Today's weather - sunny
This is a much delayed post. Like I mentioned in the post on the Phaius I purchased at the WOC, I realized that I forgot to post anything on the Sarawak (Kuching) trip I went in early March this year. So here goes.
The flight took off around 8:43 am and we reached the Sarawak airport at around 10:36 am. The first thing I saw was the Old Town White Coffee outlet and it reminded me of Mark Lee.
The roadscape reminded me of West Malaysia's landscape. The hotel we stayed in was so posh and I think it was the best hotel I ever stayed in thus far. From the room, I could see the Sarawak river.
We set off soon after and along the way, saw lots of Nepenthes species (Pitcher Plants) growing in its natural habitat along the road. They were all so beautiful and came in all sorts of shapes and sizes. The inflorescences of separate male and female flowers were also prominently on display. I particularly like the compact N. ampullaria type of rosette pitchers.
Today's weather - sunny
This movie has a strong star-studded cast including (not in alphabetical or appearance order) Halle Berry, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Katherine Heigl, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hilary Swank, Josh Duhamel, Robert De Niro, Lea Michele, Zac Efron, Alyssa Milano and Ryan Seacrest, amongst others.
I love this feel good, light-hearted, romantic comedy following last year's "Valentine's Day", which I sorely missed,which is rolled out at this time of the year to capitalize on the festive occasion of Christmas and New Year's Day. Basically, it kind of trails the events for these characters as time approaches the ball drop countdown event at New York City's Times Square. I guess the message is regardless of how bad the past, or rather current, year is, we should forego the unpleasant events and things that we cannot change but should instead appreciate the good things that happened and look forward for a better upcoming year. We all live in hope.
I particularly like the public speech, shown below, made by Hilary Swank's character Claire Morgan, Vice-President of Times Squares Alliance, when there was a technical glitch during the ball drop event. How splendid and awe-inspiring!
"It's suspended there to remind us before we pop the champagne and celebrate the new year, to stop and reflect on the year that has gone by. To remember both our triumphs and our missteps, our promises made and broken. The times we opened ourselves up to great adventures or closed ourselves down for fear of getting hurt coz that is what new year is all about - getting another chance. A chance to forgive, to do better, to do more, to give more, to love more. And stop worrying about what if and start embracing what would be. So when that ball drops at midnight and it will drop, let's remember to be nice to each other, kind to each other. And not just tonight but all year long."
I didn't have the time to walk through the entire park and so only took snippets of some of the theme gardens.
At the Home Garden, I was extremely pleased to see the slow growing and weird looking Trevesia palmata (common name: Snowflake Tree, Snowflake Aralia; Family: Araliaceae) in bloom. This is a plant I first learnt about in HortPark and have never seen the flowers until now. Although the flowers were not completely opened, it was still an honour to see the actual plant blooming right before my eyes. I was also glad to see the naturalized Impatiens walleriana adding some colour to the green background.
Christmas is just 2 hours away, and what better way to celebrate this festive occasion with a pair of snowy reindeers and red-leaved Poinsettias right in front of the HortPark signage at the main entrance of Hyderabad Road.
As I made my way to Alexandra Road, I noticed most of Floral Walk was relandscaped to give it a new look. So long HortPark and Merry Christmas to all and sundry!
One of my favourite gardens in HortPark has always been the Lifestyle Corner. The design and decor have changed drastically since the park was opened and there are lots of ideas for the public to take home for gardening at home.
The barcode design at the Courtyards is also updated with a new look, which is presumably less maintenance intensive.
