Gardens by the Bay.

We got the day going with a short river cruise on a traditional “bumboat” which used to ferry cargo here.  We cruised around the interior bay for a nice perspective and enjoyable 40-minutes.  Then we trekked over to the iconic Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay, eventually figuring out how to get a ticket for the OCBC Skyway, 66 feet up.

Walked over the Dragonfly Bridge to view the dramatic evening light show among the Supertrees.  Standing by Dragonfly Lake was a perfect spot to take in the perspective. They do the 12-minutes show twice a night – at 7:45 and 8:45. The complex is huge, with domes gardens and a wide array of specialty gardens, you could spend a week.

No visit here would be complete without a visit to the adjacent Casino and the huge, multilevel high-end shopping mall, all by the Marina Bay.   The good news was the Casino has seriously limited smoking, the bad news was the minimums were $50 in honor of the Chinese New Year.  In case you’re wondering, maximum bet allowed (at a normal table) was $500K. We did not see any craps tables and no, we did not win money.  The mall mirrored shops like Prada, Tiffany and Armani found on Singapore’s famous Orchard Street. They love to repeat stores here, so for example, you might see three Cartier shops within a block and a half.  You could spend some serious money here.

Our final dinner in this great city was for typical dumplings, wontons and egg fried rice at Ding Tai Fung  a famous Taiwanese spot, rated one of the top ten by the NY Times.  Floor to ceiling windows allow visitors to watch the young men make the intricate dumplings.  The food was great, we were not disappointed.

Looking up at the Marina Bay – that’s the bottom of the pool.