Our final day in Singapore

On our last day in Singapore, Angela and I went to Sentosa Island, a small amusement island just south of Singapore island, where we visited the largest aquarium in the world. Then we went back to downtown Singapore to visit the Malay Quarter. Finally, we did a free art tour inside the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Taking the monorail across to Sentosa Island.

There are a bunch of attractions on Sentosa, making it feel like a sort of amusement park resort.

We were tempted to visit the Universal Studios here, but it was pretty pricey and we'd already been to the one in Florida a few months ago.

A large chart for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. We'd had some trouble finding places to watch the games in Laos, but in Singapore and Malaysia we'd be watching a lot more of it.

The entrance to S.E.A Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the world, is dominated by this huge boat...

...which I guess is meant to be Noah's Ark. I think it would be cooler if it were Noah's Submarine and filled entirely with sea creatures.

Cue a bunch of obligatory fish photos.

After leaving the aquarium (which, to be honest, we were a little disappointed by), we took the MRT to Kampong Glam, the traditional centre of Malay culture in Singapore, though it is also dominated by Arab Street and the Sultan Mosque, giving it a slightly Middle Eastern flavour.

Back within the science-fiction landscape of the city.

The last place we visited was the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which has a free tour of the many sculptures and paintings on display within the hotel grounds.

Singapore was a fun place to explore, and had it been cheaper we'd probably have stayed a lot longer. It reminded me a lot of Hong Kong, another highly developed colonial city with a fusion of British and Chinese influences. Hong Kong might beat it in terms of sheer amount of sights and things to do, but what we really liked about Singapore was how well it merged its green spaces in with the futuristic cityscape, making it a really pleasant place to walk around. The food was also pretty damn good, though we'd soon be finding that Malaysia's gastronomic offerings were even better...

Three Gardens in Singapore: Part 2

Click here to read Part 1 of this post if you haven't already.

Leaving the Botanic Gardens behind us, we took the MRT to the Gardens by the Bay, which are overlooked by the impressive Marina Bay Sands hotel.

Our first view of the famous "Super Trees" as we approached the gardens. 

Marina Bay Sands seems to dwarf everything around it.

As well as the Super Trees, there are some other very futuristic attractions within Gardens by the Bay, including two large biodomes. The first one we visited was the Flower Dome, a contained world of perpetual spring, containing plants and trees from the Mediterranean and other semi-arid regions. 

Baobab trees and wooden horses.

The other biodome is known as the Cloud Forest, and in here was a cool, misty mountain of vegetation and plant-matter.

You can go to the top of the tropical mountain for some great views. 

By sunset, it was time to leave the biodomes and look for a place to eat.

We decided to have dinner at "Satay by the Bay," an area of outdoor restaurants selling satay sticks with rice.

Nightfall was here.

Before heading home, we had to see the Super Trees one last time. As impressive as they were by day, they looked absolutely stunning at night, like a supernatural forest of luminous trees. Needless to say, Angela and I took hundreds of photos, and it was really difficult trying to narrow them down for this blog.

During the day, the trees absorb energy from the sun via solar panels on their surface, which is then used to create a light show at night, during which the trees change colour. 

Leaving the grove behind. 

One last look at Marina Bay Sands.

While the Chinese Garden was a little dull in our opinion, we had a blast at the Botanic Gardens, and the Gardens by the Bay were probably the highlight of our time in Singapore. Seeing those Super Trees at night is an absolute must if you ever come here.

In the next blog post, we visit some final attractions in Singapore, including the world's largest aquarium, and the Arab Quarter.