10%

Gardens by the Bay

Singapore

By Danica Eliana Ferino

March 2^nd, 2017

There are some places you visit that will always have a certain grip on you. Sure, you may have seen photos of the place before - maybe from your friend's album or on the internet. But it's amazingly a different story, a different feel, when you're standing there and seeing that gorgeous place for yourself. Gardens by the Bay in Singapore is one of those and is still one of the favorite places I have visited.

Flower Dome

From Bayfront MRT Station, my sister and I walked towards the ticket booth for the Gardens by the Bay observatories. There's also a service parked nearby going to the observatories if you opt not to take the 15-minute walk along the grounds.

By around 6PM we reached the Flower Dome. If I would do the trip again, I'd prefer visiting the dome at an earlier time but still in the afternoon. On our case, we only spent an hour each for the two observatories and the grove. It would have been better if we have more time to stroll around the gardens.

Flower Dome is a leisurely walk along a garden featuring Mediterranean flora. It's not just the plants you'll admire; the architecture of the dome itself is amazing and looks well on photograph.

The one thing that I like best in the dome is the cluster of boababs. You'll see most of these when you take the right lane as you enter the observatory. I think that's the desert part of the dome.

Ever since I read The Little Prince, I always wanted to see how baobabs look like in real life. I thought I would have to go to Africa just to see one. Haha!

We went to Singapore just after the Chinese New Year so there's still a lot of CNY decorations all over the tourist spots in the country. There's a lot of rooster decors too.

Cloud Forest

By the time we went to Cloud Forest, the sun was already gone. As soon as you step inside the observatory, you'll feel the cold breeze due to the indoor waterfall. There also seems to be a perpetual mist inside.

I don't know how the Cloud Forest looks during daylight but honestly, I sure am glad that we went here at night. It somehow gives off a Wonderland feel. Like you've stumbled down, down, down below. You'll see dragons and other strange creatures - although these are sculptures and designs only. But still...

There's an exhibit inside the 'mountain' of the waterfall. You'll need to take the elevator to the top and then make your way down and explore each floor. You can also take a stroll on the 'walkway in the clouds' at the mountaintop for an aerial view of the forest. It's mesmerizing, with all the lights glowing off the flora below. But it did make us dizzy too. :)

Supertree Grove

After the two observatories, we headed to the Supertree Grove. There are several gardens where you can see the supertrees but the one in the middle has the biggest cluster. We went straight to the center (the one with the OCBC Skywalk) to see the Garden Rhapsody.

The lights show features songs from different countries. Philippines' entry is the song Anak. It felt funny when the song boomed across the grounds. I don't know why.

The Garden Rhapsody is like the Ayala Lights and Sounds Show - but with bigger lights, steel trees instead of acacias, and is shown daily, not just during Christmas season. :D