Saga de Singapura - Botanical Garden

On Monday Mar 17th late evening, I got a text message from a friend requesting for a walk together in Singapore Botanical Garden... Botanical garden is located in very center of the city and has been one of the landmarks of Singapore. Founded in 1859, this garden has been long supporting the green of Singapore.

As I never had a chance to visit this place and my next day morning was relatively unoccupied, we planned to meet up at 12 noon there.

The day was perfect for a walk as it was partially cloudy blocking all harsh sunlight. The entrance gate is very thematic and worth photographing...

Our walk lasted for almost an hour and we had a very informal and non business talk all along. Whenever I could, I tried to capture the scene using my iPhone and below are some of the samples.

While the walk, I regretted my carrying the backpack and formal shoes... I wish I was light weighted and with sandals that I could walk barefooted and feel the land there. I also regretted that I did not bring my DSLR with me in this trip... this location is very perfect to try and improve my macro photography skills and also to capture as much green as my CF cards can hold.

In my next trip to Singapore, I want to spend at least half a day here and do some serious photography. It would be a nice place to bring someone special here and do a one to one talk :)

Saga de Singapura - Starbucks

It was long back since I had my favorite Java Chip in Starbucks and on Mar 15 Saturday afternoon, Maheshbhai, his son Darshan and me went to Starbucks on Orchard Road.
Entering Starbucks and smelling the atmosphere inside instantly brought all those sweet memories of many Starbucks visits during my last US trip...

The counter was pretty occupied and we had to wait for a while for our turn. As usual, I ordered my favorite and typical Java Chip - double pumps of mocha, light ice and double blended! The girl at the counter gave me a nice smile when she realized that she has to work little extra for making my Java Chip... Since Maheshbhai was experiencing Java Chip first time, I recommended the normal one for him. He liked it and thus, one more addition to Java Chip fan club!
My next visit to Starbucks in Singapore was at Changi Airport when I was to catch a flight back home. This time too, Maheshbhai was with me and after depositing my check in luggage, we spent some time at this Starbucks.

This time, since he too wanted Java Chip, I did something which only Desi like me would dare to do! If you have noticed on Starbucks menu, the price difference between Tall size drink and Venti one is not more than $2. In Singapore, Java Chip Grande costs S$6.30 and Java Chip Venti costs $7.80. If you have further noticed, size of Venti is almost double of that of Grande... Anything clicks in your mind??? YEA! We ordered Java Chip of Venti size and requested to pour this Venti into two cups... Starbucks has a policy to pour Venti size drinks to Grande cups and I did nothing wrong and saved S$4.50! Again, our Java Chip was double mocha, light ice and double blended so that chocolate chips don't get stuck in my teeth cavities...

The girl at the counter was very cheerful and appreciated of me "exploiting" Starbucks' kindness...
It was April 14th of last year when I was at the same Starbucks. I was on my way to LA and had a few hours stop over in Singapore.

Ding and Joline came to send me off and we had a good time at this Starbucks. I was Latte loyalist that time though.

Saga de Singapura - Singapore Flyer

On first day of my visit, I had meetings, meetings and just meetings but everything fell in place and I was free by 4pm. I met Maheshbhai, my host in Singapore at NSU where he is doing his Singapore government sponsored research in the field of the nano technology.
As we had about four hours to spend, we planned to visit the Singapore Flyer.
(Photo courtesy: www.SingaporeFlyer.com.sg)


Fortunately, when we arrived, there was no queue at ticket window. Ticket was a bit expensive S$29 per person but worth for the experience to follow.


Passing through metal detectors and a very small queue, we boarded one of the capsules of the wheel.


Along with us, there was a group of students, a couple from Malaysia and few others.

When our capsule rose slowly, Singapore skyline started appearing and when it reached top, the view was splendid.

It took about 37 minutes to complete the cycle. The capsule next to us seemed to be bought by a couple and they were making romantic scene there and when they realized that many in our capsule were catching those moments in their cameras, they were forced to stop the free entertainment!
While it was indeed a great experience, my technical part of the brain also appreciated the efforts to make this wheel...

Its engineering marvel on its own...