This was the day when the haze was so bad that the PSI reached 400 and Marina Bay Sands and Bay East completely disappeared from our view hours later.
Everywhere was depressingly quiet and the gardens was like a ghost town shrouded in a fog, albeit one with a burnt smell in the air.
However, I did find some brief joy in a flowering Bougainvillea at the Secret Life of Trees at the World of Plants and the flowering orange Zephyranthes at the Chinese Garden courtyard of the Heritage Gardens.
I just came back from an evening of celebration from the Gardens by the Bay.
Today marked the first anniversary of the gardens since opening its doors to the public a year ago. The gardens also received 5 million visitors last Friday and a hamper was given to the lucky 5th millionth visitor. We put a mask over one of the teddy bears to provide some humour. Time really flies and it has been a year now. Fortunately the haze cleared up a couple of days ago to make this first anniversary event possible.
The anniversary programme began around 5 pm when we saw loads and loads of buses carrying residents from the West Coast GRC and Sembawang Constituency arriving at the meadows where the outdoor event and concert was held. The weather was surprising good and there was a light cooling breeze considering a week ago the haze level reached PSI 400. When the evening wore on, there were performances by Li Feihui, the finalists of the singing talent competition "The Final One", followed by that of the Singapore Idol fame Taufik Batisah and our very own local songstress Kit Chan, who ended the evening with 4 songs.
