On our way back from New Zealand we spent a couple of nights in Singapore – for the second time in three years. It was the hot and humid rainy season (34° and 90% humidity) but nonetheless it is a fascinating place to visit and having discovered how cheap the taxis were, we only walked (slowly) when we chose to. It is the greenest of cities, so although there is an ever-growing array of tall buildings, they are set amongst, or incorporate, an abundance of tropical foliage and flowers.
3 Hibiscus
Frangipane
Frangipane
A tropical Daphne
Orchids
The street food of Singapore is delicious and perfectly safe to eat, although only the most adventurous (not me) will try deep-fried fish heads, or frog porridge. But there is plenty of less-alarming food to choose from and eat at the communal tables in the covered streets of Singapore’s Chinatown. This experienced is further enhanced by the Tiger Beer ‘Aunties’ – women of middle years, dressed in bright red, who take orders and deliver Tiger Beer to your table – it’s the only thing to drink in the heat and humidity.
Visiting a place where the conditions for growth are near perfect is always exciting. Plants find their niches and growth is many-layered with climbers twining through trees and every nook and cranny – even a tree trunk – provides a home for opportunistic ferns.