The growing beauty of Singapore

What Singapore doesn’t have, it plants, then it nurtures; it builds, then it preserves; it innovates, then it surpasses. The poster boy for sustainable growth (new developments are geared to boost the city-state’s international allure as a place to live, work and play) and city planning, it’s like the well-brought up child who does its founding fathers proud.

Once a boring marshland, it is today a First World country with a dizzying array of attractions — natural, man-made or a combination of both. Not unlike an already beautiful woman who has elected for a nip and tuck somewhere to even better the finished product.

They say it is Herculean to make a city guide for Singapore — there are new attractions every week, from theme parks to food festivals, from salivating sales to art shows. Last month’s tourist guide brochure is already history today.

I visited Singapore in 2010, and visiting it in 2013 necessitated a new road map. Though the old familiar establishments are there (which many Filipinos know almost like the back of their hand, like the shopping malls on Orchard Road and the iconic hotels like the Raffles), there are so many new so-called “kids on the block” — no, make that “giants on the block.” No one really talks about the animal night safari anymore, which was probably the highlight of a family trip in the ‘90s.

Most arresting of the new developments are the Marina Bay Sands, the new Reflections (a cluster of condominiums that look like drawings against the now haze-free Singapore skies), the Gardens by the Bay, and of course, the new attractions at the Resorts World Sentosa.

We were in Singapore recently for the inauguration of Singapore Airlines’ newest cabin products designed to make a “Great Way to Fly” even better.

After a successful launch of SIA’s new First Class, Business Class and Economy Class offerings at the Changi Airport complex, we were treated to a tour of the Lion City’s newest attractions by the Singapore Tourism Board. We were ably shown around by the STB’s patient guide, Hammid.

Gardens by the Bay

According to the planners of the year-old, 101-hectare Gardens by the Bay (JLo had a concert here recently), Singapore has been embarking on a paradigm shift as it develops from a “Garden City” to a “City in a Garden.” Gardens by the Bay is intended to be just one of the many gems in the “necklace of attractions” at Singapore’s Marina Bay.

At the entrance of Gardens by the Bay are “Supertrees” ranging in height from 25 to 50 meters. These 18 Supertrees serve as vertical gardens that showcase a variety of bromeliads, ferns and other tropical flowering climbers on a scale never before presented. When the Supertrees are fully draped by these flowers and plants, you will behold both a God-given and man-made spectacle.

The Supertrees draw inspiration from the giant trees in the rainforest. During the day, the Supertrees’ canopies provide shade. At night, the vertical gardens come to life with especially composed music and synchronized lighting. An aerial walkway linking two of the Supertrees enables visitors to take in a different view of the gardens at a height of 22 meters above ground.

Within the Gardens are two glass biomes — the 1.2-hectare Flower Dome and the 0.8-hectare Cloud Forest. The world’s largest column-less greenhouse, the conservatories’ glass sits on a steel grid that acts like an eggshell. The two domes replicate the cool-moist climate of the Tropical Montane region and the cool-dry climate of the Mediterranean. The cooled conservatories allow a whole new world of plants to be nurtured and sustained in Singapore.

A visit to both domes (fee is S$28) is both relaxing and invigorating — eye candy for tired eyes and a visual tonic for weary limbs. (Just make sure you wear flats so you can meander around both domes comfortably.) There are some 217,000 plants from every continent except Antartica being nurtured in the two conservatories.

The Flower Dome reminds me of the pavilions in the Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands. If Keukenhof is carpeted by the most vibrant of tulips, Singapore’s Flower Dome is a sanctuary of mostly tropical flowers and trees, including the voluptuous “Bottle trees.”

The Cloud Forest Dome, about 16 stories high, is awesome. It will become even more refreshingly beautiful in the months and years to come, when the 130,000 plants and trees inside the forest blossom and mature.

Upon entering the Cloud Forest dome, you are greeted by a 35-meter mountain and a 30-meter waterfall (man-made, of course).  The mountain is covered in lush vegetation and is accessible by lifts, stairs and two unique walkways called the “Cloud Walk.”

If you have no fear of heights, take a stroll on the “Cloud Walk,” it is almost like walking in the clouds. At one point, I was able to snap a photo of the Marina Bay Sands with my iPhone, and it looked like I was looking eye to eye at it.

Imagine gardens and forests like this, admittedly engineered by man but spruced up by nature’s wonders, in a tiny island nation that is just 50 sq. km. bigger than Metro Manila and with half its population.

In Singapore, you can gaze to your right and see skyscrapers that would rival Manhattan’s, then look to your left and see a forest Indiana Jones would surely enjoy.

(To be concluded)

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