Recently I finally bought the Trollbeads People’s Winner from 2015, called Tropical Travels. I wanted it as a way to remember the fabulous frangipani flowers we saw at the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.
Gardens by the Bay is simply amazing. It has three huge gardens and the coolest part are the Supertrees. We went up them at night and walked along, 22 metres in the sky! We were there during the SG50 celebration weekend and there was a light show and fireworks. To me it looks like something from a novel set in the future!
Of course there’s the Merlion to see at the waterfront.
One day we had lunch at a local chain called Toast Box. They had a curious mix of thick peanut butter bread and Asian dishes. It was very inexpensive but delicious!
The restrooms at the Singapore Zoo were beautiful! This is the ladies’ room.
And check out this Hindu temple.
I could go on and on about the super efficient airport and subway system and the lovely Trollbeads store in the perfect mall that also had a Toys R Us, but now to the bead! Designed by Amanda White of Great Britain, the bead has three sides, showing a frangipani, hibiscus and monstera leaf. You can see her in this video on YouTube talking about what inspired her. She told me she loves to see tropical gardens while on holiday and she saw some frangipani in Spain.
Here’s the bracelet I put together, inspired by the colours in my first photo, above.
Below left to right are Lotus Top, Turquoise Green Dot, Milky Quartz, Gold Silver Trace, Moonlight Dancing, Earth and a unique.
Below left to right after the unique are Peter, Tropical Travels and Gold Silver Trace.
Below left or right after Gold Silver Trace are a White Diamond bead, a unique and another Lotus Top.
Here’s a last look at the bracelet. Tropical Travels can be found on the Trollbeads USA website (affiliate link). Hope you’ve enjoyed this quick look at Singapore and this lovely silver bead. I know when it came out some people bought 3 of them so they could see all three sides on one bracelet! Has anyone ever been to Singapore or is it on the list? Another great thing about Singapore is that you can get cheap flights from there to lots of other countries in the region. I’d sure love to go back!
marthnickbeads 
Oh wow! Singapore is definitely on the list. It’s always appealed to me because it’s known to be very modern and very clean. The ladies bathroom at the zoo was done so nicely. The temples and the food look amazing.
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I think I’m going to make it a travel goal for 2019 as we’d like to go to Vietnam and that would maybe be a good jumping off point. As a family we talk about it quite a bit as we all found it to be quite memorable. James really liked the subway system, Patrick liked the hotel (which was just a hole in the wall kind of place) and Wayne and I liked the architecture and diversity of the people. I hope you get to go someday!
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Sounds great! Vietnam is supposed to have a famous lunch lady. https://gastronomyblog.com/2008/08/09/meet-the-lunch-lady/
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I have been to Singapore and definitely want to go back – it’s a bit “Asia for Beginners” because it is Asian-exotic but without being overly “chaotic” and foreign for a Westener. Basically no language barrier with English and so ordered!
I was drawn to the bead for the theme it represents and because it it so beautifully done. My “Sehnsuchts-“Destination, the place I long for when things stress me out, is Thailand, a specific hotel in Hua Hin to be exact, and all three plants can be found in abundance in its grounds *big sigh*.
Your blog is always a tonic too, by the way. Love it!
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Nadja, I totally agree that Singapore is a great introduction to Asia. I’ve been to Hua Hin also! Is it that big hotel on the beach with the topiaries? We didn’t stay there, but in a small, inexpensive place, ha ha! Isn’t it nice to remember lovely places? Thanks for your kind words about the blog!
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No, it’s a resort that has a more of a jungle-feeling going on its grounds. It has this really great pool-river sneaking around and a short but awesome water slide my daughter loves. I wish I was there now… but I guess I gotta go back to work!
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Oh wow, that sounds fantastic!
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I always enjoy your travel posts so much, Martha! I’ve never been to Singapore but I have been to Hong Kong. I always rave about the Hong Kong airport too! 😊 Your photos are lovely, as usual.
I got the Tropical Travels bead shortly after it came out and really like it. It’s a nice size and the detailing is very nicely done. I enjoy bracelets with bright tropical colors, so it’s been perfect for those!
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Kim, now that you mention bright tropical colours I need to put it with some hot pink! Oh my word, that landing at the airport in Hong Kong? Where you think you are flying right onto a city street? Yikes! 😀
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All part of the fun, haha! Actually I think I was too busy admiring the scenery to notice much! I was there in November, so flying from a chilly upstate New York autumn into the tropics was a welcome change!
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Ooo…awesome time of year to go!
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Hi Martha, First I want to tell you how much I enjoy your travel posts. What a wonderful experience for your children to be exposed to different cultures. I traveled a lot in my younger days, but for some reason I never saw any of the Asian countries. I will do my traveling now through your wonderful pictures! As far as the bead goes…. I love it, especially the frangipani.
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Suzanne, I’m so glad you enjoy these posts as they are my favourites to put together. Now I need to go to more places, though, as I’ve think I’ve about exhausted the places we’ve been to since digital photography came into use! It’s been very fun to take our kids to these places, especially since the year that my husband and I spent in Korea before they were born was so memorable for us.
I’m so glad you commented because I wanted to tell you that Trollbeads Gallery got in some of the pretty Trollbeads Blooming Sakura glass beads-the ones from a few posts ago that are mostly pale blue with white and pink blossoms! I just noticed it a few minutes ago!
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Thank you very much, Martha!!! I had pretty much given up on this one. I checked Perlen awhile ago and it said ‘sold out.’ I thought to myself if Perlen doesn’t have it, I’ll never find it. I know it might sound silly but I hate when I miss one I really like.
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I’m with Suzanne in that I love to travel through your beautiful photos. The Garden by the Bay is amazing! The Supertrees are so interesting looking that I read up on how they were constructed. The temple is beyond beautifully ornate. Again, amazing! I love learning new things almost as much as I love beads! Haha! The bead is so detailed and pretty with the frangipani side being my favorite. Great post as always!
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Thanks Dawn and I’m glad you enjoyed this post. We went to see the Supertrees twice as they are just so amazing! As you can tell from my disclosure I am sent a lot of beads but I do still buy some. In order to save up for travel I really shouldn’t buy any! But then travel makes me think of beads to remind me of the trips! The struggle is real, ha ha ha!
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Yes, we all know that struggle for one reason or another. I am picking up my Pandora items that were held for the free bracelet event that starts today. I “struggled” to hold myself to two free bracelets as the Uptown Shop is having a Bead Blowout presale on Sunday. I have a few Trollbeads on hold there. Such a dilemma! Lucky for my budget I haven’t purchased any beads for a few months while waiting for promo events. I love a good bead deal!
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Which Pandora beads did you get? Any of the new ones?
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For now I chose the Magnolia Blooms Ring and Clip, and the Essence Happiness Pink charm and 2 Balance Spacers. I’ll get a Smooth Silver Clasp Bracelet and Essence Bracelet for my free items. There are several more pieces in this new release that I like and hope to get in a future promotion. I feel Bead Crazy today!
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Very nice! I love that Magnolia Blooms ring-so pretty!
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Très joli tous ces verts … je remarque que vous utilisez très souvent golden silver trace et suis bien tentée pour en acheter une. .. peut être deux 😦
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Merci! Oui, Gold Silver Trace est très jolie!
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Ooooh, how stunning! These greens really speak to me! Looks amazing mixed with the gold silver trace!
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Thanks Audrey! The Gold Silver Trace beads are almost like a neutral as they seem to go with so many things.
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The gardens look like a gorgeous spot! I overlooked this bead when it first came out as I hadn’t really traveled to many tropical locations recently, but it really is a beautiful bead. Now that my kids are starting to get a bit older, maybe we can make that a priority one of these days (if I can ever stop buying beads ;)).
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Yes, the struggle is real, isn’t it? It also seems like every week there is something new and shiny coming out. It was so easy when all I liked and knew about was Pandora!
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