i visited the singapore botanical gardens for the first time. ever. yes yes, i know...how can i call myself a singaporean? what shame! in any case, it was my first visit to one of sandy's favourite places to stroll around in while visiting singapore. the weather was hot - perfect for sweating out the viruses. there were plenty of people around, all with the same agenda - to visit the beautiful flowers and tropical nature in the garden city, as singapore is affectionately known. we walked together and didn't see anything worthful until we were in the pay-zone. orchids galore, and a wonderful coolhouse that sprayed an evian commercial worthy mist at us and kept the ambient temperature (and hence tempers) at about 20degrees. why couldn't we have stayed there? in the end, we bought ice cream to placate the kids. here's what ice cream is like in the sweltering heat of singapore. you'd better lick fast, or you're getting it down your shirt!