Amongst Flowers and Clouds

After seeing the Gardens from above and at night,  I managed to pay a longer visit to the Gardens by the Bay, one of Singapore's latest attractions - and an attempt to bring to Singapore the flora of the tropical highlands and of the cool and dry deserts and of the Mediterranean.

Baobab Forest

The Gardens are indeed a special place, with the towering supertrees and the cooled conservatories - ie the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest - helping it win the World Building of the Year award.  I spent a happy few hours walking through them, admiring and photographing the plantlife within.

Roses in Bloom

I started with the Flower Dome, walking through the succulents and the baobab forest..  It is truly an accomplishment to bring these exotic plants here - with their bloated trunks and tiny leaves, the baobab is well suited towards life in a dry climate where every drop is precious.

But I particularly loved the Mediterranean garden, where soft-petalled roses and other flowering blooms transported me to a happy day  spent in a garden of a stately home by Lake Maggiore in the Italian lakes.  The ancient olive trees in one corner, sheltering the bright flowers blooming at its base reminded me of my visit to Assisi, where the olive trees grew in the grounds of our hotel..

Mountain Magic

I then explored the Cloud Forest - which was truly a happy partnership between engineering and botany.  The lofty man-made mountain dominated the dome, with its waterfall cascading down one side.  Indeed, it reminded me of my visit to Doi Inthanon, near Chiang Mai not so long ago except that the winding mountain trails here were metal bridges extending out of the sides of the "mountain", enabling even the wheelchair-bound to experience life amongst the clouds. The sides of the mountain are covered with plants, with orchids and other flowers of the tropic highlands.  The mountain also has caves to be explored (full of crystals) and a visit to the secret caverns at the base also reveal what life would be like should temperatures rise by 5 degrees - a chilling warning of the dangers of climate change.

Leafy Blossoms

Leaving the mountain, the visitor then discovers a  secret valley at its foot.  A "river" flows slowly by, and "crocodiles" and giant snails peek through the flowers and plant life.  I see a lot of my mother's favourites, the epiceas, with their multi-coloured leaves.  One patch of leaves - purply green, bright green, red/yellow and green/pink/silver -was just as brightly coloured as any flower bush in the Flower Dome!

I've been indeed fortunate to visit the natural habitat of some of these beautiful plants.  And doubly fortunate that I get to experience them again here.  Indeed, the Gardens by the Bay has truly given Singaporeans the opportunity to learn  more about the glories of nature and the beauty and variety of plant life on this little planet called Earth.

For more photos (including my night shots) of the Gardens, check out my Flickr set.

Living the High Life

Gardens by the Bay, a photo by Taking5 on Flickr.

Some time back, I blogged about my visit to Marina Bay Sands.

Last night, I had the opportunity to spend the night there. It was a significant night, partly because it was the opening ceremony of "Gardens by the Bay", a new garden in Singapore's new Downtown area. We had a magnificent view of the Garden at night, from the top of MBS, whilst eating a quiet bowl of beef noodles at Sky on 57. The Gardens were laid out like a splendid necklace of lights below, with the two glass domes at the edge of the bay, and the supertrees rising in the midst of the darkness.


But the visit was far more than that. We had great fun visiting the infinity pool on top of MBS, first at night, and then the next morning.  At night, the infinity pool is a magical place.  The water glows from the lights in the pool, and city skyline twinkles brightly behind it.  There's a certain buzz in the air.  People are laughing and talking, splashing away in the pool and in the jacuzzis tucked in the corners.

I went for a swim in the pool early the next morning. It was quite a thrill, as though I was swimming to the ends of the earth only to see this totally different world before me.  At that hour in the morning, there were fewer people in the pool which made it easier to swim around and also to take photos with no one else inside....  It was also a wicked little pleasure, to think that I was enjoying this little getaway from the office, whilst all these people were enduring the morning rush hour to get to their own workplaces in this other universe before me.

Alas, it has ended all too quickly.  Back home now.  But looking forward to the next visit!