Gardens by the Bay - Dry and Hazy Day
The above photo was taken from the other side of the water and shows both the domes and the supertrees fairly early in the day, before those weather gods noticed me. It's a single shot that has had minimal Photoshop work; all I have done is to up the saturation, correct the colour, and crop. A good tripod and wireless camera control is worth its weight in gold 😉
The last time I attempted to visit, those weather gods were upset with me, and the result was heavy rain. And yes, I went anyway, just had to skip exploring the outdoor attractions, and staying in the domes.
However, this time, the sun was shining, although it was a little hazy, in other words, a good time to try again.
After getting my Marks & Spencer breakfast at Raffles City, I head out for the easy, half-hour walk to the gardens, rather than take the MRT as I did the last time. Crazy, I know, but as I have said many times, I like walking, and do not feel the heat.
This time, the first thing on the agenda is to explore the gardens, then move on to the supertrees.
Remember I said today was a little hazy, just check out the city highrise in this photo, now that's what I call haze, or should I say smoke, as I was told it's actually smoke from fires in Indonesia, which would explain why I am coughing more than usual.
Anyhow, not even close to bad enough to stop me from exploring.
I made it down to the boardwalk along the lake, and being this close to the water, it feels a little cooler, with the light breeze being most welcome.
And yes, the bridge in this shot is where the first photo was taken from.
Exploring the Grounds and Domes
Heading along the boardwalk along the side of the lake, I spotted this sign.
Now, there has to be a story behind this. Just imagine what creatures must have been released to need a sign like this.
Anyway, for this visit, I did return to the domes, but other than having a theme of the new Avatar movie, all was just as good as the last time.
And yes, I did take many new photos while in the domes, and have updated the Orchid Gallery with some new shots, and am planning to add some others to different galleries.
When I bought the tickets for the domes, I added one for the OCBC Skyway, which is an elevated walkway in the supertree grove, that I was told gives some stunning views over the gardens and the city.
Yes, the domes are impressive from the inside, but until now, I had not had the chance to check them out, close up, from the outside. Those weather gods have much to answer for.
Wandering along the road that runs outside the domes, I turned around, and for once, everything aligned, and I took this photo. Just look at the sky, that's more like it, and way better than the grey it's been for a few days.
One thing to watch out for when walking this road: there are cyclists, and while not as reckless as those back home in Sydney, I did have a near miss with one who was texting while moving.
And yes, I have removed several cyclists and several joggers from the above photo.
Back to the supertrees, after multiple visits, I have actually put up a separate page to cover this one-of-a-kind experience. You can read it here, and yes, there are lots of photos.
Dragonfly Lake Statues
Anyway, back to the boardwalk that runs around the lake, which is actually called Dragonfly Lake, I came across multiple statues of what look like a combination of dragonflies and some sort of alien life form.
Yes, I know these are dragonflies, with the name of the lake being a really big hint, but to me, I see some alien in there. Regardless, they are impressive.
The walk around the lake was around 2km, and even in the heat, something I had been meaning to do for years