Gimme Gimme More, Gimme More, Singapore

Did you sing the title? I don’t know why a Britney Spears song came into my head. It might be that karaoke last night, but for now more on Singapore!

I really had thought that Singapore was much larger. Maps can be deceiving. I did a few more activities and visited a few more sights on my trip.

Stop 1: The Merlion!

The one I visited in Sentosa wasn’t the real deal. That was more of an attraction telling you a little bit about Singapore and how the Merlion became their National Symbol. Singapore was named after Sang Nila Utama who had landed on the island after a shipwreck. He saw a lion and named the island Singapora, which means “Lion City”. In the 1960s, the Merlion was created to represent Singapore’s beginnings as a fishing village. (Learn more about Merlion origins.)

The Merlion was really beautiful! It was cool that it actually had water splashing out of its mouth.

I get to drink from the Merlion!

Stop 2: Wonder Full (show at the Marina Bay Sands Event Plaza)

I researched a little and found out about this show. This show isn’t exactly advertised in the area and it can be easily glance over in Singapore guidebooks. My mom and I sat in the designated area for the show. The Event Plaza is an extravagant name for large steps off the shore. At night, it feels like a deck along the beach shore (although there is no beach). The epic, dramatic music starts and fog is released from the light panels on the right and left side.

Bubbles coming from the sides

It really felt like I was in some kind of 4D outside theatre. The show really surprised me! I was just expecting some lights and water splashing, but it was definitely a beautiful show! I would describe it as a heartwarming, beautiful light and water show. It makes the Bellagio water show in Los Vegas look like nothing!

Stop 3: Singapore Zoo

This zoo was unlike any other zoo that I had been to. Findout more on my trip to the zoo.

Stop 4: Chinatown

At first, Singapore’s Chinatown didn’t seem that big. Once you start walking around it definitely felt as big as San Francisco’s Chinatown. Find out more on my trip to Chinatown.

Stop 5: Gardens By the Bay

This garden is MAGNIFICENT! It is so beautiful! I don’t know if it’s true, but I did hear they are still making the garden bigger. People say that it is worth going now since there is a lot to see. I underestimated how much “a lot” was. Find out more on my trip to Gardens By the Bay.

**Stay tuned for Japan**

Gardens By the Bay

I spotted the Gardens By the Bay right away. At first glance from afar I wasn’t really sure what to think. I saw the big trees, but I wasn’t sure what it was. When I found out it was a garden and started to read some things about it, I was amazed. This garden is HUGE! I thought my mom and I would only spend a few hours there, but I was in for a surprise. We had practically spent the whole day there. I was even more surprised of all the different plants they had. I also got to learn a lot about the habitats these plants are in and how they adapt to each habitat.

Gardens by the Bay

My mom and I were lucky to get free tickets from my dad’s co-worker to go into the two domes: Flower Dome and Cloud Forest Dome. It was great inside the domes with air conditioning! 

Inside the Flower Dome

I got to enjoy looking at all the flowers, plants, and trees without dying outside in the heat. I particularly liked the Bottle Trees. It wasn’t like any tree I had ever seen before. The Argentinian Palo Borracho (a particular bottle tree) grows fruits that cotton is collected from. The tree’s huge roundish trunks make them quite interesting the look at. Then there is the Desert Rose tree (or plant?). I’ve never seen a plant or tree quite like this one. It was beautiful. It was interesting that the flowers on this plant blooms during the winter or spring on desert grounds.

Lets take a closer look!

Argentinian Palo Borracho

Desert Rose

The Bushfires were really interesting to read about. These plants adapt to fire. I was so amazed! The Bushfires’ barks are fire-resistant and part of the plant develops into shoots. This was only half of the dome. There was tons more! There were different sections where different kinds of trees and plants of that area were planted. Then when you get near the end, there is a huge seasonal floral display! It was decorated for Halloween!

Bushfires

That’s it for the Flower Dome. Next, we went to the Cloud Dome.

Work time for employees

That was quite a sight from the very beginning. We walked in to see a huge waterfall. Then we continued to walk and took an elevator all the way up the huge plant structure.

The Falls

The first stop was the Lost World. Next, we took a stroll on the Cloud Walk. Then we saw The Falls from inside the structure. Next, we glanced through Crystal Mountain. Second to last, we walked along the Tree Top Walk. Lastly, we strolled through the Secret Garden. Throughout the whole walk, I read a lot about the rare plants and about how their environment is disappearing quickly. It was really great to learn about.

The Lost World

Cloud Walk

Crystal Mountain

Tree Top

Secret Garden

It was crazy how time flew by! We were practically there the whole day. I was so amazed when I looked down at my watch. I thought, “Woh! We were there for 5 hours?!”