Postcards from Singapore

This is year 2020. The pandemic year. The year full of challenges especially where health and travel is concern. Not to mention the knock-on effects especially jobs.

Rain vortex at Changi Airport
Rain vortex at Jewel Changi Airport
Therefore this page is dedicated to postcards from Singapore, so that even if you cannot travel, you can still admire the city from far, through the lens, from the photos, experiencing the culture, the heritage, the food, plenty of gardens, parks and nature reserves, the street arts, the frothy teh tarik at Kampong Glam or Little India, and hopefully in better times you can flock again to enjoy the things they have missed or wanted to revisit.

The photo here shows the rain vortex, the world's tallest indoor waterfall, surrounded by lush greenery, that will greet you at Changi Airport. It is located at Jewel, which is at Terminal 1 public area. Jewel is a recreation and a shopping mall. It has cinemas, restaurants, cafes, lots of shops, hourly rate hotel or yotel (great for transit passengers), even a supermarket. Locals also stay at yotel for staycation. Tips: to enjoy free cinema go to Terminal 3 basement, near the food court, where there is a public cinema.

T-Rex at Jurassic Mile Changi Airport
T-Rex trying to escape at Jurassic Mile
At the upper levels there are many paid attractions but the main attraction at Jewel, the 40m high rain vortex, with its hourly light show in the evening, is free. Certainly worth at least an hour or two if you are passing by Changi Airport on your way in or out. Do you know that Rain Vortex is designed by the famous Canadian architect Moshe Sadie, who also designed the now iconic Marina Bay Sands?

If you have half a day to spare, you can stroll outside to find life-size T-Rex and more than ten other dinosaurs just outside Terminal 4 along a one-kilometre strip called the Jurassic Mile. These prehistoric creatures are huge. The walk starts just outside Terminal 2. How convenient is that. All terminals are connected by a short walk. If you have a day to spare you can actually walk all the way to East Coast Park from the Jurassic Mile via the Park Connector Network or PCN for short.

Bottle and Baobab Trees at Flower Dome
Bottle and Baobabs trees at Gardens by the Bay
While Changi is in the east, at the other end of the city in the west, is Jurong. While Jurong is more of an industrial estate, there are many parks and gardens in Jurong. Other than Jurong Lake Gardens, Chinese and Japanese gardens are also located in Jurong, not too far away from the Jurong Lake Gardens. These gardens is part of the wider Jurong Lake District.

Snow City and the Science Centre, both of which is more youth centric are in Jurong as well. Yep there is snow in tropical Singapore. So is Jurong Bird Park which houses the rare blue macaw.

Palawan Beach
Palawan Beach Walk at Sentosa Island
If you have a bit more time you may want to just laze around on the white sandy beaches of Tanjong, Palawan or Siloso beaches on Sentosa Island. And if you have been wanting to see the lighted super trees, there are total 18 of them, and some of the most interesting plants in the world contained within the two domes called the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest Dome, then head to Gardens by the Bay.

Or if you want to admire world class display of orchids head to National Orchid Garden which is within the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a UNESCO world heritage site.

Tanjong Beach
Tanjong Beach at Sentosa Island
In the meantime please enjoy the postcards. These might temp you to visit or revisit some of the places next time you are back here in Singapore. 😀

For more photos you can check out at the respective posts on interesting and cool places such as Sentosa Island, Little India, Geylang Serai, and Kampong Glam among others.

Palawan and Tanjong Beaches are located in Sentosa Island.

Singapore Kopsia

Probably one of the most intriguing pictures will be that of the critically endangered native flower of Singapore called Singapore Kopsia (Kopsia singapurensis). This flower was thought to be named as the Singapore's national flower before Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim, also a pretty yet hardy and sun-loving orchid was picked.

Singapore Kopsia cannot be found anywhere else except in Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia. This plant apparently can be found hidden in Nee Soon Swamp. But the good news is with replanting efforts the Kopsia can now be found at Jurong Lake Gardens and at Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Alstonia Island
Alstonia Island at Jurong Lake Gardens

If you are into orchids there is a post here dedicated to orchids.

And have you heard of Alstonia Island? It's an island within a garden, at Jurong Lake Gardens to be more specific. Intriguing name, isn't it? While it sounds european-ish, Alstonia (angustiloba) is actually a scientific name for a very tall native heritage tree called the Common Pulai, which can be found in Pulau Ubin and Sentosa Island.

A postcard would not be complete with our iconic merlion right? With the architecturally stunning Marina Bay Sands in the background.

Postcards will be added from time to time....

Jurong Lake Gardens
Jurong Lake Gardens
Muscat Street
Kampong Glam
kueh lopes

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and People's Park Complex

National Orchid Garden
National Orchid Garden


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