Written by Kasha

So after visiting Singapore for three days and going to the amazing Gardens by the Bay, the two girls decided to go back and visit the Cloud Forest because unfortunately, due to lack of time, we didn’t get a chance to visit. We did however visit the Children’s Garden and the Supertree Grove as a family. After experiencing a 45 minute bus ride plus border crossing from Singapore to Johor Baru, Malaysia, we agreed it seemed easy enough. So the next morning the boys headed out to see a movie in Malaysia, leaving the girls to catch a taxi to the bus station to head back to Singapore. After waiting for around ten minutes the bus arrived and we headed off to the border.

Arriving at the border, the Malaysian side was fine, no queues, just walk right up. But the Singapore side was a whole different story. Attempting to find the smallest line possible, we joined up. After waiting a few minutes, stressing about time, we looked around and saw everybody had immigration forms. So Mum had to go get them. But there was no pen! Luckily after asking around someone lent us their pen. But we still had to wait in the line for what seemed like an eternity. We finally got through and dashed off to find our bus, joking about how we have more stamps in our passports than the boys. But our laughter soon died because our bus was taking forever to come. Thank god we were near the front of the bus line and not the back. We had told the boys we would probably be back around 3pm. By now it was 1.30pm and we had only just entered Singapore. Then our bus finally came through. Filled with relief we piled on.

Getting off the bus at the train station we bought tickets and scoffed brownies. Our train came two minutes later. Emerging into sunshine and heat like an oven, we found a bakery where Mum got a muffin and a coffee then headed to Maccas for a wrap and fries for me. Not very healthy but when your gluten free and starving, choices are limited . By now we where finally there and wandering through the Heritage Gardens to the ticket office, we felt that if it was as good as the pictures then the trip would be worth it.

Approaching the entrance it felt as though we had stepped into a dream. It was nice and cool in the dome so we were relieved of the outside heat immediately. The worlds largest indoor waterfall was our first focus point and when we got closer we were engulfed in a refreshing mist. A huge mountain of plants stretched to the top and we could see the walkways up above. Snapping a couple of photos and marveling at the plants surrounding us we headed along the walkway. As well as plants there was also sculptures of dragons and one of Mum’s favorite flowers, an orchid. Admiring the beauty we got an elevator to the Lost World, at the very top. A wonderful view and a wonder of sunset orange, blood red, pale pink and baby blue toned flowers greeted us. Lily pads and water plants were dotting the surface of a small pond. It was beautiful.

Exiting through a floral archway we stepped out on to the Cloud Walk and headed down to the Cavern. Mums new fear of heights kept her in the middle of the walkway while I leaned right over the side. The Cavern was full of facts about cloud forests and we read them with interest before continuing down to Crystal Mountain. As soon as we entered we knew our littlest boy would love this. With stalactites  hanging from the ceiling and stalagmites rising from the floor, plus crystal formations on the sides, it was a rock lovers paradise . Feeling it was our duty, we took a selfie with them to show him when we got home. Another thing we new the boys would love was the Lego flowers we saw. We took one pic far away and one close up to see if they could guess what it really was.

Our next walk was the Tree Top Walk. Although it was lower to the ground Mum still clung on tightly and left me in charge of taking a photo of the gorgeous flower wall. We then entered Earth Check. Our oldest boy would have liked this as he is super into sustainability and preventing global warming. There were lots of information on our Eco system, its current state and what might happen if nothing improves. The next room was called +5 Degrees and a documentary was playing about what could happen over the years as the earths temperatures warm up to 5 degrees warmer than it is now. Things like small islands going underwater, the Zekia virus and other diseases increasing, more forest fires and hardly any drinkable water left. Right now only one drop of water in every hundred is drinkable! This makes me so sad and desperately wanting to do anything that can prevent this from happening.

That was the end of the dome, and after passing the secret garden, we headed back out into the furnace. It was so amazing and I would recommend it to anyone who loves nature. Another great visit would be the neighboring flower dome, which has many amazing features too. Our budget didn’t quite stretch for us to visit both but we were super happy with what we’d just experience. Smiling all the way home we knew we would have these memories forever. Although we love to do things as a family it was nice the have some mother and daughter time. The bus ride and border crossing was smooth and we grabbed a warp and salad from subway at the bus station for dinner then headed home to the boys. Thank you so much Mum for bringing me back. I will always remember it. Love you to the moon and back.