Give Me A Break!

Batu Ferringhi Getaway

This was rather quite a spontaneous trip. We were initially planning on going to Da Nang but backed out when ticket prices are about $700 per pax. So looking at quick, cheap weekend getaways, we narrowed down to 3 places: Krabi/ Phuket, Penang or Langkawi. All for about an hour’s plane ride away from Singapore.

Throughout the decision making process, we though Phuket isn’t really for kids and there was a recent plane crash near Langkawi so we took that as an omen. I then remembered the last time we stayed at Trader’s Hotel in Georgetown, just beside Komtar tower, that it used to have a free shuttle bus going to the beach so that gave us an idea where to head to next.

Batu Ferringhi is quite a long far from both Georgetown (40 mins away) and the airport (about 1 hour away) but we didn’t mind as there’s was no traffic jam so it’s a pleasant ride and you get to see most of countryside. The places kind of reminds me of Philippine provinces; very chill, relax, empty towns and not much tourist. It gives me a nostalgic feeling which honestly I don’t like (I blame it on the book “100 years of Solitude” which I read when I was in uni).

Alas, we reached Shangri-La Golden Sands after an hour’s journey and I can say it’s a good hotel with pleasant staff. Not the typical Shangri-La hotel experience you would get though as the room is very basic but hey, the price is also not your typical Shangri-La price! Case in point: our room just cost S$190 with breakfast, they served bento meals for 45 MYR ($15), a meal costs about 40 MYR ($13) and you get 20% discount if you are Circle member, free lime juice, free shuttle bus to Georgetown, free lime juice and free UV umbrella.

Hotel facilities is meant for families with young kids. You get 2 pools, 1 water slide, 1 water play, an arcade, toddler playroom and access to the public beach. Yes, public beach. Shangri-La Rasa, which is right beside Golden Sands, has it’s own private beach which you can access as well.

Food wise, there’s really not much around. During lunchtime, restaurants around the hotel are all closed and open only from 6pm. So it’s either you go down to Georgetown after a heavy breakfast or eat at the hotel restaurants which we did; unless you want to eat at McDonalds which is right across the road.

Dinner time you get some few options which are mostly seafood restaurants. First night, we ate at Power Up restaurant. Food is ok but a bit pricey. It’s slightly cheaper than Singapore but food is not that great at all.

The next 2 nights, we ate at Long Beach hawker centre which is a bit further down the road. Food here is cheap and amazing!!! I bet all these delicious food were cooked with chicken fat.

Transportation wise, we took Grab most of the time. It’s convenient, more reliable and price is transparent compared to local taxis. Going to and from the airport is about 40 MYR which is very reasonable.

Overall, we enjoyed our quick getaway. Maybe we will try Langkawi next time.

Total damage: $1,640

Hotel for 4D3N with breakfast is $570. Scoot airplane ticket for 3 is $670. Food/transportation/miscellaneous expenses $400.

Hong Kong Disneyland

[This is a late post]

Trip happened last 25th February to 1st March 2023.

March 2023 was probably the end to the pandemic-era travel and back to normalcy. Hong Kong just opened up to international tourists and Covid restrictions were lifted. And because Hong Kong is trying to get tourism back in the territory, there were tons of promotions that we would definitely not let pass.

Timing was very fitting as well since our boy is turning 4. There’s no better way to celebrate it than a trip the ancestral land (but really, it’s about Disneyland).

We book Disneyland resort at a 40% off. I remember we tried to book and the price is just crazy! Needless to say, it was always fully booked during pre-pandemic. Singapore Airlines tickets were on sale as well so off we go!

Our planned itinerary was very simple: Day 1 is check in to hotel, Day 2-3 is HK Disneyland, Day 4 is for Hong Kong island and Day 5 is back to Singapore.

Flight was smooth and our boy slept through the entire plane ride which was a surprise. We anticipated that he would cry since it’s his first plane ride and he may feel scared. But the moment the plane took off, he snoozed. Wow!

Upon landing at HKIA, we had a quick snack of Vitasoy and Bolo bun (of course!); took the airport express, alighted at Sunny bay, switched to Disneyland resort train and headed to the bus stop where a Disneyland Resort shuttle is waiting. Check-in was very smooth and all I can say is, Disneyland Resort is just amazing. The lobby, the background music, the room, the indoor pool, the view, the garden, everything about it is just fantastic! Truly magical!

First day, we just wandered through the resort. By the way, there’s a track where children can use quadbikes for free. That’s a lot of fun! Then for dinner, we had room service. Food isn’t great though. It’s overpriced, most of it came out of a freezer and fried.

Room service food. Overpriced. Not recommended

The next 2 days were Disneyland. A shuttle bus will take you to Disneyland from the hotel. The great part about this trip is that there were not many tourists. Weather is great, too! It’s cooling and you don’t have to queue for more than 30 mins per ride. How great is that?! The rides were pretty much the same as it was back in 2018 except the old sci-fi city is now Marvel. We love the 4D Iron Man ride! It kind of resembles the 4D transformers ride in Universal Studios Singapore. Fireworks is amazing. I think this one is better than before. The only downer is that there were no parade. Not sure if it’s because of Covid though. Overall, except for the food, great fun!

Hong Kong island day was also awesome. Finally, we were able to eat Hong Kong food!!!! Nice, quality and affordable (compared to park food) meals! No more park food for us! Yikes!

Overall, it was really a great trip and a great way to celebrate our boy’s 4th birthday! One thing we could have done differently is we could have taken the extra effort to go to Tsing Yi and get takeaways for dinner (and even breakfast!). The effort would have been worth it. It beats eating junk park food at a sky high price.

Total damage: S$3,500

SQ plane ticket: $673. Disneyland Resort including room service: S$1579. Disneyland 2-day park tickets: $380. Disneyland Resort breakfast: $127. Taxi ride from resort to hotel: $20. Food and other expenses: $600. Lounge: $45.

Legoland adventures

[This is a late post]

Trip happened back in 2nd-4th November 2022.

With the easing of Covid restrictions and more borders opening up, we took advantage of Legoland promotions across the border. We hired a private car to drive us from our house to Legoland Malaysia and back for $200. We thought that’s the most convenient way to get there since we don’t need to alight the car for immigration clearance. Plus, public transportation is not really that well established in Johor.

We arrived Legoland in 2 hours. It’s basically deserted and mostly Singaporean tourists. The best part is you have the whole hotel and theme park to yourself. Basically, you don’t need to queue for the rides. You can just walk in and take a ride (over and over again if you wish). Downside? There’s not much places to eat so it’s pretty much we’re eating overpriced processed food the entire time.

Legoland Resort lounge. It’s almost empty!

Room is huge. There’s a free Lego set too if you solved a puzzle!

We truly enjoyed this short trip! If we could have done things differently, probably we would have ordered food through Grab and get ourselves quality, healthy food.

No queue! You can ride as many times as you want

Total damage was S$950.

Legoland Malaysia resort including park tickets: $550. Food and other expenses: $200. Transportation (SG-MY-SG): $200.

Club Med Bintan – Post Covid

[This is a late post]

Trip happened back in 08-11 Oct 2022.

Finally, Covid restrictions in most countries have been lifted! It’s been more than 2 years since the world seem to have stopped due to the pandemic but we are glad that most countries have opened up and things seem to return back to how it was.

A lot of firsts for our boy in this trip: first overseas travel, first boat ride and first beach hotel experience. So we are really excited. This is also to check how our son will react if he is forced to sit in a en enclosed space for a certain period and whether we can handle him if he starts to get uneasy.

First off, the price. We got this really good deal from Club Med when we booked the trip last May 2022 for a July 2022 trip. Total cost is $1800 inclusive of ferry ride to Bintan. We topped up an extra $80 per pax ($240 total) to be upgrade to business class for a 1 way trip.

We decided to upgrade to business class to have bigger seats and fuss free immigration clearance. More on that in a while.

The boat ride was relatively pleasant until our boy got uneasy after 20 minutes and he started walking around. I’m normally good with boat rides but this time round, I got really nauseous. Probably from chasing our son around the deck. We finally docked at Batam after an hour and I’m just glad to be back on land.

At the start, we were a bit anxious on how things are post Covid. Is the immigration going to be different? Are they going to check for vaccination status? Will people still wear mask, etc.? But in the end, travel was no different as how it was pre-pandemic and it surely gave us confidence to plan our travels next year.

But this is where the business class upgrade comes in handy. Basically, you hand over your passport and health declaration to an immigration officer upon disembarking on Batam terminal and you will be led to a lounge where you wait for your passport to get stamped. Fuss free, no queueing, sip your coffee and wait. After that, we were escorted by Club Med staff who collected our luggage, checked-in for us and handed us a key card bracelet. Then, on to the bus and off we go to the resort.

Check in was relatively quick. Our room was ready and blasting with a/c. Only complaint I would have is that the pillows smell a bit musty but other than that, it’s all good!

Club Med Bintan as always is amazing. Great food, great guest relations, great beach, great sunset, great sky, fresh sea breeze…. It’s perfect.

Activities have resumed. I guess the only difference between pre and post Covid is that guest relation officers don’t dine with guests anymore but they still roam around and mingle. Overall, it was a great experience! Our boy surely loved the beach, the sand, the food!

Hope to be back soon and more travels to come!

Total damage: S$2040.

Shangri-La

Most of our planned trips were cancelled. Manila trip last March 22nd and our upcoming Japan trip in May 16th too. COVID-19 is a pandemic and is threatening the lives of thousands of people. Not going for our planned trip is nothing compared to those who are fighting the virus at the frontline. The situation is almost at war time but only that, we are fighting a unknown virus. Salute to the frontline medical staff around the world as well as helpful hands who extended their support to those who are direly in need.

In our effort to make sure our little prince still gets to celebrate his 1st birthday, we scrambled the net on some hotel deals and we stumbled upon this one: Shangri-La’s Fun Family Playcation. We have been to the lobby of Shangri-La but never tried staying in it so we jumped to this opportunity.

Rate was at S$ 380 nett (including taxes and surcharges). It’s an overnight stay with complimentary dinner and breakfast buffet, complimentary birthday cake and free access to Buds (indoor playground).

Hotel lobby is grand and very luxurious. Hotel staff were very accommodating too. We went to the hotel at 12pm and we were immediately checked-in. Guess the hotel is half empty because of the current situation.

Our room greeted us with a plush toy, balloons and birthday cake. It was indeed a pleasant surprise. We didn’t expect it at all. The baby cot was very comfortable and clean; not the sort you would worry that the mattress is infested with bedbugs.

For lunch , we had room service because although Shangri-La is in Orchard, it’s a bit far from the shopping district. There’s a shuttle bus that takes you there though but we were tired to bring the boy around.

I had an Indian vegetarian meal that comes with brown rice, dhaal curry, spiced okra, fresh veg and yogurt dip, tamarind pickles and papadoms. The missus got Nasi Goreng which is an Indonesian fried rice that comes with 2 satay skewers and fried chicken. Total damage is $58.

I forgot to take photos of the dinner buffet because we were too preoccupied with our little Master. Dinner and Breakfast buffet is at the Line. Overall, food is great. It has seafood section with fresh oysters, scallops, mussels and river prawns. There’s a sushi section, bread, meat carving station (pork belly and beef roast are superb), Chinese, Indian, Malay, noodles station and dessert. The boy enjoyed his butter rolls while the parents enjoyed most of the food.

One thing we also forgot to take photos of is the Buds; kid’s indoor playground. It’s located at the 1st level, right beside the Line. It’s a huge playground with obstacle courses, balloon pits and function rooms to hold parties. Our boy is still too little for this, I think he would really enjoy it when he’s around 3 years old. I would.

Pool is very clean and has a kiddie pool. Overall ambiance of the hotel ground makes you think you are not within the city. It’s so peaceful and serene. You can just lie at one of the benches and stress instantly melts away.

Buffet breakfast is fantastic. It has all the selections you need; Western, Chinese, Indian stations, fruits station, bread, tarts, coffee, juice… but what’s most interesting is it has a free flow of Prosecco wine. Amazing isn’t it?

Overall, our stay is fantastic. The hotel is luxurious and always has that WOW factor. I would highly recommend this hotel. It is by far the best we have stayed at and hands down, we would do another staycation here if we can get this package again at the same price.

Equarius Hotel @ RWS

Because we enjoyed our last staycation over at RWS, we decided to try out Equarius Hotel this time round. This hotel is nestled towards the end of the RWS compound so you are pretty much isolated from the crowd. Peace and tranquility is what you can get from this hotel so if you wish to pamper yourself for a nice spa, I think this is probably the best place to have it. Of course, this just my opinion; we didn’t go for a spa because it’s definitely way out of our budget. Lol.

Now, back to the review…

We got a room for S$290/night exclusive of breakfast. First impression of the hotel is it speaks of luxury and comfort. The hotel lobby and the ambiance feels very resort-like. Check-in is slower as compared to Festive Hotel but that’s fine. I guess it’s the resort’s effort to make the guests feel more relaxed and get their mind off Singapore’s fast paced lifestyle.

The room is a very pleasant surprise. Indeed, it wowed us the moment we opened the door. The room is huge. The view is amazing. We can see the Singapore skyline and Adventure Cove (although Adventure Cove seems to be in a very sad state…). Similar to the rest of RWS hotels, the room has 2 glass jugs with filtered water and a water dispenser is located just along the corridor.

This is the view that greets you the moment you wake up…. Isn’t that just breathtaking?

The hotel’s swimming pool is located along the beach villas and is more for adults so we decided to skip Baby’s swimming. Festive Hotel’s swimming pool is better suited for kids than Equarius Hotel.

There’s a free shuttle bus that roams around RWS. We decided to hop on to the bus and have lunch at RWS. Restaurants in Equarius hotel costs a bomb and because there’s a free monorail ride, we decided to go Vivo City for a more economical lunch.

We went to Aburi-En for a nice butadon lunch. The unagi is really good portioned so you got to try it out.

Do note that the shuttle bus operates from 9am so breakfast left us no choice but to have it a Forest @ Equarium. We were told that breakfast was on a “special rate” of S$29++ per pax and because we could not quell our raging bellies, we decided to give it a go.

Forest restaurant feels like a log cabin up in the Swiss alps. It has a nice, high ceiling and full glass windows overlooking the lush garden. A very pleasant and relaxing environment indeed it is.

Breakfast has a good selection of breads, pastries, fruits, juices, and a good selection of Chinese, Indian and Western dishes. Our recommendations are the egg tarts, chicken karaage and the curries. The rest are pretty much standard breakfast buffet spread.

The verdict? Equarius hotel is a luxury hotel. It’s a great escape away from the city’s hustle and bustle. The feel and vibe is close to what you can get from a beach resort. It’s not an apple to apple comparison with Festive Hotel.

Bottom line: If you are going as a couple, Equarius is the hotel for you. However, if it’s a family staycation, especially with a baby or a toddler, it’s hands down Festive Hotel.

Festive Hotel @ RWS

Our 2nd staycation with the Boy. We did an overnight stay over at Festive Hotel in Resorts World Sentosa. We booked our stay for S$278/ night including breakfast which we thought is a good deal.

Check-in and check-out is relatively fast. First impression about Festive Hotel is that it is really designed for family guests. The corridors, lifts, rooms, etc. are all wide enough to push your pram around. Ramps are also installed in most parts of RWS compound so moving around with your stroller is easy-peesy.

Room wise is very clean and up to a standards of a 5-star hotel. In RWS’ efforts to be eco friendly, they have a pitcher of water in the room instead of bottled water and you get your unlimited filtered water from the dispenser just at the corridor. I thought this was an ingenious idea. You no need to worry about your potable water anymore plus you are helping the environment.

Swimming Pool is also very shallow and the water is warm enough for our boy to swim in. They got water play area, kids pool, a Jacuzzi and a regular pool. Since it was not crowded, we opt for the regular pool andthe Boy got his first dip in a swimming pool (he is not scared nor overly excited about it. He was like meh). I am not entirely sure if the warm pool water is intentional or is it because of Singapore’s weather but hey, it suits us so no complains. The towel dispenser is awesome, it’s fully automated. Scan your room card and poof, a towel comes out. How cool is that?

What’s great about Festive Mall is it is within RWS so there’s definitely a great array of restaurants you can choose from, awesome view of the Merlion (last look before they take it down), and of course, the sights and sounds of Sentosa.

Gym and Breakfast are over at Hard Rock Hotel. It’s just a short, sheltered walk from Festive Hotel lift; roughly around 3 minutes. Gym is open 24/7 but very basic. It has free weights, 4 treadmills and some stationary bikes. Breakfast is over at Sessions Restaurant. Spread is decent and have a nice view of the pool area. I made myself a plate of a full English breakfast, a bowl of porridge, a bowl of mee tai bak soup, plate of tropical fruits and 1.5 cup of coffee.

Overall, we super enjoyed our stay over at Festive Hotel. We give this hotel a 4/5 stars for its family friendliness, fun location, good amenities and great hotel service. We also learned that if you book for 3D2N, you get free tickets to 4 RWS theme parks (USS, Adventure Cove, SEA Aquarium, Maritime Museum). Good deal, isn’t it?

On to the next adventure!

CSC@Changi I

Our first staycation as family!

We decided to have this staycation for a couple of reasons. First, it’s for our sanity (lol!). Second, we want to test how we will fair travelling with the Boy. Third, CSC@Changi room rates are cheap for CSC members during the weekday. Perks of being a civil servant is you get to enjoy a super discounted rate for annual membership ($144/3 years plus a small air fryer).

Kudos to the Boy, he was very easy during this whole staycation. He fed well, he enjoyed the bed, he liked the view from our room overlooking Pulau Ubin and Changi Beach Park, he liked the strolls along Changi Village, and he loves Papa & Mama’s company very much. So overall, it was very enjoyable. The only challenging part really is cleaning the bottles and probably bathing if we are travelling for longer period of time. But since it was an overnight trip, there’s was no need for that.

One funny incident though (funny only on hindsight). We checked out from our room and enjoying our food over at the cafe when the Boy decided to poop. It was such a huge dump (very good, my Boy) that it overflowed from his nappy and smeared both our pants, our hands, and shirt. I frantically ran out of the cafe since it started to smell really bad. Good thing is the club has nursing rooms at every turn. Thank God for that!

Civil Service Club @ Changi I overall is a decent place to relax and chill. We stayed at a Deluxe Suite with our room overlooking Changi Beach Park and Pulau Ubin which was nice. Room has a small dining area, a kitchenette with Dolce Gusto machine, a toilet and shower room. Room amenities are pretty standard just that don’t expect it to be similar to a 4 or 5 star hotel.

Club amenities is basically just the swimming pool area. It has a kiddie pool, a lap pool and jacuzzi. Downside of going to the pool is that it is limited visit. We got 2 stubs for the pool entrance for our overnight stay. I think that was a bummer. I think it should be unlimited pool visit for club guests. I’m not entirely sure why they have to limit pool use when there’s basically no one using it.

Other club amenities are a bowling alley, gym, tennis court, BBQ pit and mahjong table all which you have to pay a certain amount. The club ground itself is not that big. But the colonial block is really nice. I’m a huge fan of history so seeing they restored a colonial house is a real treat for me.

Food options are also abundant. Changi Village is just right beside it. So definitely, you get a ton of hawker food there. For our staycation, we had Nasi Lemak from the famous International Muslim Food & Hjh. Salbiah. IMF Nasi Lemak is good but I had better. HjH Salbiah is more to my preference; the rice has some spices that just makes it so different from your typical Nasi Lemak.

Changi Village Hotel is just opposite CSC where a good number of restaurants are available. We tried Kyuubei and it was good. Price is a bit steep but portion is good sized. Food is delicious so this is definitely a good option for your Japanese food craving. We had Hokkaido Gyudon and Salmon Teriyaki set for lunch.

If you are looking for a nice, home style Western food, Jacob’s Cafe is a just around the corner. Food is no Michelin quality but it’s an honest, home cooked food. Nothing fancy. Just good home cooked meal.

Lastly, a hidden gem in CSC is Lots Gourmet. Housed in CSC’s colonial block, the atmosphere and view of this cafe is just so elegant. Food is also very good; quality is reminiscent of restaurants in Australia. Lunch set during the weekdays is also reasonably priced at $16++ so definitely worth a try.

Overall, our staycation is a success! CSC is good place to chill for it’s weekday room rates. Like I said, it’s no luxury hotel so don’t expect too much.

My takeaways from this trip are the Boy loves to travel, we can manage, Changi Village has tons of nice eateries, and Changi Beach Park is a nice place to explore.

To our Boy, we’re off to another adventure!!!

Hello World!

“TRAVEL IS FATAL TO PREJUDICE, BIGOTRY, AND NARROW MINDEDNESS., AND MANY OF OUR PEOPLE NEED IT SORELY ON THESE ACCOUNTS.” ~ MARK TWAIN

Hello! This is for our Boy.

The World is such an interesting place…

People of different background, color, culture, religion, social status, etc. all share a common dream and aspiration — the hope for a better life. Whatever that life may be, whether to be able to provide for your family or to be rich & famous, or to live in peace, or live happily — each one of us holds this small piece of hope for better days ahead.

This can evidently be seen in many places around the World; a small house in a village, a fishing boat in an open sea, farm lands, walls of ancient cities, castles in Europe, huge temples in East Asia, citadels in the Andes, monuments in the Americas, skyscrapers in cities. To many, these are symbols of progress and civilization. To some, an inspiration to the future from the past. To others, wonders of science and architectural marvels. Ultimately, this is all about a dream of a better World tomorrow.

Travelling is about experiencing the World and this is what we hope to impart to our son.