Gardens by the Bay

So Saturday was a big day for me; I went to Little India in the morning, hung by the pool in the mid day, and then the big event; I went to the "Gardens by the bay" designed by an amazing, cutting edge architect named Zaha Hadid. I just happened to be in another of her buildings' two weekends ago when Daniel set us up a weekend in Cincinnati. So how cool is it that I saw two of her projects within 2 weeks of each other! Thank you Daniel for making that happen :-) Little India was a little "off" for me when I first got there, mostly because when you get off the metro, it's a normal neighborhood, it's not like they have a sign that says "yo- tourists- cool stuff this way!" :-) So I had to walk around for a bit and walk down some alleys to find the "real" little India. But when I found it, I saw it everywhere! It was crowded covered walkways, filled with everything you could imagine. The whir of meat saws cutting the freshest meats, the smell of roses and marigolds from the hanging floral strands, and curries and incense everywhere. I wandered streets for 2 hrs. So many stores, so many jewelery stores! And the best part- it was real! These were Indian immigrants in these stalls selling goods, and the same buying them! This was not a display set up for the tourist trade. I hadn't seen anything like this in a very long time. So much of Dubai was just set up for Tourists, as is Vienna, and Istanbul. But this was real, and fun. After two good hrs of walking though the sun was getting really hot and I had enough, so headed to back to enjoy the infinity pool and get a nap before the big event. So what was this big event??? Well; These are the pictures from the bridge that gets you over to the "Gardens by the Bay". The bridge was soooo crowded with tourists as this was still Chinese Year year (going on till February 10), but I muscled my way towards the side of the bridge and got some pictures. Not that it was hard- I'm like a friggin giant compared to most of the people hear- they basically bounce off me then look up at me! lol The gardens are free, but you have to pay 30SGD to get into the 2 conservatories; the Floral Dome, and the Cloud Forest. I had heard from the main server at the lounge that the Cloud Forest was "a must see! They have a waterfall!!" she said excitedly. So of course, I headed there. So this was stunning. I know I keep saying "AMAZING" and stunning, but this city is so amazing! Lol It was such a shock to see such a mountain of greenery- litterally a mountain of greenery. I had pre-read that this was the worlds largest conservatory with no interior supports, and I believe it after seeing this mammoth green space! The waterfall was cool, but what was even more incredible was the lower space, where the waterfall flows into a lush green garden that looks just like Jurassic Park! Finally, the sun was setting, and so I headed to the Trees... The buildings, again, soooo cool! I can't believe I was able to view her architecture in living color and style!! They are so futuristic, and- I'm going to say it! STUNNING! So the trees- they are solar power panels that help provide power to the park- so self-sustaining environment. They are also gigantic planters, with all sorts of plants growing on their trunks. At 7 and 8, they have a musical light show, and I was just in time for the show! I got some pictures, and then some Iphone video, and the put them down. I realized that alot of moments lately are missed because we (i) and others are so focused on capturing the moment that we dont' really experience the moment. So Put them away, and just experienced it. And wow, it was so cool. The music was all symphony, new age, and the trees were lite up to the exact moments that build in the music. It was great, and again, another night in Singapore, like no other in the world. :-)