What a crazy week this has been - so busy! My fault for taking last Friday off to head to Bali I guess. And what a great time we had at Alila Villas Soori - fabulous resort: beautiful, peaceful location, stunning villas and superb staff. I can highly recommend it for a romantic, relaxing break. I’ll write more about it in the September issue of The Finder.

But back in the Lion City it’s all action stations. Preparations for the Youth Olympic Games are in full swing and on Monday we celebrate our island-home’s 45th birthday - congratulations Singapore! To find out how Singapura came to be, click here for the story of Singapore. Some of you may be taking advantage of the long weekend to get away, while others - like me - will be taking the opportunity to have a day off at home to chill out - and maybe sort out a cupboard or two! 

One advantage of staying in Singapore is you get the chance to see the NDP fireworks. I’ve always loved fireworks and Singapore is renowned for putting on a good show. This year promises an even bigger extravaganza, as the sky will light up not just in one location but in NINE places! From 8:10pm on Monday August 9 you can enjoy four minutes of pyrotechnics at nine locations throughout Marina Bay, from Suntec City right through to the Esplanade and the Padang. So even if you don’t have tickets to the Parade itself - very hard to come by, even if you are Singaporean - you can get a great view from many of the restaurants within the Marina Bay area and the public walkways. One year we left the Parade early to escape the traffic and stood on the footpath outside of Raffles City, we still managed to see everything. Another good spot for a bird’s eye view is New Asia Bar, where you can also raise a glass of bubbles to toast Singapore in style!

And I know this is officially the YOG song, but I can’t get that "Oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah hey, oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah ho, you are the one Singapore, now is the time here we go, go, yeah!" out of my head - did they purposefully design that song to be so annoying I can’t get it out of my head? If so, success!