Singapore is like a multicultural (Chinese, Malay, Indians, and Expats), modern, clean metropolis, rich in activities for kids, but somehow a bit sterile or at least lacking the gritty, rough around the edges, mystery behind every corner nature of Hong Kong. It is also incredibly flat! Think Houston flat!
Well, we picked a great long weekend to escape the Black Rain (see note below for more on Black Rain) of Hong Kong, to go to the relatively cooler, somewhat dryer Singapore. After a 4 hour weather delay on Friday night we (Aliya, Asher and I since Ben was still in the US) arrived at our hotel, the Pan Pacific, a little after midnight.
After a short nights’ sleep and a yummy breakfast at the most spread out breakfast buffet we have had during our travels, we decided to take advantage of the rainy morning and get wet! So we put our swimsuits on and head out to Adventure Cove water park for a fun day of water slides, splash pools, and dolphins.
We raced down slides,
Splashed in the Big Bucket Treehouse
And rode the waves of the wave pool
Although we loved the water rides, everyone’s favorite part of the day was the Dolphin Discovery where we were taken into a special dolphin lagoon in the park with just one other couple and a trainer to learn all about dolphins. Our dolphin Roni was the auntie to a new baby dolphin which was following her throughout the time we spent with her. We touched and rubbed the smooth rubbery skin of Roni. Roni even peed on Aliya! Yuck! But Aliya loves dolphins so much that she didn’t even mind. She even kissed Roni! There are a bunch of photos at Adventure Cove but we declined paying an extra $100+ for the photos! We kept the photos in our minds eye!
The next day, we slept in and then went down to our delicious buffet breakfast for a feast of fresh squeezed juices, cappuccino, fresh fruit, waffles & pancakes for Asher, ham & cheese omelette for Aliya, Dim Sum, pastries, and Indian food (which Raquel thought was the best part of the buffet). Then we set off for some animal sightings at the famous Singapore Zoo!
The Singapore Zoo had just received 6 new Koala Bears as a gift from Australia. But since the day we went was the first day the koalas were available for the public to see, the line was way too long for us to see them. But we did get to see some amazing gorillas, pygmy hippos, and white tigers.
What makes the Singapore Zoo so unique is that many of the animals are not in cages. For example, the monkeys were free to walk on ropes above our heads as we meandered on the path in search of the kiddie water zone to cool down our over heated bodies.
We didn’t bring swim suits but that didn’t stop us from running in the water.
Asher even had a chance to get close up and personal with some of the animals
And his favorite animal, the Cheetah, which he often says he will come back as when he is reincarnated (it was Buddha’s birthday after all when we were in Singapore!)
Ben flew into Singapore from the US to join us, so we went back to the hotel to meet him for some lunch and relaxation by the pool.
The kids loved the pool so much that we stayed long enough to watch the sunset.
One of my favorite parts of the hotel (besides the amazing pool) was the really cool lobby that had individual circular couches and tables inside lotus flower shaped pods, “floating” on water next to the glass elevator. It was artistic, cozy, personal, and very zen!
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- View from our floor
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- View from Glass Lift
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- Close up of Lotus Pod
The next day, we walked down past the Flyer ferris wheel at the Marina and hopped on a Bum Boat for an architectural tour of Singapore on Marina Bay.
The first thing we saw as we started our tour was the Moshe Safdie (architect from Boston) designed Marina Bay Sands hotel with its double helix DNA bridge, 2.5 acre SkyPark pool deck, and lotus flower amphitheater.
We saw some great buildings from the Harbour and the famous Merlion at the Fullerton Hotel. But my favorite building was the Durian shaped Arts Center!
And the bronze statues of the kids jumping over the edge. It looked like they were suspended in mid air!
After our boat ride, we thought we would check out the multicultural side of Singapore. So we headed over to Little India and Kampong Glam (the Malay quarter, originally home to the Muslims and Arabs)
The next day we did a walking tour of Chinatown, where we saw Sri Mariamman Hindu Temple, the Buddhist Tooth Relic Temple and a market where we tried the famous Hainan Chicken Rice and Sugar Cane with Lemon.
And, of course, there are always the great signs!
