These photos show the wonderful and relatively new Gardens by the Bay (Botanic Gardens), the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel topped by the structure in the shape of a boat that incorporates an infinity pool i.e. no defined edge -surrounded by palm trees – it must be spectacular to swim in that with nothing between you and the ground 200 metres below, and a view over the gardens to the outer harbour with all those vessels I mentioned at anchor and the barrage that protects and keeps Marina Bay calm.
As you look at the first photo everything to the left of the hotel is on reclaimed land such is the demand for space. So the new cruise terminal that is just visible in the background over the gardens is built on this reclaimed land. There are no hills left on the island, they have all been bulldozed to form the new land. The demand for rock and sand has been so great that today it is imported from Indonesia. The extent of the reclamation that you can see is now complete and any future development will have to be up!
Many of the projects currently underway like the Gardens by the Bay are directed at conservation. The gardens are similar to those of the Eden Project with the UK with the two huge glasshouses that you can see housing plant specimens from across the world. The tree like structures, which are lit at night, will eventually be covered with creeper type plants to give the impression of a jungle. I would love to have spent some time in the gardens but with only a day-and-a-half you can’t do everything.
The Jurong Bird Park to the extreme west of the island has been converted into a major bird sanctuary and there is also a very impressive zoo – featured soon – that was established in 1973 which has a world renowned breeding programme for rare species of a variety of animals.
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