Weekend in Singapore

We kicked off our 3-day weekend in Singapore by going to see the Gardens by the Bay light show, "Garden Rhapsody", at the Supertree Grove. The lights on the giant tree structures were synchronized to the music. You can see the iconic modern Marina Bay Sands hotel in the background. 

After the 7:45 light show finished, we walked over to the Marina Bay Sands hotel to watch their 9pm “Spectra” show - illuminated dancing fountains with images projected onto the mist. It was very cool — literally— because the mist was carried onto the spectators by a slight breeze. 

We spent all of the next day at the sprawling Gardens by the Bay complex. It is 250 acres of gardens and attractions. There are actually two indoor gardens inside enormous glass domed conservatories. The “Flower Dome” (world's largest greenhouse) was filled with flowering plants from all over the globe. 

They rotate the planted beds monthly, and actually close the dome for a day or two to change out all the flowers. If you guessed that this month’s theme was Tulipmania, you'd be correct! We were there on the first day of the exhibit, so not all the bulbs had bloomed, but the red and yellow ones were spectacular.

The second, taller conservatory is called the “Cloud Forest”. There was a special installation inside called "Avatar: The Experience". Not only were Na'vi statues all over the place, but you could also "fly" a banshee using virtual reality. The plants inside this dome thrive in cool moist conditions of the world's tropical mountain regions - orchids, ferns, anthuriums, bromeliads, and other epiphytes. The dome itself is tall enough for a 115-foot artificial waterfall. 

After that we went up to to OCBC Skyway, a catwalk among the Supertree Grove. The Supertrees are very interestingly designed — there are 18 trees total, all between 82ft and 160 ft tall.  The sides of the trunks are planted with epiphytes that get watered by an elaborate misting system. Atop each tree are solar panels that are used to provide power to the conservatories and gardens.

On our way back towards the metro station we stopped in at the last exhibit hall “Floral Fantasy”. This was mostly a series of flower arrangements that seemed to be made for taking selfies.

The very best part of Singapore for me was getting the chance to see one of my longtime best friends, Carrie, who has been living here with her family for several years. On Friday night we met up at the Raffles Long Bar for one of the famous “Singapore Slings” which were invented here in 1915 by a bartender named Ngiam Tong Boon. We even got to try our hand at cranking the "Sling Shaker" machine that can mix several drinks at once.

We had a chance to walk around the very fancy Raffles hotel, built in 1887 and named after Sir Stamford Raffles who first established a British colonial post in Singapore in 1819. Being inside is like walking back in time.

On Saturday night we met again for dinner and a "Bum Boat" cruise around the Singapore River and Bay. Singapore is a beautiful city by day but it really comes into its own at night.

It was fun just to be out on a weekend night; we stayed out until 10pm -- way past our usual bedtime! (Haha, we are getting old!) But even Kevin enjoyed the beers and a bit of nightlife. We can't wait to come back to Singapore at the end of our trip!