Our second day started again with the hunt for breakfast. We were foraging a little later than the day before but things were still pretty quiet. This time we alighted on “Fun Toast” which seemed quite popular, possibly only because it was open. Reece chose a spicy noodle soup and rapidly broke out in a sweat. We think it might have been a lunch dish as they had to check with the cook before confirming our order. I chose kaya toast, which is a bit of a specialty. It turned out to be very thin, crispy toast sandwiched with butter and coconut spread (kaya jam). Everything on the menu came with a couple of hard or soft boiled eggs (of course) and your choice from an intriguing array of drinks. Lucy chose a milky “Milo Dinosaur” which totally defeated her. Reece settled on Red Cane Juice (pretty pink sugar water). I had an iced Gula Melaka Coffee (coffee with a splash of evaporated milk, sweetened with palm sugar) and Toby had a homemade iced lime and honey drink which he wouldn’t let us try but was apparently very nice.
We then took our collective sugar rush for a cruise on one of the little wooden ‘boats with eyes’ that tootle around the river. The bumboats (yes the kids had to say that a few times) are a great way to see and hear about the highlights of the city’s heart. We found we were allowed to take one stop on the tour and chose to hop off at Merlion Park to see this famous city symbol. It was crowded with people trying to take trick photo shots of themselves swallowing or catching the water spewing from the Merlion’s mouth. When in Rome…
Afterwards we went back to the hotel to take a breather from the heat, stopping off at a mall to get some icy lychee bubble tea and a juice from a cool vending machine which squeezed the oranges for you. We also got some intriguing breads from a speciality bakery (including a curious chocolate cheese number which was very subtly chocolate flavoured with a stripe of soft cream cheese through the centre).
Fortified and rested, we headed for Gardens by the Bay in the late afternoon. In hindsight we could have used our boat trip to get there – jumping off at Marina Bay and walking from there to the gardens. Instead we caught a taxi. Taxis are incredibly cheap here. We keep sizing up alternatives but the taxi always wins, especially when there are four of you and most of the other options charge a per person fee. Apparently it’s very expensive to own and run a car in Singapore which supports a very effective taxi industry. Plus the fares are regulated. If we were here longer, we would check out the MRT which I suspect would be cheaper again. It’s currently being expanded, much to the concern of our taxi driver.
Gardens by the Bay is a botanical garden on acid. It is a total must-see! Incredible green architecture and an awesome array of plants. There are two massive domed conservatories. In addition to a range of regional gardens, The ‘Flower Dome’ has a central display which changes regularly. For our visit it was decked out in cherry blossom, which was very beautiful, even through the thicket of selfie-sticks. But our favourite dome was ‘Cloud Forest’ which is a towering mountain of rainforest dotted with awesome waterfalls and giddy walkways.
We had planned to have dinner at the gardens and headed to ‘Satay at the Bay’ which offers a variety of tasty street food. A warning note to anyone doing the same – bring cash as most of the vendors don’t accept cards.
The Supertree Grove was next. These amazing structures vent warm air from the conservatories and are also the stage for a spectacular lightshow, which we duly ‘oohed and ahhed’ over. We had intended to do the walkway which winds through the grove’s canopy but the queue was pretty long by the time we arrived, so we might come back to do that on our last day.
Post-script: We didn’t go back. I suspect you rarely do.
The Travelling Hillbillies 