See you in Manila

Over 5,000 athletes and officials partied through the night in the glow of multi-colored lights, and fireworks exploded into the cold December night as Southeast Asia’s new sports superpower gave friends from 10 nations a grand send-off celebration in a happy ending to the 22nd SEA Games Saturday night.

Three hundred musicians of the famous Vietnamese symphony orchestra and a selection of 500 vocalists sang the ASEAN song during the closing rites.

As the urn that remained lit through 12 days of competitions dimmed, fireworks exploded, athletes and officials shook the hands of old and new friends and shed a few tears, and the huge welcome sign "See You Again" flashed, with an invitation to the Manila Southeast Asian Games in 2005.

Children, born after the dark years of the Vietnam War and hope of a new and unified nation, danced in the background in a show depicting the bamboo bridge, a humble reminder of life in Vietnam’s far-flung rural areas.

In one defining moment, a nation, toughened by war against aggressors since 200 BC and survived other wars to defend what was then Indochina and now Vietnam, forgot its ugly past as it invited its neighbors from Southeast Asia to the New Millenium in a classical presentation performed by nearly 1,000 musicians and artists.

Athletes danced to the beat of modern songs as a thousand lights streaked across the field and through the galleries of the 25,000-seat state-of-the-art national football stadium.

At the same time, 400 actors and actresses, clad in neat, young clothes, carried reflectorized cardboards painted with a yellow rice sheave, the ASEAN’s symbol, and a blue side with 11 intertwined circles representing the 11 countries of Southeast Asia.

The 10 original countries of the ASEAN are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and host Vietnam.

The 11th nation in the SEA Games family is East Timor, the little nation that declared its independence from Indonesia and was here to proclaim its message of friendship to its bigger brothers in the region.

It sent 11 athletes, whose efforts did not show in the medal chart.

Vietnam, an also-ran in previous Games, proved its awesome capabilities to organize the Southeast Asian Games and gave convincing proof that its people of 82 million will be a sports power in the region in years to come.

It concluded the Games with 156 golds to gain overall supremacy for the first time since joining the SEAG with a 46-member delegation in 1989. Its 43-gold-medal haul on the last day was five less than the total of 48 golds of the Philippines which finished a good fourth behind Thailand (90) and Indonesia (55).

Hosting the SEA Games for the first time, Vietnam, a nation still on the reconstruction period and in the process of unifying peoples of clashing socialistic and capitalistic ideologies, wanted to do a good job. And it did.

The support of the Vietnamese people was amazing. They celebrated every football victory in the streets, came by the thousands to pack every venue to cheer for Vietnamese bets, chanting and wearing head bands bearing "Vietnam Vo Dich" (Vietnam Invincible) in a show of support never before seen in past SEA Games.

It’s opening and closing ceremonies were adjudged the best-ever in the history of the games.

The Philippines presented native dances of Muslim tribes while Filipino balladeer Carlos Orosa sang the ASEAN song with a local singer. Nine other countries also presented their country’s culture and arts through native songs and dances.