Cuti-Cuti Singapore - Day One

We go with the 'lowest cost airline' - none other than AirAsia. And our flight were delayed for one hour (luckily just one hour and my kids are happily lepaking at the airport).

And we were very lucky - the few days we were in S'pore - the weather was just perfect. It was raining every day and we prayed hard it would be good days during our trip.

And because we have 3 adults and 3 young kids - we couldnt fit into a normal cab - pretty strict in Singapore. 2 young kids is equal to one adult. so in our case it was a 4.5 adults. So we had to get on a Maxi Cab with a flat rate of SGD 50. NO choice but a normal cab with 4 adults to the city is about that price.

right after checking in - we had what the S'pore claims their signature dish - chicken rice. taste like our roasted chicken rice... no significant difference. may be ours is better. hehehe..

then we walked to Dhoby Ghaut MRT to get on a train to bring us to Jurong East - the nearest MRT to the Science Centre. It took us 45 minutes, i realised we had taken the wrong line - we did a one big loop but we didnt have to change line which was good too. And not knowing exactly where to walk to from the JE station, we hopped on a cab to bring us to the Science Centre. cost us SGD5 - this cab driver allowed all of us in the cab. :)

Singapore Science Centre - a must visit place if you are travelling with young kids. lots of things to see and trust me your kids can spend at least 3 hours in here without complaining. So so much better than our science centre. oops. but honestly...

here is the website - http://www.sci-ctr.edu.sg/

and at night - we walked on Orchard Road to enjoy the Christmas lightings. MIL and kids were tired and we went back to hotel about 8ish and they knocked off very early.

Everything ran smoothly on the first day. Phew!

Cuti-Cuti Singapore - Prelude

I guess Singapore is the easiest destination when one thinks about overseas trip for the children. However, when you actually sit down and plan what to do - nothing seems easy, especially you are planning a trip for 3 young kids aged from 1+ to 7+ plus a 60+ yr old grandmother. I can assure you it's no easy task at all. Everthing has to be thought over carefully - from where to stay, what to do, places to visit and how to move about.

You will never want to know how many online webpages I have browsed through to evaluate the suitable hotels to stay (of course I have to select one that is decent in terms of location, cleanliness and our affordability).

Finally we selected a place to stay by booking a hotel on this site - PYO Travel . It was noted to us by some friends that they are a subsidiary of Reliance Travel and I have read some blogs which commented that they got good hotel via booking on the site. What I like most about the site is everything is quoted in RM. I dont have to keep punching the calculator. We booked Concorde Hotel on Orchard Road. I would consider it a good deal given the rate included breakfast and we have 3 adults and 3 tiny tots squeezed into one room! And it's on Orchard Road (though it's located at the end of OR) - no need to frus about how to go to OR to enjoy the Christmas Lightings and Deco (remember i have 3 very young kids who may complain - mummy i am tired, i don wanna walk). Just step out of the hotel and walk and enjoy. And it's less than 5 min walk to Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station. And not to mention the X numbers of eateries just a stone throw away from the hotel. And we were lucky as we were given a renovated room. And and and the Kramat Lane is just at the back of the hotel - we just hopped on the BusHub bus and it brought us to the Singapore zoo in half an hour. Just perfect! Love it and no complaint!

Below are a few links (and many others too) i used a lot to plan what to do (in consideration of the kids and the old grandmother) and transportation between places.

MRT route in Singapore: www.smrt.com.sg

Bus Hub Singapore: www.bushub.com.sg

Uniquely Singapore: www.visitsingapore.com

We printed some discount vouchers from the visit singapore website and it saved some bucks. And according to the receptionist at the Zoo, Singapore Tourism Board normally gives lots of discounts to Malaysian in June. :)