Gardens By The Bay

Took the MRT to Bayfront Station for a full day at the Gardens which was one of the highlights of our visit to Singapore. Doug recalls 18 years ago, nothing was in this area but scrub and swamp. It is now developed at a cost of over a billion USD into a 54 hectare garden area with artificial Supertrees with a walk way the height of a forest canopy. Entry into the gardens are free, you pay for the observation area, walk and entry into the flower and rainforest domes. We decided to do the rainforest dome (the largest climate controlled plant showcase in the world) and it was spectacular - pictures do not capture the amazing technology and collection of plants.

We enjoyed curry and Chan's famous BBQ chicken at the Jurassic themed indoor Hawker food court, walked over to the high end shopping mall and dropped into the lobby of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel (2,600 rooms in 3 towers with a 4th on the way at about 1,000 CDN+/room/per night). Doug noted with interest that non Singaporeans entry into the Casino is free, locals pay $150; we assume to discourage over indulging.

We then took a Grab to the legendary Raffles Hotel to seek our Singapore Slings at the Long Bar. Seeing the Raffles colonial grounds was the highlight, the bar having undergone a renovation where there are now token electrically operated rattan fans on the ceiling took away from the imagined charm although we did appreciate the aircon! We noted one should try to go "off hours", perhaps 2 or 3 pm, as the Happy Hour line up was very long and hot looking.Read more