Just before we went to bed last night there was thunder. During the night we could hear it raining, when we awoke it was still raining and the view from our eighth floor window was bleak and grey with very low cloud and the city skyline had vanished.
We ate breakfast, checked the web to see where it suggested were good places to visit when it rained to discover that whilst it generally does not rain at this time of year, if it does, it will only be a short, if heavy shower, which will clear quickly. Umhhhhhhhhhhh.
Well, we were not going to spend the day indoors so we decided to take up one of the suggested places to visit if it rained, the Gardens at the Bay. We borrowed an umbrella from the concierge as it was still raining and shared a cab with a couple from Glasgow to the nearest MRT station. The journey was swift and uneventful. As we emerged from underground near to the Gardens at the Bay, it was still raining. Lesley managed the umbrella whilst I took some tentative pictures, expecting them all to be a little on the grey side and lacking in contrast.
By the time we had walked through several of the gardens towards the two domes, centre pieces of the venue, the rain had stopped but we decided it was time for coffee and cake so we indulged ourselves.
The two domes we had decided to visit were the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. The first contained a wide range of flowers from various habitats across the world and the temperature was just right. Mainly Mediterranean and so much cooler and less humid than outside. The flowers were beautiful and we spent a couple of hours just looking and photographing, noting that some of the plants we had seen whilst in Australia.
We had a snack on the steps between the domes overlooking a lake. The sun was trying to peek out from behind the clouds when we entered the second of the domes, a recreation of a rain forest high in the mountains such as those in Chile. A waterfall some 50 metres high had been created alongside an elevated walkway that took one through the various levels of the forest. Again, the flowers and plants were beautiful and the temperature was lovely.
Leaving the second dome we made our way across to the Shoppes (not a spelling error) at Marina Bay Sands, through a very high rise and plush hotel comprising 3 very tall curved towers with a bridge across the top containing a terrace garden higher than most buildings in the city. We intended to rest, then have some dinner and be out on the Marina Bay promenade in time to watch the water and light show Lorna had told us about yesterday. We again made use of the wide range of outlets in the food hall, all selling freshly cooked meals and snacks from diverse cultures at very reasonable prices.
The rain and grey skies had given way to a clear bright evening with a newish moon. A reasonable sized crowd had gathered in the promenade but we still had a good view of a beautiful multi media show which was presented on screens of water with accompanying soundtrack. It was definitely promoting Singapore as a place of culture and somewhere one would want to live and raise a family.
Once finished we retraced our steps back to a viewing platform overlooking the Supertree Grove near to the Gardens at the Bay where we had been told there was another light show with music at 2045. Arriving early we had a good view of the ever shifting lights on the supertrees. It was not a stunning show but well worth seeing and provided a very different view of the trees. Feeling tired we made our way back to the MRT station and travelled back to our hotel.
Everywhere we went there were crowds of people. It was Saturday, but at 2130 all of the shops in the subterranean malls were open and doing brisk business. I still find it a little strange to be finding my way through a maze of underground avenues and walkways several levels below ground and beginning to think that Singaporians have something in common with troglodytes or dwarves.
We bought some breakfast provisions on our way back, enjoyed a cup of tea, downloaded photos, had a FaceTime conversation with our son Andrew then went to bed, exhausted.
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