Where To Bring Your Kids

The June holidays are coming up, that means Joey will have no school. That would also mean we need to think of activities to keep both my girls occupied. Staying in this little island of Singapura, it’s not always easy to plan where to go. But with some though and research, nothing is impossible.

Here are some survival guide for all parents:

Play & Learn
Miniature Golf @ Lilli Putt
Located at Play @ Big Splash, this is the perfect time to groom the next Tiger Woods or Yani Tseng.
Child under 12 ($12.80), Adult ($19.20), Family of 2 Adults & 2 Children ($57.80)
Golf through the 18 mini golf holes – all modelled after familiar Singapore landmarks like Changi Airport.

Skating @ SkateSports
Located @ East Coast Park Area F1 or Tampines St 82, this is a more strenuous exercise which includes inline skating, caster boarding, skateboarding, ice skating and skorpion skating.
Imagine inline skating together with your kids along East Coast Park, that will be my personal dream!

Creativity
DIY Art Projects @ Impressions Art Studio
Located at Cluny Court (next to Serene Centre), the studio offers DIY art activities such as ceramic painting, batik, canvas painting and scrapbooking.
This is a perfect activity for bonding time with your children and also if its a rainy day. Or gather a minimum of 6 children to book their Party Packages.

Water Play
Port of Lost Wonder
Located at the Palawan Beach, this is the ultimate pirate ship water playground, and also the first ever “form party” pool for children.
Weekdays ($8/child), Weekends ($15/child)

Marina Barrage
Located at the mouth of the Marina Channel, this is a huge area for kids and adults alike to have a time either at the water area or at the grass field for kite-flying.
Best of all, it’s FOC.

Outdoor Adventures
Jurong Bird Park
Located at the far far west, this is a must visit for the younger children. Besides the educational tour around the park, the best part is the interactive Lory Loft where over thousand of uncaged lories fly just near enough for you to feed it and take photos.
More than just the birds, there is also a huge water playground to keep the heat down and the fun up.
Adult ($18) and Child ($12)

Riding @ Singapore Polo Club
Located at Mount Pleasant Road, this has to be one of the more atas activity for your child or even for parents to relive a childhood dream.
Besides the fun, this is an activity that will establish their basic posture and balance.
Enjoy lunch at the beautiful Verandah Restaurant overlooking the polo field, they serves both local and western delights such as soup, fish & chips and lasagna.

Indoor Fun
Night Out @ JWT Kids Gym
This is totally COOL! A night out for the kids while the parents can have their own romantic getaway.
Located at UE Square, the kids gym provides a special theme event for kids from 3-9 years old. Basically, you provide the sleeping bag and kids, they provide the pizzas and fun. It’s going to be 4 non-stop hours of fun from 5-9pm for the children, which includes art and crafts, pizza party, movie and other activities.
Some of the themes coming up for the holidays – Occupations, Arabian Night, Asian Culture and Traditions.

Junior Chef @ Expat Kitchen
Have you heard about Australia’s Junior Chef? This is the Singaporean version (my way of seeing it).
Located at Little India, the cooking school offers a variety of classes, while mastering mixing, measuring, kneading and tasting.
Available on every Tuesday, for 9-13 years old, $55 per child.
Bring out that chef in your children, who knows, maybe this year’s thanksgiving you can just sit back and relax.

Overseas Holiday
Do I need to say more for this category?
As long as its an overseas trip, its FUN for everyone including children.
For relaxation, go Bali.
For adventurous, go Darwin.
For cultural, go Ho Chi Minh City.
For shopping, go Bangkok.

Darwin - Wildman Wilderness Lodge

Special mention for this one place in Darwin that gave me so much experiences that I really don’t know whether will I go back again or never.

It was our first ever outback experience, no TV, no internet, no aircon, plenty of bugs and insects. These are the reasons why I don’t feel like going back again. But according to the General Manager, if we visit them during June-August period, there will be NO BUGS! And the temperature at night will fall to probably 14.0 °C. That will be definitely be cooler!

Here are the obvious reasons to re-visit the lodge:

The main lodge with a heated pool to watch the sunset.

Have your meals in the lodge with a perfect view of the outback. Exotic meals served, like Kangaroo meat, Crocodile meat, Camel milk, etc..

The tents with an outside portion where you can watch the star-filled sky.

The view from inside the tents.

As the sun starts to set, be sure you are perched at this U-shape sofa with a chill beer and camera ready for the spectacular view. Of course, with a fireplace burning with roasted chicken being prepared in it. Yummy!

Pardon my first try on shooting sunsets, it may not have done much justice to the actual beauty. But you get the picture.

You can even catch some of the birds flying north against the multi-colour sky.

Try multiple exposures for different feel of the sunset. Just try anything, the view is just too nice to be missed.

If you are like me, a late night person, prepare some night snacks just in case you are hungry after watching the stars, at least they have hot water supply in the room, maybe to prepare a cup noodle.

Rest well and wake up for the sunrise. Once again pardon my skills, no tripod and without steady hands, this is the best I can get.

Breakfast is a simple affair but food has never been the main thing here. When we were there we did not have the chance to take the Mary River Cruise or the tour into Kakadu National Park, but if you are there, be sure not to miss it!

I strolled out to the fields and roads to take more pictures.

Termite hills are common around the lodge.

If you like bird-watching, there are plenty of birds for you too.

Wallabies. There are everywhere but very shy, so you got to use a zoom lens to capture their photos.

Or just spend the time taking in the environment. Equally stunning.

So there you have it, decide for yourself. Check out their website for more information.

3D2N Darwin Trip

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory. It has only a population of less than 130,000 with more than 50 different groups of Aboriginals, making it the highest proportional population of Aboriginals of any Australian capital city.

There is only one season in Darwin, hot hot and hot, so pack a few more change of clothing if you are prepared to walk around. Bermuda and slippers (or thongs in Darwin) will be good, just like the locals will say, just wear anything that is comfortable.

It would be just nice to spend 3D2N in Darwin, maximum I would recommend will be 4D3N.

When we reached Darwin, the weather was 32.0 °C. Boarded the bus waiting for us, we reached our first hotel, Medina Vibe (more like a boutique hotel).

The rooms were not too bad, cleanliness is the main thing for me when I travel.

The extra that came with this choice is the Wave Pool just outside the hotel. The catch is, you got to pay to enjoy it, it doesn’t come along with the stay in Medina. It’s A$5 for half a day or A$8 for a full day’s fun.

Another amazing view from the hotel.

After a short rest, head out to their CBD area, where you will find some shops and the more noteworthy malls like Coles and Woolworths.

On the way to the CBD area, you will also pass by some old buildings built with stones.

Once you are done with the city tour (probably just about an hour or so), visit the Crocosaurus Cove for some cool sights of Crocs and reptiles.

Crocosaurus Cove features a daily program of activities, including twice daily big croc feed; meet the reptiles encounter and “barra” feeding in their 200,000 litre freshwater aquarium.

Most of the shops are closed after 5pm, so maybe for the night, you can go for a night drink in the local pubs before heading back to hotel for a rest.

Suggested itinerary for the next 2 days:

Batji Tours
Experience Darwin through the perspective of its Traditional Owners, the Larrakia people. Aboriginal cultural tours of Darwin help visitors learn more about the history and ways of the original people of the area.

This is the famous Robert Mills who started the tour.

Jumping Crocodile Cruise
See how the local guide entice the wildlife crocodiles to leap out of the water. Be ready with a fast shutter camera to make sure you snap the moment.

See how the croc is eyeing on the bait. Really cool to see it in such close proximity.

Once he is ready, he makes his jump.

If you are lucky, you will be able to see the feeding of eagles.

Saw this super cute joey kangaroo on the way back from the cruise.

Wildman Wilderness Lodge
Travel to this outback lodge for an extraordinary wetlands safari experience, situated halfway between Darwin and Kakudu National Park.

Stay in this tent with built-in bedding and toilet.

Wangi Falls – Litchfield
This is the largest and most popular attraction in the park. Wangi Falls is a registered sacred site that is used by the aboriginal women for fertility purpose. Legend says that the “Rainbow Serpent” resides in the water which enables women who swims in it to be given creation power for fertility.

Florence Falls – Litchfield
A spectacular double waterfall set amid the monsoon forest cascades into a swimming hole.

Check out my FB for more photos..