Singapore puts on a show

22 May to 24 May 2023

After Sth Korea we were headed to Fiji but due to plane schedules making it a long trip we broke it up by having a few days in Singapore. Forecast was for rain when we arrived but instead our first day was lovely, bright, very hot and humid. Our initial plan was to go up the Skypark Observation Deck. But nice people told us we could do that and several other activities free if we join their club and show our passports. We did not have the passports so switched to tomorrow.

We switched to Gardens by the Bay. Lovely gardens to stroll around on a warm day and a few new things. They had this long line of life size sculptures of a huge amount of animals that was brilliant. All done by a couple trying to bring awareness to animals facing extinction.

Also they had a new exhibition called Floral Fantasy. This was a mixture of live, dried and pretend plants that was breathtaking in its art and beauty. The ticket also included a 4D movie where you saw the gardens of the bay through the eyes of a flying dragon fly. Really amazing with splashing water, gusts of wind and 4D effects that came right out of the screen. Some poetic license was taken with a dragon and the big baby sculpture coming to life. 

After dinner we went back to the garden to see the Skytree show again. unfortunately no Star Wars theme this time but Elizabeth was happy with the dance of the lights done to Opera. On our way back we went and looked at the Merlion at night.

Next morning and armed with our passports we headed to the Marina, completing our memberships and getting cards each. First stop Skypark Observation Deck. The views from here were some of the best in the world for a city observation tower. Normally you just get buildings and pollution, but Singapore is really interesting with lots to look at from every side. Clean skyline with views down to Gardens of the Bay, then you have the river and skyscrapers, ocean full of ships, giant Ferris wheel, Parliament House, theatre buildings, art and science museum and much more.

Our next freebie was a Sampan ride through a makeshift canal in the shopping complex. The following freebie was the Digital Light Canvas. This was a large floor area under fibre lights with the concept being you paint with crayon an animal and it gets digitised and comes alive on the floor, moving around and animated. I did a flower and Elizabeth did a pretty groovy looking lizard.

After dinner we headed to the Merlion to see the light and fountain show back at the Marina called Spectra. We found with the noise of the Merlion and the public around us we could not hear the music. So we stayed for the 9pm show and found a better possy that was actually quieter and closer. Thoroughly enjoyed the show.

On our last day we headed to the art and science museum. We were delighted to find out that our membership card got us 2 for 1 tickets to a light show at the museum. This was a series of displays that melded science and art together with most of them interactive.

Singapore

Gardens By The Bay

Skypark

Singapore: 50 Shades of Green

Singapore was a surprise: clean, green, safe and friendly. Full of fabulous parks and green areas, an awesome public transport system and amazing zoos. Over a very short space of time this tiny country, barely bigger than most cities, has shown how you can take a high population density (3rd globally) and still have a very healthy, liveable, green and happy country/city. Called the greenest city in Asia, with a total green cover at 47%, a country barely the size of half of London accommodates over 5 million people. It does not feel that way, with the amount of greenery giving the impression of space and size. This has been by design with laws mandating that new developments replace greenery lost by installing roof gardens and cascading vertical gardens on the new buildings.

One of the highlights was the Gardens by the Bay. This is a large botanical complex with a wide variety of themed gardens and two huge specialty buildings, the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. On top of all that it has these huge artificial structures they call Supertrees. Apart from looking amazing and being part of a twice nightly sound and light show they are also solar collectors and vertical gardens. The sound and light show was a 12 minute extravaganza on a Star Wars theme. You might well ask, 'But what about the power use?' Well, the park has its own biofuels power plant powered by its own waste, the domes are water collectors and as mentioned the supertrees produce power from the sun.

At 7 Tons this sculpture called 'Planet'
looks like it is floating.

We also bought a 4 park pass for the zoos: Jurong Bird Park, Singapore Zoo, Zoo's Night Safari and River Safari. All of them had a focus on education, conservation and species protection. Do not like to see animals behind bars but there was a large number of big unfenced bushland enclosures using other methods such as moats to ensure safety. So many beautiful animals in beautiful surroundings. With the help of the subway and bus system we trundled from park to park to park over a 3 day period. The 3 day tourist pass allowing unlimited use of public transport is very convenient and excellent value.