Yes, Jane, Duplicate Bridge is Worldwide

Using the MRT (Singapore’s Metro Rail Transit Service,) we stopped at the metro and bus interchange closest to the Singapore Bridge Center. Next to the station, we found a hawker stand for breakfast.

Formerly a perjorative, “Hawker" remains a holdover term for the old streetside food vendors, who walked around hawking their food services either on their backs, bicycles, or tuk-tuks. The military controlled government decided for more health and safety controls and forced these vendors to move into fixed storefronts for better sanitation and quality control. Partnerships have since formed among various food vendors and cleaning services at each location. We found several different food and beverage options in each store front area. The tableware was often returned to a common point, where plates, glasses, and silverware were cleaned and redistributed to the vendors. I had discovered this inexpensive option for a good meal on my earlier trip to Singapore; so I recognized this one on our way to the bridge center. We had a tasty and filling breakfast of local cuisine offerings for a total of less than $5.00 USD.

In searching for the duplicate bridge game with neither a good map nor active access to Google Maps, we made a number of wrong turns into nearby building complexes which mix together retail storefronts and residential apartments. A helpful local mad pointed to the center, which was across the street and only a block away. We arrived in time and were guided the final steps to the center by a fellow bridge player, who recognized the “We are lost and trying to find the bridge game” dazed looks on our concerned faces. With our arrival, the club could upgrade to use a 5-table Howell Movement, which meant we would meet and play against every other team throughout the 3 hour session. As with our experiences in the USA, the most serious and intense players were the young men! We had a good time. Although we placed in the lower half of the 12 team scores, thankfully, we were not bottom team. Hey, you take your positives when you find them.

After the bridge session, we went down to the Garden by the Bay, again using the MRT. We walked over a mile from the station to the garden, but after two weeks of travel, we had become capable of longer walks for our sightseeing excursions. By this time, we felt rather sophisticated and had learned how to use our credit cards as both passes and payment for transportation. Each MRT trip cost us less than $3USD.

The Garden by the Bay is an iconic Singapore botanical garden which includes water collection towers, which look like trees and gave Don lots of photo ops.

We bought entry tickets for the two main attractions, the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest, and took our time touring each. The Flower Dome’s glass enclosed and climate controls are intended to display in a perpetual spring season the diversity of the Mediterranean ecological zones around the world. A temporary display of fantastic and creative rose sprays and creations showed a full rainbow of rose colors from the purest whites to the deepest, almost black, midnight tones.

After the Flower Dome, we went into the glass enclosed Cloud Forest geodesic dome. A six-story waterfall is the dominating feature of the central, forested, “rock” formation and its interconnected caves and skyways. This forest has a set schedule of misting sprays to maintain the humidity levels common to equatorial climates and were very refreshing under the glass enhanced sun. After a short walk around the waterfall, we were taken by elevator to the top level of the Cloud Forest “rock outcropping” where we could either climb the highest level or take the six-level skywalk descent through the cloud forest eco-zones.

As we descended, we encountered an Australian family, whom we had met the day before at the Orchid Garden. They confessed I was easy to recognize because of my hair. Funny how that happens! Since we had met two days in a row, the mother asked what we were doing the next day. Unfortunately, we were going our separate ways as they were going to the Universal City Park in the Sentosa section of Singapore; which I had decided we would bypass on this trip. Both groups enjoyed this serendipitous meeting, though.