UNITED ARAB EMIRATES  AND  SINGAPORE

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

This old fort now contains a beautiful museum of Dubai and its history.

Modern architecture in the center of Dubai

Singapore

Colonial and modern architecture next to each other in downtown Singapore - the old building of Hotel Fullerton still stands out.

Boat Quay used to be a busy street of shops near the old harbor on the river in downtown Singapore. It is nice waterfront full of pleasant restaurants today.

High-rises often have interesting shapes or colors.

Another pleasant waterfront, the Clark Quay.

Rich "Strait Chineese" (Chinese born in the Malaysian Strait) built these old houses on Emerald Hill more than a century ago.

Rich roof decorations of the modern Chettiar Hindu Temple

The largest mosque in Singapore can be found near Arab Street.

People of many nationalities and beliefs live peacefully together in Singapore.

At the Night Safari, we saw a tiger for the first time in our lives.

In the Botanical Gardens, we discovered that not only ginger, but also banana palms belong to the large group of ginger plants. This is Torch Ginger.

The Orchid Garden is a "must see" attraction!

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of flowering orchids.

Some of the unique hybrids have unexpected shapes.

This Pitcher Plant is a carnivore. It is partially filled with a liquid and its walls are waxed. When an insect falls in, it cannot get out and eventually drowns.

On our last day in Singapore, we visited Chinese Gardens centered around this pagoda.

View from the pagoda on Chinese Gardens and surrounding suburbs of Singapore.