One more walk around Singapore and we realised that Easter weekend had completely passed us by. We’ve seen signs here wishing us a Happy Chinese New Year (February) and one place offering Moms a free massage for Mothers Day (a few weeks ago). But other than Hot Cross Buns, I don’t think we’ve seen anything for Easter. Normally, I would be craving chocolate, not necessarily eggs, but on this occasion, I’m just enjoying the luxury that is proper bread, sourdough, French baguettes, and proper, nonprocessed cheese.
I picked up some coffees to take back and was pleased that the splashing I felt on my arm wasn’t errant coffee from the cup: it was beginning to rain. It didn’t amount to much in the end, but it gave me an excuse to stay in, write, do some administrative tasks and listen to some much-missed radio shows.
Our final day in Singapore began with a return to the perfect place for our breakfast. Twenty-Eight Café is just down the road which is perfect, but also of course, 28 is a perfect number. We were joined by a couple of sparrows who picked crumbs up off the floor. Every now and then, they’d notice they’d drifted too far apart and run back to be with each other. Young love, eh?!
I said to Liesel, if it rains today, I’ll heat my hat.
We Grabbed a cab to the Botanic Gardens, entering through a different gate this time.
We (well, I) were (was) very excited to see a monitor lizard walking along the path like he owned the place. I described his gait on Twitter as that of a 1980s lager lout. But he wasn’t at all aggressive, just looking for some tasty morsels.
We felt a bit sorry for him: his long tail was dragging along the ground and I’m sure tarmac isn’t as comfortable as grass is.
There’s not enough real plantlife in the Botanic Gardens, so someone donated this sculpture.
We walked to the Orchid Garden and had to pay a small fee for this section. We got rid of a lot of our Singapore coins but the clerk noticed the one Malaysian coin that had slipped into the pile by mistake. Our punishment was: the heavens opened. A real tropical rainstorm, so we stayed under cover with all the other wimpy rain-ophobes.
We had a nice little walk and the thunder should have warned us that another cloudburst was imminent. We got caught in it so we walked hastily back to shelter.
Our second foray into the orchids was longer and more successful. There are some gorgeous plants here, very pretty. I think it’s the law that hybrids are given embarrassing names. William Catherine is a pretty flower, yes, but probably called WC for short.
The next downpour saw us retreat to the restaurant where we treated ourselves to coffee and treacle tart in Liesel’s case, chocolate cake in mine. And then, as it was still raining, more coffee.
Back at the apartment, we finished packing and I looked out of the window one more time. The view really isn’t much to write home about, and it led me to think that it’s a sign. Rain and a rotten view. Maybe it is time to move on.
We finished off our last few snacks, apple, cashews, tomatoes, wasabi covered peas that should be classified as a biological weapon.
It had indeed rained, quite hard. So I put my hat into the microwave oven as promised, and it dried out beautifully.
The cab ride to Changi Airport was longer than expected, and the driver was only the second female driver we’d hired.
She told us about the new Jewel venue at the airport, a huge entertainment and shopping centre.
Kinetic Rain
Unfortunately, my visit to the Butterfly Garden was fruitless. It was after sunset and the butterflies were all tucked up in bed. On the other hand, at Terminal 3, I found an Indian Vegetarian place where I enjoyed a dosa masala. I felt bad for Liesel who’d chosen to stay at Terminal 1: she ended up with a rather ordinary sandwich.
Actually, the next time we visit Singapore, we might just spend a couple of weeks at the airport. Especially with the new lounge experience, coming soon.
No, it’s been really good here, both times, and when you consider that Singapore and Malaysia were just ‘a quick side-trip’ from Australia, that we hadn’t even contemplated when we first left home, I think we’ve been very lucky.
Mick and Liesel's Antics 