On the third day of Chinese New Year 赤狗日 , we headed down to the Float at Marina Bay for River Hongbao 2013 春到河畔. Traditionally, this is the day where we cease visiting friends and relatives. It is also a day where the Chinese would visit God of Wealth. Since we heard that there will be an 18m tall God of Wealth (財神)at River Hongbao, we decided that this will be our activity would be for the day.
Sssssnake !
This is the 27th consecutive year since the start of River Hongbao. It has since became an intergral part of the Chinese New Year landscape in Singapore.
The place was packed when we reach the destination. It took us almost 30 minutes to get a carpark at Singapore Flyer! I guess everyone had the same thoughts as we did for the day.
More snakes!
As part of the Marina Bay Ambayssadors, we are suppose to cover the event officially. Unfortunately due to the crowd, we could not locate the media booth! However that did not fazed us as we are still determine to soak in the atmosphere.
The map
There are an array of programmes for River Hongbao. The main are the lanterns display, the nightly programs featuring various performances, the performances from Guangdong Arts troupe and other fringe events. For the foodies, you can enjoy Guandzhou snacks and specialities at the food street ( located near the end of the float facing the Helix bridge)
Lanterns Display
We zoom straight to the Lantern display specifically the Zodiac Lanterns featuring our Chinese Zodiac signs. For the record, there are 2 tigers, 1 pig and 1 ox in the family.
After the Chinese Zodiac lanterns, we turned our sights towards the God of Wealth
財神
Due to the huge crowd, we decided to view the 財神 from afar. Do note if you are going with kids, the crowds may be a tad bigger nearer to 財神 as we heard that he would disperse 'gold' at certain time.
Mini 財神
Nevertheless we did chance upon the mini version of 財神. We got gold tokens from him. Good fortune for the year ahead!
Wealth pot
Don't miss the other lanterns on site. If you look hard enough , you can even spot Jia Jia and Kia Kia, Singapore latest Permanent Residents.
Jia Jia and Kai Kai
There are also 2 large panels of lantern display measuring 10m by 30 m on site.
Large Lantern Panels
Evenings would probably be the best time to catch the lanterns in all its glory. Moreoever there are nightly performances at the stage on the Float itself. Do brace yourselves for a crowd as it would also be the time where there would be most people visiting the event.
Stage on the platform
The main attraction for us (and for most kids) would be the Uncle Ringo games and rides.
There are a total of 25 games and rides avaliable. However the cost did not come cheap. A ferris wheel ride will cost 3 tokens or $7.50 per person. We estimated if you do all the 25 games and rides, you would end up spending a small fortune of at least $150 there! ( That is $300 if you have 2 kids)
Tokens
It is even more expensive than compared to Universal Studios. For that price for you would probably get the entrance fee for a family of 4 to USS plus a nice meal to go along with it. We think it is overprice for an event catering to families.
Go choo choo!
In anycase, since it is Chinese New Year and seeing how eager we were to play, Daddy decided we should have fun on some rides.
Singapore Flyer
After the rides, we stroll back to Singapore Flyer for dinner. There is another 財神 situated at Singapore Flyer for those who miss it on the platform!
Strike a pose!
The River Hongbao will be held from 8th to 16th Feb. It means another 2 days to visit if you have not done so. Do make your plans soon!
The Little Details
River Hongbao 2013 The Float@ Marina Bay 8-16th Feb 12pm-1130pm daily
No comments