20th World Orchid Conference John and Sandy Stubbings
P lanning our trip to Singapore in November 2011 for the WOC took many months because we wanted to add side trips to see more of Asia . We also wanted to use our American Airlines miles so we could do the long flights in business class . It all worked out and the trip was wonderful . We ended up going around the world heading westerly on a journey of 28 days .
Our ’ round the world flights - Hong Kong Our first stop was Hong Kong . We left Houston at 8:30 pm November 3 for a brief layover in the Los Angeles airport . The flight from LAX was 15 hours starting at 1:05 am Los Angeles time and arriving 7:30 am Hong Kong time . Hong Kong is a fascinating city-state divided by water so we took the local ferry several times a day . We went to the largest Apple store I have ever seen , two stories tall . We wanted to replace Sandy ’ s iPhone that went missing the first day . We found there was a two-week delay from ordering an iPhone 4S until you got it in either Hong Kong or Singapore . That meant Sandy was phoneless for the entire trip ! We did a lot of sightseeing in Hong Kong including the bird , fish , and flower streets . We were amazed at the light show in the harbor . Most of the buildings had moving colored lighting plus lasers overhead — all free . We saw the world ’ s largest sitting Buddha , world ’ s largest floating restaurant — Jumbo Kingdom , and the longest escalator , many blocks up a hill , outdoors . Orchids were available at reasonable prices most being mericlone Phalaenopsis and with a smattering of other genera . Phalaenopsis and other orchids were used throughout the hotels and shopping centers for decoration .
Singapore
Next up was Singapore , another vibrant city-state , a short 3-hour 45-minute flight south of Hong Kong on November 9 . We elected to stay part of the time at the WOC host hotel , the Marina Bay Sands . We could walk inside from the hotel to the convention center to see the show and lectures . Again , there were a lot of decorative Phalaenopsis in the hotel . I spent Friday afternoon and Saturday in the judging program for the show . Sandy spent time in the infinity pool on the top ( 57th ) floor of the hotel . I was able to join her a few times . We did a bunch of sightseeing before the WOC opened and after the weekend . We went to both zoos . They have a good cage-free daytime zoo with a night safari zoo next door . We watched a troop of Orangutans climb out of the trees and get into a cart ; we could have shaken hands . At the night safari you get to see many animals in the dark that normally are hiding during the day . Unfortunately , they prohibit flash photography at night so you really can ’ t get pictures . We didn ’ t go to the famous Singapore Botanic Garden and Orchid Garden because we had seen them in 2003 . We joined up with some IPA friends from the UK on Monday , November 14 at the Hotel Grand Pacific . We moved there to save some funds since the Marina Sands was by far the most expensive hotel of the entire trip . We all went to Raffles for high tea and a Singapore Sling .
20th World Orchid Conference The show part of the conference was excellent . The displays had a huge variety of plants and cut flowers that were very creative in design . Judging was organized a little differently than the four other WOCs I ’ ve participated in . On Friday , the judges gathered for instructions and preview . We were each given an individual
The Hong Kong Flower Market : Phalaenopsis are $ 12.88 USD ($ 100 HGD )
One part of the Chaiwathana Orchid Garden , Thailand - Grand Champion Display 20th WOC
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