Christmas Carnival at Gardens by The Bay

Well don't be so surprised, I did say I'm going to do this right?  I think by now you'd think I'm on their payroll (which I swear I'm not!!).

Anyway, my next entry will be on Orchard Road's Christmas decorations.  I've been trying to schedule a visit but the weather hasn't been permitting as of late.  And with the strings of crazy incidents in Orchard road (from burning trees, decorations, falling trees and man in a shopping mall and roofs in Hilton) I think I'd really pay attention to the weather.

And oh yeah, I pestered my wife to create a signature for me so I can put them on my photos.  After deliberations we finally decided on "Tri Suka Moto" = Tri likes to take photos.  Sounds Japanese, but really, its Indonesian.  ;)  

Okay, so Gardens by The Bay is in FULL Christmas mood.  I didn't have time to go to the entrance because when we reached the meadow area the bazaar caught the kids' attention and we ended up spending almost 3 hours there.  But the area was really fun and beautifully decorated.

When we arrived the kids were immediately drawn to the large carousel.  While it's not the first time they rode one, it certainly is bigger than the last one they rode and they simply had to go on it.  The cost for each child and accompanying adult was 3 tokens.  And so very quickly we parted with a good $12 there.

The Carousel - first attraction we tried in the carnival

We tried our hands at playing some carnival games and didn't come back home empty handed, although the wallet needed some CPR due to being overly deflated; one token costs $2 and each game/attraction consists of a good 2-3 tokens.  Sometimes when you don't get the prize you'll be challenged to try again and ended up spending more than originally intended.

Then after we played the games it was time to explore the garden and get mesmerized by the awesome decorations and attractions they have to offer.

The Super Trees in different hues with the light cage as the centre of attraction

Its snow(soap)ing!!

The crowd waiting in anticipation for the magician to start his act

Another angle of the light cage's interior

Outside the light cage, it's just as crowded

Truly the place is amazingly crowded and beautifully decorated.  A pity I didn't have time to explore other areas neither did I bring a tripod.  Unfortunately when travelling with the kids, waiting for 30 seconds to capture a shot is just impossible so I had to rely on high ISO, wide aperture and pray that my hands didn't shake too as my index finger pressed on the shutter.

Next, I will be doing Orchard road.  Hope to get the photos by this week, but will see what happens!

~ Photos taken with Nikon D750 + Tokina 16-28mm F2.8 ~