Singapore - our stop-over on the way home

The description of the long haul from Toulouse to Orly airport, then across Paris by metro to Charles De Gaulle and thence to Singapore is too boring to comment upon. But now the next chapter of our trip was about to unfold - a 4 day foray into The Shopping Mecca of Singapore.

Neither of us had been to Singapore before but so many of our friends had told us how beautifully clean and safe and green and cheap and interesting this country was. And on our doorstop too! This was just a taste for us; we figured we would be back to explore at greater depth.

First Impressions of Singapore:

From the airport to Orchard Road, the first thing one noticed was the bumper to bumper traffic snaking along multi-laned highways. There was no let up from cars and buses and exhaust and traffic lights. But there was minimal noise; no tooting as there is in Bali. No zig zagging. It was all very quiet and orderly and polite. Fast, but orderly and polite. Traffic aside, it was the abundance of bouganvillias - planted as hedges along the highway and closely trimmed or featured as focal bursts of colour in the middle of an expanse of green lawn in front of an office that I noticed. Old trees with gnarled root systems and huge canopies of protective foliage providing shade were everywhere. I was expecting to see merely sky scrappers in a line blocking out the horizon behind and I was pleasantly surprised. Many tallish buildings, yes. But not cheek by jowl...not until you got to Orchard Road that is!


Our hotel was Le Meridien - an indulgence we thought we deserved since we hadn't succumbed to the temptations of a business class flight!! It was bit of an expensive indulgence but all paid for long ago so we could merely relax into the joy of sleeping off our jet lag in a comfortable bed with block out curtains!!

I loved Le Meridien - it was stylish, had all the mod cons, and what it lacked in modernity it made up for in service - which was impeccable. It was also wonderfully positioned at 100 Orchard Rd, right in the middle of the shopping precinct so everything from the Quay areas to Raffles to The Art Museum and Fort Canning Park were within walking distance.

The foyer of the hotel reminded us both of the Sofitel in Melbourne with its 35th floor Piano bar and atrium bedrooms above. Le Meridien had the same 'ritsy' foyer while the glass lifts looked fabulous at night and the piano player could be heard way up on the 7th floor, giving a wonderful night Club type atmosphere to one's evening. And the cocktails weren't too bad either. They even offered complimentary bowls of nuts ...just like the Sofitel!

Le Meridien with its stylish glass lifts and coctail area.

Second impressions:

After a day of wandering along Orchard Road with its wall to wall (and 5 layer thick) pedestrians, its multi levelled shopping megaplexes, its dirth of greenery and its hoardings and fences erected to contain both demolition and building sites, we sought something more appealing. Neither of us were really into the shopping business so (although I did try, earnestly I assure you !) we chose to walk to the Botanical Gardens . Set on 52 hectares, this is a sanctuary of peacefulness.






Although the day was grey, we were blown away by this most idylic, pretty and impeccably landscaped public garden. Expanses of foliage were magically separated into distinct areas by lakes and sculptures and walkways and discreet valleys of tropical landscaping. And there was an abundance of pristine lawn areas for picnics or romantic trists or friendly chats.

One of the many beautiful sculptures in the Gardens.

The local paper that morning had featured an exhibition of watercolour paintings in the Villa Halia in the middle of the Botanical Gardens and by chance I had read it.
Ong Kim Seng, teacher and revered artist, had been offered an exhibiting space by the owners of Villa Halia. He believed in teaching his students not just the technical skills necessary to execute a painting, but also the ability to make the most of any opportunity that came their way. So in "plein air' he took them to the Botanical Gardens and told them to paint! The exhibition was the result of their efforts. Only 70 pieces could be selected and displayed by the owners but they beautifully showcased the Botanical gardens with its light and shade, colour and shape, form and architecture.

Keen to see this exhibition, I talked my way into the centre and for 2 hours we had the whole place to ourselves. Each piece was for sale but of the 7 pieces included by Ong himself, 4 had already sold at a price of up to $12,000 even though this was only Day 1 of the Exhibition - which was to run until 30th September! Russ and I had a game to see if we could find Ong's work without reading the name underneath the painting but, not knowing his work, we had only a fair percentage of correct guesses. And we found that the work of his students, while more "raw", was still appealing . Apparently his students could make their own prices for their work but (apparently) he suggested that no matter how good their pieces were, they should keep their prices to under $1000. "Start modestly and experience the satisfaction of closing a sale," he told them. "Let the market decide." Most had accepted his advice!

Some of the watercolours are hung behind me and we revel in the air conditioning after our long walk and have a drink to commemorate the afternoon and this lovely part of Singapore.

Halia's stylish floral table arrangements.....

Russ enjoying his beer amid the sumptious surroundings!

Right opposite Villa Halia are the Orchid gardens! Stunningly landscaped with a myriad of walkways meandering inbetween colourful hues of all sorts, this is a visual feast of colour and form and texture.

orchid display on entrance

Set within a fenced area, this area costs $5 S. to enter (with concessions for seniors and students) and it is worth every cent. We had never seen so many orchid plants before and the colours and the sheer density of them all was astounding. No photos I took could do the area justice, so what is included here appears much more ordinary than the reality really was. The area was absolutely full of different orchid types named after visiting politicians or their wives. We searched in vain for one named after a Prime Minister from Australia - or someone equally important - but couldn't find anything!! I am not sure if this means something...

Earlier at Villa Halia we met a fella from Queensland (now living in Singapore) who was getting married at the top of the Orchid gardens that night. What a stunning backdrop for wedding photos!!

Of course there weren't just orchids in this garden; other plantings filled out the huge flower beds including bromiliads and cordylines and species of this tree (above) which is an Australian tree with the most amazingly bark into which people had etched their names. As a focal point , it created the most stunning sculptural shape I thought.

Under the shade cloth areas, with its many potted orchids, were the bromiliads and the gingers. And if I were savvy enough I would have taken a photo of some stunningly rare and exotic bromiliad for Averil, but since I very limited knowledge of such things, I snapped a really pretty water sculpture with some broms in the background instead!

Sculpture entitled "Child with shell "

Further along in our walks ( and we only saw about one half of the gardens before RPN said "enough!") we found an arid area full of succulents and cactii and further along again, a rock wall carved intricately with details of fish and enclosing a quiet area for lunch or reading.

These Botanical gardens are so wonderfully sumptious and most intricately landscaped. It would take a full day to really appreciate the whole area and that would mean having lunch and taking a paper or a book too!!I can highly recommend it as an activity!

It was just a superbly quiet haven away from the commercialism that central Singapore has become. We had a wonderful day.

Fort Canning

Russ' was keen to visit the area known as Fort Canning Park, with its historical monuments and its "Box" or "bunker" where the English command in WW11 were finally brought to their knees by the Japanese in 1942.

The park , not far from Orchard Rd, has many historical landmarks along its signposted walkways as well as an ASEAN Sculpture Park, but it was the Box we came for, so we took a tour. It was fascinating to learn all about the actual events leading up to Singapore's surrender and the Command Post (the bunker called "The Box") was full of life size models of the men who worked there, including the Generals who made the actual and final decision to surrender on 15th February 1942. Those of us in the tour were asked to put on head phones and listen intently to simulated discussions in each room from the radio room (the erve centre of the Command Centre) to the room where the 7 Generals met to decide the fate of Singapore on that fateful day in '42. But far more interesting to my mind were the newspaper articles on the walls which detailed the controversy of Churchill's strategic decisions about Singapore. These made for fascinating reading.


However, what we all left with was an understanding that General Percival was left in the lurch with limited troops to defend the island. Without the intervention of the good old USA in Hiroshima and Nakasaki some 3 years later (our guide tells us) we would be living a very, very different history! I think he wanted us to actually clap for their heroic intervention which gave us our freedom!

General Percival (leaning over) and the other generals in life like proportions.

Singapore put aside $3 million to excavate and historically re-create the bunker in readiness for the 55th anniversary of the end of WW11 in 2000. And the story of how this was done is another fascinating one. It was a very interesting day for us.





Singapore part 2 will cover our visits to the Zoo, Raffles and the very busy Quay areas at night.