We ventured out on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) network again today.  The metro in Singapore is quite comprehensive but easy to manage.  Not surprisingly, smoking, eating and drinking are not allowed on the metros.  A little more surprising is you are not allowed to bring durian on board. Quite a stinky fruit, durian is typically not allowed in the nicer hotels either.

For those that may not have heard of durian, here is the wikipedia description by a travel food writer Richard Sterling: “its odor is best described as pig-excrement, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away”. One can imagine why it might be banned from public spaces! In reality if prepared well it is quite tasty.

Merlion Park is where the Singapore River empties into Marina Bay.  The water-spitting Merlion is 28 feet tall and weighs 70 tons.  The half-lion/half-fish merlion symbolizes Singapore’s beginnings as a fishing village as well as being a nod to the Singapura, meaning cat or lion in Malay. Singapore is often referred to as Lion City.

An iconic building in Singapore, the Marina Bay Sands Hotel is made up of three 55 story towers connected by a 1 hectare roof terrace.  Many of the hotel’s suites have butler service!  The cheap rooms start at $800 per night so we decided to stay elsewhere. 

We spent the day wandering around the Gardens by the Bay, a horticultural paradise below the hotel.

In addition to hundreds of plants, trees and flowers, the gardens are full of amazing statues.

The two dragonflies, in addition to being the logo of the Gardens by the Bay, portray the harmony of flora and fauna found in the gardens.  Dragonflies are indicators of clean water and a healthy ecosystem. They are also Kris’ favourite insects!

Trash-sure is a 10m long/7m tall Sumatran Tiger made from trash collected all over Singapore, bringing to light the plight of this critically endangered species. 

Gardens by the Bay boats two massive domes, The Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome.

The Cloud Forest is home to one of the world’s tallest indoor waterfalls (114’) and a man-made ‘mountain’ clad with plants from around the world.

Tane Te Waiora Kuwaha is a Maori carving made of totara wood representing a doorway.  The carving reaffirms the special relationship between Singapore and New Zealand. The cross beam bears a wheku (carving of a face) representing Hina, the personification of the moon. 

There were also several glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly of Seattle.

Gardens by the Bay is famous for their grove of 18 Super Trees, some of which are up to 50m tall.  The trees are called vertical gardens, as they support more than 162,000 living plants of 200+ species (bromeliads, ferns, orchids).  One of the super trees contains an elevator that takes you up to a 128m elevated walkway. 

Lunch was at at Satay by the Bay, a hawker-style food court beside the pretty Kingfisher Lake.  The satay was very tasty and beer and cider were refreshing!

In the Marina Bay Sands shops (a massive mall across from the hotel) is the Rain Oculus, a 70’ diameter acrylic bowl that fills with water several times per day, creating a 2-story waterfall into a pool inside the mall.

Dave has recently added employees from Asia Pacific to his team, several of whom live in Singapore.  Tonight we had a nice team dinner at Spago on the 57th floor of the Marina Bay Hotel so he could meet his peers and reports in person.    

Then it was a quick elevator ride to the harbor to watch the 15-minute light and sound at the Marina Bay Sands.

Tomorrow we leave Singapore and start our real trip in Borneo!