Hi everyone! Last weekend hubby and I took a short break to Singapore - one of my favourite weekend getaways for shopping, eating, and catching up with good friends. I used to work in Singapore ( a long long time ago!) and ever since, I have always felt a strong connection and find every excuse to go back for a visit when possible. Also, a few of my nearest and dearest friends live there so its always great to meet them for a delicious meal and fun times whenever I am in town!
This time we stayed at the Grand Park Orchard and I have to say, this hotel gets my vote hands down for location. It's right on Orchard road, opposite from The Mandarin Gallery and Paragon shopping mall - perfect for popping in and out to drop off the masses of shopping bags accumulated after a long day of intense shopping in Orchard's numerous shopping malls! The hotel itself is trendy and modern but still quiet enough that it feels like a respite from the ultra urban Orchard road.
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| Our Premiere room at Grand Park Orchard - hubby is enjoying it! |
On this visit we decided to visit the newly opened Gardens on the Bay which is located right by Marina Bay Sands. Its kind of a indoor/outdoor botanical gardens with lots of flora and fauna attractions. I wasn't sure what to expect and although I'm not a big fan or expert of trees and fauna, I admit I was impressed and enjoyed it alot! We visited one of the many attractions, The Cloud Forest, which is a huge dome spanning about 7 floors with a central "mountain" of trees, plants, flowers and all kinds of beautiful fauna. At the entrance of the Cloud Forest there was a huge waterfall that flowed from the top of the dome. Stunning!
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| The entrance to the Cloud Forest with a massive waterfall that spanned about 7 stories! love it! |
Once you are inside the dome, you can take a lift right up to the top and slowly walk down the various levels, which they have designed as a kind of "skywalk" where you get the feeling that you are walking in the midst of the sky and clouds. I was impressed with how well designed the walkways were - but I am super scared of heights so I had to hold on tight to the handrails while we were walking along the skyways up high! Here are some shots of the walkways taken from the ground upwards.
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| Looking up towards the sky walkways high up above within the Cloud Forest. |
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| Being afraid of heights, I wondered if I would be able to brave the walkways! |
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| Another view of the sky walkways high high above. |
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| Some sights along the way.... |
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| Curious looking plants... |
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| Hubby was interested in this specimen! |
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| We made it to the top by lift! Now we start the long descent down via walk ways!! |
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| Even though the walkways were sturdy and strong, I was nervous to be so far out from solid ground! |
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| Carefully and slowly making my way down...while clutching onto the handrails... |
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| Notice how everyone stayed away from the netted middle section! |
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| Finally we reached the indoor Crystal cave ! From this level you can take escalators down to ground level. Thank goodness! |
There were numerous other fun and educational attractions at the Gardens at the Bay, but we didn't have a chance to enjoy them all as we had to get back into town for lunch. This calls for another visit back, and soon!
