Singapore may not be a sporting giant, but these records of athleticism and will-power say otherwise.

CONQUERING GIBRALTA

In July 2005, Thum Ping Tjin broke the world record for the fastest swim around the Rock of Gibralta, a limestone formation that borders Spain. He took only 2hrs and 52mins to complete the feat. Ping Tjin went on to swim the English Channel the following month, completing the feat in 12hrs and 24mins, becoming the first Singaporean to swim solo across the Channel.

RECORD JUNKIE

Singapore adventurer Khoo Swee Chiow (below) became the first Southeast Asian and the 4th person in the world to complete the Explorers Grand Slam – conquering both the North and South Poles and ascending the seven highest summits across the seven continents – Mount Everest (8,848m) in Nepal, Mount Aconcagua (6,962m) in Argentina, Mount Denali (6,195m) in Alaska, Mount Kilimanjaro (5,963m) in Tanzania, Mount Elbrus (5,633m) in Russia, the Vinson Massif (4,897m) in Antarctica, the Carstenz Pyramid (4,884m) in Indonesia and Mount Kosciuszko (2,228m) in Australia. Khoo has also climbed Shishapangma in Tibet without supplemental oxygen, cycled from Singapore to Beijing, swam the Straits of Malacca and completed a 220 hour-long scuba dive.

Most recently, in January 2008, Khoo completed the World’s Longest Journey on Inline Skates, skating a total of 6,088 km from Hanoi, Vietnam to Singapore in 94 days – probably making him Singapore’s most prolific adrenalin junkie.

HOT WHEELING AROUND THE WORLD

Disabled wheelchair marathoner, neurosurgeon and medical scientist Dr William Tan (above) is Singapore’s most accomplished extreme athlete on wheels – in December 2007, he became the fastest person in the world to complete seven marathons across seven continents. His 26 days and 17 hour feat took him across Antarctica, Chile, Egypt, Thailand, Japan, Kenya, Italy, England, New Zealand, and the United States.

DEXTEROUS DIGITS

FASTEST FINGERS FIRST

Singaporeans may have the habit of speaking quickly – but texting too? Teenager Jeramy Sng (right) set a new record in February 2008 when he clocked just 41.40secs typing the 25-word phrase: ‘The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human’. It beat the previous 43.20secs world record set in 2005 also by a Singaporean, Kimberly Yeo.

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COLOURBLOCK KID

Confounded by that addictive 70s puzzle, the Rubik’s Cube? Darrel Lim (left), at just 5yrs 11mths became the youngest Singaporean to solve the brain-twister, completing the 3×3x3 Rubik’s cube in just 53.67 secs!

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ORANGE YOU STRANGE

There isn’t even a real category for this feat because it probably isn’t the kind of thing you read about everyday. Rizila Mohd Ayob (right) became the fastest person to push an orange with his nose during a race held by the Double A Paper Record Breakers Ultimate Challenge in October 2004, clocking a distance of 690m in 30 mins. A record-holding nose? Perhaps this is what some people mean when they say ‘my nose was running like crazy’.

FOOD CRAZY

Singaporeans love their food – and what better way to show this than chalk up a bunch of food-related records? Why, you may ask? Well, because they could!

GIANT EDIBLE PYRAMID

The quintessential breakfast of kaya toast (a coconut custard spread on toast) took on gargantuan proportions in August 2007 when the Tampines North CC’s Youth Executive Committee slathered 300 loaves of bread with kaya and stacked the sandwiches into a 53cm high pyramid with a base of 218cm by 218cm. We suppose this is one way of saying breakfast nutrition is a building block in a healthy lifestyle!

WATERMELON RECORD

There’s nothing more refreshing than juicy watermelon to quell the thirst on a hot Singapore afternoon. Perhaps it was a particularly hot day during the GE Aviation Service Convention in 2006 when Yeong Chee Hoi (first from left) ate half a watermelon in under 10 minutes to become the fastest man to do so.

Over 16,600 helmets were chained up into a continuous line measuring 5.664km for Keppel Marine and Offshore’s Family Day at Sentosa in 2007.

FASTEST SQUEEZING OF ORANGE JUICE

1,447 students from Compassvale Secondary School manually squeezed 150 litres of orange juice into a 150-litre cup in less than 12 minutes in 2004.

MOST COUNTRIES TRAVELLED BY A SINGLE PERSON

Singaporean Tan Wee Cheng was ranked 110th worldwide and first from Singapore on mosttraveledpeople.com. He has been to more than 230 countries, territories and autonomous regions in the last 19 years.

WORLD’S BIGGEST STIR-FRY

Former TV chef Nancy Lam stir-fried a 700-kg dish of cabbage, carrots, baby corn, pak choi and bean sprouts in a giant wok at Leicester Square in London in 2004.

SMALLEST MOSQUE IN SINGAPORE

Tasek Utara Mosque, located at 46 Bristol Road can accommodate no more than 120 people in a congregation prayer.

MOST BANKRUPTS IN A YEAR

The number of people made bankrupt in Singapore reached a local record of 2,904 in 2001 during the economy’s worst recession since independence.

Find out about more wacky feats at www.singaporebookofrecords.com

DUAL DELIGHTS

One evokes Las Vegas-style glitz, while the other is modeled after the famous Genting Highlands resort in Malaysia. Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, respectively, will bring a string of attractions for all tastes. Resorts World Sentosa, the first of the two integrated resorts (IRs) to open, boasts a total of six hotels, more than 10 food and beverage outlets, an oceanarium and a theme park. Adding to the Singapore skyline on the mainland, Marina Bay Sands will be the centerpiece in a ‘necklace of attractions’ around the Marina Bay that includes the Singapore Flyer, Gardens by the Bay, the Esplanade and – by 2013 – the National Art Gallery and the City Hall heritage buildings.

FEEL THE RUSH

The Universal Studios theme park, Resorts World Sentosa

The first movie theme park in Southeast Asia has something special in store for adrenaline junkies. Go head-to-head with your mates on the world’s tallest pair of duelling rollercoasters – the Battlestar Galactica – themed after the hit sci-fi television series. You can be seated or suspended, on the human or alien Cylon side, as you “race” through inversions, cockscrews, vertical loops and rolls on this ride that peaks at a dizzying 14 storeys and 90km/h.

PARTY LIKE A ROCK STAR

Hard Rock Hotel Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa

Those with fantasies of living it large MTV-style can do so at the Hard Rock Hotel Singapore. The hotel’s understated design may not blow you away, but it’s plush enough to satisfy those rock star dreams. The ace in the deck is the Rock Pool Bar – a bar by a faux beach – complete with seawater and powdery sand.

OCEANS ALIVE

Marine Life Park, Resorts World Sentosa

Immerse yourself in the wonders of the underwater world at the Marine Life Park. It is set to be the largest oceanarium in the world with a 6.6 million-gallon lagoon that will showcase more than 700,000 fish.

THE GREATEST VIEW

The Sands SkyPark, Marina Bay Sands

The Sands SkyPark, perched atop the 55-storey hotel towers of Marina Bay Sands, is bound to be a favourite of lovebirds and stargazers. Located 200 metres above ground and facing the dazzling lights of the business district, the SkyPark is guaranteed to offer an unbeatable 360-degree view of Singapore’s city skyline.

HIGH ROLLIN’

Casinos, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa

With the opening of Singapore’s first casinos comes high glamour, high stakes and dreams of the high life. While most will seek big wins on the spacious casino floor catered for everyday guests, the super-rich will court lady luck in private rooms away from prying eyes and move around the grounds via a network of secret lifts, corridors and entrances. The price of this discreet luxury? $100,000 in chips.

CUT ABOVE THE REST

CUT, Marina Bay Sands

When it comes to steak, nobody does it better than Wolfgang Puck (right). The Austrian restaurateur based in Los Angeles will bring CUT – ranked among the top three steakhouses in the United States and Esquire’s Restaurant of the Year in 2006 – to Singapore later this year. The fine dining restaurant will feature the finest prime beef and an award-winning wine list.

FRENCH ENTRANCE

FestiveWalk, Resorts World Sentosa

You can almost taste the excitement as foodies brace themselves in anticipation of what’s possibly the finest French cuisine Singapore has ever seen. With 25 Michelin stars under his belt, Joël Robuchon (left) is regarded one of the best in the world and has been the only chef to be granted the title Chef of the Century by the Gault Millau guide in 1990. Gordon Ramsay, Eric Ripert and Michael Caines regard Robuchon as a mentor. Robuchon brings three dining concepts – La Table de Joël Robuchon, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon and The Pastry Shop & Lounge – to Singapore in May.

ROARING SENSATION

The Lion King, Marina Bay Sands

The award-winning stage adaptation of the animated film The Lion King will hit Singapore shores come October at one of Marina Bay Sands’ two theatres. The musical – Broadway’s ninth longest running show in history – will make its Southeast Asian premiere here. Directed by Tony Award-winning director Julie Taymor, the musical features actors in stunning animal costumes, great sets and giant puppets, as well as familiar songs such as the award-winning Can You Feel The Love Tonight.

In fact, the number of short films produced annually has “skyrocketed” in recent years, and now number about 400 a year, said Low Beng Kheng, programme manager at The Substation. Driven in part by the digital revolution as animated shorts add to the body of work, another reason, noted JD Chua, 27, who has produced four films and written over 30, is the ubiquity of recording devices. JD is pursuing his Creative Producing degree with Chapman University at Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Film & Media Studies. “Anybody can pick up a cell phone or a digital camera and make a film,” he noted.

In fact, the large body of work produced annually has meant a boom in film festivals, showcases, competitions and other platforms. “[It has increased] so much that we (at the Substation) are able to organise a short film ‘Oscars’ of sorts in the form of the Singapore Short Film Awards,” Beng Kheng pointed out. These awards, held from 25 to 31 January, will recap all short films made during 2009 and recognise achievements in ten categories including best director, best fiction and best performance.

INDEPENDENT STREAK
So what distinguishes a home video from an indie flick? Narrative, explained Singaporean freelance director Nicole Midori Woodford, 23. “For independent filmmakers, each film is a thought-out process, and is written to bring an idea or script to life.” This means that each production requires, at the very least, the requisite equipment and crew – and that means money.

A still from Kitchen Quartet

While some funding is available (from the Media Development Authority or sponsors) many independent filmmakers execute their vision by running a tight ship on an even tighter budget, financing projects themselves with the support of friends, fans and family to pay for equipment rental, production studio time and actors’ pay checks. “We sometimes run on favours,” quipped Nicole Midori. Even for a short film (typically about 15 minutes long) the budget can run up to thousands of dollars. And chances are there’s not much money to be made at the end of it. So what drives this industry along?

The answer, quite simply, is passion. Wesley Leon Aroozoo, 25, has completed nine short films, eight of them funded with his own savings; the most recent one, Maybe She Loves Everyone, for the Panasonic Digital Film Fiesta is supported by Objectifs – a visual arts centre for photography and filmmaking enthusiasts – and Panasonic. “I’m broke because of my work!” laughed the film student at Nanyang Technological University. Wesley, like many of his peers, is content with “staying underground”. “I make films for myself, and to express myself,” Wesley said. “It’s hard for me to conform and give people what they want – I may never reach that goal. But if people enjoy it, then that’s a bonus!” His course-mate, Singaporean Philothea Liau, 22, agreed: “My films are a very personal form of expression through my worldview.” For her, “film is a holistic experience that engages the senses.”

A LOVE OF STORYTELLING
The lack of commercial aspirations by no means indicates a lack of ambition. Nicole Midori noted that while indie projects tend to be unfettered by commercial constraints, success can still be found. In 2003, Royston Tan’s independent short film 15, a tale on juvenile delinquents, became the fastest selling local film in the history of the Singapore International Film Festival.

A still from Hush Baby

Beng Kheng also noted that the short film genre has acted as a springboard for more ambitious works. “There has also been a much much stronger push towards developing and producing first feature films by the previous generations of short filmmakers such as Wee Li Lin, Boo Junfeng, Chai Yee-Wei, just to name a few, all of whom started and had a strong background in short films.”

Ultimately, said JD, “an indie filmmaker is governed by content and not where it’s from … If you can excite [filmmakers], they will come and shoot, be it an indie film or a commercial one … I get my personal satisfaction from a project well made, no matter commercial or indie.” He added, “My audience must walk away with something.”

It boils down to the love of storytelling through moving pictures. Take 25-year-old Tan Wei Keong, whose two animated films, Hush Baby and White – made while he was a digital animation student – won Special Achievement and Special Mention awards respectively at the 2009 Singapore International Film Festival. Now working in Japan with an animation company, Wei Keong continues his passion regardless of classification. “Visually, I’m more attracted to hand-drawn stuff because I think drawing is instinctive. I feel that films should show something, rather than tell something. That’s what allows films to leave deep impressions.”

This sentiment reflects the driving passion of filmmakers, for whom capturing and expressing life, dreams, fantasies and visions – on film, using a hand-held camera or as animation – is as necessary as breathing. Wesley summed it up when he said, “I enjoy it with all my heart so I won’t be stopping any time soon.”

FILM SNIPPETS

• Tan Wei Keong
Hush Baby (3 min 40 sec)
A curious baby struggles against confinement and restriction even as protective hands shield it from an environment of temptation.

• JD Chua
Black and White Kings (8 min)
The lines between triumph and defeat are blurred in this film noir which explores old rivalries between two gang lords as they play a game of chess.

• Wesley Leon Aroozoo
A Lion’s Pride (8 min)
Part of the celebrations of each Chinese New Year, the lion dance Lion is left abandoned, jobless and struggling in the wilderness the rest of the year.

• Nicole Midori Woodford
Kitchen Quartet (20 min)
A tale of how food brings two families together without them realising it.

• Philothea Liau
Brazil (7 min)
Meng buys a sought after ‘Brazil’ eraser and loses his remaining cash to two bullies. Hungry and desperate, Meng sells the prized eraser.

WATCH FOR IT

Keep your eye out for the Singapore Short Film Awards, on from 25 to 31 January. www.substation.org
Check out Sinema Old School, which regularly screens local films such as the ones above. www.sinema.sg

CLOCKWISE: Selva Kumar, Li De Hui, Amanda Wong, Matthias Fong

Selva Kumar was in his bedroom, his shoulders pressed on the floor, his head bent awkwardly, his legs lifted up in mid-air in the perfect ‘baby freeze’ – when his dad walked in, bewildered. And no wonder, said the 16-year-old student to the empathetic laughter from this peers, “I hadn’t told my parents about my breakdancing then!” When his folks asked what he was up to, Selva showed them, much to their initial concern which gradually grew to become an appreciation.

Gathered at the lobby of Natasha Dance Studio at Claymore Hill, Selva and his friends – part of a breakdancing class held every Sunday – represent a new wave of ‘b-boys’ (and girls). A hint of irreverence characterises their clothes: T-shirts are slightly oversized, and caps are worn with their visors facing sideways – typifying the fashion of the subculture. According to instructor Larry Liu, 29, who picked up the dance in 1998 (inspired by the influential hiphop group Run D.M.C), the rise of breakdancing lessons and dedicated dance studios signal an evolution of the street dance.

HISTORY BREAKS

Back when b-boying was new, the arena was the streets. Breakdancing or ‘b-boying’ – an abbreviated term for ‘break-boying’ – emerged in New York in the 1970s. The name came from the pulsating sets of different songs, known as ‘breaks’ or ‘breakbeats’, strung together by a disc jockey; these breaks offered a rhythmic platform for further mixing – and for a spontaneous showcase of complex moves.

In Singapore, the American movie Beat Street in 1984 introduced the raw, energetic street dance to youths like Budin Aris when he was about 12. Now 36, the art director recalled that the quintessential style had been an Adidas or Puma tracksuit, but Budin never got one because he was “too small” and could not find one that fit. The gear, hooded tracksuits, caps, bandanas, tough baggy pants and sneakers are still de rigueur and act both as fashion statement and a protective and functional second skin. Budin also recalled that each crew would have a large boombox and carried large cardboard sheet that stood in for a dance floor. The hottest scene in the 1980s was at a car park at East Coast Park. “You’d see breakdancing crews there every weekend,” Budin said. “Back then it was mostly Malay youth. Now you see a diversity of races and both genders performing.”

“Back then it was mostly Malay youth. Now you see a diversity of races and both genders performing.” – Budin Aris, former ‘b-boy’

STEPPING TO A NEW BEAT

Today, the gritty street crews have been replaced by fresh faces for whom breakdancing is a form of self-expression and a hobby. Cue new entrants such as Amanda Wong, 18, who started breakdancing half a year ago, encouraged by her schoolmates. Being a girl in a male dominated sport meant a little resistance at first, she said, “I came home [after breakdancing] with bruises and my mum asked how I got them. I told her I breakdanced, and she went: ‘Aiyoh!You’re a girl, how can you breakdance? So rough! But she is fine with it now; she knows I’ll take care of myself.”

And indeed, with the athleticism, flexibility, strength and speed required to master the moves, care is essential. Li De Hui, 19, noted that performing complex manoeuvres without the proper foundation of the basic moves can lead to injury.

Larry explained that b-boy moves all evolve from four basics: toprock move (performed from a standing position); power moves (using with upper body strength, with hands on the floor); footwork (moves with hands and feet on the floor); and freezes (lifting off the ground and ‘freezing’ the move). With practice, the number of dance moves is almost infinite, bound only by the performer’s skill and imagination.

Larry (in yellow) with his students

Back when Larry first started breaking, Far East Plaza was the place to be. He remembers picking up a breakdancing video there, categorised under ‘Extreme Sports’. And while it was VHS for Larry, Budin and his friends had to learn the moves from a handbook – a ‘breakers manual’ of sorts. “It taught moves and how to replace everyday words with breaker slang so that you can talk like one,” Budin said, “I can’t remember how to talk like one but it was funny.”

Today YouTube and MTV can be credited with introducing teens like 15-year-old Matthias Fong to the art. “We thought breakdancing was cool, with all the fancy moves like spins and freezes,” he said.

The comeback of breakdancing is still relatively recent in Singapore. but the interest is growing. “On average, we have three to four breakdancing competitions a year,” said Larry, many organised by the older generation of breakdancers. Mainly, these are held to not only showcase talent, but share and grow the appreciation of the dance.

Apart from organised events, spontaneous dance-offs can also be found. Anyone keen to try breakdancing need only go to the Esplanade Underpass on a weekends – a hangout for enthusiasts, harking back to the dance’s early street-arena days.

From left: Desmond Moey, Stella Kon and Dr Kenneth Lyen.

It starts as mere whimsy or a vision to take a story beyond mere words – and when brought to life on stage complete with music and dramatic props, nothing quite compares to the immersive allure of musicals. At least not for Dr Kenneth Lyen, a renowned paediatrician and veteran musical writer. “There is no art form that has the great emotional power of a musical to touch people,” he told Singapore. “It has everything – music, songs and great stories.”

As one of the founders and the Creative Director of Musical Theatre Limited (MTL), Lyen aims to take musicals in Singapore to the same heights that they achieve on stage. Set up in 2005, MTL is the only musical incubator in Singapore, and encourages aspiring writers to come forward. The aim is to nurture musical scripts and ideas into fruition to grow a vibrant body of locally made musical theatre pieces.

One does not need a formal theatre background to be part of MTL, just the passion for musicals – be it for the stories, songs or lyrics, said MTL’s Managing Director Desmond Moey, an award-winning songwriter with over 300 works to his name, including music for the 1997 National Day Parade and songs for the Singapore Paralympic team.

Lyen himself is also one of the most prolific composers in Singapore and has written for at least 16 productions – many with tennis buddy Moey. In addition, MTL is helmed by Singaporean playwright and author Stella Kon – renowned author and creator of local theatre classics such as Emily of Emerald Hill – who is MTL’s Chairperson.

“We get all sorts of people, from the very young to the very old, and we find that Singaporeans are really quite talented,” – Kenneth Lyen

Moey explained, “We are not a production house, but we still try to do the whole song and dance. We help in the creation and development of the music and cut these into demo CDs which we can pitch and perform.” Stella elaborated, “We have an incubation system of our own, in which paid professional reviewers assess new scripts and give their professional assessment and recommendations on how to improve them.”

Open auditions that welcome any member of the public are held when casting for each production, and each time, the creativity and talent from the public is quite remarkable, said Lyen. For example, for television musical School House Rockz, MTL found a group of talented 12-year-olds for the show. “We get all sorts of people, from the very young to the very old, and we find that Singaporeans are really quite talented,” Lyen quipped.

Kon considers herself one of MTL’s own discoveries. “Before MTL, I had never written songs for musicals because I didn’t have the know-how or support,” she told Singapore. She now has written songs for five mini-musicals.

MTL has also nurtured other musical talents (see box) that have gone from nofrills shows to full-fl edged productions. For IT-professional Lee Chee Tian, 37, MTL has been a catalyst for his ideas. “I’ve always had an interest in theatre and musicals, but have limited contacts and resources to bring my ideas to stage,” he said. “MTL gave us a chance to bring our story ideas to life,” he said. Lee was “astounded” when his piece, Sunset Bloom – a love story – was performed in 2008 under MTL’s Five Foot Broadway showcase.

MUSIC TO THE PEOPLE

Like in any musical, there are the inevitable obstacles to overcome. Obtaining funding, said its founders, remains a huge one, as sponsors prefer tried and tested broadway hits. But there’s reason for optimism. For one, Lyen believes Singapore has what it takes to be a ‘Broadway of the East’ because of the wealth of local stories, fables and legends, the unique confluence of cultures and Asian musical infl uences, as local productions Chang and Eng, Beauty World and Bugis Street have shown.

MTL now showcases several shows a year under its Five Foot Broadway programme. “We’ve travelled a long way from our initial start and are going full steam ahead,” said Kenneth. Most recently, MTL got its own permanent space at The Arts House. Colin Goh, General Manager for The Arts House told Singapore, “By providing a residency space for musical theatre, made-in-Singapore musicals will have the breadth to grow and evolve into something of greater quality.”

Apart from incubating musicals, MTL also conducts workshops by local professionals for writers and composers of musical theatre as well as school children. To grow appreciation for musicals, MTL is taking musicals to the community, said Moey. “We want to be a node from which we grow musical theatre clubs in the community, across constituencies and schools all across Singapore.” They are not afraid to dream big. “Hopefully, one of these local musicals gets picked up and becomes the next Cats!” laughed Moey. Whether this dream ever becomes a reality is anyone’s guess, but MTL is unafraid to try. Said Lyen, “We’re planting the seeds; not every one will grow, but we’re having fun doing it in the meantime.”

MUSICAL STEPS

FIVE FOOT BROADWAY BEGINS!

Dr Kenneth Lyen bemoaned the lack of avenues for new musical works with his tennis buddies. Four of them, Lyen, Moey, Phillip Sim and Sean Wong, formed the Musical Theatre Society and showcased fi ve new musicals under its Five Foot Broadway programme in 2005. Each year since, Five Foot Broadway showcases new original works.

SINGAPORE BOYS/BOTAK BOYS

Written by Jonathan Wong, Singapore Boys – a piece about surviving basic military training in the Singapore Armed Forces – was presented as a 15-minute mini musical in 2008. It was taken up by award-winning theatre practitioner Ivan Heng’s theatre company Wild Rice and expanded into a 40-minute piece and renamed Botak Boys.

GEORGETTE

Performed as part of Five Foot Broadway in 2006, the musical Georgette – a story about Singaporean artist Georgette Chen (1906-1993) – written by Ng Yi-Sheng was received by local reviewers as “cheeky but polished”, “intelligently written” and touching. In 2008, it was picked up and performed in Manila.