Gardens By The Bay

After much procrastination, I finally visited the much acclaimed Singapore Premier Botanical Garden: Gardens By The Bay. I initially had doubts whether this garden is any better than the conventional botanical gardens found around the world. Well, depending on what kind of themes you are looking for, you may like or hate it. This garden is very much an artificial garden with huge man-made structures like the Supertrees and conservatories. It is more extra-terrestrial than you would expect from a botanical garden. The conservatories are worth the visit especially the Tropical Forest conservatory. The gigantic man-made waterfall is magnificent. Outdoor gardens are free for the public but there is nothing much to expect from a hot tropical country except trees and more gigantic trees; the Supertrees. Should you visit this garden, plan your visit to start around 4pm. You'd have ample time to visit both conservatories and then walk around outside. Go to the central Supertrees around 6.30-7.30pm to see the Supertrees come to life with the beautiful sunset city as backdrop. After all this, you can cross the pedestrian bridge over to Marina Bay Sands Shopping Center. You can watch the musical fountain at 8pm right at the wooden deck facing the city.

Click on the image for picture gallery

NYE 2009/10 Singapore

I was home alone for the past week and couldn't believe my luck when I came home from my flight still to find none of my housemates around. There's no one I could gather for the NYE celebration. I decided to head down to the city for a change. I've been spending my time at home for the past few NYEs. I was glad I made the right decision as I had the most wonderful time of my life seeing such an awesome fireworks display behind the beautiful city backdrop. Nightmares began after the celebration as throngs of people were trying to get home. The authorities are a big letdown for their poor planning that caused a MASSIVE jam on all roads. It took almost 2 hours for the jam to clear. Public transport is bullshit as buses were caught in the jam. By the time they arrive, they were already full to the brim. The subway was no better. And the taxi drivers were the biggest punk for not picking any passengers as they wanted to earn extra charges by picking up only phone call passengers. All over the city you can see empty cabs but with the red ON-CALL signs. But most of them get caught in the jam anyway and were stationary for more than an hour. I'd say serve them right for being greedy. So my advice to party goers next year: drive your own car. Head down to the clubs after countdown and relax. Drive home after 3 hours later to save you from the nightmare.

Click on the image for picture gallery