Gardens by the Bay, Singapore’s Amazing Sky High Garden

Modern, striking, bold and eye catching are just some of the buzz words that come to mind when describing one of Singapore’s modern attractions, Gardens by the Bay. Visiting Singapore you have a wide array of cultural experiences to immerse yourself in but no visit to the city state is complete without experiencing what is without a doubt one of the icons of Singapore.

Gardens by the Bay is located in Singapore’s newest hub Marina Bay, adjacent to the impressive Marina Bay Sands Hotel (of which you can read the full review of here) and just a short stroll over the river from the Singapore Flyer. Entry to the outside gardens doesn’t incur a charge so you are free to wonder around the grounds anytime you wish. Entry is payable to go inside the two glass houses the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forrest and to climb the Skyway linking to the Supertrees.

The cost of entry to both the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forrest is SGD $28.00 (AUD $26.00) for adults and SGD $15.00 (AUD $14.00) for children. Entry to the Supertree Skyway is a separate charge of SGD $8.00 (AUD $7.50) for adults and SGD $5.00 (AUD $4.70) for children.

When I visited Gardens by the Bay I went along twice, once during the day and once at night to gain a different perspective of the gardens. First off during the day I visited the two glass houses which was only a short stroll from my hotel at Marina Bay Sands. The hotel has a foot bridge that links over to Gardens by the Bay making the attraction a convenient visit especially if returning again to see it at night.

My entry ticket covered visiting both glass houses, the first one I visited was the biggest of the two and probably the most impressive so if you’re planning to only go inside one of them make sure it’s the Cloud Forrest. However, the two houses have been set up in a logical way that if you have bought entry to both you should visit the Flower Dome first with the entry at ground level, then exit at a lower level in line with the Cloud Forrest. Something you don’t really realise until later on if you’re silly like me and do it in reverse.

Entering the Cloud Forrest, you’ll notice the difference in temperature, given the house is made out of glass I was expecting it to be hot inside especially coming from the humid surroundings of outside. It was the complete opposite and was really refreshing inside making it a relief to be inside to cool off.

You are then greeted with a large waterfall trickling down the side of the main feature of the Cloud Forrest, in the centre is a large structure with all sorts of tropical plants gracing the side and supporting the many walkways taking visitors around the glass house and giving out impressive views of the gardens and Marina Bay Sands in the distance.

Walking around the bottom of the Cloud Forrest and looking up you can’t help but be impressed with the amount of detail that has gone into putting this place together. There is even a garden inside of Venus Fly Trap style plants made out of Lego just before coming to the lift to be taken to the next level of the Cloud Forrest.

Exiting the lift you find yourself on the inside of the waterfall which has some gaps and you’re able to view the visitors coming inside the entrance through the water cascading from above you. You then continue on up some stairs to the summit of the Cloud Forrest where a tropical oasis awaits you and more views over Singapore. This is also where the walkway begins to suspend you over the edge allowing you to look back at the wall garden and making you feel like you are walking amongst the clouds.

As you descend down you walk past a display of stalactites and stalagmites (without Googling it, which one comes from the ceiling and which one comes from the ground?) and then continue onto another tropical garden full of different statues and water themed gardens. Exiting you walk through a theatre that had an exhibition about climate change and then you proceed through the token gift shop.

The entrance to the next garden is located on the ground level and has a completely different theme going from the tropical surrounds of the Cloud Forrest we now enter a barren world in the Flower Dome full of desert plants, cactus and is even home to an Australian garden. This garden also got into the Christmas spirit with a massive display featuring Christmas Trees, Nutcrackers and polystyrene snow.

This garden wasn’t as impressive as the Cloud Forrest but it’s still worth buying your entry ticket to both and checking them out together. The Flower Dome is also home to themed seasonal exhibits such as the Christmas Wonderland in December and around March the Flower Dome is home to the magnificent Cherry Blossoms.

VIDEO: Gardens by the Bay, Cloud Garden and Flower Dome at day

At night time Gardens by the Bay takes on a whole new light (literally) as they come back to life with the imposing Supertrees lighting up in its iconic purple and green towers and linking Skyway. During December the gardens here also take on a Christmas theme with a whole Christmas Wonderland set up with hourly light and music shows lighting up the night sky.

The only problem with visiting at this time of the year is that if you wanted to visit the Skyway at night time you can’t unless you pay the entry fee to enter the Christmas Wonderland. On top of that once you’re inside you have to then pay the entry fee for the Skyway as well. For me this wasn’t an issue as I would have paid to go inside both anyway, however it is something to keep in mind when a special event is on around the Supertrees that two entry fees may be payable.

From the top of the Skyway you gain impressive views of the Gardens by the Bay including the Singapore Flyer and also with the Marina Bay Sands Hotel the only skyscraper in view, you can be forgiven thinking you’re not on the fringe of such a large city.

Keeping with the Christmas Wonderland theme the gardens also has a giant ice rink set up inside a temporary building which was fully decked out in Christmas lights which was a sight all on its own.

If you’re coming to Singapore make sure you have time to make your way down to Gardens by the Bay at some point in time. If you don’t have the luxury of visiting at both night and day be sure to get down there during the day so you can visit both the Cloud Garden and Flower Dome conservatories as well as the Supertrees and Skyway. That way you can experience all the main attractions the gardens have to offer.

There is so much more to see and do at Gardens by the Bay but I didn’t allow enough time to see it all and the humidity had its limits on me especially knowing I had the Marina Bay Sands hotel Infinity Pool waiting for me. I’ll definatly will be back for another visit to Gardens by the Bay when I return to Singapore.

WEBSITE: Gardens by the Bay

VIDEO: Gardens by the Bay Christmas Wonderland at Night

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