As long as we were living in Australia, we knew there was no way we would miss out on making our way to Asia. So back last March we started planning a trip that started with Thailand but slowly evolved to starting in Singapore and stopping in Cambodia as well. While it seemed light years away when we planned it, before we knew it December 19 arrived and we embarked on a our biggest adventure as a family of four.
After a lot of careful planning as we would be moving house the weekend we returned, we were anxious to be on our way. So with cookies and carrots left out by Emma for Santa before we left (only to have mom quickly run back inside and throw them out before we jumped in the taxi), and boxes packed of everything not making the trip with us, we headed out.
From Sydney to Singapore it was about an eight hour direct flight. We decided to venture on a "new to us" discount airline, Scoot. Let's just say, we survived. The airline was a par for the course discount airline, but it was a long eight hours during the middle of the day. Emma may or may not have had a lot of pent up energy upon arrival and was a little fidgety as she set off the alarm in immigration control. Thankfully the officer just carried on like a normal day.
We found Santa at the Sydney airport!
And we also found the most expensive 3D Opera House Lego set!
We made it!
As we made our way via taxi to our Airbnb for our three day stay I was quickly taken by the number of dichotomies I observed. I had many stereotypes prior to my arrival. Much of what I knew about Singapore revolved around the strict laws, skyscrapers, and artificial nature of much of the city. And while all of this proved true, we found ourselves surprised by many other things we observed.
I guess I expected everything to be ultra modern and I found myself strangely surprised when many parts of the city actually made feel like we had gone back in time by a few decades. From the airport security uniforms to the style of some of the buildings. However, I found the closer we approached the city center the newer and bigger everything became.
Still, strangely enough while I was more worried about making sure we didn't pack any chewing gum and we didn't accidentally jaywalk or feed a snack to the kids on the MRT (subway/train system), I was shocked when we passed trucks on the road that had ten plus people sitting in the back bed. Yet, I was brought back to our Swiss days by the punctuality and the rigidness of much of the society. Some of the things I found that I honestly missed and others not so much. And to add to the spectrum of differences, while even the smallest of places to stay was extremely expensive, taxis were surprisingly cheap.
Loved the Singaporean orderliness
I can think of a few other places in the world whose public transit travelers should take note of this system.
So upon arrival to our rather tiny (and I'm being generous in my description) Airbnb we were happy to be kindly greeted by the owner with full blast a/c running in an attempt to push our the overwhelming humidity. We were all exhausted and as quickly as we could get settled we were in bed.
Morgan helping to "unpack" the suitcase, I remember this phase with Emma well, but not fondly...
We had big plans for our first full day on the ground. We headed to the city center via the MRT and pretty much every part of our morning could be summed up with three words - hot, clean, and efficient. We explored some of the downtown core on foot as we made our way towards the towering Marina Bay Sands. I was surprised by how quiet the area was as I expected it was a place that was always teeming with tourists.
Daddy and daughter and our first glimpse of the massive skyline
Mommy and daughter and the massive Marina Bay Sands
This is Singapore
Another view on the city... complete with water front soccer pitch
Beautiful architecture in the pedestrian bridge leading to the Marina Bay Sands
Morgan was all giggles!
The ArtScience Museum was quite a work of art from the outside
So happy on day one!
Little sister loves wearing big sister's sunnies!
Me and my beautiful girl!
Since we weren't staying at the famous Marina Bay Sands Hotel we didn't have access to the stunning infinity pool with world renowned views. However, there are a few other options to get to the skypark located at the top of the three 55 story hotel towers. We opted for lunch at Ce La Vie. We perused our way through the Marina Bay Sands Shoppes (over 300 stores at the base of the hotel) before making our way up. While the views were stunning as the restaurant was on the far east end of the Skypark, it was clear that they saved the best views only for hotel guests. Nonetheless we were impressed as it was a beautiful day and we felt like we were sitting atop of the world.
The canals in the Marina Bay Sands Shoppes
Dessert on top of the world!
What a view!
Looking northeast from downtown Singapore, so many ships in the harbour.
Glimpse back at downtown from Ce La Vie.
View over the Supertree Grove in Gardens by the Bay
Another view over the Gardens by the Bay and the harbour.
While Emma and Morgan were simply happy to not be spending the day in the airplane, they were ready to be done walking and had been amply bribed (ok really just Emma) with visions of a massive water play area we had promised them we would find for the afternoon. Just in the shadows of the Marina Bay Sands was the massive and beautiful Gardens by the Bay. Over 250 acres of green space in the middle of this huge concrete city. And we had been recommended by several friends that we could not miss out on the awesome and free water park in the Gardens. It was a very well warranted recommendation as it was great and just what we all needed.
View back up on the "space ship"
Morgan loved the water park!
Pretty amazing backdrop
Water fun!
Someone loves her daddy!
From there we headed to the Christmas market in the Gardens and met up with an old friend from our time in Zurich and her three year old daughter. Emma wasted no time pretending like they had been friends their whole life and we enjoyed catching up while we watched the sky darken and the Supertree Grove come to life at night amidst additional Christmas lights and festivities.
I was in awe of these supertrees by day or night.
Someone found Santa again!
Beautiful Christmas lights under the Supertrees
Artificial, but still stunning.
We made our way back to the waterfront to take in the water and light show before calling it a night. We were left confused and more than a bit disappointed in what we anticipated would be like a Bellagio Fountain Show. Oh well, we were all ready to call it a night, so between us and the thousands of other people I expected to see earlier in the day, we dragged two mostly sleeping children back for the night.
Wednesday morning arrived quickly, but everyone was excited as we were headed to the Singapore Zoo to have breakfast with the orangutans. I think it's fair to say that Emma and Morgan both were quite entertained as were mom and dad when we watched six or seven orangutans make their way down from the trees to have breakfast right next to us. It was a great start to many planned animal encounters during our trip. After breakfast we stopped and saw a few other animals and even got to feed a giraffe before we found our way to another awesome water park for a couple hours.
Here come the orangutans!
Just your average breakfast
Pretty cool to get up close to them.
Caught a quick glimpse of the sweet baby orangutan
We didn't expect to get to feed a giraffe as well!
By mid afternoon we made our way back to the city and headed to Chinatown. We saw the beautiful Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum, which we knew would be the first of many temple stops. From there we wandered through Chinatown and the hundreds of stalls and tiny shops trying to find a Michelin Star winning "food hawker." These food hawkers are known in Singapore for their extremely cheap eating and was a welcome change from many other very expensive restaurants. Unfortunately we gave up trying to find this one specific "food hawker" and instead ventured in the Chinatown hawker center only to find it as soon as we left! But we still couldn't complain about our $3 dinners in what could best be compared to a cross between dimly lit school cafeteria and mall food court.
Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum
Tables of food lining the temple, still not sure what the it was for...
How did we miss this?
Our last day in Singapore arrived quickly, but our flight onto Bangkok wasn't until the evening so we hoped to still have time to enjoy the city a little longer. Unfortunately it turned into a bit of a wasted day as the downside with Airbnb is sometimes you don't have anywhere to store your luggage when you check out. We ended up taking a trip the airport to drop off our luggage before heading back to the downtown core for a boat ride to take in the stunning Singapore skyline one more time. It took a bit longer and then a storm rolled in, so the day wasn't exactly what we expected but it was still a great few days in Singapore.
Typical Singaporean boats
One last view before the storm started!
They seemed pretty happy with the ride
By the end of the day we were excited to be on our way to Bangkok and we had no idea of the adventures ahead of us for the next two weeks. You know, because it's not everyday you decide to take your two young kids to Thailand.
As long as we were living in Australia, we knew there was no way we would miss out on making our way to Asia. So back last March we started planning a trip that started with Thailand but slowly evolved to starting in Singapore and stopping in Cambodia as well. While it seemed light years away when we planned it, before we knew it December 19 arrived and we embarked on a our biggest adventure as a family of four.
