After our semi-failed surprises as we strived to meet up in Singapore, we were finally all together and ready to have some fun in the sun…but, not before a doctor’s visit for little Brady. One of his eye was a bit swollen and red so we decided to get it checked out just in case. We were fortunate to get an appointment right away at the International Medical Clinic Children’s Department and the whole process was extremely quick, smooth, and efficient. The doctor checked Brady’s eye, prescribed some topical ointment for him, and then we were well our way.
We didn’t have specific plans for this trip, as it was meant to be very relaxed for our parents. A few things we really enjoyed included the art and interactive installation by teamLab (a part of the Art & Science Museum outside Marina Sands By), and ofcourse….the famous Gardens by the Bay!
This was my third trip to Singapore and still, I was excited to visit Gardens of the Bay again. This incredible nature park that spans 101 hectares along the central region of Singapore includes a Flower Dome, a Cloud Forest, horticultural themed gardens, a children’s playground, lily ponds, and my favorite– the Supertree Grove!
Because the line for the walkways on the Supertree Grove, we opted to skip it and went for the Cloud Forest Dome instead. The nearly 100 ft waterfall that greeted us when we entered was nearly as enchanting as the Rain Vortex at the Changi Airport. We loved walking through the misty and tropical forest, especially the special orchid exhibition that happened to take place at the time!
By the time we finished with the Cloud Dome, the sun was setting, so we got to see the Supertree Groves all lit up…and in my mom’s favorite color purple, no less! I could’ve stayed much longer to stare at those magical, fairytale-like trees, but Brady and my dad were starting to show signs of being “hangry”, so we hurried to the nearby Hawker Center, Satay by the Bay, to have dinner.
One new discovery on this Singapore trip was Haji Lane, a young and hip area filled with cool shops, eateries, and colorful murals. We took our time strolling through the various shops, and had the most delicious Horlick and Milo flavored ice creams at a place call Moosh!
My dad was so exhausted by mid-day that he took a taxi back to the apartment for his afternoon nap while the rest of us continued forward to Orchard Street, where we strolled around some more and indulged in a magnificent durian mochi for our afternoon snack!
We gave dad the address to the restaurant where we would have dinner together that evening, and instructed him to meet us there by 7pm. When we got to the restaurant, we realized it was located inside a relatively large mall with many different taxi stop entrances, so we started to worry that my dad would have trouble finding us. His phone didn’t work in Singapore so we didn’t have a way to locate him, or vice versa. My sister and I took turns just walking around the various taxi stands to see if he’d be waiting for us there. By 7:45pm there were still no signs of our dad and we started to panic just a bit. We went to the info desk and asked them to page him, in case he was wandering around the mall. No luck. By 8pm, we were getting concerned. As we continued to circle around the mall, we were on the third floor when we suddenly spotted our dad wandering on the ground floor! We called out to him but he didn’t seem to hear us. My sister ran down to the ground floor screaming for him so that we wouldn’t lose him again and it was almost a funny sight as I watched from above, because other patrons had no idea who this crazy woman was running and screaming.
We finally sat down for dinner shortly after 8pm! My dad told us that the taxi driver took him to a completely different mall across town. After he realized it, he was so upset about it that he didn’t want to pay another taxi fare to bring him over to the right mall, so he asked around for directions on how to take the metro. LOL! We enjoyed a late, but delicious dinner of Hainan Chicken at Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice and then headed back to our apartment to pack.
I left early in the morning for my flight to Hong Kong, and gave myself extra time to wander around my terminal at Changi, because there is definitely no shortage of interesting things to do at this airport. At my particular terminal, there was a butterfly garden, red roses exhibition (literally THOUSANDS of fresh red roses everywhere), and even a full movie theater!
If you need just ONE reason to go to Singapore, it’s Changi Airport!
