The next time you check-in at Changi Airport for your family vacation, think about checking in early!

Besides the restaurants and retail shops, there are actually tons of things to do within the transit area, and this is super important, as it would be great to get the kids all tired out…so that they will just sleep through those dreaded long haul flights to Europe or to the States.

Recently, the whole family was invited on a Bloggers’ Family Tour of Changi Airport, and we were surprised at the many child friendly attractions within the Airport.

Check out the playground which I discovered in Terminal 2 (Transit Area)

The kids loved the slides, and if they get bored, there is a TV room which screens cartoons, complete with diaper changing areas and nursing rooms as well!

For all those nature lovers out there, there is something for you as well! Check out the Sunflower Garden, Butterfly Garden and Koi Pond with feeding times.

Changi Airport is also the only Airport in the World with its own Hard Rock Cafe.

However, if u are not travelling in the near future, there are also things to do at the airport outside the transit area, that are easy assessed by the non-travelling public.

The inflatables are back, and your kids can play there if you make any purchases at the Airport.

The kids also had fun at the Kids Painting Corner found at Terminal 3 (B3)

One of the highlights of the Tour was our visit to Candy Empire. Besides selling great tasting chocolates and candies, the shop was also generous with the kids. Every child was given a bag, and allowed to choose as many sweets as the child wanted! I wanted to do that too!

It made the kids smile, and I think it would make a great idea for a Party as well! Get to choose what you want in your goody bag, by giving the kids the freedom to choose their candies! I am sure that it will be a hit with the kids!

Check out the kids with their loot!

One of the latest attractions at Changi Airport in T3 in “Sing Kids”

The latest playground which offers many varied obstacles had long queues, as many kids were there to out the latest attraction. Opening from 11am to 11pm, it offers fun and excitement to the kids, till late in the night.

Nadine just loved the mini race course, as she “held her own” against her older siblings!

Overall, the kids had great fun and even Daddy was tired out after the day’s activities. A big thumbs up to Ivan, Melvin and Yvonne for hosting us on the tour of Changi Airport.

If you really get to do all these activities before you board the plane, I can guarantee that your kids will be sleeping all the way to London!

The School Holidays are here, and you must be thinking of how to occupy your kids! Well, the Good News is that the Singapore Zoo is abuzz with activities, and if you have not heard – the Zoolympix is back!

What is the Zoolympix?

If you love the reality series "Amazing Race", you will love the Zoolympix! In this activity, kids will visit 6 adrenaline pumping stations scattered around the rainforest-themed zoo.

The activities are ideally suited for kids from 4-12yo, and Nicole and Nathan had lots of fun trying out the various stations.

Here are some of the day’s activities! At the “Hand-some Otter” station, kids were blindfolded, as they search the fish tank for buried treasures!

 

Participants who accumulated the highest score of the day at each station will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, which profiles a daily Zoolympix champion.

Nicole was excited that she made it onto the charts at her 1st attempt!

I think that Hall of fame dimension to the games were quite fun, as they provided a target for the older kids to beat…(I know, I very Singaporean hor…)

In total, there were 6 stations offering various themes such as Leaping Tiger, Ele-fun Foot, Awesome Orang Utans and Shoot-em Archers, the games were creative and fun!

The station-masters also showed initiative, as they demonstrated the activities whenever required. With their encouragement, Nicole was ready to leap like a TIGER!

Here are some other photos of the days activities:

Monkey Bars was one of Nathan’s Favorite Activites!

I think you can tell that the kids had fun…

If you are looking to join the activities when you get to the Zoo this weekend, there is a $2 registration fee for joining in the activities!

Venue: Singapore Zoo
(Rainforest Walk to register)

Date: 23 May – 12 June

Time: 10.00am to 4.00pm

Registration Fee: $2.00

Game Stations include:
-    Hand-some Otters
-    Leaping Tiger
-    Power Pollinators
-    Ele-fun Foot
-    Awesome Orang Utan
-    Shoot-em Archers

In addition, participants can look forward to taking part in the Zoolympix lucky draw which will be giving away great prizes such as Wildlife Unlimited Plus Family Membership, Abbott’s GROW® product hamper, Kinect for Xbox 360 bundle worth $469, Friends of Zoo Membership, vouchers and more!

Wild Weekend Activities: (Weekends over 23 May – 12 June)
Over the weekends, the zoo wil also hold special activities to keep the children engaged! Have fun coming close to a snake, iguana and listen out for special animal insights with Dr. Ooz. Find out more at the Singapore Zoo website.

Universal studios is always a fun place for the family, and recently it just got more interesting!

They have just opened their latest Children’s ride Madagascar, and the family was invited to the Media Launch (Many Thanks to Matthew for the Invite).

The kids were not feeling too well, as they have just suffered a bout of Food Poisining, and so I got a few of my friends to accompany me for the event.

Everyone was really excited, as Universal Studios gave us VIP passes, and it meant that we did not need to line up for the rides!

Based on the most successful animate4ed move franchises of all time, the ride is a simple boat ride, that is ideally suited for 3-6 year olds.

As you catch the ride inspired by Dreamworks, you will get to see familiar characters such as Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo. It’s like taking a wake down memory lane as you see the Caricatures of these Characters in Action.

Here are some sneak peeks of the characters inside:

The ride was not scary for the kids at all,and they did not mind going for it again!

The ride was also fun for all of us,as we had a great time catching up with friends like Daphne, Klessis and a chance to meet Mr. Brown as well! Mr Brown is a real celebrity in the Singapore Blogsphere, and so we had fun getting to know him!

Ticket Prices to Universal Studios:

Weekdays: $66 (Adults), $48 (4yo-12yo)

Weekends: $72 (Adults), $52 (4yo-12yo)

To find out more, Please visit Universal Studios

Looking for somewhere interesting to bring your kids this weekend?

If you are thinking about going for the musical “The Lion King”, that will certainly be a great option! We saw the new Marina Bay theatre and it looks like a great venue…but the tickets are really expensive…

Alternatively, you can head down to the Marina Bay Area for the latest Laser Show….Best of all, it’s FREE!

At first, I thought that the show would be similar to the “Symphony of Lights” in Hong Kong, and I was lowering my expectations. However, the use of laser and pictures projected onto the screen of running water was very tastefully done and it was certainly more entertaining that my Hong Kong experience.

Accompanied by a symphony of music that accompanies the water fountains, the laser show aims to capture the spirit of Singapore in the short 13min presentation.

Together technology that took 3 years to develop, the show proved to be an interesting addition to the Singapore skyline.

If you are going for the laser show, and you plan to take pictures, do bring along your tripod (I forgot to bring mine…).

Don’t sit too near the fountain as well…The best view is actually a bit further back, where you can absorb more of what’s happening.

If you visit the fountain, you might also want to try out the local food court which serves great Singapore food within walking distance of the attraction.

You may also want to check out another similar light show at Sentosa which features Cranes. Find out more here

Marina Bay Sands will run the show on a nightly basis, with 2-3 performances from

• Sunday to Thursday (8pm and 9:30pm) 
• Fridays and Saturdays (8pm, 9:30pm and 11pm).

For more information, call +65 6688 8868

On Wed night, we had a very different but eventful evening. We went for a ride on the double-decker buses called the “Hippo Bus.”

The last time we went for a Hippo Bus Tour was in December 2008! Check out how the kids looked back then!

My..my..my! How they have grown!

This time round, the Hippo Tour was coming with a new and different twist! We were doing it at night (Previously, we did it in the day) and we were going to experience the Bugis/Bras Basah Precinct in a totally different setting.

This tour is organized by our friends from Omy.sg, in cooperation with the radio stations 91.3 FM and 100.3 FM! So…it was going to be great ride as we were going to be entertained by the Radio DJs from the station.

The kids were really excited as we gathered at the National Museum and saw the buses arriving at 7pm.

Before we could board our Bus, our DJs’ Jeremy Ratnam and Maddy grabbed onto their Loud-Hailers and entertained us with their witty sense of humour, as they gathered us.

 

As the buses came, we were spilt into 2 buses of enthusiastic “Hippolites”. We got into the 91.3 buses, and naturally we were all covered in 91.3 memorabilia.

The kids loved the Hippo Bus and they just loved sitting on the Upper Deck and exploring the bus. Here’s Nicole looking at the driver’s controls.

The Bus route covered the Old Bras Basah Area such as the Singapore Art Museum (The Old St. Joseph’s Institution) and the old Armenian Church.

DJ Jeremy Ratnam was really knowledgeable about the Bras Basah Area, as he used to stay around the area. He told us about what the places used to look like before the renovations and most importantly, where the best food in the area was found!

We made our pit-stop at Chijmes (This is the location of the Old Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus).  DJ Maddy who used to study here also briefly told the bus, that the convent was ideally situated for the guys at St. Joseph’s Institution to “gawk” at. I think some things never change!  

Chijmes is actually very beautifully lighted up at night, and this was the 1st time the kids were there. We walked around, slowly enjoying the night scenes and the kids loved playing at the fountain.

Jeremy Ratnam ended the Chijmes tour by giving us a brief historical rundown of the old Convent.

In fact, I remember when I was young, the old convent was really run-down and it had old dirty stained walls. 

Now, it is really well done-up and also boats of many  bustling pubs and eateries. In fact, with the many large screens in the area, it looks like an ideal place the catch the European Cup Finals or the World Cup in June with some friends.

Is the Tour Worth Going?

I think that the Hippo Ride at fun is really more enjoyable than going in the day!

This is because the weather at night is much more pleasant, and it makes sitting at the upper deck of the bus more tolerable.

I remember literally “sweating like a dog” the last time, I sat at the upper deck.

The Night scenes also offered a different view of Singapore, and generally there is more relaxed mood, when you see the city at night!

The only thing missing was the food – and if the Singapore Tourism Board, could do something about that, I am sure that the Buses can really bring in the Tourists! 

Overall, It was a fun thing for the family to do, and the kids enjoyed the bus ride! Thanks once again to Omy for the tickets!