It was such a lovely day we headed for the Botanical Gardens after our river cruise. The first gardens were established by Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore (and a keen naturalist) in 1822 on Government Hill at Fort Canning, mainly to introduce the cultivation of economic crops. These gardens were closed in 1829 and 30 years later, in 1859, at the present site, a new garden was developed by an Agri-Horticultural Society, and later handed over to the government in 1874.
From an ornamental garden with roads, terraces, a band parade area and even a small zoo, it has come a long way in evolving into a leading equatorial botanic garden of 74 hectares, where major world crops, such as rubber and orchids were launched.
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A Burmese Banyan tree or Ficus - an incredible root system
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In June 2012, Singapore ratified the World Heritage Convention and in December 2012, submitted its World Heritage Tentative List to UNESCO to indicate interest in inscribing the Singapore Botanic Gardens as a World Heritage Site.
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A monitor lizard, a surprise for us to see in the botanical gardens
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| One of the beautiful sculptures in the gardens - Chopin |
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| Louise, in her new hat, walking along Swan Lake |
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| The Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage |
On returning to the city we capped off a great day with afternoon tea at the Raffles Bakery. Just as nice as the real Raffles Hotel high tea without the hefty price tag!
Tomorrow it would be a very early start as we have to leave for the airport at 7.15 am.
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