A garden stroll

"In the garden I tend to drop my thoughts here and there. To the flowers I whisper the secrets I keep and the hopes I breathe. I know they are there to eavesdrop for the angels."

Dodinsky - In the Garden of Thoughts

Singapore does the whole tourist experience so well so it was no great surprise that Gardens by the Bay would be utterly spectacular.  The morning air was heavy and the skies were threatening rain as we walked the short distance from the MRT station to the Gardens.  All around was evidence of preparations for the upcoming Singapore Garden Festival - shame it starts the day after we leave.

Crossing the bridge to Gardens by the Bay

The rain started soon after so we made the conservatories our first stop.  It was quite surreal being dry (and cold!) inside the Cloud Forest while water streamed down the outside of the glass.

Now that's what you call a green wall

The conservatory seemed impossibly huge - what an incredible feat of engineering to house a waterfall and a green wall several storeys high.  And everywhere, a mind boggling array of plants and flowers from different mountain habitats.

Cloud Forest - looking down from the top

Forest atop the waterfall

The conservatory next door was equally cold but this one housed plants from semi-arid and Mediterranean environments.

Inside the Flower Dome

The bizarre world of pebble plants (can you see them?)

Among the weird and wonderful plants, there were some familiar floral friends from Western Australia.  However no need to include photos of grass trees or Kangaroo Paw here!

And here's a familiar Western Australia flower - Ross next to an orchid display

Singapore is perhaps best known for its orchids and there was a spectacular variety on show.

Magnificent orchids

Outside the rain was still coming down steadily and because of the slip hazard, the Skyway suspended between the Supertrees was closed.  We decided to call it quits but resolved to return some other time for the evening light show and another crack at the Skyway.

Supertrees under a leaden sky

Ross grabbed some lunch on the way back to the hotel but I went on another mission to the Raffles City foodhall... success!  I found some char siew bau and took my precious cargo back to the hotel where I could leisurely savour my steamed pillows of heavenly softness wrapped around tender BBQ pork:)

What better way to spend a rainy afternoon than to settle in a plush armchair with a good book.  

A welcome rest

Or indeed the parlour...

Ross relaxing in the parlour

The evening saw us walk the network of interconnected malls to Marina Square for a catch up with some good Uni friends of mine.  Lil and Alvin treated us to some fine Asian cuisine at Putien and we certainly enjoyed the stir-fried yam, braised tofu and lor mee.  We were even treated to some small samples of mooncake and not just the run of the mill lotus paste variety available at home.  It seems every hotel and bakery in Singapore is offering their own take on the traditional Mid Autumn Festival delicacy with loads of different fillings to choose from.  If it wasn't near impossible to bring food home I'd probably be stockpiling mooncakes right now...