More fun with kids in Singapore

We decided to check out the National Museum in April 2014 for the People's Collection. There was a minimal admission fee for the adults - the kids did not have to pay. It was a neat little exhibit with old documents and trinkets. There seems to be interesting exhibits going on all the time - nice hangout for a rainy day. Had lunch at the onsite Food for Thought, which was nice too.

Museum exterior

 Another nice excursion was the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (free!) in Chinatown. It was a different experience for the kids, walking among all the religious icons. The kids had a hard time behaving in the sombre main hall. Girl managed to pop her balloon near the exit, which gave everyone quite a start in the quiet. Yes, we had balloons from some advertising vendor on the way to the Museum. We tried to be discreet with them, even tried to leave them somewhere but were told that they could bring them along. The attendants were really kind though - they gave her some candy as she was sad at the loss of the balloon. The relic chamber was quite splendidly golden. Our favorite part was the rooftop garden. It was tranquil, but the kids could also be a little less restrained. There was also a large prayer wheel, which they found fascinating. Afterwards, we watched some line dancing in the square outside, and had dinner at nearby Chinatown Food Street.

Temple exterior

Rooftop garden

Batam

Brother-in-law and fiance came to visit January 2014. We decided to take a long weekend family trip to Batam. It is a short 30 minute boat ride from Singapore, but I don't do well on boats. On the trip over on a Friday morning, we had to sit inside and the water was choppy. It was a miserable 30 minutes.
We stayed at the Turi Beach Resort. It had nice views. Sea water didn't look so good/clean to swim in, but the hotel had two swimming pools. The place was very windy and pool water a bit cold. The adults had complimentary massages with the room booking, followed by ginger tea. Dinner was at the teppanyaki restaurant, which was fun.

View from balcony outside room

Beach looks like this

Pool with swim up bar

Breakfast was ok - good variety of food. We walked around the property a bit, then decided to take a trip to Mega Mall for some light shopping. We stayed another day before we checked out, mostly just chilling. Kids were happy with pool and sand. The trip home was on a bigger boat and sitting outside made the boat trip more bearable.
An easy, lazy weekend destination, but expect to pay in Singapore dollars at resorts, meaning things are not at Indonesian prices.We would like to check out Bintan one day - hear the beaches are a bit nicer.