I had been seeing this advertisement about Gardens by the Bay at Dhoby Ghaut MRT station on an almost daily basis when I commute to work since.. Apr 2018. Apparently, there is a 50% discount for senior citizens if they were to visit Gardens by the Bay, Tulip Mania (one of their seasonal displays) till 13 May 2018. As both my grandmothers rarely step out of their houses these days, I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of the 50% discount on entrance fees for senior citizens bring them out for “an excursion” to Gardens by the Bay to celebrate Mother’s Day!
As we only had one wheelchair for my paternal grandmother, my mum went to the community centre near our place to borrow a wheelchair for my maternal grandmother. (I did not know whether the borrowing of a wheelchair was available at all community centres or selected ones only but you can try asking if you ever need to borrow one. On the other hand, in view of this, do donate your wheelchair when you do not need it if it is still in a usable condition so that other people like my grandmother could benefit! Thanks!)
We reached the attraction at about 10am (after Google Maps led us to turning one big round) and there was a short queue for the tickets. There was an option to buy your tickets online for a 10% discount but there was an OCBC promotion with 15% discount if you buy at the counters so we bought our tickets at the counters instead.
We bought tickets for entry to the Flower Dome for the Tulip Mania. Upon entering, one should turn right and visit the area where cactus and succulents were displayed (we were attracted by the tulips and headed for the main area but had to backtrack subsequently. Lol). My grandmothers were pointing out huge cactus and aloe vera plants and seemed quite happy to see plants they recognise. Haha.
We then went to the South African Graden where there were “wood cravings” of animals displayed amongst the various plants. Both my grandmothers were still sharp enough to point out that these animals were fake. Lol.
After wheeling them about for a while and we reached the main area where lots of tulips were displayed. There were many people and it was quite challenging to navigate our way through the crowd. By then, after 1hr+ in the Flower Dome, my paternal grandmother was complaining of feeling cold and wanted to leave the enclosure already. Sigh. I should have remembered to ask her to bring her jacket along. Oops. Hence, after taking a few photos along the way, we headed towards the exit.
Both my grandmothers seemed to enjoy themselves and I was very satisfied with my parents and myself for bringing them out for a day to enjoy the flowers and fresh air! With a discounted entrance fee of $4 for senior citizens, I would definitely bring them back again at the next opportunity! 😀 They have ongoing promotions for their different exhibits and for different target audience from time to time (it is currently having a promotion for Children’s Festival for the school holidays so do bring your kids there for a day out if you have the time!).
Happy Mothers’ Day to All!
