Culture wins over shops, body fails in heat...

Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Singapore, Singapore
After the hustle and bustle of a city of 4.5 million people, it was a day to explore the Singapore Orchid Gardens... ACRES of tropical plants.

And Singapore orchids . LOTS of Singapore orchids...

Every colour and shape with added bromeliads, palms and myna birds - seemingly the only birdlife in this city. With piped misting and a total lack of breeze, added to the most oppressive day thus far, the atmosphere was stiflingly and I was stymied in no time. The gardens were lovely and meticulously clean, of course - workers picking up individual dropped leaves with long tongs - but there was no way we were spending a whole day there! We had a glimpse of the attached Singapore Botanic Gardens as we sipped cool drinks from the shade of the teahouse.


And cool drinks were the theme for the afternoon as well... High tea at Raffles Tiffin Room, not unlike that at The Peninsula in Hong Kong but with a more colonial air. We definitely felt like landed English gentry being waited upon by the uniformed servants!

Afternoon tea was not just tea and scones. There was (outrageously priced) champagne, savoury hot Asian morsels and a wide assortment of delicate cakes, all accompanied by Christmas Carols on the harp.

The day ended with a trip to one of our hosts' favourite seafood restaurants with a huge array of live things in tanks and a menu to match. The communal bowl of pepper crab was the crowd pleaser, as was the warm outdoor seating under (more) Christmas lights in the trees above.

24 hours - and the only purchases were admissions and food.
Suspect it won't last...

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