An eventful year which began with a visit to Singapore and New Zealand.
Review of the Year Part 1
Tag: Gardens by the Bay
Top things to see and do in Singapore
1. Gardens by the Bay. These botanical gardens for the modern age will delight both young and old. Situated on over 100 hectares of land reclaimed from the sea there is plenty to do and see. There is a charge for the two conservatories and Supertree OCBC Skyway but the rest of the gardens are free to wander around. They are so good I wrote a whole post about them. You can read it here
2. Chinatown. A great way to spend a few hours is to wander the streets and lanes of Chinatown taking in the colourful markets and shops. You are never far away from food here and the smells drifting on the warm air are a real invitation to sit down and sample a few local dishes. The Peoples Park Centre and Lau Pa Set Festival Market are great places to try.There are several interesting temples to visit including the Thian Hock Keng and the Sri Mariamman. If you can visit during the New Year celebrations Chinatown will be festooned with decorations in the traditional colours of red and gold.
3. Little India. No visit to Singapore is complete with spending some time in the streets of Little India. There is an amazing array of colourful fabrics on sale in the many shops and the smells of spices and fragrances fill the air. Again street food is a plus here, we had a great chicken curry for breakfast (close to the Heritage Centre) which was an absolute delight. There are a number of temples that welcome visitors and the Sultan Mosque is only a short walk away.
4. Singapore River .The Singapore River is the beating heart of the city. The riverside walk is lined with numerous bars and restaurants, specially in the area around Clarke Quay. The Meidi-Ya Japanese supermarket in the Liang Court shopping centre in Clarke Quay is a great place to pick up supplies. You can also pick up a river cruise from Clarke Quay for 25SD. This is best done after dark. The trip takes you down the river and into Marine Bay. The city looks stunning with many buildings and attractions illuminated, a camera is an absolute must.
5. Sample the food. You are really spoilt for choice in Singapore. you can splash the cash and eat fine dining in the cities many Michelin starred restaurants but it is much more fun to eat in one of the many Hawker Centres and sample the street food. Prices represent excellent value for money, our best was dinner was 17SD for both of us. The quality is good as the stalls are regulated to ensure standards are kept high.
6. Thian Hock Keng Temple. Built in 1840 this temple, in the heart of Chinatown, once faced the sea and was used by sailors plying the trade routes between Singapore and China. Today it is a long way from the sea but is a remarkable place to visit. There is a calmness and serenity about the place which is a marked contrast to the hustle and bustle of the city. So important is the temple that it has been declared a national monument.
7. Marina Bay. You can not fail to be impressed by the development at Marina Bay. The Marine Bay Sands Hotel dominates the waterfront. Over 2500 rooms, a convention centre, a casino, the place is huge, and that is before you include the shopping mall underneath. The area also includes the ArtScience Museum, built to redeemable a lotus flower it houses both permanent and temporary exhibitions.
8. Ride the MRT. The easiest way to travel round the city and a pure joy. Clean, safe and relatively cheap the air conditioned stations and trains give welcome relief from the heat and humidity. The driverless trains are frequent and for the most part are nowhere near as crowded as the London underground can become.
Singapore – Gardens by the Bay
The Gardens by the Bay, which opened in 2012, are botanical gardens for the twenty first century. Built on over 100 hectares of land reclaimed from the sea they are an ambitious  attempt to bring a greater understanding of the importance and role of plants to our planet and their place in our cities. It was the aim to develop Singapore as a city in a garden. Despite such lofty ambitions the gardens have not lost any sense of the fun and magic that a area such as this should have.
Gardens by the Bay have grown to be the number one tourist attraction in Singapore attracting over 8 million visitors since opening. Having said that it doesn’t feel crowded when you visit, the whole experience is very well managed. Entrance to the gardens is free but if you want to visit the two giant conservatories then there is a charge of 28SD but if you can prove you flew with Singapore Airlines there is a 10% discount.
The two conservatories, The Flower Dome and The Cloud Forest are the two key attractions and are a must to visit. Both are wonders of construction, vast domes free of any obvious supporting column on view. They are at a comfortable temperature and are designed to have minimum environmental impact. Even if you don’t like walking round gardens I fail to see how you couldn’t be impressed by these wondrous creations. They are simply spectacular and well worth the entrance fee.
The Flower Dome concentrates on the Mediterranean and sub tropical climates are there are numerous ever changing displays of flowers all of which are displayed creatively. There are the most amazing olive trees which look like they have been there since time began, old and gnarly. London chef Jason Atherton even has a restaurant (Pollen) situated inside the dome.
The Cloud Forest is the smaller of the two domes and features mountainous tropical regions of the world. The central feature is a huge waterfall which you ascend by lift for some amazing views and then depend by a series of escalators through various exhibition spaces. This Cloud Forest mountain is clad in the most amazing display of plants such as ferns and epiphytes. The plants on view in here include rare orchids, insectivorous plants and pitcher plants.
The OCBC Skyway is an elevated walkway 22m up in the Super Tree Grove. A separate entrance fee is charged here (8SD). the walkway takes only around 10 minutes to complete but does afford some spectacular views not only of the gardens but the city itself. at night the whole are is illuminated with a sound and licht show. Tickets to the walkway are bought separately to the two domes as they sometimes need to close it if the weather isn’t suitable.
A visit to The Gardens by the Bay should be a must on anyones itinerary during a stay in Singapore. Trust me when I say this I’m a botanist if a somewhat reluctant gardener!