Konnichiwa

Terminal 3 @ Singapore Changi Airport

Waiting for our 5am flight. 

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Looking for a place that can entertain the kids and yet is cheap? Look no further than when you first stepoff the plane at Changi Airport.  Terminal 3 is a kid's heaven. And it is FREE (largely).

Good indoor playgrounds (which is great in the Singapore weather - away from the sun or the sudden thunderstorms). Fun activities like woodblock colouring. And a slide that goes on for 4 stories!

We were there twice initially.  And then because our departing flight was at 5am and I did not want my mum to wake up at 3am, she dropped us off at Terminal 1 around midnight.  I thought we could find some entertainment there but the whole place was undergoing renovation with loud drilling. We decided to escape to Terminal 3.  Usually I would think thrice about that, esp with 2 kids and the number of bags we had. But thankfully, a few days earlier, my dad suggested that we try the skytrain as entertainment for the boys. So I was familiar with the route  - I knew the playground was very near the skytrain exit, and that getting on and off the skytrain with a huge trolley loaded with bags was a cinch. So off we went to Terminal 3, yet again. 

You bet that we will be there again the next time we are in Singapore.

My camera could not cover all 4 stories.

Wood blocks featuring Singapore landmarks.   

Singapore: The Fancy Foodcourt

No, this is not at the art musuem.

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I had previously written about Ion.  But I did not get to go to the food court till this June trip back home.  The food is amazing but the decor is mind-blowing.  Definitely not your typical food-court.  Good on the designers!

Recessed ceilings and chandeliers.

Another animal head.

Pigs.  My favourite animal.   

Singapore - Part IV : New Digs

What a view! 

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My sis moved. *We* have a new place to stay! :-)

Now, this is the life.  I look out of my windows in the Tokyo/Yokohama corridor and I see buildings, buildings and more buildings.  Usually, plain boxy buildings, very practical in design and very practical in color.  What I would give for a view like the one above.  Contrast the green of trees and plants, and the blue of water, against modern glass architecture.

We did not stay here this time as she was just about moving when we were in Singapore.  But that did not stop us from having some fun in the pool.

The evil cousins.

Led by the evil Uncle, my bro.

Taiga taking a ride from Daddy.

Taiga's fav.  He would throw the board down and then "fall" flat into the water like the board.

Kai grabbing onto Daddy.

Good job cousin Keira!  She only just started swimming classes.

 
 Having more fun.

The anxious grandparents keeping an eye over the grandkids.

Tomo taking a break.

Plotting his next attack.  See that squint in his eye?

Ah, the tranquility.     
  

Singapore - Part III : Changes

The iconic Ion.

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The Singapore skyline and scenery is never stagnant.

The latest big thing to open is Ion. Located most strategically at the junction of Orchard Road and Scotts Road.  With such prime commercial retail space, I am glad the architecture did not disappoint. Look at the pic above - it's absolutely not a boring, boxy building.  It is also located back from the road, which is a great idea, making that junction seem more spacious.  I am glad they sacrificed high rent-yielding retail space for that spacious junction.  My sense is the architects are not Singaporean, I asked around, nobody knew.  Just found out from the internet that it is a London architectural firm that designed this. Apart from the exterior, the interior is also beautifully designed and certainly did not skimp on quality.  This building certainly raises the bar for the other shopping centres in the vicinity.  It makes Takashimaya next door appear downright dowdy.

It is not a surprise that the big name retail shops like Cartier, Louis Vuitton and Prada would want a space here. It was a surprise that Cartier and Louis Vuitton who already had space next door in Takashimaya, and Prada just diagonally across the road, did not close their previous retail spaces when the opened up shop at Ion. Who would have thought that the world economy was in a downward tailspin? 

Maybe it is a sign of the bad economy or my age, but none of my friends have stepped into Ion except for 1.  Even though it had been open for 5 months already.  Whatever happened to my friends who were always on the prowl for the next big cool thing to happen?

My biggest regret the whole trip was right at Ion.  They have those water fountain thingeys that shoot water right out from the walkway for pedestrians.  These were located at the front of the mall, where there is high pedestrian traffic.  My boys saw the water spouting out and wanted to go play. Surprisingly, no other kids were playing with the water.  So off ran Kai and Taiga right into the water. They did silly things like tilting back their heads and pretended to be washing their hair or bending the knees, tilting back their torsos like they were peeing (in conjunction with the flow of water - such that the fountain water looked like their pee flow!). They were having such fun, they were oblivious to the crowd that had gathered around to look at their antics.  My regret?  Not having a videocam or camera on me.  The boys were just so hilarious.  I think if I had passed a hat around, I would have collected a tidy sum!

When we go back to Singapore again at the end of this year, there will be more changes to report. World-renowned Sands would have opened as well as the other "integrated resort" which would be on Sentosa and which would have Universal Studios in its resort!

     

Singapore - Part I

 

We went back to Singapore for christmas and the new year.

The flight to Singapore was the easiest ever since I had kids.  Still some way to go before it is like before when I had no kids (is that possible?), but quite easy.  I even managed to snooze for a couple of hours! Progress, certainly.

Now that we have been back in Japan for 2 weeks - what do the kids keep talking about?  The bird park and the neighbouring dinosaur park.  The colourful birds, the parrot that talks, the huge bird that swooped down really low during the bird show causing us to dodge ....

Here are some birds playing basketball.

What else do the kids talk about?  The food.  They loved the char siu (roast pork) and wanton noodles. They have been asking for these back in Japan but it sure does not taste the same here.  

And the kids have most certainly picked up speaking English the Singaporean way.  For e.g., Kai - "Mummy, it is like this w-h-a-t!". I am hoping that this will soon pass.  

For some reason, Kai was breaking into tears easily during this trip.  Not sure what it was, but I suspect it is the rougher different environment and different language. Adults speak to kids in a softer way in Japan and likewise kids to each other (at least at this young age - before bullying gets in). Since coming back, he has asked me why an older cousin kept shouting at him. I don't think that cousin was shouting at him, it is just the way young boys (outside Japan? )speak esp when they are excited. That cousin also tended to yank Kai, which is not common in Japan - less physical contact here, perhaps?  So all this coupled with not knowing how to tell the cousin not to yank him in English, I think, caused him to be rather beside himself in Singapore.  Now that we are back in Japan, he is quite back to normal. Phew!

Singapore - Part IV

(Kai and me - @ "Kai's slide".)

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Botanical Gardens - we were there twice.  Especially coming from a concrete city, being enveloped by all that space and lush greenery was so refreshing.

So when my girlfriend gave me a list of places where we could meet up, I jumped at Botanical Gardens.  It turned out to be a great choice in the end as the night before, when my kids were at my sis's place, apparently Kai broke his cousin's precious helicopter and the cousin was furious.  I was going to ask my sis if she could also look after my kids whilst I met up with my girlfriends but after that incident, I thought I should just bring my kids along.  Besides, there was lots of space for them to run around in the Botanical Gardens.

We met at the cafe right at the entrance.  The food was good, given it is only a cafe.  I was told that the ownership changed recently and the cafe is now owned by the famed Les Amis group, who also run the chic Au Jardins Les Amis french restaurant in the Botanical Gardens.  If I were to stay in Singapore, I can see myself frequenting this cafe and the gardens.  So here is a pic of me/my family with my friends.

It was not too long ago when one of these girlfriends observed that every time we meet up, it is around food.  And so it was again.  It had been at various Indian restaurants the last few years, as I love Indian food.  The girl between Tomo and myself, I met her in London through friends and she later stayed in the same hostel that I was in.  The other girl, I met her through that first-mentioned girlfriend in Singapore when we were doing a course together.  I remember that first meeting clearly - we were introduced whilst Q'g up for the toilet!  They helped us a lot on my wedding day in Singapore.  The second girlfriend was also in London at the same time but we never really knew each other then.  The funny thing is, we were all from the same school in Singapore previously but I did not know them then - they are senior to me.  (I also separately met up with another girlfriend from my London days - I forgot to take photos though, sorry Min!  The funny thing again is that this girlfriend is also from that same school and I also did not know her then as she is a year senior to me)  I actually left that school halfway through to move on to a convent school although these girls stayed all the way.  Strangely, I am in touch with only 3 girls from this school and none of them I knew whilst I was in the school!  But I think a lot can be said for being of the same wavelength, coming from the same school ....

As we were finishing up lunch, Kai comes running over and says he found a slide and insisted that we go check it out.  Around that time, the first girlfriend's husband and 2 of her kids came to join us.  This turned out to be the "slide":

It may a a simple slope, and never intended to be a slide.  But we had so much fun!  I think we spent more than an hour on these slides.  

Singapore - Part III

(Taiga with his Dinosaur - a drink popularly seen on menus in Singapore nowadays.  It is actually Milo with lots of undissolved Milo powder at the top.)

What did we do in Singapore?  We ate, and ate, and ate.

Shopping trips were punctuated by eating/resting at restaurants, meet-ups with friends were always inevitably around good food, christmas was celebrated with the family xmas party (an annual event at my parents place) where lots of good food was to be had, new years was celebrated by more good food and then there were those restaurants that we had to go to because they are my favourites.  All within 15 days!

Kai and Taiga ate a lot!  They are good eaters already in Tokyo, but they were pretty unstoppable in Singapore.  They absolutely loved the food there, Chinese food in particular.  They discovered har kau and siew mai (OK, we have that here in Japan for yum cha also but it absolutely does not taste the same).  Kai additionally just had to eat all noodles he saw.  Here he is stealing my bro's noodles and my bro pretending to be angry!  (I am sure he was secretly happy to be sharing with Kai.)

I am a Crystal Jade fan.  We went to Crystal Jade Kitchen and the ultra-fancy Crystal Jade restaurant at Paragon.  Crystal Jade is a must-go-to even after all these years.  I could go to Crystal Jade every day of my trip back home if I had to.  Another must-go to is The Big O at Wheelock Place.  Their desserts are excellent (pineapple upside-down cake being my favourite, but their durian cakes and various chocolate cakes are very good too).  We had lunch there this time round and it is now definitely a must-go-to place for food too.  The portions are huge too, which is nice.  I used to like the DKNY cafe too  - the best pastrami sandwiches, cheap Coke out of a can, marshmallow brownies, magazines provided, tranquil atmosphere away from the madding crowd but with good people watching.  They have however closed down the cafe.  Outside of town area, Jumbo Seafood is another regular haunt.  I just discovered that Jumbo Seafood is now in Tokyo!  Will check that out one day although I suppose it will not be as good as back home. 

This time round, we had a celebratory dinner with friends at Min Jiang (Szechuan cuisine), but the one at Dempsey Hill.  (A little family history here for the benefit of Kai and Taiga when they read this later in life.)  My family has a little connection with Goodwood Park Hotel so growing up, we frequented the Min Jiang at Goodwood Park.  Many family celebrations/family meet-ups (with uncles, aunties and cousins) were there.   I was keen to check out the new (to me, that is) Min Jiang and Dempsey Hill.  Dempsey Hill is off the beaten track but that area has been gorgeously re-done.  It is a cluster of colonial bungalows set in lush greenery.  All the bungalows there have now been converted to fancy restaurants, many with outdoor seating.  The menu was pretty much the same as the one at Goodwood Park, and the food fine as usual.  

So back to my friends - the celebration is of their recent wedding!  We could not come back for the big event due to work/kids etc.  I have known the husband (of the newly weds) since my London days.  (I was reminded by another friend from my London days that our London days is almost 20 years ago - yikes!!!)  As luck would have it, at the last minute, I managed to leave my kids with my sis.  So that meant a very adult dinner with wine and uninterrupted conversation.  I can count on 1 hand the number of times Tomo and I have experienced this together since we had kids.  This is only the second time I have met his wife, but I think we all got on just fine and enjoyed the company.   

(Photos of Dempsey Hill to be inserted later.)

Singapore - Part II

We went to the zoo.  

Our arrival was marked by Kai puking in the taxi.  I had totally forgotten that he is a bad traveller in the car too, and forgot to give him the motion sickness pills.  He was really chatty in the taxi until the end when he became really quiet.  Just as the taxi pulled into the zoo's car park, he told me he is going to puke.  I was telling him to try and hold it in, we are arriving and telling the taxi driver to hurry up.  Just 1 second before the taxi stopped for us to alight, he threw up.  In the taxi.  The taxi driver (an elderly female) was really nice about it though.  Thankfully, it was more liquidy than solid.  And he did not soil his clothes!  He has thrown up so many times now that he knows how to avoid his clothes where he can.  

Taiga was particularly keen to see the elephants and the lions.  He kept talking about seeing them even when we were in Japan.  Alas, the prime viewing spot for the lions was cordoned off for a private reception and there was only 1 elephant which they rushed to keep when it started to rain!!!  (Apparently the elephants are in the Night Safari section rather than the zoo.)

There was also a kids water park and we came prepared.  The kids had a grand time in there.  They also had a grand time with the little pull-along trolley (Radio Flyer) that we rented for the little ones.  I think we over-used that when all the cousins - except for the baby of the lot -  decided they wanted to be in there together!

Kai the Japanese boy meets Kai the tribesman.  Who is Kai the Tribesman?  

Crawling?

Having fun spraying others.

Kids eagerly awaiting below for the big pot to tilt over.

Little Taiga hard at work pushing his older sibling and cousins ...

and then they were all there (save for "baby" Kaelyn)

The tropical downpour.  Just 2 seconds earlier, there was not even a sign of any rain.  

 

Elegant zebras.

Singapore - Part I

We did so much in Singapore, that it is quite difficult to coherently document everything here (with the limited blogging time I have).  So, in no particular order, I will just write whatever comes to mind first.

Northwest

For starters, we flew Northwest and they are so kid-unfriendly as a whole.  We had 1 supernice stewardess (who happened to also be on our flight back to Japan), but apart from that, some of the stewardesses don't even bother making eye contact when talking to passengers, which really irks me.  But before we even started our flight, I found out a couple of days before that they had seated me  separately from Kai & Taiga.  I don't know why, especially since we had the same reservation number.  I called Northwest to change the seating and they said it would be difficult, I should just do it when I enter the plane.  Not to worry, I told them, I really don't mind seating on my own, I just hope whoever is next to Kai and Taiga can cope with them.  Gosh, I really should fly with Northwest more often.  What an opportunity to be apart from the kids.

On the way back to Japan, we had the same problem in that I was placed to be seated with the kids, but Tomo was a few rows behind.  It was not Northwest's fault this time in that Tomo had a different reservation number (he flew to Singapore on his own a week after us, but we all got back to Japan together).  I tried to get Northwest to change our seats but again, they said do it when you board the plane.  So we approached the girl next to us and asked her if she could please trade her aisle seat for another aisle seat 2 rows back.  Surprisingly, she was hesitant and uncooperative.  She said no.  Finally, that super nice stewardess came to help us and that girl again said no, this time citing that she had ordered a special meal.  She did move in the end though.

Service in Singapore

I must say that this time round, I was quite disappointed in the service.  Sometimes when I go back, I get service that pleasantly surprises me but this last trip was not one of those times.

In one incident, I was a Borders and was seeking out Seventeen magazine that I had promised my niece.  Could not find it in the magazine section.  Looked around for a Borders employee, could not see one, started walking around looking for an employee.  About 15 meters later, at the Politics section, I spot an employee.

Me: Excuse me, I am looking for Seventeen magazine.  Can you please help me?

Employee: That would be in the magazine section.

Me: Yes, I know.  I just came from there but could not find it.

Employee: Then we don't have it anymore.

Me: Could you please show me the shelf where you usually have them?  I may have missed it.

Employee: *waving in a certain direction that excluded only the half of the bookshop behind her* There.

Me: And when do you think the next issue will arrive?  

Employee: We have no idea.

Me: Would it be in the computers?  Could you please check?

Employee: It is not in the computers.  You just have to keep coming back to check.

Lovely.  Is that how they keep their customers coming back?

Spoken English

The kids' English always markedly improve every time we go back.  Even if for just a week.   This trip was no different.  Before the trip, Taiga did not speak much English although he understood a lot.  Since coming back, he has been chattering away fluently in English as if it is his native language.

Now, Taiga love the song Old MacDonald Had a Farm.  He would dictate which animals are in the farm and I have to sing it and make the appropriate noises.  He was like that in Singapore too.  First, the cows, then the sheep, then the pigs .....

and then, the COCKROACH!

Yup, old man MacDonald's farm would not be complete without a roach.  And what sound do roaches make???

Historic Day - The boys FINALLY had a haircut

Ever since they have been born, everyone keeps mistaking them for girls.  I get young girls and old ladies stopping me all the time to tell me that my girls are very cute. 

Case in point was 2 weeks before our Singapore trip.  Tomo was on business in Singapore, so I brought the 2 boys to a restaurant in the neighbourhood for dinner.  The 2 girls (in their 20s) next to our table were quite enamoured with Kai and Taiga.  They even asked me if they could take pictures of them.    They then asked me what are the names of the girls.  I said they are not girls.  They were surprised.  I said they are boys.  They then asked me - which one?  Which ONE????  Both!!!  They were mighty shocked.

I think the main reason for the mistaken gender is their hairstyle.  Up till then, they have not had their hair cut by anyone except me (and Tomo).  And I have absolutely no qualifications or experience cutting hair.  Just that the Qs at the barber to cut hair on weekends are usually close to an hour and I really can't bear to wait in line, esp with 2 active boys.

But, I felt that it was time they had a proper haircut.  So that they would have nice  photos of their childhood days to show on their wedding day!  :-)

So here they are at a hair saloon in Singapore (@ Forum Galleria).  This being Singapore, there was no ridiculous 1 hour Q. We zipped in and out and the whole thing was over in less than 15 mins.  Surprisingly, the boys were pretty cooperative and sat still enough.

So, what do they look like after the haircut?

Stay tuned!