Little Miracles » Vacation

Day 3 Singapore Getaway: Singapore Zoo & Chicken Rice Dinner

joyce — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:30:19 +0000

Day 3 was our trip to the Singapore Zoo (wouldn’t miss it for the world!) - It was Hannah’s first time, but Ethan could hardly remember his first, so it was sort of a brand new experience for both of them. We took the hotel shuttle to Orchard MRT and then boarded the MRT to a station near the zoo. Thereafter we arrived at the zoo via bus.

The weather was scorching hot, but still we managed to see a fair bit of animals. The kids were ecstatic to see the animals in real life, but when the kids got restless, the cameraman was still busy taking animal photos…

We ended up having our lunch in KFC and Hannah was especially excited about the animal shaped chairs, switching from zebra to elephant to lion to panda…

We couldn’t escape it. KFC was situated right smack in the middle of Rainforest Kidzworld, just next to the Wet Play Area. And of course Ethan and Hannah wanted in on the fun…this time (as opposed to when we were at Jurong Birdpark), I remembered to bring their swimming gear.

Ethan was well above the height requirement, but Hannah was at the height where she needed an adult to accompany her…so hmmm…what to do???

Since Mommy was the designated photographer, that leaves just Daddy…with one problem. I forgot to bring the ADULTS’ swimgear. So Daddy had to go in with his shirt and jeans…which actually turned out to be a splendid idea, up till the moment when a gigantic bucket of water poured water all over him!

Here are some other precious shots from the Wet Play area:

We made it a point to catch the Elephants of Asia show, which we remembered was really good, from our last visit to the zoo.

The children definitely agreed. The show was a full house, and we had to make do by sitting on the steps along the actual benches. But what made the experience memorable was when Ethan and Hannah experienced feeding the elephants some fruits and vegetables.

“Mommy, don’t we need to peel the bananas for the elephants?” Ethan asked.

Oh yeah…and Ethan will tell you that he witnessed an orang utan peeing from one of the overhead tree branches onto the road below. It was a good thing no one was standing there at that time!

We also succumbed to the temptation of an icy cold sensation in the form of Icy Slush…something like a slushee, but served in a really tall novelty container with a sippy straw. The kids LURVED it!!

Amazing how we managed to have loads of fun despite the hot hot weather…

Yes, the many different colorful elephant statues which were all over Singapore made their appearance in the zoo too…

…and then, just as we were wondering how the kids can still have so much energy left in them, little Hannah fell asleep on my shoulder as we were making our way out of the zoo in the evening (Carrying a sleeping toddler was like déjà vu from our last Singapore Zoo trip)

We decided to take a cab back to our hotel then, since we were running a little late and were meeting some friends for dinner later. Turned out we reached our hotel with a few minutes to spare for a much-needed toilet break and quick freshening-up.

Wonder why Ethan is so excited about dinner?

Our friends took us to supposedly the best chicken rice restaurant in Singapore…and it definitely did not fail to deliver.

The Boon Tong Kee restaurant we went to was the one next to the Boon Keng MRT station. Ethan had seconds and was enjoying every single morsel on his plate…while Hannah enjoyed nibbling on the soft and succulent roasted pork ribs.

See how yummy it looks?

All in all, a very eventful day which ended on a tasty and delicious note!

No, I didn’t forget the Christmas 2011 post…

joyce — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:30:26 +0000

Before it goes way past Chinese New Year and I have another to-do post to publish, allow me to take you back to the not too distant past and share how we celebrated our Christmas last year.

Our Christmas Eve was spent in Taiping, and although most adults looked forward to the steamboat dinner, the kids’ highlight of the day would be the paddle pool session, courtesy of Ethan & Hannah’s Patrick Ah Chek. It was an impromptu session, so I did not pack the kids’ swimsuits, but we made do with shorts and tank tops anyways.

It was certainly a welcome activity in the hot scorching weather (if only the pool was bigger, I would have hopped in myself!). The kids really enjoyed themselves, save for cousin Jonathan, who was taking his afternoon nap.

Definitely a great prequel to the yummy steamboat dinner we had at home that night. No fancy restaurant could beat a cozy gathering at home with family, and warm food for the tummy…

…and that’s how it came to be…all the screaming and noise died down when the four cousins fell to the temptation of ice cream…

All the bowls had equal amounts of ice cream, but Hannah, no surprise at all, finished her bowl first and asked for seconds…look at her eyeing Phoebe’s bowl…

After-dinner activity for the kids: Uncle Tee Bin busy *hiding* candy canes on the Christmas tree, and then getting the kids to look for them.

Next: gift time! Because of logistic reasons and because “some people” were too eager to open their presents, we had a first round of gifts that Christmas eve.

We went to church after that, and only came back home after midnight. The kids were really tired and fell asleep soundly.

And so did I.

On Christmas Day we took a drive to Ipoh, and the kids were very excited to see Ah Ma and Ah Kong again. It was very apparent that they’d missed my Dad because they kept sticking close to him, especially Hannah.

We had a scrumptious dinner at a restaurant which frankly serves the best chicken chop ever

It was back home to Penang the next day where we had a few more presents to open. Ethan had handpicked a present especially for Hannah, from himself:

…and he was visibly touched when he found out that Hannah also had a gift for him. He was eagerly looking forward to opening it.

Day 2 Singapore Getaway: Jurong Bird Park

joyce — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:56:27 +0000

One of the first things we prepared before Day 2 was to get our ez-link cards to use on the MRT and the buses in Singapore. Kids up to 0.9m in height can travel for free, and Hannah just barely made it However, for preschoolers over 0.9m and below 7 years old, like Ethan, we got him the Child Concession Card, which entitled him to a 50% discount on all fares. Of course, Ethan was all happy and felt grown-up when he could also tap his very own card and walk across the gates.

On Monday morning, armed with our day backpack, camera and loads of energy (somewhat), we made our way on foot to the nearest MRT station near Bernard & Pei Ling’s house…..but….halfway there, Pete turned around and asked,

Pete: Did you bring the (Bird Park) tickets?
Me (giving him a blank stare): Nooo…..I thought they were in your bag!

So while the kids happily whiled away their time playing in the play structure in one of the HDB flats, I walked back to the house to get the tickets. It was a little extra exercise for me, and we haven’t even gotten on the train yet!

We had actually left the house quite late and when we boarded the MRT it was close to lunch time. So we decided to stop at Jurong Point Mall for lunch…instigated by pictures of Burger King’s food in the MRT too, actually!

Ethan was busy looking at the MRT map and telling his sister which station would come next and which station we would get off.

…and finally we arrived!

It was our first time at the Jurong Bird Park and one of the highlights the kids wanted to go to was the Lory Loft Feeding.

“Mommy, Mommy, can I feed the birds?” Hannah would ask, and hold up her hands as if holding the bird feed. But when we arrived, as soon as I was handed the sweet bird feed in the little plastic cup, I daresay at least 4 or 5 lory birds swarmed towards me and started eating from the bowl. The kids would not hold the bowl, and they were visibly afraid. We tried to cajole them into feeding the birds, but the most we got was them touching the feeding bowl together with Daddy (missed the chance to take a picture though. Boo.)

Other pictures from our enjoyable Bird Park trip:

It was a hot, hot, hot day that day (contradictory to the weather forecasted then), and the kids had their Kidz Banz sunglasses to protect their eyes (and look cool at the same time)!

Yup, those came in handy especially when we were watching the Bird Shows…

As you can see, there were lots of pretty, colorful and interesting birds to see…and we all had tons of fun!

…at Dino Dig, where kids can pretend to be archaeological experts or little paleontologists and look for fossils and hidden relics in the sand. Very cool!

…and possibly the kids’ favorite part of the excursion: the Panorail ride! It’s like a train that goes around the Bird Park but it’s high up above everything, so you get a panoramic view of the surroundings. We got unlimited rides because it was past 2p.m….see? Latecomers have privileges too!

The main reason the kids loved the panorail was because it is AIR-CONDITIONED!!

Here’s the photo that caused us to miss our bus back to the MRT station by a few seconds! I just had to take a picture of this rare multi-finger banana plant (forgot its name, but will google it later).

We reached Bernard and Pei Ling’s place after dinner and then made our way to our hotel near Orchard Road.

Here they are, at the end of the day, all ready for bed, and relaxing in our room at Traders Hotel, playing on Daddy’s iPad. Traders also had free wi-fi - hurrah!!

We were tired out, and were eager to rest for we knew the next day would bring another new exciting adventure!

Day 1 Singapore Getaway: Southward Bound and the Marina

joyce — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:42:28 +0000

It was a Sunday on December 4th when our long-awaited family vacation was to begin. Both Ethan and Hannah had been eagerly looking forward to this day for weeks, and I had told them that they would need to get up extra extra early that morning, for our cab would arrive to pick us up to the airport at 8a.m.

Well, miracles DO happen when the kids excitedly got ready and did not dilly-dally. We got to the airport well on time and even had time to grab a quick breakfast at McDonald’s in the departure terminal first.

It was another short wait for our plane to arrive, but you know…the kids got restless and kept asking, “Why is our airplane not here yet?”, “When are we boarding?”, and the like.

We’d redeemed airplane tickets using our Krisflyer points (finally), and it was an exciting occasion for the kids because I felt this was the time they would both remember they were in an airplane together. The last time Hannah boarded a plane, she was only 4 months’ old, and could only lie down in a crib!

The kids occupied themselves with complimentary doodle pads from SilkAir and drank some milk and juice that was served, and before we knew it, we had already landed in Singapore.

Here’s Ethan taking a whiff of the yummy samsui chicken we had for lunch at Soup Restaurant in Terminal 2 Changi Airport. It was to be the first of many chicken rice meals he would enjoy in Singapore…

Our agenda for the first day was to make our way to our friend’s house, and pretty much have a free-and-easy time and rest. But when we arrived at Bernard & Pei Ling’s place, Ethan and their son Joel began bonding almost immediately, playing Nintendo Wii and didn’t want to rest at all.

Little Hannah, who felt a little left out, decided to try her hand at some Legos instead.

Later that evening, we took a walk to the nearest MRT station (about 15 mins away) and took the MRT to the Marina. We had dinner around that area and proceeded to take a stroll around the harbor. We could see Marina Bay Sands in all its glory, with the Singapore Flyer close by. We were armed with umbrellas because it was drizzling, and sometimes raining too.

Hannah appeared to be a little jealous because Ethan and Joel were walking together, and she felt left out, so she was a bit whiny at times. But we still made it all the way to the Merlion in front of Fullerton Hotel and then to Raffles Place to board the MRT back.

Fun, Fun and More Fun at AdventureZone!

joyce — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 15:24:00 +0000

When we told Ethan we were going to AdventureZone once again, he was ecstatic! He had been asking and asking and asking to go back there and he was really really psyched up this time.

Took all of their effort to pose and smile for the camera before I let them run into the play area…

Amazing how much energy these kids possess. They had 2 hours to play in the area, and after what felt like an hour and a half, Pete tells me it’s only been 20 minutes. Thank goodness the entire area was air-conditioned. Hehe.

This time round, Ethan was more adventurous, and loudly proclaimed that he wasn’t afraid to go down the slides now. His favorite was the “Hyperglide Astra Drop” (rainbow) slide, which had a height of 18 feet (5.5 metres) and a length of 50 feet (15.2 metres). This one required the us to use a mat as we slid down. Ethan also tried the “Double Drop” (blue) slide, which had a ball pit exit, and stands 20 feet (6.1 metres) tall and has a length of 48 feet (14.6 metres). The red slide is called the “Demon Drop” slide, and is not for the faint-hearted. It has a vertical drop of 24 feet (7.3 metres) and spans 75 feet (22.9 metres). Pete got on it a couple of times, and I got on just once (because Pete dared me to).

Since Hannah was not old enough to get on the Hyperglide Astra Drop on her own, she would either sit on Pete’s or my lap while we rode on the mats. Ethan would go over and over again, each time gaining more and more confidence. Initially he needed our help to carry the mat up, but in the end, he would carry the mat up by himself.

Here’s a video I took of Ethan riding the Hyperglide Astra Drop all by himself:

And after a two-hour PLUS workout, we headed nearby for a totally satisfying reward: The Rasa Sayang Seafood Buffet Dinner. *burp*

Logos Hope: Second Time’s a Charm!

joyce — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 15:59:18 +0000

Mommy: Ethan?
Ethan: Yes, Mommy?
Mommy: Guess where we’re going later today?
Ethan: Where?
Mommy: We’re going to visit a floating bookstore on a HUGE ship! (trying to make it sound really exciting)
Ethan: Errr…no! I don’t wanna go!
Mommy: But … why? It’s gonna be really fun! Can you imagine a bookstore in a ship?
Ethan: NO! I don’t wanna go on a PIRATE SHIP!!!

Well, we’ve since made it clear to him that it’s NOT a pirate ship and we’ve reassured him that there will be NO pirates aboard the Logos Hope.

So.

Both Ethan and Hannah got all excited to get on the famous Logos Hope, which holds the biggest ever floating bookstore…and what happened when we arrived at Swettenham Pier on the first day of Raya? The queue to get into the ship was like a mile LONG! I remembered going onboard the Doulos years ago, and there was NO queue at all! Things certainly have changed. Or perhaps it was the public holiday.

In any case, we decided to come back another day, which we did, and that day was a day after Merdeka Day. It was still a public holiday, but we were praying that the queue would not be as long.

Hurrah! The queue was like a tenth of the LONG queue we encountered the first time, and we promptly got in line. After about 15 minutes, we had already gotten our tickets and were on our way onboard the ship.

As we entered the bookstore proper, it was as if the air-conditioning stopped working altogether. There were so many people that it was so difficult to move around and browse to our hearts’ content. Add to the equation 2 kids with minds of their own who wanted to see different things at different times and you can imagine how nerve-wracking it was.

But despite all this, we still managed to land some cool stuff, some chosen by me and some personally selected by the kids.

There was also a pictorial exhibition section in the ship called the Journey of Life, which depicts a modern day story based on The Prodigal Son. I had wanted to take more pictures but because of the influx of visitors, I could not get all the pictures…just a few random ones of the kids…

The cafe on the ship was also packed full of hungry visitors…so we did not stop there. It was a memorable day for the kids and although it could have been a more relaxing visit if there weren’t so many people, we had great fun!

What Can a One-Day Trip Achieve?

joyce — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:39:50 +0000

Quite a lot, apparently.

August 31st (Merdeka Day) this year saw us making a one-day trip to Taiping. Cousin Jonathan would be having his 4th birthday celebration, and Ethan and Hannah were really excited to go celebrate it with him.

The *long* wait for the cake to be cut and served was incredibly excruciating…

…but definitely a worthwhile wait! All the 4 kids really enjoyed the cake…

The idea for the game I initiated, “Who can stay quiet the longest?”, was eagerly received by the kids…

Later in the evening, we took the kids to one of the huge playgrounds in Lake Gardens where they worked up a sweat (and appetite).

Just in case you’re wondering, Ethan is saying “1 Malaysia!” and was asking Jonathan to do the same, but Jonathan wanted to hold up the “peace” sign instead. Hannah and Phoebe, meanwhile, were just contented to look pretty for the camera.

And there you have it…all in a one-day trip

Memories are Made of These…

joyce — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:40:55 +0000

Whenever Daddy travels away on a business trip, we all miss him dearly. But on the flipside, the kids and I really look forward to spending some top-notch quality time with Ah Ma and Ah Kong from Ipoh. You see, my parents will try their very best to come and accompany Ethan, Hannah and me in Penang during Pete’s absence, and I am eternally grateful for the “extra hands” they lend

The kids enjoy the story-telling sessions and the undivided attention they get from Ah Ma and Ah Kong, and likewise, I would say the reverse is also true.

Sometimes, if the timing is right, we will also take a drive down to my hometown in Ipoh for a short holiday. The kids enjoy their time spent with their grandparents and they get to do a myriad of activities in Ipoh too.

Well, we recently had this golden opportunity again, and even though Ethan kept asking if we had arrived yet, all the way from Penang to Ipoh (Hannah was fast asleep, naturally!), both the kids were overjoyed when we finally reached our destination…would have reached earlier had I not been delayed by a police roadblock, where I was flagged aside and asked to show my driver’s licence…not for speeding, rather it was a random check that was being conducted.

Anyway, I digress…

We spent 4 days and 3 nights in Ipoh…so what did the kids do to occupy their time?

Look how simple it is to keep kids entertained (albeit for only a short period of time). The Ipoh City Council is using the parking coupon payment method, where we need to scratch out the date and time on a coupon and then display it in the car when we park. Ethan and Hannah then used these used coupons to further scratch out the rest of the numbers, using coins.

Look how engrossed they were…

The kids enjoyed taking their baths with a scoop container too! With the weather being so hot, a cool bath definitely helped to lift their spirits and upped their energy levels. There was no problem whatsoever when I announced it was time for their baths.

In Ethan’s words, he said, “Wow Mommy…it’s SO cooling, I love it!”

Ethan’s favorite computer game in Ipoh is Solitaire. I was incredibly amazed at how fast he picked it up and soon was able to play on his own. He was so impressed when he completed his first game ever…announcing to everyone, “Look! I made mountains with it!! I win!”

We all have been there and done that now, haven’t we? Maybe it’s time to introduce FreeCell to him

While walking around in Kinta City, we came across a height and weight machine, and Ethan remembered that I had asked him to remind me to measure his height and weight. And of course, if Ethan gets on it, so will Hannah…

I’m happy with their height and weight, especially since their BMI readings showed that both Ethan and Hannah were in the healthy zone.

Lastly, of course, any vacation is incomplete without the presence of good food. Although this time round I did not get to eat the usual Ipoh fare, the kids did enjoy the yummy food.

Hannah discovered a love and appetite for wan ton mee, especially the one Ah Kong ordered from the hawker that rides past the back lane of the house. Great tasting food that comes straight to your door, who could ask for more? I was surprised she could eat half a plate all by herself, including the wantons!

At the special buffet lunch at Excelsior Hotel, Ethan and Hannah had fun *making* and *creating* their own signature dishes…and tasting them too, of course! They were excited because I told them it would be just like in MasterChef!!

Here’s Ethan tasting his version of koay teow soup:

Hannah eating her own creation of “ABCD” (I had told her it was “ABC” but she added the “D” in herself!):

…and Ethan wanted a go at making his version of ABC too…but he ended up drinking “strawberry soup” instead!

We all sure had a good time in Ipoh Thank you Ah Ma and Ah Kong for the excellent hospitality! We look forward to more visits and enjoyable times soon!

Ethan, Our Little Red Supporter

joyce — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:31:10 +0000

When we heard that Liverpool would be playing Malaysia as part of their Asia Tour 2011, we wanted to take Ethan to the match, but still, we were not sure if he would want to go. We told him that it was going to be noisy, very hot, and the match was going to be a whole 2 hours. He thought for a while and then he decided he wanted to go.

We enlisted the help of Allan Aku, Pei Gee Ah Kim and also Ah Mah, who had travelled all the way from Ipoh to take care of Hannah for a few hours while the three of us went for the match. We took an LRT from the Sungai Besi station, which was only a station away from the Bukit Jalil station. It was Ethan’s first time ever on the LRT.

He was having a little cough but not once did he complain that it was hot or crowded. He asked for a snack before entering the stadium.

He only kept asking when the match was gonna start. You see, we’d arrive in the stadium about 1 hour and 45 minutes before kickoff..and it was a good thing too, because a little later and we would not have been able to get seats.

We didn’t bring any scarf or banners, but we were approached by a Standard Chartered representative to provide our contact numbers and in return we would get a Liverpool poster. So that’s what Ethan held during the singing of the Liverpool anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone. I also taught him to sing the “Liverpool…..Liverpool….” tune

Ethan taking a catnap 45 minutes before the match started.

Throughout the match (especially during the first half), Ethan kept asking us when the goals would come. And when they did, he cheered as loudly as all of us. I’m sure he wasn’t disappointed with the score

Tired though we may be, we had to rush back home to Penang after the match. Both kids, especially Ethan, were very tired too, for they slept through almost the entire journey. Thanks to Daddy’s safe driving (not to mention FAST), we arrived home at about 2:00a.m.

Well, if you’re wondering why we had to rush back so soon, there’s a very good reason, and here’s a sneak peek…

For more pictures from our Liverpool Asia Tour 2011 match, please click here.

The weekend before Christmas

joyce — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:11:24 +0000

(I had better post this before CNY comes around…gasp!)

We took the kids for a vacation in KL the weekend before Christmas. It was just a little something we planned for the school holidays, and although we knew it was going to be quite tiring, it would be worth the while because the kids would surely enjoy themselves.

As usual, we had our fair share of “tummy-stuffing” (like a prelude to what’s to come for Christmas)…this was the steamboat pot that every table was provided with when we had buffet lunch at Shogun at 1-Utama.

After Ethan had had his lunch, he began to tap into his Top Chef skills…

A *yummy* creation made with his own two hands? :) Amazing what he could create with the remnants of the cheesecake…

Hannah, despite her young age, also thoroughly enjoyed herself … and made a PERFECT mess too! Hopefully we won’t be banned from the restaurant after this…

Had to give her a change of clothes too, after she spilled the grape juice all over herself! Here she is, checking to see if there’s anything left to eat on the table:

Hannah with Daddy…

Hannah with Kor Kor…

Ethan too busy being Top Chef, remember?

Anyway, after that we walked off the meal by strolling around the mall. The kids *insisted* on riding on these *animals*…

A kid-sized doggie for Ethan…

And a small toddler-sized elephant for Hannah…

Daddy wanted in on the fun too:

After a whole day of fun, Hannah was totally knocked out by dinnertime!