CHRISTMAS IN SINGAPORE: GARDENS BY THE BAY, CLOUD FOREST, FLOWER DOME

Life has been keeping me busy and I am grateful yet exhausted from it, to the point where I didn't realize that we are already in December. I was having my dinner, then looked at the phone's lock screen and it was December 1st 2017 I was like WTF I thought it was November 31st (when there isn't even any). I know right, I know.

Anyway for those who followed me on my social media channels, I hope you're aware that I just got back from Singapore. I had three days off on November so I didn't want to miss that chance to have some time for myself, hence the trip to the city of Merlion (booked the tickets literally two days before my departure date). My last encounter with Singapore was on October last year where I went for Halloween celebration with my friends at Universal Studio Singapore and it's honestly good to be back. After a year, it's still as good as I remember (well Singapore has always been great in everything) and as EXPENSIVE as I remember! I knew I kinda went on a shopping spree but I spent like $2500 in three days (didn't include the airfare and hotel) which I thought was kinda crazy, I mean the cafes there are so bloody expensive. I went to Central Perk for lunch, one meal and two drinks would cost me $70 and I spent almost $200 dining at Hai Di Lao. As this post is written and based on my personal opinion, Singapore is officially more expensive than Australia!

In this entry, I am going to share to you guys my brief experience going to the Gardens by The Bay Singapore to check out what they have in store for Christmas, three years ago I went here and the Christmas decoration was beautiful so I expected something to impress me this year, but before getting to that, let's give a moment for this beautiful Iced Cappuccino from one of my favorite coffee shops EVER which just recently opened in Singapore: OMOTESANDO KOFFEE! I went to the one in OUE DOWNTOWN and it's located on the 4th fl.

Iced Cappuccino - S$7

Smooth, creamy, just so freaking lovable!

The outlet in OUE has no seats so it's more like a grab and go thing, so right after purchasing my coffee, I booked an Uber and it was a short 5-minute drive to Gardens by The Bay! FYI I rode Uber the entire time in Singapore, I was just too lazy to get my fat ass to walk around even tho last week was just the perfect time and weather to be in Singapore, it was gloomy the whole time and would rain occassionally. I got a lot of questions about Uber in Singapore, I would say it's not crazy expensive comparing to the regular taxis, MRT and bus is of course the cheapest alternative but if you're lazy like me really just take the freaking Uber, not to mention sometimes you can get the fancy cars too!

There are two ticket stations there: one for the Gardens by The Bay entrance which located not too far from the drop off station and the other one specially for the domes which is located around the dome itself. The ticket costs S$28/person and this includes access to both Gardens by The Bay's Cloud Forest and Flower Dome, if you're planning to buy individual tickets to Cloud Forest or Flower Dome only then the ticket fare would be $16/person.

I really enjoy browsing back the photos and edited them, I hope you like the photos as much as I do *happy*

CLOUD FOREST

I arrived five minutes away from 4 PM where the next 'mist' action is scheduled! The Cloud Forest entrance is located on the lower ground where I purchased the ticket and boy as soon as I stepped myself inside the grand conservatory, the whole are was super chill (I heard they have some kind of chilled pipes in the ground slabs which would produce and distribute cool air) and the surrounding did make me feel like I was in a movie set, like this modern futuristic forest, especially the floating path and that ginormous 35-feet manmade mountain-fountain!

DO NOTE that mist show happens on these timings: 10 AM, 12 PM, 2 PM, 4 PM, 6 PM and 8 PM

The whole thing was such a treat to my senses (except for my palate): the cold, the sound, the feel! The manmade mountain that I referred earlier was actually this 6 stories tall building wrapped in plants where each floor has something different to offer whether from the view, the photo spot or individual deco! My suggestion is to browse the 6th floor first (Lost World) then make your way all the way down to the ground floor then exit. For posts like this, since it was more like me enjoying the view and everything, I might not have a lot of valuable information to share, but I have some photos that I captured from my visit and hopefully it's enough to make you hyped up, book your flights and go to Singapore soon for Christmas!

Quick tip: you can click on the photos and you can save the higher res pics! I NEVER trademarked my photos just because I think when people really want to freaking steal your photos they can, but one thing for sure they're not stealing my talent, and not to mention I'm glad that a lot of you love my wallpaper series on my Instagram Stories, the resolution of these photos should be enough for your phone's wallpaper.

Not much Christmas deco happened here in Cloud Forest, probably close to none, so if you're really here to check out the Christmas deco, then you should probably just skip this and go straight to the Flower Dome!

The Rafflesia Arnoldi flower (and the other plant details) are formed from lego!

Uber love how the mist adds in the mysterious touch to the whole venue!

FLOWER DOME

Gardens by The Bay's Cloud Forest and Flower Dome are currently the world's largest columnless greenhouses, with 3332 panels of 42 varying shapes, making it almost like a giant puzzle! Flower Dome is where you can go to enjoy the beautiful Christmas decoration in this cool-dry conservatory, expect to find beautiful Meditteranean and tropical plants here, and cherry on top they're mostly dressed in Christmas decoration at the moment! End of November-December is surely the right time to go and check out what Flower Dome has in store! Enough yakking just enjoy the pictures! You can stay as long as you want here and take as many pictures as you want, not sure when's the right timing to come but on the hour of my visit, the whole area was pretty packed (in contrary to the fact that there was no queue on the ticket station), the background of the photo taking is not that ultra glamorous hahaha!

First time seeing an actual black flower!

Christmas vibe!!!

My favorite shots from my visit, loving the Christmas lights bokeh lifting up the cozy Christmas mood!

English soldiers

Christmas decos everywhere!!!

So the final question: is Gardens by The Bay worth going? Depends on your interest, but while you're in Singapore it's cool to check them out! I mean for S$28 you can explore as long as you want, we spent around 2 hours in total exploring the whole area, but if you want my recommendation and ask me to choose one, that 'cool' factor wise I like Cloud Forest better, but since it's Christmas and if you want to have Christmas themes photos then go check out the Flower Dome!

Gardens by the Bay opens at 9 AM-9 PM daily, last ticket sale is at 8 PM! The nearest MRT station would be Bayfront (then exit B), but I rode an Uber here for comfort and ease. Special from 1 Dec 2017-1 Jan 2018, they extended the opening hours until 10 PM with last ticket sale at 9 PM!