Four of the best sites to check out in Singapore…
- Gardens by the Bay
Consisting of two futuristic dome conservatories and a giant steel supertree “forest”, the Gardens by the Bay is one of Singapore’s newest and most magnetic attractions. To get there you can catch a taxi or bus or take a short walk through Marina Bay Sands after getting off from the Bayfront Station subway. The two conservatories are the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. The Flower Dome replicates a mild, dry climate and has plants found in semi-arid regions where you can find a large variety of cacti. The Cloud Forest houses more colourful flowering plants from tropical mountain regions.
- Singapore Botanic Gardens
Officially Singapore’s first UNESCO World Heritage site, the Botanic Gardens epitomize the vision of both Singapore’s founder Sir Stamford Raffles and founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. Not many people know that Raffles himself was a keen naturalist and developed the first Botanical and Experimental Garden at Fort Canning. In 1859, his efforts culminated in the founding of the Gardens at its present site. The Botanic Gardens are also connected with Lond’s Kew Gardens because Kew-trained botanists had a hand in its development in its early days.
- Singapore Zoo
Almost certainly the best zoo in Southeast Asia and probably the best anywhere for Southeast Asian fauna. Visitors will see its remarkable animals as they walk through an authentic Asian jungle environment without walls or cages cutting across their line of sight. The zoo also has species that hail from the farthest corners of the planet, including polar bears, but its strong suit is without doubt the Asian species rarely found in other world zoos.
- Sands Skypark Observation Deck
Like a vision from a sci-fi novel, the half-garden, half-Boeing-constructed Sands Skypark Observation Deck is perched atop the towers of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, dominating the city skyline. The view from the 56th floor, where the Skypark is situated, is spectacular, boasting nothing less than a 360-degree panorama of sea, city and gardens.
