Singapore: Botanic Garden, 1

We like botanical gardens and rarely miss them wherever we go. Search botanical gardens worldwide and Singapore's invariably appears at or near the top of the list. It is definitely a cut below Kew IMHO--given the climate, it is pretty strictly tropical--but the Singapore Botanical Garden is nonetheless impressive. Hundreds of acres in the middle of the great city. We spent nearly the whole day there, doing the lowlands gardens, the rain forest, the fragrance garden, the medicinal plants, the ginger garden, and the orchid garden, among others, knowing that we'd also visit Singapore's Gardens by the Bay, whose two enormous glass houses cover much of the rest of the botanical world.

But of course

Interestingly, right here in the middle of a city of 5-6 million, there are water
monitors in the Botanic Garden; we saw several

Much else going on

Signage excellent; and in English too (one of Singapore's four official languages)

Eve's Apple

Ming Aralias, a former favorite, of which I've owned several

Signage in the medicinal plants area (click to enlarge)

No seeds or cuttings from the toxic garden

Not a handkerchief tree (as in the UK)

Happy New Year at the visitor center

Interesting bucket list map in the main gift shoppe

Gorgeous water features everywhere

Aerial roots everywhere; a tropical thing

Now on the rain forest walk

Big trees here and there

And big leaves; I'd estimate these to be 2' x 4'; Rhapis Palms
on the left, another plant I collected back in the pre-Montana
days; a common indoor and outdoor landscaping plant in
Singapore

Singapore: Chinatown, 2

Continuing our walking tour of Chinatown, and then some...

Main hall of the Buddha tooth relic temple; monks tending the display; the silk
embroidery is the background

More high-rises

Now in a civic center, the best model ever, so far, showing the entire island/city/
state, in detail; Collin explaining the government's growth/environmental plans

Detail, showing the Marina Bay area, where we'll spend some time...

Most of the tour then adjourned to the Maxwell Food Centre,
across the street, one of the better known hawker centers

Where we tried the famous chicken rice dish (famous for its blandness? I asked)

From this place

Being a fan of the early Bourdain (when he still smoked), I couldn't resist the
oyster beignet

"Where's the oyster?"

Oh, there, with the pork and mushroom, etc.

A bit of the interior of the Maxwell Food Centre

Among the hawkers

After our hawker center experience, we continued walking around Chinatown

 

Peanut gallery

Done with scissors, not just silhouettes

Making bakwa, a flattened grilled pork New Year specialty; we'd be back in
Chinatown on New Year's eve...

Singapore: Chinatown,1

Still on our first full day, we joined a two hour+ walking tour of Chinatown conducted by Monster Walking Tours. (It's free; you tip the guide at the end, in accordance with your satisfaction). The tour was superb, best ever for me. In addition to the history, architecture, social/political insights, wit, etc., there were tastings, something unusual for general walking tours. But this is Singapore, and food is the national pastime. I have to do two posts.

En route to Chinatown, a traditional Chinese pharmacy 

Main street decor: it's the year of the rat

Alley scene

Our tour begins with some architectural/social history: in an area of shop-houses
(shop at street level, residence on the upper floors) above is the peep-hole whereby
the proprietor can see who is calling

Our guide, Collin

A street of 19th century shop-houses

Indian temple in Chinatown; the Brits thought this was a
pagoda, hence, Pagoda Street

Big moment: at the durian shop, Collin opens a durian for the tasting

Me, tasting, very bravely; the aroma is not so bad as people say; the flavors...
cheese, garlic, onion...the texture...repulsive...but J'ai ete la bas...Jai fait ca.
another once in a lifetime experience

Street scene with historic colonial building

Chinese New Year tree...pussy willow, symbolizing growth,
prosperity, etc.

Another colonial

Some beautiful murals here and there in the off-alleys

So earlier we had figured these were cardboard New Year costumery; no, they're
to burn in honor/remembrance of deceased loved ones ("he so loved pink shirts")

New Year decor

At the Chinatown Complex food hall, another tasting...this time popiah, a rhubarb
spring roll; she's drinking lemon tea, sugar cane juice for me

From this place

Outside, the skyline, including a big building being enshrouded
in live greenery

Our little tour group

More skyline; most Singaporeans live in flats in complexes like these; incredibly,
85% of Singaporeans own their own homes

In the Buddha tooth relic temple

An amazing, huge silk embroidery; in the main hall, the embroidery was much
larger, but we couldn't get close enough for a decent photo