Time for another holiday

It's been too many months since our last holiday! This one was long time in planning as it involved my parents flying over from Finland. We planned a three-week roundtrip in Singapore and Malaysia to show them around, starting from Singapore as there is a great direct flight to there from Helsinki. As I've posted about Singapore before, I won't go into too many details but I must say that the whole city is a breath of fresh air straight from landing. And actually we were lucky to have a bit of cooler weather, which made exploring a bit more bearable (as we are not early risers!).

As a keen gardener I thought my mum would enjoy the Gardens by the Bay, followed by drinks up Ku-De-Ta. Something for everyone! The gardens are truly beautiful, and I would highly recommend paying little bit extra to climb the artificial trees to the aerial walkway for a bird's eye view of them and a panoramic view over the bay, too. The Supertree Grove offers great vistas 22 meters above the ground. It's a 128 meter skyway giving a better understanding of the beauty of the gardens. In the night, they offer a spectacular light show.

We also explored both of the conservatories (again, you will have to pay extra. Entry to the gardens are otherwise free), the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome. The Cloud Forest is a rest bite from the heat of the great outdoors as you climb amidst the planted wall and duck from the splashes of the waterfall. It is a model of various jungle flora and fauna from the ground level up to the mountains. The Flower Dome was in full celebration of the Chinese New Year, and the special arrangements were their goats from various flowers.

The Garden's also have a brilliant children's garden including climbing frames, slides and water shoots. So pack your swimmers! And all this is done really sympathetically incorporating various plants, fitting the theme of course.

Being in Singapore, and at the footstep of one of the largest China towns outside China, we were hoping to join in the New Year's celebration. But we must have become old! (I know it was my birthday coming up but I wasn't expecting I was this old!) We managed to squeeze our way into China town in a taxi - and got fed up after being virtually grabbed by the throngs of people in the narrow lanes, and left before the fireworks...! We did manage some snaps of the lights, though. These seem standard for every year - last year my sister and I were here after the new year and saw the Horse displays.