Singapore March 2013 - Day 3

So day three was yet another day for the kids. We went to Sentosa Island for the Underwater World and Dolphin show and the Song of the Sea show at night.

The island itself was well developed and well maintained, with many entertainments to be enjoyed if not the beaches. The Underwater World and Dolphin show was as good as you could get here in Malaysia (lebih kurang sama dengan Underwater World Langkawi kot, Aquaria tu pun even up lagi sikit). May be because the place had been around for quite some times. Arrived at 4.15pm and the place closed at 6pm, we basically managed to cover everything that this attraction offered. Kira nak cakap tak besar sangat tempatnya dalam sejam setengah dah boleh cover tengok Dolphin show dan (berlari anak ke) Underwater World. With that price, I could say 70% berbaloi lah. The new underwater world thingy was actually the S.E.A, with a bit more expensive ticket price. I didn't do the homework about this place, but I think it's bigger.

Oh lupa. Separuh hari sebelum check out from Victoria Hotel, we went to Mustaffa Shopping Center. Alah, macam Mydin, with an attraction of cheap perfumes. Mungkin ada barang lain yang lebih murah, cuma kami tak sempat nak compare harga. Memang tak plan nak beli-belah sangat pon.

Checked out at 12pm, hired the same private van to Sentosa Island (he offered flat rate of SGD50 for anywhere in Singapore) and off we went to Sentosa Island.

Siloso Beach Resort was just 2 shuttle-stops away from the Song of The Sea show place. Round-round naik monorail kejap pergi Vivo Shopping Center, patah balik and our session was about to start. Monorail was free but you have to have some sort of pink pass to re-enter the monorail (after departing at Vivo Center). Else, you'll be charged for another entrance fee to Sentosa Island. Tak, kami tak pi singgah USS hatta bergambaq kat depan entrance pun. Tak berapa sempat.

Oh this show. This 40 mins show was highly recommended! I purchased the VIP tickets but frankly, tak de banyak beza. Except that if you arrived late, your seats were still guaranteed tengah-tengah, tak de lah kena duduk bucu tengok pon sipi-sipi, senget-senget je. Eirsa enjoyed the show sooooo much while Eivie.. Hmm.. Eivie was an-easily-distracted baby, enough said. Kejap tengok, kejap lompat, kejap nak baring, kejap nak cuddle, kejap nak susu, kejap nak pergi kat Opah, kejap nak patah balik ke mommy. Nasib baik masa tu tak berjalan lagi, kalau tak, confirm mengeliat menggelungsur dia nak turun main pasir.

Had dinner at a restaurant nearby, not superb but ok, headed back to our room for our final night in Singapore.

Some visual compilations :

Our daily ride. The system is reliable and very affordable. 

On the way to Mustafa Department Store. Budak-budak, tempat lapang dan menarik sikit pun boleh bikin happy.

Spending a night here for a rate of around RM420 (purchased via Asiatravel.com)

The Sentosa Island. Huruf-huruf SILOSO tu biasanya mercu tanda ambil gambar kegemaran ramai, tapi tengah repair le pulok.

Dolphin Show, boleh lah. Eirsa tonton secara on off. Lebih kepada aktiviti makan kentang goreng (literally).

Underwater World. Sebelum masuk tu ada fish feeding section.

The Song of The Sea. 80% of the show was constructed using light, water and fire. Persembahan manusia hanyalah pembukaannya sahaja.

End of Day 3.

Singapore March 2013 - Day 2

That morning of second day we had breakfast at McDonalds, approximately 300 meters from our hotel. 8.30 am was the earliest that we could achieve every morning, considering the little ones. Tak, sebenarnya mak pak mereka yang liat nak bangun penat baq hang!

Around 9.30 we walked back to the hotel, requested the receptionist to call for a cab that could take all of us straight to the Singapore Zoo. 10 minutes later a comfortable private Honda van fetched us with charge of SGD50 per trip. For the 6 + 2 of us, that's considered ok; comfortable, no transit hassle, 30-45 mins ride, yeah, it's convenient if you could spend a little more.

Singapore Zoo was a huge place to visit. 3-4 hours well spent there, also had our lunch at a halal KFC within its zoo compound. The place was well maintained but some areas were closed for renovation (small area). A lot of visitors of course since it was Sunday but it was not crowded (the place is huge, I promise).

Went back to hotel around 2-3pm, we took a shuttle bus from Zoo to the MRT, around 10-mins ride, and straight back to our hotel. Kids were asleep all the way back despite the transit. Traveling using public transportation was very cheap and reliable too.

Lepak hotel kejap hilangkan penat, then we walked to the famous Zamzam restaurant for tapau and later to Bugis Street. A great bargain for souvenirs at Bugis Street especially the Singapore tees. The covered street was crowded with people, we only spent 30 mins there for tees and some other souvenirs. There were still a lot to explore if you walked through every single row within the street. Crazy atelyu.

Walked all the way back to hotel (around 600-700 meters) and of course lah kepenatan lalu melepak di hotel sampai malam, afterall it was around 6.00 pm already.

Day two photos :

All refreshed, perut penuh and ready for day 2. Map reader pon dah ready (dalam stroller)

These are how we carried our kids. Two strollers would be just too macam-macam nak kena bawa. Eirsa walked most of the time but yeah, there were times beside that most of the time. Whenever Eirsa slept, she'll be occupying the stoller and Eivie will be passed around (semua pun nak dukung Eivie).

I also borrowed a carrier from a dear friend, we didn't buy our own considering Eivie doesn't like to be carried that way.  It's actually quite helpful to be having one, easier to move around too.

Half a day at Singapore Zoo (1)

Half a day at Singapore Zoo (2)

Half a day at Singapore Zoo (3)

Half a day at Singapore Zoo (4)

Bugis area and Bugis Street. Please go crazy there.

End of day two.

Singapore March 2013 - Trip Overview and Photos of Day 1

I know I know I know. Jadah apa dah berkurun baru nak cerita.

Well, browsing through the photos, it's such a waste if I don't post them here.

Nevertheless, the trip was great! Not my first time to Singapore but it as the first time for the rest of us. I bought the flight ticket almost 1 year before the trip, taking advantage of Air Asia RM0 fares.

Our trip to Singapore was such a customized trip due to some important criterias :

1) Chosen date : In March, to celebrate the girls's birthday. Seorang 2 haribulan, seorang 7 haribulan senang aku buat sekali jalan.

2) Transportation to Singapore : Other than the affordable offered price, with two young kids and thinking about 4-5 hours travelling if we chose land transportation, we settled down with air freight. Semua tak penat, 55 minit dalam flight and the airport transfers were not bad at all.

3) Accommodation :

This was the tricky part. Since we have younger kids, we didn't drive, didn't hire local transportation and will solely depend on the public transportation while we were there, I had to find a hotel that was close to the MRT (300 meters or less), close to any halal eateries and of course with price that was not more than RM400 per night. Hambik kau berpeluh dengar criteria. The search was not easy and rather lengthy. I had to sort out those near to any MRT first, then price, then reviews. But we managed to grab a good deal via Asiatravel.com and booked Victoria Hotel. It was around RM370 nett per night and it was indeed a  good choice. Room size was not much an option with our strict budget but this hotel was great. Very clean, small room but still enough space for solat and less than 200 meters to Bras Basah MRT. No breakfast but it's ok. (But from my survey recently, the price is now increased to not less than RM400 nett per night, amboi kekwat naaa..) There's a foodcourt nearby (it's a rule ins Singapore that every foodcourt must have at least 2 slots for halal food) and further walk towards Bugis are, you could find McDonalds (halal, don't worry).

We stayed at Victoria Hotel for 2 nights and at Siloso Beach Resort for 1 night. We didn't go to the USS since to have young kids, you might probably spend the ticket on melayan them rather than really enjoy the rides. From my survey Siloso Beach Resort offered the cheapest room rate per night in Sentosa Island. And this resort, other than being quite old, was a good place to stay too.

4) Place to visit : The plan was to make sure everyone had good time while in Singapore, especially the kids. We didn't plan for a shopping spree but rather jalan-jalan tengok tempat orang. Thus the 4D3N trip spent at the Singapore Zoo (besaq oih!), town trips like Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay (ground area only), Mustaffa Shopping Center (cheap perfumes), Bugis Street, Underwater World & Dolphin Show, Song of The Sea (recommended!) and jalan-jalan around Sentosa Island. Tu pun dah penat nak mamps. All tickets were pre-purchased only, to avoid long queue and of course for discounts.

5) Makan : Not to worry lah. Plenty of halal food available since a lot of fast food restaurants had acquired halal certificates. Nevertheless, Zamzam restaurant lines of foods are a must!

We will be going to Singapore (yes again) in Nov 2013. There are still a lot more to experience and my parents-in-law like the city so much. The public transportation is just highly dependable and efficient, the place is very clean and you'll just feel safe travelling in the country.

So here you go. Photos are a lot, I just picked and posted.

Bus ride to LCCT, cheaper.

Air Asia to Singapore. 55 minutes journey was not bad at all. The kids were cooperative (equipped with toys, books and snacks, of course) and we were so blessed to be having extra hands.

Changi Airport Singapore. Spacious, child-friendly, clean (of course) with modern interior.

Gambar keluarga adalah wajib. Walapun emaknya gemuk.

Since we purchased our rooms voucher from Asiatravel, we were eligible for a free one way airport transfer. But we had to wait for around 1 hour. 

Killing time while waiting for our free airport transfer. Eirsa played teacher while Eivie was doing her best - being a good sleepy girl.

Both down in the coaster which brought us to our hotel. It was a 20-mins ride with other family of 6.

Our hotel. Sorry, lupa langsung nak ambil gambar bilik.

Our hotel for Nov 2013 trip. Just right beside Victoria Hotel, a bit more expensive but with better deals, bigger room and breakfast.

A small foodcourt just right across the road. Boleh la buat makan breakfast dan lunch untuk orang yang baru sampai.

Ready for Singapore Flyers.

Inside the Singapore Flyers. The queue was acceptable.

View from inside on of the flyers.

On the way to Marina Bay. Yes, we walked from Singapore Flyers all the way to Marina Bay. Jalan ramai-ramai sambil makan ice-cream tak rasa sangat. jauhnya.

Bubbles right before the Wonder Full Light and Water Show. Both bubbles and show were free. 

So, it's a wrap. End of day 1. Penat hoi!

It's Just Temporary

There's nothing sinful about having to supplement your toddler's daily milk consumption with formula, when you really have to. That doesn't make you a bad mother at all. You are doing the necessity while still struggling in the battle of breastfeeding.

With the current milk supply I know sooner or later I would have to add small a session of formula milk feeding while Eivie's at the daycare. As I told you guys previously, my production nowadays had jatuh longkang; day in day out and I also had to deal with only half amount of hasil pumping during PMS, daily for a week.

I think supplementing Eivie this way relieves us both; no pressure for mommy and still enough total milk consumption for Eivie. 

I still hope for miracle to happen, thus direct night feeding and daily routine pumpings at office will still continue. InshaAllah I will ensure Eivie will enjoy the goodness of breastmilk until she's two (with or without formula).

Tantrum Doesn't Stop at Two Lah.

The Heart-Stealer Eivie, So Far

When I first held Eivie in my hands, she was crying for milk. Minutes later, she opened her eyes widely, made and eye contact with me and smiles. Yes, she smiled on her very first day! From then onward only God know how much I love this little person, and the feeling gets stronger daily. Eivie, without having to steal the same amount of love that I have for Eirsa, their papa and my own mother, creates a very special space in my heart.

Eivie had her first tooth when she was 8 months old; 3 months earlier than Eirsa, had her first steps at 1 year, 1 month and 3 weeks old, more or less the same like Eirsa, still enjoying breastfeeding at her own convenience and I still cook for her daily meal. But with Eirsa, I could and had to pump 16 oz of breastmilk per day for her daily consumption at daycare but for Eivie, she settles down with only 7 oz breastmilk while at her daycare. I could not pump as much as back then but alhamdulillah it's still sufficient for her.

Eivie is easier to take care of as compared to Eirsa. Perhaps we were new parents back when Eirsa was a baby but one of the obvious things was that Eivie was a night-sleeper while Eirsa was a day-sleeper. Only God knows how hard it was for me when I was in confinement 4 years ago and thus perhaps He made it easier for me when I had Eivie.

Eivie is now a hardworking beginner talker, she starts talking in some understandable words as early as 1 year old. Unlike Eirsa, her first proper words perhaps in the late second year of her life (even now she still could not construct a good complete sentence, perhaps due to our bi-language approach). She can pronounce some words like mumay (mommy), papa, atuk, tatak, ball, tutup, habis, beh (bird), nanak, mamam, nana (banana), tek (cat), pish (fish), beh (bear), yayak, hello, adoi, baby, dirty, jom, thank you and even airplane! (and some other words aku tak boleh ingat semua).

Eivie is such a sweetheart, I could just gomol her all day long (of course dia akan tolak muka aku dan meronta-ronta), despite she could sometimes be too clingy with me. Saja mengada. She eats well, she nenen well, but she's such a light-sleeper. Senang terjaga. When the time was not right (nak tumbuh gigi, hot season), she would wake up every hour due to discomfort. On good days (not always), she could sleep from 10pm until 3-4 am for milk. Normally she-ll have 2-3 feeding session at night. I don't know how do some babies could sleep through the night, the parent should not ask for more. Haha.

Dear 1 year and 3.5 months old Eivie, everyone loves you dearly, baby. Please don't grow up too soon.