Picnic at Singapore Botanic Garden

As I watched my wife and daughter sit by the lake and watch the black swans, I slowly closed my eyes and felt the butter sunshine caress my neck. In no time I slipped into a deep meditation and soaked the tranquility of the setting. We were at the end of our picnic at Singapore Botanic Garden.

If you can call life beautiful on a normal day, which I tend to believe in, then our day at the 150-year old garden was easily times 10! The vastness of the garden took me by surprise. It stretches all the way from Ulu Pandan Road and connects to Bukit Timah Rd, easily 5 or more kilometers wide.

Once we walked in, we were transported into a different world so much so that it was hard to believe we had just got off a bus on a busy thoroughfare, that Orchard Rd was a stone's throw away, and that Little India was just a furlong away.

It took us a good 3-4 hours to stroll through the many beautiful sights of the botanic garden. We first crossed the swan lake, the first of the three lakes inside. Arushee, my daughter was thrilled with the fish that came in many colors and sizes, dozens of turtles, and finally, two beautiful white swans.

We then crossed the Ginger Garden. Lalitha, my wife, passionate about plants and flowers was thrilled every step she took and looked happy to be lost here. We of course saw many Ginger flowers, which should not be mistaken for the ginger that goes into my biryani! These are large flowers that I think inspire many oriental hair styles :) Along with these, we also saw a cascade before we entered what was the highlight of the day - the Orchid Garden.

While it is free to get into the Botanic garden, we have to pay 5SGD per adult to get inside the Orchid Garden, the most beautiful garden I ever saw before. Worth every cent and more. I never knew there were so many orchids. Apparently, orchids are the largest family of flowers, some 10,000 varieties! There are some special spots where you can frame yourself in beautiful wreaths of orchids and take pictures.

By the time we managed to tear ourselves away from the wonderful orchids, it was already 4.30pm, a good two hours since we started. We then headed to the Symphony lake, which has a stage built in the center of a lake, which itself lies cocooned in between gently sloping hills. Its like a natural golf fairway. We chose a picturesque spot and hungrily wolfed down our sandwiches.

Crossing the symphony lake, we arrived at our final lake at which point I started this blog--the black swans and the butter sunshine as it was late evening and the sun was setting, its golden rays filtering through the vast canopy of millions of branches. We then went to the Jacob Ballas childrens garden where Arushee had a blast! While she got introduced to the magical "touch me not"plants, I wondrously recalled that at the same age of 5, even I had first touched these shy specimens back in Mysore in a different era, a different country... it just made the day that much more magical.

What: Singapore Botanic Garden
Where: Link to map
Timings: 5am to 12am
Official website: http://www.sbg.org.sg/