There are places on this Earth where you simply stand, slack-jawed, and pinch yourself to make sure you're not dreaming – and Singapore's Gardens by the Bay is as surreal a place as I've ever been.

 This billion-dollar techno-garden theme park is absolutely stunning right through, but the two stand-out highlights are its signature Supertree Grove – a collection of giant cyborg trees – and the Cloud Forest – a gigantic bio-dome that recreates the environment and climate of a mountaintop forest at sea level. As a bonus, there's also the world's tallest indoor waterfall.

The jewel in Singapore's crown is its Marina Bay precinct, with stunning views in every direction. There's the Durian-shaped Esplanade theaters, the imposing shard-shaped skyscrapers of the financial district, the shell-shaped ArtScience museum, and dominating the landscape, the bizarre, colossal Marina Bay Sands hotel complex itself – shaped like a giant cruise ship beached atop three giant columns.