Well, we missed the fireworks on the eve, but we made up for it when went on board the East Indiaman Gotheborg 3.
The reconstructed 17th century Swedish ship in 2003... more than 250 year after it ran aground off the Swedish west coast of Gothenburg Harbour in 1745 was a magnificent replica, given only salvaged remains and no drawings to make the reconstruction that much harder and such an astonishing achievement.
Today, the first day of 2007, it is docked at VivoCity to welcome well-wishes from Singapore on board... with a ticket entry of course.
S$10 for adults and S$5 for children under 12. With "The Friends of IKEA" membership card, we got to go on board for a mere S$5.00 only. 50% off for me and free my son. Yes!
This was the second ship to call at the Harbourfront Bay in a span of a few months. The last one was the 1914 MV Doulos from Texas USA - the World's Floating Bookshop in November 2006.
Yes, yes, Wifey was not with us for the outing.
She whisked us out of the house so that she can have a quiet recuperation from her bout of flu, without her 2 "children" making too much noise around the house.
Like all die-hard tourists that I am, I splurged about S$60.00 on T-Shirts each for my son and myself and insignia pins for Wifey since there was no snow globes for her collection.
The 1 foot long Gotheborg model ship was too tempting, but at S$90.00 it was just not affordable for me. It would look nice to place the Gotheborg model ship it beside my 1765 Victory British I got from our Mauritius vacation a few years back.
I got an MV Doulus commemorative mug as a souvenir when it docked here. Now proudly sitting amongst the many mugs that I have collected over the years when we toured around the world on our vacations.
The ship's construction was spectacular. Ingenious even during that time. Equally impressive were the shipmates' spirits who volunteered to braved the rough stormy seas for months while making the historic journey.
Heard their stories of bad weather that made everybody sea-sick and unwell for sometime despite their tough endurance and will, out in the open sea for months.
4 of the crew members are Singaporeans, fortunate enough to trace back the ancient sea trail to journey from Sweden, to China and back which would be about 37,000 nautical miles long.
Making stops to several continents along the way... and fortunately enough for us, for them to make Singapore one of their stopovers till 14 January 2007 when they head back to Gothenburg, Sweden in September 2007.
More pictures will be posted, though it started raining while we were on the ship, the wet and slippery deck is nothing as compared to poundings the crew endured during their journey at sea.
A very nice experience to kick off in the new year!
I would have loved to had seen that! Don't think it will come up the Mississippi River to see me, though. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a joyous way to start the new year. I'm so sorry to hear of the troubling times in your part of the world, but it's good to know that you are taking it in stride and having wonderful experiences with your sweet son. Hope wifey is much better soon.
ReplyDeleteHau'oli Makahiki Hou to you and your family!
I would love to have got to see that ship. looks as if that would be fun.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beutifl ship. I could spend hours looking at those things. Post more pics if you have them.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got to see it with your son Imran. Now that Ikea saved you some money don't you think you ought to run right over there and buy something?
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures of the ship, your son is a cutie.
Wicked! Cuz I saw the same ship in Göteborg (Gothenburg) - living there has it advantages.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
How cool Imran. What a great day you had.
ReplyDeleteHello All,
ReplyDeleteThank you for coming by.
Andrew | It was indeed a beautiful ship, raw, rustic and magnificent to be on board.
Yes, I won't be going up the Mississippi I believe, but you have those steam-powered paddle wheel ferries I wish I could be on board.
Skeet | Thank you for the well wishes. It is a once in a lifetime chance to see and actually experience such ships.
Just like those pirate movie sets, only its real. Nice day to spend the lasts day of school holiday and the new year.
Happy New Year to you and your loved ones too!
C-Dell | Wish you were here too and listen to their actual adventures sailing across the oceans all those months.
DNR | Indeed, the ship is a real-life beauty. Captivating when seeing it up-close.
Yes, I have lots of other photos take of it and will post them soon for you.
Barbara | Yes! Thanks to IKEA I saved S$15.00 off the entrance ticket.
No need. I consider this my redemption value from IKEA for spending thousands at the furnishing store all these years.
My son looks much better when he has short hair. His hair goes "pooffy" when it grows long after 3 months.
CrashDummy | The closest to Sweden I have been was Switzerland when we toured the Swiss Alps.
A beautiful country I wish to visit one day, definitely. Lucky you. Thank you for stopping by.
Wandi | Great to see you here again. Hope you have fully recovered and enjoying the new year.
Yes, it was a beautiful day out with my son. Wifey wasn't able to come though. She was recovering at home from her bout of flu.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!