To The Lion, On The Tiger : A RED Weekend

Not quite the regular travel post, however since I did board a plane, use my passport and was out of the country (even if only for 19 hours!), I guess it counts as travelling! :)

This was an unplanned trip decided on a whim, just because the elements were all in place. Some divine intervention must have been at work.

About 4 weeks ago, I had the crazy idea to go watch Liverpool play in Singapore (got too inspired by my current favourite billboard in KK which featured a certain hawt, dark-haired Spaniard). My globetrotting friend Ms Tuty Fabregas got onboard the same train of thought; so we checked and called for tickets and they were available, checked for flights and it was available : this can only mean the green light for us to go!

So after 26 days of anticipation, off we went to watch the Singapore National team play against the real Reds, Liverpool FC, in their Asia Tour 2009. Yeah, two Gooners on the Kop :)

What can I say? This is my first live football match in 14 years. I enjoyed the match although the first half was a dum-de-dum, ho-hum affair.

The Kop was filled to the brim, a sea of red on an awfully hot, sticky afternoon. My face was an oil-slick, and I wished I had worn shorts instead! Thankfully despite entering rather late, around 6 pm-ish, we managed to secure two seating spots mid-level, overlooking the goalpost on the left of the East Stand.

The home team donned their red jerseys, hence Rafa's men wore their new away kit in black with gold and red trimmings.

Things got hot and exciting in the second half, with Torres and Kuyt coming in at the 55th minute. Yeay!

Both came on to the pitch to a rapturous standing ovation, the crowd roared with approval as Torres had only played for 10 mins in Bangkok earlier in the week.

(Heck, even the sight of Torres and Co warming up at the sidelines sent those at the Grandstand into a frenzy)

The final score : 0-5; courtesy of Voronin, Riera, Nemeth (2), and of course, Torres.

Finally, I have seen Fernando Jose Torres Sanz in the flesh, even if it's only from a distance. Next time :)

Outside the Stadium.

Ms Fabregas and Ms Torres :P

View of the crowd and queues outside

If only they were for real ....

The Kopites

You'll Never Walk Alone...

The giant LFC banner

We didn't buy any merch; got a complimentary LFC Asia Tour scarf that is given to Kop ticket holders :)

My originals fit into the colour theme for the day :)

Euphoria when the third goal was scored! Don't have too many pictures of the match as they all turned out too blurry or dark.

The electronic scoreboard. I was actually surprised that the National Stadium is not as modern as I expected. Reminded me of the old Likas Stadium.

The best banner of the lot, I thought.

Die-hard fans singing way after the match ended. The guy on the right background was holding a tee-shirt that read, "Support Liverpool, Hate ...." (*you know who, haha!)

Would I do this again? Definitely!

Footnotes on this trip :

Flew Tiger Airways for the first time. No complaints. On time. Efficient. We landed at the Budget Terminal. And I like the uniform. *rawr!*

I like their Budget Terminal.

Shared the briyani special at the famous Zam Zam restaurant.

Next time, for a football match, must buy binoculars to feast your eyes on hawt players watch the match better with. I didn't expect the Stadium not to have the giant screen. It is an old venue, surprise surprise. However it's the island's biggest. Apparently.

Slept at the Ground Floor (?) of Terminal 3. First on round plastic seats. Then moved to a row of waiting seats. Got woken up every hour. Gawd. And that weird piped-in music played on a loop was like the ringtone for the Addam's Family doorbell!

(*Pics will be uploaded soon as possible; am facing a technical hitch with Blogger - update : done)