Singapore Trip Dec 2009 Part 2

The Singapore Botanic Gardens had been around as long as I can remember. When we were young, before the onslaught of shopping malls, it was a real treat to be taken there. The main attraction for us kids there were the many monkeys swinging from tree to tree. One could buy a pack of peanuts wrapped in a newspaper and feed them. However some can become aggressive and my sister had the whole packet snatched away at one go. Years later, my son had his plastic ball snatched and tore up by an aggressive fella hoping to find food inside.  Some other complaints of additional bad behaviour got the whole lot of them moved into the zoo.

Chopin and his wife near the orchestra pit       

                                                                                    

This could be a park in summer in Australia or even Europe

             There used to be some black swans but this time, I only saw a couple of white ones.

The lovely water-lily pond                                      

               

The sun-dial

 The pavilion where we had our cell group meetings once upon a time
    

  To my great joy,  the Botanic Gardens had remained fairly unchanged except for some improvement, e.g the spice gardens, a couple of upmarket restaurants, the dearth of mosquitoes who loved me dearly. The main change is the Orchid Garden which have become a paid attraction.We did not get to visit as we were short of time. Instead we sat outside and watched the various  different varieties of doggies, some huge and furry, some tiny and yappy, others still sleek and proud accompanied by Philippino maids who also took the opportunity to fraternalise. These was no sign of the black swans which an the attraction in the 70s. Only a couple of white ones and some ducks were around.  I remember when I was staying in Raffles Hall when the University of Singapore campus was at Bukit Timah, we used to jog in the Botanic Gardens after tea each evening. Sometimes we will ask the kitchen for leftover bread to feed the swans, ducks and fishes.                                                 

                                                     

In the lovely golden afternoon sun, a stroll through the gardens;

on an old wooden bench,

me and my book. 

Forget the neighbouring bustling Orchard Road,

its hurrying crowds and fairy lights,

its dazzling shops and dollar signs;

just give me my peaceful green bit of paradise.