Following our week on Bali we caught a flight on a discount carrier, Scoot Airlines, to the island nation of Singapore.
The 2.5 hour flight took us back into the northern hemisphere (just barely!), where we will remain for the rest of our trip.
After we landed in Singapore we caught a rideshare to our hotel near Clark Quay, a central neighborhood right on the Singapore River. As we rode along it felt strange to be traveling so fast on highways after the crazy, slow, scooter-clogged roads on Bali.
Our hotel was also close to Chinatown, which has one of the best “hawker centers” in the city. There we found dozens of food stalls offering a good variety of Asian cuisine.
One of the booths, Hawker Chan, serves the world’s cheapest Michelin Star meal; chicken soya rice for a couple of bucks a plate. Singapore is notorious for being a very expensive city so we were amazed to find such delicious yet inexpensive food.
Science City Singapore
We always love a good science museum, so naturally we were excited to check out Science City Singapore.
One of the more interesting exhibits was a shrink ray! 😉
The mirror maze was a lot of fun. We found our way with small segments of pool noodles so that we didn’t smudge the mirrors with fingerprints.
The coolest part was the “fire tornado” exhibition. The museum staff lit a bowl of flammabale liquid which erupted into flame, and then rose into a spinning fire tornado. The tornado is formed because of the angle that the air enters the chamber.
In the butterfly garden we learned about several new species of Asian butterflies. It was interesting to contrast these with the ones we had seen in Belize.
Little India
Sadly we won’t make it to India on this trip, but we were excited to get a taste of Indian culture in Singapore’s “Little India.”
As we walked around we marveled at the intricately painted temples.
The very colorful “Tan Teng Niah” building was once owned by a Chinese businessman who made and sold candy.
While in the area we had to try out the neighborhood hawker center where we found an array of mouth-watering curries and fresh baked naans.
Singapore Zoo and River Safari
Our next outing was to the Singapore Zoo!
Our cat-loving daughter was thrilled to be able to get up close to a cheetah.
What kind of goo can stick you to the toucan? Glue can.
Shel Silverstein
Our oldest son got to take part in the pet show, holding a hoop for the hoop-jumping dog.
At the River Safari park, we learned about different kinds of marine ecosystems.
The River Safari also houses an excellent panda exhibit. This was the kids first time seeing these cuddly black and white animals.
Next we took a boat ride called the “Amazon River Quest.” As we floated along we spotted flamingos, capybaras, howler monkeys, and more.
Sentosa Island
Sentosa is a separate island just south of the main part of Singapore. The island is a popular tourist destination, with theme parks, resorts, shopping, and a casino.
The kids begged to try the Skyline Luge, in which we sat on plastic wheeled sleds and raced down the hill.
Once at the bottom we hopped on a ski lift for a ride back to the top. We repeated this process three times and loved every minute!
Adventure Cove
Being so close to the equator, Singapore is a hot, humid city. We thought a trip to the Adventure Cove waterpark on Sentosa would be a good way to cool off.
The waterpark is relatively small but the kids enjoyed the wave pool, lazy river, obstacle course, and tube rides.
We ended our day on Sentosa by going to the waterfront to see the free “Crane Dance” show. The show featured two huge mechanical cranes with wings made of water jets.
Jurong Bird Park
Near the top of our Daughter’s to-do list was Jurong Bird Park.
The park had all kinds of birds including, penguins, flamingoes, and hornbills, but we were most wowed by the vibrantly colored macaws and parrots.
Gardens by the Bay
The “Supertrees” at Gardens by the Bay are probably the most photographed landmark in Singapore after the Merlion statue. We went to check them out for ourselves, and while we were there the kids played on the playground and splash pad.
We continued our walk around the gardens and came upon this weird floating baby statue.
Later that evening we caught the light show at Marina Bay.
We loved our week in Singapore! There were myriad family-friendly activities to choose from, the food was great, and getting around town was super easy. The only downside was the heat, but being from Texas, we’re used to that!
Next, we say bye bye to the Merlion and learn to say “Sawadee!”
