Singapore Botanical Gardens

It looked a lot closer on the map than in reality. After arriving at Newton MRT station, I walked for approximately 40 minutes to reach the Botanical Gardens. It was tiring, especially after my six-hour bus journey from Kuantan, Malaysia which began at 9am that morning. But as the next three hours panned out, it was well worth the long walk.

The gardens were full of grassy slopes, water features and majestic arches.

These rushing waters were located in an area named the 'Coolhouse' where the temperature was very low, I could visibly see my breath as it left my mouth, and the tremendous noise of the fountain filled the air.

Walking through this mini-cave behind the waterfall was a nice experience and made for an even nicer picture.

There were many spectacular views in the gardens and enough sights to keep one busy for hours on end. Here are a few of my favourite images:

(The Coolhouse)

As the light of day slowly faded and the dark of night creeped in, the energy and life remained. Even in the dark of night, there was plenty of light on offer.

However, the star attraction was the Botanic Garden's 'Orchid Garden', constituting the world's largest collection of Orchids in a stunning variety of species and colours. Here are some of the most interesting shots I snapped before my camera battery died later in the night.

I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scenes of nature which bombarded my senses at the Singapore Botanical Gardens, and I would definitely go again, even if it means another long 40-minute walk from the Newton MRT! It would be nice to spend a whole day there as there are still some parts of the gardens I didn't have the time to admire. But it gets the thumbs up from me!

(Since writing this post, there is now an MRT station on the Circle Line which drops passengers off at the Botanic Gardens. The Circle Line is due to open on 8th October, 2011).