Come Together Singapore

August 9 is the day of Singapore's independence. A celebration of nationhood when Singaporeans come together to rejoice as a nation.
Over 400 000 Singaporeans apply each year online to participate in the draw for the tickets. Almost everyone wants to be part of the celebration which are held in the Marina Bay on the floating platform which is 120 meters long and 83 meters wide, 5% larger than the soccer field at the National stadium. The platform can bear up to 1,070 tonnes, equivalent to the total weight of 9,000 people, 200 tonnes of stage props and three 30-tonne military vehicles. The seating capacity is 27,000 people.

This year's theme, Come Together- Reaching Out, Reaching Up embodied the ‘nation’ experience – the Singapore story - where its unique past, present and future come together.

Different chapters show the founding of Singapore to the modern nation of today.
The excited and lucky crowd who managed to get tickets

Singapore's Red Lions always a crowd pleaser
Precision landing between the stage and the grand stand
The Prime Minister arrives

Different chapters showcasing the Singapore story...

...which was narrated in form of festive songs and dances....
Sang Nila Utama, a prince from Sumatra, set forth to found a new city. On the island of Temasek, he beheld sight of a fantastic beast which his ministers identified as a lion although these animals were not native to the region.

In another chapter a hypothetical terrorist attack was brought to thrilling live....
...as the audience was treated to an impressive display of Singapore’s total defense capability

Various air craft, sea craft and land vehicles converge at the floating platform.
Boats chasing the "terrorists"


and of course finally get hold of them


The Parade was the centerpiece of the celebrations and while the President was inspecting the Guard of Honor...


...Singapore's flag flew past by....
... and the 21- Gun Presidential Salute was conducted on M3G floats..
For the first time it could be seen from the audience gallery.
The next chapter documented the transformation of Singapore from the little known trading port to one of the most globalized and cosmopolitan city-states in the world.
Various musical styles, fashion, trends and dance crazes were demonstrated
A medley of songs from the National Day repertoire was performed by a 600 member choir and over 400 young performers

Every year's highlight, the fireworks, brought the National Day Celebrations to a spectacular ending

Grand Finale of the 2 hour show. Over 1000 people are on the stage now.

27,000 spectators are ready to leave the Gallery and the thousands that watched the show from all around Marina Bay and One Fullerton are trying to get to MRT, Buses or other means of transport. However a well organised chaos!
After 10 years I was very lucky to get an unexpected ticket from the leader of the drummer group. Thanks so much for that!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE!!!

If you interested in more photos in a better resolution juts click the picture below and hit the slide show button on the top left of the album. I hope you'll enjoy:

NDP 2009

Thousands Gather To Watch Solar Eclipse

Eclipse 2009 path in Asia

Scientists, students and nature enthusiasts gathered along the path of the sun where the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century would be visible.

Heavy cloud cover and overnight rains threatened to spoil the party at least in parts of India and Japan.

This eclipse - visible only in Asia - reached its peak in China at about 9.20am local time (2.20am GMT) .

In Singapore the eclipse was expected to only reach about 20% max. so the expectations were not very high. Besides that we had quite heavy rains since the morning therefore we mainly were able to look at dark clouds.

Check here photos from the live coverage on China's CCTV10:

Sudden pitch darkness at 9 am

Building and street lights had to be turned on
Thousands of Chinese were gathered to watch this eclipse, for most of them a once in a lifetime experience. I was very lucky to experience a total solar eclipse on August 11, 1999 - about 2pm in Austria. It was a kind of creepy feeling as suddenly the birds disappered from the sky and stopped singing. The nature seemed to have stopped breathing and suddenly it was competely dark. After a few minutes the birds were the frist ones to appear and flying again and everything was back to normal.
Big TV screens were set up for everyone to watch closely.

At its peak it was due to last for six minutes and 39 seconds in some parts of Asia which was the longest such eclipse since JUly 11, 1991, when a total eclipse lasing six minutes and 53 seconds was visible from Hawaii to South America.

Spectacular view

Japanese eclipse watchers were not lucky this time. In the shot from the live coverage spectators were seen in raincoats and to stay dry from the heavy rain.

New Singapore Record: Chili Crab Eating! 431people at the same time

Singaporeans love to queue.......especially when it comes to food

........and it doesn't matter how long the wait, when there is a "bargain" or fantastic food!
Seems everyone wants to be part of that record braking food galore:
The event, perfectly organised by the Chinatown business association (CBA), was about: The most people eating Singapore's world famous signature dish: 'Chilli Crab' at the same time!



If you're a follower of our blog you sure remember this most disgusting (my humble opinion only) Chicken Rice Eating Contest where participants had to stuff themselves with as much chicken rice as possible. So it was a pleasant surprise to learn that during this year's Singapore Food Festival CBA dumped the chicken rice gorging contest for a more sophisticated Chili crap dining.
The 2 hosts both from radio FM97.2 Zheng Xiaoying and Violet Fenying got people excited before the crabs were served

The waitresses waiting for the command

....given by organisers and invited VIP's

..........and this is one of Singapore's favorite and most famous dishes everyone has been waiting for: THE CHILLI CRAB

Finally after some speeches, award givings and music the guests were able to enjoy the sweet and spicy crab .........you can tell that they are savoring.............

It mainly was about food but it was also a carnival for the entertainment of the guests

a carnival band.....
Belly dancers???? yeah!!!

mascots....... and stilt walkers

and the 2 hosts questioning food lovers about their preferences

VIP's also having fun and relishing that delicious crab

Relaxed dancing waiters after they were done with their job- well done btw

VIP guests: Mr. Edmund Chua (S'pore Tourism Board ACE) and Singapore food celebrity KF Seetoh (Makansutra founder and TV host who recently made a guest appearance on the Martha Steward Show to cook Laksa)
That Australian bloke couldn't be bothered by crowds at the successful Chili Crab event. Just one block away in Chinatown he was lonely but obviously enjoying the quiet night and his beer.

"Different folks, different strokes."

And someone else- we know very well- was busy that evening despite almost everyone eating crab next to his kiosk:

Erich and his wife Helen were busy getting their sausages grilled to satisfy their customer queues as well. All grills were on fire with a full load of their best

but regardless how much work there is, Erich has always enough time for a smile and a joke

Do you remember? Erich broke a record as well in 2006 with "the longest sausage"

Check out the longest sausage web album:

From Longest Sausage

Coming soon news from Erich's Backstube, so keep coming back to this blog to stay up to date!

To watch more photos in higher resolution click crab below and slide show in the top left corner of the web album:

Super_supper

Singapore Airlines' cast system of arrogance continues!

Despite having filled only less than 70% of their seats the last couple of month SQ continues their cast system. You might ask why cast system? Right. Myself and some of my friends (even Solitaire members) feel the same way.

Cast:

1st Class: You are most welcome

Business Class: You are very welcome

Economy Class: Unfortunately we need to welcome you as well

Let me give you some examples why we sometimes get this feeling. But first of all I have to exclude the cabin crew and ground staff. They really do a great job and their service most of the time is extraordinary!

It's the decision makers I'm accusing of arrogance and ignorance. These SQ high fliers are making decisions which do make people "only" flying economy uncomfortable.

First of all besides being one of the most expensive airlines SQ's economy seats have been some of the narrowest in EC.

Last year's change to business class only on their Non Stop flights to NY and LA was another sign of their preference towards "better" class people. What they already might regret due to the economic downturn, when they had to lower the frequency of flights from 7 to 3 days a week.

SQ is so lucky being located in Singapore or Asia in general because it would be so more difficult if they were in US or Europe because not all companies allow their staff to fly business, not even senior executives, which is so different to the mostly spoilt Singaporeans or Expats which only accept EC if the flight is less than 4 hours (for some 6hrs).

SQ has DOUBLED the necessary miles for upgrades to BC on long haul flights e.g. to US on new planes! Not increased just a bit, DOUBLED! I feel they actually don't want "normal" passengers to be able to set foot into their "holy grail" Raffles Class, so they set the goal so high that it becomes almost impossible to upgrade.

Again everything is paved for members of the "better" cast because they earn double or triple the miles anyway and are able to easily upgrade on their private trips. My humble opinion is, if they were able to sack the points for EC they would do it in the first place, however as long as people can earn miles with other carriers it would not really be in SQ"s favor to do so. They still somehow need the EC crowd to fill some seats.

I could go on and on and on.

Let me mention one thing: How often have you seen an advertisement to promote economy class? Most of the campaigns are all about First or Raffles Class (which are great, no doubt) but hardly any for EC. Only recently with companies scaling down on business flights there are some ads for EC in the new planes or the promotional fares which always pop up especially in bad times as during SARS, Bird Flu or H1N1SQ, they suddenly need to fill their half empty planes. Last, to me the Mc-Donald success shows how important it is attracting young kids to a brand to be able to keep them as returning customers even when they're adults.

How does this relate to SQ you'll ask? Young kids, students, junior staff, etc. may not be able to fly BC today, but convincing them that the brand not only appreciates business from the more expensive classes, might be the returning customers tomorrow!

And as we can see one survey lately where Changi airport was overtaken by two others in ranking:

Competition is trying hard, they don't sleep either!

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COME VISIT: Chinatown Super SUPPER Madness!

Since its inception in 1994, the Singapore Food Festival (SFF) has successfully profiled Singapore’s diverse offerings of local and international food, positioning Singapore as the Food Capital in Asia.

SFF seeks to bring Singapore’s much-loved local cuisine to the world stage, by highlighting our unique local food as well as food culture and heritage. Participants can look forward to an even more exotic and sumptuous fare to leave you an unforgettable gastronomic experience island wide!

This year, SFF's longest and biggest SUPPER event will be held at Chinatown Food Street! Saturday, 18. July- 7 pm - 12 am

Get the exclusive Supper Pass (priced at $15) and you will enter one the most exciting and open-air eating-arena full of happenings and surprises! Enjoy a night of entertainment, lucky draw perks with lots and lots of Chinatown good food! It'll be one of the most unforgettable suppers in Singapore!

Erich's Wuerstelstand and many other food stalls in Chinatown are participating in this event.