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I was reading up on what's on in Singapore this morning and found mention of free guided tours of the Orchid Garden at Singapore Botanical Gardens... so started my day there. The tour was interesting and covered all kinds of orchids and topics related to them - everything from pollination (the guide looked awfully embarrassed speaking about it) to the politics of naming orchids, not least of which applies to which one got chosen as the national flower.

While in the gardens I saw a lot of birds including some truly tiny ones, koi, squirrels (really) and a metre and a half or so of monitor lizard. That's the dude in the photo today... I heard the bushes rustling, waited for a moment and spotted him before he headed out onto the path and disappeared off into the bush on the other side.

The food court isn't in the gardens anymore so I had what the kiosk there called nachos, and which I call corn chips with pseudo-cheese. I wandered around the rest of the gardens for some time - it's very peaceful there. A vast contrast from where I went next...

Partway back to the MRT on the bus it was getting overcrowded so I just decided to get off... I was on Orchard Road. I was near Lucky Plaza, so headed into the bottom of that to find dinner. I had no idea what most things were so just picked one that looked good - Ding Ji Hor Fun. Whatever it was, it was a generous serve for very little money, and it tasted good. All good by me! I'd spotted mention of a large bookshop nearby, Kinokuniya - big is and understatement. I got lost in there. The comics section is bigger than Pulp Fiction, and the Fiction section is bigger than Dymocks in Rundle Mall. And the Fiction section is by no means the majority of the place. I got a headache just thinking about it... it is awesome though.

I had a sundae in an overcrowded brand-new restaurant, it was good... but not as good as the mysterious dinner.

And then, on a whim, after getting back to my MRT station, I got myself a back massage, where it was demonstrated to me just HOW knotted up my shoulders and arms are. I do feel better now, and I may have to do that again before my trip is up. Also, I have to find one of those places where heaps of tiny fish swim around your feet... So yes. Another good day :)