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Saturday, June 30, 2012

Singapore Botanical Garden

NOTE:  If you would like less narrative and more pictures, please visit my website

A real highlight of our trip to Singapore was our visit to their botanical gardens, a wonderful oasis in this busy city and, amazingly, free.  The entrance is inviting, and shortly after you come through the gate you are greeted by a lovely waterfall.  We headed into the gardens and couldn't help noticing a loud buzzing noise that I finally decided must be cicadas.  Their sound was a high, very loud note instead of the rasp we are used to in North Carolina.  At first I thought I was hearing something mechanical, and only when it continued all along the path did I realize it was natural and probably some kind of cicada.  Wish we had seen them!  Meanwhile, the gardens are beautiful and very large.  It would take much more time than we had to see everything, so we just chose a highlight or two.

Outside the entrance
The entrance building
Lovely waterfall
Helonica was blooming throughout the garden, and I enjoyed seeing it in different forms and stages. 













One feature of the garden is a shell where the symphony performs.  What a great setting that would be for a concert! 
The performance shell

 In the Ginger Garden

One of the many varieties of ginger



Rainforest pond - very cool

Lovely waterfall



You can walk behind it and take pictures looking out as well as in






We had to rush a bit and skipped the world famous Orchid Garden, but were nonetheless impressed.  If I had it to do over, I would insist on staying longer and seeing the thousands of orchids in their collection, but even without that, the gardens were beautiful and well worth every minute of time you can spend there. 

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Singapore - modern

NOTE:  If you would like less narrative and more pictures, please visit my website

Singapore is dominated by its busy business district.  Modern architectural feats everywhere you turn, and all of it seems bustling and prosperous.  The government is a sort of benevolent dictatorship that has managed to create a city-state where order is strictly maintained, crime is very low, and pretty much anything goes as long as it is good for tourism and business.  They've done some innovative things to keep traffic at a fairly reasonable level through taxation and fees coupled with an excellent public transport system.

Typical skyline

Pretty cool building

VERY cool building
It's going to rain!
  Eventually, after touring though the city, we had arrived at the Marina Bay Sands Resort.  Crazy building that looks like inverted Vs with a long cruise ship resting on top.  We made our way up to the observation deck with its panoramic views of Singapore, the busy harbor, and even some of the islands of Indonesia. 
Marina Bay Sands Resort
Marina Bay Sands Resort

Unusual structures near the resort

Skyline from the resort




View from the top of the resort.   I have NO idea what that thing that looks like a giant bra could be!

Floating athletic field--what a concept

Neat shot of that flower-like structure in the marina

Singapore from the Marina Bay Sands Resort
The Singapore Flyer--billed as the world's largest "observation wheel"--what most of us call a Ferris Wheel



Sunday, June 24, 2012

Singapore - Little India

NOTE:  If you would like less narrative and more pictures, please visit my website

Singapore also has a large Indian population, similarly clustered together in an interesting enclave amid the bustling modern city.  The temples are wonderful.  
Strange to see skyscrapers in the background.


You could look at this forever and still find something new


The figures seem so real that despite their sometimes unusual skin tones, you almost expect them to get up and stretch from time to time
This is a different, smaller temple


Friday, June 22, 2012

Singapore - Chinatown

NOTE:  If you would like less narrative and more pictures, please visit my website


Singapore's Chinatown is large, prosperous, and interesting.  Pagodas, temples, shops, housing.  Here is a sampling.
Striking building.  I don't know what it is.


Full service wellness center.  WHAT is ear candling???

We had to hike through construction to find this beautiful temple, but it was well worth it.

Too bad about the protective fence

Part of the shrine

Like the rest, we could be in China
This elevated walkway connects parts of Chinatown that are separated by a busy road

This is the same walkway


Monday, June 4, 2012

Singapore - hotels

NOTE:  If you would like less narrative and more pictures, please visit my website

Because of the JetStar mess in Darwin, instead of arriving in Singapore around nine, we didn't get in until 11 PM, then had to clear immigration, retrieve our luggage, clear customs, and find the hotels transfer bus.  We had an unscheduled tour of Singapore at night as we dropped other passengers off at their hotels on the way to ours.  A couple of them were in Chinatown, which was so busy with people eating in every single restaurant we passed that it might as well have been noon instead of nearly midnight.  Even the food markets were still open, and taxis were rushing around everywhere.  The first two hotels we stopped at were seedy at best, but eventually we arrived at the Intercontinental, which turned out to be a five star hotel in the heart of the business district.

Our room is on the second floor of the old section, which we could reach only by climbing a long flight of stairs from a beautiful lobby.  Our bags arrived shortly after we did, so I suppose there is a service elevator tucked away somewhere.  I was apparently so excited when I took this picture that it's blurry, but the lobby is truly lovely with lots of orchids everywhere.

Our room is wonderful.  I don't usually photograph hotel rooms, but really, this is charming.  FIVE floor to ceiling windows, attractive furniture that doesn't look like a hotel, and a bathroom with mosaic tile that gives it a sense of history you really don't see in modern hotels.

This is the old part of the hotel.  There is a modern tower attached, but I am so happy to be here.  There is nothing sterile about this hotel room.

  Our room is in the old part of the hotel and faces a busy street, but the powerful air conditioning system provides excellent white noise, so we could almost be in the country. In bed by two or three in the morning, and sound asleep minutes later.


Since I'm on the subject of hotels, I suppose I might as well mention Raffles, probably the most famous old hotel in Singapore.  We stopped in Raffles after our first-day bus tour in a drizzling rain.  We hopped off the bus to take some photos and check out the Long Bar where the Singapore Sling drink was invented.  Raffles is the shortest hotel in town, and behind it is the tallest.  I'm not sure if the building in the photo is that tall hotel or something else, however.
They don't let you into most of this hotel unless you are staying there.  The lobby, for example, is off limits to all but "residents" of the hotel, as is the place where they serve their famous hgh tea.  But they do let the riff-raff (people like us) see and use the bars.  This one is in an interior courtyard and was nearly empty because of the rain.

Their little historical display.  Raffles gets its name from Sir Stanford Raffles, the British "founder" of Singapore.  


Just outside the famous Long Bar. 
Inside.  I love the ceiling fans.  It was too dark and already sort of crowded to get a very good picture.

The Singapore Sling was invented here.  

Raffles rambles all over a large city block and contains several restful outdoor spaces.  This fountain was lovely, even in the rain.

This sheltered gazebo was delightful.


  Raffles was only a couple of blocks from the Intercontinental, so we enjoyed an easy walk home.  

Come back tomorrow for more of Singapore.