A Singapore Showcase

Singapore Airport is among the best in the world but so many people don’t get out of the terminals to take a look around. Peter and I have both spent some time in the city before, but we signed up for an eight-day tour that promised to give guests a look at the highlights of this vibrant island/state/city. Unpack once, get taken to curated venues, see the sights, eat the food. It sounded good.

The tour included economy flights but at our age, why not spend the money? We flew business class in comfort on another airline and joined the others at breakfast in the hotel the next morning (having missed the getting-to-know you drinks and dinner). And there, dear reader, we hit our first hiccough. Our fellow travellers were standing around unfed because the hotel told us breakfast wasn’t included in our tariff. (It was.) We shrugged, sat down for breakfast and let admin take care of it.

Management at the Pullman on Hill St left a lot to be desired.

Singapore is pretty much on the equator so the weather is warm and steamy (low 30s with high humidity) all year round – much like summer at home. That’s not very comfortable but it is what it is. Our guide urged us to keep hydrated and handed out bottled water regularly. The coaches were all air-conditioned, as are the modern buildings.

We stepped out of the coach into sultry tropical heat at Singapore’s world class zoo. The site is beautifully landscaped to suit the animals in its displays. It’s worth a visit just for the gardens. We rode the little tram for an orientation tour of the site, then had a chance to visit with the critters. Singapore Zoo is big on conserving endangered species like the Malayan tiger, orang utans, elephants, white rhinos, and the like.

Here’s a gallery of images

Lunch was in a nearby restaurant, very much European food. First course was mushroom soup, greeted with some hilarity by most of us. Erin Patterson’s beef wellington was still fresh in most memories. That was followed by a piece of skin-on salmon with mashed potatoes, nice enough, but hardly exotic. We learnt here that alcohol is very much not part of Singapore’s culture. Beer was at our own expense (fine) but the service was very slow.

That afternoon we went to the Gardens by the Bay.

Gardens are very much part of the city’s culture. Plants are all around. The roads are lined with trees and bushes, creepers such as bougainvilleas hang from overpasses. Gardens are planted on walkways between buildings, on balconies, and on rooftops. It is, indeed, a city in a garden and one of the jewels is Gardens by the Bay. The magnificent tropical gardens are criss-crossed with paths and line waterways. Fountains sparkle in the sunlight and grassed areas provide open space for people to picnic. On top of that the site includes high-tech attractions like the iconic super trees and the two domed environments, the flower dome and the cloud forest.

Today we went up to the observation tower in one of the large super trees for a look across the gardens from on high and then we visited the flower dome. This large greenhouse show cases plants from different environments.

There had recently been a rose exhibition in the dome but the roses were past their best. Needless to say, it took quite some time to get a picture of the London bus without somebody posing in front of it.

We stayed in the gardens for a very ordinary European dinner in a restaurant. Once again we were offered mushroom soup. Main course was supposed to be boeuf bourguignon with mashed potatoes and dessert was a brownie. It wasn’t the sort of meal I’d be serving in summer. I think all of us were hoping for something like a stir fry followed by ice cream. The place was fully licensed with arrays of bottles behind the bar – but actually buying a beer or a glass of wine was very difficult. The standard of service for both food and drinks was woeful.

However, the sound and light show in the gardens made up for it. Thousands of people gathered to watch, many lying on the ground under the super trees. Singaporeans mainly live in apartment blocks. These gardens are a place for them to enjoy the great outdoors for free. The choice of music was interesting – perfect for Baby Boomers. They called it ‘retro’. ABBA, the Beatles, Saturday Night Fever – the tunes of our youth.

Sorry, the music is copyright so I can’t show you the action. Hum your favourite 70s tune and imagine the lights pulsing to the beat. It was terrific. The short video will give you a feel for it.

Tomorrow we’re off for a cooking lesson.

By the way, if you’ve come here by accident and want to follow the whole trip, tap here.