My first visit to Singapore was in January 2018. I was struck by its cleanliness.  Prior to my visit I had heard there were severe punishments for littering but once I arrived and spoke with a Singaporean taxi driver, he explained that it’s more about the citizens wanting to live in a city that always looks its best.

There are many captivating aspects to Singapore and knowing that my husband, Bill loves flowers and plants I decided because he had never been there before we should stop off on our way to south-east Asia in October 2022. For me, the highlight of this trip was discovering the many subterranean passageways, especially from the area of South Beach where our hotel was located to the downtown area fronting the Singapore harbor.

As expected, Bill was overwhelmed by the display of orchids at the Botanic Gardens.  We took in a stroll through the Gardens by the Bay; looked skyward to the ‘cruise ship’ atop the Marina Bay Sands hotel towers; went to its viewing platform which overlooks the harbor; walked about China Town; gazed at the colors of India Village from our Hop on – Hop off perch and indulged in the obligatory visit to the bar at Raffles to sip a Singapore Sling.

To cap off our visit we found ourselves standing with the crowds near the Merlion fountain watching the light show as we listened to music coming from an impressive public sound system.

Being born and raised in Bermuda where we were taught to be polite to visitors, I was impressed that wherever we went in Singapore the locals were just as congenial.