Uniquely Singapore - Chinatown Singapore Attraction

A short stroll in Chinatown Singapore

Chinatown Singapore - a man resting

Chinatown Singapore is a historical settlement area for many Chinese immigrants.  Today Chinatown Singapore is a tourist attraction that is considered a uniquely Singapore attraction.

Street of Chinatown - lantern festival

Lanterns adorn the street

Lanterns everywhere

Here you can discover restaurants aplenty, tourist attractions and many other interesting finds.

Some interesting finds

If you start from URA centre at Maxwell Road, you can check out the enormous model replica of Singapore at the Singapore City Gallery.  Situated between historic Chinatown Singapore and the Central Business District, this allows visitors to get a complete view of the Central Area of Singapore and also the city’s physical transformation past, present and future. 

Moving on to South Bridge Road, you will be greeted by a few religious buildings within walking distance from each other.

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple is immediately noticeable with its solid gold two-metre stupa on the fourth floor where its sacred relic is kept.  This Singapore attraction Buddhist Temple houses 300 Buddhist artefacts from Asia.  If you would like to know more, you can join the free English language tour which is conducted every Tuesday and Thursday.  Book early to avoid disappointment.

Buddha Tooth Relic temple against a backdrop of public housing

Located on Smith Street, Chinatown Food Street provides alfresco dining.  The high ceiling glass canopy provides shelter from the weather elements.  The Chinatown Food Street seeks to bring back the nostalgic street dining from yesteryears. 

View of Sri Mariamman Temple

Sri Mariamman Temple

Moving a short distance along South Bridge Road near Pagoda Street, you will come across the Sri Mariamman Temple.  One of the oldest Hindu Temple in Singapore, this uniquely Singapore tourist attraction stands out for its many colourful sculptures of Hindu deities making a great photo opportunity, especially the landmark entrance tower.  The fire-walking festival, Theemithi, is celebrated at this temple annually.

Sri Mariamman Temple - landmark entrance tower

Sri Mariamman temple surrounding

Trengganu Street is now a pedestrian mall where you can find stalls selling knick knacks of sorts.  Soak in the atmosphere of the old Chinatown as you search for that special souvenir for your loved ones.

Chinatown Singapore

Peranakan influence

Shops

Entrance to the food street

Antiques

Busy Chinatown street

Chinatown mosque - Masjid Jamae

One of Singapore’s oldest mosque, Masjid Jamae or Masjid Chulia is another Singapore landmark.  Established in 1826, Masjid Jamae is one of the approved mosques in Singapore to conduct the yearly sacrificial event.

Old shophouses

One of the new kid on the block - a shopping centre

Chinatown Singapore used to be where the Chinese immigrants gathered and settled in the early years.  Rich in history, you will find souvenir shops, antiques and boutiques as you stroll through the area which is a uniquely Singapore tourist attraction.

Uniquely Singapore - Gardens By The Bay - Cloud Forest

The waterfall

Upon entering the uniquely Singapore Cloud Forest dome, you will be greeted by a spectacular 35-metre tall 'mountain' complete with the tallest indoor waterfall amidst lush vegetation.  The waterfall provides visitors with refreshing cool air, great to escape from the heat of Singapore's weather.

Here you get to learn about the cool-moist climate found in tropical mountain regions between 1,000 to 3,500 metres above sea level, such as Mt Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, and high elevation areas in South America.

The Cloud Forest Dome, at 0.8 hectares, features a ‘Cloud Mountain’, accessible by an elevator, and visitors will be able to descend the mountain via a circular path and enjoy the cool fresh air. 

Both the Conservatories, the Flower Dome as well as the Cloud Forest Dome, use a suite of technologies to achieve at least 30% saving in energy consumption, compared to conventional cooling technologies.  As a result the energy consumption for the Conservatories is comparable to that of an average commercial building in Singapore of the same footprint and height.  To optimise energy efficiency, the following key architectural and engineering strategies were implemented:

• Spectrally selective glass and light sensor-operated shadings minimize the solar heat gain and allow maximum light to plants.
• Thermal stratification to ensure cool air settles at the lower occupied zone and warm air is allowed to rise and vented out at high levels.
• The efficient de-humidification cooling process is de-coupled first into de-humidifying of the air with a liquid desiccant and then cooling the dry air.
• A Combined Heat Power (CHP) biomass steam turbine generates electricity to run the electric chillers that produce chilled water to cool the Conservatories. Waste heat is captured in the process to regenerate the liquid desiccant.

Here are some of the beautiful flowers and vegetation that you can find in the Cloud Forest.

Giant orchid

Beautiful flowers

Pitcher plant

Flower with interesting centre

Pink flower

At the 'top' of the mountain

Bunch of flowers

Prett flowers

Decorative statues

Interesting bench

Interesting flower

Nice variegated leaf

Pitcher plant

Family of snails

Waterfall from the other end

Crystal Mountain

Lots to see and do at the Cloud Forest in Gardens By The Bay.  Best way to see as much as possible would be to take a lift up to the very top and then walk down the walkway and take your time to take in the many beautiful sights as well as enjoy the cool air.

CLOUD FOREST Hours & Admission Fees

Hours:

• Opens 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM daily
• Last ticket sale at 8:00 PM daily
• Last admission at 8:30 PM daily

Local Resident Admission:     

Adult	$12
Senior Citizen*	$8
Child**	$8

Local Resident Admission
(includes entry to Flower Dome):

Adult	$20
Senior Citizen*	$15
Child**	$12

Standard Admission
(includes entry to Flower Dome):

Adult	$28
Senior Citizen*	$28
Child**	$15

* Senior Citizen (≥ 60 years old)
** Child (3 – 12 years old)

Uniquely Singapore - Gardens By The Bay - Flower Dome

Gardens By The Bay - Uniquely Singapore

Ticket to the Cooled Conservatories

Flower Dome - one of the two conservatories

The iconic features of the Gardens, the Cooled Conservatories, are the jewel in the crown of the gardens, and appear like an exotic outcrop on the edge of the Marina.  The Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest represent an innovative amalgamation of architecture, structural ingenuity, environmental engineering and landscape design.  They showcase the application of sustainable energy solutions and tell the story of plants and their intimate relationships with man and the ecosystem.  At the same time their 2 Hectare area offers a spectacular visual and spatial experience for visitors.

View of Flower Dome interior from the upper level

One of the many relationships to learn about

View of the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort from Gardens By The Bay

One of the themed gardens

Replicating the cool-dry climate of the Mediterranean and semi-arid sub-tropical regions such as South Africa and parts of Europe like Spain and Italy, the Flower Dome boasts a permanent display of such plants as well as a changing display field that enables flower shows and displays to be held within the Conservatory.

Another themed garden

Check out the size of this giant hibiscus...  :D

This is my favourite section though...  The Autumn Harvest display

Guess I'm still a child at heart, thus the above displays are really heart warming.  :D

Here are some flowers which I thought were pretty unique...

A little like a dancing ballerina

Dainty...

So if you like to experience something uniquely Singapore, check out the latest attraction Gardens By The Bay and be sure to visit the Flower Dome as well as the Cloud Forest.  :D