2008/09 New Year Countdown @ Hong Lim Park

Nowadays, people go here to countdown too

Instead of heading to the usual countdown parties this year, Rachel and I decided to try something different, and opted to go for a countdown at Hong Lim Park instead. The event was organised by the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and was attended by an estimated crowd of around fifty people.

After a sumptuous dinner at Seafood Paradise with my family, we headed down to Hong Lim Park via the NEL train. As we arrived quite late (around 5 minutes before midnight), we missed all the talks and other programs lined-up. Once we reached the location, we were greeted by a pleasant display of fireworks from the Marina Barrage party which was partially visible. Although the view was mostly blocked by a few giant trees, Rachel and I were still rather happy as we didn’t expect to see it.

Arranged candles

Another item that immediately caught our eyes when we stepped into Hong Lim Park were candles, arranged to form the words “Free Singapore” on the grass patch. It was a beautiful sight and it goes well with the fireworks and the singing coming from the small group of people gathered.

The atmosphere was quite light-hearted, and the SDP folks were really friendly, offering us food and drinks, even though we do not know them. There were also some small children running around, enjoying themselves. I was quite surprised to see Dr. Chee Soon Juan playing the guitar and leading a sing-a-long. All in all, the event felt like a cosy barbeque session for a group of close friends.

Here’s a video recording of the fireworks, the candles display and the SDP folks singing:

[youtube url=”http://www.youtube.com/v/8BqrFxoMrKk&hl=en&fs=1″]

Here are some photos to share:

Small, but merry crowd

The people there

Wall to leave wishes for Singapore in 2009

Accolades for MM Lee

Detractor of MM Lee and SM Goh

Remember the late Mr JBJ who left us in 2008

Happy new year everyone! Sincerely hope 2009 will be a great year ahead for everyone and may there be world peace. 🙂

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