The last two weeks down in Singapore were—for lack of a
better word—amazing. I have no doubt that I will grow to love that place, and I genuinely look forward to making my new home there. To cap off my Singaporean
adventure with the Grand Prix was the icing on the cake, and I know that
particular weekend will be one I look forward to each year I live in the Lion City
I had never been to a Formula 1 race before and knew next
to nothing about the sport. But the first time the cars roared by the
grandstand, I was addicted to the speed and surreal sound. Each time the
masterful drivers whizzed by topping speeds of 200 miles per hour, I was
mesmerized.
Sonia and I had been looking at various ticket options for
weeks leading up to the race, but when we finally decided on what we wanted to
buy, tickets were sold out! Thank God for Craig’s List! On the Tuesday before the race, Sonia
found a listing advertising two sets of Zone 4 Walkabout tickets for a
reasonable price. We snapped them up immediately, meeting the seller, named
J.T., a few hours later at Dhoby Ghaut. He turned out to be from Philadelphia , and has been living in Singapore for a
few years now. He bought the tickets months ago but ultimately decided to go on
vacation to Sri Lanka
the weekend of the race, so Sonia and I lucked out.
Several of my Hong Kong
friends—Will, Tory, Blair and Vic—were also in town for the big weekend. Due
to the timing of their flights, they only purchased tickets for Saturday
though. And since Sonia had some work commitments to attend to, I went to the
track on Friday around 4pm by myself.
Just walking around the massive park-like setting of the
viewing area was great. I got to know the layout of our home for the next three days, and also got to
sample the view from several different stands. You see, our walkabout ticket
did not give us an actual seat to watch the race, but scattered all throughout
the zone were three-tiered stands with different vantage points over parts of the circuit.
I explored some beautifully restored vintage cars dating as
far back as the 1920s, and watched a talented fire dancer perform, while the
deafening roar of the F1 cars grew louder and louder each time they drove by
during the first practice session.
The Singapore Grand Prix has a lot more going on than just
car racing. Music plays a huge role in the event, and many spectators are more
excited about the live performances than they are about the automobiles. This
year, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Bananarama, The Pretenders, The Proclaimers, Noel
Gallagher and many other less well known musicians performed at several venues
scattered all throughout the circuit. The schedule is meticulously set up so
that no practice sessions or races ever overlap with the music, so as soon as
the cars stop, the music starts, and vice versa. That first night, I was
treated to two great shows. First up was Fuse, an electric violin duo from England who
covered classic songs by Michael Jackson and Queen, among others.
But the real surprise of the night, and one of my best memories of the entire weekend, was the stellar performance of Dobet Gnahoré, a ferociously talented singer fromCote d’Ivoire .
She was absolutely amazing from start to finish, singing, dancing and playing
traditional African instruments. She had many members of the crowd dancing and
clapping along with her. I remember thinking, “Anything else that happens this
weekend is just a bonus, because I already feel like I’ve gotten my money’s
worth.”
But the real surprise of the night, and one of my best memories of the entire weekend, was the stellar performance of Dobet Gnahoré, a ferociously talented singer from
Shortly after Ms. Gnahoré finished, and the drivers began
their final practice session of the night, Sonia arrived, and we again watched
in awe as the cars sped past. Jay Chou, a wildly popular Taiwanese singer, was
the star performer that night on the main Padang
stage. We briefly checked it out, but it wasn’t really our scene, so we headed
back to Sonia’s house to catch some sleep so we could get an early start for
Saturday.
Saturday just might have been the most clichéd, touristy day
you could possibly have in Singapore ,
in the best sense possible! It began with lunch with Sonia, Will, Tory and Will’s local colleague Hailin. The restaurant, named Jumbo, was situated right on
the riverfront near Clarke Quay and we feasted on traditional Singaporean fare, including cereal-fried shrimp (which
were absolutely delicious) and of course Singapore ’s favorite national dish—chili crab.
The brunch club!
We then made our way to the race scene, where we secured wristbands to get into the very front Fan Zone area for the Maroon 5 concert later that night. You see, the wristbands are free, but they are distributed on a first come, first serve basis upon each day’s gate opening at 2:30pm.
Will and Tory had never been to Singapore before, and they were
flying out on Sunday afternoon, so they only had a very limited amount of time
in the city. To give them an idea of the circuit, we walked around Zone 4 for a little while. Then Sonia and I
suggested we all go on a river cruise so they could see some more of the city.
We hopped on the boat in Merlion Park , and sailed around the Marina
Bay before heading up the Singapore River
Will, Tory and Blair each had the bar’s obligatory Singapore Sling, but by now I’ve had enough of the sweet, syrupy concoction and decided to try something else. I remembered a drink I had seen on the menu when I first visited with Jamie a few years back that was called 'Millionaire's Punch' or something similar. I mentioned this to our server, and he recalled the 'Million Dollar Cocktail.' No longer on the menu, he pointed out, but he was sure the bartender cold whip one up for me. Sonia ordered a Pimm's, Vic took a Tiger and it was yet another classy cocktail break in the legendary watering hole.
After cocktail hour, we all went to the races. There were
practice sessions and qualifiers scattered over the next couple of hours, and
of course the music in between the driving. The first band we saw that night
was The Pretenders, and they performed all of their famous hits in the intimate
Esplanade Open Air Theatre. We were in the second row for the show, and it was
awesome. My particular favorite will always be Back on the Chain Gang, but I
loved that they chose to close the show with an energetic Brass in Pocket.
With our Fan Zone wristbands, Sonia and I were admitted to the very
front of the large Padang Field, with an incredible up close view of the band!
All of their hits were stellar live, and they really put on an energetic,
entertaining show. Of course, they teased the crowd at the end, pretending to finish before re-emerging for a showstopping "Moves Like Jagger" that thrilled the entire field!
After the show, Sonia and I went separate ways—she to Club Street for a
rooftop party, me to Arab
Street to meet up with Will, Tory and some of
their other friends. Arab Street,
I already know, will be one of the parts of town where I go most often. It’s lined
with quaint old shop houses, delicious restaurants and trendy bars. It was a
nice place to finish our quintessential day in Singapore . Tory, in particular, was enamored with the area.
Sunday started with an early poolside brunch at the British
Club, where Sonia is a member. She invited Will and Tory to join as well, and
Blair and Vic missed breakfast but showed up a bit later to chat and relax.
It’s a very special spot, at the top of a hill enclosed by lush trees, and the
pool and restaurants are great.
Will and Tory went directly from the club to the airport to
fly back to Hong Kong , and Blair and Vic, who
did not have tickets for the race that day, decided to head off into town to
find a suitable bar where they could watch all the action on television.
For Sonia and me, Sunday was another atmospheric day of racing, and as most of
the qualifiers had finished, the big races were finally taking place,
culminating with the showpiece event of the whole weekend, the Grand Prix! But before the race itself, Noel Gallagher, formerly of Oasis but now front man of his own group called Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, put on yet another enjoyable musical showcase, featuring not only some of his new songs but many Oasis classics as well.
Short video clip I took of the F1 cars whizzing by
But it was also difficult to follow the progress of the race
because of the deafening roar drowning out the commentary. So after about forty
minutes of live racing, we moved to the Padang Field to watch the
final portion on the massive screens they had set up there. Even though you
could still hear the cars circling around the city, you could also easily pay attention to the commentary while viewing the race, so I’m glad we decided to go there for the event's second half.
Crowds watching the final race on massive screens on the Padang
In the end, German driver Sebastian Vettel emerged victorious. Renowned British driver Lewis Hamilton had car trouble and did not finish, while Vettel's compatriot Michael
Schumacher plowed into another car and forced both himself and the other driver out
of the race. It was an action-packed event from start to finish, and I don't think I’ll ever forget it.
Vettel's victory ceremony at the conclusion of the race
Post-race fireworks
Katy Perry and Co.
Having heard about the Singapore Grand Prix weekend for
almost three years now, it was certainly a pleasure to finally be able to
experience it for myself—a perfect weekend to end a great two weeks in the city that will soon become my new home! Needless
to say, I’ll be anxiously looking forward to the 2013 installment once I move
down there in a couple of months!
