Last weekend, we took our first peek at Gardens at the Bay, and we found ourselves pleasantly surprised at what the garden had to offer.
We left our house at 3:30pm after everyone had enough of their afternoon nap. The weather was sunny and we were all excited about the trip. Unfortunately, half an hour later when we exit the expressway at Nicole Highway, it was pouring rain!
“Oh, no!!! What are we supposed to do?” I stared at V blankly for a few seconds, and I felt bad if we had to change our plan since we were almost reaching our destination.
“Just proceed, maybe the rain will stop soon,” he replied. Seeing the level of enthusiasm in him, we decided to proceed per our plan. Perhaps, we can take a shelter somewhere while we wait for the rain to stop as we had no clue how the garden is like – whether it is mostly indoor or outdoor.
The rain was slightly lighter when we reached the garden. Luckily, the walkway from the car park to the ticketing counters is all sheltered. We started our visit at the two conservatories – Flower Dome and Cloud Forest.
Cloud Forest
Cloud Forest is the cool-moist conservatory that housed plant life found between 1,000 to 2,000 meters above sea level, from ravines to mountain-tops. Its main feature is the 35-meter tall mountain covered in lush vegetation with a magnificent indoor waterfall.
The 35-meter indoor waterfall
Crystal Mountain
Somewhere in Cloud Forest…
Tree Top Walk
We took a leisure stroll up to the mountain top, before descending via two walkways in the clouds for an aerial view of the canopy and mountainside beneath. There are nine unique zones in Cloud Forest, namely Lost World, Cloud Walk, The Cavern , Waterfall View, Crystal Mountain, Tree Top Walk, Earth Check, +5 Degrees and Secret Garden.
The Top Walk at the middle, and Cloud Walk at the top!
The exciting Cloud Walk!
The Tree Top Walk is at Level 4, outside the Crystal Mountain. The Cloud Walk is at the top of the mountain. I really enjoyed catching the 360-degree view from the Cloud Walk, but our boy freaked out of the height and he cling on to me for dear life throughout. Only towards the end, he soon adjusted and enjoyed the walk as well as the beauty of the nature.
After completing our visit at Cloud Forest, we went for our dinner at Supertree Dining before we proceed to Flower Dome.
Flower Dome
Flower Dome, on the other hand, is the world’s largest column-less greenhouse and it replicates the climate of Mediterranean regions like South Africa, California and parts of Spain and Italy. It features a collection of plants from deserts all over the world, showcasing the adaptations of plants to dry environments.
Can you find the chicken here? Not real one, of course!
With our tummies still full, it’s the perfect time to enjoy a cooling and leisurely stroll here, as we enjoy beauty of the flowers and plants. The time was already 7:15pm, so it’s also getting a little dark here.
We spent about an hour here before we proceed to the Supertree Groove.
Supertree Groove
At 5:30pm
I would say that the Supertree Groove is the most beautiful part of the garden at night. These unique trees of up to 16 storeys in height can be found all around the Gardens, but there are twelve at the Supertree Grove, and the remaining six are placed in clusters of threes at the Golden and Silver Gardens.
At 8:45pm
At night, these supertrees come alive with an exhilarating display of sound and light. It starts at 7:45pm and 8:45pm.
The main attraction here is the OCBC Skyway, which is a 128-metre long walkway that connects the two 25-metre Supertrees at the Supertree Grove. From here, visitors can enjoy the panoramic views of the garden as well as the surrounding Marina Bay area.
However, due to time constraints, we didn’t make it to the OCBC Skyway. Tickets to the OCBC Skyway can be purchased separately at $5 (for adult) and $3 (for child/senior). We’re planning our second trip here next month to visit the OCBC Skyway and outdoor gardens like Heritage Gardens, Dragonfly Lake, Bay East Garden etc. This trip, we only managed to cover about 60% of the garden.
If you haven’t been here, you can consider bringing your family to enjoy the beauty of the nature in the garden. The garden is free to enter. Or you can visit the Supertree Groove at night and have dinner at the nearby Supertree Dining. Night photography here is fantastic!
Useful Info:
1. Admission to the Outdoor Gardens in Bay South is free, including the Supertree Groove. Tickets to the OCBC Skyway at Supertree Groove can be purchased separately at $5 (for adult) and $3 (for children).
2. Tickets to the Cooled Conservatories (Cloud Forest and Flower Dome) can be purchased at the Ticketing Hub. You can choose to buy tickets to one or two conservatories. Admission to one conservatory is $12 (for adult) and $8 (for child/senior), and admission to two conservatories is $20 (for adult), $15 (for senior) and $12 (for child).
3. Click HERE for opening hours and ticketing information.
4. The cooled conservatories can be quite cold, so please bring along a light sweater for your children.
5. Website: http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/home.html