Gardens and Red Lanterns

Thursday, January 13, 2011.

With our Singapore Explorer passes in hand, we tapped our cards to enter the MRT line to the Botanical Gardens. We learned our lesson about the midday sun yesterday and decided to visit in the morning hours. The gardens are quiet today and we are greeting by some lovely koi in the ponds at the entrance. We make our way around Swan Lake and watch a swan make a graceful entrance into the water. We notice the beautiful banyan trees and its massive roots descending down the hill. At the Orchid Gardens, Bella is intrigued by the ladies doing what looks like tai chi with colourful fans. It is very graceful and beautiful. We pass the Ginger Gardens and many exotic flowers along the way. Bella, though, is most excited about feeding the fish. We stop for a drink of mango juice and take shelter as Bella tosses pellets for her friends in the pond. We end our walk at the Children's Garden which is absolutely fantastic. Bella climbs a tree and yells directions over to Mark who is trying to get out of the labyrinth. We notice the red bananas growing down, the baobob trees and the giant green gourds on the calabash trees.We smell the many fragrances and are fascinated when the leaves of the mimosa plant shyly fold at our touch. There's a tree fort, a suspension bridge and a giant tree stump to hide in. After a great play in the gardens, we head for some food in Chinatown. As we emerged from the MRT station, a sky of red lanterns dangled from the ceilings.Preparations for the upcoming Year of the Rabbit are well underway. Shops are adorn with red pockets, flashing firecrackers and glittery decor boasting of prosperity. We get lost on our search for a buddhist vegetarian restuarant which turns out to be closed down. Bella enjoyed playing Follow the Leader down the narrow alleys and stopped whenever she saw golden trickets in the windows. We remove our shoes and enter the Sri Mariamman Temple, an old Hindu shrine in the middle of Chinatown. It was a juxtaposition of hindu gods and goddesses and the modern Singapore skyline behind them. Later, Bella bought a fan and mimicked the ladies from the Orchid Gardens. We noted that the horoscope for the Monkey (that's me) this year is fertile with fruit. Bella is very excited. I chuckled since every other horoscope speaks of fertility as well. I figure it's either because it's the Year of the Rabbit or the Singaporean edited version to populate their nation.