The causeway - hints of grey clouds got us worried Firstly, this overdue entry is due to my absolute chaotic life at the moment!!! Posting this entry in between drafting an Agreement which is due first thing tomorrow or rather today since it's past mid night.....is definietly a good break and therapeutic, I can tell you!
Temasek or Singapore as it is known since the 14th Century, was our mid-year school break destination this year. Wifey and I used to visit this slightly nearer than Down Under over X-mas/New Year break regularly...It stopped when our second child arrived since we couldn't cope with two kids over shopping trips!
We braced ourselves this time and thought it'd be easier since our main goal was to get the kids entertained with the attractions which Singapore boasts sans shopping! It was madness for the both of us but worthwhile indeed!!!!
The night before the trip....rushed to Kino, KLCC to get the latest Singapore streetmap since all I knew (I'm wiser now.....) was how to get to Orchard Road/Mandai/Toa Payoh/Arab Street/Woodlands. In fact, being the kiasu me, I got the streetmap plus a Lonely Planet one pager big map of an overview of Singapore ! We had to drive around Singapore - I just couldn't see how we could survive with public transport in Singapore with 4 kids in tow despite the super efficient service!
Traffic was not bad at all...Our trip down was slightly delayed because I only packed our bags about 5.40 am on the day itself. Stopped at McD for breakfast at Sungai Besi and headed down non-stop! Crossed the causeway (quite smooth) at about 11 am after a 45 minute break in JB to drop by my Uncle's.
Started off the day with Orchard Road - managed to do only Paragon and Centrepoint in 5 hours.....It poured cats and dogs when we finished Orchard and headed to Arab Street....- no parking and wifey had to give textile shopping a miss...We decided to head to Night Safari. We were keeping our fingers crossed for good weather as it was still raining heavily.
Got slightly lost as I had made a wrong turn at Upper Thompson and took Moulmein instead which brought us back towards the City....(this was when we received the news that our close friend's mom passed on). BTW....wifey for the life of her can't read maps (Alan Pease is right!) and I had to drive whilst reading the map.
Reached Mandai at about 6.30......queues for the tickets were not long....In fact I was no. 2 in one of the queues. $28 for adults and $14 for kids (inclusive of tram rides - which is highly recommended!). Watched the tribal performance for a bit and rushed to the ampitheatre to get good setas for the 7.30 pm night creature show......! Excellent show..well organised! The scary bit was when they announced......mmm I shall not spoil it for you; you go and experience it yourselves!
Ibraheem really enjoyed himself especially the part when he went face to face (of course tampered glass in between) with a leopard and the part when the lion got up after his nap and roared and roared for a good 10 minutes which we saw from the lion lookout! Fantastic! I don't mind going back there again!
The traffic at Singapore checkpoint - clearnace was a breeze
Khadijah spotted this advert and was persuading me to bring her watch this play....May be next time when the theme is Arts and Culture Holiday....This time is a fun holiday!
Umar knackered...after he got his TMNT figure! I couldn't buy anything for myself although the M&S shirts were going for a steal!
Nursing blistered toes in between shopping......Wifey had her share too!
BREAK time!
Khadijah's ballerina flats purchase
Yusof satisfied with his purchase - find out in the next pic
A Nike ball which cost less in Singapore (after discount, that is)
The tribal performance at Night Safari
Creatures of the night show - featuring a boa, binturong, otters, barn owls etc....Excellent!
12 comments:
I refuse to admit that I can't read maps - the truth is, every time I bend down to look at the map in the car, I feel nauseous, because of the movements and small prints combination, no doubt!
By the way, is a boa actually an ular sawa or issit something completely different..? Just wondering...
Happy to be reading your post again after the long break..:)
Night safari sounds like fun. Haven't done that yet, will try it out next time we go. BTW, any tips for good halal food there. We normally end up at Banquet or some nasi gerai in the foodcourts.
fulltime mom
Haq
waahhh... glad you and family had good time there.. it's been sometime since I last came to singapore.. miss that nasi beriyani at one of the restaurant somewhere at the mosque.. Never been to Night Safari yet.. but I love to go there someday..
Lah Haq bile pegi Temasek nih??? we just came back from Singapore...siap jumpa the ducks lagi
Actually my hubby too needs a street directory wen driving...but it'll be me doing the navigating though. But we prefer to use public transport or the taxi...mainly bcos of the mostly packed parking space.
BTW...to anonymous...if you're looking for gd halal food while shopping, u shld try going to Vivocity. Best variety hawker food center would be West Coast Food Center.
Hi D.O.F,
Yes I do remember the first time my hubby and I drove to Singapore. Ooh...yeah, needed the map alright. Now that we've driven like 50 times (ha ha)...I always joked with hubby, if I blindfolded him, he'd still make it down south, remembering all exact corners and potholes..he he. Glad you and fmy had a good time.
Hey Haq how are you and gang!
en haq...
wah gerek seh turun spore.. pesal tak bilang awal2 blh jd tour guide..
next time xyah lah gi orchard road and paragon....tempat ni dh biasa sgt. try ke vivo city. shopping mall utk family yg terbaru. baru jer mggu lps ke sana- spore gr8 sale!
u blh naik duck- double decker bus yg dimodified-bwk u and family ronda2 kota singa..
nasik beriyani spore dkt masjid Sultan..10 mins berjalan dari queenstown bus station..tiap2 kali gi training kt spore mesti lunch kt situ. dr masjid sultan tu u blh bwk family ke geylang serai especially time nak raya lah.. atau u blh ke istana melayu kg gelam (muzium) yg dah dijadikan tapak warisan melayu spore..dari situ blh gak jalan2 ke arab street,busroh street, penang street dan melak street.. antara kawasan bersejarah di spore.. bugis junction mall- 5 mins berjalan kaki dari istana melayu kg gelam .. shopping mall ni lbh kurang mcm kat the curve damansara..
kalo ke sentosa island blh ke fort siloso..pantai dier pun oklah x menghampakan.. kat sana tu..boleh picnic and buat sand castle...skang ni sentosa under construction- nak jdi pusat kasino lah kan..
the esplanade- sekarang nih tgh ada karnival akar melayu- tiap2 malam mggu ada persembahan ghazal, dondang sayang n dikir barat (versi spore) dll... 10 mins dari the esplanade ade satu restoran indon near the riverside- gurame...masakan dier bedesuppp (sedap slanga mly spore)..
Glad to hear that u and family had a great time in Singapore.
Dah lama Helena tak pergi sana. The last trip was way back in 1993.... hehe
wonderful and exciting trip that was!! Hope you're back on your feet after those biting blisters.
dah 21 tahun tak pergi,heheh...
cantiknya photo2 tu,ambil pakai kamera apa,bole tanya?
Halwafy - Boas are in the family of sawa. The boa we saw was huge!
FTM - A bit difficult (untuk Nasi) unless you are in Kg Glam, Geylang, Sultan area!
Xis - Is it Zam Zam? I've been going there since I was little!
Wan - Probably when you were there! Wah jumpa the duck couple! Bila nak update blog?
MC-Thanks for the tips....But we did not enuogh time to go to Vivocity!
Ruby - After the two days.....I'm an expert already! LOL
K - Tak sempat merayap...! We had briyani at Zam Zam (memang favourite dari saya kecil). Geylang Serai masa kecil2 pergi -shopping raya mesti kat Singapore! Gerek seh!
Helena - We certainly did.....YOu should bring your kids...Plenty of world-class attractions for the family.
D - I was well prepared for the "walk"; no blisters for me! Wifey wasn't...Khadijah wore a new pair of shoes!
Qisst - Kodak C763 point n shoot! Had to buy this coz old cam konked beore the trip. Good buy too!
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