Brief but surprisingly enjoyable walk at Gardens by the Bay’s Christmas Wonderland 2020.
This is the second of a three-parter, though I didn’t number the first post.
You see, so as to do my part in minimising social mingling, I decided to visit all the year-end festive events ongoing at Gardens by the Bay in “one-shot.” The first location I went to was the Orient Express exhibition. After a light dinner at the café there, I moseyed over to the Christmas Wonderland 2020 walk. Hitting the entrance just before the sun lazily sank out of view.
… ……
(It’s very tiring carrying a DSLR and tripod around lah! I need to be outing-efficient!)
Ahem. Anyway, the bulk of Christmas Wonderland 2020 is a one-way walk, an easy 15-20 minutes stroll (370 metres) that begins at a cool tunnel of lights, then takes you past all the other attractions. There are no festive village/shops this time around too, and so if you’re uninterested in pictures, you’d probably be done in less than 10 minutes.
Yeah, less than 10 minutes. Sounds dry, doesn’t it?
Well, not at all. I enjoyed my half hour in the fenced-up area very much. For a start, the designated time-slot system made the crowd much, MUCH more bearable, i.e., easier to take photos. The one-way system also ensures that you do not miss anything. More than once in previous years, I returned home and only to realise, argg! I missed an attraction..
Most of all, and I hate to admit this, the lack of shops and hipster food stalls meant I could just focus on enjoying the lights. I know it’s silly but in previous years, when there were so many stalls, I kept feeling so obliged to buy and eat something. Then I kept fussing over that, and the queues, and the choices, and ended up stressing myself out.
(I’m silly in irredeemable ways, am I not? Well, that’s middle-age for you)
Anyway, here are my pics.
Important! Redeem Your Christmas Wonderland 2020 Tickets First Before Heading to the Festive Entrance
Just a PSA here. If you’ve purchased your tickets online, remember to redeem your ACTUAL ticket with your printout before heading to the entrance. (You also double-confirm your time-slot while at it)
Redemption is at the Canopy, i.e., the offices between the Flower and Cloud Dome. The entrance, on the other hand, is quite a walk away. At the pathway between the Supertrees and the Meadow.
What I’m saying is, please don’t end up like me. I went to the entrance, had to backtrack to the Canopy, before returning to the entrance. I think I burned up all my dinner with that walk.
Walk of Lights at Gardens by the Bay
Path of Tranquillity
The walk begins with a cool tunnel of azure lights. If you’ve been keeping tabs on media write-ups and reviews, you’d know this is one of the key attractions this year.
Field of Lights
This was elegant in style and execution. It was also my favourite part of the walk as it reminded me of the winter illuminations at Japan’s Ashikaga Flower Park. The misty post-rain weather further contributed to … momentarily transporting me out of Singapore.
The Illuminated Showpieces
These light sculptures are scattered around the Field of Lights, and in between the Field and the final attraction.
Spalliera
Italian luminarie are synonymous with Gardens by the Bay Christmases, right? Well, this year’s 17-metres tall star attraction is as stately and as gorgeous as ever. As I mentioned earlier, it’s also much easier to photograph and enjoy because there’s no noisy crowd for blizzard shows, or snaking queues from nearby food stalls.
I have one more post about my Tuesday Xmas visit to Gardens! You probably can guess what this final flowery one is about.
For more details on Christmas Wonderland 2020, here’s the official page. The illuminations are ongoing till Dec 27, 2020.
Read my other Festive Celebrations in Singapore posts.
