People had warned me about the oppressive heat and humidity in Singapore, but it’s really something you must experience for yourself to fully understand. Happily (I guess?), I have already sweated off a pant size after only 2 days touring this city-state.
Fueled by jet lag from being 12 hours ahead of my home time zone, I fell asleep at 8pm last night and woke up chipper just before 6am. With the early start, it was a great morning to head to the Singapore Botanic Gardens before the heat became unbearable.
According to some guide book, the MRT (Singapore’s mass transit system) was a top tourist attraction. After taking it, I wholeheartedly agree. The system is sparkling clean, the trains are fast and efficient, and some rides are as cheap as 83 cents. They also have the coolest metro card ever.
The MRT spits you out at the gate to the Botanic Gardens. The Gardens are free and locals were taking advantage - some playing soccer in the open fields, others settling in for a mid-morning picnic near the Symphony Concert stage, tons of cute dogs.
We meandered about a kilometer into the Gardens to find the National Orchid Garden, which for a small fee of $5 Singapore dollars (just under $4 US dollars), you can view more species of orchid than I even knew existed. Below are some of my favorite shots from the Orchid Garden, before I fled the heat for the air conditioning of the ION Orchard Mall.
