Woolly says – We’d decided on a slightly later start to the day, as I trotted to the metro the sun was blazing and I was grateful for the freezing temperatures of the carriages. Four short stops and we took the escalator upwards to find ourselves right under the strange three tired structure with a boat on top that we had seen earlier in the week. The casino at Marina Bay Sands encompasses more than 15,000 square meters of gaming space spread over 4 levels. Boasting one of the world’s largest Swarovski crystal chandeliers, the casino is also home to over 600 table games, more than 1,500 slots and wasn’t on our agenda, it was however one of the most interesting buildings to look at and you had to wonder at how they had got the boat up there! We turned towards the grassy slopes of the Gardens on the Bay and I led the way over dragonfly bridge which gave a lovely view of the river and the giant trees that the gardens are famous for. Gardens by the Bay is a nature park spanning 101 hectares (250 acres) of reclaimed land, built in 2006 there had been an international competition for the design which had been won by two British companies, well done the Brits!
We stood on our vantage point admiring the huge tree structures that would hopefully be the highlight of our day once dark had fallen.
Woolly says – With several hours to wait until the trees came to life we consulted the information map and decided to make our way towards the large domes that we could see peeking above the tree line. The Chinese garden was tranquil with trickling streams and lots of strangely shaped rocks which were fascinating to look at, with the Indian garden being closed for improvements we wandered onwards finding ourselves under three of the giant trees, up close they were wonderful, filled with plants of different shades they stretched high above our heads, I sat and considered how they got watered and if they had a watering system in place or if someone had an immensely tall ladder that reached the top. The soupy heat was draining us and after a quick debate we decided to see if it was cooler in the flower dome.
The two domes come under the same ticket although the gardens themselves are free,, like everything in Singapore the tickets weren’t cheap but hopefully they would prove to be worth the expense.
Woolly says – The flower dome was a hive of activity, we wandered through the different continents recognising some plants and flowers and admiring the sculptures that adorned the planting. Jo waited patiently to take pictures as person after person seemed to be after the dame shots. With Australia and the Med behind us we climbed some steps into the world of California with it’s orange trees and climbing roses, I do like a rose, these were just past there best but still had wonderful scents escaping from there petals. A sloping pathway led us down and into the world of Tulips, wonderful colours greeted my eyes although many of the bulbs were just at the finish of this years flowering. I sat admiring the display as the women took snap after snap (blame them for the number of pictures), small plagues gave information about the history of the tulip but failed to mention that they had originally come from Turkey and not Holland as many presume. Having taken very conceivable picture, we climbed up a stair case to an area devoted to cacti, huge bit hairy ones, large spikey ones and small flowering ones were dotted everywhere. Metal sculptures from Alice in Wonderland were dotted throughout them and failing to understand why they had used Alice alongside side the spikey plants and not in the English section they were still love and the figures were beautifully crafted.
As we moved from the flower dome and across the concrete path towards the cloud dome we stopped to admire a display of wooden lions and took the opportunity to grab a quick drink.
Woolly says – The cloud dome greeted us with the biggest indoor waterfall in the world, it was impressive, we stood gazing at the plants that hung onto the huge structure watching a family taking selfie after selfie in front of the wonderful sight. The sloping pathway led us upwards and closer to the planting and gave us an opportunity to admire a large section of award winning orchids, beautiful to look at and so vibrant in colour. Climbing into a lift we sped up to the top of the dome and as Jo hung onto the railings I peered over the top to see small ant like people far below us. The downward path gave us vantage points to admire the waterfall from inside, a group of maintenance men were busy weeding by dangling off ropes, not for the faint hearted gardener. A mist started to envelop the whole dome giving a spooky affect, it was a stunning place to see and well worth the ticket price.
Still with hours to fill before the big show we wandered around the Supertree grove finding more and more sculptures including a floating baby which seemed slightly surreal, with tired paws and feet we found what we felt was our best seats for the show and settled down for a long wait.
Woolly says – As darkness started to creep in the supertrees started to twinkle against the sky as more and more lights appeared amongst the branches. I lay on my back as a women’s voice came over the tanoy announcing that it was time to start the Waltz of the Flowers, the music started, and the lights flickered on and off in time to the sounds, flashing with reds, blues, greens and yellows, it was incredible, as the music changed tempo the lights did as well, I could have watched for a lifetime as with a final flourish it came to an end. It had to be one of the best light shows I have ever seen and well worth the wait for it to start. As we headed through the dark park with the masses I yawned, it had been an excellent day, but it was well past my bedtime