Legoland Malaysia

Boy is very fond of Legos. He wants them for birthdays, Christmases, and also buys them with his allowance. Mommy is a little tired of looking for, stepping on, and picking up Legos. It feels like Legos are quite pricey in Singapore, compared to the US. It doesn't stop people from spending on them. This past Christmas, we found this specialty Lego store at Great World City, and people were dropping BIG bucks on Christmas gifts. The Toys R Us section looked cleaned out.

With the recent opening of Legoland Malaysia, ads were splashed all over the place. So naturally, Boy requested to go. We arranged to share a taxi with another family, one that would be door-to-door on Sunday, October 14. It would be about hour and a half each way, taking into account immigration and traffic.

We had already been to the one in Florida, so had some expectations. I think the park does cater to adults too. There are coasters, and the Miniland is usually fascinating. The rides are similar to the European amusement parks to which I've been (Linnanmaki and Sarkkaniemi in Finland, Grona Lund in Sweden, and Tivoli in Denmark) and not too taxing. The one difference was that they did not allow parents to ride along with the toddlers on some rides - I was surprised at Royal Joust when the attendant blocked me from getting on and let Girl (3) on her way. Luckily, she handled this first experience (and subsequent rides) like a trooper. Boy and pal could not be dragged away from Build & Test (building and racing cars). Mommy enjoyed shooting stuff at Lost Kingdom.

Miniland

Build & Test

The facilities seemed to be still half functional (they were operating only one out of two machines for many of the rides). The restaurant process needed work - patrons were not routed efficiently. Probably growing pains that would be sorted out soon. We will likely make more trips. One thing we would do differently is to dine at the Mall of Medini before heading back to Singapore (traffic jam made for a late dinner).

School

Gosh...Boy is in Primary 1. It has not been the easiest journey. Being foreigners, we were the last allowed to register (in phase 3). Okay, we could have decided to send him to an expensive international school, but we want him to get the local experience. Don't remind me that if I had kept my citizenship and arranged citizenship for Boy we might have gotten into the primary school across the street from the house. At least we put him on the waiting list.

I was actually surprised how many foreigners were registering their kids in the last phase. I selected 2 closest schools with vacancies. It didn't really matter what time you arrived to register as the way it worked was that as long as there were more applicants than vacancies by the end of the day it went to balloting. The first school I went to I was handed a registration ticket number 80-something for 11 spots. I left immediately for the other, where I was number 18 for 30+ spots. There I experienced my first problem with information dissemination in this whole process - I was told I needed the parents' passports for registration. I had looked twice over the documents I needed and did not take "Parents’ travel document/Singapore NRIC/Entry or Re-entry Permit/Employment Pass/Work Permit" to mean I needed passports - I had employment passes. Don't the rest of the world read "/" as "or"? Summoned hubby to bring passports. Still plan to write a complaint to MOE. There ended up being more applicants than vacancies and we were fortunate to end up with a spot at balloting. Else we would have been assigned a spot at one of the remaining schools with vacancies - could have been anywhere.

I took Boy to orientation. The actual start time was earlier than stated on the invitation. When I tried to purchase uniforms, the sale location was different from the info supplied. All this misinformation made the process more painful and time-consuming than necessary.

So our weekdays start earlier to accommodate the 7:35am start of school. Boy enjoys buying food from the canteen, and his one-a-day soft drink allowance. Other than the early start, he seems to enjoy school. We are still thinking about after-school care arrangement, but for now he comes home with the school bus (stable times now after a rocky start - we declined the morning bus as the assigned pickup was 6:15) to the helper. We are still working on the routines, but it's nice to have one-on-one time when it's my turn to take him to school (okay, it's a lot of nagging - do this, remember that, don't do this...). When it's Hubby's turn to drop off, I get time with Girl. Not bad, not bad...

Krabi

In February, Hubby tried to convince me to take a couples trip, but I couldn't bear to leave the kids to the grandparents. They'd just arrived in a new land and were feeling a little displaced. Not that I don't trust my parents - they would've been fine - I was the one with the separation anxiety. So the solution was for all of us to take a trip together!
We took a short flight to Krabi, Thailand and stayed at the Mercure. The hotel was a little ways from the airport, but a shuttle picked us up. The staff were nice, but the check-in took forever. Things just moved at a different pace there. We splurged on a pool side room which was great fun for the kids.

Pool access direct from room

Took a couple of tours - everyone went on the James Bond Island tour, and Hubby, Boy and I went on a snorkeling tour. The James Bond Island tour included stops at a floating village and a temple. The traveling was longer than we were led to believe. We got glimpses into local life as we left from a little village by the water. The floating village was neat and lunch was pretty good. The temple hosted monkeys (we were asked to wipe our feet before getting back into the bus) and the caves with buddha statues were a little eerie.

Boats at the floating village where we were served lunch

Floating vendor

The snorkeling was closer but the water wasn't so nice. Still it was fun to hang out. At one stop, there was a cave full of phallic symbols and I was glad Boy didn't notice. At least he didn't ask. We had picnic lunch on the beach (more monkeys) and fresh fruits on the way back.

Swimming spot

Fertility temple?

None of us had been to Thailand except Hubby, so it was interesting. I guess a resort area like that doesn't represent Thailand so well, but it was an easy family vacation. Food was very touristy, and pretty expensive, which was disappointing. One of these days the couples trip will happen.

Singapore - making it home

Market stall near our place

Neighbourhood near our place

So we have been in Singapore for 8 months now. Routines have been worked out. Kids go to full day childcare. I go to work and hubby splits time between home and office. We have even engaged a live-in helper, local style. She helps with the kids, keeps the house clean and prepares meals. Just because of this, I may never want to leave Singapore.

We finally take the kids to see the merlion

Boy is settled, I think. He only occasionally talks about going back to Florida. He goes to taekwondo once a week, but still misses Master Kwa. When he plays with the local kids, he adopts the Singlish accent - very cute (but a little annoying). Actually, I probably do that a little too, at work. Colleagues say it sounds funny, so I should stick to my American English. Then when I speak Mandarin, I sound like I'm from China. Can't win here - apparently I will be foreign anywhere I go...is that what the kids will face?

Taekwondo class

Girl seems to be growing so fast. She is proud to be able to reach the elevator buttons for going up, down, and to the first floor. She seems to miss Florida a little, saying occasionally that she wants to go to "Merica". She is in a Disney princess phase and choosy about her clothes and shoes (already!). Both kids are speaking more Mandarin - I am amazed at their progress.
We haven't done so much on weekends, but are trying harder. Now with a helper who can watch Girl while she naps, we took Boy to watch Ice Age 4 last weekend. We've had friends over (from Finland too), and playdates. Again, it's starting to feel like a normal life. One of the things the kids really like is to go to Palawan beach at Sentosa. There are sand, water (including water play features), playgrounds, and a food court! Not the prettiest beach (with cargo ships in the horizon), but an easy day out.

Palawan Beach at Sentosa

From the Palawan food court - fried carrot cake, sausages and hash browns

Another treat is Chili's. There are a couple of them in Singapore, and it feels just like you're back in the states. The kids like that their meals come with ice cream, and there is a toy store next door where Boy gets his monthly Lego installment. All the comforts of home.

Japan

Last stop of our adventure - Japan - before our destination. We flew into Tokyo and stayed at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel. It might have been the tiniest room I have ever stayed in - a twin room in the north tower. I mean, I have stayed in some small rooms in Europe but we are now 4 people. The twin beds are really twin-size beds (some hotels have slightly larger ones). It was clean enough though, and we were only staying a couple nights. The hotel complex was quite large, with multiple towers, an aquarium, cinemas, etc, and near the train station and a McDonald's (our dinner the first night - I know, I know, but we were tired). We did partake of the hotel breakfast - huge spread but nothing to eat. Ok, I'm a fan of rice but not for breakfast. And there was a big selection of pastries which were piled onto everyone's plates - how do these people stay thin?
I confess to being fascinated with Japan. The culture, old and new, the food, the goods. In 2007, we stopped over in Nagoya on a visit to Singapore. Nagoya was a nice intro to Japan, and we also took a train to Kyoto. I have very fond memories of Kyoto - it was pretty and I took some great pictures. Unfortunately our camera was stolen in Singapore. So I've always wanted to go back and recapture some of those shots. I finally got my wish. I was a little nervous about fallout from the nuclear incident earlier in the year, but we decided it was safe enough for a short trip.
The only place we checked out in Tokyo was Shinjuku, as we planned to spend most of our visit in Kyoto. We walked around, then found a nice park - the Shinjuku Gyoen. It was chrysanthemum season and they were everywhere.

Shinjuku

Shinjuku Gyoen - artists at work (play?)

We took the shinkansen - cool even the second time around (sticker shock from the ticket price though) - to Kyoto. Stayed at Hotel Sunroute Kyoto. The hotel was a bit difficult to find, but a very nice tour guide at the train station gave us instructions to the bus. Our room was much nicer than the one in Tokyo (bigger twin beds) and the hotel was within walking distance to a shopping area and Gion. The breakfast was a pretty good deal too.

Gion

Kodaiji? Near Maruyama Park

We visited the Nijo castle, which was neat. The palace had nightingale floors where visitors had to take off their shoes for the tour. Again there were chrysanthemums everywhere. We could not recognize many of the fish for sale at the Nishiki market but it was fun to check out the various foods on offer. And we went back to the Path of Philosophy. It felt different this time around, somehow. Not as tranquil (probably because I had one more kid to chase around). It was still pretty though, a nice walk and stopping at different temples.

Chrysanthemum display at the Nijo castle

Ninomaru palace

On the Path of Philosophy

It can be challenging to travel in Japan without knowing Japanese. Sometimes you have to look hard for the English signs (for hotels and restaurants, for example). We had trouble finding Shiruko, a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet. It had no English sign - some nice locals finally called the restaurant and directed us. We were designated to a private room (foreigners with two rowdy children, I guess) which had a nice view into a little garden. The rikyu bento was indeed a work of art (and yummy).
And menus - it can be tiring to decipher menu after menu for something to eat. The food models in many restaurants do help. I know Chinese so can recognize the Kanji characters, but there was one restaurant where I thought we were getting beef, and the specialty turned out to be beef tongue. Thank goodness they had pork and chicken (not tongue) too. By the end of the trip, I had tired of rice and tofu, foods I normally enjoy. 

Rikyu bento at Shiruko

Garden by the Shiruko private room

One of the funny English signs we spied

Maui

Stop number three was Maui - Hubby's favorite on the itinerary. To be honest, it wasn't a good first impression for me. The airport was serviceable and we rented a minivan from the car rental counter. We chose to stay at the Aston Kaanapali Shores and even got a little sea view beyond the garden view (there was birdsong every morning and evening), but the condo hotel was pretty dated. It was nice to have washer, dryer, and a little kitchen though. We ate some of our meals in the room - there was a grocery store across the street - to cut down on costs (HI was expensive). I was expecting someone to welcome me with a lei - isn't that what they do in the movies? With condos and hotels everywhere, it didn't feel much different from Florida... 

Beach at hotel

View from the front of hotel, after the rain

Hubby likes nothing more than to hang out at a warm beach for his holidays. He and Boy went on a snorkeling trip, and saw the humuhumunukunukuāpua'a (reef triggerfish - the HI state fish) and a turtle, among other things. There was snorkeling near the shore at various beaches, which was nice. We found a beach with light waves (could be the Baby Beach) where Girl loved playing in the water. And I really liked Napili Beach. Otherwise, we spent quite a bit of time at the pool. Things were looking up a little.

Snorkeling trip

Baby beach

We ate at the hotel restaurant often, simply for convenience - the food was not so good (what you do when you travel with kids). No expensive luau for us (kids wouldn't sit through that) - just watched the free hotel hula show, which was cute. We did check out Whalers Village and had lunch at Cane & Taro - nice view and yummy sushi. Found a couple other good restaurants - our favorite was Star Noodle. There was this big communal table where you could see what others were eating, and the desserts were so good. Another fond memory is Aloha Mixed Plate - tasty and filling.  We splurged at Mala on seared tuna and Kobe beef burger.
We took a pass on the Hana Highway as reviews said that the hair-pin turns did not make a pleasant drive with young kids. We did drive north from Kaanapaali to Mokuleia Beach, where Hubby snorkeled and Boy found crabs in the little cove. The development thinned out a bit as we headed north, but probably won't be that way for long. This was more the HI I imagined.

Honolua Bay

Mokuleia Beach

Seattle

Stop two on our adventure was Seattle. We were meeting some friends from Vancouver over a long weekend. We stayed at the downtown Hyatt Place, which was decent and within walking distance to the Space Needle and museum complex. We used the free shuttle service to nearby attractions when it was rainy. There was also a monorail from the museum complex to downtown shopping and food - Boy is a fan of trains.
We bought the Citypass to see the main attractions. The Space Needle was nicely done, except for the giant gift shop on the way out. There were these stations where you could take a picture and have the Space Needle as the background - nice souvenir. The Pacific Science Center was nice for Boy - it had a moving dinosaur exhibit. Both kids liked the planetarium show. Of course, there was a gift shop (curses for parents). The EMP was very neat, sort of a fun museum of pop culture for grown-ups. There was a giant tv screen at the entrance which showed music and movie stuff. The Woodland Park Zoo was also nicely done - I liked the park-like setting. We didn't have enough time for the other attractions.

From the Space Needle observation deck

Pacific Science Center

EMP

Wolf exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo

Of course, we also checked out Pike Place and the Starbucks. Curiosity took us to the gum wall, which I immediately regretted - it was gross.

Pike Place

We had a couple nice dinners. One at Long Provincial (fancy Vietnamese), and the other at Blueacre - where we got a nice private section.
All in all a great weekend!