It was coincidental, indeed unfortunate that this year’s Navy Open House ‘clashed’ into the week of mourning for the late Dr Goh Keng Swee, that all flags on the warships in Changi Naval Base were flown at half mast, evoking the solemn mood.

I also didn’t win the ballots for both the guided tour of frigate and the ship cruise. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed myself. I managed to go for a fast craft utilities ride, of which no balloting is required. Though the duration is much shorter than the 2-hour ship cruise around Singapore, I believe the fast craft utilities ride is definitely more thrilling. I was standing in the fast craft throughout the journey with my Canon EOS 500D taking pictures and HD videos, and the fast craft was shaky most of the time due to powerful sea wind and waves.

Some of my friends who did not manage to go to the Navy Open House 2010 have asked me about my experience there. I see the NOH as a rich cousin of the Air Force Open House but a poor cousin of the Army Open House. Whilst the NOH is ‘richer’ than the AFOH in terms of the number of hands-on opportunities, it is ‘poorer’ than the AOH in terms of the variety of weaponry displayed. In fact, the NOH appeared to be more like a family carnival than a real military event! Introducing fun games pleased children, the military elements in this open house were also eroded. Nevertheless, I still acknowledge that the organising committee has put in effort to make this year’s NOH possible.

2010新加坡海军开放日

这是我首次前往新加坡共和国海军部队开放日参观。之前去过陆军和空军的开放日，但就是没有去过海军的开放日。结果，我对海军越来越感兴趣了。

今年的海军开放日的举办时间很不巧地与开国元勋吴庆瑞博士去世后为期一周的全国哀悼期撞上了，所以在樟宜海军基地看到的所有国旗、军旗都降了半旗，让人感到一丝伤感。

我也没被抽中参加军舰环岛一日游和护卫舰的指导游览。不过，我玩得还是很开心的。由于无需抽奖，我很容易地就坐上了工程快艇在樟宜海军基地兜风了一圈。虽然游览时间比长达两小时的环绕新加坡岛的军舰观光要短许多，但我相信工程快艇一定更为刺激。从头到尾我都站在船板上，手握着我的Canon EOS 500D拍摄照片和高清视频。由于风浪比较大，所以快艇一直在摇晃。

有几位没有去成今年海军开放日的朋友问我，今年的海军开放日搞得怎么样。我觉得今年的海军开放日比空军开放日要好，但比陆军开放日差一些。海军开放日比空军开放日有了更多让观众亲身体验各种武器的机会，但在武器种类和数量上还是比不过陆军开放日。此外，今年的海军开放日搞得更像是一场家庭嘉年华，而不是一场真正的军事盛事。开放日配备了一些供儿童玩耍的趣味游戏虽然给小朋友们带来了快乐，但开放日的军事元素也就同时侵蚀了。不管怎样，我还是能看得出，组委会是下了功夫力争把此次海军开放日办得精彩的。

If you are in China and cannot see the above Flickr slideshow, you can also check out the photos on RenRen.com.

如果你身在中国大陆，而且无法看到上面的Flickr幻灯放映，也可在人人网上查看照片。

以下是本人在海军开放日现场拍摄的高清视频：

Performance by Singapore Armed Forces Band | 新加坡武装部队军乐队现场演奏

PLAY VIDEO: YouTube | 中国网络电视台

Fast Craft Utilities Ride | 亲身体验乘坐工程快艇之快感

PLAY VIDEO: YouTube | 中国网络电视台

Naval Sea Display | 海军模拟反恐海战表演

PLAY VIDEO: YouTube | 中国网络电视台

I was outside ION Orchard at 8:10pm on today to witness this historic, indeed meaningful moment (click the above thumbnail to enlarge the image).

倒数计时：距2010新加坡青年奥运会开幕还有100天0时0分0秒

今晚8:10分，我在ION Orchard门口见证并捕捉下了这个十分富有意义的历史性时刻（点击小图查看大图）。

On 24th October, me and 5 other good friends of mine went to the La Mei Zi Chongqing Zhengzong Laohuoguowang Hot Pot (Sichuan style steamboat) Restaurant for the 4P Mini Batch Dinner cum Graduation Celebrations.

During the dinner, we discussed many interesting events took place this year in school, and I also filmed a few videos of us eating and chatting. I am glad that everyone enjoyed the dinner, but also felt the deep nostalgia that we will be splitted into different classes again next year, when we enter the College Section. This might be our last gathering as a class. Nevertheless, we will still keep in touch.

We spent S$104 altogether. After the hot pot dinner, we went to Dhoby Ghaut for a random walk so as to help our stomachs digest the food. All ended up playing LAN except me and Yin Jiunn. We took buses home outside Plaza Singapura eventually.

Honestly speaking, classmates from 4P2008 are people I can most get along with throughout the 4 years in High School Section. We have been through many struggles and troubles this year, but have all overcome these obstacles and made our way to JC. I will definitely remember the year 2008 throughout my life, not just because of the Beijing Olympics, but also because it’s my happiest year in High School.

My dear friends, all the best in JC!

View all photos here:

Some may feel unhappy about it, but since both the Singaporean and Chinese flags have red colour, so I have actually “killed two birds with one stone”: celebrated both the Olympic Games and Singapore’s National Day (9 August). Therefore, my choice of T-shirt should not be deemed as an act of “disrespect towards Singapore”. Some students in the College Section even wore the Vitenamese flag and Che Guevara T-shirts.

Kia Wee had earlier asked me to help him take photos of the parade in which he is the commander for Scouts. He has worked hard to attain this position and today’s parade is his last parade before passing out. I understand that he hopes to retain his fond memories in Scouts. From my observation today, the Scout band has high standards under the leadership of Kia Wee.

After the parade at the terraces, everyone went to Kah Kee Hall and Lecture Theatre 4 to attend the National Day concert. Some of my classmates were astonished by the T-shirt I wore, and commented that it was cool. Then I requested Ivan to take a photo of me. Both Kia Wee and I felt that this is the best shot ever.

No one was sensitive towards my choice of T-shirt worn today except those NCC people, who not only jeered at me but also made xenophobic remarks such as “Hey! It’s Singapore’s national day not China’s!” at the bus stop and on bus 74 on my way home. Such an outcome from those NCC people is, I’d say, expected. They are merely being too “loyal” to Singapore.

After boarding the bus, Elffred Toh, one of those NCC people, talked to me in a sarcastic manner and took a photo of us using his handphone. After taking the photo, other NCC people laughed. Due to their xenophobic mindset, by doing so, they somehow felt good.

I don’t know what’s driving them, but no matter how xenophobic they are and what they do to humiliate China, it’s simply pointless. Will China’s dignity be tarnished just because a few jokers did such acts? They are not very important people after all. They are merely a few naive individuals who think too highly of themselves.

Tonight, I shall watch the Beijing Olympic Games’ opening ceremony on MediaCorp’s Channel 5. A few hours to go. =)

I finally took a photo of my Kung Fu Panda Happy Meal toy last night.

As the Beijing Olympic Games’ opening ceremony will be held tomorrow and I am very excited, I decided to use the cover of a stamp collection I bought last year in Chongqing, as background. Very creative, right? =)

Of course China is neither ”a delightful panda that likes to gobble dumplings” nor “a rival” as suggested by James Poniewozik in the 11 August issue of TIME Magazine. But if China is seen as a cute panda instead of a ascending dragon by other countries, then probably the Chinese nationalism will not worry anyone.

2008年6月19日，刚好是重庆直辖市成立11周年纪念日的第二天。当天晚上11点半，我和母亲乘坐长途巴士到马来西亚的云顶高原游玩，于20日凌晨5点左右到达目的地。

下面是我的云顶高原之旅中拍摄的一组照片（风景篇）。请点击图片查看清晰大图。

下午，阳光明媚，我登上本座组屋11楼，拍摄了下面的一组鸟瞰图：

新加坡华人民间一般相信，如果看到四脚蛇，就代表要发财了。今天傍晚，我和妈妈前往小莉阿姨家途中，在本座组屋楼下就看到了一只四脚蛇，呵呵。

凌晨一点了，我睡觉去了。今天是大年初二，我要和妈妈去看电影。

从即日起，我将发布我于2007年11月9日-18日前往重庆旅游的见闻、感受以及许多自己拍摄的照片。本帖为预告帖，敬请期待！

From now onwards, I will be posting reflections, photos (all taken by myself) and journals on my trip to Chongqing in November 2007. Stay tuned!

At 8am my mum and I arrived at Expo MRT and registered with the coordinators. Then we boarded the bus which took us to the SAF Ferry Terminal, where we had some light refreshments before taking a ferry to reach Pulau Tekong. Every visitor was given a goody bag to take home. In both ferry terminals, I could see many slogans like “BMT – where boys become men” and “Every soldier a leader”.

The programmes include guided tour to bunks, medical facilities, Individual Marksmanship Trainer (IMT), talks by Minister for Defence and commanders, sharing session by two PR NSFs (one from Malaysia and one from Hong Kong), lunch at the canteen, etc.. I am very happy that when we were given chance to try out the IMT, I shot two magazines and i passed both rounds of shooting. Yay!

I found the training facilities on Pulau Tekong quite okay, and the environment is clean. What I found very interesting is that, NS men are not only given daily food rations, but are also given snacks, fast-food noodles and drinks like Ribena, Maggi Mee, Oreo and chrysanthemum tea to enjoy.

During the visit, we were assured many times that NS training will be safe and were told that the welfare of NS men has improved drastically over the years. I also saw my schoolmate, Lu Xiao Heng, during the visit. Both of us will be enlisting in 3 years’ time. Just one day before the visit, on 25 January, my friend Simon Tan was enlisted, but I didn’t see him at Pulau Tekong.

After visiting the BMTC, I am now more confident that I will be able to cope with NS. Now, enjoy the photos I took. =)

After arriving at Expo, my mum and I went to Malan Noodles Restaurant to have dinner. Here’s what we had: