Frog porridge to start the day:
And a visit from this musical fella:
… before we hit the streets of Singapore (although, for the avoidance of doubt, that’s not us in the photo):
Outside the Kwan Im Thong Cho Chinese temple were stalls selling feng shui constancy and fortune-telling, with this one using a bird to assist the process (and, I suspect, attract the punters who seem partial to a bit of avian involvement):
My Chinese New Year horoscope was overwhelmingly positive (about bl**dy time), and whilst I don’t believe in this kind of thing, I do believe in the power of positive thinking. So I’m going with it.
The Indian mosque next door reminded me a little of Trigger’s broom* as it was built in 1884, and then rebuilt in 1895 and, most recently, 1982. The two characters either side of the entrance are the Monkey God (extra points if you can remember his name – I can’t) and a rather different (and scary) looking Garuda:
* A classic, nay, legendary “Only Fools and Horses” scene
Here are the hotels with the ship on top. Very clever. Didn’t go up:
I also liked the surface of some parts of the hotel: from a distance they moved like corn in the wind. Upon closer inspection, it was made of individual moveable flaps:
Then a walk round the Gardens By The Bay where I re-encountered this tree – remember what’s special about it?
Yup, the Traveller’s Tree (which, I found out about half an hour later is, in fact a cycad or “false palm”) – it always grows north to south.
And this pretty bush (anyone know what it is?):
And an explanation of “aerial roots” which give a name to the unusual hanging roots on the banyan trees I’ve seen.
I could see her lining it up – a pretend selfie in the middle of a random corridor in the mall on the way back from the gardens. As I fitted into the gap she’d left for me on the screen, I gave her a wide-eyed, tongue-out picture. If I’d have been more confident, I’d have done what Rudy often does: walk up, stand close and make a nice photo (with a victory sign, if they’re lucky). I realised afterwards that I probably ruined her nicely set up picture and made a mental note to try to at least try to look normal.
Random stuff from today:
The fine for bringing durian fruit on board is clearly not quantifiable (it stinks and many places ban it):
And you can tell it’s a cosmopolitan city as notices on the metro are written in four languages.
Statues:
Pick-your-own crabs outside a seafood restaurant:
And here they’re even more polite than London – queuing to get on the metro. Impressive:
Then chilling with our friend the Merlion before dessert (oh, yes, and dinner, but mainly dessert):
