January 02 – Gardens by the Bay

Then it was over to Gardens by the Bay.  As we crossed the small lake we saw that it was full of gigantic floating white eggs.  The official name of the art installation is Autonomous Resonating Life on the Water and Resonating Trees.  (At night the lighting on the trees changes to match the lights in the eggs…that must have something to do with the name.)

Our first stop in the gardens was the Floral Fantasy attraction in the Gardens.  The enclosed building (half greenhouse) features tons of floral displays…

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Video in Floral Fantasy
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many still with the Christmas theme going. 

There were dozens or hundreds of types of orchids and other flowers.  Some in colors we had never seen such as soft, veined blues and pinks.  It was really magical!  

One section was a rain forest with rain pouring out of the ceiling.

There was also a large glass enclosure that had poison dart frogs...if you could find them.

The tour ended with a 4D movie of a dragonfly’s flight through the gardens.  The fourth dimension was touch and sent…water misting and occasional floral scents. 

From there we walked over to see the art installation called “Planet”.  Why that name we have no idea as it is a 7-ton bronze and stainless-steel statue, painted white, of a baby boy.  The floats over ground as though defying gravity with only one arm resting lightly on the ground.  It was as much an engineering feat as an art display.

There was also a giant head with a huge sun hat...

and some beautiful lit archways.

Next stop was the Cloud Forest greenhouse.  It has a cool, moist environment (80-90% humidity and 73 -77°F) with a 35‑meter‑tall (115 feet) waterfall, one of the world’s tallest man-made waterfalls.  

The greenhouse covers almost 2 acres.  Exploring this environment was educational and magical.  This attraction included a lot of information about climate change and the destruction of tropical cloud forests. 

We took the lift to the top level and gradually worked our way down the ramps and around the “mountain” in the middle of the dome. 

There are over 60,000 plants in the dome.  They are divided into various altitude zones so the plants changed gradually as we went lower.  Periodically they misted the entire dome to keep the moisture up for the plants.  It really kept things cool.

There was also a small section that featured various carnivorous plants...

and Lego carnivorous plants.

There were lots of orchids...

and other tropical flowers.

We next visited the Flower Dome, the world’s largest climate-controlled greenhouse at almost 3 acres.  It has a warmer, Mediterranean and semi-arid subtropical climate.

They also had a lot of art mixed in with the plantings.  

And of course there were a lot of Christmas elements.

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 More Gardens by the Bay Photos

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We eventually found our way to the Super Tree Grove...

where we settled in for night to fall so we could watch the sound and light show,.  It was all so magical.

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 More Gardens by the Bay Light Show Photos

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Video 1 of Light Show
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Video 2 of Light Show

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Video 2 of Light Show

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As we were leaving the Gardens we went over the bridge by the Eggs exhibit.  The eggs were lighting up in many different colors and patterns, and the colors of the trees along the lake were changing to match the colors of the eggs.

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Video of the eggs
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We also had great views of the Singapore Flyer...

and of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel all light up for the evening.