SingaPours

Visiting Singapore has been the best decision I've made so far on new places to explore, however it's been the worst decision on my wallet. Known to be one of the world's most expensive cities, Singapore certainly looks like it. Most of the buildings are well kept, clean and glistening over the skyline, the sidewalks are missing the discoloration of stepped on gum (gum is illegal!), and the attention to flora throughout the city makes it look all the more richer. Although David and I only had 4 days to attempt to cover the city, we filled everyday with plenty of activities and sights. We visited the Asian Civilizations Museum and Buddah Tooth Relic Temple, walked around Little India and China Town, took a ride on the Singapore Flight, stared at the view from the 56th floor of the Marina Bay Sands SkyPark, drank in Clarke Quay, and ate delicious food. Of course we did many other things, but my favorites were the Gardens by the Bay, Singapore Zoo and the DaVinci exhibit at the ArtScience Museum. 

The Gardens by the Bay span about 250 acres, all covered with beautiful grass, trees, and flowers. The best parts of the gardens include the SuperTree Grove, Cloud Forest, and Flower Dome, unfortunately we were too late to see the Flower Dome but it definitely gives me all the more need to come back some day. The SuperTree Grove can only be described as one of the most beautifully strange places I have ever been in my life. Walking into the gardens at night with the trees glowing above you and the palms surrounding you feels like entering another planet. I half expected one of Jurassic Parks dinosaurs to come out and start chasing me. David and I had just entered the grove a few moments before their light and music show started, something we knew nothing about. We sat on the ground and watched as the trees matched with music in a awe inspiring orchestra of sound and light. I couldn't help my self and even let a few tears go due to the enchantment of the grove. The Cloud Forest on it's own is a whole other experience in its self. While having a perfectly created ecosystem inside the dome, it also has the largest/tallest indoor waterfall which is illuminated by purple lights. The forest looks more like a mountain made completely from the layering of flowers, ferns, vines, and leaves. With sky bridges floating out from the mountain, and the misting of the plants happening at the same time, for a moment I felt like I could've been in some strange Miyazaki film. 

The amazing part about the zoo was that very little of the animals were actually caged in, especially the monkeys. There were many instances while walking around you could look up and see an orangutan calmly munching on the leaves above you. Small bats hung in the rafters of shelters, and if a giraffe really wanted to, it could probably lean over the railing to steal your food. There was even a moment where I was a mere foot from a family of lemurs, monkeys of all kinds, and a turtle that attempted to bite my face off. The zoo was our first encounter with the downpours that mark the beginning on monsoon season, within a few minutes of light sprinkles, the sky became alight with lighting, thunder and sheets of heavy rain, in a just a matter of seconds our clothes were drenched and small rivers filled the walkways. When we finally returned to our hotel we stopped by a small stall to grab some pork buns, coupled with the cold wet clothes we were wearing, the little bbq pork filled bun was like a little warm hug of yummyness. 

For the first time in Southeast Asia, the works of Leonardo DaVinci had come on display. And we could not have been more fortunate to be at the right place at the right time. Being able to actually see some of the real physical works of DaVinci from the pages of the Codex Atlanticus was breathtaking. The fact that this one man accomplished so much in so many fields is astounding to me and I was even more grateful that I had the chance to see it. My favorite part about the exhibit is that they gave you physical and mental exercises to do in order to help you better understand DaVinci's mind and inventiveness. They broke the exhibit down into five large categories that explored mathematics, natural sciences, music, architecture, and technology. 

All in all, Singapore is a widely vibrant, exciting, and somewhat of a mysterious place. I will miss the torrential rains that come out of no where, the 70cent lotus cakes and 4$ plates of noodles, light shows on the water and in the trees and the ever awakeness of the city. I will not miss however, how expensive beer is, and for that I am glad to be back in Bangkok.

View of Marina Sands Bay Hotel, ArtScience Museum, and the Financial District of Singapore 

 Cloud Forest Waterfall

 Cloud Forest Dome and Cloud Bridge

 A picture I was not supposed to take of Leonardo DaVinci's sketches

 SuperTree Grove

 Just monkeying around

 Top of a temple

Outside of Buddah Tooth Relic Temple and Museum

And of course, some food