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Awesomeness at LEGOLAND – Part 1, the Hotel

December 27, 2014

LEGOLAND Hotel Welcome

If Disneyland is the place where magic happens, then LEGOLAND is the place of awesomeness.

I must be one of the last few people from the island of Singapore to go to LEGOLAND at Iskandar Malaysia. Almost everyone I know can boast of a ‘been there, done that‘.

I’ve been biding my time, waiting for Nat to finally hit a height of at least 90 cm so he can be allowed to take some rides at the theme park and the time has finally come.

So to LEGOLAND we go! How can we not be found in a place of endless awesomeness of Lego, Lego and more Lego this holidays when I have ardent Lego fans in the house?

We checked out the LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort’s hotel, theme park and water park earlier this December, and here are the highlights (as well as the not-so-high ones, as you will read) of our short getaway by car, with three children aged 5, 4 and 2 in tow.

Presenting, Motherkao’s very own review on LEGOLAND Hotel, using the acrostics (what else?) L-E-G-O-L-A-N-D…

*drumroll, please*

Leaving Singapore for the LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort

The LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort is definitely nearer than we thought it was. It was a relatively smooth ten-minute drive the moment we set off after custom clearance at Tuas Second Link. It was easy to drive there (Tuas Checkpoint SGD3.20 using the cashcard and only one toll to pass in Malaysia at RM15, so prep your Touch ‘n’ Go card), and much more direct than we had expected. Basically, just drive till you see Nusajaya Exit 312 and follow the huge brown ‘LEGOLAND’ signs that point you to the direction of LEGOLAND.

It was that easy – drive straight all the way, exit at 312 Nusajaya, look for the brown. Totally idiot-proof.

Map from LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort Website. More directions here.

We were going to be checking in to the hotel, so we parked at the hotel carpark. It’s free-of-charge for guests and RM30 if you’re not an inhouse guest. Parking is sheltered and the carpark has ample spaces for parking (two basements), with many cars parked backside in (so I assumed it’s pretty safe, considering we were advised to park head in in Malaysia).

Exchange and Fair Trade

The Wall of Minifigs at the LEGOLAND Hotel Malaysia

Prior to making this trip, I learned about the practise of swapping LEGO minifigures (also affectionately known as minifigs, in Lego-speak) from Wacky Duo’s post. Apparently, it’s a tradition which began in LEGOLAND Florida in which a complete minifig can be exchanged or traded with any staff in the resort who has a nametag that reads’ TRADE WITH ME’ as frequent and as often as possible.

If you’ve read Wacky Duo’s experience trying to do the minifig exchange (that was in October this year), you’d have learned that it wasn’t as pleasant as they had hoped it would be. Nonetheless, I placed my confidence, albeit a little too early, on this piece of press release by LEGOLAND and told Ben (the biggest Lego fan in the house and the owner of I-don’t-know-how-many minifigs) to prepare some for making exchanges. You know how those Lego blind packs work, right? How you can end up with the same figure five times after opening five packs.

So yea, I told him to fix up all his extras, pack them in his luggage and do his swaps should he find someone he wants to trade with.

At the hotel, we waited and looked around while playing at the lobby for exchanges to take place which we could witness. Nothing. No one did any. No trading was taking place. Curious, I asked the staff at the reception if the practice of swapping minifigs was scrapped. He smiled and said it still very much was ongoing, and asked if we wanted to exchange with him.

And then the LEGO-AWESOMENESS happened. My son, at 5 years of age, mustered his courage to exchange his first minifig, and there was no turning back.

Ben exchanged his minifig for a race car dude

Unlike what Wacky Duo experienced (the staff rejecting exchanges because minfigs were glued to their tags), everyone whom we subsequently asked, spoke with or even leaned close to just to examine their minifigs shared in the excitement of the minifigs trade. A very huge improvement since October 2014.

Ben then went on to exchange his second and third, and even gave his sister the courage to exchange hers.

She likes the funky girl on this lady’s nametag – and mustered courage to ask her to trade

Sure, the lady said, and the exchange happened!

Happy to have completed the trade successfully!

And I had to join in the fun to exchange one, too. I was in LEGOLAND, for crying out loud, and I must do my part to keep this tradition alive, yes?

I liked his disco ball dude, so I exchanged my grunge guitarist; we kept the accessories cos’ the ‘Model Citizens’ (the staff at LEGOLAND Hotel) do not have accessories for their minifigs

Now, that’s some awesomeness there. We were happy owners of new minifigs, completely mixed and matched in randomness, and totally loving them.

Remember to keep the tradition alive and bring some minifigs for swapping the next time you come!

Goosebumped by some unpleasant birds at Bricks Family Restaurant

Bricks Family Restaurant

The Bricks Family Restaurant is the place where buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner are served. The LEGOLAND hotel has 249 rooms in total, so you can imagine what a feat it would be feeding all the hotel guests at breakfast.

Because breakfast time for most normal, functioning human families starts from 9am to 10am, the human traffic swells to an all-time high at this place at this peak hour. A wait of 10 minutes or more is usually expected before you get a table, which was fine by us, since the feeling of hunger can be easily forgotten by the distractions all around the entrance of the Bricks Family Restaurant, namely the soft Lego play pits and Xbox corner.

Clowning around the huge Lego sundae

Stepping on soft Lego blocks

I’m ok with waiting (but not for too long) during my holidays, really. We didn’t really wait very long anyway. 15 minutes thereabouts to me is acceptable.

But I am not ok fending off crows.

The first time we had breakfast there at this restaurant, we were seated outside.

I know crows are nobody’s fault, but it was harrowing to be eating with crows watching us, ready to attack our food the moment we were gone. And since it’s a buffet, how many times would we be gone? And the thing with crows is that they are oblivious to young children. Smaller children are hardly humans they should be fearful of, and I constantly feared for our lives having that meal. I know I’m exaggerating a bit here but you get the drift.

I get goosebumps having a crow or two watch me eat. I am terrified of crows. And my children too.

I don’t have any pictures of crows to show you, but please tell the Bricks Family Restaurant folks you want to sit inside rather than out if you don’t like crows too. This is where we dined when we were watched by hawk-like crows.

On our second day we were assigned indoor seats, thankfully. And that was when I could taste my food a whole lot better, even though I was also constantly worrying for the children who were outside. Anyway, since I could taste my food a little better than the day before, I am so not glad to be saying that the food didn’t taste fantastic. It was mass cooked, for sure; and I wouldn’t blame the folks either because serving up breakfast to so many people everyday during crowded school holidays season sure isn’t an easy thing (the restaurant can seat up to 465 guests). Nonetheless, it was disappointing to not get good food in Malaysia.

Because Malaysia to me has always been about good food.

**Other Hotel Facilities and the Slowly Slowly Movement**

LEGOLAND Hotel itself deserves one full day of your time to explore and to immerse yourself in.

Legoland Hotel entrance, with a fiery dragon to welcome us!

I will state from the onset that their check-in and check-out times will make a fool out of you if you’re a true LEGO fan – who would love any moment of admiring the details in Lego construction and pieces – and if you intend for your stay at the hotel to be only one night and not more.

Check-in is at 4pm and check-out is at 11am. Tell me, how to stay only for one night?

Most people that have done the hotel stay and park visits will tell you that the best way to experience the entire resort is to stay for at least two nights. I’m glad we did. We were very kindly hosted by LEGOLAND for our first night, and offered corporate rates for our second, complete with a complimentary one-day Theme Park and Water Park combo pass for the entire family.

The kiasu mother in me had grand plans to make the best of our stay. The grand plan, like what most people’s itinerary (or so I heard and read), was to hit the road by 8am, reach the hotel to leave our luggage by 9.30am and then start our theme park fun the moment the park opens its doors at 10am. When it gets too hot and we need to cool down from the heat, we’ll adjourn to the Water Park just next to the Theme Park after lunch and spend the later part of the afternoon there. When the Water Park closes at 6pm, we’ll head back to the Theme Park for the Christmas programme and lights since it closes at 8pm.

Sounds perfect? Apparently NOT.

The husband learned of this plan and gave me two very specific instructions on what NOT to do for this getaway: rush everyone around like a mad mother hen; spoil the holiday by yelling at the kids.

And then he said, judging from the flow of my very packed itinerary, I was definitely going to do both. He requested for this holiday to be as relaxing and as fun as possible, and that there be no to-do-list to check.

So out of respect for the man who’s worked so hard the whole year long, we did the “slowly slowly”. Slowly slowly get ready and wake up anytime we wanted, slowly slowly drive to Malaysia (we avoided the AYE traffic by setting off at 10am), slowly slowly leave the luggage in the concierge, and then slowly slowly head to Medini Mall (next to Theme Park) for lunch. After lunch, slowly slowly explore the shops for old school snacks and take kiddy rides for RM1.

Then slowly slowly walk back to the hotel and explore the play pits at the lobby, building, stacking, building, stacking. Slowly slowly walk around to look for minifigs to exchange, and then try our luck for an earlier than 4pm check in, which we got, at 2.30pm.

Steering the pirate ship

Pretending to be imprisoned in the dungeon

Squatting next to a Lego constructed skeleton!

Busy at the playpit

Becks at play

Big Boy at play

Weapon complete!

Super weapon complete!

And then slowly slowly walk to the themed hotel room, admiring the details on walls, carpets, furnishing, decor and elevators along our way. This slowly slowly gig turned out to be extremely relaxing, and FUN!

Slowly slowly exploring the lobby and the intricate details in every Lego piece

Cannot miss the chance to do the elevator dance in all the themed elevators with disco music and disco lights! Awesome!

Cannot miss the chance to do the elevator dance in all the themed elevators with disco music and disco lights! This one can’t be slowly slowly, cos’ the music playing was YMCA! Awesome!

After we thoroughly checked out our hotel room (next point), we headed to the hotel pool for a leisurely swim.

Photo Credit: LEGOLAND Malaysia

The pool occupies a decent, peaceful space comprising an infinity pool (1.2m) overlooking the two parks and a children’s wading pool (0.6m). The kids had a good time slowly slowly splashing water and doing their dipping rounds, and it was all together completely relaxing once again.

It’s nice to be on top of the world! Well, sort of.

Before dinner, we walked around the hotel lobby again and realised that there were many daily activities taking place. There was a Build-a-Lego themed challenge daily, and for the month of December everyday, the best construction of something Christmassy wins a prize. All you needed to do was to use the bricks in the playpits and make something to the theme of Christmas and leave it at the reception counter. At the end of the day, all entries would be judged and a winner chosen.

That night we were there, there was also a ‘Guess the Number of Bricks’ contest in which we were invited to estimate the number of Lego bricks in a jar. Ben won that, that night, and earned himself a certificate and Lego brick keychain.

137 bricks was his guess, and of course, his father helped him estimate a bit

In addition to these things happening, we also slowly slowly checked out other play areas…

Kids spacing out

The lounging corner (where we watched a cartoon of the history of LEGO)…

TV Time!

And were treated to a good time of carolling by the LEGOLAND folks…

Christmas carolling at the lobby

So much to slowly slowly do in one day!

LEGOLAND Hotel Room – We’re in a Kingdom!

Our hotel room. Ah, our hotel room! The highlight of our trip. Such details. Such awesomeness. How impressive!

Guess which theme we chose?

We stayed in a Kingdom Premium Themed Room!

The LEGOLAND Hotel has 249 themed guestrooms, following the three popular Lego lines – Pirate (think skulls and bones), Adventure (think Revenge of the Mummy) and Kingdom (think knights and armours). Each room can sleep up to 5 guests, with a king-size bed for adults, and a separate sleeping area for up to 3 kids, complete with a bunk bed, a pull-out trundle, their very own TV and a box of Duplo bricks for the young ones. The bathroom also comes equipped with a washbasin for children. What awesomeness!

Amused by Lego-inspired soap

But the best part – the best thing for me was the details in the room and that we had a room with a view. Everything was made to fit the theme, from the beds and the carpet to the wallpaper and even the Lego decor in the room!

Check this out, Ladies and Gents. This.
This was the view from Room 323.

Nat Kao and the Frog

The details in the children’s sleeping area

The entrance to the room

A Treasure Hunt and 4 Mystery Numbers

The highlight of our hotel stay, for my eldest son, the hugest Lego fan in the house, was the thrill that there’s a mystery box to unlock in the hotel room.

So we were told that there was a special sheet of paper to search for to get the questions for clues to unlock the mystery treasure chest. Ben jumped to work immediately, and wasted no time locating and counting the items that’s requested of him for his task.

I cheated by calling the reception for the code while he was busy at work so that I knew the code to unlock the chest before he did. Hurhurhur.

Understanding the task first

Solving the mystery of the hidden number and finding the clues

Nonetheless, the boy solved the mystery on his own, and was extremely elated to have found treasure inside the treasure chest!

Unlocking the chest

Treasure!

It was his reward indeed, but one he gladly shared with his siblings because he is such a sweetheart – a Lego Spiderman magnet, a Lego Ninjago keychain and a Lego brick keychain!

Sharing is loving!

Night time at LEGOLAND Hotel – A Beautiful Sight

I don’t know if you’ve done it. But we did. Take a slowly slowly walk in the still of the night and just soaking in the Christmas atmosphere and the idea that we’re in LEGOLAND.

The Theme Park at night

The other entrance

Giant LEGO figs!

The hotel lobby at night

The Castle at night

Awesomeness.

Di Mattoni Restaurant

We were very glad to have found decent Italian fare at this restaurant in LEGOLAND Hotel, and that very much made up for the harrowing breakfast experience with the crows. The food here at Di Mattoni was extremely delightful, and we were really happy dining here. This restaurant deserves a mention especially, because despite being a place for fine dining and all, they catered completely for the kids – word search puzzles, colouring and Lego bricks to keep them occupied, you name it – while we waited for our food. Service was excellent as were the cocktails and dishes.

The entrance of Di Mattoni Restaurant

Glorious Italian fare and deliciousness

***

There you have it, a L-E-G-O-L-A-N-D review of the LEGOLAND Hotel, with more awesomeness than we imagined. So glad we initiated our Slowly Slowly Movement the first day we were there to thoroughly enjoy food, company, and LEGO!

LEGOLAND Hotel, we’ll be back!

***

Coming up: A review of the LEGOLAND Theme Park and Water Park

Disclosure: We were hosted by the good folks at LEGOLAND Malaysia for the purpose of this review for one night at their Kingdom Premium Themed Room, and offered a corporate rate for our second night. No monetary compensation was received for this post, and all opinions here, including being deluged by waves of awesomeness, are our own.

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Becks Kao Ben Kao Going Out! Learning fun! Milestones and growing up Re: learning and child training

What my kids caught which can never be taught when it poured

November 2, 2014

One of the perks of being a blogger, at least for me these days, besides getting the usual media invites for events and product samples for review, is to be invited to exercise.

Which by the way, is great, because I so need to do so.

We were invited by the good people at SPRG (the same good folks that invited me to participate in the Great Eastern Women’s Run as an influencer) to join in the inaugural Hello Kitty Run 2014 at Sentosa as part of the feline character’s 40th birthday celebration here in Singapore. Since Becks, my little girl, is such a fan, they say.

But it’s 5km! I say. Her royal highness is not going to be able to make a 5km-run, not when her mother hasn’t even done her maiden 5 clicks yet.

It’s a FUN run, they say. And it’s perfectly ok if we walked and enjoyed the scenery.

So we said ok. Because her royal highness is such a fan, and she got excited by the thought of being in a run with me. And with Hello Kitty, or so she thinks.

And so we joined 17, 000 other fans yesterday at Sentosa, to participate in the first run of our lives together – me, Becks and Ben.

Hello Kitty’s mega 40th birthday surprise comprised a bouquet of flowers
presented by Dear Daniel, a 33 inch cupcake and a birthday song sung to her
by all 17,000 race participants. (Image Credit: SPRG)

It was a madding crowd, I tell you. Local and overseas fans turned up in full force – men, women, boys, girls alike – tattooed with red ribbons and donning everything that screamed Hello Kitty from headbands and spectacles to shoes and shimmering pink skirts.

Sandwiched all the the way at the back in the huge crowd – but first, a wefie! (Look at her royal highness’ grumpy face – too hot and stuffy, she says)

We had to be flagged off in waves because there was such a swelling human crowd. The jostling and heat, plus the threat of a stampede, were just too much to bear.

Just look at how crazily packed it was at the starting line.

17 thousand people, folks. This is how it looked like! (Image Credit: SPRG)

17 thousand people, folks. This was how it looked like! (Image Credit: SPRG)

And then the terrible happened.

This was how the sky looked when we finally got close enough to the starting line

Look at the dark clouds covering the skies. And there were still a whole lot of people in front of us!

The moment the fourth wave was flagged off (and that was us), the rain started pelting heavily on us.

It was like all the Chinese compositions we’ve ever written in school that always read “突然间下了倾盆大雨… 我们都像落汤鸡一样” came to life (loosely translated: suddenly, it rained cats and dogs and we looked bedraggled like drowned rats).

And I was torn between running back to seek shelter and hailing a cab home from Vivocity or continue walking in the rain with my five-year-old and four-year-old. So many people with young children were walking past us with their kids and babies strapped in carriers and strollers in the opposite direction anyway. Nobody would blame us for not being able to continue the race.

I was also very worried about the kids catching a cold. They have never, ever been drenched like this in their lives, and if they ever got wet because they were at water playgrounds, we always made sure that there was a warm shower facility and fresh change of clothes available. I didn’t have a brolly or poncho in my bag. I had packed light for the run – there was only a water bottle, two hand towels and two singlets to change out in my bag, plus keys and some money.

I stopped with the kids to hide under some bushes near Sentosa Gateway and asked the kids a few questions to gather information about their state so I could make a more informed decision:

Me: The rain doesn’t look like it would stop. It may get heavier and we would soon be wet to our socks, shoes and underwear. Shall we run back?

Ben and Becks: *silence*

Me: If we run back now, we can make our way home. Then we won’t be so wet.

Ben: But you said if we start a race, we finish it. That’s what people do when they race?

Me: Yep, I did say that whether we are comfortable or uncomfortable, wet or dry, we don’t give up once we start. But it’s a long way ahead. Sure you want to continue in this?

Becks: I don’t want to go home. I want to continue.

Me: Ben?

Ben: Yes, continue. We don’t give up.

Me: Alright, let’s press on to get our medals.

Ben & Becks: Continue! *with a glint in their eyes and smile on their face*

And so the decision was made. We continued to have a similar conversation in the rain at the 800m mark, the 1.6m water point and the 2.4km toilet break, and every time I would ask, “Shall we seek shelter? Can we take a break? Shall we wait till the rain becomes a lighter drizzle?” and the answer from my two determined children would still be the same.

“Let’s continue,” they would say. “Let’s not give up.”

And never did we stop once in our 5-km walk to hide from the rain or to rest our tired legs or to whine. Ben and Becks saw it as a chance of a lifetime to be indulging in free flow water play, and I saw that they were considerably cheerier as compared to the looks on their faces while we waited in the heat for the race to start.

They were happy to be skipping in the rain, wringing out water from their shirts and splashing in puddles.

Playing with raindrops at our toilet break near Palawan Beach

My bag was soaked through and there would be no more dry clothes and towels, but was so glad I had a ziploc bag for my phone – hence this photo!

The rain made being in the race uncomfortable physically for all of us but it lifted the spirits of these children.

Around the 1km slope uphill we also experienced kindness. A lady walked past us as we chanted “Never give up!” and swiftly removed the towel Ben had on his head with a beret she was wearing. Without saying a word, she waved goodbye and we were left to savour the act of kindness speechless in the rain.

What an awesome moment. Which I am sure would be remembered by Ben for a long time.

We also experienced kindness at the Sapphire Pavillion after the finish line from three lovely ladies who helped me protect my kids from the squashing and mayhem that was unfolding before our eyes as everyone pushed and shoved to collect their medals. Because it was still pouring and the only way to exchange our race bibs for our medals was in leylong style (the organisers should have thought of a more systematic way to queue, or maybe they did but everyone was in such dire need of shelter that they just kept packing the space resulting in the human jam), the kids and I were compressed by the people all around us till it got difficult to breathe. It was then we meet three friends who helped us out. Two of them formed a human cordon around my children and the last one grabbed our race bibs and edged forward to exchange for the medals on our behalf.

For that I remain forever grateful to the good Samaritans I met last morning.

Last morning, I was reminded of Philippians 3:14. We were literally pressing on towards the goal to reach for the prize.

Last morning, my children learned something that can never be taught by words nor bought by attending an enrichment class.

And we finished the race!

Last morning, they walked all 5km of a race from start to finish on their own. No strollers. No carrying. No breaks.

Last morning, they learned what it meant to never give up, and that the medal was every bit the prize they had worked hard for that they deserved.

It would have been otherwise difficult to learn this precious lesson had it not been for Hello Kitty and the rain that fell on us.

Our well-deserved medal!

Disclosure: We were give media slots to participate in the Hello Kitty Run 2014. All opinions here are ours, including the lesson we learned and the exercise opportunity we gained. We endured wet clothes, shoes, socks and underwear to bring you this post.

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Going Out! Happy days Reviews The Kao Kids

Superheroes unite! – A different kind of Halloween partying

October 29, 2014

Halloween isn’t something that’s celebrated in the Kao household but it’s certainly something we cannot escape from knowing that it is celebrated everywhere else. I had hoped I wouldn’t need to explain much about Halloween to the kids but the commercialisation of this celebration seems to be getting stronger, keener and fiercer year after year.

Case in point: the FairPrice supermarket we go to week after week tells us what we should be buying and celebrating. When we see the pumpkins, ghoulish masks and pitchforks, we know for sure, that Halloween is here. Everywhere we go, we see black and orange themed decor – in the malls and in shops. The devil’s horns go for sale as headbands to be worn vaingloriously this time of the month, and these days they come illuminated and flashing too at crazy prices and worn on many a kiddo’s head.

Another case in point: I also received an invitation to attend a Halloween spa party recently which I had to politely decline because like I said, I’m not going to be partying to Halloween; I am certainly not the type who would dress up with ketchup on my lips and chalk dust on my face to make spooky on horror night. Hurhurhur.

But when one of my favourite places in Singapore invited the kids and me to a Halloween party, I couldn’t say no. Before you judge me as a cheapo mother who would grab any free invite, let me explain.

The Halloween party that was organised by Port of Lost Wonder in Sentosa was not the typical spooky night out that we adults associate Halloween partying to be. It was really just a massively fun costume party. And because we’re talking about Port of Lost Wonder (which my kids love!), we were happy to just turn up, wander around and get ourselves wet.

But the best part for us all was that the premise of having our presence was that a scientist’s experiment had gone really wrong and monsters have invaded it, and we’re all supposed to come as superheroes to save the day.

And because my boys are into superheroes anyway – I’m sure you’ve met Spiderman on this blog lately – and because my girl has been Queen Elsa for the longest time, the Kao kids couldn’t wait to get into some superhero action.

Practising hero moves!

Ready to defend the Port!

And so to Spooky Jr. Heroes Unite we went last Saturday evening, and it was our first (and best!) Halloween party we’ve ever attended.

The Kao Superheroes met their clones…

Batman also had to work hard to fly over a city and rescue a princess from a dragon

We also caught up with more teammates

And gathered with more Superheroes who would be working hard to save the Port!

Then we caught up with Spiderman friend and Robot Boy friend – check out Leroy‘s DIY Robot Gear!

So wholesome. So fun. So different. With so much memories to remember for a long time.

The kids are still talking about the party until now, I tell you. That’s how much they enjoyed being superheroes that night, and being with others like them.

And what did they have to do to save the port? Three simple things, really.

First, navigate a tricky maze…

Next, shoot monsters with slime…

Slime fight!

And then exterminate the remaining ones with our golden arrows!

The rest of the time was spent going around getting pictures with everyone else in costume, eating and pigging out, licking cotton candy and getting glitter-tattooed.

Getting glitter tattooed

Plus lots of bubble fun too!

And then change out of superhero costumes – no overtime for these kids – when their job was done to enjoy the pirate ship all on their own.

Halloween is now known as just another occasion for more wholesome fun, and we are so going to be ok with that!

More details:

Spooky Jr. – Heroes Unite! is happening again this Saturday at Port of Lost Wonder from 6.30 to 10pm. Creative costumes stand to win prizes up to $3,000 including Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids, Wii, hotel stays on Sentosa at Siloso Beach Resort and Amara Sanctuary, and many more.

Save the port and win great prizes – the perfect family Halloween fun! Tickets go for SGD39.90 per kid and SGD10 for the adult.

Disclosure: We were invited to save the port. All opinions, hard work and rewards are our own.

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Going Out! Reading fun The Kao Kids

We met the Gruffalo!

October 25, 2014

We’ve not read Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo yet, simply because I know my kids are terrified of monsters. I know it’s a clever story, and I know it’s a story about a clever mouse more than anything else, really. But I don’t intend to have my kids worry about a terrifying creature while I’m reading them the story, so our favourite Julia Donaldson books for now are The Snail and the Whale and Room on a Broom.

Yet I couldn’t say no to the organisers of KidsFest 2015 when they invited the Kao kids for an interactive story-telling session of The Gruffalo, and to meet and greet him last week.

Because?

Because I haven’t really been able to carve out time to read to them these days, and mom guilt dictates that I bring them to the Volvo showroom for an afternoon of storytelling and fun.

And met the Gruffalo we did.

He wasn’t scary at all. To Ben, at least. He loved the story, and knew that at the end of it all, it’s Mouse who’s the hero in the book.

So the Gruffalo was this friendly creature who would pose for a picture with us whenever we requested!

Becks was somewhat terrified and was unwilling to go near the “creature”. Nat was taking his nap when the story started so he missed seeing the Gruffalo-man. Till now, he thinks we’ve met “The Buffalo”.

I’ll just leave it as that till the younger ones are ready to handle a little bit more monstrous fun in their lives, and make it up with candy floss if they were frightened a wee bit by this encounter.

Candy floss happiness at the Volvo Showroom last Saturday

~~~

KidsFest is happening from 21 January 2015 to March 2015 (check schedule here), and tickets are on sale now from Sistic.

Expect an exciting festival for the whole family where compelling characters from stories are brought to life on stage as world-class theatre folks come to Singapore to bring world-class theatre to our young ones! I hear the Princess and her Pea, the Snail and the Whale, Hugless Douglas will all be coming. The Tiger‘s also coming for Tea, and so are the Ville Victorians and the Barmy Brits from Horrible Histories, together with some dinosaurs from Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo, as well as the Gruffalo himself!

Back for the 4th year: world-class theatre for the young ones
Image source: http://www.kidsfest.com.sg/the-shows/

It’s going to be an exciting KidsFest next year!

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Ben Kao Going Out! Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Nat Kao Reviews The Kao Kids

Turtle mania descends at City Square Mall!

September 7, 2014

I’ll be the first to admit I was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan when I was nine. I carried a TMNT school bag to school and I loved Leonardo most. He was the leader of the turtle pack, and so, very cool. I watched the TV series and was totally familiar with how they became mutant ninjas. You could quiz me about their sensei Splinter, ask me who’s April, Casey Jones, Shredder and Karai, and I could tell you all and more, while other girls were into Polly Pocket, My Little Pony and Care Bears. I grew up watching He-Man, TMNT and Hulk Hogan.

I must have been an odd girl, I know.

Fast forward 24 years. The turtles are back in my kids’ lives.

Sometime, somewhere, somehow, they catch snippets of the animated series on Nickelodeon, see posters of them in malls and find related merchandise at Toys R Us. I tell them sometimes about Leo, Raph, Mikey and Donnie, and their adventures with the baddie Shredder from memory but because childhood memories are a hazy thing, I decided it’s better to bring them to meet ’em.

We were invited to catch Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello in action at City Square Mall’s Live Show yesterday as part of their ‘Total Turtle Takeover’ this September holidays. And boy, boy, boy, was it totally exciting.

See my boys? They came prepared.

Raphael and Leonardo Wannabes

They watched in awe…

Heroes in a half-shell!

Someone was watching intently

And learnt a couple of ninja moves from the turtles.

Each dude showed us some good action moves with their weapons – the katana, the nunchakus, the sai, and the bo staff – and got the children to train as junior ninjas by imitating their actions.

Learning to use the nunchakus

And now, some sword moves from Ninja Nat

Cowabunga.

The only thing missing was a good pizza pig-out after all the action, which I would have loved to watch.

This was one of the better live shows we’ve caught, because the boys were so, so stoked. The turtles were funny, as usual, the action moves were great, and Ben and Nat got some exercising done.

And then went on stage to meet their heroes some more.

When we got up, Mikey said out loud on stage, “Hey, Leo and Raph. You’ve each got a fan comin’!”

We are all such big fans (ok, maybe except the little girl)!

We are all such big fans (ok, maybe except for the little girl)!

Totally awesome.

More details:

Catch the turtles live in action daily from 6 to 14 September at City Square Mall’s Level 1 Atrium, Mon – Fri at 2pm & 7pm; Sat & Sun at 1pm, 4pm & 7pm.

Shake hands and get a photo with the ninja dudes at the Meet & Greet session after the show by redeeming an exclusive Meet & Greet pass with a minimum spending of $50 (with a maximum of 3 same-day combined receipts). 50 passes will be given out 1 hour prior to each show, strictly on a first-come first-served basis.

There’s also a host of TMNT activities at the mall this September, which includes some colouring fun and Turtle TV Nights! Check out details here.

Disclosure: We were invited to the Live Show and given a media pass for the Meet and Greet. The boys were also given a goodie bag packed with Turtle Power. No monetary compensation was received for this post, and all opinions here are mine.

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Ben Kao Going Out! Invites & Tryouts Reviews

The Force is here, across the Causeway: LEGO Star Wars Miniland at LEGOLAND Malaysia

September 6, 2014

Before my LEGO obsessed firstborn had the Legends of Chima open up to him, he plunged head in into the World of Star Wars first.

Thanks to his father’s influence, he grew curious about the weird inhabitants of all the different characters living in the various planets in Star Wars, and even earned his own keep to buy this book – which he ploughs through religiously – from a secondhand bookshop.

Ben sharing a moment with Nat, explaining the characters of Star Wars from his Visual Dictionary

I am not a big fan, and have only watched Episode VI on big screen, and so my knowledge of Star Wars is limited to only Darth Vader (and the ‘wa si lin lao pei’ Hokkien jokes), Anakin Skywalker and Natalie Portman. Oops, is she some Queen Padme of some strange planet called Naboo. Always can’t control myself when I say ‘Naboo’ out loud.

But this boy, he knows so much more. He hasn’t watched every single episode, but he’s sure learned a lot from the extremely hilarious LEGO Star Wars Cartoon series. Which is great because he doesn’t think the baddies are scary; they are always portrayed as losers in the cartoon, and he gets to enjoy slapstick humour as a child appreciating what could otherwise have been complicated story plots and developments in an epic film series predominantly meant for adults.

So imagine how very stoked he was when he scored an invitation to preview the Star Wars™ Miniland Model Display at LEGOLAND Malaysia.

It’s not something that happens every day; and this boy from Singapore skipped kindergarten for a day to be one of the two littlest invited guests to turn up at the media preview of this attraction, which is the first of its kind in Asia.

Just look at the beaming five-year-old when he got to LEGOLAND Malaysia. So much happiness.

Hanging out outside the Miniland Model Display before the official launch

Absolutely no qualms making friends with Darth Maul.

“At last we shall reveal ourselves!”

Or the Jedi Master of High Council, Mace ‘Uncle’ Windu.

Young Jedi Wannabe with the Master

But the boy was actually looking high and low for a picture with Count Dooku. Hurhurhur. He just thinks his name is too funny.

The LEGO Star Wars Miniland Model Display is housed in an octagon building with a floor of 900m² that have been divided into 8 areas – 6 for each Episode of Star Wars, with the 7th featuring a scene from the animated film, ‘The Clone Wars’, and the 8th featuring an amazing array of retail products, read: all LEGO Star Wars merchandise.

Outside the LEGO Star Wars Miniland where we also met some young Jedi knights and storm troopers

The place, besides being a welcoming respite from the heat (air-con!!!), is a place that’s guaranteed to make you drop your jaws. And make you drop it 8 times.

And scream “WOW!” like what Ben did walking through the Miniland.

We took a chronological walk through the Star Wars timeline and had fun pressing the interactive buttons that activated animatronics within each scene.

Episode 1: The Phantom Menace – The Battle of Naboo

Episode II: Attack of the Clones – Geonosis
Ben having an intense conversation with the Star Wars Miniland Guide

Here, the battle between Count Dooku’s droid army and the Grand Army of the Republic

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – the planets of Kashyyyk and Mustafar

Episode IV: A New Hope - looking at the Tatooine and Han Solo's famous Starship, the Millenium Falcom, which takes 40 seconds to take off and land!

Episode IV: A New Hope – looking at the Tatooine and Han Solo’s famous Starship, the Millenium Falcon, which takes 40 seconds to take off and land!

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back – taking refuge in icy planet, Hoth

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi – Battle of Endor

Star Wars: The Clone Wars on the planet of Christophsis

With more LEGO-modelled Star Wars characters

Add to the whole experience, retail therapy!

8,000 man hours. Over 1.5 million bricks. For this entire experience that will make any Star Wars fan hyperventilate.

More details:

The LEGO Star Wars Miniland Model Display opens its doors on 6th September 2014 (today!). Entry to the Star Wars Miniland is free and included in the admission ticket.

Throughout the month of September, various LEGO Star Wars activities have been lined up to commemorate LEGOLAND Malysia’s second anniversary. These include:

a free entry promotion for children dressed up as their favourite Star Wars characters (from 6 – 30 Sept)
special birthday fireworks on 15 Sept at the Resort starting at 8pm
characters ‘Meet & Greet’ sessions at The Beginning (Theme Park) and Hotel Lobby (LEGOLAND Hotel) from 6 Sept onwards

Check out more exciting activities here if you’re planning to head down to LEGOLAND Malaysia this September holidays!

Disclsoure: Ben and I were invited to preview the LEGO Star Wars Miniland Model Display. No monetary compensation was received for this post, and all opinions here are own. We endured tired jaws to bring you this jaw-dropping awesomeness. You’re welcome.

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Going Out! Happy days Holidays! Milestones and growing up Parenting 101 The Kao Kids

Our many firsts at Berakit’s Bukau Lodge, Indonesia

August 29, 2014

Over the National Day weekend, we did the most un-patriotic thing. We left the country and scooted away to a place where no wi-fi was available and only human connections were allowed, and where sunshine, sand, sea and seafood were abundant.

And no, we didn’t go for a beach holiday at the finest of resort destinations. We went back to nature, back to the basics and back to simplicity – at a kelong in this place called Berakit, about 25 km away from Bintan Island in Indonesia.

I’ve always wanted to have the kids rough it out and experience what it’s like to remove ourselves from city-living, and this trip would be the first of the many to come. Before the kids came, the husband and I did a bit of backpacking and we were often amazed to see children backpacking with their parents, on foot, by train and at the youth hostels where we stayed. Those kids were older, of course, but they were tough and resilient. These are kids who will grow up knowing that it’s a big, big world out there and that the world so doesn’t revolve around them. Fatherkao and I have always wished as a couple to do this one thing with our kids this side of heaven, and that is “to suck out all the marrow of life” as Henry David Thoreau aptly puts, and get them to go out and explore the world.

So.

I’ve always wanted Ben, Becks and Nat to have a live-in-the-middle-of-the-sea-on-a-kelong kind of experience, which Fatherkao and I have had the pleasure of experiencing on several occasions before the kids came. It was an experience, I felt, that any person living should have in his or her memory bank, like a ‘been there, done that’ kind of thing to boast about someday when you are old.

Blast from the past: this was us in 2006

With our friends, with whom we had such a great time with in this kelong in Sibu Island

And so to Bukau Lodge at Berakit we went, where we experienced many FIRSTS together as a family. Our friend and his wife built an extension-lodge to an existing fish-rearing kelong in Berakit some time back which was meant to accommodate family, friends and dive groups, so we followed them out to sea on their speedboat for a 3-day-2-night trip.

To the kelong we go!

Bukau Lodge

We had such a blast, and I know for years to come, we will continue to talk about our first kelong trip with much, much fondness.

Here goes, our ten FIRSTS being at Bukau Lodge, Berakit, Indonesia:

1. First speedboat ride

To get to our destination, we hopped onto ‘Hannah and Hazel’, our friends’ boat christened after their daughters, two of the sweetest girls I’ve ever known. It was an incredibly long ride (about 4 hours there, and 4 hours back), and I was worried the kids would get seasick travelling so long on the boat. But at the speed we were going, motion sickness was nearly impossible. It just constantly felt like the operator operating a theme park’s ultimate roller coaster ride refusing to let you out and making the roller coaster go on repeat mode. For the unpredictable thrill factor, I say the sea’s better than a roller coaster anytime. And surprise, surprise, the kids actually fell asleep the moment the boat started moving off, in spite of the crashing waves.

These are tough kids, I tell you. Complaining not even one single time being on the speedboat, which can be quite scary at times!

What an experience being so close to the sea indeed. We even saw jumping fish, which was altogether breathtaking.

2. First balancing act

We’re in a kelong, and there’s water everywhere

So it’s a kelong afterall. Which is actually a Malay word describing an offshore platform built predominantly on, yea, you guessed it, wood. The entire kelong is fashioned out of wooden planks and poles, and so at any point, walking around the place felt like you constantly have to remember to walk properly – and keep your balance – because you don’t want to have the giant tiger groupers chomp you up or be pinch material for the lobsters, depending on which pool of water you fall into. Plus, the sea is all around us, and as we’ve discovered (see #3), there’s no ground to touch if you’d ever fall in like you would in a pool.

This was the tiger grouper pool which was teeming with groupers 10 to 15 kg, I hear. They eat up all our discarded food waste, and can chomp down the hardest bones and toughest fruit. Like Becks’ apple which accidentally fell in.

My kids can’t swim by the way, so you can imagine this mad mother constantly screaming and nagging her kids not to run, push or monkey around.

But it’s a whole new experience altogether – walking deliberately and carefully, every minute we were there. How’s that for really slowing down?

Gives a whole new meaning to ‘balanced and barefoot’

3. First plunge into the deep blue sea

The kids have yet to learn to swim. They have been waddling, waddling, waddling, like little ducklings on floats in swimming pools. I have tried getting them used to being in water for close to a year now, so they are happy to be in chlorinated water or warm bath tubs if you throw them in.

But the sea. It was nothing they had expected. It was nothing I had expected.

The platform where we all took the plunge

The first day we were there we swam in front of the lodge with a group of adults and children (our couple friends’ extended family members, whom we had the pleasure of meeting – there were 14 of us adults in all, and 7 kids), and while it was an exciting thought to be jumping into the sea with so many people, we so didn’t prepare for the strong winds and currents that came, which meant that no matter how hard you swim, you would still be at the same place.

We had some drama that afternoon, with Ben’s float suddenly deflating (and thank God we found that out before he jumped in), Becks’ life jacket floating up which meant she was getting no buoyancy due to the strong currents, and Nat refusing to let go of my neck which meant he was strangling me while I treaded water furiously looking for something I could hold on to for dear life. All these happened while I was trying to swim to my daughter, forgetting completely about my drifting eldest son and being gripped in the neck by my youngest. And Fatherkao wasn’t even in the sea yet as he needed to keep his camera. Thank God we went with one bunch of fun-loving people who were seaworthy and extremely strong swimmers, and all the uncles and aunties came to help with our kids. We didn’t swim long in that strong current, and ended up making friends with everyone instead over hot milo and snacks after that ordeal.

4. First swim-with-fish experience

So you would have thought we gave up the idea of swimming in the sea. I thought I would too, until my friend said she’d replicate an ‘Adventure Cove’ experience without the strong currents for us.

Here in this “pool”:

Fish “pond” protected from waves and currents

So we thought, Well, it’s netted, it’s going to protect us from strong currents, why not? and we jumped in. We didn’t manage to snorkel but we did put our head in with goggles and saw some fish swimming around and all.

Totally awesome, still.

Nat and Becks were too frightened after the open water experience, so we swam with other children and Ben instead!

It was only when we got up and looked down into this pool of seawater had we realised – holy smoke’ – we were swimming with friggin’ huge-ass mamas and a sea turtle. I so should have brought or borrowed a snorkel!

No ordinary fish pond

5. First poo-watch

Clean water for bathing from the tap, and a toilet bowl for small and big businesses!

There was no flush in the toilets. Why would you need one in a kelong?

Clearly, the showtimes for fish feeding was whenever anyone was done pooping. We didn’t manage to catch every show, but we did catch the one with Ben’s poop one morning because he had made a loud announcement that he needed to move his bowels.

I bet he now knows that the way to avoid a crowd waiting near the toilet is not to say anything. Hurhurhur.

6. First bat watch

I have never seen bats fly, and even more so seen so many bats fly from their roosting place and disperse. Apparently, the desolate, uninhabited island near the kelong was a roosting place for bat colonies, and we were told that at 7pm sharp, there would be bats in the sky. I was half expecting some cute little creatures flapping their wings but to my horror they were as huge-ass as the fish we swam with in the day and it was a full-moon night. Gives freaking out a whole new meaning (and bringing back memories of all the Gothic Literature I did in JC), but fortunately for us, we were assured that they never congregated at the kelong.

Would drive me batshitcrazy for sure, if they did.

We didn’t manage to capture the bats at dusk but my husband took this awesome picture of the night view from the kelong. This is unfiltered and unedited.
Gorgeousness.

7. First fish from the sea

I’m not a fan of fishing. Before this trip I had thought fishing was all sitting by the lake for hours feeding mosquitoes. Until our friend’s uncles showed us how much fish that can be caught just by throwing a line from the kelong. These men were reeling in pail after pail of fish whenever they cast their lines, and that thrilled the kids much.

And this was how much that could be fished on a morning the boat took the fishing enthusiasts out deep sea

It poured heavily on the second day we were there, and there was this peaceful, tranquil calm after the storm. Which meant only one thing for the fishermen in our midst: deep-sea fishing. We tagged along in the drizzle and watched as the fishing enthusiasts reeled in barracudas, sail fish, mackerels and groupers. Ben and Fatherkao tried their hand at fishing while I minded the other two, and they managed to reel in one I-dunno-what-fish which we ate for lunch the next day.

8. First rainbow of our lives

The kids have never seen a rainbow. They’ve heard me sing ‘The Rainbow Connection’ many times and are familiar with the story of God’s promise of a rainbow after the Great Flood, but that’s pretty much it.

And how He must have loved us all so, because while we were out deep sea fishing, this – this was what we witnessed right before our eyes.

This picture, taken with our friend's phone, will never ever do the view we had justice. The rainbow was beautifully arched, clear in all its colour, and set against the backdrop of a beautiful horizon

This picture, taken with a phone camera, will never ever do the view we had justice.
The rainbow was beautifully arched, clear in all its colours, and set against the backdrop of a beautiful horizon

We witnessed this for the first time as a family. How magnificently awesome is our God.

9. First FRESHEST seafood dining experience

How fresh can seafood get when all you have to do is goreng and steam what has just been caught! We’ve had the freshest of fish for those three days, and even had the tiger grouper the kelong was rearing for steamboat dinner. The kelong sells this special breed of groupers to restaurants and a wide Chinese clientele, but offered us a special rate – so we even carted two 5-kg fresh groupers home on our last day!

Catching our dinner

Waiting for the fish to put in the steamboat!

So the kids had chicken wings and bbq-ed marshmellows while waiting

So the kids feasted on chicken wings and grilled marshmellows after the steamboat

The tides were low the following morning and our friend went picking crabs – which meant we had steamed crabs for breakfast!

10. First time on a private beach

Just 5 minutes away on a sampan lies this pristine private beach, which was the highlight of our kelong trip. The sand was soft and moist, totally perfect for some thorough exfoliating (free spa!), and the waters were oh-so crystal clear. We spent hours lazing there, sitting by the beach, watching the waves and soaking in the sun, sand, sea. The kids built sandcastles, picked corals and seashells, skipped pebbles and chased little fish.

We were there on Day 2 and Day 3, and we always wished we didn’t have to leave. And when we finally did, we were totally sunkissed.

Picture-perfect on a perfect beach

How much fun took place while we were there? Enough for the kids to ask when we are going back again!

So much to do with sand!

~~~

Those three days we lived deep. No phones. No TV. No iPads.

We were at sea. We looked out to sea.

Where the horizon was, there was the sky. We looked out to sky.

The view from the lodge was always changing – when it rained, when night fell, when the winds blew, when the clouds moved – and it was always, always gorgeously awe-inspiring.

What a view in the morning

Those three days we relaxed and rested. No fuss. No anxiety. No heaviness. We returned home refreshed, and with so much gratitude in our hearts for being with wonderful people and having a wonderful God who created wonderful things.

I can't put a word to this, but we felt a huge sense of happiness being there.

Refreshed and ready for home: I can’t put a word to this, but we felt a comforting sense of happiness being there those 3 days

Bukau Lodge, we’ll be back.

~~~

P/S: If you’re curious how we bunked as a family, we stayed in a private room like this. But in the kelong, everything is pretty much communal and we left our door and windows wide open while we slept, with the wind in our face, literally. Shiok.

The rooms in Bukau Lodge

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Going Out! The Kao Kids

Fun for free, at Terminal 3

August 24, 2014

I get asked a lot why my family is always found at the airport. We hang out a lot at Terminal 3. At least once every two weeks.

It’s weird that we might be the only people and country in the world that shop, eat, play, colour, draw and run around in our airport terminals. I don’t think I’ve seen or heard of anyone from anywhere boasting of having so much to do at an airport. Isn’t it just a place – that’s usually located at a godforsaken distance, far away from civilisation – for taking off on a plane or welcoming someone home?

But because our little island called Singapore is only 716.1 km² in size, and because our home at Sengkang is only a 15-minute drive to the airport, this place is as accessible as the nearest 7-11 is to us, and I dare say, everyone in Singapore.

Behold, the FUN FOR FREE my kids get at Terminal 3, while I indulge in GST-free shopping. (Oh, didn’t you already know that? You can get jewellery, perfume, cosmetics, clothes, toys, shoes, personal toiletries, cakes and bread, chocolates and candies and even books at T3 without the 7% GST.)

Five fun things to do for free at Terminal 3:

1. Woodblock rubbing

Make your own woodblock prints with the paper and crayons provided at the woodblock rubbing station located just in front of the fountain at B2. Each print carries a design that is inspired by icons and symbols of Singapore.

My kids have done this countless times and they never get tired of rubbing the crayon on the wood blocks! If the station isn’t crowded, and they can get a space of their own, they can sit there for a long time – and I can slowly eat my dinner at Pasta Mania (next to it) for a long time, which is such a luxury on crazy week days.

2. Playground Fun

It’s not the most wow of playgrounds, but it is a good way to keep children occupied while you shop or have a cuppa at Starbucks which is just in front of it. On weekends it can get really crowded, but that’s also when the kids get to play tag around the playground with random kids and make some new friends. What I like about the playground is that it hardly attracts the big kids, and so unlike the neighbourhood playgrounds that the kids go to which sometimes requires them to handle the playground bullies, here you get to baby-watch and coo at toddling toddlers instead.

3. Singapore’s Tallest Slide

Photo Credit: Changi Airport

You don’t have to spend anymore to experience The Slide @ T3. You can get a preview of the speed at one-and-a-half storey tall at B2 with no minumum spending required. But if you wish to experience the full 12-metres, you can redeem one ride for every SGD10 spent on a single receipt.

How’s that for thrill for free?

4. Trolley Rides and Races

My kids never get tired of trolley rides and they get their trolley fix at two places: the supermarket and here, at the airport. We don’t have baggage, obviously, since we’re there to shop, eat and play – and so we indulge them by letting them hop on and pushing them around. Sometimes, when the aisles are empty, we race!

Look who’s pushin‘!

5. Look up, look out, enjoy the space!

We almost never head to town. In fact, I dislike being in town. It’s crowded and noisy and there are just too many people around. Because of the space you get in the airport, and particularly on Level 3 where its roof is designed to let in natural light, being there often leaves you refreshed and wanting to plan for the next holiday. I like to take my kids to Level 3 to get them to run around and look up at the sky from the roof. It’s kinda therapeutic.

~~~

This post is written as part of The Gingerbread Mum’s ‘Fun for Free SG’ Series. For the month of August, 31 mom bloggers will take you to places you can check out with your kids for free!

1 Aug: Tiong Bahru Park by Gingerbreadmum
2 Aug: Queenstown Heritage Trail by Princess Dana Diaries
3 Aug: Jurong Regional Library by Finally Mama
4 Aug: Singapore Maritime Gallery by Peipei Haohao
5 Aug: Singapore Philatelic Museum by Kids R Simple
6 Aug: Sculptures of Singapore by Gingerbreadmum
7 Aug: Fire Station by The Js Arena
8 Aug: Esplanade + Merlion by Prayerfull Mum
9 Aug: Bukit Batok Nature Park by Meeningfully
10 Aug: Lower Pierce Reservoir Park by The Kam Family
11 Aug: I12 Katong – water playground by Universal Scribbles
12 Aug: IMM by Mad Psych Mum
13 Aug: Tampines 1 Water Playground by Amazingly Still
14 Aug: Sengkang Riverside Park by Itchy Finger Snap
15 Aug: East Coast Park by Toddly Mummy
16 Aug: Sembawang Shopping Centre Playground by Joey Craftworkz
17 Aug: Animal resort by Raising Faith
18 Aug: Botanic Gardens by Mum’s The Word
19 Aug: Police Heritage Centre by Mummy Ed
20 Aug: MacRitchie trail by Scrap Mum Loft
21 Aug: Road Safety Park by Miracule
22 Aug: Marina Barrage by J Babies
23 Aug: Gardens By The Bay, Children’s Garden by Finally Mama
24 Aug: Changi Airport T3 by Mother Kao
25 Aug: Pockets of Nature by Mum in the Making
26 Aug: Changi Airport T1 Growing with the Tans
27 Aug: Pasir Ris Park Ingspirations
28 Aug: Gardens by the Bay Supertree Grove by My Lil Bookworm
29 Aug: Vivocity Play Area by Amazingly Still
30 Aug: Punggol Promenade + Punggol Waterway by Chubby Anecdotes
31 Aug: Westgate Wonderland by Xavvylicious

Click this link here: The Gingerbread Mum’s ‘Fun for Free SG’ Series to stay updated!

~~~

Next on the blog train is Justina who writes at Mum in the Making. Jus is a stay-home mum to three littles. She feels that you can never get enough of the great outdoors, and would be sharing some favourite pockets of nature that her family enjoys! Join her tomorrow over at Mum in the Making for some Fun for Free!

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Fatherkao loves... Food, glorious food! Going Out! Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Reviews The Kao Kids

Stealthy, steady success for a 40th birthday bash – Part 2

August 20, 2014

So the husband turned 40 earlier this August, and was given total VIP treatment by me, the kids and the good people at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport.

And because Changi Airport, particularly Terminal 3, is our family’s favouritest place in this country, it was especially special for us to be celebrating Fatherkao’s birthday there, staycating at one of the ‘World’s Top Ten Airport Hotels’.

From my stealth liaising a month before the birthday surprise to the day we checked out, my family was warmly hosted at Crowne Plaza. The Marketing Manager was fully attentive to the needs of our family of five as she arranged for us to check into the 36-square-metres Deluxe Twin Club Room with an extra rollaway bed so we could all sleep comfortably. And when she learned that the entire staycation would be a surprise birthday celebration for Fatherkao, she gamely offered to place a cake in the room so I didn’t have to run around the airport with kids in tow to hunt for one prior to checking in.

The Crowne Plaza Deluxe Twin Room: two little people are getting comfortable!

Checking out the room, and lazing on the rollaway bed

The glass panelled bathroom! And so we thought we'd be in full view of everyone when we shower, until we found blinds!

The glass panelled bathroom! And so we thought we’d be in full view of everyone when we shower, until we found the blinds!

I did nothing but turn up, check in, blow the balloons and light the candles with the kids to create some party atmosphere for the birthday boy.

This was special delivery, arranged by the Marketing Manager, who thought it’d be nice to have a cake at check in. The Lobby Lounge has one of the best cake selections, in my opinion. Because this cake was absolute heaven.

We were also given exclusive Club Lounge Access, and there, the kids got juice, the adults had coffee, and we all spent a lovely afternoon together after the cake-cutting, watching Fatherkao teach Ben how to play a game a chess.

Ready to lounge!

First, some chess. Then, some juice!

The Club Lounge at Crowne Plaza Hotel Changi Airport was such a respite. At the lounge, we could look out and see the bustling city traffic on one side and a calming rainforest pool view on the other. The best part of it was, we had the place largely to ourselves.

City view from the Club window

Pool view from the Club window

We checked out the pool after we were done with our lounging, and I must say, I haven’t seen so much open space for a while in concrete jungle Singapore.

A pool with a view when you look out and up

I’ve never swam in a pool like this, amidst lush greenery and wooden sun decks. It was like being in an island resort while in a city. I loved the space I could look out to, and the planes I could look up at. The kids enjoyed exploring the pool in their floats, although the water was extremely cold and being in it made our teeth chatter so much we had to head to the bathtub in the room immediately after for a warm soak.

I think the kids had the most fun being in the bathtub in full view of us looking in from the room on our beds. Give these kids warm water any time. They haven’t learned to swim yet so they’d much prefer the safety of the tub.

Before dinner we headed to the Club Lounge again, which was on the same floor as our room and the pool – and oh how so convenient to just pop by whenever we wanted – to enjoy evening cocktails, mocktails and canapés. I loved that at 5.30pm when we were there, there was absolutely no one (the hotel folks say the tourists usually head out to town and weekends are quieter than weekdays). We had the entire lounge to ourselves, and were given such royal treatment, getting served drinks of our choice, snacks and then getting our photos taken.

Oh the spread of canapes! This was like dinner for me!

Oh the spread of canapés! This was like dinner for us already!

We sneaked out while the littlest was napping to have some snacks and drinks

I had a mocktail, he had a Singapore Sling!

Can you tell? The birthday boy was one happy camper, and was savouring every minute of his 40th birthday.

Later in the evening, we were hosted by Azur, the award-winning restaurant at Level 2 in Crowne Plaza for Fatherkao’s birthday dinner, and had some of his closest buds join us for more celebration over food, wine and laughs. At the restaurant, we talked and laughed over a good buffet spread of Eastern and Western cuisines – something which we haven’t done so with our friends for a while.

And what an even more pleasant surprise to find that there was yet another surprise for the birthday boy with yet another birthday song and cake.

Everyone's really making sure the birthday boy realises he is 40!

Everyone’s really making sure somebody realises he is 40!

Fatherkao was more than happy to be eating cake again. Not before he tried to clean off the zero in the ‘40‘ which was piped on his plate.

So he cleaned off the zero, and wished he was 4 instead

Still in denial, this man.

After dinner, the men continued with more wine and talk, while their wives and kids lazed in the cosy hotel room. Nothing would have pleased my husband more than this: to be able to enjoy good wine with his buddies whom he has known for decades and to cheers to more good years ahead.

The best things in life: food, friends and family

Someone once said, “Men are like wine – some turn to vinegar but the best improve with age.” I certainly married someone that’s turning into fine wine at 40.

You’re not old, dear. You’re just mature.

——-

Thank you, everyone that came to make Fatherkao’s day, and Crowne Plaza Hotel Changi Airport, for your hospitality and impeccable service. You’ve made this birthday really special and have set the standard for all the other staycations to come, because Fatherkao says it’s the best one he’s had so far. We’ve done A LOT of staycations since 2004, and if he says so, you’re truly something!

——–

Disclosure: Crowne Plaza Hotel Changi Airport sponsored our 2D1N staycation-and-birthday-celebration for Fatherkao, and hosted us at Azur for dinner. We had exclusive access to the Crowne Plaza Club, and had our breakfast there the next day as well. I did not receive any monetary compensation, and this post was a result of the wonderful experience we’ve had celebrating a milestone and being pampered silly. This may be the most unlikely place to consider having a staycation, but I tell you – the SPACE you get! Being away from the crowd and having such exclusivity is totally worth it, if you’re someone like me who is tired of too many malls, too many people and too much noise.

This was our breakfast at the Club Lounge – we had the place all to ourselves on a beautiful Sunday morning

The entrance to Crowne Plaza

More details:

Crowne Plaza is connected to Changi Airport’s Terminal 3 via a seamless, air-conditioned link bridge that gives you easy access to the shops and F&B outlets that operate round-the-clock.

A 2D1N stay in a deluxe room on a weekend starts from SGD263 and includes breakfast. The deluxe rooms feature an ergonomic workspace, comfortable beds, ensuite bathroom with separate rainshower and bathtub, and free WiFi connection.

Overnight parking is available at the airport for SGD20.

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Fatherkao loves... Going Out! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Reviews The Kao Kids

Stealthy, steady success for a 40th birthday bash – Part 1

August 19, 2014

I’ve known this man for 14 years, and ever since he became my husband 10 years ago, I have never kept a secret from him.

Not until I had to plan a birthday surprise for him this year.

Fatherkao was getting all pensive and in a totally reflective state about turning 40 (and the worst hit came when he received the letter for Eldershield, hurhurhur), and I’d thought that a birthday party was in order to turn turning 40 into an occasion to celebrate.

I started a secret whatsapp chat with all his buddies (who incidentally have also turned 40 a few years ago) and amidst jokes that they would all be getting him Salonpas Pain Relief Patches for his birthday present, they all agreed to come and spend the day with him because there was nothing he would appreciate more than good company and wine. I changed the passcode to my phone and operated completely by stealth to liaise with the wonderful folks at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport who were so extremely kind and generous to host us for a staycation and dinner. I packed everything for the stay, including his, only on that morning of the staycation day itself (while Fatherkao was out) and told him that I’ll be whisking him away for a holiday – and so he had to meet me and the kids at the airport.

Our plan that day was to check into the hotel room before meeting him, prep the room with balloons, and take him there to surprise him with cake.

I knew he knew the impossibility of me taking him away for a holiday by plane even though his birthday fell on a Saturday, and I was sure he even suspected that we were heading for a staycation, but I was glad he played along any way when I asked him to meet me at T3. He loves the airport, and since Terminal 3 has always been our favourite place to hang out as a family he had nary a grumble when I told him we’ve missed the plane and lunch at Pasta Mania would be his birthday treat instead.

And then when lunch was over, I told him we would be heading to the hotel lounge at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport for desserts (the first time I lied so blatantly in front of the kids who have already checked in with me way before lunch, blew up balloons and prepped the place). The kids and I were doing our best to keep the secret of a staycation in, although the excitement was already building up to such a level we could hardly contain it! Fatherkao kept asking the kids what was going to happen, and they were so game to play along by telling him it’s all a secret.

Until I gave the secret away. Unknowingly.

We walked past Bata at B2 on our way to Crowne Plaza and Becks asked when I was getting her the pair of princess shoes she’s been wanting to buy, and I said, “Tomorrow, k? Let’s buy it tomorrow.”

Fatherkao turned to me, and asked with a grin, “So… staycation, right? Cos’ tomorrow we’re coming back here to buy shoes.”

BUSTED.

Still, with the secret out, we managed to give him a really pleasant surprise by bringing him to the hotel room, getting him to walk in with his eyes closed, and having the loveliest raspberry and chocolate mousse cake ever together – oh, the decadence!

Despite my slip, it was still a big surprise for the big boy who blew out four big candles on his big four-o.

The secret’s out, you’re 40, happy birthday, my love!

———

More about our awesome birthday celebration and staycation at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport in Part 2 here, and why this staycation has set the standard for all the others to come.

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