My elderly parents and I visited the Once Upon A Time On The Orient Express exhibition at Gardens by the Bay on Tuesday morning.

It was raining heavily and there was no shelter from the drop-off point at Bayfront Pavilion to the exhibition. The walk was not long, though, and would have made for a pleasant stroll in better weather.

We approached a staff member at the Floral Fantasy attraction for directions, and were wrongly directed to walk up a slope to a lift (which does not go to the ground floor).

We ended up having to make our way down a long flight of steps in the rain to the ground level.

Along the way to the exhibition area, we asked the driver of an empty buggy to take us there but we were turned down.

The area could have been more elderly-friendly and staff should also be better trained to give proper directions.

After making our way through the rain, we had another bad experience at the exhibition.

The steps leading up to the carriage on display were way too high for my elderly parents to climb up, so they had to skip the tour inside the carriage.

The experience was far from pleasant for my parents. We certainly can do more to be considerate to the elderly.

Chan Lie Leng