Evening at Esplanade Theatre

Art work on display inside the Esplanade

Taking a quick walk before the show

Inside the theatre

Performance include the Miao minority (miao zu) from China, singing in a unique voice, they are dressed in their traditional costume. This is one of the challenging picture, as the two audiences it from of me kept moving their heads..

The Symphony Orchestra

Quick snap taken from my seat, this is the advantage of a digital camera, not too much attention

The end of concert and a round of applause that lasted more than 15 minutes

Last evening, I attended a concert at the Esplanade, it was the first time I visited the place since it's opening. My mom was part of the singing group performing.

During a marathon we will always run pass the Esplanade, since it's opening back in 2002, it was part of the end route towards the finish line at the Padang. Can't believe this is the first time I'm stepping inside in 8 years.

No photography was allowed inside, anyway I used my digital camera without flash to snap a few shots. The place is nice, good music and a great evening. Readers might like to visit the theatre during a trip to Singapore.

The official site of Esplanade: www.esplanade.com.sg

Special moments in the games

Lyo & Merly in Auckland

The end of games. Here are some of the special moments:

Singapore Primary School boy Low Wei Jie's feat of running 15km in the rain along the YOG torch route got Singaporeans talking about the games.

A girl from South Korea and another from North Korea explored the Games village together, a reminder of sport's ability to transcend boundaries.

Haiti's gusty footballers negotitated their way to a silver after losing their first game 0-9, bringing cheer to a country recovering from January's devastating earthquake.

New Zealand's Sam Shaw, the cross-country cycling athlete was 11th and heading into the last lap when one of his pedals jammed. So he picked up his bike and ran most of the 3.1km of the last lap.

Wide-eyed, shorts-wearing Liberian swimmers who had only swum in rivers - dived into a pool for the first time.

Volunteers for Youth Olympic Games. Twenty-one members of the YOG organising committee workforce were hit by food poisoning over the weekend. But they continued with their duties despite the discomfort.

my mouse pad.. reminds me of the wonderful games. Other than sport, the Youth Olympic Games had a culture and education component, where athletes participate and learn more from one another.

The YOG has deepened our sports culture. I believe more youths will take up sports in the future.

Goodbye Singapore, and see you at Nanjing 2014.

Isabelle Li - The Hope of Singapore

August 23, 2010 — Isabelle Li (16 years old on Saturday) won Singapore’s second silver medal of the Youth Olympic Games when she was beaten in straight sets by China’s Gu Yuting in the final of the women’s table tennis singles competition.

Isabelle lost 11-8, 11-5, 11-8, 11-9. Singapore now have two silvers and three bronze medals in the Games.

The result was not as one-sided as it looked. Isabelle, one of Singapore's most promising and talented young athletes, made the top-seeded Chinese sweat for her victory, especially in the decisive fourth set.

Isabelle is Singapore born and bred, having picked up the sport when she was in Primary 3.

She was spotted early by national team and has received generous funding from the Singapore Sports council and other associations to take part in international tournaments all over the world to boost her exposure and experience.

Many will remember the harsh criticism surrounding the Team Singapore's silver medal-winning women's table tennis team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as all of them were born in China but later took up Singapore citizenship. There were doubts in some corners whether a Singapore born athlete could dominate in table tennis on an international level, but Isabelle's rise to prominence has surely silenced those detractors.

Isabelle Li is the hope of Singapore table tennis.

Update: Li is in action today (4:50pm) Mixed Double vs Egypt Meshref.

Ended at 5:15pm, she takes the game 11-4, 11-8, 11-3. The Egypt paddler is not her match.

Ironman China Champion 2010

Luke winning the Ironman in China 2010

Luke McKenzie finished first in the Ironman China 2010, Haikou on 14 March (Sunday) from a total of 259 participants. A new Ironman China course record.

Congratulations to Luke... A picture taken with the champ, after a training run in Singapore.

An earlier post on the run here:
Training run with Luke
posted on March 2, 2010

Luke's blog:
www.lukemckenzie.com/news.php