The Mesmerising Chinese Gardens

Yesterday I ventured to the Chinese Gardens in Jurong. This was next on the list of my many things to see/do in Singapore. Can I just say how great it is to be able to wake up each morning and have so many places that I want to explore?! Ah I just love it.

You may notice by now that I am a sucker for beautiful scenery and cultural sights. I find that I do not tend to lean towards massive shopping centres or restaurants; I much prefer being in the outdoors and experiencing the essence of living somewhere like Asia.  With this in mind, I knew the Chinese Gardens would be an immediate hit for me.

It is the hottest time of the year in Singapore at the moment, and I sure felt the brunt of my decision making when I headed to the gardens at about 10 in the morning. I also underestimated how large the gardens would be. No wonder people utilise the gardens as an exercising area! You could easily spend hours wandering around them.

As I entered the gardens it was honestly like I was stepping out of Singapore and into glorious sanctuary. The architecture was intricate and so precisely executed throughout the entirety of the gardens.  A concrete path led you through the many areas within the gardens whether it was to the two Pagodas looking over the Jurong River, the Garden of Abundance, Tea House Pavilion or the Courthouse Gardens. There were many mesmerising sites which saw me blown away by my surroundings; it was so incredibly peaceful and tranquil.

People made their way around the gardens, gazing at each spectacle. People either walked along the water’s edge or took shelter under the trees when the heat got a bit too much. The heat soon became an absence as I uncovered each sight; totally absorbed into my surroundings.

I can’t tell you how often I get asked why I like Singapore or why I enjoy living here, (surprisingly countlessly by my lecturers) but I believe it comes down to the extremely differing culture and venturing to places like the Chinese Gardens. There is so much I want to learn about, see and experience here. I am constantly adding to the list of things I want to do before I leave this country. Exploring these gardens gave me time to really reflect on these questions. I guess what I am trying to say is that I feel so blessed to be able to encounter and live in this part of the world. Maybe I am the kind of person who is easily pleased, I don’t know, but I have grown so much as a person, which I really did not expect in such a short amount of time. I have seen and experienced so many things I never thought I’d be able to do, let alone agree to! I’m not really sure why I am saying all of this, but I’ve been living here for over 7 months now and venturing to places as interesting and beautiful as the Chinese Gardens really do make the move worthwhile.

 I thoroughly recommend visiting the Chinese Gardens. The gardens are quite simply breathtaking. It is such a beautifully tranquil area, intricately designed and pleasantly situated away from the hustle and bustle of Singapore streets. 

My Singapore Must See #2: Gardens By The Bay

Gardens by the bay is hands down one of the most enchanting and breathtaking spots in Singapore. (That I have seen so far)

I went on a Saturday evening, so it was REALLY busy; as I expected. Although you can actually buy tickets online to avoid the long queues in the blistering heat. Also they are cheaper online!

I had heard that paying to go on the tree board walk wasn’t worth it because you can get really close to them and get a good view walking into and around the bay. The thing I have been most hanging out for this last month was the renowned flower dome! The ticket I purchased also included the cloud forest. Both of these domes are indoors and airconditioned.

The Bay is absolutely beautiful, I was totally in awe of the supertrees; iconic and tall as we entered the gardens. The Singapore flyer and Marina Bay Sands sat subtly in the background.

My first reaction entering the flower dome was a single word which extended through to rest of the sites; ‘wow’. It was a colourful, textured artwork of thousands of species of plants. It was a delicate, mesmerising wonderland. I had the take a moment to put my camera down and simply absorb everything around me. There are so many different gardens including the Australian, Mediterranean and desert. As you can imagine, the dome was overflowing with colours and oceans of flora.

The Cloud Forest was literally as the name suggests. A forest and abundance of plant species within a man- made cloud simulator. It was incredibly misty and really quite chilly. The first thing you saw when you walked in was a massive waterfall with copious amounts of stair cases and board walks creating an entwined maze through it. There were also many colourful vertical gardens within the cloud forest which were quite the spectacle.

If you’re looking for something which is eye catching and a place where you can spend simply hours absorbed into the scenery; Gardens By the Bay is the place!

Book Review #2: Me Before You

As I stare at the book cover, ‘Me Before You’ by Jojo Moyes, I am struggling with where to begin. There is so much I want to say about this utterly breathtaking and enchanting novel. It has easily become one of my favourite books of all time.

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‘Me Before You’ is a novel which is centred around the fateful and unprecedented entry of the quirky Lou Clark into Will Traynor’s life. 

Lou Clark had lived a stationary life, heading nowhere until she lost her job at The Buttered Bun tea shop. She is also failing to face her true feelings towards her boyfriend Patrick. Will Traynor is a quadriplegic. His motorcycle accident took away his once strong desire to live. He now struggles daily with the present; dreaming of his past and lives a joyless life whilst burying a chilling secret.

Little do they know how much they will impact and influence each other’s lives for all time.

There is so, so much more to this book than what I have revealed to you all! Its full of shocking twists and turns which constantly makes your heart skip a beat. There is so much emotional depth portrayed through each of the characters, that it’s hard not to share their emotions. My heart was warmed by this book; singing along with the triumphant moments and falling to the pit of my stomach in the heartbreaking. Moyes has done so well in creating such relatable characters in this novel that I felt connected each of them.

Something I also really loved was the first person narration, which was employed by a few of the main characters. I LOVE  it when authors write in this style because I naturally find that I have so many questions about how other characters in certain situations feel and what their views are. 

‘Me Before You’ touched on many important questions that really got me thinking about my own life and my future. It made light upon the importance of having dreams, not letting anything hold you back and how the people you surround yourself with positively or negatively affect you. These are often overlooked.

I really hope I am not making this book come across as a fluffy and predictable read, because that is something it definitely is not.  

Even though a main character of this book is a quadriplegic, Moyes has so evidently taken time to research and have a deep understanding of what it is to be a quadriplegic. She was extremely sensitive with her words and descriptions. I really appreciated it in how she made it simple, yet a huge awakening for myself to read and understand the extent of the difficulties and the restrictions quadriplegics face on a daily basis. I also loved how she incorporated humour and banter into each of the characters interactions.  Her descriptions of absolutely everything in this novel were so deeply thought out, I loved it!!

I found the ending of this book so incredibly emotional, yet so beautiful and uplifting that I honestly had to read the last chapter of the book in my room because I was not too sure how I would react! All I can say is that, this book will DEFINITLEY make you cry. When I finished the novel I can say for certain I have never felt so empty yet determined to life my life to the fullest! (As cliché and vomit worthy as that may sound) I think we all take our lives for granted, when in actual fact each day is so incredibly fragile.

I was so torn finishing this book. It left me with so many twisted and contrasting emotions that I felt so far from consciousness.  Though honestly, I really do think it was the perfect ending. I dreaded the moment I would finish reading the final page; but I guess that’s when you know you have had a great read. I was left asking myself the question, ‘what book can top this?!’.