lantern festival

spot M

Last weekend we kept the kids up late and took them to the lantern festival at the Chinese Gardens. Part of the festivities for the mid autumn festival. I couldn't edit the photos. Or I didn't really want to - because I wanted to give you a little walk through the gardens with us. It was one of my favorite times in Singapore so far. Again I really wish I could have taken photos to capture more of the mood. The night was warm, the lanterns were swaying as the sun set and the crickets sang ... and my kids were out late. And they were tired. As usual photos stolen on the side. There were many lanterns that I am not showing, elaborate structures depicting Chinese folk heroes, wise men and frightening opera masks as well as cute pandas and rainbows. There was a small quirky fun fair which we visited first while waiting for it to get dark. The whole atmosphere had a kind of family fair vibe to it. It was not all mystical lanterns in the quiet night. With your ticket kids got a free lantern. Complete with a little stick to hang it on, and a candle to light inside. With fire ... real fire ! M loved it for a few minutes. But we saved the big dragon lantern on the lake for last, and M was transfixed. She was speechless. She clambered up a rock and stared without a word for several minutes, then finally whispered, its beautiful. And it was.