If you have ever thought of going to Singapore, I would encourage you to move it up on your list. If the thought has never crossed your mind, you should really consider visiting. I had only two days to spend in Singapore but in that short time I totally became enamored with the city. Singapore has tagged itself as the Garden City for good reason. I was amazed and delighted to discover how uniformly green the city is. Singapore was on my list for a couple of reasons. One, it is a good airline hub offering flights to almost anywhere guaranteeing reasonable prices and a multitude of schedule options. And two, I had never been there before, heard a lot about it from others, and decided to explore it myself.

And explore it I did. The short two days I was there I tried to cover as much of the city as I could. Despite its relatively small size as a territory, at 278 square miles, it is impossible to walk the whole city. Nonetheless I managed to cover quite a bit of the city center on foot, using the metro only to make big jumps from section to section. As I was staying at an acquaintance’s house, located in the northern suburbs, the metro was also a convenient way to get to the city center. Before I arrived I had done some research about the city and learned that for a relatively small territory Singapore has a lot to offer. I merely scratched the surface, choosing to ignore the more traditional tourist activities in favor of just wandering around. So I did not visit Sentosa Island, the zoo, or take advantage of the safari offerings to name a few of the more well known attractions. I guess that means I will have to go back!

One of the many interesting side streets in the little India/Arab area.

I started my exploration by wandering around in the Botanical Gardens located on the northern edge of the city center. The gardens are fairly extensive and as it was a Saturday when I visited there were tons of people out walking, jogging, picnicing and just spread out on the green spaces. It certainly looked like the residents enjoyed and used the gardens extensively. I visited the orchid garden as it was listed as a “must see” but otherwise just meandered through the beautiful trees enjoying the greenery. The nearly three hours I spent there passed quickly, my stomach waking me up to the amount of time that had gone by. So in search of lunch I headed to the next place on my list “little India”. Convienently adjacent to little India is an Arab neighborhood also of interest. Emerging from the metro at the edge of little India I found a huge food court with an incredible variety of food stalls representing cuisines from all of Asia. Skipping over the Thai offerings, having just come from there, I decided to try something Chinese and supplement the food with an Indian lassi. I loved the variety!

This cake caught my eye in a bakery I passed in the Arab area. Besides being huge it looked colorful, but not being hungry, I passed it by.

Saturday is market day and thus the streets were full of people, tourists and locals both, hurrying in every direction and in and out of various stalls and shops. I was not interested in buying anything so I merely window shopped and people watched, slowly making my way further south to the Arab area. Along the way I took the opportunity to explore the many interesting small side streets, alleys really, that had unique retail and coffe shops as well as bars. During the course of my investigations I stumbled across a collection of tasty looking Mediterranean restaurants, which made me wish I had not already eaten as they all smelled good and I love that cuisine. (Next time!)

After a couple of hours of exploring this area I headed over towards the shopping district, Orchard Street. It is quite famos as a shopping area and I was curious about why it was so lauded. Knowing the general direction I needed to head I picked random streets as my route. I was amazed to discover even more, less well known (and more reasonably priced) shopping centers along the way. When I arrived at Orchard Road, and THE shopping district proper, it was rather overwhelming. There were people everywhere and huge shopping mall after huge shopping mall lining both sides of the street. There was a plethora of the “big” (i.e. expensive) brand stores as well as a bunch of stores I had never heard of. It is hard to describe how big it was, but I can state that from the beginning to the end of the strip of massive shopping complexes I saw two or more of the exact same stores, unusual in such a small geographical area. I have to say that one of the impressions of Asia I take home with me after this extensive trip is that shopping is a major activity and popular pass time, even more so than places I have been in the U.S.

Helicopters practicing for the National Day Ceremony. Fairly dramatic to see them go by. Noisy too!

I did not spend too much time exploring all of the shopping malls since it did not take too long to get a feel for the area and satisfy my curiosity about the environment. It was getting late in the day and I wanted to visit the marina area before returning to the apartment I was staying at. I hopped on the metro and got off at the stop nearest the Garden on the Bay and the Marina Bay Sands, a huge hotel and entertainment complex- yes, with more shopping!- right on the bay. Because of the bridge configuration, pedestrians can walk a full circle around the bay, a great way to see the whole area. The foot traffic across the bridge was a bit disrupted, however, as there was a dress rehearsal for the Singapore National Day ceremony, held in August, taking place at the theater on the water near the pedestrian path and consequently foot traffic was being restricted. I only found out later what the event was, but at the time assumed it was something nationalistic as it involved lots of people in military dress, overflies of aircraft, and at one point three large helicopters carrying a huge Singapore flag flying low level across the water. As sunset approached the crowd started gathering for the nightly fireworks show, delayed 30 minutes due to the dress rehearsal, but I by that time me feet told my it was time to go, so I hopped on the metro and headed back.

A view from a distance of the Gardens by the Bay. You can see the “super trees” sticking up and the domes.

A closer view of the “super trees”. There is a sky walk that connects a few of them.

The next morning, however, I was right back at the marina because I wanted to explore the Garden by the Bay. The Garden by the Bay is a green space adjacent to the water that is kind of a cross between a public park and mini-botanical garden. Of major interest in the garden are the many “super trees” that tower over the surrounding vegetation and which at night are impressively lit up. The super trees, made out of metal, support different kinds of plant life. In addition the garden boasts a Flower Dome and a Cloud Dome. I bought a ticket to the Flower Dome and once inside was so entranced I spent several hours there. It was amazing!!!! The main floral displays located in the center of the dome, which I have been told change every quarter, were so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes. In addition there were flowers in smaller displays, organized via climate, dotted around the perimeter. The dome featured more than flowers, however, including many other types of plants in the climate specific displays. I took a ton of pictures because I could not help myself- even the cacti display was eye catching and arresting. I HIGHLY recommend the Garden by the Bay, especially the Flower Dome if you are ever in Singapore. I cannot wait to go back to investigate the Cloud Dome some day.

The overwhelming beauty of the central display at the Flower Dome. Don’t need to say more!

Three or so hours later after thoroughly investigating the rest of the gardens (minus the Cloud Dome) I finally completed the circuit of the marina I had not been able to do the night before. There were a lot of people out and about so finding a place to grab a quick bite was tough, but eventually I grabbed a chair along the water and watched the people go by. From the marina I headed north to investigate part of the city, the historical area, I had not yet seen. Soon enough it was time to be back at the apartment to meet some friends of friends who had offered to take me to dinner.

Close up of one example of the beautiful flowers. Look closely and you can see so many different shades of purple in one spot. Absolutely amazing are the colors that nature produces.

The next day I flew to Hawaii, where I am now, taking a “vacation” from my vacation. Soon enough I am back in northern Virginia for a TBD amount of time and will discover which direction my life will take next!

This close up of a rose (one of my favorite flowers!) turned out rather nice so I thought I would include it.