Singapore has getting on for 5 million people on a space only about 20% larger than the Isle of Man. (One Isle of Man, as you probably know, represents one International Unit of Island Size.) So it's pretty dense. And rush hour can be intense in the extreme, as all these 5 million people (it seems) attempt to get into one MRT carriage. (There are, of course, all sorts of plans to relieve some of this congestion, with work under way to extend the MRT in all directions. But for the moment, rush hour is a bit of a trial.)

But density and intensity notwithstanding, you are struck by two things. One is the amazing amount of greenery everywhere -- including around the high-rise blocks. And the other is the existence of really beautiful open spaces where you can (almost) forget you're in a city at all.

We've enjoyed three of these in recent weeks. One is the Chinese Garden, situated nearly as far out west as we are. This needs more than one visit, as you don't really have time to get round the bonsai garden, the turtle collection, the Japanese Garden, and all the other offerings in the space of one trip (well, not the way we do trips, anyway). In the late afternoon, especially a drizzly late afternoon, it's pleasingly tranquil and melancholy. It's not hard to spot the resident squirrel population, but we were also lucky enough to see a girt big monitor lizard cruising one of the little channels.

The next space is the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Again, far too big for one visit, but a lovely place to admire some venerable old treees, listen to the birds (if you can hear them for the cicadas), and have a little nap in one of the covered seating areas. This is a great place for people-watching, too. It seems to attract guys with extremely large cameras, with which (presumably) to photograph wildlife, and girls with teentsy, itsy-bitsy cameras with which (definitely) to photograph themselves looking cute.

The third space on our Recently Visited list is Pasir Ris Park (way out east, so a goodly trek from our humble abode). Our favourite bit here is the mangrove area. Go at low tide, and from the boardwalk you'll spot all kinds of crabs, and some very substantial mud-skippers. When the undergrowth starts to feel a little bit too steamy, you can retire to the beach. Here you find a blissful breeze, a few coconut palms, a scattering of seats (thoughtfully positioned away from the descent path of any falling cocos), great views out to Pulau Ubin, and a handful of people doing things like fishing, walking their dogs, playing football with the fallen cocos, and so on. Very pleasant and peaceful...

Kishore Mahbubani once noted that if the entire world used land like Singapore (which, as I've just been remarking, really does not make for that outrageously onerous an environment), we could fit the whole of the earth's population into a space the size of South Africa, presumably leaving the rest of the planet for the tigers and the dolphins. This wasn't a course of action he was actually advocating, needless to say. But it does give food for thought in terms of land use, and the preservation of wide open spaces...