Today we did our first group activity, which was visiting the Marina Bay, and the Gardens by the Bay. The day started for me at 8am, I got up and got dressed and attempted to find something to eat, which was suprisingly difficult. I ended up having spring rolls, there was one breakfast option which was toast with what I thought was raw egg to dip in, which didn’t look very appetising.
After breakfast I met up with the rest of the group and as we were preparing to leave we experienced our first crazy change in wearger as a tropical thunderstorm unleased on Singapore. We caught the shuttle bus to the trainstation, the train ride into the city was pretty uneventful, but the public transport system is amazingly clean and punctual.
We got off at Raffles station and walked along Marina Bay to look across to the Marina Bay Sands, the arcitechture of the building was amazing and it has a very commanding presence amongst the other skyscapers around it, it was very impressive. After we took photos of the bay it was about 12 pm, it was time for lunch, so we headed over to the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. I had some beef Singapore fried noodles which were delicious, and then had a wander around the shopping complex which was full of designer shops.
Next on the agenda was to visit the Gardens by the Bay, walking toward the area you are greeted by lushious greenery and huge purple towers that look like they are from a futuristic movie.
There are two different domes at Garden by the Bay, one called the Flower dome, which was the first one that the group went in. The Flower Dome was slightly cooler and less humid than outside which was good, the Flower Dome was okay, it was like most other gardens basically. The other garden is called the Cloud Dome, which was much more interesting than the Flower Dome. When entering the Cloud Dome younare greeted by a waterfall/cliff face that is 35 metres high, and covered in tropical plants. There was a skywalk around the top of the waterfall which gave a nice perspective of the whole garden area.
After the Cloud Dome we were free to go off on our own, and I went back to the shopping centre and then went back to my room.
La Trobe Nanotech Study Tour - Singapore 2014 