A Walk Down Memory Lane

A short stint outside Singapore can make one realise how lucky we are to be born here in our little red dot of an island.  Racial harmony, no strikes that causes the world to come to a standstill, clean water for drinking, a trustworthy currency and many more little things that I didn't use to value as much previously...

Those who are born in the same era as me will probably share similar memories of the past National Day Parade ("NDP") songs.  Having attended a friend's baptism earlier this week and humming along to the hymns that were sung, it proved how songs can evoke such powerful emotions in a person.  So here's sharing some of the more memorable local tunes!

NDP 1998 - Home

"This is where I won't be alone... For this is where I know it's home"

The all familiar tune composed by Dick Lee and sung by Kit Chan that nearly every Singaporean knows... It is easily the best NDP song to-date!  A song that will make me smile and feel proud of being Singaporean even when I'm overseas haha.

NDP 1999 - Together

"Together we make a difference, our friends our families, we will share a special dream, together we feel the Singapore heartbeat"

The song for which I attended National Day Parade!  Okay, so if you do some math you will probably know my age right...haha...  Anyway I like the Chinese version of this song very much!  It is definitely one of the best translated NDP tune in my opinion!

NDP 2000 - Shine on me

"Stars and crescent shine on me, make us more than what we can be"

A very serene and peaceful song.  It didn't leave much of an impact on me (probably because I had bigger things to worry about during that year haha...), but nevertheless still a very melodious piece.

NDP 2001 - Where I belong

"I want the whole world to know, I want to shout it out loud, that this is where I know I belong"

I vaguely remember myself performing AV duties when this song was played during the school's NDP celebrations.  I even remember the exact location where I was standing and listening to this song!  It remains as one of my favourite NDP melodies!

NDP 2002 - We will get there

"Believing in trust, it must, be possible to overcome anything"

A Stephanie Sun (Sun Yan Zi) song!  There were even pre-determined moves to the song that was practiced by the entire school for National Day!  The Sino Exchange Group may remember how our Sino friends love this song and that we ended up singing it in Chinese with huge gusto on loop in a KTV lounge!

NDP 2003 - One united people

"We are rainbow of a thousand colours, lighting up the sky"

2003... SARS... Yup how can I forget?  As "class chair", I ended up being in charge of buying a dozen boxes of tissue paper for my classmates and recording everyone's temperature on a chart... Dark times indeed haha... If you don't remember the NDP 2003 song, then you should at least remember Gurmit Singh's "SARS is the virus, that I just want to minus" song!

NDP 2005 - Reach out for the skies

"Let's reach out for the skies, with dreams we soar up high"

A Taufik Batisah and Rui En song.  It marked a new era with our first Singapore Idol performing for National Day!  A time when mobile phones became a growing presence in Singaporean lives and payphones at the HDB void deck slowly became extinct...

NDP 2006 - My island home

"My home, wherever I may beee... I believeeeee, you will always be a part of me"

Another milestone year, hence not surprising that I can't really remember the tune or lyrics to this Kaira Gong song.  (Did I even have time to watch the parade??)  However, it is nice re-listening to it while writing this post!

NDP 2007 - There's no place I rather be

"So I crossed the skies and sailed the seas to be where I want to be"

All I remember about this song was how everyone criticised that many big names and famous places were mentioned, but there was no mention of the word Singapore at all.  Haha really ironic... Thankfully that year had an alternative backup song (see below)!

NDP 2007 - Will you

"Will you take this city and turn it from a place, to a home that greets you with smiles on every face"

One of the most catchy NDP songs!  Unlike the past NDP songs, this was probably one of the first that had a group of people from all walks of life to each sing a phrase in the entire music score.  It definitely makes you want to hum and bob along to the melody!

NDP 2008 - Shine for Singapore

"Have you heard a song, one that moved you one that makes you sing along"

Another peaceful rendition, no solid memories of it and not sure why.  Probably it comes with growing up and moving on in life.  I miss the mandatory sing-along sessions of primary and secondary school days...

NDP 2009 - What do you see

"See the moon and the stars, look how far we have come, look around at our faces, they shine brightly in the sun"

With the proliferation of Internet bloggers in Singapore, the song title became a joke of many such bloggers (e.g. Mr Brown).  Hence it was better known to Singaporeans as "Ri Kua Si Mi" (i.e. "What do you see" literally translated into Hokkien dialect).  Aside from that, its a pretty decent song by Electrico!

NDP 2010 - Song for Singapore

"I want to sing, sing a song for Singapore, with every generation, there is more to be grateful for"

Although I may have vague memories of this Corinna May's piece (and perhaps some of my year mates may agree with me), but I'm sure each NDP song strikes a chord in each different generation bringing back certain fond memories that happened during the year.

NDP 2011 - In a heartbeat
"In a heartbeat, this will always be, our people our country, this is our family"

At Esplanade recently, I heard a heartfelt rendition of this piece that was rearranged by the ITE Show Choir along with Rasa Sayang - Singapura.  The performance made me see the song in a new light!

NDP 2012 - Love at first light

"I love my city's lively ways, warm sunny days, sights and sounds, special tastes, that add up to this place"

Honestly, I may not remember the lyrics or tune, but I definitely remember the music video!  It was so cute!  I think I may have watched it several times thanks to the adorable little girl, Natanya Tan, who sang the duet with Olivia Ong.  She will make your heart melt haha, try it!

NDP 2013 - One Singapore

"Let our hearts sing, woh-oh-oh-woh-oh-oh-oh, together, together as one, we're so much more"

Haha the only thing I remember about this song was that the last bit of the music video was filmed at Lau Pa Sat.  The vibes that this video gives is like a Campus Superstar video with rap included.

NDP 2015 - Our Singapore
"A land to treasure right down to the core.  Our home, our heart, our Singapore"

This year's NDP song composed by Dick Lee and sung by JJ Lin reminding us of our pioneer generation who has helped made Singapore what it is today... It will take another few years before the verdict can be made, whether it remains as a household melody that stays in the hearts of Singaporeans~  Meanwhile, Happy National Day everyone!

Special mention - 细水长流
"问一声我的朋友何时再为我吹奏, 是否依旧是否依旧"

One of the songs that will leave a fuzzy feeling in your heart.  I still remember it as childhood song and it brings back fond memories also of performing the piece with the Guitarissimo Ensemble during our Strings Blended Concert!

Lastly, a warm salute to all those who will be working hard over the National Day Golden Jubilee weekend so as to ensure that the rest of us may enjoy the best SG 50 celebrations ever!  Thank you!

The Swiss Confederate

30 May 2015 (Saturday) - Zurich.  One of my favourite trips was to the largest city of Switzerland.  Switzerland has always been touted to be a beautiful place, and although I couldn't go to Lucerne or Geneva, my next best option was to Zurich which has a closer geographical proximity to Munich.

Sacrificing some sleep to set off at 3.30am was totally worth it!  It was a very scenic ride on the bus to Zurich!  En-route, our bus even boarded a ship which sailed across Lake Constance that offered many wonderful photo opportunities.

Kanzlei Flea Market was my first stop in Zurich.  The flea market is a huge year-round flea market that hosts up to nearly 400 stalls on its busiest days.  According to its website, the flea market takes place in any weather, however I was thankful that it bright and sunny when I arrived.  Similar to the Pasar Malams in Singapore, it sold almost everything under the sun, including rows of second hand bicycles and large beer barrels that were rolled in by their owners.

Following that, I strolled leisurely along the Limmat river, passing by several churches, the Borse ("Zurich Stock Exchange") and the old botanical garden of Zurich.  It was truly a time to walk, stop and smell the roses, appreciating the wonders of nature instead of simply going through the mad rush in our lives...

Zurich's stock exchange

The Limmat River

Octagonal Greenhouse in the Old Botanical Gardens

Not long after, I reached the Paradeplatz in the central of Zurich.  Surrounding the parade square were numerous old buildings that house various banking headquarters.  It is no wonder that Switzerland is well known for being home to large number of financial institutions and banking giants.  Paradeplatz was also the meeting point of my free walking tour.

An unforgettable landmark - Pelikan Street

UBS Headquarters

The UBS Headquarters was founded here since 1872...
That's nearly 43 years...

Credit Suisse Headquarters

Inside the Credit Suisse Headquarters

As I was still early, I decided to make a detour to visit the Google Headquarters in Zurich before the tour started.  Google's worldwide second largest development centre is located in Zurich.  It made me wonder how it would feel like living as an expat in these countries?  The apartments nearby were prettily furnished and surrounded by lush greenery.  I especially liked the "Wanted" sign which was witty but nevertheless sends the message across effectively!

Our very pretty and extremely knowledgeable tour guide, Marie showed us around for the day.  One of the interesting questions that were raised was "why do the Switzerland websites always end with .ch".  The answer lies in the Swiss coin.  CH stands for Confoederatio Helvetica, the Latin name of Switzerland.  Therefore there is also the CHF which is the notation used for the Swiss Francs.

Another fun fact according to Marie was that Switzerland does not have a capital.  Bern is simply the place where the Federal Government, Ministries and Embassies hang out, hence it was made the "Capital" of Switzerland, even though there truly is no Capital in Switzerland. 

Zurich can be characterised by its two of its most famous churches on either side of the River Limmat.  The first church which we visited was the Fraumunster.  Frau which means "woman", as women used to form the political power and ruler of the city of Zurich.  

Did you notice the opening between the two pillars in the picture on the right?  Previously in the past it used to be a Catholic church but was later transformed into a Protestant Church.  Protestants are known for being more conservative in nature, hence it was dictated that if a lady could pass through the two pillars, she was dress fittingly to enter the Protestant Church.  However, if her billowing skirts were too big to fit in that opening, then her dressing was simply too flamboyant and she was deemed to be not appropriately dressed for the Church.

To have a bird's eye view of the city of Zurich, we headed up to a hilltop.  Along the way, Marie pointed out to us the largest clock face in the entire Europe.  It is purported to be even bigger than the Big Ben!  Notice that the Swiss clocks number 4 is spelt out as IIII instead of the usual IV.  Apparently this is considered to be a more classy looking design!  Do you agree?

Everything is expensive in Zurich, except water that is free... Haha you can spot mini water fountains everywhere for quenching your thirst.

On the left:  Can you guess what that hole outside the house is for?  Look carefully!  *Drum roll*  Its actually a shoe scrapper to scrape off all your mud and ice before you enter the house.

On the right: Those stones below your feet belong to ancient remains from the past at Therman-Gasse.

Soon, we crossed over to the other side of the Limmat River.  

Kids from a kindergarten hosting their own flea market

See the cow sticking its head out of the building?
But more importantly, the picture on the building depicts Zurich in its olden days.

Over on the other river bank is the Grossmunster.  It was a monastery church vying for precedence with the Fraumunster across the Limmat throughout the Middle Ages.  According to legends, the Grossmunster was founded by Charlemagne, whose horse fell to its knees over the tombs of Felix and Regula, Zurich's patron saints. 

The story of Felix and Regula says that were siblings who were caught, tried and executed for their faith.  After decapitation, they miraculously stood to their feet, picked up their own heads and walked forty paces up hill, and prayed before lying down in death.  They were buried on the hilltop where they lay down which would become the site of the Grossmunster.  Yup the story kinds of make a person sick in the stomach if they imagined it, but its nevertheless very interesting.

At the end of the tour, Marie gave each of us a voucher to redeem a free vegetarian brownie from Hiltl.  Hiltl is within walking distance from the Paradeplatz and the vegetarian brownie was the best brownie I have eaten so far!  In a nutshell, I would highly recommend everyone to try the Downtown Zurich Tour if they want to know a little bit more about Zurich!

After my Downtown Zurich Tour, I headed over for the Zurich West Tour.  Just a note of caution, as I wasn't expecting to be travelling to Switzerland, I didn't change any Swiss Francs in Singapore.  I changed Euros to Swiss Francs in one of the banks at the Main Train Station.  Unfortunately, the exchange rate was very unfavourable and I was also charged a service fee of 5 Euros.  Hence, it would be advisable for anyone who is travelling to change money beforehand.  

Due to my lack of funds (I merely changed approximately 45 CHF), I did not take a bus or train and travelled only on foot in Zurich.  Everywhere is in walking distance, its just a matter of how long it takes!  Thankfully, the weather was awesome and I really enjoyed my walk around the place.   

Families were out in the gardens enjoying their picnics

The meeting venue of the Zurich West Tour.
EY is located in this building!

The Zurich West Tour was a slightly less popular tour.  We only had about 5 people joining the tour and our tour guide was a young lady who is currently majoring in architecture in one of the universities in Zurich.  Due to the small group size, she could cater to our questions better and I enjoyed the tour very much!

Most of the buildings which we visited during the tour were old industrial buildings that were refurbished with new uses, such as factories that were converted into modern dance studios and cafes or bars.  As Switzerland was not involved in the World War II, most of its buildings were all well-preserved, unlike in its neighbouring countries.

Some of the buildings were add-ons to the existing structure.  For example in the picture below, the black building structure is modern whereas the orange building below which supports it is a pre-war building.  The structures were designed to ensure that past buildings were preserved and not destroyed in the midst of modernisation.

Above, you would see the flagship store of Freitag in Zurich.  It is completely built from rusty, recycled, freight containers.  I'm not a shopping fan so I haven't heard of it before, but apparently it is quite popular!  Freitag gives used materials off the street a new life as unique bags.

Another flea market

Lovely captions @ Block 15:  "Home wasn't built in a day"

The viaduct in Zurich (old railway track above that is redesigned with shopping outlets below)

A monster lurks above the ground...rawrrr...

Feeling thirsty, I headed to the Coop to grab a drink.  Coop is the second largest retail group in Switzerland and it even co-hosted a startup event with UBS for youths, which was held at the Zurich Hauptbahnhof.  Unfortunately it was all in German so I couldn't understand a word of their pitches.  Nevertheless the booths of each team were decorated creatively and nicely and it was a great way to spend my time while waiting for my bus to arrive.

It was a long day, staying on my feet for nearly 7-9 hours.  Finally it was time to return to Munich, leaning comfortably in my seat and enjoying the scenic ride back home.  Switzerland indeed lives up to its reputation and I look forward to returning and exploring other parts of this beautiful country!