Singapore: Gardens By The Bay, The Cloud Forest

January 24th was our big day in Singapore: Gardens by the Bay, the Skypark, and New Year's Eve in Chinatown. This will require several posts.

Even in the Garden complex, it's nearly always in view, and always the object of
attention

Sculpture, large and small, and in every medium, everywhere

Passing through a clump of SuperTrees

It's a huge place; would take days to see it all; our interests were the Cloud Forest
and the Flower Dome, two of the largest of the world's garden glass houses

Did not see the Chinese Garden, the Japanese Garden, the
floating egg thingies (next day), etc...

Helpful depiction showing our main interests: the Flower Dome, the Cloud
Forest, and the Super Trees

In the Cloud Forest, which is organized around this artificial
mountain, complete with tall waterfall

Helpful map

In addition to the plants, impressive sculpture everywhere

Basically, you take an elevator to the top, then walk and gawk
your way down on these ramps

Orchid district

Likes orchids

In the large carnivorous plants district, tubular carnivore
sculptures made out of Legos (pitcher plants?)

Ramp scene

Occasional glimpses of the city

Mineral displays, too (Rebecca)

Jungle scene

Amazing bench/fish sculpture; amazing place

Singapore: Marina Bay By Night

After Little India, we took the MRT (Metro) to Marina Bay, to see the Super Tree light show and then the water and light show from the Marina Bay Sands Hotel Shoppes. We'd do all this again later under different circumstances in succeeding days. The Marina Bay Sands Hotel is something you absolutely can't take your eyes off of when in the area...

Marina Bay Sands Hotel, from the stern

Super Trees light show (they're part of the Gardens by the Bay complex)

Looking into the financial district

The hotel...can't take your eyes off it...

More Super Trees

The Lotus

Light and water show from Marina Bay Sands shoppes

Best such light and water show I've seen not promoting the Mouse

Still the dominating view, symbol of Singapore these days

Singapore's Little India

Our third full day in Singapore, January 23rd, we did the Little India walking tour. It was not quite as striking as the Chinatown tour, because, in part, the Indian community is not nearly so large nor important as the Chinese community here. (Also it's not New Year for Indians). Nonetheless, it was enlightening for us since Little India is mostly southern Indian, culturally, and our previous experience in India, in 2008, was entirely in the north. (See the eight posts I did in November, 2008, including one of my favorites, https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2008/11/conversion-at-pushkar-lake.html).

So, I quickly discerned (click to enlarge and read), Little India is not a big-time
fun place to be, especially on the weekends; it all relates to riots that occurred
here, decades ago, which the Singapore government decided were alcohol-related;
thus, the ban here, but not in very many other Singapore precincts

Actually, much of our tour time was spent in or about this southern Indian temple

Rare dorsal view of lion

Inside the temple

St. Jerome? His attribute, right? Note priest in background

Stomping on a bad guy; do not try this at home...

Note five-headed god/goddess

Stuff of nightmares...or possibly a Hindu Pieta?

Nice mural nearby, probably highly meaningful, but totally lost on me; I do regret
bringing so little understanding to all this...

We had a tasting at this place; neither Vicki nor I now remember what it was
other than maybe some sort of fry-bread concoction; I do vividly remember that
they had Kingfisher beer, which is among my favorite memories of India

Street scene with shop-houses

Random shop

Oldest residence in Little India

Us, there

Next, in a humongous market/food hall

Seafood district

Garment district

Just like everywhere else, people mostly sit around looking at Facebook

Among the many residential high-rises

Street scene, Little India