For such a densely populated place Singapore is remarkably green. Water and sunshine obviously help, but there has been a deliberate policy that nature should not miss out completely in the scramble for land. And it hasn’t. There are birds, mammals and reptiles in parks and gardens that are big enough parcels to sustain them. Yes, the glass is not full but don’t think of it as half empty.
In six days I visited ten parks and gardens. They were all worth visiting. My main interests are birds and wildlife so let me rate them with that in mind. (Gardens by the Bay is unmissable for different reasons). I’ll list them below the photos for any one planning a visit themselves. There are two groups – my favorites and the merely marvelous.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens were founded by the Agri-horticultural Society in 1859 in the days when Singapore was the British administrative centre of Malaya. The first superintendent, Lawrence Niven, laid out a tropical facsimile of an English pleasure garden where bands could play and the gentry stroll. In 1888 a new director, Mad Henry Ridley, took the gardens in a new direction contributing mightily to the development of the rubber industry. Professor Eric Holttam, director of the Gardens from 1925 to 1949 moved the focus to the cultivation and hybridisation of orchids. The gardens are now World Heritage listed, house the National Orchid Garden and continue to provide commercial expertise in Orchid production and much of the expertise valuable in making Singapore the green city which it is.
Admission to the gardens is free. The National Orchid Garden is not. But hey, you got here what’s another $3? Yes, that’s right, a lot less expensive than the Green Houses at Gardens by the Bay and definitely not to be missed.
Note that north on the map ain’t where it generally is. The Botanic Gardens MRT station is adjacent to the northern entrance. The National Orchid Garden is way down the other end. The walk will bring peace to the psyche.
The Eco Lake is a must in both directions. With a few colourful Kingfishers and a family of Otters, some very large lizards, exquisite flowers you have one of the finest gardens in the world. It even has pet swans, black ones and white.
Watching videos like this one is what put Singapore back on my bucket list …
The gardens were opened to the public in 2012, they cover 105 hectares (260 acres) and as well as being very beautiful gardens they include two very large green houses and some interesting treelike things. The gardens are free. The green houses are not. But hey, you got here what’s another $53?
Do the flower dome first while it’s still a climax. After the misty mountain it’ll be a long time before a green house impresses you again. The Flower Dome is the largest green house in the world. The Cloud Forest enclosure is taller but has slightly less of a footprint. Keeping these structures cool and running is a unique feat of engineering.
There are a lot of flowers, plenty of trees and some kitsch. I’m a big fan of botanical gardens, not a fan of Disneyland. The overall effect is sufficiently restrained, my sensitivities emerged with only scrapes and bruises. I enjoyed the Flower Dome … a lot.
And in botanical gardens I am much more a fan of foliage than the seasonally gaudy (although orchids are very hard to dislike). And water features, give me a water feature. I was very much looking forward to the next house.
When you enter the Cloud Forest it hits you in your soul. Pause. Gaze in wonder. Move on a short distance, turn and look back. Watch the new arrivals. What’s happening to their faces is what happened to yours as you came through the door. This way you can share the moment and enjoy it twice.
Satay by the Bay is a hawker centre adjacent to the Kingfisher Wetland and close to the MRT. Good food, a Tiger Beer and watching the sunbirds or kingfishers rounds off the experience … very nicely.
If you fly into Singapore at night you cannot help but be impressed by the lights of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of ships at anchor off the south coast. Singapore became what it is because of where it is. It sits at the bottom of the Malay peninsula at the mouth of the Strait of Malacca which connects the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea and the mighty Pacific. It has been important to seafaring folk since ancient times.
In more recent times the Portuguese and then the Dutch dominated trade around the Malay peninsula giving the Brits a rather hard time. The Brits of course had India and a rather lively trade with China. In 1819 Stamford Raffles by great acts of statesmanship (shorthand for bribery, corruption and threats of violence) founded a free port on the Singapore River. It got off to a flying start. And it’s still flying high.
When I first came here it was a city in transition. Modern high rise along side colonial architecture, shanties along the river bank, junks and bumboats on the water, roadside hawkers. The hawkers are now nicely accommodated in Hawker Centres, the shanties are gone. No one has lived on the river since the Clean up the river campaign of 1983. Now it is a very clean, very modern Asian melting pot reflecting rapid and recent immigration. 75.9% of the citizens and permanent resident visa holders are ethnic Chinese, with ethnic Malay and Indians comprising 15.0% and 7.5% respectively. There are no tent cities of the homeless. You will not be offered a baggy on your way into the park. Crime is remarkably rare. If you stand outside the metro station looking at your phone someone will soon ask you where it is you want to go and point out the way. Children give up their seats to adults on the train. Adults give up their seats to the elderly. English is the language of public communication and, the very pinnacle of civilisation – they drive on the left.
The total area of Singapore is considerably less than either Melbourne or Sidney and at ~6 million the population is considerably more than either. It is densely populated.
Most people live in high rise apartments. 90% of apartments are privately owned on a 99 year lease basis. A compulsory savings program akin to Australia’s Superannuation scheme exists and can be applied to purchasing an apartment. Hence the high level of home ownership.
To buy a car you must first purchase a Certificate of Entitlement. They are sold at auction every two weeks, with the government controlling the number of certificates for sale. Set aside at least $100,000 for a small car $150k for a luxury vehicle. Then you must purchase the vehicle.
For a typical income earner on about $70k the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit, henceforth the MRT, is looking like an excellent option. And it is indeed quick, clean and cheap. It is hard to travel more than 40km in any direction without falling off the edge in any case.
I hope to avoid living in a big city for the rest of my life but if I had to I’d choose Singapore over London, New York or Paris (especially Paris).
What I do like about cities, though, are the lights …
Last full day in Singapore, 7 am, and it’s raining. And boy, does it know how to rain. We have been lucky. Most mornings have been dry, afternoons not so much. Only once have we been soaked to the skin despite our umbrellas. Rain, of course, is the reason the city state is so green.
The birding has been fascinating. Forest birding is always tough, throw in the lack of familiarity with Asian birds and the list takes a while to grow. On the other hand novelty always adds spice. Here is a taste, more when I get home and start editing …
I grew up in London. That helps with the culture shock. It also helps with traveling via the MRT. Singapore is a big bustling modern city. The sort of place I usually try to avoid. The population is a whisker shy of 6 million or about 7,595 people per square kilometre. Compare that with Australia where the population density is about 3 people per square kilometre when taken as a whole (less than one in WA where I live).
It’s a wonder that any wildlife survives here at all but there are some wonderful parks and a great effort has been made to clean up the water ways. Green has been inserted everywhere that it will fit.
Not Charles, the city, although it does have a Charles Darwin University and a Charles Darwin National Park. The latter serves mainly for the conservation of biting insects. Avoid Sandfly Point at all costs. I’m en route to Singapore where I hope to walk the Wallace trail in one of their fine parks.
I had time enough to do a little birding. One highlight was an Azure Kingfisher near Buffalo Creek another was the Chestnut Rail. The dip of the day was the Laughing Gull recently seen at Mindil Beach. I wonder where it is now.
Azure Kingfisher
I will post the odd snippet as I go. If I get any good photos I will elaborate on my return.
Spring has sprung and the migratory waders are back in Roebuck Bay. These are birds that breed in the far north of the northern hemisphere taking advantage of their short summer period of great abundance. The abundance is so great that the hatchlings feed for themselves. That’s a great saving in effort for the parents but at the expense of a long flight to escape the coming winter and capitalise on abundance elsewhere.
In those species that breed across a range of latitudes those that breed furthest north generally winter further south than those that breed in the southern part of their range. This leapfrog pattern of migration appears to have been brought to science’s attention by J A Palmén as long ago as 1874. One particularly good example of this is the Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula. Those that breed in southern Sweden or Britain winter in southern Europe whereas those breeding in the arctic mostly take the trip to Africa.
Mostly, but for the last three or four years a single bird has been turning up a stone’s throw from the Broome Bird Observatory in Roebuck Bay. This is presumably the same individual which must make it a leapfrog champion. There have been sightings of Common Ringed Plover further south but they are decidedly rare here in Oz.
Guys, this was your big chance but no, I was not inundated with ID suggestions for the snake with the paddle for a tail. Fortunately there is iNaturalist and the snake now has a certified, research grade identity (drum roll) …
photo Tiffany Kosch
It is, of course, an Olive Sea Snake Aipysurus laevis. It is reasonably common and one of the better studied sea snakes. It feeds on fish, fish eggs and crustaceans utilising a particularly nasty venom. One of its most interesting features is its photosensitive tail. It spends its off-duty moments hidden in holes in rock or coral when it must feel a lot safer knowing that its tail is not sticking out in the sunlight.
The flattened tail tells the tale. It’s a sea snake. I found it at Broome’s Town Beach. About 31 species are known from Australian waters, not all come to this part of the coast. They are mostly found in the tropics. Most feed on fish and are highly venomous but not aggressive to people. They swim well but cannot slither along on land. They are live bearers which enables to spend their entire lives in the water but they do need to come to the surface to breath. They are closely related to Australia’s terrestrial elapids.
I can’t identify this one to species. About 10 species are known from this area but that doesn’t guarantee that it’s one of them. It has a relatively large head which does rule out a few species. If you can solve the mystery please let me know in the comments.
bobmcgee 