Trip to Pasir Ris Kids' Kampong

Recently, Ethan had a chance to go to Pasir Ris Kids' Kampong again with his friends, Faith, Li-Yer and En-Yer and her friend. It was hard work for them to try and catch the fishes, and everyone was sweating it out, but Ethan enjoyed the company and the activity very much.

He especially enjoyed touching the carps and letting them 'kiss' his hand.

Aquarama 2009 and a new tank

Aquarama was in Singapore, and we brought the 3 kids to the 11th International Ornamental Fish and Accessories exhibition at Suntec Singapore. Adults need only to pay $8 each, and children below 12 years are FOC.

Ethan, Zack and Sophie were thrilled with the many types of fishes that they had never seen before in the usual neighbourhood aquarium shops. There were shrimps that cost from S$30 each, and pokka-dotted octopus which looked like they were taken straight out of a cartoon strip. You cannot imagine the variety of fishes that we saw all in one place. There were also rows and rows of fishes which had been submitted for competition the day before (trading days only), and who were the winners for each category of fish.

We came out from the exhibition with a new classy looking tank (5litres) from the brand called Mydymax, that had an LED lamp attached to it (really cool looking), which cost us S$65!! We also bought other stuff like fish food, and fish-safe liquid and filter. Didn't buy any fish - it is not exactly the place for you to buy fish....

A few new things I learnt today: I saw what Arowanas look like in their 1st 1-2 weeks from hatching, and 5-6 weeks later. Can you see that they are still attached to the egg pouch?

I realise that tanks can cost S$550+ or more like the one that the boys are looking at here!!! This one has LED lighting, so it apparently costs more due to this reason.

There were fishes large and small, there were tanks light and heavy...

But at the end of the day...it is not the size that matter.

DuckTours

We went on a DuckTour last Saturday, and the 3 kids had a good time blowing the 'duck whistle' supplied as part of the tour. We went as close as we could near the Merlion and had a duck eyes's view of the Singapore waterfront and financial district, as well as the upcoming Marina Bay Sands resort. It was an experience to be on land and on sea in the same vehicle.

The kids kept themselves pretty glued to the surroundings and waved at every other form of object floating on the water (with people that could waved back), be it a dragonboat, another Ducktour group or people on other crafts or on land.

Thaddeus in Singapore Flyer

Thaddeus had a chance to go on the Singapore Flyer for the first time on Saturday. Sophie didn't join as we planned her to go with grandpa and grandma on Sunday - more pics to follow once grandpa downloads them.

The boys totally enjoyed themselves, and as it was early, we had the capsule all to ourselves. I didn't take many pictures of the view, as I was too busy snapping shots of the kids and baby.

Ethan at the Beach in East Coast

Last Friday, Ethan and I went to East Coast beach to play sandcastles with ex-teacher Angela, her daughters (Enya and Liya), and 2 other classmates (Faith and Jia Shuin). It was a hot and humid day, but nonetheless, they kids enjoyed themselves. Ethan and I spent nearly 2 hours at the beach, and that in itself, is an achievement!

Sophie at the Beach

The whole family went to Sentosa with grandpa for the day, and we spent the morning at the beach for a short while. Sophie was really wobbly and to the extent of 'quivering' as she tried to balance herself while walking barefeet in the sand. It was a whole new experience for her, as I heard that she seldom likes to stay in the sand pit when in school.

We also went up to the Carlsberg Tower, as well as Butterfly Park and 4D Movie Magix....something new for all the kids. They enjoyed it tremendously. Check out our photos in my Flickr album.

A Day at the Pool

Last weekend, the kids and I spent a day at the NTU Alumni Club's family fun pool. It was our 1st time at the pool.

As you can see, the boys had a great time at the pool, while I was silly enough to use my elbow for balancing and scratched it from sliding down the waterslide. What a day!

Will certainly bring them there again, since they enjoyed it so much!

Around Sentosa

Recently, I spent a day in Sentosa with 2 colleagues, Jenny & Lily, who were here from China. We bought an Imbiah Lookout pass and had to conquer 4 attractions in 1 morning and a half, as they had to return to their hotel by 3pm to checkout.

We experienced 4D Magix which is a state of the art movie, with visual effects, surround sound, individually-controlled motion seats and special "live" environmental effects such as water sprays. It was really fun! We also went to the Carlsberg Sky Tower and Merlion, where we had a bird's eye view of Sentosa, as well as the Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom.

At the Butterfly park, I had the chance to see how a new butterfly emerges from her cocoon - it was really amazing! Wish the kids saw it. Sentosa has changed a lot since the last time we were there.

A Day at Botanic Gardens

Today, I took half-day off to follow the boys on their school excursion to the Botanic Gardens.

We walked the whole of Evolution Garden and had our picnic lunch at the Palm Valley in front of the Symphony Stage. This is where the Singapore Symphony Orchestra plays their "Classics in the Park" once in a while.

Anyhow, weather was on our side, and it was a pretty cloudy day, and it started drizzling only when the kids returned to the coach which brought them back to school. For me, I had to go back to work for a 1pm meeting. (Sigh).

Ridout Tea Garden

We were supposed to go to the Botanic Gardens today (it's a public holiday - Vesak Day), but we missed the carpark spaces, and ended up at the Ridout Tea Garden. This is where MacDonald's Queensway is located, and Far East Flora is just beside it. It is a perfect place for a short outing with the kids, as we discovered today. MacDonalds had installed a playground outside the restaurant (we haven't been there for a while), so Ethan & Zack had a swell time going through the tubes and slides.

Thereafter, we adjourned to visit the nursery, and went to the cold room to cool down, and bought 2 butterfly sticks - the type that you decorate your garden with. It was Sophie's first visit to see so many flowers and she kept wanting to touch them!

We also went to the pond where we saw many tortoises (or is it turtles?) basking in the sun. It was a hot day! The kids loved it tremendously.

An Eventful Week_Part 1

It has been an eventful week, a few days of which was spent on Sentosa at the Siloso Beach Resort. Don't ask me to stay there again, unless you love having a big family suite (which we had), a jacuzzi on the second floor of your room (which Dot had), and a hotel that is basic-equipped, which I personally felt was an expensive chalet rather than anything else. Don't quote me on this.

Anyway, here are some holiday pics. The stressful thing is, Sophie was sick while we were there. She had the fever and flu, and though active, could not venture to many places without a tissue box following her footsteps!

So much for a holiday!

Boat Asia 2007

It's amazing what 'freebies' can do to a Singaporean like me, especially when it means getting 4 free tickets to the recent Boat Asia show at Sentosa Cove from 19 Apr ~ 22 Apr. Symphony 92.4 FM was giving away their car decal, and part of the promotion that came along with it was free tickets to this annual Boat Asia event. I was 'kia-su' and charged all the way down to Dempsey Road carpark to get the car decal at 7am in the morning, and it seemed like I was the first to arrive, as there was no one else before me when I arrived around 6.58am.....

The trip was worth it. We went to Sentosa today, and as we arrived early (the event only starts from 11am), we popped by the Palawan beach area, and spent an unexpected 1hr+ at the playground and the beach. It is amazing what a toy spade, a log of wood, and lots of sand, can do for 2 bored boys. When they were done playing at the playground (which was pretty uninteresting when there are only 2 of you), Ethan & Zack started playing with sand. They worked on it for nearly at hour, playing creatively with anything they could get their hands on. They got really dirty, but it was worth it as I could see that they were enjoying themselves despite the hot weather.

Boat Asia this year attracted more exhibitors and boats. This year, the One degree 15 Marina Club was just open, and the boats were berthed at the club, and it was really cool! The boys were really excited that we could go on board some of the boats there. The first one we went on board was the Riveria Sports Cruiser collection. Being on board one of these really makes you salivate! The cabins, the deck, etc were so well-furnished.

Well, enough said. Go check out some photos we took at the event at my Flickr site.

First Time at the Beach

We took the boys out for their first time to the beach at Sentosa's Siloso Beach this morning from about 9.30am till 11am. It was a warm & sunny day, and the beach had a nice peaceful crowd, mostly tourists and some expats.....we were fortunate, as Siloso Beach is usually the quieter side compared to Palawan Beach.

Ethan and Zachary were rather cautious. At first, they only played on the sand near the water, and did not dare the venture out to the splashing waves coming in at the beach. Then graudally, as they warmed up to the experience, there were very soon, walking up and down the beach, finding creative ways to play with sand, toys and water. Zachary fell a few times on the beach as he lost balance trying to bring sand and water to and fro the beach, using his pail and sandplay toys. They also enjoyed splashing water at Laurence, who joined us for the beach outing today.

I must say the boys really enjoyed themselves!

Visit to the Zoo

Today, we went to the Zoo with my friends (Adrian & Jenny), and their kids, Elva (4) and Elvis (2). We saw the sea otters, and also fed the fishes in the pond. Ah, not exactly what you thought we would do at the zoo right?

Well, not true. We also saw the "Wonders of the Wild" show at the amphitheatre, as it was Elvis' first trip to the zoo. The weather was nice and cool, with intermittent scatters of drizzle which didn't bother us much. We also took a tram ride, and alighted at the last stop to see the Australian outback exhibit where the kangaroos and emus were hanging out. It was boring for the kids, as the kangaroos were fairly laid back, and did not hop around while we were there. Among the other animals we saw were the orang utans, the pygmy hippos, the chimpanzees, the giraffes, and the rhinos....

The kids obviously enjoyed themselves and were really tired by lunchtime. Will add more photos into photo album later.

Visit to the Zoo

Today was one of those days you wake up, and you don't know what you want to do for the rest of the day. How do you try to spend meaningful time without the kids driving you mad?

Well, the answer - bring them to the Zoo - there's lots to see, and lots to do, and today, we brought them all to the zoo by ourselves. Armed with 3 bags of kiddie supplies, 2 prams, zoo pass and tram tickets, we found ourselves at the zoo at 9.45am in the morning. It just started to rain, and we did not stop. With 2 small umbrellas, we proceeded on, and fortunately, it was a passing cloud.

We went first for the Polar Bear feeding area, but as the pool was really misty, we gave it a miss, and took the tram ride to Station 3, where the Amphitheatre was, and we waited a while before we saw the "Wonders of the Wild" Show. Zachary particularly liked the Sea lion who was splishing and splashing around doing some of his tricks for the audience.

For the trip today, we managed to see the giraffes, the chimpanzees, zebras, lions, otters, ostrich, boa constrictor, monkeys, penguins, manatees, hippos, pony, etc etc. Among all the zoo trips we had in the past, today was the first time we sat on the tram with the kids. Ethan loved it and kept asking to go on the tram. It's a good thing the tickets are valid for whole day trips - you can hop off and on anytime. Zachary had fun walking with a peacock, until my heart skipped a few beats (he got too close), and I insisted that SG brought him away before he got pecked at.

There were still unexplored areas which we did not do today - Children's World, Australian Outback (where the kangaroos were). It was too much to do, and towards lunchtime, we headed for KFC, and then for home.

Reunion dinner was at Mum's place, and we had yummylicious food today - big prawns, chicken abalone soup, cabbage with stewed pork, Char Siew, Roasted Duck, Siew Yok (Crispy Roast Pork)...pity we didn't take a photo of the food - it was delicious. Just a note - I mistook salt for sugar when Mum asked me to put some into the prawn dish. As a result, we had to improvise and get rid of the gravy -we ate the prawns without Mum's traditional tomato ketchup sauce.

Quick fact : Sophie now has 6 teeth! You can see 4 of it in this photo of her on the tram seat!

Red Star, Esplanade, Ben & Jerry's

What do the Red Star, Esplanade, Ben & Jerry's have in common?

It was our Sunday morning outing with our Tahitian friend, Laurence.

We were supposed to go to the Bird Park yesterday, but postponed it because the sky was overcast. We ended up having tim sum breakfast at Red Star Restaurant, walking from Esplanade through Citylink (the underground mall) to Raffles City Shopping Centre, and having Ben & Jerry's ice-cream for brunch there.

Red Star Restaurant is one of the few tim sum places that still uses push-carts to serve the food. You have to be quick in chasing down the popular tim sum dishes on the carts, as the carts may never reach you, or the food may be gone before you realise it. It is an exciting experience nonetheless.

For Dot who loves donuts, we passed by a donut shop called "Donut Factory" in Raffles City that had a long queue waiting. You know, when S'poreans queue for something, it must be cheap and good - and so I read. On the very same day, it was featured in the Sunday Times as the top 5 queues recently. It was opened last month, and it was an instant hit with its light and fluffy donuts made on the spot. 30 people are in the queue before it opens, and average waiting time starts from half-hour to 1hr 45 mins. It costs $10 for a dozen plain donuts, and $11 for assorted flavours of your choice.

We discovered Ben & Jerry's by chance, and had a rolling good time eating and watching the boys enjoy their ice-cream.

The question is, how do you eat 3 ice-creams at one time?

Outing with Grandparents

Sophie went out with Grandma & Grandpa today to Takashimaya, and had a rollin' good time being pushed around seeing the typical crowd on a weekend there. There was surprisingly fewer people even though Taka was having a Sale plus additional 10% off for members...

We think the crowd is still trying to get over Vivocity, and have not yet re-discovered Orchard Road.

Mummy took some portrait shots and videos of Sophie today.

The Gotheborg

The Swedish ship Gotheborg was in town at the Vivocity Promenade today, and we had a taste of what it was like to see what we always imagined as a pirate's ship (it's not!).

This ship is on a historical voyage from Sweden to China and back. It left Sweden on 2 Oct 2005. After stops in Vigo, Cadiz, Recife, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Fremantle, Jakarta, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, the ship finally arrived in Singapore waters on 30 December 2006.

It was fantastic that we now had ships calling to port at a convenient location next to Vivocity, which opened its doors in November 2006, looking very much like a huge shopping mall in America. It is the Singaporean's favourite haunt right now.