Singapore Cloud Forest

Today I would like to show you around Singapore Gardens by the Bay's awe inspiring Cloud Forest.

Up to now most of my bigger Steemit posts have been photography guides and as much as I love writing about them, the truth is I just enjoy writing! Obviously photography is - and will probably always be - my main passion, so it's safe to say that most of my posts will be photography related, but not necessarily all guides! And with that, here is my first 'Bucket-list tick' post - the stunning Singapore Cloud Forest.

Singapore had never been on my travel radar. It just wasn't a place I'd ever really thought much about until we received an email from a fantastic couple who wanted to come to London for an Engagement shoot prior to their wedding in Singapore. They had searched all over the globe to find the right photographer and had their pick of the industries finest. I think there's a certain degree of universal attraction when it comes to wedding photography. The moment we met them we knew that we were going to be the right photographers for them, and their wedding was indeed a spectacular event that we'll remember for the rest of our careers.

What we're most grateful to them for however, is introducing us to the incredible country of Singapore. A place that we both felt instantly at home in and both longed to get back to as soon as we boarded the plane back to England. One of the most iconic parts of the country, and the subject of today's post, is the Gardens by the Bay. More precisely, the breathtaking Cloud Forest.

Home to the World's largest indoor waterfall, the huge structure replicates the tropical conditions most commonly found between 1000 and 3000 meters up in the mountains. The 'Cloud Mountain' sits at 42 meters high and is an incredible sight from any angle.

As you enter the cloud forest the cool breeze is actually a nice relief from the usually fairly humid climate in Singapore. Looking up at the mountain it's hard not to be taken aback by it, covered in tropical plants it instantly transports you to an almost otherworldly place. Otherworldly in that it’s an environment most of us will never have the chance to experience. Not through mankind’s destructive intervention, but because the kind of climate the Cloud Forests replicate is one of more remote places on earth. It certainly gives me an insight as to why people trek and hike through the jungle to experience this kind of thing for real.

Modern Singapore is all about blending nature with a forward thinking society, and the Cloud Forest is the very epitome of everything this beautiful place represents. Throughout the vast array of stunning plants are – among other things – intricate wooden carvings. The whole thing feels like one huge canvas, with a perfect blend of nature and human intervention. The city its-self mirrors this ethos, with it’s awe inspiring skyscrapers clad with grasses, plants and other flora. It’s the kind of place that you visit and it makes you wonder why the whole world isn’t following their lead!

You take an elevator up to the top of the mountain where there is a stunning garden that is home to yet more fascinating plants. Throughout the forest there are information points and the whole thing really is an enlightening experience. It’s one of those places that makes you feel rather introspective in the way you see the world. It’s so easy to overlook the incredible sights all around us and yet when we do stop and open our eyes to the world it just makes you feel better!

From the garden you head out onto the sky walkways that lead you back down to the ground. Once again accompanied by the facts and viewpoints that make this such a wonderful day out. It’s just the two of us for now, but I imagine this would be a fantastic place to take young children, especially in a world so filled with technology.

I’ll be the first to admit that despite my ‘Ninja Warrior UK Finalist’ credentials (Any excuse to get that in there!) I’m terrible when it comes to heights, and @vtravels is no different. In fact when we first stepped out onto the metal walkway, it’s semi-transparent platform didn’t look too appealing. After a little motivational talk we shuffled out to make our way down and around the mountain.

The walkways meander in and out of the mountain as you head down, maintaining your interest all the way through. It’s not something I’d really have thought of if I was designing the place, but it’s fascinating to see the way the whole walk is so perfectly peppered with tidbits of information, totems, carvings, peep holes out into the forest, and epic views looking back at the mountain.

Verity loves Crystals and midway through the walk, embedded in the mountain are a formation of stalagmites and stalactites as well as a few crystals and crystal churches. I remember learning about Stalagmite/tite formations back in school, somewhere out in the countryside deep down in a cave formation. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good day out, but I know plenty of people who hated the whole claustrophobic experience. I can’t help but think school children across the world would much prefer this as an educational day out!

Inside the bottom of the mountain you are taken into a darker area, exploring mankind’s effect on the earth. After the inspiring trip through the cloud forest it’s a pretty sobering part of the experience and certainly the most poignant. Seeing the figures for the world’s temperature increase, our effect on the world’s oceans and forests and, most importantly, our ignorance to the plight of the natural world around us.

The Gardens by the Bay was a pretty epic endeavour to undertake, at a cost of over a billion dollars (With a friggin’ B!!) and an annual running cost of over 50 Million. It would be easy to dismiss a project like this in it’s early stages, to suggest money could be spent elsewhere and to question the necessity for such an expense. I imagine plenty of other countries would have baulked at the very proposition. Yet this modern wonder of the world, with close to 9 million visitors each year, is doing more than just educating and inspiring all who step inside.It’s a statement to the world about the direction that Singapore is taking for the future. It’s changing the countries environment and shaping the minds of a nations youth.

Our whole Singapore experience was genuinely life changing for the both of us, and the Cloud Forest is one of our fondest memories of our trip. I hope if you’re ever heading out that way that you do your best to pay it a visit!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post, I’ll mostly leave the travel blogging to @vtravels but I’m aiming to do a bucket list post at least once a month. I guess I better get out there and start ticking off that list!!

As always, all photos are my own and copyright Sansom Photography

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