Preparations

Last night I met a friend for dinner at Clarke Quay on the river. It was a beautiful evening with a nice breeze and cooler (by Singapore standards) temperatures. After a nice dinner we decided to take a walk along the river. About 10 minutes into our walk we heard some loud noises in the sky and looked up and saw this coming towards us:
I know it is hard to see but there are four military helicopters flying relatively low along the river. Hanging from one of them was the flag of Singapore. It was much more visible when they got right in front of us.

These were flying over as part of a practice session for National Day. Singapore's National Day is next Sunday and is similar to our 4th of July celebration. The difference with this is that they have been practicing for the festivities for two months. And by practicing I mean full-on dress rehearsals of the parade, military flights, full police presence, part of the river shut down to boats, and fireworks. This means that every Saturday for the two months preceding National Day a good section of downtown Singapore is closed to vehicle traffic. Thankfully I don't need to be in that part of the city and if I do I either walk or take the MRT.

As I mentioned, part of the rehearsal includes a fireworks display every Saturday night. I had heard them going off over previous weekends but hadn't made it down to see them. Just to give you perspective the building in the picture is the Fullerton Hotel:

These aren't just a few fireworks to make sure they have the location correct, it was a full-on fireworks show. The practice session was even more impressive than the 4th of July celebration I was at last month. With that in mind, can you imagine how much these rehearsals cost Singapore? On one hand it is amazing to think of the cost but on the other it is kind of cool to see a country take such pride in it's National Day that they go to this extent to make sure it is perfection for the people of the country to watch.

I'll be out of town next Sunday so will miss the bulk of the festivities. I'm glad I was able to take part in the rehearsals to get a sense of the day. But am a bit thankful I won't be here since the river was packed with people just watching the rehearsal. I cannot imagine how crazy it is going to be next week. I'm guessing something along the lines of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade or New Year's Eve in Times Square.

On another note - I want say Happy Birthday to my friend Paul! I hope he has a great birthday and a wonderful year ahead.