Comfy footwear, Check!
Comfy shorts and a cooling top, Check!
Meet Yashi at the train station, Check!
....and we're off the the Navy Open House 2010.
It's a first for the both of us even though it's an annual affair.
I must say our day started off well. Got to the Singapore Expo where the shuttle bus pick up point into Changi Naval Base was. Kudos to the organisation...smooth human traffic flow as everyone patiently waited for the their turn to board the buses. All the staff on duty somehow seemed to emit this really 'happy' vibe! it was nice!
The moment we alighted, huge naval vessels lined each designated berth. The aqua coloured water glistering beneath the sweltering hot sun! The atmosphere was nice. Since the line for viewing the RSN Endeavour was relatively short, Yashi and I figured we should start of day with that.
It was really interesting to view the interior of the vessel. Not often do you get to see how and what our Navy personnel have to operate in whilst defending our homeland. Yashi and I concluded that if you're suffering from claustrophobia, working on board a ship is no place for you! You can't be too tall either! Everything just seemed tiny in there! I can't imagine myself sailing on board one of this ships for a 3 month mission!
The highlight of the Open House - the performance by the Naval Diving Unit. Pity the both of us are a tad challenged vertically. Nonetheless, we still managed to catch a glimpse of all the action. It was cool so see some familiar faces performing - my volunteers from one of my studies done with NDU. It was a simple but good showcase of what a typical hostage rescue mission was by our Naval Divers.....and I finally got to see a moving submarine. I've always been fascinated by this vessel!
After about 3 hours of walking under the scorching hot sun, we figured we had enough and headed back toward the shuttle bus pick up point which seemed like miles away! Yashi reckons it's a way to disperse the crowd. Overall, it was a nice Sunday spent understanding and getting a glimpse of Singapore's Navy's capabilities and operations.
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