Flying back to Perth on Valentines' Day - well, spending Valentines' Day with my mum is awesome anyway! I'm gonna miss Singapore so much. But...for now - Auf wiedersehen!! 안녕히가세요!!!! 再见!!! Ciao!!! Au revoir!!! See you in a few months' time, Singapore!
Although I've been to Gardens by the Bay pretty often, I didn't step into the 2 conservatories (Flower Dome and Cloud Forest) until last December or so. Was waiting for the plants to be acclimatised - well that was my mum's recommendation anyway, she's a botanist! Waited for about a year before finally deciding on a good day to go to the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest. And my, it was so worth it! Buy tickets for both conservatories and have a wonderful time inside!
We were kinda debating on which one to go first - and we ended up going to the Flower Dome first, since it was closer to the ticketing office. I was in awe when I stepped in through the main entrance - the compound was just so beautiful! So far I've only seen it from the outside, but now I'm INSIDE! Finally!
The Flower Dome houses lots and lots of cactuses, Australian native plants, and is temperature-regulated such that it resembles a Mediterranean climate. In my opinion, it was a tiny bit warmer than the typical Mediterranean climate. I felt as if I was re-experiencing late spring in Perth all over again.
The cactuses were planted near to some baobabs - trees with really big trunks. Typically they store water in their trunks (hence their trunks are so swollen!), to pull them through dry seasons. I've seen some baobabs in Perth, including one massive one in Kings Park. The trunks came in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and there was even one shaped like a human heart!
We could see the neighbouring Cloud Forest from the baobab area too. The Flower Dome is shaped like a seashell in some ways (at least from the top!), while the Cloud Forest is taller and thinner.
Cute little wood carvings - seen every now and then.
The gorgeous architecture of the Flower Dome. I love the radiating pattern the ceiling creates. Oh and the Flower Dome is made mostly of glass and steel, and is the world's largest columnless greenhouse.
Saw some hibiscus flowers growing near the lift. They came in a number of different colours, including cream, red, yellow and pink.
We initially thought it was going to rain, but were pleasantly surprised by how quickly the skies cleared up. Throughout the day, we had really good lighting.
Spotted some palm trees in one of the areas. Most of them were growing really well!
In a section reserved specially for Australian native plants, I spotted a kangaroo paw flower! Everytime I walk to uni, I'd spot some kangaroo paw flowers growing outside the uni's Worship Centre, but those were red. These ones were yellow and green.
More towering palms. The Flower Dome houses quite a large variety of plants! I find them really, really different from the typical plants I see in Singapore. The plants within the Flower Dome thrive mainly because of the strictly-controlled temperatures and humidity within the conservatory.
Besides the Cloud Forest, the famous Marina Bay Sands hotel can roughly be seen from the Flower Dome.
And since it was the festive season, there were Christmas decorations on the first floor. The Christmas tree is pretty obvious here - standing out amongst the palms, gymnosperms and others.
Went down for a closer look, and of course - I had to take at least 2 pictures of the beautiful ceiling! Check out the radiating pattern it creates (2nd and 3rd pictures below).
After touring the Flower Dome, we rested for a while, drank some beverages, and then headed to the Cloud Forest.
The Cloud Forest is totally different from the Flower Dome. It was more humid, misty and housed mainly rainforest plants, exotic plants and plants growing in tropical highlands (up to 2000 metres above sea level). Not only that, it housed the world's tallest indoor waterfall - and here it is! And that's the reason why the Cloud Forest is much taller than the Flower Dome, while the Flower Dome is much wider.
The famous indoor waterfall is located right at the entrance.
Walked around the ground floor (behind the waterfall) a little, and spotted this really cute carving. Like the Flower Dome, there were carvings around - to decorate the conservatory and provide a different atmosphere.
The famous waterfall was constructed at the edge of a 35 metre high "mountain", which was covered in vegetation, ranging from climbers to creepers to flowers to...everything! When we went to the highest point of the "mountain", we could actually stand behind the waterfall! On that day itself, I spotted some window-cleaners doing their job. When I first walked into the Cloud Forest, they were cleaning the lower glass. Now they were ascending higher and higher. They've got quite a unique way of doing it...
And of course, part of the Flower Dome could be seen from here. Not surprising, since the Cloud Forest is tall.
Looking down from the highest point of the "mountain" was also pretty exhilarating. A totally different perspective altogether!
The Marina Bay Sands hotel, framed by the steel and glass facade. It was very clearly seen from the highest point of the "mountain".
We could also see some of the Supertrees - famous structures within the Gardens by the Bay complex.
Anyway - back to the Cloud Forest. When we stepped out of the lift, we were greeted by abundant sunlight, and lots of exotic plants, including pitcher plants. The pitcher plants were VERY FAT...much fatter than the ones I see outside of the conservatory.
I focused more on the abundant sunlight though, and the general scenery...I really loved the lighting that day.
Part of the famous waterfall and the Singaporean waterfront from one of the lookout points.
Went one level down and spotted an exhibition on stalactites and stalagmites. Stalactites hang from the ceilings of caves, and are a type of dripstone. Stalagmites, on the other hand, grow upwards from the floors of caves. These are typically found in limestone caves - one such example would be the Gua Tempurung caves near Gopeng, Perak.
Also spotted this window here - where we could catch a glimpse of peoples' activities on the ground floor.
Now it's time to walk on the lower walkway! It was definitely less exhilarating than the higher one. But the views were still spectacular. In fact, the lighting got even better since it was almost six in the evening.
After walking along the lower walkway, we headed down and viewed an interactive exhibition on global warming. Here's one of the scenes from the exhibition - apparently climate change has been very apparent, according to the exhibition. Moral of the story - LOOK AFTER THE ENVIRONMENT. Appreciate it, cherish it, and take good care of it.
Walked out through a half-covered tunnel next to an artificial stream. This little waterfall here isn't part of the tall one that we saw at the entrance.
More rainforest plants growing on this level. It was misty and humid throughout. In fact, mist would be released at strategic times of the day!
Went out of the Cloud Forest, only to be in awe of the two conservatories illuminated by the evening sun. I'm so thankful that we had good weather that day. The glass looked really blue, the lighting was gorgeous...everything was so good!
Although we spent quite a long time in both conservatories, I was not tired at all. In fact, I went back one more round to take pics of the Flower Dome's exterior!
So glad the dark clouds were tucked away in one corner! The next day it rained, but we weren't too concerned, since we visited both the conservatories already!
Enjoyed beautifully-lit clouds as we walked back to Marina Bay Sands to grab some dinner and then headed back home.
And that's it for the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest trip! I should really go back there again when I next come home!