The Marina Bay Sands hotel towering over the Gardens.
The Gardens won the World Building of the Year award at the World Architecture Festival last year, while the Cloud Forest and Flower Dome won the best display building. World standard architecture yo!!
The setting sun.
Spot the domed conservatories? That's the Flower Dome on the left and Cloud Forest on the right!
The Dragonfly & Kingfisher Lake. Didn't spot any dragonflies or kingfishers though :x
The Supertree Grove (cute name)! They are more than just decorations. Standing between 25 to 50 metres tall, they are sort of like a vertical garden housing exotic ferns, vines, orchids etc. They are called 'Supertrees' for a reason - they mimic the ecological function of trees as they contain photovoltaic cells that absorb solar energy.
The energy can then be used by the Supertrees, such as lighting, collection of rainwater for irrigation and fountain displays, besides serving air intake and exhaust functions as part of the conservatories' cooling systems.
The elevated walkway that connects Supertree from Supertree is called the OCBC Skyway, and the admission fee for the Skyway is $5 for adults and $3 for children. Sucks man :( I'd love to go up there but felt that it's not worth the money :(
This is the entrance to the Heritage Gardens, consisting of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Colonial-themed gardens.
The Chinese-themed garden. Nothing much inside the Heritage Gardens, therefore I didn't take a lot of pictures.
Waiting to buy the tickets! Standard admission for both Flower Dome and Cloud Forest is $28 for adults and $15 for children. It's cheaper for local residents. They also get to choose whether to go only to the Flower Dome or both.
Inside Flower Dome! Cool air and a weird smell greeted me as I entered.
It replicates the cool-dry climate of Mediterranean regions like South Africa, California and parts of Spain and Italy. Home to a collection of plants from deserts all over the world, it showcases the adaptations of plants to arid environments.
3, 332 panels of 42 varying shapes and sizes of spectrally selective glass is used!
For those who are wondering, the air is cooled at the lower occupied zones through chilled water pipes in the slabs in the ground, while warm air is vented out at the top.
It's the shape of an eagle! :3
Below is the Flower Field, which apparently reflects different seasons, festivals and themes. I thought I was real lucky to go during the Christmas season (it's the best season, hands down!) as the display was spectacular, with a huge nicely decorated Christmas tree and bright plants in different shades of red, yellow and green. Truly reflects the spirit of Christmas! :P
Flower Dome is categorised into different sections, namely Baobabs and Bottle Trees, Succulent Garden, Australian Garden, South African Garden, South American Garden, Californian Garden, Mediterranean Garden and Olive Grove.
They're so cute!
It was almost 7 by the time we finished walking through every part of Flower Dome. The place is gigantic in size, and I think we spent more than an hour in there. Do come with a well-prepared mindset that you have to do a lot of walking, walking and more walking. Still have Cloud Forest to go and my legs were already starting to give up on me T.T
The automated doors to Cloud Forest swung open and a gust of chilly wind swept over me, with droplets of water descending on my skin. First, I heard the sound of a waterfall. Then, I saw this magical splash of water rushing down in torrents. The best part about it, is that it's lit up in my favourite colour! Yes, definitely magical.
A 35-metre tall mountain covered in lush vegetation shrouding the world's tallest indoor waterfall showcases plant life from tropical highlands up to 2, 000 metres above sea level.
The public can ascend the mountaintop via a lift or stairs and arrive at different floors. Levels from top to bottom are Lost World, Cloud Walk, The Cavern, Waterfall View, Crystal Mountain, Treetop Walk, Earth Check, +5 Degrees and Secret Garden.
Looking down is scary. Walking along a really, really high walkway is scary too T__T
At the Crystal Mountain Cave. Apparently, those are real stalactites and stalagmites :O
All five of us in one mirror :3
Amethyst! My favourite gemstone because it's my favourite colour! Teehee :D
And I get to see a real one up close! So coooool.
Facts, figures and statistics await you at Earth Check.
This is the Secret Garden I think. It's at the foot of the mountain, and marks the end of our journey at Cloud Forest.
A bit sad to leave the place T.T I actually prefer Cloud Forest than Flower Dome as the latter is a tad boring for me. And furthermore, Cloud Forest has that magical purple waterfall! Who can resist a magical purple waterfall right?
The sky was already dark by the time we came out. Loooooooong walk to the MRT station, sigh.
The Supertrees are lit!
Singapore Flyer in purple :D It was actually changing between various colours and I waited for it to turn purple. Yeah I'm obsessed with purple!
Seems like they're being surrounded by fireflies. Dazzling ;D
First attempt at this! Still need improvements though :/ Took it while walking across the bridge leading through Marina Bay Sands hotel.
So grand so grand so grand!
So high class so high class so high class!
I wanna stay here T.T One night is all that I ask T.T I will be truly and immensely satisfied T.T
End of the bridge was the Marina Bay Sands shopping complex. Been here before, and I absolutely love it. It's surrounded by glass panels so it obtains natural light during the day.
The whole place just looks so classy. Beats Pavilion KL.
Had our dinner at the food court before heading home. Super exhausted after a whole day out!
