Singapore Again- Part 2

We took a photo of that odd boat-shaped restaurant on top of the Marina Bay Sands complex. There was also a large mirror reflecting an image of the ArtScience Museum which was interesting.

When last in Singapore, we saw signs for a new Gordon Ramsey restaurant which would open soon. We decided to check it out for lunch on Friday.

I had the fish and chips with mashed peas. B had a pork chop with a fabulous cider and onion soup. There is a back room but all of the action is in the small front area of the restaurant. We were seated at a high top with full view of the kitchen. We were very close and could see everything. A view from our table:

My fish and chips was pretty good but now I know why Gordon Ramsey always talks about seasoning (salt) on his cooking competition shows. He must really like salt. My dish was too "seasoned" for my taste.  B said his pork chop was salty as well. We didn't order dessert but the waitress brought us a jar of cookies in case we wanted a little nibble.

We had a little ice cream at a Swensen's after visiting the Spotlight shop. We don't get much ice cream here so it was a treat.

There was a quilt store in a mall here on our last visit but it was closed due to Chinese New Year. We tried to visit the shop on this trip but it was closed. Gone for good. Also closed since our last visit was the Hediard shop from France. I was looking forward to a few pieces of paté de fruits, but it was not to be.

The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The National Orchid Garden is on the far side of the place so we got a good walk from the entrance. So many pretty plants and flowers in this enormous garden. Here are a few:

Golden showers

A pineapple!

Renanopsis 'Lion Spendor'

Now this one has nothing to do with plants. We saw a small water monitor on the edge of this water feature. Naturally I squealed with delight a little too loudly and he popped right into the water. He was kind enough to leave a watermark which we are happy to share.

On our last visit to Singapore we did make use of taxis and the MRT. This time we stuck with the MRT (think subway) which could take us to or close to all of the places we wanted to go. Any extra distance was accomplished on foot. The MRT is clean, well marked and very easy to negotiate for the most part. We had trouble finding the correct route out of one station. We had the same trouble last year. Now we think we've figured it out. There is a station a few blocks from our hotel so it makes using the MRT pretty easy. I should mention we didn't get the best advice on which MRT stop to exit for the ArtScience Museum. We got off way too early or we took the wrong line. Anyway, we knew what the building looked like (a baseball glove or a flower or just the odd-shaped white thing depending on who you ask) so we just had to walk to it.

Singapore residents use the public transport systems in part because plates for cars are on a lottery system. You can't just buy a car and drive it.  But I think the system is also used because it is so efficient.

I must also mention that the escalators are the fastest I've ever seen. They probably need to be due to the number of people using the system. They could never run them this fast in Indonesia, people just don't move that quickly!