My, Oh my! What a gorgeous country! I’ve become a fan of using long (very long) layovers as an excuse to visit a bonus country while traveling. I intentionally booked a 24-hour layover in Singapore because I’d heard that it’s absolutely gorgeous. I was not let down. The streets are immaculate. There are buildings covered in life and trees and plants and gardens, and a sprawling botanical garden called Gardens by the Bay that was worth every penny spent on it, if for no other reason than it had Venus Fly traps, which happen to be one of my favorite plants (Carnivorous plants are neat). There was an exhibit called the Cloud Forest inside of the botanical center had a GIGANTIC indoor waterfall that’s about six stories high. It also had stalagmites. It was beyond STUNNING. I paid about $32 Singapore Dollars (about $23 USD) to get a pass to go inside the Cloud Forest and another exhibit called the Flower Dome, which was, as it’s name suggests, full of magnificent flowers. It cost $14 Singapore Dollars ($10 USD) to go to the SuperTree Observatory exhibit, which was a tower on top of these gigantic metal trees (see photos below). One of the most expensive parts of this day was getting a hotel room for the night, since we got in very late. We opted for a space-themed sleeping pod. It was about $54 USD per-person for the night. It’s a capsule hotel, meaning there’s just enough space for your body and a few personal items (you do, however get a locker for valuables and a communal storage space if you’ve got several large bags like we did). The Uber also was fairly pricy, and so was breakfast. But the gardens were worth it! There’s also supposedly otters that wander around, if you get lucky enough to see one. If you’re interested in taking a long layover here yourself, I have two recommendations: Obviously, go check out the Gardens by the Bay. ALSO, plan for WAY more time at the airport than you think you need. Not because it’s particularly complicated or busy, but because it’s stop you in your tracks STUNNING. There’s another botanical garden inside of the airport with a waterfall coming out of the ceiling (the photo on row two, column one is inside the Singapore airport). Bring a book and get a coffee or tea.

Also, fun fact: Chewing gum is illegal in Singapore, so do yourself a favor and leave the chewing gum behind to avoid getting delayed at customs, or potential legal problems (They don’t mess around in Singapore. Judicial flogging is legal.) Spitting is also illegal and they are well known for fastidiously enforcing these things. My Uber driver almost had an aneurysm because I’d requested they stop (even momentarily) in a no-stopping zone. I had no idea, and this resulted in them screaming at me in Chinese and cancelling. This happened twice before somebody finally explained the problem in English. Also in case you’re wondering, as far as foreign languages go, while there was a considerable amount of Chinese and a language called Malay, speaking English was more than enough to get by.

One thing that stood out to me about Singapore was how lush and immaculate the city was. The buildings were full of plants!

Waterfall inside of the Cloud Dome! You could actually go inside and take an elevator to the top. There were six floors, and each was it’s own experience. The carnivorous plants are on the top floor, in case anyone was wondering.

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