We looked forward to visiting Singapore again. Be sure to link back to Singapore 2012 because there are some items that are explained there that I won't cover this time around. (Itinerary) 

An early morning sail-in reveals the last of the night lights. We could see the cable cars in the air that will be directly overhead once we were docked.

We didn't remember this cool-looking suspension bridge from 3 years ago.

 
A Chinese cruise ship followed us into the harbor and docked opposite us. We were among the first off the ship so we could jump on the train, but the ticket office, which was where we needed to purchase day passes was closed until 8am. Dean was first in line when it opened and he bought two-day passes for us. Then we were off to the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve via train and then bus.

We walked about a mile from the bus stop to the park entrance and passed some interesting businesses such as nurseries, a crocodile farm, and a yard art outlet.

 
A series of quiz questions about the park and its wildlife and answers were posted in the area. An arrangement of heavily textured tiles decorated one of the walls.

Monitor lizards grow large here:  more than 6 feet long.

We crossed the main bridge to reach the trails around the wetlands.

 
Dean watches a bunch of egrets from a water control sluice gate.

 
There were a number of blinds so we could observe birds without alarming them. The only palm species in the park is the Nipa palm (Nypa fruticans), which grows right at the edge of the water.

Look at those claws!

 
And the monitor lizards swim... We climbed the observation tower.

 
The tower map shows the extent of the waterways in the park. This large orbweaving spider had spun a golden web. Maybe this is where Rumplestiltskin got his ideas...

 
Snails stay above the waterline on a mangrove root.

   
And then it was time for our picnic lunch. Rolls and fruit from the ship and cheese from Australia. A squirrel ate lunch with us.

   
We loved the crabs.

 
And then we saw a mud skipper...

 
Dean liked the men's room setting... When we were done with our walk in the park, we caught a shuttle bus back to the train station. The shuttle cost us a Singapore dollar. Too bad we didn't know about it on our way over. The driver was set for the day with his snacks and a full tea service.

   
Once on the train, we were next to a lovely young mother with her sleeping baby. We headed to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

We had seen this place from the other side of the harbor before, so this time we took the elevator to near the top and took some photos.

 
Looking across the harbor we saw the Merlion Plaza, which is where we were three years ago.

 
As we leave the structure, there is a Chinese New Year display with red balls and a ram. Looking up from the bottom, the structure is utterly awesome.

 
The shops are in a modern, multilevel shopping mall. We headed back inside the hotel to go to the new gardens on the other side.

 
A large lotus-shaped building is near the hotel. We were surprised to see two workmen up on the lip of the building. We hoped that they were strapped in somehow.

 
We crossed a pedestrian bridge at the seventh story level.

 
At the far end of the bridge shiny metallic rectangles connected into a web that moved in the breeze, which made some interesting moiré patterns especially near the trees. When looking at the facade of the Marina Bay Sands towers, you realize that they curve, but what you don't see from afar is that each level is edged with flower boxes filled with blooming plants. How beautiful.

 
As we crossed the Dragonfly Bridge, we entered The Gardens by the Bay with its grove of gigantic "Supertree" sculptures. You can walk on an elevated walkway between the "Supertrees." We stayed on the ground.

 
Red and green dragon fly sculptures in the gardens.

 
This was a fun space to walk around.

 
The "trunks" of the giant supertrees were covered with plants.

 
A child sits atop of each dragonfly sculpture:  this one had a net and was chasing a smaller dragonfly.

 
Someone had made a bunch of origami storks and had hung them from a tree. Then there was a giant baby sculpture that appeared to be levitating. Only his hand was touching the ground.

 
We loved seeing a flock of these small finches with dark heads.

  
A cannonball tree (Couroupita guianensis) has beautiful flowers and unusual fruit that hangs from the trunk.

  
The aquarium in the gardens had some viewing windows from outside. Our photo includes the fish in the tank, a reflection of the gardens, and a selfie... A storm came up suddenly with a nearby thunderclap. We were happy that we were at ground level. We scurried back to the train and to the ship and called it a day.

We were up bright and early the next morning and caught a bus to the canapy walk that we loved so much three years ago.

We loved seeing the red-eyed starlings again...

 
But we were very pleased to see the greater raquet-tailed drongos again. There were a pair flitting around near the beginning of the canopy walk. This made our day.

 
We also liked this pink-necked dove with its purple eyes. Yes, the photo is in the correct orientation:  it was hanging upside down.

 
Last time we headed directly over to the Henderson Wave Bridge and never went to the park at the top of Faber Mountain.

 
Workers were planting thousands of bouganvilla plants in orderly rows. Looking back toward the ship from here.

 
A burned kite lay on the stone flooring of the park. There were various recessed areas for exercise, tai chi, or meditation.

  
Then we headed toward the bridge. See more photos that we took in 2012.

 
From the bridge we could see another kite that had come to a bad end and we could also see our way down to the bus stop.

Looking back up at the bridge from the stairway...

We jumped off the bus when we saw that Chinatown was decorated with wire and silk rams and other stuff for the Chinese New Year. In Sydney we also saw wire and silk used for the Terracotta Soldier display.

 
This was an amazing display.

  
The display was quite extensive:  running for blocks down the main street and then down the side streets.

 
Then back on the train where we met this friendly boy. He offered Dean a bite of his food.

 
Corporate buildings sport artful logos and interesting archetechural details.

 
Then it was off to something entirely different:  a street where the traditional residences over the shops has been not only preserved but they had become some of the most expensive housing in all of Singapore.
It's Peranakan Place on Emerald Hill Road.

  
Some of the residents have decorated for the New Year, including some with high-end cars locked behind fancy gates.

The contrast of the houses on this street with the rest of the city is remarkable.

   
A few of the houses looked like they were renovated in the 1950s or 1960s like the one on the left. Fortunately, most of the buildings in here have retained their charm including the swinging doors for entrance in what used to be businesses.

 
It was time for lunch. We found an open area and spread out our picnic in a place with not too many ants. Even in Singapore's high-end districts laundry was hung to dry, often on extendable rods.

 
Green walls and even green columns are common. This is one way to help keep the city a little cooler.

Back near the Harborplace Mall, an egg display to celebrate Singapore's 50th anniversary.

 
Quite inventive...

 
Sail-away by the same suspension bridge. We never got over there. Maybe next time...

We leave the busiest harbor in the world...

And so the sun sets over Singapore as we leave. We had another wonderful stay here. Dean's Log: Singapore