In 1963, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew launched an initiative to transform Singapore from “a garden in a city” to “a city in a garden”. He saw that the quality of life for the city residents would be enhanced through abundant greenery and a clean environment. He set forth six objectives:
- Establish world-class gardens;
- Rejuvenate urban parks and enliven the streetscape;
- Optimize urban spaces for greenery and recreation;
- Enrich biodiversity in the urban environment;
- Enhance competencies of the landscape and horticultural industry; and
- Engage and inspire communities to co-create a greener Singapore.
Botanic Gardens and National Orchid Garden
The 183 acre Singapore Botanic Gardens was founded in 1859, and the UNESCO World Heritage Committee named it a World Heritage Site in 2014, one of only three gardens in the world to be so designated. There are three lakes and about a dozen specialty gardens in this peaceful, lush park including a bonsai garden, a healing garden, a fragrant garden, a sun garden, an evolution garden, a trellis garden, a foliage garden, an eco-garden and a children’s garden. The highlight, however, is the National Orchid Garden, a seven acre garden in the middle of the park with over 1,200 species, 2,000 hybrids, and 60,000 orchids.
Here are 30 pictures from Singapore’s National Orchid Garden. To see a larger version of any picture, just click on the image.
Fort Canning Park
Fort Canning Park is a 45 acre park on the highest hill in downtown Singapore just north of the Singapore River. This land was the center of 14th century Singapore and it was where the king had his palace. Stamford Raffles had his home built upon this land and he also established Singapore’s first botanical garden here. The garden, however, was not successful and it was soon abandoned. The land was then used as a cemetery for European settlers. After the governor’s residence was demolished, a fort, barracks and hospital were built here. The fort and its guns, however, were too far from the waterfront to provide effective protection to the harbor.
In the early 1900s, the fort was torn down and new military bunker was built for the British Army. It was in this bunker that the British surrendered Singapore to the Japanese during WWII. The park was created in 1972 by combining this land with the King George V Jubilee Park. Fort Canning Park now hosts concerts, theatre productions, and other festivals, such as Shakespeare in the Park, Ballet Under the Stars, and Films at the Fort. It is also a popular spot for weddings and parties.
Gardens by the Bay
Gardens by the Bay is a nature park consisting of three waterfront gardens — Bay South (130 acres), Bay East (79 acres) and Bay Central (37 acres) — on reclaimed land in central Singapore close to the marina. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced this project in August 2005, an international design competition was held in 2006, and Gardens by the Bay opened six years later. Bay South is absolutely stunning with two huge enclosed domes, a grove of eighteen Supertrees that range up to 160 feet tall, and an elevated walkway connecting two of them.
There are at least 50 sculptures on the grounds and throughout the greenhouses. The most impressive one is a 30-foot long, 10-foot tall, bronze sculpture (painted white) called Planet. This seven-ton sculpture is of a baby boy — in fact, the artist’s son — who appears to be floating in the air.
The Flower Dome
The Flower Dome is the world largest greenhouse with 3,332 glass panels covering over three acres with a cool (75° F) and dry (60-80% humidity) Mediterranean-type climate. It has eight separate gardens with exotic plants and trees from around the world and a flower field that changes frequently.
Here are 36 pictures from the Flower Dome. As above, just click on the image to get a larger version.
The Cloud Forest
The Cloud Forest is a taller greenhouse with a 135-foot tall indoor waterfall whose roar you hear as soon as you enter the building, even before you see it. An elevator takes you to the top where you can see the plants and trees that grow on the side of this man-made mountain. As you follow the path down, the flora and fauna change to what would be found lower on a mountain. Halfway down is a display of stalactites (the ceiling formations) and stalagmites (the floor formations) that have been harvested from caves in Singapore. The Treetop Walk provides a view of the top of the forest canopy as you complete the journey back to the ground floor.
The Supertree Grove
The Supertree Grove contains artificial trees made of four parts: a reinforcement concrete core, trunk, planting panels for the living skin and the canopy. The vertical gardens contain over 160,000 plants from 200 species of ferns, vines, orchids and other plants. During the day, the trees provide shade while photo-voltaic cells on the canopy generate electricity. Every night at 7:45 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. the grove comes alive with a light and sound show.
The OCBC Skyway is a 420-foot long walkway 72 feet in the air between two of the larger Supertrees. From the walkway, you can not only get a panoramic view of the gardens and marina but also look closely at the structure of the Supertrees. IndoChine is an Asian fusion restaurant atop the largest Supertree.
Marina Bay Sands
After visiting the Gardens, we walked over to the Marina Bay Sands, a large resort, casino and convention center on the marina in Singapore. The complex has 2,561 hotel rooms, 80 restaurants and bars, 170 shops, two theaters for live shows, an artificial ice rink, 1.2 million square feet of convention space, and a four-level, 160,000 square foot casino with 700 gaming tables and 2,500 slot machines. Singaporeans were concerned about the adverse impact of gambling so you need to purchase a day pass for US$75 in order to enter.
This distinctive landmark has three 55-story towers topped by a three acre, 1,120-foot long, cantilevered SkyPark shaped liked a boat with a jogging track and 490-foot long infinity pool — the world’s largest. We went up to the SkyPark for a drink and to enjoy the sensational panoramic views of Singapore and the Singapore Strait.
More to come — Next: Malá Strana
Kop Khun Krab!
Khun Kurt
© 2018 Kurt Brown. All rights reserved.
An American on Samui 
Amazingly beautiful.
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Yes. We will go when you come visit!
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