Travel for Kids: Singapore

Last week, my husband had a conference in Singapore and being an opportunist that I am, of course I tagged along with the kids :D . Even though Singapore is famous for its shopping scene, it wasn't the reason why I wanted to go. It was solely to bring new and exciting experiences for the kids. As much as I love shopping, I don't have the heart to drag them to Orchard Road and go in and out the mall all day long :D

I was worried at first because I would be going and handling the kids all by myself when my husband is in the conference. Turned out, we were having a blast. It was tiring for me of course, but Singapore is so convenient and kids/stroller friendly so it wasn't hard at all to maneuver the city. It really is the perfect country to take your kids for a getaway. It's close, it's convenient, cheaper than most destination and more importantly, it has many family-fun site for each family member to have fun.

Here's a few places that we visited:

Singapore Zoo

Said to be the world's best tropical zoo. It's a nice place, really. I used to live in St. Louis where the zoo is the second best in USA, right after San Diego zoo, but it's nothing compare to Singapore Zoo :D.

A bit far from downtown but that island is tiny so it's actually still close for us Jakarta commuter. ..:D. We spent like half a day there. The zoo is divided into different sections such as Australian outback where Kangaroo and Koala resides. There's the Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia, Elephants of Asia, Fragile Forest, Cheetah Habitat and free ranging Orang Utan and the primate family tree. Boat ride is available so we can enjoy the scenic view. We opted for the train ride instead as we can see the animal better and helped us get around the zoo. One of the best things for the kids is the Kidzworld where kids can ride pony, pat the little lambs and splish splashing in the water park.

The Duck Tour

Taken from its website

"It's a bus! It's a boat! It's the Original Splashing DUCK! DUCKtours uniquely combines the city and harbour tour on an authentic Vietnam warcraft, offering you 60 minutes of amphibious touring adventure on both land and sea".

Jurong Bird Park

From Owl to Pelican, Flamingos, Peacocks, Parrots, Eagle to Ostrich and other exotic birds can be found here in the open concept bird park.

Singapore Flyer

I was facing my fear of heights when I took my kids to the 30-minute Singapore Flyer flight. Turned out, being inside the capsule, 165 meters above the ground wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. although I still didn't have the guts to stand up and walk around. The kids really enjoyed the magnificent and breathtaking view. There is also a small Rainforest on the site built by Yakult

Vivo City

I believe it's Singapore biggest mall. And when mom is done with the shopping and the kids have done enough damage at the Toys R Us, they get to have fun too at the mall's three different play area. The first one is the the spacious waterfront. The second one is the open playground, again with water splash, at the second floor. The playground is surrounded by restaurants and cafes so we can sit around there and watch the kids play. The third one is the sky park amphitheater at the third level where we can deep our feet at the splash fool and see the harbour from a far.

Orchard Road

Of course, no visit to Singapore is complete without a stop to Orchard, right?. Orchard road around Christmas season is especially amusing for the kids as there are so many Christmas and holiday decor along such as; Giant Christmas tree, the gingerbread house, Santa Clause and everything we see at Christmas book and movie. My kids loved to sit on the bench underneath those glorious tree shades while enjoying es potong along the famous road.

Bugis Street

A place to get the oleh oleh or local souvenir as well as some really affordable shopping. My kids each get a five dollars watch that they have been wearing ever since :D . I got three ten dollars each blazer and other things that are dirt cheap. When you're done with the shopping, you can cross the street to Bugis Junction. There you can find many shops, restaurants as well as water fountain for the kids to get wet. You can take a rest by sitting down at Starbucks and sipping cappucino. You can take a rest by sitting down at starbucks right next to it while watching your kids play.

Wait, there's more to explore in Singapore. We didn't get a chance to hop on to Sentosa island for a day at the beach as well as underwater adventure. Wild wild wet water park along with Escape theme park is interesting to visit too. Not to mention science center and botanical garden. I can't wait to be back when the universal studio is open at the first quarter of 2010. You see, sthere's more to singapore than just shopping at Orchard. :)