Hall-Reppens in Singapore: Visiting the Gardens by the Bay for "Tulipmania"

On Tuesday, after her boys got out of school, Michelle picked us up to take us to the Gardens by the Bay. Ben's parents were going to pick him up from work, and they would meet us there. Michelle's family has a family membership, so they try to go as often as possible. They had just started their tulip show, and Michelle has loved tulips ever since she was in university in Seattle.

I've been a member of the Geneva Garden Club for the past 17 years, so the Gardens by the Bay have been on my to-do list since I got to Singapore. I had been planning to go to a concert by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra that was held there one Saturday, but torrential downpours kept us away. I guess I always thought that it would be more fun to go there with somebody, but Michelle helped me to see the error of my ways. When I come back to Singapore in September, I think I'll get an annual pass.

The Gardens by the Bay have two domes; The Flower Dome, and The Cloud Dome. The tulips were in The Flower Dome. The Flower Dome has flowers and plants from all different types of climates. They have Mediterranean Flowers, California Flowers, Australia Flowers, Succulents, Flowers from Singapore, and Beobop Trees, along with a special type of flower display. Tulipmania was their special display at this time.

The tulips looked and smelled beautiful. Besides the flowers, they had signs with facts about tulips, their origin, their popularity, and their growth all along the way. In the middle, they had an abundant profusion of tulips, along with giant wooden shoes, windmills, and gazebos. It was very funny to see all the kids trying on the big wooden shoes, while their parents snapped pictures.

While I was mesmerized by all the beautiful plants and sculptures on the inside, I think Erin was even more mesmerized by the sites outside. She kept asking me to take pictures of her with the Singapore Flyer (ferris wheel). She would also take panoramic views, that would concentrate on the views of Singapore.

Visiting The Cloud Dome is like walking into a rain forest. There is a giant waterfall as you enter. Then you take an elevator to the top level and walk down a path through the rain forest. There are depictions of the animals of the rain forest, along with sculptures, and a beautiful agate and crystal display. Outside, there were huge wire tree sculptures, that are filled with lights. It was really fun to see the colors of the trees change, as they were framed by the panels of the dome.

After we finished our visit to the domes, we headed behind the gardens for "Satay BBQ". According to Ben and Michelle, they have tried to attract some of the most famous Satay Hawker Stalls in the city, and lure them to a home behind the gardens. We had fried rice, satay of chicken, lamb, and beef, a sauteed kind of lettuce with garlic, and fried carrot cake. The last was not carrot cake as Americans know it. It had more of a stuffing texture, and was made with white or black carrots. After visiting Rich for lunch, Erin has greatly enjoyed experimenting with fruit and vegetable extract juices. She got one juice made with dragon fruit, which was quite tasty, and one made with carrots and ginger, which was not. Erin and I enjoyed everything (except the carrot and ginger juice!), but Ben and Michelle said they had had better satay and fried carrot cake. Apparently, that is one of Ben's favorite food items, and he will make frequent stops at the Newton Hawker Stalls to get his "fix". As usual, Ben and Michelle, their 3 boys, their helper, Lally, and Ben's parents were very helpful and informative hosts.