Montreal - some very impressive topiary (Throwback post)

When we were in Montreal last time, we visited the Montreal Botanical Gardens and the nearby 1976 Olympic Stadium. This time, we headed up that way again, to see the Mosaicultures Internationales de Montreal, a horticultural competition where around 25 countries create gardens and figures made out of plants and grasses.

The theme this year was Land of Hope, so many of the entries were figures of endangered animals, or celebrations of a way of life. It is a remarkable exhibition, but sadly the information online isn't great - it seems to be being held in Antalya this year.

Realistically, this is one of those posts where I really just post photos rather than writing anything. Unfortunately, I have somehow lost most of my photos from Montreal; if I manage to retrieve them, I will add them later, but for now, we'll have to do without.

Brisbane

Brisbane

As I said I, the last post, Brisbane didn't stand out for us as a tourist city, but rather as a real, somewhere to live in city. The main city area was not very big, but had a good shopping area and, as previously mentioned, some great places to eat and drink, especially around Eagle Street Pier.

Brisbane

Together with the proximity of decent neighbourhoods to live in, I could see this being a nice place to call home - if you can cope with the heat and those huge spiders, that at least while we were there, confined themselves to the garden. And it was quite fun to have a possum visiting the garden - albeit that I gather they have a mean bite.

Flood indicators, Brisbane

There is a large botanical garden on the city peninsula, and that was a pleasant place to walk around. We spotted a strange thing with bits of wood sticking up at different angles, and wondered what it was. It turned out to be the flood level indicators over the years . They do clearly have problems with flooding here, with 1974 being an especially bad year.

Wheel, Brisbane

The main touristy area is probably the south bank Parklands. This is a landscaped section along the river bank, which has the Wheel of Brisbane, the Nepalese Pagoda, and various boat trip opportunities. We decided to try out the wheel; it was OK, but I suppose we have been a bit spoiled with having the London Eye, which is bigger and has fabulous views. One nice thing about it though, was if you went during the day, your ticket was also valid for a second trip after dark, and vice versa; we thought this was a really nice idea.

Lagoon beach, Brisbane

Something we were surprised to see along the river, was a lagoon and beach, complete with lifeguard's hut. I guess that in a country where most if the population lives along the coast line, and even in the cities, people expect to have a beach on their doorstep, only having a river just isn't good enough.

Brisbane

Other areas of town are largely neighbourhood suburbs, and as we were staying with friends, we didn't explore too far. And of course there are museums and the like if that takes your fancy.

Nepalese Pagoda, Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane

Singapore - Orchids, Supertrees and orangutans

Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

Singapore is one of those places that we tend to hear good things about. And there are certainly a few things to recommend it for a short stopover en route to somewhere else. Beyond that, we personally weren't so keen, but that is for a different post; for now let's look at the good stuff.

Monitor Lizard

Our first impressions were pretty good. We arrived in sunshine, and on the drive in from the airport we could see luscious greenery and colourful flowers. And certainly the horticulture here was a real plus point.

Botanical Gardens, Singapore

One of our visits was to the botanical gardens. They are big enough that you could easily spend a day here, wandering amongst the different types of planting, including the sensory garden and the quite informative medicinal garden. You don't have to be an enthusiast to enjoy it here, it is just a pleasant, free way to spend some time - and they have monitor lizards roaming around.

Lions, Singapore Zoo

The one thing you would have to pay for is to go into the orchid garden. It isn't much, and it is quite an impressive display of different types. I love orchids, so it was well worth it to me to go inside.

We also went to the zoo, which had been highly recommended to us. It's not a bad zoo, but neither was it anything that special. It probably doesn't help that we are starting to feel a bit less interested in zoos generally, as we focus on trying to see more animals in the wild, but in the main, this just didn't catch our interest.

Fruit Bat, Singapore Zoo

There were a couple of good bits; it was fun to watch the lions being fed, and we rather enjoyed the walk through with the fruit bats and lemurs.

White Tiger, Singapore Zoo

And there was one highlight, which was the orangutans. They have a big group here and they are free to roam in and out of their area. It is quite fun to see these big orange apes swinging through the trees above your head

Orangutans, Singapore Zoo

That experience isn't without its risks though - if you find yourself in an isolated shower on an otherwise beautifully sunny day, you may want to go find somewhere to have a wash! We didn't see anyone get caught when we were there, but there was a near miss!



Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

Our favourite thing in Singapore was the Gardens by the Bay.

Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

We walked around some of the outer garden areas, but we weren't that excited by them and it was too hot for us to worry about seeing it all. But it is well worth going just for the two domes and the supertrees.

The cloud forest dome is set up so that you walk up through the 'cloud' and see the different plants that grow at the various levels. The 'cloud' is a fine mist spray, which doesn't soak you, and we found very welcome on a hot day. It is worth trying to coincide your visit here with one of the spraying times, as otherwise you don't really get the effect.

Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

The other dome has much more to see, so takes longer to go around. The plants and flowers are quite beautiful, and there is usually a special exhibition of some sort. When we were there it was the zodiac signs and dahlias.

Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

But the most spectacular thing to see is the Supertree Grove. You can pay to go around the elevated walkway, but we didn't bother with that.



Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

These giant tree like structures look fabulous just as they are, but the real display happens in the evening, when they have the Garden Rhapsody light show. It is really stunning to watch.


Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

Gardens by the Bay, Singapore