sg day

we'd a funny moment a while ago when a houseguest apologised before saying something good about singapore. his pre-amble was , "i know you guys don't like singapore very much but..." this kind of shocked us because while we're not flag-waving white-wearing singapore die-hards, it's very much home and somewhere we see ourselves returning to. our families are there, we've grown up there and despite  not agreeing with everything the way the country is run, you take the good with the bad. and we're appreciative and grateful there's more good than bad. i don't understand people who slam singapore especially when they / their families have been beneficiaries of the policies in place. yes, it's not perfect. yes, people can be self-righteous and unforgiving, but we're a young nation and have some growing up to do. ironically, relocating to london has shown us how fortunate we were in singapore and i miss the convenience and efficiency on a daily basis. so we were quick to reassure our guest that we loved hearing success stories about singapore and are proud of the +65. 

so when sg day rolled round, we were excited to go! it was our first sg day and mister contrary-ian decided to drive. despite the multiple exhortations from the organisers not to. ok. so that's one thing we don't like -the excessive paternalism and nanny-ing. but just as well they did because in true compliant fashion, there was roadside parking aplenty and we parked (for free!) right next to the venue with no difficulty. mister was justifiably smug about that! 

the queues were horrendous but we weren't expecting otherwise. we'd invited our dear friends who hope to relocate to singers at some point and it was a toss up between queueing 2h for carrot cake or hanging with our guests. no brainer, even though it meant all we ended up feasting on were literal combat rations (shortest queue). the mister refused to touch the mock meat glutinous rice, sweet corn dessert or tomato ketchup noodles.  tell a lie, we did scoff some soto ayam, soup kambing and tau suan courtesy of kind friends who took pity on us sitting morosely on our state-provided picnic mat eating army food.

the entertainment was good! gurmit singh reprised his role as PCK, much to our guest's delight. who'd have thought that this incredibly sophisticated, cambridge*educated top*barrister would've been a closet PCK fan, confessing to being the proud possessor of the entire box set. and that's a trait that makes us like him even more. i think it's great when people stay grounded in the face of strastospherical success. 

after singapore day, we linked up with our little group of london transplants and set a new record for number of people in a small car. crept along to broadway market for pho, iced coffee and drinks on a sunny sidewalk. and because we were still hungry after that, went to dirty burger for dinner. i love chilled saturdays with good food and better company :)