show went on...
and on...
and on...
some more...
not bad...
and on...

We love the fireworks.


And it ends with a bang.


Now that the official show ended.




Let's party!


I went around hugging people,


performers,


and random school children.


And it would seem, I'm not the only one.


People in costume are still partying,


eating fire,


and just fooling around.


Now I understand why they call it the party of the year. This is the part you don't get to see on TV. From the performance outside the stadium, to the children, till the end where our youth dance and party the night away on our nation birthday. Now that's worth going for. So if you went and left with the crowd, you miss half the show.


All photographs are courtesy of SHOTBYADAM.COM
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