Gardens by the Bay

Our itinerary today - Gardens by the Bay, Singapore Flier and a touch of shopping. With so much travel on the underground, the girls were mastering the process. Each taking control of their own ticket and making their (mostly) own way through the (man eating) gates!!

The hot and humid conditions seemed to affect Katy. She would struggle walking outside - complaining, dragging her feet and eventually have a 'cuddle.' However as soon as we came into an air conditioned section she would perk up again and be off chasing Ella. Thus it was quite a long and hot walk from the train station to the Gardens. We did have some distractions - within the station there were large floral images combined with mirrors which proved to be a bit of a distraction.

We concentrated our visit on the Bay South Garden. The overall concept of  its master plan draws inspiration from an orchid - a representative of the tropics and Singapore. The orchid takes root at the waterfront (conservatories), while the leaves (landforms), shoots (paths, roads) and secondary roots (water, energy and communication lines) then form an integrated network with blooms (theme gardens and super trees at key intersections.

Leaving the unique Marina Sands Bay Hotel (ie the hotel with the boat on top as it was known in our family) behind we crossed over Dragonfly Bridge. The Supertrees and conservatories dominate the skyline making for a spectacular image.

The Supertrees are just amazing. They range between 25 - 50m and are vertical gardens that perform a multitude of functions, which include planting, shading and working as environmental engines for the gardens

Next were the two conservatories - Flower Dome and Cloud Forest, which won World Building of the year at the World Architecture Festival 2012. The Flower Dome replicates the cool dry climates of the Mediterranean regions - South Africa, California, Italy, Spain and Australia.

The more impressive conservatory was Cloud Forest. It boasts Cloud Mountain, a six storey artificial mountain which one ascends to the top by lift before descending via two walkways. The mountain has been densely planted with a mixture of orchids, delicate ferns, bromeliads, bergonias and also carnivorous pitcher plants! Each level was named - The Lost World, Cloud Walk, The Cavern, Waterfall View, Tree Top Walk, Earth Check, +5 Degrees and Secret Garden. It was great to see that the topic of climate change was being address in two different areas inclding a short video which predicts what will happen in the years to come if we do nothing about the impact on the environment.

As it was overcast, we decided to give the Singapore Flier a miss as we thought the views would be suboptimal, so instead we headed for one of the large electronics malls where the family purchased an iPad mini for my birthday!!