Gardens By the Bay

I visited Singapore's newest and much talked about Garden's by the Bay this week, on a Sunday, with child and husband, sporting a sore head after a few beverages the night before.... by rights it should have been a tough day at the office but actually we had a BALL!

Garden's By The Bay has reportedly cost the Singapore people a billion dollars to build.  It is billed as a post modern engineering feat with 50m Supertrees and two huge climate controlled glass domes housing an English rose garden, a multi-story tropical waterfall, interactive educational displays and EVERYTHING in between.  

I was reading that the Prime Minister announced the project back in 2005 during the National Day festivities of that year - exactly 7 years ago.  Can you imagine... "here on this re-claimed land, we will build 5 story steel trees and control the climate inside glass domes as big as an AFL footy fields..." perhaps a different sporting analogy was used??

An international competition to locate and appoint Master Designers was held the following year and two firms Grant Associates (UK) and Gustafson Porter (UK/US) were appointed.  I have some miss-givings about some of the design details.  Namely there are too many features which are not kiddie friendly.  A large number of laminate signs remind parents to keep children from climbing on various structures which look like grand opportunities for doing exactly that!   They probably could have considered the 'under ten' population a little more seriously in their design strategy!

BY DAY

Honestly - you gotta go all the way and pay!  If you are planning to just look around at the Super Trees and surrounding gardens it'll cost you nothing but I have three words for you... HOT HOT HOT!  Take the scooters, go early, give it a try, but I fear you will not last long!  It it not like the Botanical Gardens with grassy slops, lakes and shady lovelyness... it radiates heat!

If you bite the bullet and pay entry to the domes you will be greeted with that rare and refreshing burst of cool fresh air in one, and in the other a dry heat which reminded me instantly of South Australia where I grew up.

It'll cost you ($20 for Adults, 12 for kids >3) OR buy a seasons pass if you think you'll go often enough.

BY NIGHT

Watch this space... we have a night trip planned for this weekend... apparently there are evening light and music extravaganzas at 7:45 and 8:45 every evening....

GETTING THERE
MRT to Marina Bay or Bay Front MRT stations and follow the signs.
Taxi or Drive and Park closest to the Main Gate (recommended)
NOTE: I highly recommend parking there and not at the Marina Bay complex ... it's quite a walk if your park is far from the ECP walkbridge... trust me!

Have Fun Peeps!

London Olympics... REALLY?

Is it just me or is the lead-up to the 2012 Olympic Games a little more subdued than usual?  Perhaps it's just I'm older, less excitable about such things having now accepted that I will never be an olympian myself.... until of course 'pinning' becomes an Olympic sport, then I'm a chance!  Perhaps it's that I watch very little television.  Or perhaps it's because I live in Singapore and here we don't have quite the 'armchair sports' culture, as is the case in Australia....

In any case I've decided it's high time to get on the bandwagon... here is a little article from Inculture magazine on how to engage your kids in the Olympics and help them discover more about the world in the process.

The Summer Olympics: 10 Ways Families Can Discover the World


In Miss May's "I'm TWO" world, things are still pretty simple.  We will be watching Opening Ceremony Highlights DELAYED (I believe it will kick off at 4am here in Singapore). 


I thought we might try for a relay race or two with the other condo kids... I'll keep you posted!

Ya Ssou Ya'all!

This weekend in Singapore!

ACT3 International

Article

For those of you lucky enough to be bringing your kids up in a multi-lingual household here is a lovely article from the INCULTURE PARENT site by Jen Westmoreland Bouchard who is bringing her daughter up in an English/French home!

Bilingual Parenting: Five Strategies to Start Now

When I found out I was pregnant, one of my first thoughts was “I can’t wait to raise this child to speak French.” I am a native English speaker, and I’ve been a Francophile since I was a young girl. My love of the French language and Francophone cultures has largely shaped my career, my travel and my interests. 

Although I was committed to raising a bilingual child, I never actually thought about how to go about it, especially in the very young, preverbal stages... MORE

Article:

Article from the INCULTURE PARENT site...

Ten Reasons Why Parents Should Read Multicultural Books to Their Kids

I was in the children’s section of a big, chain bookstore last week. I ambled around browsing picture book covers and flipping through the ones that were colorful or artistic. At first, I didn’t notice anything strange—there were many books on vehicles and animals; there were the seasonal ones (spring and summer themed books) and the timeless classics like “Goodnight Moon” and “Where the Wild Things Are.” There were also bestsellers and new releases, which were mostly sequels to hits like the “Ladybug Girl” and “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” series. I love these books.

Then I turned around and saw a couple of Indian-Americans browsing books. A woman in a hijab, with a Starbucks in hand, watched her son play at the train table. I heard a distant chatter in, what I thought was, Mandarin. Yet none of the books on display mirrored this heterogeneity around me. I stood there and wished books for children were much more eclectic and flavorful. I wished more books had stories in which I saw someone like the woman at the train table. Most of all, I wished these books were mainstream—powerful, influential and easily accessible. Why? Given recent discussions around the New York Times article, “How to Read Racist Books to Kids,” it became even more important to me to analyze what it is that we’ve come to accept as mainstream in children’s literature today. What should our kids be reading instead? What are the big bookstores really missing?...   MORE

Shaving Cream Paint!!

The idea of painting inside gives many parents goosebumps but if you live in my part of the world it is simply too hot to paint outside while the sun is high.   Rather than have Miss May miss out altogether I have accumulated a couple of techniques to minimise the mess and ensure she gets her fair share of childhood painting opportunities.  One of these is.... SHAVING CREAM PAINT... give it a go!


Don't get me wrong it is still messy but it is just a little less terrifying than poster paint!!  Basically you just drip a teaspoon or so of paint into a cup filled with shaving foam and mix it up.   We use either crayola washable paints or childrens watercolour paint, both off which wash off (child and floor) with no problems.  


The beauty of this paint is it's sticky so it does not drip or fly across the room with sudden movement.  It is also really easy to clean up once you are done AND you will use much less paint.  

On the down side your kids will smell like a mens locker room!

Singapore's Fire Stations!

Visit any number of Singapore's Fire Station's of a Saturday morning and treat your kids to the sights and sounds of a real live Fire Brigade!

This is an activity we have been meaning to do for a while but one thing or another got in the way until last Saturday.  It is quite exciting for little boys in particular, but I have to say our soon to be two year old daughter was in her element too.  Overmore, all Daddy's I saw were getting a real kick out of it, and just quietly some of the firemen are... lets say 'easy on the eye'....  making it a fun family day out with something for everyone!

The Central Fire Station is on the Corner of Hill Street and Coleman Street and is probably the most obvious choice for those new to this activity.  They are very organised and several guides are on hand to give visitors a little bit of context and help them better understand the workings of the Station and the Brigade.  I noticed our Guide was working very hard to recruit for the Brigade but there were unfortunately no takers from the assortment of parents, grandparents and children in our batch.. better luck next week uncle!

I can't speak for the other stations but the central station really is a stereo typical Fire Station.  Complete with huge oversized red doors and 3 storey polls for firemen to slide quickly to their truck in the case of a fire!  It provided for some awesome family photographs and memorable moments.  Hands down, our favourite moment was watching the firemen demonstrate the time honoured art of 'poll sliding'.  Without giving too much away it seems Singapore's Firemen have developed a special sliding technique!

The kids are also able to try their hand at high pressure water guns and climb around inside the fire trucks and emergency vehicles.  I stand to be corrected but were this Australia I'm pretty sure there would be loads of supervision and clearly marked 'no-go' zones... fabulously in Singapore it was pretty much free reign for the kids to explore.... hats off to the Singapore Fire Brigade for being relaxed and welcoming!









Getting there
Take the bus - there are LOADS of buses which will drop you right outside (Hill Street) ... too many for me to name.
The City Hall MRT is within easy walking distance.  Exit on North Bridge Road and follow it north to Coleman street.  Turn Right... easy!
Parking is available in the area (there are several parking lots on Hill street)

Remember
Saturday MORNINGs only.  The Stations are open from 9am til about 11am so don't leave your run too late.

Make a day of it!
Our plan next time is to take a picnic breakfast to the Fort Canning Park and head to the station thereafter.
OR if you are done with the station and rearing for more - check out the nearby Singapore Philatelic Museum (I'll save you googling... STAMPS!).  Stamps are not my bag but I'm told it is a really great set up and kids LOVE it.  Another day another post... stay tuned!