It’s not often that we decide to be “tourists” in Singapore and so when Yh suggested the Botanic Garden’s as a place to visit for the weekend, we decided to do it instead of the usual movie and meal in Orchard. Unfortunately, my body clock decided to play havoc and meant I was up at 4am! (3 hours before we were due to get up and set off for Singapore Botanic Gardens).

After a quick cab ride down towards Chuny road we were just in time to get breakfast and sign up for the Rainforest tour (held every 2nd saturday of the month).

Our guide for the day would be a school teacher who had an excellent knowledge about the various trees and plants dotting the boardwalk. It felt almost like a geography lesson with some rather knowledgeable participants chipping in little notes of interest about Australia and India. We also learnt that the patch we were walking through was a primary rainforest (i.e. one which had not been cleared before and thus was much more bare than a secondary forest which would be thicker).

How to spot an ailing rainforest?

• big patches of sunlight seeping through (the one we were in blocked up to 80% sunlight while a healthy one blocked up to 90+%)
• little or no fungi (we spotted some white fungus but it was only just starting)

There was small efforts being done to repair the damage to the rainforest like replanting trees along a path that was damaged by visitors when the boardwalk was not fenced and sprinkler systems to aid in the hydration. We also learned that the banana tree was in fact incorrectly categorized as it was actually a herb.

There was also an “Ah Beng” of the rainforest that had been imported but was thriving the expense of the native plants. There’s many more useful information that would definitely benefit folks who are interested in nature. We’re already planning to join the next tours that will focus on the Ginger and Orchid Garden as well as the Evolution trail.

After the hour tour, we ventured off on our own to the Ginger Garden where we caught sight of the ginger (Etlingera elatior – Torch Ginger) used in our much loved Singaporean Rojak.

Couroupita guianensis – Cannonball Tree was also fascinating due to the huge fruit it bore which resembled its namesake. The flowers were brightly colored and I wasted no time getting some very interesting macro shots of them (bugs included).

The Orchid Garden was next (SGD $5 adult admission fee) and there we spent lots of time walking around and snapping up photos of the various orchids in the well designed garden. Also noticed the frangipani flower above just resting on a bed of leaves just along the path.

Over at the Mist House, there was some rather well maintained varieties that really caught our eyes. The textured colors and bright purples was a delightful subject to photograph.

The Cool House also showed off the types of orchids that will suit a wetter and cooler climate with a refreshing waterfall and mist that surrounded us as we enjoyed the respite from the heat.

There was so many varieties of orchids that I’ve just highlight some of our favorites. Feel free to enjoy more of the photos over at the album. We’re already looking forward to the next visit back to the Botanic Gardens!