We only had about five days in Singapore, but since I’d been told over and over again that we would pretty much need to sell our kidneys to afford to eat there because it was so expensive, that seemed like the right amount of time.
It was expensive comparatively, we had just come from Thailand and Cambodia, where we were spending about $15/night for a nice room, and in Singapore we were paying $60/night for basically a shoe box, but it had air conditioning so that was really all we needed.
We were looking for ways to see as much as we could in Singapore without having to sell any organs, and we found tickets on Groupon to the Gardens by the Bay (to go to the gardens themselves is free, but there is an admission fee to get into the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome) that also included day passes to the aquarium at Sentosa, so we went for it.
However, we didn’t look at the fine print (reading is hard), so after navigating our way on MRT (the public transit system, which is pretty easy to get around on) we realized that we had to go all the way back up town to a tourism agency to pick up our tickets.
It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if it hadn’t been so bloody hot out. I felt like we’d climbed all the way to the top of Mount Everest only to realize we’d forgotten the flag we were going to plant and we’d have to climb all the way back down to get it.
Going all the way back uptown seemed like an impossible feat. I threw myself down on a bench and pouted for awhile. But I pulled it together eventually because I am a grown up (allegedly) and we went got our tickets, after a quick stop for ice cream, and found our way back.
The gardens themselves are really beautiful, there is lots to see outside of the domes, and it’s free admission so it’s definitely a great way to spend a morning if you are on a budget.
I was really excited to see the Supertrees. They are about 16 storeys tall, and they are covered in lots of different plants from bottom to top. You can pay $5 to climb up the walkway to the top of one for a great view of Singapore. There is also a restaurant inside one of them.
The real show starts at night though, twice per night there is a light and sound show in the Supertree Grove. The Supertrees are gorgeous all lit up, and there are lots of people just laying on the benches and walk ways underneath watching.
Luckily the streets in Singapore are pretty clean, because it’s illegal to chew gum there. Or so I’ve been told, 4000 times.
loveliness. 