Best Views of the National Day Parade!

Something about fireworks never fails to thrill me. I suspect its one of those things that will always bring out the inner child in all of us. Here in Singapore, fireworks always fall on National Day at the end of the parade. However cynical I can be every other day of the year, 9 August gets me into my red and white and I am shamelessly patriotic. Perhaps that’s something my parents inculcated in me, having lived through the ugliest side of colonialism and the Japanese Occupation.

 

Growing up, we’d always throw a barbecue party in the garden on National Day and watch the parade on TV. One year when I was already in my early 20s, we rounded up a motley group of friends (they were pretty cool cats, too), parents and ageing aunts and pottered off the stadium with sandwiches to watch the parade live, and wave our rattlers at appropriate times – which shows that the inner child never really grows up….

In recent years when my father was unwell, we would book a hotel room with a vantage point to watch the fireworks together every year. Not only did this arrangement allow him to rest in bed while watching the excitement live, it was also infinitely more comfortable for all of us, being ensconced in air-condition luxury, with munchies and champers laid out. As a result, I’ve stayed at almost all the hotels in the vicinity to watch the fireworks at one point or other. And here’s the conclusion I drew – that as long as the parade is held on the floating platform in the bay, the Ritz-Carlton Millenia offers by far, the best view, because it is right smack in front of the stage. The higher the floor, the better, but get the rooms in ‘the 20s series’ if you can.

All through July and Into August
Just this weekend, I stayed at the Ritz Carlton again for the 3rd time in recent years, to catch the fireworks. Yes, rehearsals for the parade have already started, and you can catch the view every Saturday throughout July and until 6 August. The closer you get to National Day itself, the more elaborate the rehearsals are….so if what I saw this weekend is anything to go by (including 40% of the full NDP fireworks), it’ll be a treat yet again! See the pictures I took? Sneak preview of the parade, my darlings – complete with sky divers, dancers, helicopters, a blue elephant, floating clams and even a runway dim sum basket!

 

The room we had this time was on the 30th floor – a corner suite 3026, which gave the most splendiforous view (above) of the entire Marina Bayfront all the way to Chinatown and the Padang from the living room, and the Singapore Flyer all the way to Indonesia from your bathtub! For a view like this, one had to have Champagne! (If you’re planning to have friends over, this is perfect as they can hang out in the separate living room area, leaving your bedroom clean and crumb-free with all the munching that’s bound to happen with every great show.)

This was on the club floor, which meant we could (and should) avail ourselves to the Club Lounge on the 32nd floor – the top floor of the hotel. Cocktails started at 5pm, and we were there shortly after. Get a seat by the window for the 180C view of the bayfront. Wines, beer, Moet & Chandon champagne, and juices were freely flowing, with a cheerful spread of nibbles like teriyaki chicken and seafood skewers; freshly fried gyoza with vinegar, cheese platter, cold cuts, cold pasta, and desserts even. You could hang around there and get your fill to make dinner if you wanted to (and many did). From there, we saw the marching contingents, mass dance rehearsals, the singing, and later, with all the excitement, the parachutists falling, swooping, diving right in front of our faces to land on the floating platform. We saw everything from there – including the entire stage and all the seats – no blockages anywhere.

Our guests had come by 7.15pm, so we headed to the room to catch the rest of the parade. (Guests are allowed into the lounge, but will be charged $65++ per person; and kids below 12 are not allowed in there past 5pm) On the 30th floor, the airborne military hardware is at eye level, so you can literally wave at the parachutist, and the helicopters are, amazingly, several floors below you.

And with a bird’s eye view, you see not just the dancers on the platform, and everything on the huge screen, you also have the full 180C view of the Marina skyline as your backdrop. It’s really gorgeous when the fireworks finally pop around you, not just from the bay but from the tops of some of the buildings in the financial district as well. What we saw was just 40% of the full works planned for 9 August, and it was really run as it was.

If you are planning to do a staycation during this period, don’t forget to pack your exercise gear or bike and pack in a work out the next morning. Head around the Marina Bayfront and into the Esplanade, Padang historic district, back to Marina Square and round the Singapore Flyer and F1 tracks. Seeing Singapore through the eyes of a tourist is  just superb. Then settle down for breakkie later, to end off a great weekend!

Highly recommended, this is really the only way to see the National Day parade without squishing with the crowds and getting sweaty and uncomfortable out in the heat. The Ritz Carlton Millenia Singapore  is offering a Fireworks Fiesta package from $430 for a deluxe room with Marina Bay view and breakfast at the Greenhouse for 2 adults and 2 kids, for every weekend from now until 6 August. I really suggest you go!  Tel: (65) 6434 5118 or email rc.sinrz.reservations@ritzcarlton.com