Gardens By The Bay
Estimated time spent: 2 hours
Opening Hours: 9am-9pm
As a Singaporean having grown up in Singapore and left it in 2011 for work and studies elsewhere, I have noticed rapid changes back at home. Over the years, new attractions have sprouted out of areas where there used to be plain grasslands. One of such examples is Gardens By The Bay.
One day while on the phone with my mother, I was informed of this wonderful excursion she had with her friends during the day to a new place known as 'Gardens By The Bay'. She was happily chatting about the beautiful flowers and relaxing atmosphere that the group enjoyed. The day ended with promises to return again soon and my mother jumping onto the phone to inform me of this new utopia she found. Naturally, it perked my interest.
On my next return to Singapore, I persuaded my friends that the place is worth exploring and not merely a dedication to the tourism activities that the sunny island is so keen to promote. Half-convinced, they went along with my little excursion that concluded with all of them in awe at the beautiful flowers and atmosphere created by the domes. Of course, it helped that there is air-conditioning in both domes and transportation between the train station exit and the domes without need for much sweating under the sun.
During my latest return to Singapore, my friends were too busy with work to accompany me to much places so I found myself re-exploring Singapore. There were so many places I have not visited in a long time or ever before. Amongst these, I decided to choose Gardens By The Bay as one of the first venues to visit. So on a whim, I grabbed my Sony camera and went on my own merry way towards the land of flowers where plants grow unnaturally in a tropic climate.
For first time tourists interested in visiting Gardens By the Bay, you should take note that there are multiple methods of public transport you may choose to take in order to arrive at Gardens By the Bay.
These are train (known as MRT), bus and taxi. I would personally recommend taking the train as it will be much less confusing and the Singapore train system has improved massively in recent years such that it is tourist-friendly and takes you to most of the popular tourist spots.
Note: There are free shuttle bus services at 6pm to 12 midnight on weekdays in between several train stations (ie. Raffles Place MRT station, Marina Bay MRT station and the Downtown MRT station), a selected few locations and the gardens though these services are only available on weekdays. The shuttle bus takes about 25min to complete one round. Tourists or those unfamiliar with the bus stops near these train stations are recommended to avoid taking this service as I can tell you, as a local, by the time you find those bus stops, you will probably have to wait for another half an hour before the next bus comes.
The train stop to alight for Gardens By the Bay is
Bayfront Station. The Bayfront station is on both the Circle Line (also popularly known as Yellow Line) and the Downtown Line (known as the Blue Line). Follow signs from the station which will direct you towards Gardens By The Bay, which should lead you to Exit B. After exiting onto the road surface, you should see a stop not far off that sells tickets for shuttle service that brings you through the outdoor gardens to the conservatories themselves. This shuttle service serves as a means to help you avoid the scotching sun and provide a general audio tour of the outside gardens. The shuttle service costs SGD$2.
From personal experience, the guided tour is pretty useful and is quite sufficient to cover general details that the other Outdoor Gardens Audio Tour, which costs SGD$8, provides. Of course, the Outdoor Gardens Audio Tour will take you through more locations which the shuttle service will not bring you to but it depends on how in depth you want to know about the Gardens really.
Shuttle Service takes about 5min from the train station to the domes while walking takes you about 7min-10min.
There is much to see in the Outside Garden so if you are walking, stop at the customer help centre near the start of the walk to grab a map before starting on your route. Walk past the Chinese garden and you will find some interesting rocks of different shapes and sizes. The Chinese feel that rocks can be appreciated from different angles in terms of their shapes, sizes and what they might be associated with. For example, a rock might look like a lion from one angle but an elegant lady from another. Take some time to slow down and appreciate these sceneries. You might be surprised by your findings.
There are helpful descriptions of the flowers as you walk along the path and within the domes. Take time to stop and read these descriptions. They provide an insight as to the plants and their home environments.
Upon arrival to the domes, you should see a customer service centre and ticketing counters. The Outdoor Garden Audio Tour tickets are bought here and the tours also start here.
There are two conservatories to explore. One is known as Cloud Forest while the other, Flower Dome. These domes house plants of different climates and the temperatures within the domes are carefully maintained by experts to facilitate an appropriate living condition for the plants.
For locals, tickets cost SGD$20 while foreigners will have to pay SGD$28 for both domes. You can buy tickets to a single dome at SGD$14 for locals and SGD$18 for foreigners.
The Flower Dome feature a regular change in themes. The one for June 2014 is Paris Faire Floral Display.
Most of the flowers are on permanent display though some of the flowers serving as centrepieces in the Flower Dome change with the themes.
It is worth noting that Gardens By The Bay are done by award-winning designers so in addition to appreciating the trees and flowers, take some time to look at the domes themselves and Outer Garden. Even the placement of plants has been through careful thinking and placed in a position that display the plants to their best advantage.
The Cloud Forest's entrance is one level below the Flower Dome so when exiting from Flower Dome, take care to exit through the basement exit.
The man-made waterfall found in Cloud Forest forms the main wall of one side of a multi-storey structure. The structure itself showcases crystals and the technology used to maintain Gardens By The Bay. At the top of the structure is a small rooftop pool that allows visitors a clear view of the Central Business District (CBD) and Singapore Flyer. In the evening, the Singapore skyline is highlighted by the setting sun which is best seen from the Singapore Flyer and also here at the rooftop of the Cloud Forest structure.
A miniature train near the waterfall allows for the dual purposes of embellishing the plants and also an exhibition on its own that quickly captures the attention of children (and adults who might pretend otherwise) who visit the dome.
Orchids are a highlight of the Cloud Forest dome and it is worth noting that Singapore's national flower is Vanda Miss Joaquim, a type of orchid, which partly explains the importance placed on orchids.
When leaving, do not forget to grab a photo of Marina Bay Sands, one of Singapore's only two casinos. Grand events are also held here in addition to the occasional exhibition, hotel and a large mall to boot. The top of the hotel features an Infinity Pool. The pool is only for hotel guests' use so if you are interested to have a try at the pool, don't forget to reserve booking for the hotel stay early- the hotel is popular with both tourists and locals.
