Fort Canning Park

Today was an overcast day, but a very humid one. Had I realized this before sneaking out of my air conditioned condo I probably would have stayed at home. However, once I was out, my itchy feet and inability to overcome my wanderlust, forced me to find out where my nose was going to lead me.
I am very glad I continued on as I found myself entering a beautiful and lush park called Fort Canning. As I climbed up a set of stairs I was greeted at the top by a 15 inch Changeable Lizard. She introduced herself as Siew Mei. She explained that she had lived in the area for a very long time and that she would love to show me around "Her" park.

Siew Mei wiggled when she walked and moved in spurts so it was hard to follow her. She took me on a paved, winding path through a spice garden, and up to the Fort Canning Centre.

The Centre used to be the barracks of the British Army in the 1920's. It is now used  by a theatre company for various indoor as well as outdoor shows. Underground is  the "Battle Box", which is where the British command center was located during WWII.
The Park was previously known as Government Hill, and on top is a small home built by Sir Stamford Raffles. It has a great view in spite of all the modern buildings surrounding it. Prior to all the construction, Raffles could look out from his porch and observe ships transiting the harbor on the Singapore portion of the spice trail.

Siew Mei had to leave me as she had a "liaison" scheduled with her boyfriend. I thanked her as she scurried away. I took my time following the tree lined path through lovely flower gardens and small mini parks designed for sitting and communing with nature.    In fact, due to the oppressive heat, I jumped up on a park bench and took a refreshing nap under a tree canopy.



When I woke up, evening was setting in so I knew I had to rush to beat my parents home. These  adventures are lots of fun but they sure make me Hungry!