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- Mar 13, 2015
- ⛅ 30 °C
- Altitude: 14 m
- SingaporeSerangoon New Town1°21’1” N 103°51’38” E
One last look ...
March 13, 2015 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
Today was our last day in Singapore but the plane didn't leave until 8pm and there were still things we had to tick off our list so we were out and about early.
We caught the MRT to the Bayfront station and headed towards the Gardens. We had to cross the river and I had been wanting to cross the Helix Bridge which was on the way. This is a really cleverly designed footbridge based on the structure of DNA molecules. Typical of Singapore, you don't just build a bridge you build an award winning bridge with massive complexities that work to create something amazing.
Once across the bridge we walked past the Art Science Museum. This is another unique building on the foreshores of Singapore Bay. We didn't get a chance to go in but the photos show the unusual shape of the building.
We then took a short walk through the Marina Sands Hotel and were at the Gardens.
As I have mentioned before a lot of Singapore is built on reclaimed land and one of the most spectacular new additions are the Gardens by the Bay. These are one of the top tourist attractions. The gardens themselves are only 2 years old and will get a lot better with time as plants grow and the Gardens are expanded but they are still very impressive.
The most recognisable features are the huge 'supertrees' that are metal structures shaped like trees and are slowly being covered by plants. There are also a couple of green houses one called the Cloud Forest and the other the Flower Dome. The budget to build all this was just over $1 billion by the way - you don't just build a garden!
We went to the Cloud Forest first. This is a giant atrium with a cloud forest built inside. Yes there is a mountain, lots of air conditioning, lots of water, elevated walkways, and of course plants.There are escalators and lifts inside the mountain to get you to the upper levels and elevated walkways so you can see the plants. There were lots of orchids and some Australian additions like the Wollemi Pine.
We then went over to the Flower Garden and this was on a similar scale. They had different gardens like an Australian Garden, South American Garden, etc and there were succulents, huge olive trees, roses, boab trees, and they were in the middle of planting thousands of tulips.
We still had some shopping to do so we caught the shuttle back to the MRT station and headed to Orchard Road. A couple of comments about shopping in Singapore, yes there is every shop imaginable. All the luxury brands as well as international chains are here and not just one shop - Uniqlo for example has 21 stores across the island, Starbucks have over 100! So the range is excellent BUT the prices are pretty much on par with what you would pay in Sydney so it's not as good as New York. That said you could still get some good specials so overall the shopping was OK but not brilliant.
We visited the large Ion Centre on Orchard Road which is where the luxury brands can be found - Gucci, Burberry, Calvin Klein, etc. We scored a couple of pairs of Levis jeans (2 for 1 special!!), then went for a wander along Orchard Road before catching the bus back to the hotel to grab our bags and make for the airport.
Being the seasoned travelers we are we used public transport to get to Changi airport. One of the good things about shopping in Singapore is that you can claim the GST back on some purchases, it is only 7.5% but still it financed some of our duty free alcohol purchases!
The flight back was long and not overly interesting except the route was a little odd. On the way there it was pretty much a straight line across the middle of Australia but the flight back went a lot further south. It actually flew almost due south to the Australian Bight before turning left and crossing Adelaide and Canberra. Presume this is to take advantage of the jet stream winds.
So some final thoughts on Singapore. Things I liked:
- The scale of everything, you don't just build a bridge!
- The food was absolutely sensational
- The people were very friendly and helpful
- It was spotlessly clean
The one thing I didn't like was that lots of locals smoke.
And that was the end of our Singapore trip. I guess the best way to sum it up would be to ask the question would I come back again and spend a few days again? A definite YES!Read more