I arrived in Singapore so early in the morning after hours of waiting for my flight. Air India had delayed my flight by nearly 5 hours and I landed at around 3am and was asleep by 5am. Still, I was determined to make the most of my first day in Singapore.
I had sim card issues the first part of the day and was so frustrated! I had pre purchased an e-sim since I have used those before and knew they worked. However, it wasn't working for me today so after troubleshooting I decided to go to a cellular store. On the way I passed by 7/11 and instead just bought a new sim card. That proved even more difficult asI had to register the SIM card and the application was not working. A kind lady even let me use her hot spot to help me. After multiple attempts, she recommended I go to the M1 phone store. Back again on the bus to the phone store where they were able to easily register and help me.
Dying to start my day I returned to Marina Bay Sands. Marina Bay Sands is an upscale 55-story resort that has a skypark complete with a rooftop bar and swimming pool. The skypark is situated on top of 3 towers and is shaped like a boat. The resort contains a casino, theater, shopping mall and museums. It had become a landmark of the Singapore skyline and towers above everything else. The Marina Bay Sands leads to Gardens by the Bay where I was headed. Gardens by the Bay is a man made horticultural attraction that showcases over 1.5 million plants from every continent. Within the gardens there are several smaller gardens such as the Supertree Grove, supertree observatory, cloud forest, flower dome, and more.
In the center of the Gardens by the Bay stands the Supertree Grove - a futuristic structure that towers above the gardens. To get there you cross a pretty lake from which the ferris wheel and many small water fountains can be seen. The Supertree Grove is best described as a tropical oasis! There are so many big leafy green plants in the area. The garden is so well manicured with little walkways everywhere. The greenery is so tall, you forget you are in the big city altogether - it is amazing! I wandered around the Supertree Grove observing the way the foliage was growing. The Supertrees themselves were crafted of metal with plants crawling up on what was made to look like the bark of a tree. High above was the Supertree walkway. I paid $14 to walk on the walkway where I could see what the whole area looked like from above. You could see the various gardens as well as the other supertrees in the distance. Front and center was the towering Marina Bay Sands.
The rain was threatening to fall so I sat down in the food court just as it came down. I had lunch at a Ramen place called Tsuta Japanese Noodles. They boasted they were the first Michel Ramen in the world!. The ramen I had was soba with truffle oil. I enjoyed the truffle oil touch as it gave it a unique flair. I just felt the ramen was too simple and could use more toppings. I had to bargain with the cashier to substitute a marinated egg for meat.
The rain had paused briefly after lunch so I headed to the cloud forest. Initially I wasn’t going to visit it because I felt that it would just be similar to a botanical garden but I am very glad I went. I love plants and the cloud forest was filled with thousands and thousands of different plant species. Oddly enough the dome was kept at a temperature much lower than outside. A huge waterfall greeted me at the entrance, falling 35 meters, watering many plants and creating a mist that watered others in the vicinity as well. The cloud forest is structured in different tiers that dictate the temperature. The higher up, the warmer it is and that determines what plants are grown there. In the first layer, there was an orchid garden. There they grew more types of orchids than I even knew existed. It was so interesting being able to see unique spotted orchids that you don’t see elsewhere. The orchids originally were from Machu Picchu. There were so many beautiful colors!
I admired all 7 stories of plants from top to bottom and fangirled as I passed by species I knew or had previously owned. The plant mom in me was very happy and definitely in her element. At the top of the gardens there were a series of 7 different carnivorous plants that trapped and ate insects. They varied from the venus flytrap to ones that were extremely sticky to one that was tubular shaped. There were so many plants to see at the cloud forest and I really enjoyed myself for a couple hours.
Following my plant adventure, I visited Chinatown. The first temple I stopped at was the Thian Hock Keng Temple. This temple is Singapore’s oldest temple and stands out among the modern architecture. The name translates to the temple of “Heavenly Happiness” and it was built in 1839. It is built in a very ornate Chinese style with the green tiled roof and many detailed dragon motifs all over. The temple was beautiful and larger than expected as there were several smaller shrines inside. I loved the numerous red lanterns hanging from the ceiling as decoration.
The next temple I rushed to was the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple however, it was shut by the time I got there. This temple was multiple stories high so if I have time, I will definitely be returning. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple marked the start of Chinatown and I wandered the tiny lanes looking at the various souvenirs present. There were so many food hawkers or stations and I really wanted to try everything but I had just eaten. I saw a stall called the Coconut man and had a coconut shake from him. It was fresh coconut mali, coconut water, and ice cream blended together. Yummy right? Very refreshing too.
The souvenir stalls and little shops were very cute and I entered many just to see what they were selling. Most were selling red Chinese paper crafts, good luck charms, and various Chinese clothing. Chinese New Year is just around the corner in February and preparations have started. It is the Year of the Dragon and everywhere dragons were being erected around the city. At the Gardens by the Bay big displays of glowing lanterns were being put up.
My wandering led me to the small area of Clarke Quay where there was a nice river and boardwalk lined with restaurants. It was a busy area but a quaint village vibe. It was too late in the afternoon now but typically they offer boat rides on the river.
Right next to Clarke Quay is the massive Fort Canning Park. I did not do the park justice as it is such an expansive green space situated on a high hill. In the park is the Fort Canning Lighthouse. Unlike typical lighthouses that are situated near the sea, this one sits at the high elevation point in Singapore. It is now just a historical landmark as it ceased operation in 1958. The park was really pretty and I am determined to bring my walking shoes and go for a good walk to see more of the park tomorrow.
For dinner I wanted to try traditional Singapore food at a Hawker stall. I did some research and found a stall called Super Star Original Famous Penang Laksa. Laksa is a fusion of Chinese and Malaysian food made of rice noodles in spicy coconut curry soup with fish. According to Google this was one of the most highly rated places for laksa. When I arrived I was slightly confused but an elderly lady asked me if I had found it on Google and served me a hot bowl of noodle soup. It was damn delicious! The broth was amazing and so spicy! It took me a minute to get adjusted to the spice and I loved it. The noodles were dipped in the soup topped with dried mackerel, onions, mint, and chillies. I really enjoyed my first traditional food in Singapore!
Once it was dark I headed back to Garden by the Bay for the third time today to witness the lightshow. The ligh show only happens twice in the evening - at 7:45 pm and 8:45 pm. I just made the 7:45 pm and am so glad I did. The light show was magical and really brought the futuristic trees to life. Plus, they were playing show tunes and theming the lights to the music. It was so perfect and I was grinning the whole time loving the showtunes. They played Les Mis, Fiddler on the Roof, Jersey Boys, and more. It was too good! I wished it had gone on for longer as the lights and music created such a magical ambience.
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