The Coldplay Concert

It was 31^st March, a big day for many. If you live in Singapore, you should know that Coldplay’s here! They would be holding a concert (Head full of Dreams Tour) at the National Stadium on 31th March and 1^st April!! Well, we would be watching them on 31^st, which was on a Friday.

So immediately after school, I scurried home with excitement shown all over my face. I had a quick and good refreshing shower before leaving our doorstep for Singapore’s national stadium!

We took public transport, ready for a whale of a time amongst the crowd. But before that, we obviously had to have dinner first. We arrived at the Stadium’s iconic Kallang Wave Mall which was just outside Stadium MRT. There is a considerable abundance of food and beverage in the mall. However, we decided to have a typical dinner at the mall’s Foodfare food court.

After our dinner, we headed to the stadium gates! Kallang Wave Mall is near our gate, which was gate 19. We took numerous photos together outside the stadium before heading to the gate itself. We got our tickets ready and successfully went through security. We were officially inside the stadium premises as we continue striding to our seats which were quite far and high from the stage.

Though our category was meant to be restricted, our seats weren’t too bad after all! Aside minor obstructions, we were still able to see the band perform.

Anyways, with still an hour left before the concert began, we took our seats as my dad bought some refreshments in case we became hungry or thirsty in the midst of all the fun.

Opening performance

There were many benefits of taking the sides on the high ground:

1: You could see when the band is coming in through the back of the stage.

2: How the crew works behind the scenes.

3: You don’t feel hot and perspire like all those in the standing pen!

As we adored the chaotic surroundings the final announcements were made to take to your seats as the concert began! From the back, we saw the longing and anticipated Coldplay stars!

Once they took the stage, you could expect the utmost best from them!!!

They played all their famous hits everyone knew, such as Paradise, Hymn of the Weekend, Adventure of a Lifetime, Yellow and much more. Every song they played, I felt I was drunk as I was having too much fun, I didn’t feel like sleeping at all! With the help of the LED lights produced by xyloband, the stadium was like glittered with thousands of stars!!

Xyloband colors

As the concert ended, the band said their thanks they played a great grand finale!

Overall, I enjoyed Coldplay’s style of sing-along with their popular hits and the fact there was no intermission! My favourite performance throughout the concert was Paradise, which is also my favourite Coldplay song!

As the concert has ended, we left the stadium and went to Starbucks for a good dessert with smiles on everyone’s faces. It was a concert worth watching as we took a late train home!!!!

Videos from the concert:

Our Dinner at Savour

Last night, the 19^th of November, we went for a special dinner at this temporary outdoor place called Savour, organized by DBS. The food was delicious! We arrived at Bayfront Avenue at around 8pm with empty bellies below the iconic Marina Bay Sands. We were excited to see what Savour has in store for us.

We walked across a busy street before taking photos of the beautiful skyscrapers of Singapore. Beyond the restaurant was the Singapore River. Across that was the Fullerton Hotel. The view from the river was a charm.

 

With that, we entered the outdoor restaurant as we topped up our wristbands which we could use to pay for orders in the food outlets. With that done like lightning, we searched for a vacant table.

It was quite hard to find one as it was it was Saturday and many were here due to their free time in the weekend. 8pm is also the peak hour for dinner time, making the place full with cheerful people. There was live entertainment too, so the atmosphere was loud and fun.

I ate a delicious hotdog which was humongous and drank tasteless sparkling water, which was at least refreshing. My mom and dad ordered something unique that I haven’t seen somewhere else. I guess that’s what they call gourmet.

After a sumptuous dinner, I scurried to try their exciting activities. (Well…I only did one of them, and failed.L) The only activity I did was where you had to hit the bottles with tennis balls. You had to pay 5 bucks for that. However, the more bottles you hit, the more cash you got back. I hit two bottles.

With that fun fulfilled, I decided to have a dessert. So, my dad helped my buy a weird looking donut ice-cream. Despite the fact it had a strange structure, I enjoyed it. It was awesomely mouth-watering. My mom enjoyed it like me too.

As midnight approached, we headed home as I was getting fatigued.

Overall, our dinner there was delicious and we had a great time. However, it would have been better if they added a stage where singers would come up to sing songs and interact with us. That’ll be more entertaining.

They should also add a dance floor.

 

My Dish: Truffle Hound ($12) 100g Prime Beef Frankfurter, Roasted Portobello Mushroom, Garlic & Miso Butter, Ketchup, Truffle Aioli, Melted Truffle Cheese, in a toasted Brioche Bun

Daddy’s Dish: Braised Beef with Marinated Zucchini and Green Sauce ($12) Homemade Soft Roll with Braised Beef, Marinated Grilled Zucchini with Garlic and Green Sauce ( Parsley, Capers, Anchovies, Olive Oil & Vinegar)

Mommy’s dish: Half Roasted French Quail ($12) Pearl Barley & Forest Mushrooms Risotto, Pickled Shimeiji, Japanese Buckwheat, Shallots

Dessert: Spanish Flan ($6) Moringa Crumble, Fresh Berries, Apple Blossom

No Picture: Slayer ($12) Old Bay Fried Chicken, Black Truffle Mash, Country Sausage Gravy

No Picture: Donut Softie ($6)Sugared Donut, Egg Nog Soft Serve, Chicken Floss

A Day at the Beach

A few Sundays ago, we decided to visit the beach for a picnic and we had a whale of a time!

At 6am on a Sunday morning, we started packing our picnic stuff. Soon enough, we left our house and were on our way to a state of coastal fun!

At approximately 8am, we arrived at our destination which is Changi Beach. We set up the mat quickly while my dad went to get our hot drinks from Changi Village Hawker’s Centre. After he came back, we started a casual breakfast with sandwiches after I had a quick search for Pokémon. The meal was definitely mouth-watering!

With that done, I got a Frisbee we brought in handy. So, I decided to have a match with daddy. Unfortunately, my dad won after a short warm-up with 2-0.

Before starting our second match, I swam a few laps by the beach, as planned by my parents. They did not want me to swim away from the shoreline as I might not know how far I am from shore. It was tiring, but I got over with it.

As the sun was soon to be above us, we had another quick match with fast rallies. It was extremely exhausting. Thankfully, I have high stamina. So, I had the upper hand in that match and won over dad with a score of 2-1.

As our picnic was soon to end, I took a quick shower before reading a book in my Kindle. However, I was soon distracted by a group of men who played beach volleyball near us. I was watching them and it was real epic. At the same time, a man who went fishing on a kayak came back. Unfortunately for him, he caught nothing, and everyone who were witnessing this were also sad that nothing was caught.

With that, our enjoyable picnic came to a happy ending as we went to the hawker center for lunch before heading home.

 

Oktoberfest 2016

On the 8^th of October 2016, my parents and I went downtown to Clarke Quay to celebrate the Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest is a festival held in October. This annual festival started in Germany.

We left our house with high spirits of excitement. We arrived at the venue of the occasion at 7pm. While waitng for my mom’s friend to reach there, we had a German dinner with sausages, pork knuckle and sauerkraut. It was a bit costly, but it was worth it because there were live performers on stage to entertain us.

When my mom’s friend arrived, I decided to play some traditional games to keep myself occupied. I took my game coupons as I played the superb activities. I did not win anything though, unfortunately.

When I got back to our table, the hosts of the festival introduced us a band of Oktoberfest singers (they were British though) who would make us occupied. They sure did!

The band started off with a few entertaining songs before the real fun began. We started with a game which was like ‘repeat after me’ type of thing, it was just that we were speaking, not doing the action. It was fun speaking in the German language.

Next task was even better. It included teamwork and unity. We were supposed to ‘link arms’ with the people beside us and do what the singers ask us to do, with the arms held all the time. Here is the order of movement:

1: Sway left
2: Sway right
3: Stand up
4: Sit down
5: Lean forward
6: Lean backward

We then have to repeat the same order again and again as the rhythm got faster and faster. Before we knew it, we were extremely tired! With that, they ended their great performance.

The last activity we did before we got home at 10pm was dancing. I shuffled along the dance floor and did some cool hip-hop moves as I caught the attention of the crowd. I did not get tired to easily and I had a whale of a time dancing in a cool style.

Before we left, we went to a photo booth to take some photo shots before heading home. I had tons of fun and I obviously wished I had more. I slept like a log immediately when I arrived home.

The Singapore Aquathlon

The gloomy skies filled the active surroundings of East Coast Park. Saturday was a very big day for my sporting life. I was going to participate in the Singapore Aquathlon 2016! This was the 2nd aquathlon I participated in. The event commenced on 18th June 2016. My category was kids, 10-11. It would be at 10.45am.

At 9.45am, we got off our taxi and headed to the check-in zone to get my number marked on my arms on both sides. We then walked slowly to the transition area where I placed my shirt, towel and shoes. I would go there after my swim. The sky remained gloomy as the adults and youths had their shots at the race.

I decided to practice my duck runs, a run you use when entering and leaving the water and warm-up. I was with other kids who were getting ready for their big moment. After a few laps, the minutes were ticking in. So, my parents advised me to only practice my duck runs which I was a master at already. They didn’t want me to get too tired.

At 10.30am, my parents wished me luck while I headed to the starting point. There were a bunch of competitors stationed there earlier. With still 15 more minutes before it all began, we did a little stretching. The parents watching us also took some photos as permitted by the facilitators.

Just a few minutes before the actual starting time, a facilitator gave us a 1 minute briefing before giving us a 45sec interval. After that interval, the horn went of meaning the start of the race!

In the water, there was a little pushing as we headed towards our turn around point. I had a disadvantage as I was in the middle, meaning I was going diagonally, giving me a few extra meters to swim. I finished in 10th place for the swim, which was a great improvement thanks to my coach!

At the end point, I got slowed down by the barrier, a rope. However, I wasn’t overtaken. Instead, I just made my way up the shore and into the transition area where I overtook a few boys.

During the run, I got back a position as a boy overtook me. Unfortunately, I failed to get my placement back and ended up 14th in Gender position and 12th in category position.

For finishing, I got a shiny medal which was really worth it. I was happy with the results although I wasn’t 1st as I took some shots with my newest and polished medal with my parents!