A Walk in the Park

Giant trees everywhere in the Gardens

If you are ever in Singapore and love hanging out in parks, you must check out the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a short bus ride from the popular Orchard Road shopping district.

It's a gigantic horticultural space that takes visitors away from the hectic life of the city and invites them to relax and appreciate the natural surroundings. On the weekend many did just that, bringing blankets and picnic baskets, vigorously walking through the trails for exercise, or parents playing with the children in the open spaces.

The idea of the park first took root thanks to Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore. He was an avid naturalist and established the first botanical and experimental garden on Government Hill (Fort Canning Hill) in 1822, shortly after he arrived in Singapore.

Orchids galore in the National Orchid Garden

However, as there was no full-time salaried director and enough funding, the garden closed down in 1829 after Raffles' death.

Thirty years later, the Agri-Horticultural Society founded the gardens in its present site and the society had planned it to be a leisure garden and ornamental park. In 1874 the society handed over administration of the garden to the government.

What is also interesting is that in the mid-1960s when Singapore started its greening initiative, it turned to the gardens for supplying planting material to add colour to the roadsides and other parks.

A pitcher plant, deadly for insects

So it's kind of appropriate that the entrance of the gate says: "Singapore Botanic Gardens: Connecting Plants & People since 1859". My friend jokingly suggested the tagline seems to suggest plants and people are networking, but in a way they are.

While the gardens do function as a park with wide open spaces for people to play frisbee, blow bubbles for babies and stroll around, there are other interesting aspects to it too.

We checked out the National Orchid Garden for S$5 ($3.81) which was definitely worth the price of admission. This was a giant space dedicated to everything orchids. There were orchids of all different colours, shapes and sizes, all grouped together nicely. What was funny was that periodically there were designated "photo spots" for people, as if neglecting the fact that almost every angle seemed to compose a great picture.

There was also a rain forest section that was also interesting and a Cool House where the temperature in the enclosed area dropped and featured interesting plants. One was the pitcher plant that feeds on insects. It has an open spout that lures insects in and that is basically the end of them because inside it is too slippery for them to get out. At the bottom of the pitcher is a liquid that basically drowns the insect and dissolves its body. The pitcher plant also collects rainwater and has a lid to prevent it from over flowing too.

Mangroves in the pond

The trees in the park are magnificent. There are giant banyan trees and fir trees with the fine leaves drooping down. There were also trees with its roots coming out of the ground like wedges; these are buttress trees whose roots come up like this to keep tall trees standing.

The park also has a stage area set on a pond with the cover shaped like a giant lotus leaf. There the public can listen to live music which must be a treat in the evenings (sans mosquitoes, as I got many bites in the late afternoon).

The stage where live music is performed

Nevertheless, it was a wonderful afternoon in the park -- much more inspiring and beautiful than Marina Bay Sands.

Singapore Botanic Gardens
1 Cluny Road
Singapore
6471 7361

Tall Hype, Short Delivery

Marina Bay Sands Resort

One of the things I had to check out in Singapore was Marina Bay Sands.

I'd heard a lot of buzz about this amazing structure consisting of three towers topped with a kind of skateboard on top that provided amazing views of the city.

It's a massive development, featuring a casino, hotel, entertainment, luxury shopping, and of course sightseeing.

And it's become quite the landmark in the city, across from Clark Quay near the downtown business district.

Marina Bay has its own existing subway stop and there is construction going on to build a stop on another line that will be closer to the complex. In fact there is construction going on around the entire area which clearly shows the ripple effect of having a landmark development built and others wanting to cash in on potential traffic.

As a result it took us a while to get to the actual complex, sweating in the midday sun as well. There were some kind of sculptures that spewed mist into the air hoping to make things cooler, but it seemed like wasted effort as the mist was blown away and would quickly evaporate into the atmosphere.

The human sculpture riding a bike

We finally made it into the shopping centre which had high ceilings and had all kinds of name brands like Chanel, Ferrari, Prada, Bulgari, Omega, Burberry and Salvatore Ferragamo to name a few. What was also interesting was that in the basement there was a food court featuring hawker food for those who couldn't afford the five-star dining in the complex. Many celebrity chefs are opening up restaurants here, such as Guy Savoy, Tetsuya Wakuda, Justin Quek and Daniel Boulud.

To entertain the shoppers, or at least potential ones, there was a human sculpture, a man sitting on a bicycle, trying not to breathe too heavily. He was painted in a kind of gold/copper paint and his facial expression was a bit dull, probably to save energy on his facial muscles. People tried to make him laugh and eventually he did and had to give up his pose.

Riding a boat in a shopping mall river

Another section of the mall had a mini river with the Singaporean version of gondolas -- mini fishing boats that were steered by Malaysians wearing conical hats. None of them belted out arias (probably thankfully) so it was hard to see what the benefits of the ride were.

Then there was the casino which we didn't check out as you had to have a passport to go in as a way to deter Singaporeans from gambling. If they insist, then Singaporeans need to pay S$100 ($76) for a single entry, or S$2,000 per year.

But for those like us who don't want to gamble, but want to see the sights, we can head up to the 57th floor to the Sands Skypark -- for S$20 ($15.21) each. Before buying the tickets, we had to read a series of clauses saying there would be no refreshments up there until the bar opened at 6pm, and we were not allowed to go to the hotel area where the rooftop swimming pool was, and so on. The regulations only made you feel more and more like a tacky tourist than a guest.

A view of Clark Quay from Skypark

While it only took around 10 seconds to get up there, we were quite limited in what we could see, a small cordoned off area that only gave us an idea of what it was like to be on top of Singapore.

We could see buildings into the distance and hover over the construction projects nearby, but other than that there weren't any seats or refreshment areas to speak of for us thirsty tourists. There was however a nice bathroom, but that was basically it. The Skypark just wanted to take our money and then make us leave.

After taking a series of panoramic pictures we left. Oh we stopped by the small pastry shop called Sweet Spot in the lobby and sampled some of their chocolates -- passion fruit (pretty good), Sichuan pepper (no pepper flavour at all), and mint (very good).

At least we had a somewhat sweet finish to the otherwise bland visit.

Seafood the Singapore Way

Chili crab

On my first night in Singapore, my friend suggested we get some seafood which of course was a great idea.

He found a place online called Long Beach, which is actually a chain restaurant, on East Coast beach, near where he lives.

So we wandered in and were seated right by the window. It looked like a popular restaurant among locals; it was only later when we went to the bathroom did we realize it was much bigger than we thought -- with another giant dining area off to the side, and all the tables filled with diners.

The specialty here is the black pepper crab, but to make things easier we ordered the set dinner for two which not only included this signature dish, but also chili crab, fresh prawns stir-fried with thick rice noodles, and water spinach in a soup base.

The wet towel featuring Miss Intercontinental

While we waited for our dinner to come, we noticed a large woman in her early 50s wearing a dress in a horrible shade of blue with grey patches on the chest area and on the short sleeve there was a tiger logo on it, for Tiger Beer. I mentioned to my friend that she was the beer lady, but she was the complete antithesis of the usual early 20-something girls showing a bit of skin and flirting with customers to get them to buy more beer. "Perhaps she scares them into buying more beer," my friend observed.

We also checked out the wet towel they gave us each -- wrapped in a silver foil complete with a picture of a woman in a bathing suit holding a plate with two crabs on it. She is apparently 1994 Miss Intercontinental Kimberly Anne Byers of the United States. And what is her connection to the Long Beach restaurant in Singapore?

Anyway, it took a while to get our dishes, but once they arrived, they did so at a furious pace.

First came a giant platter with the chili crab sitting in a sea of a thick sauce with egg whites in it, a touch spicy, but very delicious. The crab too, was very meaty, thankfully mostly cracked so all we had to do was pry open the thick shell to get the succulent meat. There were also two deep-fried buns for us to mop up the sauce, but they didn't seem too nutritious to put in our stomachs.

Black pepper crab, the restaurant's signature dish

As we were attacking this chili crab, the black pepper crab arrived too, along with the other dishes which was annoying, as they sat there getting cold and in the end we didn't think it tasted as good. Nevertheless, the black pepper crab is covered in fine black pepper that after being stir-fried, makes it look like it is dirty. We felt the signature dish wasn't so good... perhaps the dryness was a factor, or by that time we were almost crab-ed out.

We enjoyed tucking into the water spinach with roasted garlic, the thick rice noodles we didn't care much for in a thick soy-based sauce, but the prawns were sliced in half and were pretty good.

The restaurant gave us complimentary desserts as well -- small bowls of fake mango pudding with pieces of corn in it! How strange.

When we got our bill, we were surprised to find we were charged S$0.30 each for the wet towels featuring Miss Byers, and S$2 for a plate of peanuts we didn't ask for. Anyway the total came to S$166 ($126.43) for two including a fresh coconut and a glass of draft Tiger beer. Hope that beer woman is happy.

Long Beach Main Seafood Restaurant
1018 East Coast Parkway S
Singapore
(65) 6445 8833

No-Frills Flying Experience

There's a no-frills airline called Tiger Airways that is based in Singapore and flies to mostly Australia, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

I booked a ticket online to Singapore and overall the website experience was fine, except that they don't take American Express.

Slightly annoying, but got the ticket via another credit card.

This morning I got to the Airport Express in Central to find there was no counter there for the airline and I'd have to go to the airport first. 

So I hopped on and checked my ticket and it said to go to T2, Terminal 2. I got off and make my way to this relatively new area of the airport. It's basically another area to check-in more passengers and then reconnect them back to Terminal 1 to get to their respective gates.

There's a long line at the check-in counter, but it goes quite fast.

I had already notified the airline online that I didn't have any luggage to check in, as my small suitcase is usually fine for these short-haul flights. Also Tiger Airways slaps a HK$150 fee for checked-in baggage. This is how they nickel and dime you. They also make you pay for making a seat selection too.

Anyway, when I get to the gate to board, a staff member tells me my suitcase is too big and I have to check it in. "Do I have to pay?" I asked.

No was the answer. Huh. Maybe I'll do this every time I fly this airline then.

So I get on board and overall the plane looks fine, but a bit tired, with a few seat covers looking worn down, the toilet seat could do with a replacement.

I should have known this earlier, but there was no food on the plane -- unless you paid for it.

There was chicken rendang, braised chicken with mushrooms, and then beef stew, each for S$8. Sandwiches were S$6. Drinks were S$3 or if you had it with a mean it was S$2. What a deal!

I was totally starving so I caved in and got the beef stew, which was fine, but obviously hardly enough for lunch.

The strange thing was that the flight attendants refused to accept foreign coins and would only give change back in Singapore dollars. 

If you are doing this Hong Kong - Singapore route often, why not give back change in HK dollars? And why this policy of not accepting foreign coins? Seems strange.

So the flight attendant didn't have enough change to give me and said she would give me back the 10 Singapore cents she owed me. And actually after about an hour or so while I was napping, she tapped me on the shoulder and gave it to me.

Did I mention the staff uniform? Being Tiger Airways, they wore yellow shirts and black pants, and the women had a sash around their waists that were tiger striped. And the women wore way too much makeup, as if they were in a sad variety show on TV.

However, I have to say that despite the turbulence, the flight was fine and we even arrived 10 minutes earlier than scheduled. All Tiger Airways flights land in the budget terminal area which is a ways from the immigration and luggage claim area.

I had the unfortunate chance of choosing a line where the immigration officer took three times as long as every other one to stamp and process people's passports... my friend called me wondering where I'd gone and I had to say I was still in line!

But now I'm here and had some chilli crab and black pepper crab which I'll talk about in my next post!