Gardens by the Bay: Singapore's Most Beautiful Masterpiece

I've been to Singapore 5 times already and with each trip, Singapore has something new to offer. My first trip was in 2006, my very first out-of-the-country experience. The attractions that I've seen that time were the Merlion, Sentosa Island (by cable car) and the Esplanade. In 2008, I came back and tried the Night Safari and shopped at Chinatown among other things. My third time was in 2010 when I toured Little India, Clark Quay, Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, and restaurants in Geylang. 2013 marked my fourth time in the 'Little Dot' when I stayed the longest: 8 days! This is the year I went to Universal Studios Singapore, marveled at the beauty of Marina Bay Sands and rode the Singapore Flyer.

Last May 14, 2015, was my fifth time in Singapore. The trip was only for one day because it's part of the Tune Hotels Danga Bay bloggers fam tour which was mostly held in the Southern Malaysian city of Johor Bahru. We went to Marina Bay Sands that day to watch the finale of "Asia's Got Talent" inside MasterCard theater. After the show, we went back to Malaysia.

The bloggers fam tour in Johor Bahru ended last May 16, Saturday. But I decided to return to Singapore by bus to spend one more day at this amazing country. Can we consider it my sixth time in the Lion City?

So the highlight of my one-day Singapore trip was of course, exploring its newest attraction: the famed Gardens by the Bay. 

Winner of the 2014 International Thea Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Botanical Garden, Gardens by the Bay is a huge complex that showcase great landscape architecture. It's adjacent to the Marina Bay Sands and consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden, Bay East Garden and Bay Central Garden.

When you cross the bridge from Marina Bay Sands, a picturesque view will mesmerize you as if you're about to enter Jurassic Park or the world of Avatar. The structures that first caught my attention were the "Supertrees."

These supertrees, which differ in height, are home to enclaves of exotic ferns, vines, orchids and also a vast collection of bromeliads (like pineapples) at the base. It comes alive at night with the Garden Rhapsody, a free light and sound show at 7:45pm and 8:45pm.

Connecting two supertrees is the OCBC Skyway. You can stroll at this hanging bridge, suspended 22 meters above the ground, for S$5. The entrance is at the base of the one of the supertrees. The elevator will take you to the bridge.

Strolling at the OCBC Skyway of Gardens By the Bay. It jiggles quite a bit when wind blows. #StarmoInSingapore #WanderMore #Travel #Singapore #MarinaBaySands

A video posted by Edsel Roy (@starmometer) on May 16, 2015 at 5:35am PDT

I took this picture from the bridge using my iPhone 6:

Took these pictures using the Blux Pro app:

There are two conservatories in the 101-hectares wide Gardens by the Bay: the Flower Dome (on the left) and the Cloud Forest (right):

The Flower Dome features plants found in the Mediterranean and other semi-arid tropical regions like Australia, South America, and South Africa. It also replicates the climate in the said places. The Cloud Forest, on the other hand, replicates the cool moist conditions found in tropical mountain regions in South-East Asia, Middle-and South America. It consists of a number of levels with different themes and features different kinds of orchids, ferns, peacock ferns, clubmosses, bromeliads and anthuriums. The ticket price for each attraction is S$12 for adult and S$ for children and senior citizens.

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Everland Resort in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Although daytime temperature in Seoul for the month of January ranges from -3 to 6, it really did not snow during my 1 week stay in the city. Or perhaps it did (while I’m sleeping) at dawn around 4:00am when temperature is at its lowest -9 degrees. So we decided to travel to Everland Resort at Gyeonggi-do province south of Seoul where the upper hills of the theme park are covered with snow.

From Euljio 3(sam)ga station where our hotel is located, we rode the subway train and transferred to 4 subway lines to reach the Ever Line in Yongin. It has a petite train similar to the Hong Kong Disneyland train that connects the MTR to the theme park, only the Ever Line has a longer route with 15 stops.

From the train, you can see that parts of the river are frozen despite the sunny weather.

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AiinsWorld - Bucheon, Korea

Did you know that when you're in Korea, you can travel around the world in 60 minutes?!

Apparently, there is a theme park in Korea featuring miniatures of popular landmarks around the world perfect for picture taking and taking selfies. When I say miniatures, by the way, I don't mean 'small' because the replicas are quite big, approximately 20 to 30% from the original landmark. Like for example this replica of France's Eiffel Tower:

The theme park is called "AiinsWorld" and it's actually one of the highlights of my trip to Korea earlier this month! It's located at 529-2 Sang-dong, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. It's a little outside of Seoul but you can easily go there by taking the Seoul Subway Line 7 and alight at Samsan Stadium Station, Exit 5. Just follow the sign boards and take a 10-minute walk before you reach the park.

I arrived there around 1:00pm in the afternoon and the ticket price is 8,000 won. Since I have a discount coupon from a tourist brochure that I got from Incheon International airport, my entrance fee was only 6,800 won (i saved 1,200 won!). Travel Tip: When in Seoul, find those red brochures at the airport, they got plenty of discount coupons for tourists.

By the way, if you opt to go to AiinsWorld at night, the entrance fee is 12,000 won starting at 5:30pm. It's a little more expensive than the daytime tickets, I guess because of the led lights that illuminate the whole place at night time.

Here are the park's operating hours:

April - October: Weekdays 10:00 - 21:00 / Weekends & Holidays 10:00 - 22:00
November - March : Weekdays 10:00 - 20:00 / Weekends & Holidays 10:00 - 21:00

Last admission is 1 hour before closing time.

Check out my snaps:    

Paris Opera House

Fontainbleau

Cathedral of Chartres

Cathedral of Notre Dame (France)

The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy)

Colosseum (Italy)

Basilica de San Pietro

Petra

Chichen Itza

Sydney Opera House (Australia)

Statue of Liberty (USA)

9 Story Wooden Pagoda at Hwangyongsa (Korea)

The Petronas Towers and the World Trade Center

(Malaysia and USA)

Manhattan (USA) 

The Golden Gate Bridge (USA)

Lincoln Memorial (USA)

Diel el-Bahri Temple of Hastshepsut

Kumamoto Castle (Japan)

St. Basil's Cathedral (Russia)

For more details about AiinsWorld, visit their website at www.aiinsworld.com.

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First World Plaza - Genting Highlands, Malaysia

On our first morning in Genting, it was really cold and fogs are covering the theme park.

At around 9:00am, we had a very heavy breakfast at the First World Cafe. The buffet is included in the accommodation rate.

And while we're waiting for the theme park to open, we strolled inside the premises and checked out some stores.

I bought a Petronas Towers figurine, just the small one. :)

And as the sun came out, so did we...

The flowers, the trees and the climate remind me of our very own Baguio City.

But inside, it's like a dream sequence of some sort...

The colorful planet balls, the superhero on the wall, Santa's magic sleigh above - the ambiance was really cool!

It's actually a mall and indoor theme-park rolled into one.

It's not a horror house. It's actually a NIKE store.

And that's the Statue of Liberty at the center.

The First World Plaza is a shopping and recreation center located below First World Hotel, the biggest hotel in Genting. Aside from the shops and rides, other attractions inside this mall include a bowling center, cineplex, a Watersplash pool, a horror house, a pavilion for daily night performance shows and a Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum. And of course, there are lots of dining outlets inside the mall from American fast food to local restaurants.

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Genting Theme Park - Malaysia

The Genting Theme Park is considered as Malaysia's biggest theme park (bigger than Sunway Lagoon) and boasts of around 40 rides. The outdoor theme park has all the rides that both young and old will enjoy. This is the exterior part of the indoor theme park that we visited on Day 1.

If you want to relax, try boating. The sound of the waterfalls is soothing to the ears.

That's the First World Hotel at the background!

One of the most exciting attractions that kids should not miss is Beryl's Chocolate Wonderland.

A theme park will never be complete without the carousel:

The Cable Cars in different designs:

There are also thrill rides like the Pirate Ship, the Corkscrew (roller coaster), the Grand Prix Fun Kart, the Spinner (similar to EK's Flying Fiesta), Flume Ride, Bumper Boat, Space Shot and the Flying Coaster - the only hang-gliding roller coaster in Southeast Asia that mimics the sensation of flying.

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