We had a lazy morning but visited the Chinese Gardens in the afternoon. We dropped by the food court on Dover Rd for some iced coffee. For “take away” (= “to go”), they give you the drink in a plastic bag with a handle and straw. I guess it’s more eco-friendly than styrofoam or a plastic cup. It’s an interesting Singapore phenomenon.

We ran into Ron’s classmate Timo and his partner Elina as they were having lunch. Since they didn’t have plans, they accompanied us to the Chinese Gardens.

When we got near the gardens, we heard some noise coming from the water. Apparently they were having 5-crew dragon boat races, it was almost the last race so we went to check it out. There is actually a company there called Water Ventures where you can learn sailing, kayaking, windsurfing, rafting, powerboating, and dragon boating. You can also rent equipment. Seems like they have a few locations so maybe we’ll check it out sometime. Ron thought it would be good for a team building event since they said there will be a 10-crew dragon boat race in November. We’ll see…

It’s the time of the Mid Autumn Festival so the garden lights up with lanterns! Admission is S$12 for adults during this time but usually visiting the Chinese Gardens is free. We arrived at the gardens around 5pm but they don’t turn on the lanterns until 6:30pm and it doesn’t get dark untl after 7pm. At the door they gave each of us a paper lantern with candle included to light up for the night. The day was warm but the garden is well shaded and there was a light breeze so we wandered around until dark. We had a light dinner of chicken, beef, and mutton satay and fresh mochi with peanuts. As it got dark, the lanterns looked really cool so we took another walk around and took some more pictures until heading home.

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We decided to take the MRT home and along the way had some ice cream. The ice cream carts here serve it as a “block” either with sweet bread or biscuits. It’s only S$1 each so it’s actually a pretty good deal for ice cream. Ron is eating raspberry swirl sandwich. They also come in flavors like Durian, Sweet Corn, Chocolate, etc.