There are about 20 supertrees, ranging from 25-50 meters (about as high as a 16 floor building), and their outer metal frames are planted with vertical gardens, nearly 200,000 plants and over 200 species. You see orchids, bromeliads, tropical flowering climbers - they look like trees from some fantasy world. Then they put on quite a show by night with lights and music!
They are designed to mimic the way a tree actually works: so they have solar panels to harness energy which is used to light them at night, and they collect rainwater used to for watering and fountains throughout the gardens. They also are about the most attractive air intake/exhaust devices ever built to service cooling the huge glass domes. There is even a nice restaurant at the top of one of the 50M tall trees (Indochine). The conservatories host another celebrity chef restaurant (Pollen). Unique settings.
All this is part of Singapore's recent desire to become known as "a city within a garden" instead of a "garden city" which was the name coined in the late 60s when Singapore undertook a greening project that made the city one of the most beautiful cities you can visit. I haven't been anywhere like it. Everywhere you turn there is a crazy abundance of lush foliage and flowers. This certainly kicks it up a notch.
Wow! You two should submit this to the travel bureau of Singapore! This makes it sound as if a 20 hour flight is well worth seeing this! Glad you're taking lots of pictures; they're great - as are the write-ups. Love you both and miss you!
ReplyDeleteThese look amazing. I want to go.
ReplyDeleteYou would love it. The first time I came here maybe 15 years ago, the person I met told me Singapore was like Disneyland for Asia. And it is -- even moreso now. He meant that you can feel like you're in Asia (population is about 75% ethnic Chinese, 15% Malaysian and 10% Indian - I rounded up but there is only about 3% of "other") so you feel like you're a million miles away, but it's INCREDIBLY clean, beautiful, safe. Recall - they have NO gum on the sidewalks and they still can people for vandalism. I think drugs are a death sentence. Nobody jaywalks. Rules can be good.
ReplyDeleteAnd in case it wasn't clear ... once you leave Singapore, the rest of Asia is pretty dirty and smelly, until you get to Japan which makes the US look like a dirt party.
DeleteLove the pics of this Supertree Grove - beautiful at night! Definitely makes me want to go. Dave was there for business back in 1997 & he says they are almost a police state w/ all their rules & public canings...but the results seem to be a super clean safe city/country.
ReplyDelete