Singapore Botanical Gardens

Swan Lake ~ Swans from Amsterdam... who now have PR

The Swan Lake was added as a feature of the Botanic Gardens in 1866. The pair of mute swans was imported from Amsterdam.




Dendrobium White Fairy - My new favourite flower. This was also my favourite area in the Orchid Garden.


I am not sure what this flower is called, but it's gorgeous!


Tunnel of Trees/Plants ~ really beautiful...


The London Millennium Tree from Kew Gardens, London ~ With matching squirrels


The squirrels freaked me out, it was a good thing I was near(ish) the exit. So, I made a run for it! :)

Highlight of Mum's Visit Pt.2

Previously on Travelling Mon...

Not really!

SINGAPORE - Day five was more of an errand/shopping day. However, I managed to make mum try one of Singapore's signature dish, Laksa. I had tried Laksa in several places, but it never really tasted right. I could see the potential of how it could taste amazing, but for me it always lacked that rich coconut flavour. When I was living in Marine Parade, behind my apartment was the famous Katong Laksa, but even that was not as good as the one an Uncle of mine recommended. It's in the food court of the Peninsula Shopping Centre in City Hall.



Laksa @ Peninsula Shopping Centre


I had to work most of the remaining days, but we managed to squeeze in a visit to the Esplande (also known as The Durian), Merlion and dinner at Forlino's. Unfortunately, the food in Forlino's was not as amazing as it had been on my birthday. I later found out that they had changed their chef, which was such a shame really.



The Merlion and the unfinished IR Marina Bay Sands (behind)


Sadly, mum's visit had to end. However, the night before she left, I made sure she tried Singapore's infamous Hainanese Chicken Rice at Chatter Box, Mandarin Hotel. Everyone swears by the Chicken Rice in Chatter Box, but I didn't really impress me. The view on the other hand was amazing!



Hainanese Chicken Rice @ Chatter Box

Highlight of Mum's Visit

SINGAPORE - It was great to have my mum visit. I made sure she got to see all the touristy spot that we hadn't seen when we visited when I was younger, also which didn't exist.

It started with Dinner at Carnivore, a Brazilian restaurant at CHIJMES. There's a set price and they go around your table with different kinds of meats (lazy man's buffet). You are given a card, and when the green side faces up on your table, they come over and offer you some meat, and when red, they leave you to eat your meal. It's worth visiting when in Singapore.

The next day we headed to Little India to have Dosai at Ananda Bhavan. It's a tiny canteen like place, but for me the food tastes authentic and it's much better than The Banana Leaf Apollo. It's also one forth the price. After lunch, it was a short stroll to Sim Lim Center, electronic haven. However, some people find that the things you buy in Sim Lim are dodgy, so Funan might be a better place to check out electronics when in SG. We then headed by taxi to Arab Street. It's very near Little India, but I can never get my head around how to get there from Little India. Arab Street is one of my favourite places in Singapore. It's extremely quite because of the Sultan's Mosque being situated there. Along the stretch are tiny shops mostly selling Pashminas which in my opinion is the best place to buy it. There are a few places to eat along that area, but nothing to write home about.

On the third day, we decided to explore the Tanjong Pagar area, which was near our hotel. First stop of course was to visit Maxwell Hawker Center. It's not my favourite Hawker Centre, but some people (Anthony Bourdain) swears by it. I much prefer Lau Pa Sat and Newton Centre. The queues for some of the stalls were crazy so we decided to have lunch somewhere else. Along that road are a few temples, they have the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, which is an amazing structure and it's rather stunning to visit at night. They also have The Sri Mariamman which is the first Hindu temple in Singapore (located in China Town). As it was a Saturday, we decided to head to Sentosa. I knew the place to take her for lunch. Chilli crab by the sea, at Palawan Beach. I know there are other places in Singapore that have the best Chilli Crab, but eating it by the beach is just the best experience, in my opinion. After lunch, we went for a long stroll by the beach and had some ice cream to cool down. We were a bit sun stroked, tired (after managing to sneak in shopping at Vivocity) and needing a lay down. The evening was spent in the hotel ordering room service. Ah, that's the life!

Day four was my favourite day. We had a leisurely breakfast and long rest at our hotel after which, we headed to Raffles Hotel. I had made a reservation at the Tiffin Room, Raffles Hotel for High Tea. In my opinion, it was a lot better and a lot more elegant than the Bar and Billiard Room's High Tea, which was a buffet. I loved how they would bring you a tier which contained scones, sandwiches and pastries, which was equally nice as the High Tea at The Savoy in London. This for me, is a must when in Singapore.


High Tea at the Tiffin Room, Raffles Hotel


I couldn't let my mum leave Raffles Hotel without trying the infamous Singapore Sling at the Long Bar, where it was created by Ngiam Tong Boon, a bartender working at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel Singapore before 1915. Apparently, owing to the large number of orders, the drink has been pre-mixed and are dispensed using an automatic dispenser that combines both alcohol and pineapple juice to pre-set volumes. I can't say that this is a drink I look forward to have (only because it's a tad bit too sweet), but when in Singapore you have to try it. Throw a few peanuts on the floor while you're at it! :) After the Raffles experience, we made our way to the Singapore Flyer. The best time to go is around 7 pm, because the sun starts to set at around 7:15 pm. So you get to see the view of Singapore both in the day and at night.






We thought of having dinner at Clarke Quay, but couldn't find anything suitable for a Sunday evening. So we made our way instead to Bodega Y Tapas, and it was a great way to end such a lovely day.



L-R: Clarke Quay, Bodega Y Tapas


TBC...

An's Visit Part Deux

SINGAPORE - On An's second visit to Singapore, the only thing she wanted to do was go on the Singapore Riverboat Cruise -- and so that's just what we did.



You start in front of Fullerton Hotel, enjoying the sights along the river and you end up alighting at Boat Quay.


Singapore's CDB


Singapore's CDB & Boat Quay

London - Last Few Days

So the countdown begins. I am trying to make the most of my last few days here in LDN. My day was made up by meeting friends, trying my favorite food places for the last time, endulge in art galleries and just capture every moment I can of this city which is beloved to me.

Numero Uno

The Apple Mac Store - on Regent Street. This is one of the many shops I am going to miss in London. Ooh-ing and ahh-ing the newest apple gadgets in store. Watching and learning from the free workshops, has been the best way to pass time on certain days. Lots of purchases made as well as memories. This is my temple, I will miss the visits I made religiously.

Numero Dos

Sacred Cafe - I have gone on endlessly about this cafe. This has got to be my favorite cafe in London. I love the coffee and the music they play, the friendly vibe of the place. Today, I went to have perhaps my last cup of Cortado and my Nata (Portuguese Egg Tart). I was THISCLOSE to buying their t-shirt, but unfortunately they didn't have my size. Haha! This is how much I love this place.

Numero Tres

The Sights - Walking along Westminster, I just can't get eough of the London Eye. It was an amazing experience being up there. The view you get of London is just fantastic. It's just as beautiful appreciating it from a far.

Numero Quatro

Museums - I went to see the Dali Museum today, as one of my last few art fix. I was rather impressed by his work. I only have seen a few of his paintings, which I found very interesting. Usually, I don't think sculptures are anything great. However, seeing Dali's surrealistic works makes me appreciate sculptures. They're very interesting, because they have so much meaning and metaphors involved. The first image is the Space Venus, where Dali pays homage to the female figure. He says the beauty of the flesh is temporary and will vanish, but the beauty of art is timeless and eternal. This sculpture is devided into two parts to reveal the egg, symbolizing life, renewal, continuation and the future. I adore this concept. The second image is the Novelty of Time. You will notice, a lot of Dali's art has the melted watch draped over something. In one of his works called the Persistence of Memory, it is said that the Dalinian time is not rigid, it is one with space... fluid. This watch no longer "keeps" time. The speed of our time depends only on us.. Beautifully said. The more I know about him, the more I love his philosophy. And the last image which is the Space Elephant. It is said that it is moving through space towards the heavens, legs stretched out and more delicate in the weightless atmosphere, the space elephant carries an obelisk, symbol of the progress of technology. There is one more sculpture which I thought was fantastic, it was the Homage to Newton, Dalí honours Sir Isaac Newton for his discovery of the Law of Gravity, symbolised by the celebrated falling apple, which is represented here by a sphere of metal attached to a line. In this form, the apple loses both its impermanence and its capacity for regeneration. Dalí implies that the living being, Sir Isaac Newton, has become a mere name in science, completely stripped of his personality and individuality. To represent this transformation, Dalí has pierced the figure with two large holes: one that portrays the absence of Newton's vital organs, while the other clearly displays the lack of mind. What remains is only symbolic representation. Wow! Seeing other aspects of his exhibit like his illustrations, I had wished that I had read Don Quixote before seeing this exhibit. He had done illustrations of the story. It would have been quite nice to put two and two together.

At the start of the exhibit, Dali's quotes are found on the walls. At first when I read them, I thought that very clever but didn't mean as much. That is, until I got to "know" him better. I couldn't resist to write some of them down. I know Dali wouldn't have mind me "stealing" some of his words, you will see why by the end of this post. For now, I leave you with some of my favorite Dalianian quotes:

"There is less madness to my methods than there is methods to my madness."

"An artist is not one who is inspired, but one who can inspire others."

"Ideas are made to be copied. I have enough ideas to sell them on. I prefer that they are stolen so that I dont have to actually use them myself."

"For me love must be ugly, looks must be divine, and death must be beautiful."

"The envy of other artists has always been the barometer of my success."