Q: What do the following have in common

1. Jaywalking
2. Chewing gum
3. Durian on a train (its a fruit with a questionable odour)

A: They’re all crimes and have hefty fines attached to them.

Welcome to Singapore!

Singapore being a ‘fine’ city holds true for most of the year except for one weekend when fast cars are air dropped into the city bringing along utter chaos, deafening noises and the World’s only night grand prix.  Rules and regulations no longer count for much and jaywalking tourists are the norm. Exorbitant alcohol prices escalate to ludicrous levels. The Louis Vuitton bar for example charged SGD 20,000 for a table of 8 at a grand prix after-party. Enough said.

Entertainment

After having sold pit grandstand tickets for SGD 1500 (disclaimer: I got a free ticket), they had better damn right make sure that it’s an amazing experience. Shakira, Shaggy, Linkin Park, and random unknown singer (who appeared to be famous) were put on display and raised my non-existent expectations.

Onward to the races then.

Vrrooom….

I’m guilty of having claimed that watching the race on TV would be far superior to risking permanent hearing loss in the stands.

I was wrong.

There’s something about 25 F1 cars revving their engines, waiting for 5 lights red to go off that sends your adrenalin levels through the roof. Come lap 1 when all the cars are still together, there were 25 cars speeding past the pits at top speed and then braking from 250kmph to 80 kmph in a few metres. No crash at the turn seemed to defy logic. The drivers literally live on the edge and a small error would kill them and probably a few behind them. This is thrown in your face when you’re in the stands but isn’t so obvious when you watch the slow motion replays on TV.

The Verdict

The race was exciting; the entertainment was amazing; but was it worth the price (SGD 1500)?

Probably not…