As we drove past The Esplanade we were quite dismayed as it seemed like there was nothing to see, but when we walked towards the area after parking, I was thrilled at the sight before me. River Hong Bao 2011 is awesome. So many gigantic art installations – the God of Fortune, the rabbits and the dragons.
There was also a fun-fair with a ferris wheel and scary rides. Even with Tom Cruise and J-Lo ‘endorsing’ the rides, there is no way I would get on those things. I did it once in my twenties and I felt like my stomach was being bounced up to my heart. That’s the way it seemed to me. Having my internal organs shaken and stirred is not my idea of fun.
You can skip your dinner when you come here as there was a food fair and exhibition from Nanjing (China) as well. Loads to see and there were tourists and little kindergarten kids on excursion. I love how they were holding hands with their buddies.
The weather was super weird. It was scorchingly hot and there was such a blinding glare I could not open my eyes. Then suddenly the clouds grew black and it poured. We took shelter in one of the tents till the rain eased to a drizzle and then made our way back to the Esplanade. If you plan to go down tonight, it’s wise to bring your raincoat and umbrella.
The River Hongbao is a big event for the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board and this year the even which has been taking place since 1986 (I had no idea) will celebrate it’s silver anniversary. There is no rush to head down as the festivities will be on for 2 weeks, till 13th February, but tonight at 7.30 there will be fireworks and tomorrow there will be the countdown with fireworks at midnight. I imagine that it was also be bone crushingly packed, so I’m glad I took a look when it was empty. It will be nice to see how it looks at night with all the lights though. Maybe my expat blogger friends will go and post it on their blogs. Am looking forward to seeing your photos.
You need to walk out from the Esplanade past the restaurants, towards Glutton’s Bay. (Oops I hit publish before uploading my photos….will be coming soon….)
A Ferris Wheel for the kiddies and romantics.
The scary ride with Tom Cruise and Jennifer Lopez!
It makes me happy when tourists have a good time. I feel like because I am Singaporean, I am kinda like a host.
Everything is more splendid with the Marina Bay Sands Hotel as a backdrop.
A bottle sculpture of the Marina Barrage, our newest reservoir.
The pre-schoolers on excursion. I wonder how the teacher manages them. I would freak out about losing a kid, because they seem pretty hard to control with all their exuberance.
My favourite shot of the day.
The river looks muddier than usual, probably due to some flooding issues.
So much colour. So vibrant.
Cos it’s the year of the Rabbit.
When the phoenix is lit up, it will be breath-taking I imagine.
A humongous drum.
The sky looks menacing.
The majestic Gold Dragon.
Is this what the God of Fortune will bestow upon you?
Loved the cute but weird rabbits at the Heritage Board’s booth.
This makes me want to get back to the stamp collection I had as a child. I always wished there was something in there that would be worth a lot of money.
The God of Fortune towers into the sky and even dwarfs the Marina Bay Sands, from this angle.
What is Lunar New Year without the traditional red lanterns.
The Gold Brush Stroke Rabbits were a lovely addition.
Loved how the small girl’s pink dress is striking against that backdrop.
Food fair from Nanjing (which is also known as Nanking)
Here’s when it started drizzling and it was soon pouring.
We took shelter at the tented food, exhibition and fun-fair area.
Blogging sure takes a lot of time, but I love it. It took me nearly 2 hours to upload the photos and write the post. It was the photo uploading one by one that took the longest amount of time. If I was working full-time I don’t think I would be doing this so often.
Here’s a link to all my posts on CNY 2011.
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Thanks for the info! I want to go now… 😉
thanks for reading ….glad it was useful 🙂