Sir Thomas Raffles, of hotel fame from yesterday's posting, was the founder of the city of Singapore, and is given tribute with monuments and placenames throughout the whole of this small country. One of his achievements, apparently, was the establishment of Singapore's Botanic Gardens - a park of impressive scale in a city where space is at a premium. Raffles wanted to use the gardens to see which crops could best support the economic development of Singapore and used the gardens for this purpose. It's possible that he foresaw its potential for tourism, and if he did he may well have predicted that honeymooning couples would enjoy a stroll through the gardens on a balmy summer's day.
As one such couple we can confirm that, yes, it is a fine way to spend a day, since that's how we occupied our day today (see Ruth above). We did, however, put to the test Dara O'Brien's theory that the melting point of an Irishman is somewhere in the 30s. Goodness me it is hot here.
What was left of us after the walk in the park found its way to the hotel's pool for a splash, before retiring to the bar for yet another Singapore Sling. Refreshing stuff.
Off to Hong Kong tomorrow.
By the way, some of you have been asking for more photos - you'll find 400 or so online now at http://journals.worldnomads.com/ciaranandruth/gallery/4012.aspx
