On April 6, I decided to venture out to visit the new Tropical Montane Orchidetum (TMO) at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, knowing it would be a challenge with my elderly mother, daughter with special needs and new foreign domestic helper.

At the visitor services counter in the Learning Forest, staff member Sherin spotted us alighting from a taxi and suggested that we try the canopy walking route instead, as there was a long queue to enter the TMO.

After looking at the queue and considering the approximate 60-minute waiting time, we decided to go on the canopy walk.

We took a nice, slow walk around the lake but the sky suddenly became overcast, and not wanting to take any chances - we did not have any umbrella - we headed back.

We stopped for some ice cream while enjoying the view of the lake, when it started to pour.

It was a pleasant surprise when we saw Sherin appearing with a huge umbrella, and found out she had been looking for us.

Though we did not manage to visit the TMO, I am grateful to Sherin for the care and concern she showed us.

We will definitely come back.

Chew Chia Ling