A Walk in the Park - Singapore

Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

Supertree Grove OCBC Skyway

On a hot sultry day in May, we went to check out the Gardens by the Bay, in Singapore, a man made conservatory and ecological park developed by the country's National Parks Board. What we didn't  realise is that you’ll need to set aside a fair bit of time to fully explore this place as it is huge! The day we went, the conservatory, which houses the flower dome and the cloud forest was closed, which was a real pity. It would make sense to check out their website gardensbythebay.com.sg before making a trip there so that you don’t miss out on anything. 

Even the tree was super neat with perfectly rounded fruit!

The gardens were like almost everything in Singapore. Neat, clean, beautifully manicured. Our highlight was the Supertree Grove, a clump of about 50 meter-tall tree like structures with creepers growing on them giving them a very War of the Worlds (remember the Tom Cruise movie) kind of look. Apparently they're a beautiful sight at night too, accentuated by a sound and light show. 

Seated Old Man (rock carving)

We went up to the OCBC Skyway, a hanging path 22 meters up the trees for a gorgeous view of the gardens and the city. You also get a full frontal of the stunning Marina Bay Sands hotel up close. Anyone with a fear of heights or vertigo would be severely affected by a wave of dizziness as experienced by my uncle, who, after taking four steps out of the lift, literally froze. He simply couldn’t take another step forward. I teased him a bit about that and got a dirty glare from someone walking by as he probably thought I was being totally inappropriate. But that’s what you do with near and dear ones right? Tease them about their weaknesses.

Anyway, he went back down and we walked the length of the walkway. Being at that height it was quite windy and luckily, the day was a bit cloudy and we didn’t have the strong sun beating down on us. Around the middle, the walkway gets quite narrow and the strong winds make it sway a bit. Just saying.

Very War of the Worlds'esque no? 

After that, we took a stroll around a part of the gardens and walked through to the Sands hotel. Very impressive. The Gardens by the Bay is a must do in Singapore. There are lots of hidden treasures such as the Seated Old Man. You're walking by an ordinary looking rock and see a little piece of white paper next to it and you wonder, why is there trash in the middle of a pristine garden, especially in Singapore? Upon closer inspection you realise it's not just a rock but a brilliantly carved face of a Chinese man on one side and the paper is it's identifier. 

Marina Bay Sands

The garden also has scores of eating places if you want an interval, ranging from McDonalds to fine dining restaurants like Pollen, a modern European restaurant, which has a dinner tasting menu for SGD $190++ a plate. I will go back on my next trip to see the conservatory and some more of the gardens and if someone is treating me, to eat at Pollen! Watch this space for part 2.