lion city

The members of the lab I am visiting have been very good at taking turns taking me out at night to see different parts of the city - it's just enough to keep me seeing the sights and not too much to make me feel like a real pain in everyone's butt. Singapore is quite lovely at night, along the river. The skyline is pretty, like any city skyline. And then just behind the river is this row of "colonial" houses. They have all been turned into bars and restaurants now - but they used to be warehouses where boats would bring goods in for trade, and deliver them to the warehouses. At night all the lights are shining and reflected in the river, people are everywhere - but still it's very quiet. It's kind of amazing to see.

There is a big statue of the Merlion, which is half Lion half Mermaid, and a mythical creature that one of the native Singaporeans claims to have seen. It has become quite a legend in Singapore and a symbol of the country. The big statue is currently being cleaned, and covered in some signs that say "please excuse me while I take a shower" but, there is a littler fountain version that is still visible.

Yesterday I had a day off from the lab so I was out doing some sight-seeing and some shopping. I went to the National Botanical Gardens, which was very lovely. The best part was the National Orchid Garden. The Orchid is the national flower and there were SO many of them. It was amazing. They also have hybrid orchids, which are cross-pollenated to create new strains. They've also created V.I.P Orchids, which are special hybrids named after important visitors. Laura Bush has one, as does Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II, and many other notable politicians and the like. They were all so beautiful - I took MANY pictures, which don't quite capture their beauty, but I tried.