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 …
bobmcgee 