Singapore: Day 3 (Gardens by the Bay, river cruise and Clarke Quay).

Last day of “vacation”! Today we went to Gardens on the Bay and took a river boat cruise along the Singapore River to Clarke Quay for dinner.

Gardens on the Bay is located in Marina Bay (near the Singapore Flyer Ferris Wheel) and is comprised of several large outdoor garden areas and two huge conservatories. One is called “Flower Dome” and the other is called “Cloud Forest.” Flower Dome contains a variety of flowers, trees and cactus from around the world. Cloud Forest contains a large man-made mountain with a large waterfall on the north side. Cloud Forest is designed to mimic the climate and horticulture of a high altitude rain forest. The outdoor areas of Gardens on the Bay contains several large “super trees” and the “Super Tree Grove.” The super trees are designed to collect solar energy and exfil waste from the conservatories. The trees stand between 25-50 meters tall, are covered in tropical plants (they are referred to as “vertical gardens”). The super trees light up at night and there is a skywalk along the tallest super trees providing an arial view of the gardens. We spent pretty much the entire day at the gardens. It was great to get a break from the heat–it almost felt cold inside the climate controlled green houses.

Next we got on the Singapore river cruise to boat down the river and have dinner at Clarke Quay. Clarke Quay is named after Sir Andrew Clarke the second governor of Singapore. Clark Quay is a five block outdoor pedestrian mall which is full of bars and restaurants–most situated along the water. We picked a mexican restaurant that had a kids menu.

Once we finished dinner we headed back to the Gardens via the river cruise to see the super trees at night and catch a cab back to our hotel. Another long day for the boys–luckily, they will have a few days to catch up on sleep and get back on schedule before going back to school on Monday.

IMG_2344-2