Tag Archives: singapore

Jun22

Day 3: Singapore and an overnight flight

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We got off to a slow start Saturday. The kids were in fine form not listening and having meltdowns. Tired? We had breakfast and went back to the room. We packed up 11:30ish and took a taxi over to Science Centre. The kids had a great time pushing buttons, turning knobs and looking at all of the fun exhibits. Once again, it was a very warm humid day (97F/36C). The hotel let us have a 4:30 checkout so we had to be wary of the time. After Science Centre we took another taxi back to the hotel (have I mentioned taxis are cheap in Singapore?). We sat in the lobby and had a quick bite to eat with a drink before heading upstairs to pack our bags. It took about an hour to get everything reorganized and packed away. We stored our things with the concierge and headed out the door to look around for a few hours.

We had a look around the shopping centers near us on Orchard Road which were heaving with people. Shopping in Singapore is epic. As an American who has lived in the UK and now living in Australia I am amazed at the brand presence from these countries. Instead of dragging the kids around shops, we hopped on the MRT at the Somerset Station just to see what it is like. Buying tickets was straightforward from the machines. Tom chose the Raffles Quay station, three stops down the line.

We took the H exit and ended up outside near the Fullerton Hotel in a gorgeous area with the Singapore River and Boat Quays, quaint pedestrian bridges, and museums. As we were walking across one of the bridges we were greeted by three large military helicopters overhead, one with the Singaporean flag. Straight after that were five military jets flying in formation over the city. Furthermore were loud gun/cannon blasts which Alex found intriguing but too loud. Singapore’s National Day is August 9th and there are celebrations leading up to the day. We aren’t quite sure what was going on today but I am glad we were there. We walked down to Marina Bay where we could see across to the Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer. Over at the Singapore Flyer was some sort of military exhibition with vehicles, boats, dancing, fireworks, lights, etc. we sat ourselves down at the Merlion fountain to take it all in and have a rest. It was still sweltering with the occasional breeze at 7:30pm. One thing of note if you have never been to Singapore is the architecture. It is truly stunning.

Around 7:45 we decided to starting heading back to the hotel to collect our bags and catch a taxi to Changi Airport. Our flight was scheduled to leave just after 11. The kids were well and truly done for the day but kept up their spirits and didn’t lose control. Tom went off to shower in the lounge while I kept the kids busy. We looked at the beautiful orchid garden and koi pond as well as another beautiful garden. Sofia spent a good 20-30 minutes at an art station they had set up. There was paper and crayons and about 15 or so different metal plates of different design where the kids could do rubbings. Alex wasn’t interested so he sat with me and studied the terminal maps.

We met Tom up in the Silver Kris lounge for a snack and a drink before departure. We got teeth brushed and everything organized for this next long journey. Tonight’s flight is 12.5 hours from Singapore to Zürich on Swiss Airlines. From here we have a one-hour layover and then a short flight to Manchester, UK.

We boarded our A340 and got settled in to our Business Class seats. Poor Alex couldn’t even stay awake to get up in the air. He passed out just as we lifted off of the runway. He is coming down with a cold (hope it isn’t as bad as mine has been) so he was waking many times before settling in for the night. Tom and Sofia sat together in the seats near the window. Sofia didn’t last much longer than Alex before settling in for the night. I stayed up to watch The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with my dinner. It was a struggle to make it to the end because my eyes were heavy. I had no idea what the movie was about when I chose it, but really loved that he went to Nuuk, Greenland and then to Iceland. Tom and I had one holiday without kids and visited both of these places.

As I said, Alex woke we up several times before finally settling into a deep sleep. At one point I opened my eyes to a little girl of maybe 2 years old from the row ahead of me standing between my and Alex’s seats staring at me. I had to wake her mother to get her. I slept for maybe six hours, waking when the plane was directly over Baghdad. Both kids slept a bit longer. I helped them use the toilet they are both settled into a movie. We are over Turkey and just about to go over the Black Sea now with three hours to go.

Jun21

Day 2: Singapore

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We arrived in Singapore on Thursday night without issue. The kids were reasonably well behaved on the flight. Alex only got a bit fidgety at the end. Three hours in Sofia wanted to out her shoes back on because she thought it was time to land. Um, over five hours to go, dear. They watched movies, played games, played the iPad, and Sofia even did some reading. I watched The Wolf of Wall Street and The Grand Budapest Hotel. I loved them both! I was interrupted repeatedly but I still got to watch them both.

We made the mistake of stopping to use the toilet before heading over to immigration. Bad idea. We were near the front of the A380 and by the time we were done? At the back of the queue which took 30-45 minutes. The kids were fighting and didn’t want to stand anymore. Smooth sailing after that. We picked up our bags and caught a taxi to the Holiday Inn. After check-in we went for a little walk on Orchard Road. Shopping heaven!

We attempted to keep the kids up for a while after a (very hot and sticky) walk. They managed 9:30pm (which is 11:30 to their brains).

Friday morning Alex was up early but I convinced him to get back to sleep for a couple of hours. Sofia slept in as usual. Tom had to go to work so he went down for breakfast early and went off to work. The three of us lounged around and finally went down for breakfast around 9:30. I love hotels with a diverse client base because of the wide selection of breakfast food.

I took the kids swimming at the hotel pool in the afternoon. It was so miserably hot and humid outside and the pool was a perfect remedy. After two hours of playing and one incident of Alex trying to drown himself we wrapped things up and headed back to the room. The kids had a snack and we all took turns showering.

Tom came home just before five. We packed up and headed out for a few hours. We grabbed a taxi over to Vivo for a bite to eat. On the way over the kids were yawning in the taxi but wouldn’t admit they were tired. After dinner we walked over to the HarbourFront Tower 2 to get on the Singapore Cable Car. After we got our tickets and got on board Sofia decided she was terrified. And we were making a complete circuit. She calmed down and managed to make the circuit. It was beautiful at night. The cars were black with flashing lights. I think maybe going just as the sun is going down would be best, but we were just a little bit late for that.

We walked back over to the taxi queue at Vivo and went back to our hotel. I kept the kids up until almost 10pm. And I crashed right along side of them.