Singapore - Fun with the kids

We are constantly on the lookout for fun things to do with the kids on weekends. They spend a lot of time at school, watching tv, playing on the iPad - all indoor activities. So for outdoor fun, which is usually free (yeah!), we head to various parks.
Recently we checked out Hindhede Park in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. It was fun to watch people feeding the fish, and we even saw a big lizard swimming in the water. One of these days we will conquer one of the longer trails. We've also been on the Southern Ridges, where we walked on bridges atop the trees (and I was robbed by a monkey) and marveled at the Henderson Waves. I like the Botanic Gardens and the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden. The Gardens by the Bay is also free (if you don't enter either of the domes). Plenty of space for the children to run wild. Update - there has been a water feature addition (great for the kids).

Hindhede Park - view of old quarry

Then there are the paid attractions. Recently, we made a trip to the zoo with Girl's school. It is done really well, and the shows were very entertaining. We especially liked the new polar bear exhibit, and the water play feature was fantastic! Boy has been to the Night Safari, but we are waiting for an excuse to take Girl (3yo) - not sure that she is ready to appreciate it just yet. On our plans is the River Safari, but we might wait for the boat ride to be ready.

Polar bear at the zoo Frozen Tundra exhibit

Speaking of boat rides, I have taken the kids on the River Cruise but recently a friend let us in on the water taxi secret (the website doesn't have the rate) - same ride for only $3! Update - you need to have an EZ-link card for this deal now. Okay, $6 for round trip, but you could always just use another form of transportation on the return. There is no video, and you might wait a little while the ticket seller summons the boat, but on a cool day, it is excellent.

The water taxi stops at many of SG's riverside attractions

For Boy's birthday in May, we went to Adventure Cove, where he wanted to spend all day in the wave pool. Girl was fascinated by the lazy river, where we could see fish in adjacent tanks (or tunnels!) from time to time. Go early to reserve one of the cabanas - there are the fancy paid ones and the plain free ones good enough for taking a rest from the sun. Update - all the cabanas seem to have been converted to paid ones, but the upside is some are available for online booking in advance. Also part of Resorts World Sentosa is Universal Studios. Girl was tall enough for the Transformers ride (very cool), but was terrified by it (I had her take off her 3D glasses). Be ready for lines though - we never did get on the Jurassic Park Rapids ride.

Adventure Cove wave pool

Moving on indoors (and still paying), the SEA Aquarium is another Sentosa attraction and is fascinating. Kids and adults alike sit in front of the largest tank and just marvel at the sea life. We then round back to Gardens by the Bay - the domes (are they indoor or out, really?). The waterfall in the Cloud dome is nice, but I really like the Flower Dome. They do different themes throughout the year - we've seen the tulips and the mid-autumn displays. There's a cafe (expensive), and the escape from the SG heat is almost worth the entrance fee.

Gardens by the Bay Flower Dome Tulipmania

Near the Gardens is the Art Science Museum. It is really pretty, with a nice water feature. We've seen the Lego exhibit (very cool, and Boy is a Lego fan), the Mummy exhibit (a little creepy for the kids, and Mom, but the 3D movie and the activity kits were nice), and the NatGeo photo exhibit (really nice). More adventures to come!

Nozawa Onsen

The second family ski trip finally happened in 2013! In 2011, we went to Whistler as a side trip from Vancouver. This year, we decided to go to Nozawa Onsen with some friends during the spring term break in March. I really enjoy visiting Japan.

Nozawa Onsen

Nozawa Onsen is near Nagano, host of the 1998 Olympics. It's a 6h flight from SG to Tokyo, followed by a 6h car ride (we chartered a van from Chuo Taxi for our group of 8). We had a couple rest stops on the way. I was really impressed with the Japanese rest stops - the ones we stopped at were clean, had warm food, and at least a small grocery. There were vending machines that dispense warm canned drinks!
We stayed at Villa Nozawa, which was very nice. Our family had a two-bedroom arrangement with an ensuite bathroom. The adults had a bed and the kids slept on the tatami in their own room, which they thought was fun. We did find little beetles sometimes in the bedding, not gross - probably just them keeping warm. There was a fantastic dining area for breakfast (french toast, eggs, pancakes, japanese - different things each day - yum) and hanging out. I think they had themed parties on some nights, but we were usually too tired to join. It was a very family-friendly place, kids running around, and the hosts were so helpful with our various adventures that week. First thing they helped with, the morning after our late night arrival, was ski gear.
We didn't do so badly with the weather. It was actually pretty warm already - we could hear the rush of melting snow everywhere. We all got a bit sweaty in our ski gear under the sun the first few days. Then the weather cooled down and we got fresh powder! Very pretty.
Okay, I'm not a ski fan. I was hoping to get away with as little skiing as possible. The kids had a blast though. The other 3 adults were competent skiers, so I volunteered to share a ski coach with the 3 older kids for a couple mornings. Girl (3yo) was placed in a childcare for the two mornings, which she resented, but was necessary while we got the other kids started. The first day, I found my shaky footing. This being my third try, it's not as intimidating. Boy (6yo) had a harder time than the other two initially, but soon found his ski legs as well. He'd gone to ski school in Whistler but probably only threw a lot of snowballs and drank hot chocolate. By day two, we were all good on the ski lifts and the kids were flying down one of the gentler slopes - forget zigzagging, let's see who can get down the fastest!
Then it was time to help the Girl, who by this time was refusing to be left out of the fun. We did get her to ski a little. There were 3 adults watching 4 kids, while I tried to manage on my own. Once, Boy didn't get on the ski lift properly with the other kids and one adult. They let them go on his own! So it went - breakfast, ski, lunch, then I rested with Girl while everyone else skied a little more. Then a break, followed by dinner.
Food options were good. Yummy, basic food on the slopes. We all enjoyed the pizzas, curry rice and ramen noodles. For dinners in town, we had Italian, Korean BBQ, and Japanese, of course. Our favorite was Wakagiri - this family-friendly Japanese restaurant with pretty and tasty food, where we sat on the floor. The main dining strip is a little bit of a walk from the hotel, but not too bad. The village was quiet and peaceful, I guess no longer in peak ski season.

Wakagiri dinner set

 One regret was that we only tried the onsen once. There was actually one right behind the hotel and we often saw people heading to and fro. We finally got up the courage to ask about a family-friendly one our last night there and the whole group hit it. Furusato No Yu was excellent as there was a cooler pool and an outdoor one. After a good soak and a yummy dinner at a nearby Japanese restaurant, our kids passed out and it was the only time we had to take a taxi back to the hotel.

Furusato No Yu

We then had a nasty turn of events. I didn't know this, but Boy had taken a tumble during the afternoon ski. The group was skiing through a snow park and instead of avoiding a small jump like Hubby instructed, which the other kids obeyed, Boy went flying and landed on his head. Luckily he had his helmet on. He was very tired that night and when he woke up shaking, Hubby told me what happened. We then monitored him and took him to the local doctor in the morning. Local doctor sent us to the regional hospital for a CT scan. The scan turned out fine and we continued to the airport. The cherry trees were starting to bloom. I have my doubts about the next ski trip, even if Boy seems to have learned his lesson, and both kids occasionally ask about it.

Phuket

We decided to book a short last-minute trip to Phuket at the end of a busy summer, before Boy started school. I expected it to be very much like Krabi. We didn't do so much - just relaxed. One of the benefits of staying in SG is the proximity to many nice beach destinations.
We stayed at the Surin Beach Doubletree, which had two waterslides into the pool to keep the kids busy. We paid for a pool access room which turned out to be just a ground floor room close to the pool. It was a nice pool, almost lazy river-like (the water park attraction). We ate breakfasts and some dinners at the restaurant - quite ok.
The hotel location was actually quite remote. There were a couple other hotels close to it, and a few other restaurants. The beach was a short walk away, across a small street and park. A large beach club dominated the beach, expensive as it charged only full-day, all-inclusive (chair, towel, food and drink) rates. Too fancy for our family of four. Luckily there were a couple smaller outfits/restaurants along the stretch from which we rented beach chairs at a reasonable rate. We also had a nice sunset dinner at the Diamond Beach Club.
One of our favorite finds was Laem Singh Beach. It was a difficult hike down as I think we missed the easy path. It was worth it though - so pretty and relaxed. We left a little before sunset as the place didn't seem well-lighted - the easier path had welcoming mosquitoes. Caught a tuk tuk on the way back to hotel - another highlight for the kids.

Laem Singh Beach

 Other than one light shopping trip to Patong, a couple of massages and a mani/pedi for the adults, we didn't do much. The tours were a little expensive. Did manage to see an elephant on the roadside - that was our cultural experience.