Singapore--The City in a Garden (October 201

Singapore Top Ten

Diane and I visited Singapore for the Divali break, October 26 to November 2, 2019.  We had a great time extending the visit with our dear friend, Aimee, just a week on from her two week trip to India.  We have different October break schedules, so that worked out well for visits here and there.  We've known Aimee since 1993, when we worked together at the Casablanca American School; we were also neighbors in Dar Bouazza.  Aimee has met up with us in Belgium, Aveyron, and India; and when we attended the 40th anniversary celebration of CAS, we stayed at her downtown Casablanca apartment.  We go back a long way and have much shared experience and common life interests.  Certainly, our conversations are always personal, enriching, and open.  As a guest, she contributes good wine and does the dishes.  We try to provide her only the best cheeses.

Here is the list of our Top Ten places and experiences in a very enjoyable week.


10.  Singapore Living

We enjoyed a week of lodging Aimee's apartment at the Lakeville complex, between the China Garden and Lakeside MRT stops.  16 stories, rule driven, modern, and minimalist.  A hotel-like feeling, complete with tropical poolside patio and fitness center.  Resident misdemeanors are posted on bulletin boards, complete with photos of offenses (circled in red!), such as misplaced socks, cigarette smoking, jumbled shoe towers (most apartments store shoes outside), or flying laundry.  Yes, most of the week's posted offenses were clothing related.

The Lakeville complex overlooks China Garden Lake and has an extensive Hawker Center just up the boulevard.  It is a residential area, so morning MRT trains are full to bursting.

Oops, no photos!

Getting around Singapore by MRT (train) and SGT (bus)

China Gardens Lake and Park

Heading into the MRT metro station.

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9.  Snakes on Bukit Tima (hill park)

We started the outing with something to eat at a local restaurant and saw this brave bird along the way.

Lots of bikes and birds in Singapore....and they all get along!

My tofu curry was boiling when served.  I'm glad they didn't spill it on me.  

And the next thing we did before entering the park was have a fine lunch in a restaurant across the street from the Beauty World Mall.  We needed cash, so went to a bank we saw at the mall.  The entire first and second floors appeared to be devoted to employment agencies.  There were dozens and dozens of them!

In Buka Tima...

This fascinating mushroom captures a cupful of recent rain water.

A green Whip Snake.  Yikes!

The Quarry.

Some opening lines from Breaking Away...

Mike, noticing college co-eds on the facing cliffside:

They've got indoor pools and outdoor pools on the campus, but they got to come here.  It's my goddamn quarry.

Cyril, striking a dramatic pose and a mocking tone:  

This hole, this quarry hole is mine!

Mike:

Hey, screw you, Cyril.  Let's get out of here.  If they're going to come here, then we'll go onto the campus.

And they speed off to the campus restaurant, where they get in a fight.  The cop who breaks up the fight is Mike's older brother.

A kingfisher perching over the water.  We need a good zoom lens for moments like this!

Turtles and Fish

We met a very congenial fellow from Germany who lives in Singapore.  Benno.  It was enjoyable to talk with him about all sorts of subjects as we hiked the hills.

From Buka Tima, we took the MRT train to China Town.  "Pagoda Street" sounded good to us, so we went there.  It was a bustling area of Chinese restaurants and shops, not a little on the touristy side, but thoroughly enjoyable for the color, lights, and gregarious people.

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9.  Leaves, Stems, Flowers, Bark, and Trunks of the Botanic Garden Specimens

I have not until very recently found much curiosity in plants, much less their display in so-called botanical gardens.  An exploration and examination of trees in India during our school trip to the Himalayan foothills has given some perspective about observations and a new interest has emerged.  

The Singapore Botanic Garden was immensely fascinating in this regard.  Inspirational, no less.  The following images show just some of the wonderful variety of plant parts, particularly:  root, trunk, and stem systems; leaf shape, venation, and margin; and, of course, flowers and seed dispersal strategies.

If plants hold no interest for you, then scroll down to #8:  Signage.

In Singapore, one is everywhere greeted by the orchid.

V-shaped branchings are weaker than u-shaped ones.

Leaf colors can be dramatic and much varied from green.  The yellow one at left was about 70 cm long.  The reds at right are new leaves; they begin red and turn to green over time.

 Some plants had varied colored leaves in ways that seems unchanging.

These seed pods are very irregular in shape, with a dry, rough texture.  They are very hard, too.

 Pitcher Plants--predatory carnivore

Notice the false leaf that covers the opening once an insect enters the plant, seeking that drop of sweet nectar.  

 This pitcher plant also features a false leaf that covers the trap.

 The stems and veins of some plants were dark red, brown, and even black in color.

Diane's finger provides perspective.  Amazingly, this leaf was soft and supple.

 

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8.  Signage

Such a deal!  I find this special offer quite drole.  

You know when you're busted in Singapore.

There are many "learning centers" around Singapore.

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7.  Monitor Lizards

And later, toward sunset, in the Botanic Garden, we came across this trio of monitor lizards.  Indeed, in the waning light, the more nocturnal creatures increased their activity.  They seemed little interested in us, but that did not stop us from jumping out of our boots as their unpredictable movements startled us.  

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6. National Orchid Garden in the Botanic Garden

Orchid hybrids were developed in earnest in Singapore during the 19th Century.  Much of the early cut-flower industry in Asia began there at that time.  This was a notable contributor to Singapore's rise among early industrial nations in Asia.  One section of the Botanic Garden is given to the special orchid varieties developed by Singaporean horticulturalists.

 

 

And that's not all.  I stopped taking photos, there were so many orchids!  (In one section, I began to feel an itch deep in my sinuses and a tingling in my tongue.)

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5.  Hawker Center Dining

Hawker centers are food courts where great food in stunning variety and abundance is available at the cheapest prices.  A full plate of good stuff piled over rice or noodles sets you back only S$2.50 (or about US$2.00).  Drinks are also varied and cheap.  We enjoyed trying the grass jelly soda, pressed sugar cane juice, and fresh coconut milk.  Oh, and the big Tiger beers, too.

China Garden Hawker Center, near Aimee's apartment

We stopped for lunch after Aimee met us at the airport. 

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4.  Bus #2--Pulao Ubin/Changi Village to Chinatown

It was an adventure getting there.

The island ferry service ends at 7 p.m., so our time was limited.  That meant we chose our destinations and walked at a good clip.  Good for the circulation!

 

The quay at Pulao Ubin

We used this map to explore the parts of the island we wanted to see in the limited time remaining.

Buttress roots provide stability in unconsolidated soils.  Notice the form in this cut trunk below.  Root systems spread out in all directions to considerable distances.  

Cinnamon tree on the left--we could smell the pungent fragrance of this beloved spice!

Another disused quarry, of which there are many around Singapore.

 

 

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3.  Pagoda Street Dining in Chinatown

For more details, see #1 below...

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2.  Food!

Barley Drink

On our way to see the Bukit park, we stopped in a terrific  restaurant.

 

Yam dough bowl stuffed with hearty cashews, tofu, ginger, and vegetables.

Yum!  Sounds gross!

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1.  Botanic Garden Garden of Singapore

Many of the photos above were taken in the Botanic Garden.  Its tremendous collection of mainly Asian and tropical plants and the terrific groundskeeping have seen the garden elected best in the world by numerous authorities.  There are numerous special interest sections, devoted to such categories as orchids, medicinal plants, poisonous plants, ethnobotany, seed banking, and much more.  Diane and Aimee also enjoyed a classical concert on a hillside lake, performed by selected musicians from more than a dozen nations considered friends of Singapore.  A bronze Chopin overlooks the scene.  (I do not know his connection to the Singapore, if there is any.)  I took that moment to enjoy a small meal and craft beer while reading Somerset Maugham short stories at the food court by the waterfalls.  In all, we had three visits to the Botanic Garden, each one full of new discoveries and wonder...

Our third visit focused on the Armenian immigrant, Agnes Joaquim (Ashkhem Hovakimian), an avid gardener who won many international competitions for her flower hybrids and other plants.  

Her early work led to Singapore's first hybrid orchid, that would in 1981 be chosen as the island city's national flower.  The flower's beauty and resilience were considered key attributes that represent this robust city-state.  Its connection to the cut-flower industry must also have influenced that choice.  Diane and I read her story, viewed the special orchid that bears her name (botanical name Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim; and colloquially termed Vanda Miss Joaquim), and made the pilgrimage to her home and gravesite at Hill Street #30 and #6, respectively.  After paying our respects, we enjoyed another festive meal on Pagoda Street, a ten minute walk away...

 Click to enlarge these if you would like to read the text. 

While were here, at least three wedding parties were on the scene to have photos taken.  I did my best not to intrude.

Strolling down Hill Street.

 Two of the Twelve Stations of the Cross, a much weathered sculpture story in the church grounds.  The humidity has discolored and oxidized the surfaces of the metal.

It was dusk.

 Ashkhent Hovakimian, a.k.a., Agnes Joaquim

Three of the thirty to forty graves had the name of her father, Parsick Joaquim.  It was not indicated which of the three was her father.

The last of the three graves is certainly not his as he outlived Agnes.

Some names of note:  We know several Sarkies (first name) or Sarkisians (last name) in Pasadena and Delhi.

The light was failing.  A signal to move on to #30 Hill Street and then to Pagado Street...

The New Moon rises over Singapore.

The address of the Joaquim home is now occupied by a large, modern office building.

Ready for a great meal after a wonderful final day out in Singapore.  This one had a real personal connection for us.

A sign at the metro entrance...

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Below are the rest of our photos.  You can click on one and then scroll through to see them in large format.

Chronology:

Saturday--Arrival at Changi International Airport, ate at China Garden hawker center, relaxed at Aimees

Sunday--Diane finishes paper while Aimee and Robert go to bike shop and National University of Singapore's Natural History Museum; meet with Diane at Botanic Garden for failed tree walk and concert by the lake (while RT enjoyed some Somerset Maugham and a beer); dinner at Holland Street hawker center, cheese and wine at Aimees

Monday--walk by China Garden Lake, lunch at Arab Street, walk downtown by harbor, dinner at Chinatown

Tuesday--Bukat Tima walk, dinner with Aimee before her departure to a conference

Wednesday--Pulau Ubin island, with accidental tour of container port, wonderful ride on #2 bus to Chinatown

Thursday--Botanic Garden, dinner at Holland Street hawker center

Friday--Botanic Garden, pilgrimage to Armenian Church, last supper in Chinatown

Saturday--5 a.m. departure for Changi Airport and back to New Delhi

The Jewel at Changi Airport

A K-Pop group making a music/dance video.  They seemed professional.