Manish Kini
Travel stories

13–18 September 2025

Singapore

Six days across Singapore's gardens, skyline, wildlife parks, Sentosa attractions, and waterfront landmarks.

0113 September 2025

Gardens by the Bay

A first afternoon among the conservatories, elevated walkways, living walls, and wide-open views of Marina Bay.

  1. Manish on a garden walkway beneath Marina Bay Sands

    01

    Under the SkyPark

    The garden walkway makes the scale of Marina Bay Sands impossible to miss, with tropical planting softening the architecture around it.

  2. Manish in a conservatory beside a floral display with cottages and a clock tower

    02

    A garden inside glass

    A playful floral scene inside the conservatory turns an indoor garden into a small, carefully composed world of its own.

  3. Manish inside a glass conservatory with the Supertree Grove visible behind him

    03

    Supertrees through the frame

    From inside the conservatory, its steel structure frames the Supertree Grove and the city beyond like a window within a window.

  4. Manish beside a tall living wall inside a glass conservatory

    04

    The living wall

    Layers of ferns, patterned leaves, and tiny flowers create a wall with more colour and texture the longer you look at it.

  5. Manish at an elevated Gardens by the Bay viewpoint with Marina Bay Sands behind him

    05

    City from the Supertrees

    From above the gardens, Marina Bay Sands sits against the dense downtown skyline—a clear view of Singapore's green and built sides together.

  6. Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore skyline viewed from Gardens by the Bay

    06

    Marina Bay geometry

    Three towers, one rooftop silhouette, and a skyline layered behind them: the view that defines this side of Marina Bay.

0214 September 2025

Marina Bay & Sands SkyPark

From the lotus pond beside the ArtScience Museum to the open-air SkyPark, the day moved from water level to the top of the skyline.

  1. Manish beside the lotus pond at the ArtScience Museum with the downtown skyline behind him

    01

    Lotus pond, city backdrop

    The pond outside the ArtScience Museum creates a calm foreground for the towers of Singapore's financial district across the bay.

  2. Manish in front of the ArtScience Museum lotus pond and Singapore skyline

    02

    Sun over the skyline

    In the afternoon light, the lotus leaves and blue water contrast with the hard vertical lines of the city across Marina Bay.

  3. Manish at the Sands SkyPark overlooking Gardens by the Bay and the Singapore Strait

    03

    East from the SkyPark

    The elevated view opens across Gardens by the Bay, the conservatories, and the ships waiting beyond Singapore's southern shoreline.

  4. Manish at the Sands SkyPark with Gardens by the Bay and anchored ships below

    04

    Gardens from above

    From this height, the domes and Supertrees become part of a much larger landscape stretching from the bay to the sea.

  5. Manish at the Sands SkyPark overlooking central Singapore and Marina Bay

    05

    The city-facing side

    Turning west reveals expressways, waterfront buildings, and neighbourhoods unfolding far beyond the edge of Marina Bay.

  6. Manish taking a close-up photograph beneath the curved Sands SkyPark roof

    06

    The roof above

    Back at ground level, the SkyPark's curved underside feels even larger after seeing the city from its edge.

0315 September 2025

Singapore Zoo, Mandai

A rainy, green day around the zoo's open landscapes, educational exhibits, waterfall paths, and bird presentation.

  1. Manish beside the Upper Seletar Reservoir at Singapore Zoo

    01

    At the reservoir edge

    The day begins where the zoo meets the Upper Seletar Reservoir, surrounded by dense greenery and the soft light of an overcast morning.

  2. Manish standing beneath a very tall tropical tree at Singapore Zoo

    02

    Built around the trees

    One enormous trunk dominates the path, a reminder that the landscape is not decoration here—the zoo is designed around it.

  3. Manish beside a large snake model in a reptile exhibit at Singapore Zoo

    03

    A lesson in scale

    The reptile exhibit uses an oversized snake model to make its subject immediate, tactile, and slightly intimidating.

  4. Manish standing beneath the large Singapore Zoo wordmark

    04

    A simple landmark

    The bright Singapore Zoo wall makes a cheerful pause between exhibits—and one unmistakable record of where the day was spent.

  5. Manish standing in front of a broad waterfall at Singapore Zoo

    05

    Rain and falling water

    Wet stone and a broad curtain of water make the waterfall stop feel completely at home in the day's tropical weather.

  6. Manish taking a photograph with pelicans and flamingos at the Wings of the World presentation

    06

    Wings of the World

    Pelicans and flamingos gather across the presentation area, filling the final stop with movement, colour, and a little unpredictability.

0416 September 2025

Singapore Oceanarium, Sentosa

A blue-lit afternoon moving from the newly opened oceanarium entrance into quiet underwater tunnels and close encounters with sharks.

  1. Manish outside the blue arched entrance of Singapore Oceanarium on Sentosa

    01

    A new oceanarium

    The sweeping blue entrance sets the tone before the exhibits begin: a building shaped to feel like the start of a dive.

  2. Manish beside aquarium glass while sharks rest on the rocky floor behind him

    02

    Resting sharks

    A close window turns a quiet moment on the aquarium floor into a chance to study the sharks without the usual distance.

  3. Manish looking up at sharks and fish swimming over an underwater tunnel

    03

    Life overhead

    Inside the curved tunnel, the best view is straight up as sharks and schools of fish move across the rippling light above.

0517 September 2025

Universal Studios Singapore

A day on Sentosa moving through the oversized worlds of Far Far Away, Ancient Egypt, and the park's unmistakable globe.

  1. Manish in front of the Far Far Away castle at Universal Studios Singapore

    01

    Far Far Away

    The Shrek castle fills the frame with storybook scale, turning the park walkway into a deliberately over-the-top fairytale scene.

  2. Manish standing between two towering Egyptian-style statues at Universal Studios Singapore

    02

    Between the guardians

    The Ancient Egypt zone uses towering carved figures and stone textures to make every person in the scene feel very small.

  3. Manish standing in front of the Universal Studios globe on Sentosa

    03

    The closing landmark

    The rotating Universal globe is the classic final photograph: bright, theatrical, and impossible to confuse with anywhere else.

0618 September 2025

Merlion Park

A bright final morning at Singapore's waterfront icon, with the Merlion, downtown towers, and Marina Bay all in view.

  1. Manish standing close to the Merlion fountain under a bright blue sky

    01

    The waterfront icon

    Up close, the Merlion is less a distant postcard and more a piece of the busy waterfront, surrounded by spray, skyline, and people.

  2. Manish posing in perspective with the Merlion's water stream at Marina Bay

    02

    The classic perspective

    A playful angle lines up the fountain's stream across the bay—the familiar photograph, with the skyline adding its own scale.

  3. Manish by Marina Bay with the Merlion and Singapore financial district behind him

    03

    One last view of the bay

    The final frame pulls back to include the Merlion, the waterfront steps, and the financial district under a clear Singapore sky.