Singapore's got talent

The rain came again this morning so we were in no rush to get up, instead spending time looking up where to stay in Indonesia. However, the skies seemed to brighten slightly so we set off for Orchard road in search of a snazzy mall. Turns out the mall wasn't exciting so instead we posted a postcard at a post office and walked down Orchard road, the road where all the designer shops are situated. It was a very large road with loads of different malls as well as the shops and was worth a look considering the guide book and various leaflets had said it was the place to go. Maybe it's the place to go for rich people. We veered off at one road and walked for another half an hour or so to a food hawker centre. Not all of the places were open even though it was lunch time but we managed to pick out some curried veg and rice as well as something called fish porridge. This porridge was rice in a stock with some greens and lovely pieces of sliced white fish. It was nice but it wasn't packed full of flavour. There had been a big queue for this place (the main reason we went for it) but I couldn't quite understand what all the fuss was about. Don't get me wrong, the fish was beautifully soft and succulent but it wasn't anything special. 

We found a metro station nearby and caught a train to the botanic gardens as the weather seemed to be holding up. We walked through the lovely gardens in the sunshine, admiring the beautiful plants and trees. After some time we found the orchid garden where we had to pay a small fee to enter. This was one of the most stunning gardens I have ever visited and I wish my mummy could have seen it. I spent my time taking pictures of all the different orchids which I may bore people with (just skip most of the pictures) but I think my mother will enjoy them. I'm not sure if it was an orchid (it was in the orchid garden) but I found a little mini pineapple on a plant that was rather amazing. I didn't know if it was a real pineapple but it sure did look like one. 

Further on through the botanic gardens was a lake with swans that was pleasant to walk by. We'd spent a good couple of hours roaming round the gardens so it was nearly 5 when we caught a bus back into the city centre. We walked between a few food centres, trying to find the famous chilli crab that we wanted to try. Eventually, we stopped at the most interesting one that sat in an old covered market area that was nestled in the middle of lots of big finance high rises. However, when we asked about the chilli crab it turned out to be a little over our price range as they were selling a whole crab. This was upsetting but I'll just have to visit Singapore again when I'm rich. Instead, we tried a few different dishes. First there was roast duck on rice with a sauce that ruined the whole dish. I was a bit sceptical about how long the duck had been sitting out for as well. Next, Matt went Costa Rican and got a big tub of rice with kidney beans, chicken, Mayo, sweet chilli sauce, guacamole and lots of veg, finished with some extremely tasty breadsticks stuck around the edges. Yes, it wasn't local but it was good. We went a little overboard (thinking we'd saved on the chilli crab) and got some tandoori chicken with curry sauces and a naan (Matt ate most of it). The tandoori chicken might have been the best I've ever tasted though. 

After tea we rushed off back to the skytrees so we didn't miss the last purchase of the tickets to walk along the bridge. We got there with ten minutes to spare and queued up for around half an hour before we were allowed up in the lift. It was quite lovely walking across the bridge, you could see quite far over the city. It was only $5 (£2.50) so I felt it was worth it. The skytrees are by far my favourite place in Singapore. When we got the lift back down again we sat in some chairs by a grassy area and waited for the light show. We attempted to stay up on the bridge for it but you get hurried along slightly by the security people so it doesn't get too crowded. The light show was just as spectacular but it didn't have the same effect on me as I was too far away. The best experience of it is from right under the trees rather than looking at all the trees from a distance. The music didn't encompass me in the way it had yesterday. Still my favourite thing though. 

We caught a metro back to the hostel as again we were shattered (or maybe too lazy to walk). Today had been a slower pace but it had still been as lovely as yesterday. Singapore really does have talent.