Showing posts with label Singapore Botanic Gardens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Singapore Botanic Gardens. Show all posts

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Uniquely Singapore: 10 Things To Do

Time Travel

Daven Wu

http://www.time.com

Singapore city view - by Moodboard / Corbis

Singaporeans moan that besides shopping, dining and the movies, there's not a lot you can do here. Ignore them. The must-see list for the one-day visitor to Singapore, especially the first-timer, is absorbingly long. There is very little chance you'll get bored. Most tourists tend to gravitate first towards the famed retail stretch of Orchard Road. Fine, get your fix of bold-faced names like Louis Vuitton, Chanel and every other couture label under the sun. When you've gotten that out of your system, dump your purchases back at the hotel and head out into the 'burbs where the real charm of Singapore lies. We're here to guide you to the top 10 places where tourists don't normally go; in short, the places where Singaporeans in the know live and play.


1. Singapore Botanic Gardens


So, you've arrived. It's early and nothing really opens for business until around 11 a.m., so how are you going to kill time? Slip on the trainers and head out to the Botanic Gardens (open 5 a.m. to midnight). At this time of the day, downtown Singapore's last remaining green lung is a cool, bucolic retreat filled with joggers, dogs and tai-chi practitioners. Wander through the swaths of virgin rainforest (the main boardwalk through it is entered from Upper Palm Valley Road) and then take in the National Orchid Garden's many-colored collection of 1,000 orchid species and 2,000 hybrids. When you're done, drop into the food court near Tanglin Gate for a traditional local breakfast of soft-boiled eggs, coffee and toast slathered with coconut jam.


2. Artwork at the Ritz-Carlton

It may seem a little strange to head to a hotel to look at artwork, but the Ritz-Carlton is no ordinary hotel. The massive three-ton Frank Stella installation at the entrance and the pair of Dale Chihuly crystal glass sculptures that anchor both wings of the building kick off one of Southeast Asia's finest (and under the radar) collections of modern and contemporary art. The majority of the pieces were specially commissioned for the public spaces and guest suites. The treasures on view include Andy Warhol and David Hockney's exuberant colors, Rainer Gross's geometric compositions, Henry Moore's restrained monochromatics and the lush botanicals of Robert Zakanitch. It's all free to view, and you even get an iPod-guided tour.

 

3. Chinatown Heritage Centre

Let the other tourist hordes charge over to the newly minted Peranakan Museum or the gloomy Asian Civilisations Museum. If you do only one cultural thing during your 24-hour Singapore layover, it must be a tour of the unheralded Chinatown Heritage Centre, where entire sets of bedrooms, kitchens and street scenes from the late-19th century and early-20th century have been faithfully recreated. It's an authentic slice of Singapore's history that's made all the more fascinating by the gleaming skyscrapers just a few blocks away. And if you must, pick up a kitschy souvenir from the gift shop on your way out.

4. Plastic Surgery

In case you missed the memo, the place for plastic surgery is Asia. While many people head to Bangkok and Seoul for assorted nips and tucks, the locals make a beeline for the ultra-swish, Richard Meier–designed Camden Medical Centre. You may not have time for a full makeover, but squeeze in a spot of Botox or a non-surgical facelift with local celebrity surgeon Woffles Wu. And then adjourn downstairs for snapper pie and Pavlova at Whitebait and Kale.

5. Electronics for Cheap

Tokyo may have the latest in electronic gadgets, but Singapore has the widest range, and luckily for the time-pressed shopper, they're all clustered in two massive multistory emporia. Handicams, portable DVD players, mobile phones, hi-tech cameras, MP3 players and laptops in just about every imaginable configuration are up for grabs at Funan Digitalife Mall and Sim Lim Square. The prices are usually about 10% to 20% cheaper than at other commercial outlets. At Sim Lim Square especially, good deals can be had with some serious haggling, and many retailers will knock off a few extra dollars if you pay in cash.

 

6. Haji Lane

This tiny lane, hidden away in the heart of the Muslim quarter, is a fashionista's paradise. With very little fanfare, the collection of narrow shop-houses have, in less than a year, been transformed into an aggressively hip retail stretch recalling Le Marais in Paris or New York's Meatpacking District. Know It Nothing is a stylish industrial space that stocks beautifully tailored dress shirts stitched with silver skull buttons by Japanese label Garni. Next, pop into Pluck for its shabby chic collection of Austin Powers–inspired cushion covers and a cute ice-cream parlor. A few doors down, Salad boasts a range of home accessories like laser-cut table mats and Hong Kong–based Carrie Chau's quirky postcards. If you're feeling peckish, have an authentic Middle Eastern lunch around the corner at Cafe le Caire.

 

7. The Singapore Flyer

The 165-meter-high Flyer is Singapore's answer to the London Eye. For the moment, it is the world's largest observation wheel (that title will go to Las Vegas' High Roller when its version opens in 2013). Despite much fanfare and hype, the locals have never really taken to the Flyer, grousing that it's too far from anywhere (it's not) and S$29.50 is a lot of money to pay for a 30-minute ride. Lucky you, since this means you'll almost never have to wait in line. The best time to hitch a ride is at dusk when the entire row of downtown skyscrapers is softly lit. Back on the ground, head for a dinner of chili crabs at Seafood Paradise.

8. The White Rabbit

Back in the '50s, Dempsey Hill was home to the British Army. These days, the former barracks, set amidst lush jungle, have been transformed into a fine collection of restaurants, bars, art galleries, epiceries and spas. Recently, the long abandoned garrison church was reopened as the White Rabbit, a restaurant and bar serving up Euro comfort food. After extensive renovations, its lofty interiors are now a mood-lit bolt-hole that heaves with tout le monde. When people aren't busy air-kissing and waving to one another across the crowded dining space, they're tucking into chef Daniel Sia's cleverly re-imagined classics, like macaroni and cheese drizzled with truffle sauce and a deconstructed Black Forest cake. After dinner, head up the hill for a chilled mojito at Margarita's.

9. Geylang

Once upon a time, Bugis Street was Singapore's premier red light district (and forever immortalized in Peter Bogdanovich's Saint Jack), but the crown has long since passed to Geylang, an atmospheric quarter on Singapore's east coast that bristles with great period architecture, leggy street walkers and some of the best local food on the island. On offer is a greedy grab of Peranakan, Indian, Malay and regional Chinese standards including the coconut rice and curry chicken at Bali Nasi Lemak, spicy noodles with roast pork and prawns at Kuching Kolo Mee and the Hakka favourite of rice, vegetables, tofu and peanuts in a tea-based broth at Lei Cha Fan.

 

10. Zouk

Despite its prim, straight-laced reputation, Singapore's nightlife is actually quite racy, though compared to Barcelona or New York, the party ends early (around 3 a.m.). After nearly two decades, Zouk is still the throbbing heart of the action. The pulsating institution is a strobe-lit, rambling warren of dance floors, figure-hugging outfits, swagger and seasoned moves. For many of the pretty young hipsters here, it's a rite of passage. If it isn't enough to satisfy your urge to groove, drop into the mammoth Ministry of Sound for a quick shimmy.


Posted by ViP at 12:15 PM 1 comments
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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Uniquely Singapore - Singapore Botanic Gardens Part 3

Singapore Botanic Gardens
 The Singapore Botanic Gardens is uniquely Singapore where you will find a 74 hectare of dynamic and living tropical garden.  It is the only botanic garden in the world that opens from 0500 hrs to 0000 hrs every single day of the year and is free to all visitors except for the National Singapore Orchid Garden.

National Orchid Garden






Here is one of the swans at the Eco-Lake.

Flight of the Swans sculpture at the Eco-Lake
One of the in-house swans
 It is very common to find owners walking their dogs in the Singapore Botanic Gardens as can be seen in the picture below.


 We were pleasantly surprised to see more than five couples having their wedding photography shots taken at the Gardens as well.


If you should pay the entrance fee into the National Orchid Garden, do not miss checking out the misthouse as you will not regret the experience.  Here you will many wonderful and uniques flowers and we were wowed by them.  :D

Misthouse

Founded in 1859, the Singapore Botanic Gardens has come a long way and is now committed to making Singapore a Garden City as well as meeting recreational needs.
 







 The aim of the Singapore Botanic Gardens is to be at the forefront of the botanical and horticultural activity by the 21st century as well as a key Singapore tourist attraction.




Posted by ViP at 10:24 PM 0 comments
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Saturday, July 28, 2012

Uniquely Singapore - Singapore Botanic Gardens Part 2

Singapore Botanic Gardens Orchids - Singapore Orchid Garden

National Orchid Garden Singapore
Holiday Travel Tips:-
Look out for these Photo Spot signages for great and memorable pictures... though there are other wonderful spots to snap as well.

Photo spot
One such photo spot
Kudos...
The National Orchid Garden is the main attraction within the Singapore Botanic Gardens with a collection of more than 1,000 species and 2000 hybrids of orchids.  Presenting a comprehensive permanent display of orchid culture spread over 3 hectares of landscaped terraces, you will be treated to orchids from around the world, rare species as well as orchids bred by the Singapore Botanic Gardens.















Opening Hours:- 
8am - 7pm daily
Last ticket sales at 6.30pm

Admission Charges:-
Adult                                                                          - $5
Children (12 years and below)                                   - Free
Senior Citizens (60 years and above) and Students   - $1

Pets, rollerblading and tricycles are not permitted in the National Orchid Garden though they are allowed in the Singapore Botanic Gardens.






Promotions:-
July 2012         - Free entry into National Orchid Garden for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents
Aug 2012         - 10% discount for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents at The library Shop and The Garden Shop
Sep - Dec 2012 - 10% discount on Singapore Botanic Gardens Adults' Gardening Workshops



Burkill Hall

The Burkill Hall is a colonial plantation bungalow that was constructed in 1886.  You can view the exhibition area showcasing information on the various orchid hybrids on the ground level.

Burkill Hall - picture from sbg.org.sg
VIP Orchid Garden

At the VIP Orchid Garden, you will be able to see various hybrids of orchids that have been named after celebrity VIPS.

Here are some of the VIP orchids that we managed to snap.

Queen Elizabeth
Sydney Brenner

Andrea Bocelli

Stefanie Sun
In fact, if we were to compare the Dendrobium Stefanie Sun orchid and Dendrobium Memoria Princess Diana as seen below, we thought that the Stefanie Sun orchid had a more luxurious feel. :D


Bae Yong Jun

Memoria Princess Diana
Paloma Picasso

Tan Hoon Siang Misthouse


Here at the Misthouse, you will be treated to a colourful collection of various orchid hybrids as well as a small collection of fragrant orchids.













Holiday Travel Tips:-
If you do not have much time to tour the whole National Orchid Garden, you must at least make time to visit the Mist House.  We were amazed at the many unique, lovely flowers and orchids that we saw here.






We basically went 'gaga' over the various orchids at the Misthouse and were wowed by the many unique and interesting varieties of orchids over here.



Rare orchid cultivars from the Gardens' extensive collection are displayed in the mist house.  These award-winning specimens are set amidst a lush setting of tropical foliage and cultural artifacts from centres of orchid distribution around the world.







This must have been one of the most wonderful outings in a long while, being able to have a first-hand experience of viewing these awesome orchids ...



Oh!  I forgot to mention that I just love dual colours and as you can see, many of the orchids here have at least two colours or even more.  What a delight!




Coolhouse

The Coolhouse recreates an environment of the tropical highland forest and showcases orchids that are frequently found there.



Medusa



















Lady Yuen-Peng McNeice Bromeliad House


As the name suggests, here you will get to see a collection of bromeliads on display.  We regret that we did not have much time to visit the Bromeliad House as we had another appointment, thus gave it a miss.

Bromeliad House ... picture from sbg.org.sg

It was truly a wonderful time at the Singapore Botanic Gardens - National Orchid Garden where we could see the orchids in a tropical garden setting in what is uniquely Singapore.  :D  Definitely worth visiting if you are a plant lover...


And don't be surprised if you do spot some furry friends as well.
Spot the bushy tail?


Posted by ViP at 8:57 AM 1 comments
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