The trip to the Airport was a breeze and Immigration and Customs was just as quick. Had got my PSP along and started playing NFS until it was time to board the plane. As was my guess, the Economy Class in a Singapore Airlines felt like Business Class, lots of room to stretch. This time I got lucky (or so I thought) with a chic sitting next to me. The first thing she did was call the stewardess and said "I dont want no one to wake me up till this plane lands" Damn! There goes any chance of a social communication for the next 4:45 Mins. Rotten luck. Anyways, I enjoyed the food and the service and I used my own source of entertainment (my iPhone & PSP) than the in-flight entertainment for the rest of the journey. I tried to close my eyes and sleep but I couldn't whereas the chic next to me just stopped short of snoring and enjoyed the most blissful sleep I have ever seen in my life...man imagine taking her out for a movie with the lights down ;)
The plane landed 20 Mins before schedule (after having taken-off 15 Mins late), that doesnt happen to often in India, does it? Though it was a BIG event like F1 there was no last minute rush at the Airport. Either the Airport authorites managed it well or die hard fans had booked the tickets much in advance (point to remember the race events starts Fri and I came only on Sat)
Oh that brings me to the point that my travel mate had flown to Singapore a day earlier (on Fri), he made the most of it and enjoyed the sight-seeing, shopping, dining and then by the evening we caught up at our common friends house.
I reached at our hosts place like 8:30 PM and then by the time we reached the Circuit, it was almost 10:00 PM (time for the Qualifiers). This time we made good use of the Singapore MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) Trains to go to all the places we had decided to go. It was so simple and non-fussy, you go over the ticket counter for the first time and buy what is called a EZ-Link pre-paid card. Now there is also something called Singapore Tourist Pass (STP) which is more or less the same except EZ-Link card can be used by the residents when you leave. It made sense coz our host friend could use it after we left. So you take this card and flash it at the ticket gates and the gates open and charge is debited. When you reach your destination, you flash the card again and the transaction is complete. Even small kids seem to know how it worked ;) To my right on this pic is our host...
Now we come out of the station and follow the instructions to Gate # 7. Gate # 7 gave a view from the Marina Grandstand and Turn 15/16. We didnt have the Grandstand tickets but what we had was Walkabout tickets which means we could be in the proximity of the Grandstand and watch the race up-close and very personal behind the barricades. Before I proceed, I should tell you about the tickets for the F1. They were beautifully packed in a black box with chambers for 3 different passes with 3 different colored lanyards for Fri-Sat-Sun. The passes had F1 holograms and it looked like a perfect souvenir to take back home. Check it out...
We were on the streets approaching the Gates when we heard it racing....the Formula 1car. The first impression was that off a Trance music building up as we came closer and then like a fighter jet plane the sound was so deafening like I have never heard in my life....the engines made that noise from so far away, you would feel like a hurricane just passed. Now this was just the noise and we still didnt pass the Gates to see it in flesh. The moment we entered we saw the Marina Grandstand that was facing a hughe screen that showed the on-going Qualifiers. Below hordes of people were standing behind barricades and craning their neck to get the best view. I was just worried about getting deaf and the first thing I did was buy the Survival Kit the F1 guys had arranged that had the ear plugs, it was not great but it did the job with my fingers stuck behind them
We walked closer to the barricades and saw the F1 cars in flesh...f*** they just breezed like a slingshot, just 250mph faster. If 2 cars followed back-to-back the sound was unbearable but in the same vien it was thrilling to see the cars whiz past like a rocket. Million dollar cars were put to test by the best drivers in the world, it was an experience I'll never forget. The best part is, 99% of the times (61 laps) they would make a perfect turn at such high speeds, that was unbeliveable, some cars used to rattle and undoubtedly those were not the Ferraris or the McLarens ;) The road was bumpy as the drivers mentioned in the Pre-Race Conference and when I was actually down there, I could clearly make out...the sound of the bumps was ugly.
Well, the Qualifiers was over in no time and out came Massa waving to the crowd, he was going to take the Pole Position on Race Day, the Ferrari fans cheered the loudest. The race over, we hung out at the Circuit Park and the first place we checked out was the Merchandise Stores, there were was one for Official F1 and one for Singapore GP. Like everything else that was overwhelming, the prices of the merchandise was criminal. A simple round-neck Ferrari tee cost $ 160 SGD. I dropped all my plans to buy any merchandise there and then. It was ridiculous really. Now I think I mentioned upteem times Singapore is bloody expensive and their first ever F1 race event was no different.
With dejected looks we headed to the McDonalds restuarant inside the Circuit Park, it was teaming with people of all kinds, shapes, sizes and sex. The girls were looking sexy in their tight hot pants with the prancing horse stiched tight on their butt ;) Check her out..
We got a full meal coz we had to walk some distance to attend the Megadance post-race Party. Talk about walking, hell first I chose the worst pair of shoes I could for the trip, a fu****g pair of ID shoes that looked cool (when I bought it) but pathetic sole inside and outside made me limp for the whole trip and I got fu****g blisters. I don't know what came over me when I bought them and tried it. So moving on...the Megadance Party was held in the Suntec City Convention Center, Level 6. We could hear the music coming down all the way to Level 1 and we rushed only to be disappointed twice in the evening. First, there was hardly anyone trying to get in the line or when we dropped inside. Although, the arrangements were world-class, drinks bar, laser shows, center-stage with 6 DJs spinning and almost 10.000 sq ft to let your hair down. I would have expected it to be brimming and spilling with crowd once the race was over but it was taking awfully long time for the crowd to gather and get on the dance floor. Most of them chose the Lounge to chill and chit-chat. Well, by 1:00 AM there we some more folks than when we came in and so we shaked a leg or two and moved out. Outside the crowd was starting to slowly gather but it was long day for us so wanted to go home and crash. Lesson learnt: Choose a club or a discotheque next time less than 1000 sq ft.
Back to the MRT Station (City Hall) and just in time for the 1:30 AM ki last local, phew what an evening, I crashed in the bed and saw the time...2:30 AM, 24 Hours without sleep...wow. Next day, we had to hit the Singapore Flyer at 12:30 PM and then head for the Circuit to catch the race. We also squeezed in a little shopping spree at Mustafa Center. Over to next post. Chow.
With dejected looks we headed to the McDonalds restuarant inside the Circuit Park, it was teaming with people of all kinds, shapes, sizes and sex. The girls were looking sexy in their tight hot pants with the prancing horse stiched tight on their butt ;) Check her out..
We got a full meal coz we had to walk some distance to attend the Megadance post-race Party. Talk about walking, hell first I chose the worst pair of shoes I could for the trip, a fu****g pair of ID shoes that looked cool (when I bought it) but pathetic sole inside and outside made me limp for the whole trip and I got fu****g blisters. I don't know what came over me when I bought them and tried it. So moving on...the Megadance Party was held in the Suntec City Convention Center, Level 6. We could hear the music coming down all the way to Level 1 and we rushed only to be disappointed twice in the evening. First, there was hardly anyone trying to get in the line or when we dropped inside. Although, the arrangements were world-class, drinks bar, laser shows, center-stage with 6 DJs spinning and almost 10.000 sq ft to let your hair down. I would have expected it to be brimming and spilling with crowd once the race was over but it was taking awfully long time for the crowd to gather and get on the dance floor. Most of them chose the Lounge to chill and chit-chat. Well, by 1:00 AM there we some more folks than when we came in and so we shaked a leg or two and moved out. Outside the crowd was starting to slowly gather but it was long day for us so wanted to go home and crash. Lesson learnt: Choose a club or a discotheque next time less than 1000 sq ft.
Back to the MRT Station (City Hall) and just in time for the 1:30 AM ki last local, phew what an evening, I crashed in the bed and saw the time...2:30 AM, 24 Hours without sleep...wow. Next day, we had to hit the Singapore Flyer at 12:30 PM and then head for the Circuit to catch the race. We also squeezed in a little shopping spree at Mustafa Center. Over to next post. Chow.
No comments:
Post a Comment