Holiday at the Gardens!

So it was National Day on 9 August and that means it was a public holiday too. I wasn't really bothered about the National Day Parade, it was monotonous from my point of view and there weren't any appeal compared to the parades held over 10 years ago. Instead, I thought of taking advantage of the day off to visit Gardens by the Bay with my girlfriend not only to see the flowers but to take lots of pictures on my trustworthy Nikon D5100.

There are two domes, the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest. We decided to visit both domes and paid $15 for both entrances as there was a National Day promotion going on during that period of time (Usual price is $20 for local residents). We visited the flower dome first and upon entry, there were various zones with different flowers to welcome us. It took us roughly two hours to complete the first dome and my review of this dome is a worthy visit. Here are some of the pictures I took from this dome.

   

Next was the Cloud Forest, and the main attraction is the waterfall which is about 8-9 stories tall. It was quite cold the moment we entered but that was nothing for me to be honest as I'm used to even colder temperatures. The real tour starts from the 7th level and spirals down till the basement which leads to the exit, each level containing a different theme such as cloud walk which is an aerial walkway around the top of the mountain giving both a closer view of the epiphyts growing on the outside of the mountain, and a view from above on the entry level below. The Cloud Forest is slightly smaller than the Flower Dome but it is higher and replicates the cool moist conditions found in tropical mountain regions in South-East Asia, Middle- and South America. whereas the latter replicates a mild, dry climate and features plants found in the Mediterranean and other semi-arid tropical regions. Below are some of the pictures from this dome.

Overall, it was a worthy visit to the Gardens with a different and a new experience but I wouldn't go too often. A great day off spent without regrets.