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| Singapore…….it changes you! |
After 39 days, eight countries, a few typhoons, making new friends and creating special memories, it finally happened. It was time to leave the Norwegian Jewel and get back on dry land. If you’re going to get booted off the ship, Singapore is a pretty nice landing spot.
We were off the ship by 7:30 am and took the very nice, user-friendly metro for a one stop ride that gave us just a short walk to the hotel. We had been to Singapore once before, but we think it was about 18 years ago. The hotel (Westin Singapore-using a certificate) is in a business district that didn’t exist on our last visit. It’s also just a short walk to the Marina Bay Area, which is where we spent our time both days.
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| Singapore! That's the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in the background. The top of the hotel looks like a ship. |
Although it was early to check in, our room was ready. So, we were able to drop off our bags and enjoy a little time in the club lounge before heading out. Our destination was the Gardens By The Bay, which is listed as one of Asia’s premier gardens. The 130 acre gardens is visited by close to 8 million people per year. We ended up spending the majority of our twelve-hour day there…We became instant fans!
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| Floating Baby in the Gardens by the Bay. It's over 30 feet long and 10 feet high......... |
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| Still floating twelve hours later! |
The great majority of the gardens are free, but there are several “paid attractions” that are absolute musts if you visit. At the risk of starting to sound like a broken record, it was hot and humid……really hot and humid. The two attractions we enjoyed the most were the Plant Dome and the Cloud Forest. They were both indoors and air conditioned, so we would have enjoyed them even if they were just empty rooms, which of course they weren’t! The plant dome featured gardens and trees from around the world. Right now, they are featuring chrysanthemums. This show runs through November 13. If I had to venture a guess, next up will be a Christmas theme. The outdoor Christmas decorations are already going up.
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| Love-The Last March is a 629-foot-long bronze sculpture featuring 62 of the worlds most endangered animals. |
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| The Super Grove of Trees are a collection of 12 steel structures (covered with plants on the trunks). They reach heights of up to 160 feet. There is an observation tower at the top of the tallest tree and a skywalk that connects some of the other trees. There is a small fee to go up to the observation deck and another small fee for the skywalk (no combination tickets). We did the skywalk and really enjoyed it. |
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| From the sky walk...........great views of the gardens and surrounding area! |
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| Here's a few views from inside the Plant Dome.........more to come in another blog |
Next to the Plant Dome is the Cloud Forest, which is more tropical rainforest themed, and even includes a waterfall that is over 110 feet high and is listed as the world’s tallest indoor waterfall. There are also hundreds of types of orchids including some miniature ones that you need a magnifying glass to see the details. Throughout 2023 there is an Avatar feature going on. We’re not big Avatar fans, but at least now we know what we’d look like if we were Avatars……
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| A few shots from inside the Cloud Forest |
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| Chihuly Glass in the Cloud Forest |
Beth took so many great pictures in the Plant Dome and Cloud Forest buildings, that although I’ve put a few pictures in here I’m going to do a “pictures only” blog later on.
In addition to the gardens, we enjoyed walking the Marina Barrage. This was apparently the brainchild of a former and very beloved Prime Minister (Lee Kuan Yew). He saw the growth taking place in Singapore and took the lead in the creation of a reservoir that keeps saltwater intrusion from occurring in the river. This provides more readily available drinking water and helps control flooding at the same time. We enjoyed walking across the barrage (I think it’s a fancy word for a dam) and taking in the full view of the Singapore skyline.
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| The Marina Barrage. Freshwater is on the left side and salt water is on the right side. |
Alongside the barrage is a nice museum explaining the process of building the barrage and its importance to Singapore’s future. A unexpected surprise was the rooftop park of the building. As we were walking around, we could see people up there flying kites. When we got up there, we were shocked to see hundreds of groups of people, young and old enjoying picnics, conversation and the Singapore sunset.
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| Solar Park. People, puppies and picnics on the ground.............. |
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| Kites in the sky! |
Once the sun goes down we’re usually on our way to the hotel shortly thereafter. This night was just getting started. A very helpful young lady at the hotel strongly encouraged us to see the Garden Rhapsody light show in the Marina Bay Gardens and the Spectra Laser show at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Although we were pretty pooped and drenched in sweat, we took her up on her suggestions and thoroughly enjoyed both shows. The Garden Rhapsody show was a little more unique and the Spectra Laser Light Show was somewhat similar to the Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas. By the time we got back to the hotel it was closing in on 11:00 PM……Party Animals!
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| The Super Grove of Trees starting to light up the night! |
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| The show is about fifteen minutes long and is currently taking place twice a night. |
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| A couple of more night views from around the gardens |
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| Spectra is currently taking place three times a night. It's in the lagoon area in front of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel |
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That's the Apple Store on the lagoon.........it's listed as one of the "must see" Apple Stores.
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Our second (and last) day in Singapore was pretty laid back. We took a nice slow stroll around the Marina Bay Lagoon, and enjoyed seeing all the picnics in the park that were taking place. We also admired the ingenious groups that figured out how to beat the heat by setting up their picnics in the spacious tunnel underpass……the ground was hard but the air conditioning was cool!
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| A Sunday Singapore Walkabout............Singapore is a very multicultural country (they have four "Official Languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil) of around 5 million people. The Singapore economy is described as free, innovative, business friendly and dynamic. It is one of only twelve countries that hold a AAA Credit Rating. |
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| City views! |
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| The Singapore Flyer on the left and the Art Science Museum on the right. |
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| The Famous Merlion Statue is currently undergoing a facelift. Baby Merlion is looking good. |
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| Still exploring….. |
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| As an added bonus........the Asian Canoe Polo Championships were taking place in the lagoon. Never knew there was such a sport, it looked tough! |
We had a nice taxi driver take us to the airport. As he drove along we kept telling him how beautiful the city was and how much we enjoyed our brief visit. He shared with us his pride of Singapore and admiration to the courageous and visionary Prime Minister Yew. He chuckled when he told us that thanks to his beautification efforts, Singapore has over two million more trees than it does people. Well done Mr. Prime Minister…..
I was trying to get this blog posted before we left Singapore, however, I ran out of time. After a fifteen hour flight from Singapore to Los Angeles, a twelve hour layover in LAX (we had an airport hotel), a five hour flight from LAX to Tampa and a one hour Uber ride, we're back on Anna Maria Island. You gotta do, what you've gotta do!
We haven't finalized our holiday plans yet, but we're looking forward to some time with family and friends.
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| Thanks for following along on our adventures! |
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