Gardens By the Bay

Singapore is probably the most diverse place we have visited on this adventure, and a great place to finish a trip around the world-especially so far in the east. All along as we headed eastward, we received instructions and protocols so not to offend the new cultures we would be experiencing. We have always made it a practice of trying not to be the obnoxious and outstanding American tourist. Too many times we see and hear folks demand “Do you speak English?”. Be humble. Just show some respect and you’ll get it. In the meantime, it’s usually a lot of fun. And so, our suggested rules covered everything from not using your left hand for eating or shaking to clothing faux pas (which were the most uncomfortable due to the extreme heat and the religious observance of Ramadan).

Our plan was to head out of the air conditioning in the afternoon and take the metro system to the famous Gardens by the Bay. Without looking at a map layout of Singapore, you cannot imagine how much landmass this free garden park consumes. One side of it is on the water and the other side is along Marina Gardens Drive – home to Marina Sands Hotel – the most expensive building ever built in the world. There is also the Marina Gardens Plaza Mall – not a good place to go if you have limits on your credit card. We were warned that shopping in Singapore is not a good idea, even the duty free shops are overpriced. The warning came from other women so it would be reliable. We were heading for the park today.

Enter the metro system. Wide and bright with perfect signage, you can’t make a wrong turn unless you are really not paying attention.

Here’s where you see the diversity of people. Indian women in their saris, Indian men in long cotton shirts, Muslim women in headcoverings to match their long dresses – it was a watercolor painting of people, all going somewhere. As we approached the entrance to the train, a large red area was painted on the floor in front of the door which would open to the train. Nobody stood in the red area. This allows disembarking riders to exit the train before the arrivals rush in. Too curteous and too civilized. We recalled getting on and off the metro in Rome. Every man for himself and God help you if any appendage is still in the doorway when it closes.

Immaculate, beautiful and ever so colorful, we walked around the various themed displays of trees and plants, flowers and grasses. Miles of pathways, you never felt as if you were in a crowd. This does not mean we didn’t sweat. Plants give off moisture. Add to heat and voila- sweat.

Within the Gardens, there are two special exhibits inside air conditioned buildings, the Flower Dome

and the Cloud Dome.

Just in case the humidity drops below 95, they spread a fine mist into the air once an hour.

We visited those exhibits when we needed to cool off for awhile. Words cannot explain these massive displays which accommodated hundreds of people at a time. Flower Dome had a special exhibit of most species of blue flowers. Of all species of flowers, less than 10% are blue. We couldn’t find the Texas Bluebonnets, which is reasonable. We know from experience they have a mind of their own and will not transplant.

The Cloud Dome contained a 4 story waterfall and a rain forest with an elevator taking us up 4 stories to work your way down along the outside of the building, maximizing the experience and the views. You cannot help but wonder what is involved building and caring for this. Except for the two special exhibits, all was free.

A Sausage Tree

At 7:45 pm and 8:45 pm each night, a free laser light show with sound takes place in the center of the park. Many folks suggested we do not miss this. Assuming it would be as crowded as the laser shows in Disney, we used to map to locate a spot where we could sit on a wall facing the center of the park. We sat there for over an hour in the shade as darkness fell. While there, a sudden horrible noise of incoming aircraft broke through the skies. Three fighter jets, along with a military helicopter caused a considerable concern among those around us. They flew in a circle around the park. This was followed by what seemed to be automatic gun fire coming from the area of the water. We scrambled to see what was going on. We could see some kind of flatbed military ships lined with uniformed officers. Obviously this was some kind of celebration and no need for concern, except we had already broken into another sweat. More gunfire and now the helicopter was pulling a huge Singapore flag around the airspace of the park.

Fireworks came next. Finally, at 7:45 the lights were lit on the ‘trees’ in the middle of the park. No sounds, no lasers, no show. We obviously miscalculated our location and didn’t see a thing, as it was all on the opposite side of the park.

We headed back onto the metro and headed for Little India, salivating over the idea that tonight we would indulge in the curry and a beer. Dragging and sweating at 8:30pm, we returned the neighborhood. You could hardly move. It was overcrowded. Ah, yes, social time in the Indian neighborhood, just as the desk clerk had advised. It was difficult to walk as men were sitting anywhere there was an open spot, whether on steps, curbs, or on grassy areas. We passed the row of gold shops again and began the search for a restaurant. First of all, there were no eating establishments which had AC. They were all open. Secondly, there were drapes thrown over the refrigerators which contained the beer. We supposed that nobody drank beer after attending Temple. Thirdly, and the most obvious – where were all the women? While I didn’t feel out of place or threatened, other than tourists passing by, I saw only a few women in the gold shops. The men were eating and laughing everywhere. I saw no women in any eating establishments. We experienced this in a Muslim neighborhood but this was Little India, basically Hindu. At this point, we elected not to upset the flow. Actually we needed AC and beer. We walked back to Fatty’s and got there before they began to turn people away. Once again, Chinese food and local beer to end our day. Earl took a pass on the chilies tonight. We did much better with the chopsticks, they didn’t give us any forks. Two full days in Little India and we have yet to get any curried food! Need to make a better plan for tomorrow – time is running out.