Cheekiemonkies: Triple the fun. Triple the Trouble.

Chingay 2012: Sprinkle Splash Splosh

2012-01-27T09:00:00.000+08:00

(Daddy previews)

Chingay.

Just one word to conjure up colourful images of festivity & conviviality.

When I was a little boy, my parents used to bring me and my sister to brave the crowds along Orchard Road to catch a glimpse of those magnificent floats and performances. How I vividly remember those times, especially as I remained perched on my dad's shoulders. Until I ballooned in size during my later years that is.

Being Chingay's 40th anniversary this year, Chingay 2012 celebrates love in all its guises, flowing with passion, romance, harmony and community spirit, with the theme of "Love, Care and Kindness Everywhere".

I was kindly invited to its media conference and full dress rehearsal about 2 weeks back, and it was really an eye-opener to see how everything is put together.

Since this year is the Year of the Water Dragon, it is fitting that the whole Chingay parade takes place ON water. Yup, a 360-metres waterway has been specially constructed behind the F1 Pit Building where performers will literally make a splash with their performances.

As everyone waited for nightfall, the whole area was gradually transformed into an illuminating and magical platform right before my eyes.

And that was the perfect cue for the parade to get underway!

The grand opening segment features a whole array of - what else - dragons; from a LED Hip Hop dragon dance, straw dragons, water dragons, a human dragon from Zhangjiang, a dazzling dragon float to two magnificent dragon and phoenix from Xi'an, Shaanxi of China with 36m-long bodies and 16m-wing!

Coupled with the enthusiastic participation of the performers, it was truly a spectacle of colours, lights and sounds.

International cultures were also displayed in their fullest vibrancy, with various performances and floats from China, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia and even Egypt!

One particular segment was the showcase of Chinese Culture featuring "踏歌" (Ta Ge) - a Chinese Classical Dance of Han Dynasty accompanied by a towering float.

The grandeur of the floats were replicated in the other culture segments too, with each being a performance in its own right.

2 float representatives from the NUS Rag Day (an annual float competition) even took part in the parade, with one coming from the Kent Ridge Hall & Sheares Hall while the other was a joint effort from Eusoff & Temasek Halls.

To me, these floats are the highlights as I used to have a hand in constructing this kind of floats every year during my NUS days. The floats are entirely made up of recycled materials, like newspapers, tetra paks, drink cans, etc, so it is a really Herculean task to construct one of these.

The next half of the show shifts its focus to the Community, featuring a multitude of dance forms from line dancing, folk dancing, Samba dancing to a synchronized symphony of 600 'dikir barat' singers and dancers and a tai chi fan dance, and even spectacular bicycle stunts on water.

Oh, and a point to note - be prepared to get REALLY WET if you are seated among the first few rows. The performers really know how to make full use of the water!

Barring the inevitable hiccups (since it was only a rehearsal), Chingay 2012 looks set to be a truly splashing good time for all! And I think Andy (of sengkangbabies) will attest to that too.

There are 2 parade shows on 3 and 4 Feb, but tickets are already sold out for the 4 Feb show. Limited tickets are still available for the 3 Feb one, so do hurry if you want to catch the the parade! You can purchase the tickets via Sistic HERE.

Venue: F1 Pit Building
Dates: 3 & 4 Feb 2012 (4 Feb SOLD OUT)
Time: 8.30pm
For prices & location, please click here: http://www.chingay.org.sg/2012/ticketing.asp
For more information on Chingay 2012, visit here: http://www.chingay.org.sg/

Our CNY visits

2012-01-25T21:54:00.001+08:00

Chinese New Year for us monkies, has always been revolving the same house-visiting routine ever since I was born. At least for the first 2 days of the new year. But that's not to say we are bored with all the house visiting - in fact, I feel it's kind of fun to visit so many different relatives' homes in one day (and to collect so many ang pows too!).

Our first day of the Chinese New Year usually kicks off with a family portrait at our own place.

And this usually means loads of goofing around for the camera too!

We then make our first stop of the day - at Ma-ma's & Ye-ye's house - for some traditional Cantonese dishes that Ma-ma whips up every CNY.

This is then followed by an also very important tradition too, whereby we monkies serve tea to our elders, aka Ma-ma & Ye-ye.

And this year, mei-mei can join in our routine as well... erm, only problem was... she was the one who wanted to drink the tea! Adoi!

And like almost all families, we would have our annual family photo taken as well. :)

Then, it's off to Kong-kong's & Por-por's house to wish them a very prosperous Chinese New Year!

We usually gorge ourselves silly again there, and continue to do so at both of our Tai-Pors' (Daddy's and Mummy's grandmothers) house next.

We monkies look forward to this part of the day, because it's the only time where we get to play with our food - just like the adults!

It's yusheng (or some kind of Chinese salad with raw fish), where we can literally throw our food high up into the air. Not only that, we are permitted to shout as loud as we want to! The adults usually go 'HUAT ARH!', but di-di & I just want to compete to see who can toss the ingredients highest. Hee hee.

The adults believe the higher the yusheng is tossed, the more luck one would have. As for mei-mei, the only thing she wants more is CNY goodies!

See what I mean?

And if the gorging during our first day of the CNY is excessive, I think the second day isn't any better. :P

The second day consists of visits to our various uncles' and aunties' homes and yup, we still had to begin the day with a photoshoot at our home.

Only this time, di-di & I grew tired of the typical smiling-for-the-camera shots.

So we tried something different.

Smart hor? Like that we didn't have to smile for the camera at all. Wahahaha...

Then it was off to our proper 拜年. And even mei-mei had her own bag for mandarin oranges!

So it was hello to yet more rounds of feasting... for the adults (and mei-mei). For us boys, there will usually be the computer, TV or iPhone at the respective homes to keep us company as the adults went about their merry-making. :P

The only problem? We would have to wake up early for school the next day, while Daddy & Mummy have to go back to work. Uh-oh.

Oh well. At least we can be sure there'll be more visiting come this weekend!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

2012-01-23T22:44:00.003+08:00

It's the first day of the Chinese New Year today!

And boy, are we in super high spirits.

Here's wishing all our dear readers, friends and family an abundance of health, wealth and happiness this Chinese New Year!

Simply put, 龙众 huat ah!

Legoland Malaysia - can't wait!

2012-01-22T12:18:00.000+08:00

(Daddy previews)

One upcoming project that has both my older monkies really excited is the Legoland Theme Park in Malaysia. Okay, I admit - I am equally as excited as them, if not more. And considering Legoland Malaysia will only be an approximately 30 minutes drive away from Tuas checkpoint, I forsee it will be a frequent family outing destination for us. :)

A few days ago, I was privileged to be invited to a media luncheon hosted by Legoland Malaysia and Thistle Hotel JB. Both parties announced a possible collaboration, as well as took the opportunity to unveil a Legoland Malaysia Dragon mascot called 'Ollie the Dragon'.

Ollie was constructed entirely out of approximately 10,000 Lego bricks, and what better way to welcome the Chinese New Year with a Lego Dragon!

Mr. Siegfried Boerst, General Manager of Legoland Malaysia, was on hand to field questions from the media regarding the ongoing construction of the theme park.

As of December 2011, the park is 40% completed and scheduled to open in the last quarter of 2012. Ooh, the anticipation factor just went up a notch!

And the anticipation factor multiplied considerably after having a sneak peek at the Legoland Malaysia construction site.

Here's a look at the upcoming Lego TECHNIC Test Track ride!

The park is divided up into seven themed areas. Each theme area is designed to ensure that visitors of all ages will find much to explore and enjoy themselves silly at the LEGO® experiment centres. It is 76 acres of fun and adventure - packed with more than 40 rides, shows and attractions. Nearly all of the rides are hands-on, so you can push, pull, pedal, program, steer, squirt, splash, crawl, climb and yes – build your way through a full day of non-stop fun.

Click on the park map below to find out more!

And right now, if you purchase an annual pass to LEGOLAND® Malaysia, you'll enjoy unlimited entry on all regular opening days up to 3 months in year 2012 and the entire year 2013! What's more, it's on sale at a promotional price!

PROMOTIONAL PRICE (for a limited time only)

Adult : RM195 (R.P. RM275)
Children (age 3-11) : RM150 (RM210)
*Ticket prices exclude a RM3 ticket fee.

Considering the fact that a One-Day ticket costs RM140 for an Adult and RM110 for a Child, I say it's a really good deal!

Click here: http://www.legoland.com.my/News/Annual-Pass/ for more information and FAQs, and buy your tickets online at http://www.airasiaredtix.com/Events/Legoland/.

We definitely will be buying ours!!! :D

P1 Musings

2012-01-20T23:00:00.000+08:00

(Daddy blogs)

It has been about 3 weeks of primary schooling life for Ash now, but it seems like he has been at it for 3 years. And I mean that in a good way. He has adapted fantastically to his new routine, sometimes even waking up in the morning before the alarm starts its nuisance routine.

Just the other day, I asked him what is his favourite period in school:

Me: Is your favourite period Maths?
Ash: Nope.
Me: Oh, I know... P.E.!
Ash: No, it's RECESS!!!

Riiiight.

He makes sure he eats his food real fast during Recess so that he still has enough time to go to the Playground or Library after that.

Just like me last time.

Chinese New Year Activities for Kids

2012-01-19T13:07:00.000+08:00

(Daddy compiles)

Anyone feel that this year's Chinese New Year is approaching way too early? I mean, the Christmas dinners have only just been digested, the New Year fireworks have just died down and now we are in a celebratory mood again??? Our poor tummies, or mine at least, need some rest from all those festive food! Heh.

And to usher in the Year of the Dragon, besides the usual fare of house-to-house visiting (and gorging), here are a list of activities that might just light up those eyes of the little ones.

1. River Hongbao 2012

This, of course, should be familiar to almost everyone as this yearly affair returns to the Marina Bay every Chinese New Year. Experience a traditional Chinese festival with its display of colorful fireworks and gigantic lanterns. Visitors will also get to enjoy cultural performances, delicacies and handicrafts from Guangxi, China.

Venue: The Float @ Marina Bay
Dates: 21 - 29 Jan 2012
Time: 12pm - 11.30pm daily (*22 Jan: 12pm - 1am with CNY Countdown)
Admission is free.
For more information, visit here: http://www.riverhongbao.sg/

2. Sentosa Flowers 2012

Sentosa Flowers is the most celebrated flower festival during the Chinese New Year. This year, Sentosa is transformed into an enchanting flower extravaganza, and unfolds the story of 3 playful kids as they venture out to discover the beauty of spring! Join them in the journey to usher in the Year of the Dragon. Celebrate spring with thematic photo points like Dragon Gate, Dinoland, Sweet Love and more.

*Go on an Enchanted Spring Guided Tour to discover stories behind the floral wonderland. It's FREE! Details as below:
Dates: 23 - 29 Jan 2012
Times: 12.10pm, 1.10pm, 2.10pm and 4.10pm
(Pre-registration at Sentosa Flowers Information Counter required, and is on a first-come-first-serve basis.)

Venue: Merlion Plaza & Imbiah Lookout
Dates: 22 - 29 Jan 2012
Time: 10am - 10pm daily
Admission is free. Island admission and transportation charges apply.
For more information, visit here: http://flowers.sentosa.com.sg/

3. Chinese Acrobatic Acts @ Downtown East

Catch a series of spectacular Chinese Acrobatic Acts - Adagio (双人力量表演), Flaming Candle Balancing Act (蜡烛平衡表演) and 4-men Balancing Act (四人技巧) - and soak in the rich Chinese culture.

Venue: Event Square, Downtown East
Dates: 23 Jan - 6 Feb 2012
Time: 7pm daily
Admission is free.

4. CNY Open House at Singapore Art Museum

Celebrate Chinese New Year at SAM with free activities and film screenings for all to enjoy! Create your own dragon mask and learn more about how the Dragon came in fifth in the zodiac race, also discover more about Chinese ink painting with artist Kiat Sing. Try your hand at decorating a giant red packet to keep all your red packets and pose for pictures dressed in festive costumes.

Venue: Singapore Art Museum and SAM at 8Q
Dates: 24 Jan 2012
Time: 10am - 7pm (Activities from 11am - 6pm)
Admission is free.

5. Huayi - Chinese Festival of Arts

Celebrate the Chinese New Year at the Esplanade as Huayi brings you a host of free programmes over 10 days. Enjoy Chinese traditional arts, Chinese instrumental and choral music, evergreen hits, outdoor movies, performances by talented local singers and ensembles, as well as sing-along sessions!

For a detailed listing of all free programmes, visit here: http://www.huayifestival.com/2012/free.html

*Free Workshop - Chinese New Year Bean Art
Get creative with beans this Chinese New Year! Create your own masterpiece using beans and basic art materials. (Conducted in English. Recommended for children aged 4 and above, as well as the young-at-heart. Children below 7 should be accompanied by parent(s).)

Dates: 29 Jan, 4 & 5 Feb, Sun, Sat & Sun
Timings: 11.30am – 1pm; 1.30pm – 3pm; 3.30pm – 5pm; 5.30pm – 7pm (Sat only)
Venue: Esplanade Concourse

There are 2 ticketed theatre shows for the children as well - The Baby Panda and Mulan: The Legendary Heroine.

Venue: Various locations at The Esplanade
Dates: 27 Jan - 5 Feb 2012
Time: Various timings

6. Eco-friendly Dragon Workshop @ City Square Mall

Kids will enjoy a fun session of creating eco-friendly dragons, using recycled materials such as used magazines and more!

Venue: Atrium, City Square Mall
Dates: 7 - 29 Jan 2012 (Sat & Sun only)
Time: 2pm & 4pm
Admission is free.

7. Chingay 2012

Centered on the theme of "Love, Care and Kindness Everywhere" Chingay 2012 takes you on a colourful celebration of love in all its guises, flowing with passion, romance, harmony and community spirit as Chingay marks its 40th anniversary.

And this year, Chingay literally performs on water! All the acts are performed along a 360-metres waterway with performers making a splash and creating spectacular stunts and exhilarating acts with water.

I was invited for a media preview of its full dress rehearsal last Saturday, and will blog about it soon. But first, here are some of the details:

Venue: F1 Pit Building
Dates: 3 & 4 Feb 2012 (2 parade shows)
Time: 8.30pm
For prices and purchase of tickets, please click HERE.
For more information on Chingay 2012, visit here: http://www.chingay.org.sg/

Bak Kwa DIY

2012-01-17T08:30:00.000+08:00

(Daddy cooks)

Bak kwa, or roasted sweetened pork, is one of the food 'commodity' that never fails to command escalating prices as well as snaking long queues whenever Chinese New Year comes around. For me, I find it perplexing that of ALL the months in a calendar year, people can still choose to purchase this delicacy at the most expensive time of the year.

Did you know that bak kwa originated from the Fujian province in Ancient China? Back then, people were not that well-off and preserved whatever leftover meat that they had by marinating them with sugar and spices, and then slicing them thinly to save for another day.

Sounds like an educational opportunity right there!

So over the weekend, I decided to let the monkies try their hand at making their very own bak kwa! Considering that both of them love chewing the roasted sweet meat, I wasn't surprised at all when they jumped at the chance to flex their culinary muscles, if any.

Of course, it smacks of good financial sense too right? Heh.

And so with all our ingredients set, we were all ready to ~~mess up their Por-por's kitchen~~ toast some meat!

Ingredients-wise, they were readily available and simple enough. What we needed were the following:

1. 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
2. 1/2 tablespoon of light soy sauce
3. 1/2 tablespoon of oyster sauce
4. 1/2 tablespoon of rice wine
5. 75g of sugar
6. 250g of minced pork

Mix all of the sauces & sugar together in a large bowl until the sugar dissolves.

Then add in the minced pork and continue to mix with gusto!

And in order to obtain the auspicious red bak kwa colour, we added one drop of red food colouring.

The monkies then continued to marinate it well by kneading the minced meat with our fingers - in a hygenic way of course! Heh.

Thereafter, it was a real test of the monkies' patience as we had to set aside the marinated meat for at least 2 hours. For best results, you can leave it overnight in the fridge.

The 2 hours felt like an eternity. At least TO ME, thanks to their constant nagging to check whether it was time to pop the meat into the oven.

Finally, the monkies had the chance to flatten the minced meat using a rolling pin.

We originally used the rolling pin to spread the minced pork onto the baking tray, so as to make it easier for the boys to spread the meat more evenly.

You can actually just use a spoon to spread the meat over the tray. Just ensure that the thickness of the meat isn't more than 0.5cm, and to wrap the tray with aluminium foil beforehand.

The hard work was all done! And we were just left to put the tray into the oven, set to GRILL at 150C for one hour.

After half an hour, we took out the tray and cut the meat into smaller rectangles. We then flipped them over, and put the tray back into the oven.

Another half an hour, and we were done!

Look who couldn't wait to try the piping hot bak kwa... Heh.

And the all important taste test?

Amazingly, it really tasted really close to the real thing! The one thing that was sorely lacking was the 'smokiness' taste. But this is expected since we didn't use a charcoal grill to roast the meat.

But compared to the ones bought at stores, this is definitely a healthier and fuss-free option!

Total cost price? Approximately S$3.50 for 250g of meat. That's only S$14 per kilo!

And the returns? Limitless fun for the boys as they got to learn how to make bak kwa on their own. :)

So... Watch out, all you Lim's, Chee's and Guan's out there... it may be our very first attempt but with just a little tweak here and there, our cheekiemonkies bak kwa may one day rival yours! Hahaha.

Just so as not to miss Ale out, here's a picture of her - savouring her 2 brothers' culinary effort.

And she wanted MORE after one tiny piece.

I think we got a winner here. :P

Hello again, West Coast Park!

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000+08:00

It has been quite a while since Daddy & Mummy last brought us monkies to West Coast Park for a dose of adventurous fun. Far too LONG in fact.

So when Daddy sought suggestions from di-di & me for places we would love to go on a sunny Saturday morning, West Coast Park was a no-brainer!

The last time when we were there, we zoomed right towards the Adventure Play Area. This time wasn't any different.

Di-di & I love the this giant spiderweb-like climbing structure to bits! Especially since there were the 2 slides at the top of the pyramid to entice us to reach the apex in the quickest time possible.

I decided to go try something new - the Flying Fox!

It was definitely something thrilling and scream-inducing... erm, 'cos you would have to see who was the one dragging me along the line. It was Daddy in case you were wondering. Heh.

Di-di, on the other hand, was rather content to keep scurrying up the pyramid structure and sliding down.

And up he went again. I think he must have gone up and down at least 5 times! Considering he was all jittery and unsure when he first attempted it less than a year back, I must say he has done superbly well! :)

As for mei-mei, she has the toddler playground to keep her occupied.

Okay, you can't tell from the photo above. But contrary from what her expression depicted, she was having loads of fun in the fire engine structure.

In fact, she was hogging the steering wheel the WHOLE TIME! :P

So when Daddy tried to peel her away, erm... it wasn't exactly such a good idea.

If you think only adults suffer from road rage, think again.

Yup, she was extremely possessive about her yellow steering wheel. Hee hee.

I wasn't that stupid to go disturb the diva, so I decided to go try something new instead.

It's a big wheel which is able to rotate 360 degrees - much like a hamster wheel.

And I was supposed to lie within the circle, lock my knees while Daddy attempted to spin the wheel. Obviously, I expected to be spun upside down... only thing was, I was afraid that I would fall down! :P

But I was still (apprehensively) game for it!

So with my eyes closed, away I spun!

My verdict? I think my face said it all.

HAHAHA... it was fun! I lost count of the number of times I asked Daddy to spin me actually. Heh.

In fact, di-di also had a go at it after seeing how dizzying fun I was having!

And when it was time to leave, we were all reluctant once again. At least this time, Daddy & Mummy promised to bring us back soon!

Cheekiemonkies on Jan 2012 issue of Mother & Baby

2012-01-13T09:31:00.001+08:00

(Daddy blogs)

I've been wanting to share this since last month but kept putting it off due to other postings... and eventually I forgot all about it. Until Daddies Andy & Kelvin blogged about it too. Heh.

We appear in this month's issue of Mother & Baby under a Fatherhood column, where I was asked what kind of books do we read to our monkies.

Flip to Page 85 for to see what some other daddies have to say too!

Read Andy's blog at http://sengkangbabies.blogspot.com and (the other) Kelvin Ang at http://daddy.nivlek.per.sg.

2011 in review

2012-01-10T14:00:00.000+08:00

(Daddy reviews)

We are already one-third through January in the brand new year of 2012, and we thought it would be nice for us to look back at some of the highlights in 2011 and look forward to the new year ahead.

2011, was in many ways, a very busy and fun year for all of my monkies. It was the year whereby the monkies had lots of chances to explore various interesting events and items.

In January, Ash celebrated his 6th Birthday and it marked the start of the countdown to his Primary school-going life. Oh, and we made matching tees and romper for our 3 cheekiemonkies.

In February, the commercial we filmed for Crocs back in 2010 was finally given the go-ahead and we were able to share it on our blog. The boys had a marvelous time during the filming process, more so since they were able to keep the remote-controlled helicopter after the shoot!

In March, the 2 boys were featured in NLB's Serangoon Public Library brochure for its opening at NEX Shopping Mall. We too ventured to Sunway Lagoon with their buddies during the week-long March school holidays!

In April, we found 2 new places to put our skate scooters to good use - the Punggol Promenade AND the Sentosa Boardwalk. Perfect places for the family, if you ask us!

In May, the monkies found a new love in Lotus Desaru where they were absolutely enamored of the waterpark within the resort. And we made sure the boys kept fit by taking part in the Cold Storage Kids Run too. Heh.

In June, Ash was invited by the Peranakan Museum for a Cooking Capers Workshop where he tried his hands at concocting a spice-infused lime juice, cold tofu salad & ang ku kueh. We made a last minute decision to travel to KL for a short break and met up with a few superheroes (and villains) in the process.

In July, we were invited to the official media launch of Disney Junior (Asia) at Sentosa and boy, did the boys had a blast there!

Oh, and we had one of our most memorable holidays (read: basically doing nothing) at Cebu. The boys obviously enjoyed themselves, but Ale was also very much taken in by the beautiful beach.

In August, the boys had a go at the JD Bug Training Bike in a bid to learn to ride a bicycle, which was given to us by the folks at Baby a2z Pte Ltd. Progress to date? I think Ash will be able to do it soon, while Ayd still needs more balance.

Ayd celebrated his 5th Birthday too, and we threw an Angry Birds Party for him! And our King Piggy was even picked up and featured on Parentmap.com, a US-based parenting website. I, too was kept busy in August as I was kindly requested by Tourism New South Wales to pen a short write-up about our Sydney trip in 2010.

In September, we did 2 advertorials for HoneyIsGood.com and Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream Mooncakes and the boys tried their hands at constructing their very own kites at the Kite Festival. Also, we collected yet another medal for our run at the Dads For Life Father & Child Challenge.

In October, Ale turned ONE year old! And yes, the wifey finally had the chance to fully strategise and roll out a girly-themed party.

In November, it was a particularly important moment when Ash had his Kindergarten graduation to signify the passage into primary school life. The monkies were also invited to the Common Spaces @ Science Centre play installation to try out the various hands-on activities.

And since it was the start of the year-end school holidays, I challenged myself to come out with a list of 100 holiday activities that I could indulge the monkies with before 2012 came rolling by.

In December, it was by far the busiest, wildest and most fun month for our family ever! We kicked off the month by burning some calories at the Standard Chartered Kids Dash, and then piled all back while in Hong Kong with our good friends & kids.

Then our blog was selected to be one of the 5 Official Bloggers for the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012, and this gave lots of opportunities for the boys & I to be involved in some of the most interesting events leading up to the Countdown, like the collection of wishes for the Wishing Spheres at the Ang Mo Kio Family Service Centre and the experience of going round Marina Bay in a boat to see the Spheres really close.

And since it was the Christmas festive month, we were also invited to the Looney Tunes Christmas Show at Suntec and the Jewel Box Hilltop Celebrations.

Lastly, on New Year's Eve, Ayd & I had the most awesome Countdown at Marina Bay!

And that marked a beautiful end to our fun-filled year in 2011. We will definitely be very much looking forward to 2012! Thank you, dear readers, for being a very special part of our journey!

Ash's Birthday Celebrations

2012-01-09T14:47:00.000+08:00

I have been coping rather well since school started last week. More so since I turned 7 years old on the first day of school... cannot lose face right? Heh.

For my Birthday treat, Daddy & Mummy brought me for some yummy xiaolongbao since that was one of my favourite foods. Did you know? The most di-di & I ever walloped in a single seating was 8 each! :p

So it wasn't any surprise that after our heavy meal, all of us were too full to smile for the camera. Except for mei-mei of course.

But making monkie faces for the camera... that we still can do! :D

On my actual Birthday, we had the usual routine of going to Swensens to claim my free Birthday sundae!

Yup, I had to put on my most exaggerated candle-snuffing pose. Ever.

And my Birthday loot? I had tons of fun fixing up my Kre-O Transformers and Lego's Hero Factory figurines!

What say we do a post-Birthday celebration next month? Hahaha...

Ash's first week in P1

2012-01-08T06:18:00.004+08:00

(Daddy recalls)

Time really flies, especially when one least expects it to. It really seemed not too long ago that Ash first trotted into N1 four years ago with his face streaked with tears. At that time, he was still the tiny toddler who looked especially cute with his tiny bag all ready for school.

Now, he has all grown up.

The first day of P1 was also his 7th Birthday, so it was definitely a momentous day for him. For me, it was just as momentous because the last time I woke up at the ungodly time of 5.30am, it was for... see, it was that long ago.

As tough as it was for the wifey & me to peel ourselves away from the bed, I guess it was even more difficult for Ash to get used to such a routine. But after 4 days of school, I have to say he has been adapting to it pretty well. And without coffee too.

As we trekked into the school compound on Day 1, Ash gripped onto my hand more tightly than before. Or was it the other way around? I couldn't help but worry about the most mundane of things - Would he be lost in school? Would he be able to buy his own food during recess time? Would he be able to walk steadily with his over-sized schoolbag?

Gosh, this was harder than what I had anticipated to it to be.

But letting go was precisely what I needed to do. And to the school's credit, it has a buddy system in place where the Primary 4 children are assigned to be buddies of these group of Primary 1 fresh-lings for the first 2 weeks of school. So as we left Ash with his classmates at Assembly time, it was relatively fuss-free when we bade him farewell.

Come recess time, the wifey and I were 20 minutes early at the designated waiting area where Ash would meet us briefly after he had his food. 15 minutes into recess time and there was still no sign of him. We were speculating if he was trying his best to spend his entire pocket money fortune.

10 minutes to the end of recess, he finally appeared. He explained he wanted to have his fave food, chicken rice, and the queue was very long. Maybe the stall had some makansutra award or something.

Parents were allowed to meet briefly with their kids during recess time for the first 3 days of school. But we didn't need all 3 days.

Ash spoke to us for less than 5 minutes during our recess meeting on the second day before asking if he could join his friends at the playground. That's a a sure sign that he is adapting to school really well if you ask me! And so, we reckoned he wouldn't need us to be around for the third day.

By the end of the fourth day of school, we can see that he was coping rather well in his new routine. We spoke to his Form Teacher, and she informed us that Ash has been tasked to look out for a special needs girl in his class as the Teacher has found him to be responsible and up to the task. I guess his bossiness trait has finally found a use. Haha. But frankly, I am immensely proud of him! :)

This may just be the beginning, but I'm pleased that everything has turned out pretty alright so far. Except for the 5.30am wake-up time that is. *grumble*

First Week of 2012

2012-01-06T23:03:00.003+08:00

What a physically and mentally exhausting start to the new year. But of course, it is still all exciting at the same time.

This week, I went to Primary One, di-di is in his final year of Kindergarten and mei-mei...

Erm... well, mei-mei is still oblivious to everything I guess.

But she's definitely cuter now.

I rest my case.

Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012 Photography Competition

2012-01-04T17:21:00.000+08:00

If you had been to the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown last weekend, chances are you must have had a blast! Just like us. :)

And chances are, you may have snapped some really beautiful photos and frozen those 'special moments' in time.

So why not share it with everyone, and stand a chance to a top prize worth $1,800 in the process?

That's right, the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown Photography Competition is BACK this year and all you have to do is capture an image that is based on the theme "Special Moments".

The images should be framed around the theme of "Special Moments" and can include but are not limited to:
- Spectacular new skyline
- Wising spheres installation and display
- Fireworks display
- People and festivities around Marina Bay Waterfront on New Year's Eve
- People penning wishing sphere at Wishing stations

And these are the prizes that could you could win!

But DO hurry!!! Because the competition ENDS on 6th January 2012 (FRIDAY) at 2355 hrs.

To participate, visit the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012 Photography Competition website now!

Good Luck!

Happy Birthday, dear Ash!

2012-01-03T18:21:00.002+08:00

(Daddy writes)

Ash turns 7 today and goodness, I didn't think time would pass this fast at all. Suddenly, my eldest child is of primary school going age and he is not a toddler anymore.

On New Year's Day, we had a small celebration with some of Ash's closest buddies - complete with a BBQ and of course, his Birthday cake.

His cake came with 3 Skylanders, which is the current fave Wii game for him and Ayd by the way. And so yes, he was absolutely thrilled with his cake. :)

Just seeing the delight in our child's eyes always makes everything seem worth it, doesn't it?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASH! May you always be the happy, healthy and helpful boy that you always have been! Daddy and Mummy love you so very much!

On top of being Ash's 7th Birthday, today also marks another momentous milestone in his life - his first day at Primary One.

I'll blog about his entry into the exams-laden world at a later post, but let me just say that he came through the first day relatively fuss-free. He performed much much better than I expected. Really. So naturally, I'm beaming with pride. Heh.

Well done, Ash! :)

The Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012 Experience

2012-01-02T08:17:00.001+08:00

(Daddy countdowns)

On the last day of 2011, Ayd awoke in the morning with a tremendous sense of excitement. All because he knew he was going to catch the Fireworks at the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown later that night.

It wasn't supposed to be him though. I originally wanted to Ash to tag along with me, but he passed up on the offer. And so, Ayd jumped at the chance to be one half of the Partying Duo!

With both of us duly rested in the afternoon, we arrived at the Marina Bay area slightly just before 8pm. Yup, that was a FULL 4 hours before the Fireworks light up the sky.

But this crowd obviously didn't the mind the wait one bit.

As an Official Blogger for the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012, I was assigned to the Esplanade area to soak in the Countdown celebrations atmosphere and also to mingle with the festive crowd.

Luckily, there were quite a number of fringe activities like the concert performance and video screening at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre to keep everyone, including my Ayd, occupied.

After warming our rears for quite a fair bit, we then decided to take a leisurely stroll along the Esplanade Waterfront... which was still relatively fuss-free and easy to maneuver.

Which I don't think it will stay that way as the clock edged towards midnight.

All along the Bay, people had been camping since... goodness know what time??? They were armed with tripods, picnic mats, food, music and lots of high spirits. And one thing was for certain - the captivating night scene at the Marina Bay was the star attraction.

And it has no short of admirers, that was for sure.

All the walk had made Ayd & me hungry, so we trotted into the Esplanade for some dessert (and air-con).

Someone obviously was quite happy with the ~~phone~~ food.

9.30pm and we then headed back out, just in time to see the crowd steadily filtering in.

Ayd was probably on a sugar-high following his milkshake and waffles ingestion, so that explained why he requested to pose in front of the camera.

With his new-found toy, no less.

We then made our way up to the rooftop of the Esplanade, courtesy of Miss Elizabeth from The Esplanade. That, of course, gave us a fantastic view of the entire Marina Bay area and its enchanting backdrop.

Ayd was also so taken in by the amazing view, that he wanted to take a few photos with his camera!

And this was his effort.

Not too bad eh?

And my effort. Heh.

As the time inched towards the magical hour, we could see lots of people starting to fill in the empty spaces just outside the Esplanade.

Ayd was getting a tad drowsy by that time, so I told Ayd to get a brief rest before the real action began.

And when the Countdown did began, the entire sky was illuminated with a dazzling sequence of Fireworks!

It is really quite difficult to describe the entire 8 minutes of Fireworks display. To stand there and watch the pyrotechnics explode into full blooms of colours just above you is nothing short of breathtaking.

And since I was too preoccupied with the video-taking of the Fireworks, the task of photographing the Fireworks fell to Ayd.

And I believe the effort wasn't too shabby, eh?

And when the last Firework fizzled out, it was the start of the brand new year!

Happy New Year, once again! And a very big Thank You to Marina Bay Singapore and URA for the chance to experience the 2012 Countdown in an utmost special manner! We certainly had loads of fun from the start to finish!

*All photos (except Ayd's photos) were taken using a Nikon Coolpix P7100.

Happy 2012 everyone!

2012-01-01T12:35:00.003+08:00

(Daddy celebrates)

Ayd & I welcomed the New Year last night at the Marina Bay, and boy what an awesome experience we both had!

Without the fireworks, the view of the Bay already took our breath away.

And when at the stroke of midnight, as the fireworks burst among the stars above, the experience was just surreal.

My only regret? That my wifey, Ash & Ale weren't beside me to enjoy the fireworks.

But at least Ayd thoroughly enjoyed himself! And he lasted all the way through the Countdown! *clap clap*

I'll write a more detailed posting about our experience at the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012 soon... right after I recuperate from the exhaustion. Heh.

Til then, here's wishing one and all the blessings of the New Year...the warmth of home, the love of family and the company of good friends! Happy New Year to all!

With lots of love from the Cheekiemonkies. :)

Marina Bay Singapore Countdown - We will be there!

2011-12-31T17:22:00.000+08:00

We will be braving the crowds and counting down LIVE at the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012 tonight!

And we will be updating our blog, as well as both our Facebook and Twitter pages.

So if you want to see more of what is happening down by the Bay as we mingle with the party-goers tonight, check back here often, or 'LIKE' our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/cheekiemonkies and follow our Twitter page at https://twitter.com/#!/3Cheekiemonkies!

Have an enjoyable New Year's Eve, everyone!

Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012 - A Sneak Peek

2011-12-31T07:00:00.000+08:00

(Daddy previews)

Are you still mulling over a place to do your Countdown later tonight?

Then look further than the Marina Bay.

Because this is where THE best action is going to be at!

Two nights back, I trotted down to the Bay at the stroke of midnight for a first-hand look at how the final show shall unravel come 31 December.

Yup, the hardworking personnel were going through several rounds of technical rehearsals so as to make sure the projection and synchronization of lights would be... to put it simply, steady pom pi pi.

And remember the Wishing Spheres that are floating at the Bay? All 20,000 were magically transformed into a sea of rainbow colours as different lightings were cast upon them.

Believe me, it was really a sight to behold.

I especially loved how the Spheres looked under the lights, and these truly lit up the entire Marina Bay area.

And I even caught a sneak peek at the wonderful lighting effects in the lead-up to the official countdown to 2012.

There wasn't any Fireworks of course, but the light projections and the music score (which will be synchronized with the Fireworks) were enough to give me goosebumps.

If this only represents a fraction of the entire sequence, I can't imagine how spectacular it will truly be come tonight!

So do join us tonight at the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012!

From left: William (http://www.onlywilliam.blogspot.com), Me,

Kevin (http://double-image.blogspot.com) & Andy (http://sengkangbabies.blogspot.com)

We definitely wouldn't be missing it!

Due to the expected large crowd converging at the Marina Bay area, it is highly recommended to reach before 6pm. There will be lots of free performances scattered around the Bay area, like The Promontory, Events Plaza at MBS and the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre. And with Downtown Bites food stalls dotting the Waterfront Promenade, the atmosphere will be carnival-like!

And if you want to secure a good location for the all-important Fireworks spectacular (which is EIGHT minutes long!), see our previous post for some tips: http://cheekiemonkie.blogspot.com/2011/12/best-fireworks-viewing-spots-at-marina.html.

If you are unable to join in the festivity, don't fret. You can still catch all the action via a LIVE webcast at http://www.marina-bay.sg/Countdown2012/live from 11.30pm onwards.

Get your latest Countdown 2012 updates with the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012 Official bloggers here: http://www.marinabaycountdown.sg/blog/

For more information about the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012, visit http://www.marinabaycountdown.sg/ or 'like' Marina Bay's Fanpage at https://www.facebook.com/marinabaysg.

*All photos (except the group photo) were taken using a Nikon Coolpix P7100.

WE HAVE A WINNER! - WIN Tickets to Mediacorp Channel 5's Celebrate 2012 at Marina Bay S'pore Countdown!

2011-12-30T22:00:00.000+08:00

UPDATED!

The lucky winner of a pair of tickets to catch the Celebrate 2012 show at Marina Bay Singapore Countdown is...

TERE .S!!!

We'll be sending you an email to arrange for you to pick up the tickets. Check your inbox!! :D

Hope you'll enjoy the show and Fireworks!

***

Intending to head on down to the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown Party on New Year's Eve?

Want to catch performances by latest Canadian sensation These Kids Wear Crowns, Siti Nurhaliza, Sheikh Haikel, Nat Ho, Inch Chua, Sezairi Sezali and Sylvia Ratonel?

Itching to get a good view of the Fireworks?

We have A PAIR OF TICKETS worth $50 to GIVEAWAY!

All you have to do is follow this simple steps:

1. 'LIKE' our Cheekiemonkies Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/cheekiemonkies

2. Answer the following question by posting your comment under THIS post - Name one of the performing acts for Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012.

THAT'S IT! Easy peasy!

Contest closes on 30 DECEMBER 2011, 5PM.

Event Details:
Date: 31 December 2011
Time: 8pm onwards
Venue: The Float @ Marina Bay

Get your latest Countdown 2012 updates with the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012 Official bloggers here: http://www.marinabaycountdown.sg/blog/

For more information about the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012, visit http://www.marinabaycountdown.sg/ or 'like' Marina Bay's Fanpage at https://www.facebook.com/marinabaysg.

The Jewel Box Hilltop Celebrations

2011-12-30T15:00:00.000+08:00

In early December, Miss Melissa from the Mount Faber Leisure Group Pte Ltd had kindly invited us onboard the Christmas-themed Cable Cars and join in the Jewel Box's Hilltop Celebrations.

It had been a mad and busy... but all fun December and finally, di-di, mei-mei & I got the chance to accept the invitation yesterday.

Although we had been in a cable car before, it was our first time in a Singapore one. So yes, we were all still very much excited about the ride!

The cable car had blinking lights all around its exterior, while the interior was decorated in the Christmas theme. Very nice! But obviously, those weren't the stuff we monkies were excited about.

Seeing how high we were above the ground was.

And initial fears for mei-mei being afraid of the ride was quickly dispelled as she repeatedly struggled to break free from Mummy's grasp so as to stand on the seat without any aid. Garang huh?

See - she was trying to squirm her way out when Daddy was taking a photo of us.

But no matter, di-di & I still smiled ever so nicely for Daddy's camera. :D

The short ride quickly brought us to the Jewel Box atop Mount Faber where we stepped into the Christmas Village with lighted reindeer and spectacular lights adorning the area.

But the one that caught our attention - which we wanted very much to catch too - was the magical bubbles sweeping through the air!

Mei-mei was utterly fascinated by the magical bubbles. In fact, she tried to standing very still... hoping that one bubble might pop right in her palm. Heh.

Or perhaps sitting very still like a statue might help? :P

I guess not.

But at least she looks so cute.

Beside keeping ourselves busy with popping bubbles, there was a Christmas show that we could catch as well.

Ir's Singapore's first 3D Video Mapping Christmas Show, which uses the technique of 3D projection mapping to simulate a 3D illusion animating on physical objects.

Also, from 7.30pm to 10pm daily with half hourly intervals, there is the tale of of a little boy and a Christmas tree that one could watch.

And we did.

When that was done, we wandered about the Christmas village which had a replica of Santa’s Tree House. And if you are lucky, you can catch Santa in person and be mystified by a roving magician on certain days as well!

We weren't so lucky, but we did catch the beautiful night scene on our way back to HarbourFront in our cable car.

Thanks, once again, to the management of Mount Faber Leisure Group for having us!

Event Details:

The Jewel Box Hilltop Celebrations
Date: Now till 7 Jan 2012
Time: 6pm till late
Admission charges (for the month of December): $5* except 24 & 31 Dec ($15* charge applies)
*Charges are redeemable for retail products.
Free admission to the Jewel Box Hilltop Celebrations for Singapore Cable Car ticket holders, Sky Dining guests and the Jewel Box diners.

The BEST Fireworks viewing spots at Marina Bay Countdown 2012

2011-12-28T13:00:00.000+08:00

(Daddy blogs)

A Countdown is hardly a Countdown if there isn't any Fireworks to add to the celebration mood.

And this year, the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012 ups the ante with a special choreography of a dazzling Fireworks display, accompanied by its newly commissioned music.

Photo courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board

This year's Countdown Fireworks will be set set off from octagonal-shaped pontoons moored in the Marina Bay waters to allow spectators in every corner of the Bay to enjoy a stunning pyrotechnic display. And complementing the various formations of Fireworks that rocket through the sky, there will also be more low-level Fireworks skipping over the surface of the Bay to create a really 'closer' personal experience.

Wow! I think my monkies will definitely enjoy the Fireworks... if they can keep awake. Heh.

And with such a special formation for the Fireworks this year, there will be lots of Vantage points around the Marina Bay area to catch them.

Click on the above map to see the recommended Fireworks-viewing sites, which are highlighted in dark slate blue.

The areas are Clifford Square, One Fullerton, Merlion Park, Esplanade Park, Outdoor Theatre at Esplanade, Esplanade Waterfront, Steps of Marina Square, F1 Track next to Singapore Flyer, Youth Olympic Park, The Helix, Marina Bay Sands Event Plaza, Art Science Museum, Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade, The Promontory @Marina Bay and The Lawn @ Marina Bay.

There will be a specially commissioned music score composed by Cultural Medallion winner, musician and composer Mr. Iskandar Ismail which will be played in synchronization with the Fireworks display. And new to this year's Fireworks music will be the addition of vocals by soprano Khor Ai Ming and the CHIJ Primary (Toa Payoh) children's choir.

And in line with the true Singapore spirit, I think one would have to go early to grab a good viewing spot at the Marina Bay.

Erm, like really really early?

Let's say hello to 2012 in style!

Get your latest Countdown 2012 updates with the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012 Official bloggers here: http://www.marinabaycountdown.sg/blog/

For more information about the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012, visit http://www.marinabaycountdown.sg/ or 'like' Marina Bay's Fanpage at https://www.facebook.com/marinabaysg.

*All photos were taken using a Nikon Coolpix P7100.

It's all happening at the Marina Bay Countdown 2012!

2011-12-27T16:01:00.000+08:00

(Daddy blogs)

Are YOU ready for the biggest New Year's Eve Party in town?

We know we are!

Yup, the party is all happening at the Marina Bay area on New Year's Eve with music, dance, film and of course FIREWORKS!

In fact, I think Ash & Ayd are more interested in the date 31 December this year because they know that I would have to be there at Marina Bay to blog about it as our cheekiemonkie blog is one of the Official Bloggers for the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown.

Hosted by Michelle Chia and Gurmit Singh, Celebrate 2012 promises to be an exhilarating night with ‘live’ performances to kick-start the New Year on a high note.

Headliner acts include latest Canadian sensation These Kids Wear Crowns, the band behind the platinum selling hit “Jumpstart, and award winning powerhouse Siti Nurhaliza, Malaysia’s best-selling artiste who has won over 200 local and international awards.

Together with other performing artistes like Sheikh Haikel, Nat Ho, Inch Chua, Sezairi Sezali and Sylvia Ratonel, I think we can be assured of a rocking good time!

And after the Countdown and Fireworks, the party isn't over yet! Dance the night away as spin maestros DJ Thryce and DJ Vault bring you the Top 40 dance hits. Get plenty of rest from now until then because it will be a full 7 hours of non-stop partying!

Event Details:

Date: 31 December 2011
Time: 8pm onwards
Venue: The Float @ Marina Bay
Price: $25 through SISTIC (excludes booking fee)
*20% discount with minimum purchase of 5 tickets.
*50% for senior citizens (55 years old & above) and children (aged 12 and below).
*10% discount for full-time students and NSFs.

You can purchase your tickets by clicking HERE.

Get your latest Countdown 2012 updates with the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012 Official bloggers here: http://www.marinabaycountdown.sg/blog/

For more information about the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012, visit http://www.marinabaycountdown.sg/ or 'like' Marina Bay's Fanpage at https://www.facebook.com/marinabaysg.

*All photos were taken using a Nikon Coolpix P7100.

Christmas Party Rock Anthem

2011-12-26T23:00:00.000+08:00

Together with our buddies, we had a rockin' Christmas Party over the festive long weekend. And boy, did we had a blast!

The Christmas feast was sumptuous as usual, but that wasn't the attraction that di-di, mei-mei and I were looking forward to. Or the rest of the other children for that matter.

It was the PRESENTS! And we were made to sit in a neat straight line before we could receive them.

But the wait was definitely worth it!

I guess both Clara's and Sarah's facial expressions said it all. Heh.

As for mei-mei, she was too patiently waiting for her turn.

Once all the presents were in our hands, let the ripping begin!

We soon left a trail of paper carnage as we sought to consolidate our Christmas loot. :D

And this year, Aunty Jayne was the big Santa as she dolled out ALL our favourite presents!

Thanks, Aunty Jayne!

Needless to say, we spent the rest of the afternoon playing with our presents.

That was until our play was interrupted by the Christmas log cake.

But we didn't mind that at all, because it was super duper yummy!!!

And this time, I guess di-di's mouth said it all huh?

Hahaha.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas Party, and hope that you had a blast over the Christmas weekend as well! :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T22:49:00.003+08:00

Wishing one and all a very Blessed Christmas!

Hope you had a wonderful time ripping away those Christmas wrappers! Hee.

Happy Birthday, Kong-kong!

2011-12-24T19:36:00.001+08:00

Today is Kong-kong's birthday, and all of us had a celebration for him last night at Costa Sands Resort, Downtown East. No Angry Birds themed party though. Heh.

We had a BBQ and since it had been quite some time we had one, di-di & I were all too excited to make ourselves useful.

Mei-mei, obviously couldn't be much of a help with the barbecuing. So she did the next best thing.

Acting cute.

She did quite an alright job huh? Hee hee...

Di-di was making himself really useful too - by helping to coat the raw food with margarine at the BBQ pit.

So was I!

Erm... although I succumbed to the occasional marshmallow.

But thanks to Gu-gu & Jie-jie too, who were a tremendous help with the food, me think Kong-kong thoroughly enjoyed his birthday party.

Yup, double confirm. :D

Happy Birthday, Kong-kong!

Hope you enjoyed your birthday celebrations! From the 3 monkies, we just want to say - we love you, Kong-kong! :)

The Wishing Spheres Project: A behind-the-scenes look

2011-12-23T23:00:00.000+08:00

Remember those Wishing Spheres that di-di & I has a part in collecting wishes from a group of elderly folks a few weeks back?

They have now joined the rest of the Wishing Spheres at the Marina Bay, bopping along in anticipation for the last day of 2011 - where they will all come together a form a fantastic spectacle at the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012!

Di-di & I have always wondered how come the spheres are never washed away by the currents, and what actually goes on behind the scenes to make all these spheres stay afloat. Well, we asked Daddy but he was stumped too.

Luckily, we monkies were given an exclusive access to the work that is being done behind the scenes to maintain the Wishing Spheres.

It's certainly not everytime where one can defy 'No-entry' signs. Hee.

We met up with the man, Uncle Nicholas, who is in charge of the maintenance all these Wishing Spheres - all 20,000 of them in fact - and that is definitely a lot of babies to look after!

The initial plan was just to interview Uncle Nicholas, and ask him questions regarding the maintenance of the spheres. But he was extremely kind enough to let us hop onto a boat and bring us round the perimeter of the Wishing Spheres area so that we could have a closer view of those white babies.

Naturally, di-di & I were over the moon!

Uncle Nicholas (that's the man in yellow) made us co-captains of the boat and asked us to make us everyone else onboard was sitting still. Hmmm... I think he was afraid we would be the ones jumping up and down on the boat instead. :P

Anyway, we would definitely listen to him because he has been in charge of the Wishing Spheres ever since it was first introduced in 2005. And to think there were only 2,500 of them then and he was a one-man show at that time. Now, these spheres have multiplied to 20,000 and Uncle Nicholas has 4 other people with 4 additional boats.

Together with 2 ground staff who help to tie the spheres together beforehand, all of them have painstakingly tied and anchored the Wishing Spheres at the Marina Bay area.

See the ropes that are just beneath the water surface?

The spheres are tied together with a net-like rope structure under the water and are tied according to sectors. Uncle Nicholas said this is because when the nearby Marina Barrage raises its gates after a heavy downpour, strong currents will be generated and this may cause ALL the spheres to be swept away if they are tied together with only one giant rope structure.

See - we sure paid close attention to what Uncle Nicholas was saying! :D

Along the way, di-di & I spotted a few spheres that were deflated... like this poor fella on the bottom left corner in the photo below.

Uncle Nicholas said that these deflated ones would be replaced in a 4-day period over the Christmas weekend and hopefully, they will all stay afloat til New Year's Eve.

Definitely not an easy job to be maintaining those spheres I feel... and now, we monkies have a greater understanding of the work that goes on in the Wishing Spheres project.

Well, the fun boat ride did pretty much thrill us too. :P

Now, we have only one last question.

How would Uncle Nicholas keep this sphere afloat?

Just kidding! Hahaha...

For more information about the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012, visit http://www.marinabaycountdown.sg/ or 'like' Marina Bay's Fanpage at https://www.facebook.com/marinabaysg.

*All photos were taken using a Nikon Coolpix P7100.

Logos Hope: Floating Book Fair

2011-12-22T22:04:00.003+08:00

We monkies have been to many book fairs, but it was our first time going to a floating book fair and it was the world's largest one at that!

Yup, the book fair is located on this humongous ship - the MV Logos Hope - which has visited more than 41 countries and 61 ports and it's making its first ever visit to Singapore.

And from now until 29 December, the Logos Hope will be docked at The Promenade, VivoCity for all to visit its book fair onboard.

And to get onboard, we first had to climb this steep flight of metal stairs... which kind of thrilled us to bits, as it was already a first time experience for us itself. Di-di was so afraid that he might slip throughout our ascent to the deck of the ship.

Once inside, a lifeboat theatre greeted us where we could view a video about life aboard this ship.

Erm, we didn't watch it though... because there were other things that demanded our attention. Like this ship navigation system replica.

We even got a glimpse of the crew cabin, and saw the rooms that the crew members slept in while the ship was sailing on the open seas.

If you want to see more of the ship, there is a guided tour available too for $10 per adult and $5 per child (6-11 years old). Visitors would be brought to view the areas where the crew eats, where the Captain steers and a more in-depth narrative of what Logos Hope is all about.

For us, we zoomed in straight to the Book Fair area. Heh.

As the ship travels through many countries, the books are all priced in units. And for Singapore, 100 units is equivalent to S$4.

The books on offer are really of quite a wide variety, with many types of Children's books on the shelves too. Prices are also very competitive as well. As a gauge, the usual Fairy Tales board books are going for 100 units, which is S$4 per book.

I immediately grabbed a book of my choice, plonked myself onto the floor and began reading while Daddy & Mummy were busy browsing.

There's also a Cafe onboard should one get all hungry from reading too many books.

And parents would be able to eat in peace too, thanks to the kids area within the cafe. Friendly crew members and volunteers were on hand to entertain us children and one can never go wrong with balloon sculpting. So obviously, we couldn't miss out on our share. Heh.

In the end, we left the ship with one large bag full of books - for me, di-di & mei-mei. Yah, definitely happy like ~~bird~~ dolphin.

Event Details:

Date: 17 - 29 December 2011
Venue: The Promenade, VivoCity
Admission is FREE
Opening Hours:
Tues - Sat: 10am - 1pm
Sun & Mon: 3pm - 10pm

*Christmas Weekend:
24 Dec (Sat): 10am - 3pm
25 Dec (Sun): CLOSED
26 Dec (Mon): 10am - 10pm

Guided Tours Details:
Tue - Sat: 10.30am - 8.30pm
Sun - Mon: 3.30pm - 8.30pm
* No tours on 24 & 25 Dec
$10 per adult, and $5 per child (6 - 11 years old)
*Free for 5 years old and below
*Tours are on a first-come-first-served basis. No pre-booking of tours.

Hong Kong with buddies - Part I

2011-12-21T15:08:00.002+08:00

(Daddy recounts)

Part I, also known as The nothing-for-the-kids post

Finally... after months of planning and anticipating, our week-long Hong Kong trip was upon us. Together with our friends, the entire village of 6 adults and 6 children were high in spirits as we trooped down to Changi Airport T3.

The huge Angry Birds display only served to energise the kids even more, as they served up antic after antic in an effort to emulate those colouful feathered friends.

Touchdown in Hong Kong, and it was already evening. So there was really only one option for us.

SHOPPING!

Not exactly the word that the kids wanted to hear but to their credit, they were cooperative and duly followed. Not that they had a choice anyway.

We stayed at the Cityview Hotel for 5 nights, which had pretty clean and decent rooms. But the plus point has got to be its location - it is a one-minute walk away from Yau Ma Tei MTR Station - with the wonderful night markets like Ladies' Market and Temple Street Night Market within walking distance.

So it was really quite convenient, where the kids could just rest in the hotel with one of the adults keeping company while the rest were out furiously burning cash.

For the first 3 days when we were there, the weather was abnormally cold. In fact, the night time temperature dipped to as low as 9 degree Celsius! No wonder we were all decked out like we were in some snowy country. Heh.

Well, as the post's headline indicated, this post doesn't have anything to do with any kids-related activities in Hong Kong. In fact, it's really all about shopping, eating, shopping, eating and more shopping & eating.

But that's not to say we didn't plan anything for the kids.

We didn't dare NOT to, lest they turn all nasty and ferocious.

And a mutiny erupts.

It helped that we actually told the kids what our travel itinerary would be like, and that their kids-friendly destinations like Ocean Park would be alternated between our shopping days. Yippee!

Oh, and of course putting Disneyland right at the end of our itinerary wasn't a bad idea too.

At least it made them behave. Haha.

Oh, and it helped that we tried as much as possible to bring the kids back to our hotel for a quick afternoon nap. Even a short 45 minutes nap could do wonders, and we would be spared of the whines and groans come night time as we thronged the night markets.

Ahh... the night markets! The delicious street food, the vibrant roadside stalls, the uber cheap knick knacks on sale... and of course the challenge of lugging the entire village with you!

Yes it was a challenge, especially with the narrow walkways and bursting crowds. But we managed somehow, and scored some pretty good deals along the way too!

Of course, the mummies in the group deserved an enormous amount of credit... and perhaps the occasional Tonkatsu too, which popped out to entertain the kids.

Shopping always brings out the food monster in us, and sometimes we let the kids decide what they wanted to eat... just to keep them involved and prevent them from getting too restless from all the walking.

So it wasn't any surprise that the monkies wanted to have steamboat during one of our dinners there.

Not that we adults minded of course. Steamboat is always nice in cold weather!

And speaking of food, we made this cosy cafe near our hotel our regular breakfast joint. Yup, we had breakfast there for 5 mornings in a row, and also one dinner too! In fact, the lady boss specially reserved seats for us every morning. Heh.

They had everything that an authentic Hong Kong breakfast must have: dou jiang (soyabean), youtiao (fried fritters), instant noodles with luncheon meat & egg, peanut porridge, chee cheong fun, wonton noodles, glutinous rice, curry noodles. Gosh, I'm terribly missing it already.

And Ash's fave was the chee cheong fun. He had the same dish for 4 consecutive breakfasts!

Ayd's fave was his usual fare - noodles, although he did love the porridge too.

As for Ale, the glutton loved everything... as long as it's not spicy. Haha.

A good breakfast is an extremely important start to the day, and more so if that particular day is designated to be a shopping day!

One of the shopping districts we went was Causeway Bay... and of course we had to pay Sogo a visit.

If you are looking to buy Transformers Kre-O, a Lego-like building system, buy loads of it there. It is so much cheaper than in Singapore - the largest Optimus Prime building set costs S$149.90 here, while we got it only for about S$100 there!

Needless to say, erm... I got a little carried away. Heh.

BUT those brown bags weren't my works of art! Though I guess you should know who they belonged to. Heh.

Oh, and we got the boys' school bags from there as well. The SPI School Bags are notoriously much cheaper than in Singapore so not only did we settle Ash's school bag for his Primary One enrollment next year, we settled Ayd's one too as well.

I would have bought Ale's bag for Primary School as well... but I needed an excuse to go back there again.

And when our shopping time was up, our feelings probably mirrored that of Ale when she was denied more chee cheong fun.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

We did not shop as much we wanted to, probably because the kids were with us. But I would say we made a pretty good haul overall, though I wouldn't complain if we had an extra day of shopping (and breakfast at our usual joint!). :P

Next up - where the kids had their share of fun!

Featured in ParentMap.com

2011-12-19T21:29:00.001+08:00

Remember our Angry Birds theme Birthday Party for Ayd back in August?

Our Angry Birds birthday ideas got picked up by ParentMap.com, a U.S.-based parenting website.

In the end, it was the Pig who stole the show! Hee hee...

Link here: http://www.parentmap.com/article/17-angry-birds-birthday-party-ideas?page=13

Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012

2011-12-16T11:00:00.000+08:00

As mentioned in a few posts back, we are one of the 5 Official Bloggers for the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012!

And you can count on us to bring you the latest buzz about the many family-friendly activities that will lead up the main Countdown event on 31 December 2011. Just like the Wishing Spheres project that is happening now at various locations around Singapore!

Check out the other Official Bloggers, as well as the Featured Bloggers, for the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012 right here: http://blog.omy.sg/blogclub/2011/12/14/countdown-to-2012-marina-bay-singapore-with-our-official-bloggers/

And stay tuned for MORE updates... right after we get back from our holiday! Hee hee.

Festive Fun with Friends!

2011-12-15T10:00:00.000+08:00

We are currently out of town - in fact we have already been enjoying ourselves silly with our best pals for the most part of the week - and will be back over the weekend. Sob.

But for now, we are just going to to have the time of our lives! WOOHOO!

So... have you guessed where we are yet? Hee hee...

Can't be that difficult right? :p

Penang Getaway - Kek Lok Si Temple

2011-12-14T08:00:00.000+08:00

(Daddy recounts)

This is the concluding post to our short getaway to Penang. Besides the Penang Butterfly Farm, the Kek Lok Si Temple is the other touristy attraction that we had gone to.

We couldn't pack too much into our itinerary, simply because we had to ensure there was sufficient time set aside for Ash & Ayd to thoroughly enjoy the Hotel's water play area, and also the Adventure Zone at Golden Sands Resort.

Kek Lok Si Temple, or Buddhist Temple of Supreme Bliss, is reputedly the largest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia, and no trip to Penang can be complete without paying it a visit at least once.

The temple is located near the Air Itam market, and one can choose to lumber up the narrow steps leading up the hill to reach the temple. Well, we didn't choose that of course. Not with 3 monkies in tow! So we took the next best alternative.

We drove up.

As we entered the temple compound, there is a turtle sanctuary pond with hundreds of turtles all crammed inside. One can purchase some kangkong for RM1 to feed them but we didn't stop for that as the monkies wanted to continue climbing up the temple stairs.

There are many different sections to the temple with various prayer halls. And one particular area had the Wishing Ribbon Tree, where one could make a small donation and pick a ribbon relating to what you wanted to wish for. It could be for health, wealth, academic success or happiness for your family.

And once you are done choosing, you hang it on one of the Wishing Tree's branches.

And of course, say a silent prayer hoping it'll come true.

People say the higher the ribbon is hung, the greater the possibility that your wish will come true.

Enough said. Haha.

There are also Wishing Candles that one can purchase too - to shower blessings on the entire family.

And while the boys were busy observing their Kong-kong light the candle, Ale was rather chirpy with the vast space in the prayer hall.

And she seemed to have conjured up her own way of smiling nowadays. I asked her to smile for the camera and she gave me this.

Haha.... I may be biased, but it looks cute to me all the same.

Kek Lok Si Temple is also well-known for its towering Kuan Yin (or Goddess of Mercy) located on the hillside of the main pagoda temple.

And in order to get up to the hillside, there is a funicular train which brought all of us closer to the 30.2m tall bronze statue.

But it was not the statue that the monkies enjoyed most. Rather, it was the open green spaces there that they enjoyed.

There were also statues of the 12 zodiac animals, which made them all wanting to take a photo with their respective zodiac sign.

Monkey!

Doggie!

Tigger!

Yet more statues for them to goof around. :P

And even when we took a breather in the pavilion...

The goofing never ceased!

At least it stopped in the funicular train while we were on our way down... all because the boys wanted to take a video clip of them making the journey downhill.

It was a pity that we didn't get to enjoy the bustle of the Air Itam market located just below of the Temple. I have read of many fantastic reviews of the various food stalls there.

I think I just found myself the perfect excuse to head back to Penang again!

i Light Marina Bay 2012 Preview

2011-12-13T13:00:00.000+08:00

(Daddy reports)

I was invited to the press conference for i Light Marina Bay 2012, the 2nd edition of Asia's first and only sustainable light art festival.

Themed "Light Meets Asia", the festival will feature innovative and environmentally sustainable light art installations by 30 multi-disciplinary artists, with a strong focus on works from Asia.

And apart from the blindingly beautiful light installations, visitors can also look forward to other complementary activities - including a night picnic and carnival, outdoor performances, guided light walks, educational talks and workshops - all to ensure there is something for everyone from the young to the old.

Ten artists and their works were unveiled at the media conference, and five of them were in attendance.

And one of the sample installation at the conference was Miss Olivia d'Aboville's Coral Garden, a festival commission.

Coral Garden is an installation of multitude of coral-like sculptures made up entirely of cocktail stirrers(!!!) and trust me, they do look seemingly like the coral reef with the illumination.

Viewers would be able to feel the 'corals' and interact with them, as fish do with actual reefs. Olivia, who is from the Philippines, says this makes reference to ongoing restoration projects wich seek to stiumuate the reformation of damaged reefs.

The other light installation I am particularly eager to see would be Mr. Takahiro Matsuo's (Japan) White Rain.

It is essentially an installation of white light, which makes use of a specially-designed acrylic bar encasing LED, sensors and other motion-sensor equipment. And through movement, participants are able to experience the poetry of white light which falls like rain around them.

Take a look at this video of his installation.

Beautifully enchanting, isn't it?

i Light Marina Bay will return next year from 9 March to 1 April 2012 nightly.

I can't wait! And I'm sure my monkies will be just as delighted to view these light installations as well. :)

USS: TRANSFORMERS The Ride

2011-12-12T07:30:00.000+08:00

Mummy's workplace held their Family Day at Universal Studios Singapore (USS) and so luckily for di-di & me, we got to tag along as well! Woot!

Mei-mei didn't come along though, because she's too tiny to go on most of the rides anyway. So Daddy & Mummy thought it would be better if she stayed at home with Ye-ye & Ma-ma.

As soon as the gates opened, we hurried to try on a new ride. Well, at least to us anyway. The last time when we were at USS, the Madagascar: A Crate Adventure attraction wasn't open yet.

So now, we had a chance to try out this river boat ride.

Final verdict? All of us thought it was uninspiring at best.

Granted that the character installations were very well done and colourful...

But the storyline and ride felt a little too monotonous. So yup, we wouldn't be back on that ride for some time yet.

As we went in search for our next ride to conquer, we couldn't help but wonder... where was the crowd?????

The Lost World was pretty desolate, and so was Ancient Egypt.

The crowd was of course gathered at the park's newest attraction - TRANSFORMERS The Ride!

Check out the mass of people behind us in the photo above. It's madness, crazy, delirious - all rolled into one. Why? Because the estimated waiting time was 120 minutes. TWO whole hours!!! Just to rot while standing in line.

We figured that would be far too long a rotting time, so we headed back to other zones for our adrenaline fix.

Errr... okay, so the merry-go-round isn't quite the adrenaline inducing ride. But we had to go on it at least once! Or at least that was what di-di wanted.

We did have our fair share of thrills after that.

4 dosage of thrills in fact - at the Enchanted Airways roller coaster!

Oh, and add another 4 times of Canopy Flyer to that list. Heh.

It was our first time taking the Canopy Flyer ride, despite having been to USS 2 previous times and we absolutely loved this ride!

And of course along the way, we stopped to have our photographs taken with various characters as well.

Some were cute, while some were downright creepy. The latter I like! Hee.

As we approached mid-afternoon, it was time to heed the Autobots' call.

The indicated rotting time was 40 minutes, which we thought was pretty reasonable. And so, we joined the queue.

Naturally, di-di & I were in high spirits as we both were looking so forward to getting on this ride for the longest time.

Ever since Daddy told me about this Transformers ride in the beginning of this year, I was constantly checking back with him to see if the ride was ready. But actually, I reckon that Daddy was the more excited one than di-di & me combined! Haha.

40 minutes of wait time is clearly no joke, and one would have to pass through SIX rooms worth of queues before reaching the ride! Luckily, there were plenty of exhibits and LCD screens detailing the various Autobots and Decepticons in each room.

Like Scorponok's detached tail.

And the All-Spark that the Decepticons were craving so badly for.

Well, it certainly made the wait a little less painful. :P

Notice that di-di wasn't in any of the previous Transformers-related photos above. That was because he drifted off to sleep while waiting!

But he woke just in time when we were in the last waiting room and collected our 3D glasses.

FINALLY the end is nigh!

We got into this blue vehicle called EVAC, which a brand new Autobot Transformer specially created for this ride. And in it, we were put through this high speed thrill ride with the Decepticons hot on our tails.

After 4.5 minutes of pure adrenaline, ALL of us - and that includes Mummy! - were in love with the ride. It was totally awesome! Daddy, especially couldn't stop raving about it and quite frankly, neither could di-di nor me. Hee hee.

It's really quite difficult to explain what the ride felt like. You have got to experience it on your own... the motion of the vehicle, the hyper-realistic 3D effects, the action sequences - they all came together seamlessly.

And our final conclusion?

We had to go on it again!!!

Erm, but obviously we weren't prepared to go through another round of waiting that soon again, so we went back to some of the other rides we had previously gone on.

Oh, and of course more photos too!

As the sun set, we decided it was time to give the Transformers ride one more shot. And so, we were back at the Autobots Headquarters once more.

This time it was a 45-minute wait. That was what was flashed on the screen when we joined the queue anyway, but the actual queuing time took slightly less than 30 minutes. Which is definitely ALL good!

And what of our second time experience?

Still as awesome as ever. In fact, Daddy wanted to go on it again! :P

We didn't, to Daddy's disappointment. HA!

But we did catch the Christmas Light-up show along Hollywood street, with falling 'snow' as an added bonus!

And that was the perfect ending to an utterly tiring but fun-filled day at Universal Studios Singapore. The highlight was obviously the Transformers ride, and also the Transformers merchandise we got after that too. :D

Looney Tunes invade Suntec City

2011-12-10T11:00:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was the Opening of the Looney Tunes Christmas Musical at Suntec City Mall, and we monkies were kindly invited down for a sneak peek.

No prizes for guessing which loonies would show up...

Sylvester, Bugs & Tweety that's who!

The usual Christmas ditties were sung and performed, but the kids (& us monkies) lapped it all up. After all, what's Christmas without some good'ol Christmas carols?

Of course, the highlight of the show was the aftermath - when we got to go on stage and have our photo taken with the characters.

Catch the Looney Tunes Christmas Musical at Suntec City Mall (Tropics Atrium) from now til 22 December 2011! Shows on Tuesdays to Thursdays are at 1pm & 7pm while shows on Fridays to Sundays are at 1pm, 4pm & 7pm. There are NO shows on Mondays. Spend $30 to redeem a photo pass for a meet & greet session.

OR if you prefer to meet Tasmanian Devil, or Taz for short, you can catch him from now til 22 December 2011 at Happy Kidz, Level 3! Meet & Greet times are from 2.30pm to 3.30pm daily, except for Mondays. Spend $30 for the meet & greet session and also to participate in Looney Tunes activities.

ALSO, catch the spectacular Looney Tunes Christmas Laser Fountain Show at the Fountain of Wealth daily between 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

Have fun! :)

Penang Getaway - Butterfly Farm

2011-12-09T08:00:00.000+08:00

(Daddy flutters)

Besides offering good food and relaxation, Penang also has some rather interesting places of interest for the kids and adults alike. And one of these is the Penang Butterfly Farm.

Located just 15 minutes away from the Batu Ferringhi belt, Penang Butterfly Farm is the world's first tropical live butterfly sanctuary, with an average flying population of some 4,000 live butterflies of 150 different species.

So do expect lots of butterflies to be fluttering around you as you enter the huge greenhouse filled with plants, twisting paths, flower feeding stations, a pond and water features.

Oh, and also these creepy crawlies, which absolutely fascinated the boys. I can't say the same for the wifey though.

Just as fascinating were the rows of butterfly larvae on display, which allowed the boys to see for themselves what they really looked like in real life.

Needless to say, the boys were having a field day wandering the park, each with a camera in hand and snapping away with every passing butterfly.

And every time either of them saw a different type of butterfly, they would run back excitedly to tell us all about it. It was truly wonderful to see them so engaged in an activity that didn't involve an iPhone or iPad. Heh.

Ale, on the other hand, was focused on her own mission - to catch a butterfly with her bare hands.

Well, I don't think she succeeded eventually. But I guess everyone, including her, had lots of fun at the farm.

Besides butterflies, the farm also houses other animals like giant koi and catfishes, giant millipedes, turtles, mandarin ducks (and a rather unique white mandarin duck too!) and lizards.

There was a enormous ancient-looking iguana, which hardly moved for the whole duration that we were there. Something which Ayd could never achieve I reckon.

Midway through our visit, we joined a staff member for a guided walk around the farm where the boys picked up a few interesting facts about these flying insects. They even got up close with a stick insect and leaf insect too!

The second part of the Farm was the indoor education centre which was just as fantastic. On display were a wide range of live frogs, poisonous local insect species and spiders. Luckily for us, they were all kept safely behind a thick glass.

There were also interactive display screens which allowed the boys to search for hidden animals in pictures of urban landscapes. This was Ayd's fave station. Another hit with the monkies was this small cinema that played short animated cartoons on insects by Miniscule.TV.

They loved the cartoon series so much that they remembered the spelling of 'Miniscule' and searched it on YouTube the moment they were back home!

Here's one:

It's not often that one goes to a Butterfly Farm, and certainly there aren't as many as good and educational as the Penang Butterfly Farm.

So the cheekiemonkies' verdict? Definitely a must-go if you are in Penang with kids in tow.

Useful information about the Penang Butterfly Farm

The Penang Butterfly Farm is located in the north west corner of Penang at Teluk Bahang. Opening hours are from 9 am - 6 pm each day, 365 days of the year. Entrance fees are RM27 for adults and RM15 for children between 4-12 years old.

If you are driving, follow the coastal road past Batu Ferringhi until you reach the roundabout in Teluk Bahang. Turn left and the Butterfly Farm is less than 1km down the road. If you are coming by bus, the Rapid Penang 101 goes directly to the Butterfly Farm.

Let us all make a wish!

2011-12-08T09:00:00.000+08:00

(Daddy wishes...)

As 2011 draws to a close, I am sure almost all of us would have new hopes and aspirations for the New Year ahead. And while we do look forward to the festivity mood that only New Year's Eve could bring, it is also a time for contemplation and for us to make our best wishes for oneself & our loved ones.

Just like the previous Countdowns, this year's Marina Bay Singapore Countdown brings back the ever-popular Wishing Spheres.

At face value, it is but a white inflatable plastic ball. But metaphorically, each sphere represents a hope - a belief that the New Year will bring possibilities and the promise of better tomorrow.

So all throughout December, EVERYONE is invited to pen their New Year wishes on these Wishing Spheres at various stations around Singapore. (Details are at the end of this post.)

Well, Ayd has already written down his wish.

Hmmm... a rather odd wish I would say given that he prefers dogs more than cats. Oh well.

As for Ash, he had a more erm, scholastic wish.

I must stress that he wrote it entirely on his own accord.

But just in case he conveniently forget about it in future, I thought I had better snap a picture of it first. Just in case.

And in an effort to reach out to more people from all walks of life, volunteers from various tertiary institutions bring these Wishing Spheres to people like the elderly and underprivileged.

Ash, Ayd & I had the chance to participate in one such meaningful session where we, together with other volunteers, met up with the elderly under the care of the Ang Mo Kio Family Service Centre.

Initially, the monkies didn't understand what the word volunteer meant, let alone the work behind it. But as I explained the work that these volunteers do and how there were so many other people who are not as privileged as them, they responded enthusiastically and even asked to be placed in charge of one sphere each.

And so they got what they asked for.

And when the real work started, it looked that my worries that they would be too shy to approach strangers for their wishes were grossly unfounded.

Ash was terribly hardworking - he kept moving his sphere along the row of senior citizens as soon as one finished penning.

As for Ayd, he was using his own way to win over the hearts of all the ah-ma's there. :P

Ayd is the more touchy and exuberant one of the two. And his infectious warmth and friendliness soon made some of the ah-ma's wanting to take a photo with him!

I think he just got his own fan club there. Haha.

Some even followed his poses! :D

For those senior citizens who were illiterate, the youth volunteers were there to write as they dictated their New Year's wishes.

Both monkies did an equally magnificent job in collecting all the wishes, and I think they enjoyed it tremendously too!

And of course, they were naturally proud of their spheres.

Which joined the rest of the wishes on other Wishing Spheres.

But where will all these spheres go?

These spheres, all 20,000 of them, will be unleashed onto the Marina Bay waters and become part of a visual arts installation there.

And if you want to pen your wishes too, here are the places to do just that:

At the MALLS
Dates: 25 Nov - 18 Dec
Time: 10am - 10pm

CityLink Mall, B1, Daily
Marina Square, L2, Daily
Millenia Walk, North Galleria L1, Daily
The Shoppes at MBS, near B1 Concierge, Daily
One Fullerton, L1, Thurs-Sat
Singapore Flyer, East Entrance, Fri-Sun
Marina Bay Link Mall, B2, Mon-fri (12pm-2pm)

Dates: 2 - 18 Dec
Time: 10am - 10pm

Compass Point Shopping Centre, L1, Daily
Northpoint Shopping Centre, L1, Daily
Parkway Parade, L1, Daily
Suntec City Mall, B1, Daily
Cathay Cineleisure Orchard, L1, Daily (12pm-10pm)
The Cathay, L1, Daily (12pm-10pm)
Chevron House, L1, Mon-Fru (12pm-2pm)

ESPLANADE

Dates: 25 Nov - 18 Dec

Time: 6pm - 10pm daily

Venue: Esplanade Concourse and Outdoor Theatre

SINGAPORE VISITORS CENTRE @ ORCHARD ROAD

Dates: 2 - 18 Dec

Time: 10am - 10pm daily

The URA CENTRE

Dates: 25 Nov - 9 Dec

Time: 12pm - 2pm (Mon-Fri)

MARINA BAY CITY GALLERY

Dates: 25 Nov - 18 Dec

Time: 10am - 8pm (Tue-Fri); 10am - 9pm (Sat, Sun & Eve of PH)

LIBRARIES

Dates: 2 - 18 Dec

Time: 12pm - 8pm Daily

Central Public Library
Jurong Regional Library
Serangoon Public Library
Tampines Regional Library
Woodlands Regional Library

Do drop by one of the Wishing Stations to pen your wishes!

For more information, visit http://www.marinabaycountdown.sg or like Marina Bay's Facebook Fanpage at https://www.facebook.com/marinabaysg

*All photos were taken using a Nikon Coolpix P7100.

Countdown NYE with the Cheekiemonkies!

2011-12-07T09:30:00.000+08:00

We are extremely elated to announce that the Cheekiemonkies have been chosen to be one of the 5 Official Bloggers for the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012!

WOOT! It is definitely THE hottest NYE Countdown party in Singapore and we are really excited to be a part of it. :)

Over the next few weeks, leading right up to the Countdown, we would be blogging more about what great fun you can expect at the greatest party on New Year's Eve, as well as the various family-centric activities that all can enjoy prior to 31 December.

We'll also be going behind the scenes to see how various aspects of the show are put together, and also - here comes the best part - FREEBIES to give away to our readers!

It's gonna be one busy end to the year for us but it'll be the experience of a lifetime. So do check back often!

For more updates on the Countdown and latest happenings around the Bay, 'like' Marina Bay Singapore's Facebook page now - http://www.facebook.com/marinabaysg!

Happy Birthday Ye-ye!

2011-12-06T12:00:00.000+08:00

Today's Ye-ye's Birthday and we had a small celebration for him over the weekend.

As usual, di-di, mei-mei & I were vying to see who was able to snuff out the most candles!

Mei-mei is clearly the apple of Ye-ye's eye.

Whenever she cries, he'll drop whatever he's doing and come running to her. And whenever he steps out of the house, she'll go into wail mode.

Happy Birthday Ye-ye!

All 3 of us monkies love you so!

StanChart Kids Dash 2011

2011-12-05T21:14:00.001+08:00

Yesterday was the annual Standard Chartered Marathon - Kids Dash version, and it was time once again for di-di & I to don our running shoes and pound the tarmac.

Di-di & I loved our bib names! Hee hee...

And for this year, our BFF Benji joined in the race too!

We were a tad early, so we sought temporary shelter (and comfort) inside Esplanade. It was Daddy's idea actually, because "got air-con mah".

Not that anyone of us complained.

Mei-mei was there as our official cheerleader, and also to gain experience as she would be more than eligible to race next year!

Soon it was time to head to the Starting Line!

Warming up at the last minute?

We met one of another friend, Brandon, at the Starting Line as well... and together, we were the Magnificent Four!

As soon as the air horn sounded, Benji & I were off like the wind, deftly side-stepping the rest of the other runners. But I was careful not to repeat the mistakes of my previous runs, where I used up all my energy in the first half of the run.

As for di-di & Brandon, they were not too far behind. But you have to give Mummy extra marks for lugging mei-mei in a carrier AND keeping pace with all of us! *clap clap*

The first half of the run was pretty much like the last few years, which was relatively smooth flowing.

The second half of the run then started to get really messy. For some reason, the organizers decided to merge the initial portion of the race from THREE lanes to ONE miserable lane. This caused a major bottleneck midway through the race and made every kid and parent slow down to an agonizing walk.

It was such a tight squeeze walking together with a mass of people cramped into one lane, and not to mention it was darn right stuffy too. Predictably, a lot of kids were getting impatient at having to walk instead of run and the parents were getting frustrated too with the perceived lack of proper planning.

As the Finish Line loomed nearer, the pace began to pick up and we kids started to run once again.

At long last, we finally passed the Finish Line!

There were jie-jies and kor-kors volunteers lined up alongside us, who congratulated us for a race well run by hi-fiving all the kiddos.

Although I think the bottles of water mattered to us more. Hee hee.

Tired and drenched in perspiration we may be, we were still very happy and proud with our Race medals!

We waited for Brandon's 2 other younger sisters to finish their run before we all headed back for a well-deserved rest. Oh, but not before a sumptuous lunch! Heh.

As for next year, Daddy says he would want to find out if the race conditions would be the same as this year's before deciding our participation again. We took part in the Kids Dash in 2009 and 2010 and we didn't encounter any problems in those 2 years.

If things don't improve, then we will just stick with the Cold Storage Kids' Run and the Dads For Life Father & Child Challenge at the Singapore Bay Run.

MORE than 100 Holiday Activities for Kids

2011-12-04T20:47:00.001+08:00

It's the season of sharing (not to mention Daddy's itchy backside), so other than our Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 listings, here are some MORE Holiday activities for kids this festive season!

101. Join in the Jewel Box Hilltop Celebrations!

Witness Singapore's first 3D Video Mapping Christmas Show, using the technique of 3D projection mapping to simulate a 3D illusion animating on physical objects. Immerse in a heartwarming story of a little boy and a Christmas tree, which come to life with this cutting-edge projected performance.

Wander about the magical village and be enchanted with Santa’s Tree House, sniff at beautifully illuminated flowers or take a quick snap at whimsical reindeers. There will also be a roving magician, a visit by Santa and a live band to entertain you late into the night.

Date: Now till 7 Jan 2012
Time: 6pm till late
Admission charges: $5 except 24 & 31 Dec ($15 charge applies)
*Charges are redeemable for retail products.

102. Jump up and down at the huge Bouncy Castle at Changi Airport

Venue: T3 Departure Hall, Row 11
Dates: 2 Dec 2011 - 2 Jan 2012
Time: 12pm to 10pm daily
*Present Changi Rewards card or a receipt with any amount spent at Changi Airport for one pass.

103. Participate in Christmas Workshops for Kids at Changi Airport

Venue: Event site at T3, B2 (Opposite KOPI Foodcourt)
Dates: 1 Dec 2011 - 2 Jan 2012
Time: 2pm & 4pm daily (Redemption starts 1 hour earlier)
*Spend $80 (max 2 same day receipts) or $50 for Changi Rewards members for a single pass.
*Limited to 30 children (aged 3 to 12) per session.

104. Learn Japanese Origami

Join a a free Japanese Origami workshop at Tomo Izakaya @Esplanade Mall on 11th Dec 2011, 12.30pm to 1.30pm. The workshop will be conducted by a Japanese origami master - Kokubo-san.

Kindly email eileen@tomoizakaya.com with your Name, Email, Contact, and date of workshop if interested.

105. Crafts & Games Funland at AMK Hub

Spend $30 in a single receipt to redeem 2 entry passes to the following:

Get Art Crafty! - Take home your very Care Bears handicrafts!
Kiddy Games - Great games to keep kids occupied!

106. Pop! Goes your Heart @Asiamalls

Be entertained by witty characters like Lady Gargle and Black Eyed Peanut in 'A Christmas Popsicle' as they share the values of charity.

14 - 17 Dec; 2pm & 7pm - Hougang Mall & White Sands
18, 21 - 23 Dec; 2pm & 7pm - Tiong Bahru Plaza & Century Square

107. Ice Skate at IMM

Click on poster below for more details!

108. Go on a Mystica Trail at Night Safari

From 9 to 31 Dec, the Night Safari transforms into an enchanting wildlife wonderland called Mystica, filled with mythical forest creatures and friendly fairy folks! Activity Dates are on 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 & 31 Dec (Fridays & Saturdays) only.

What's more - go to the Night Safari in a GREEN top and get 30% off the admission charge! Terms and conditions apply.

For more details regarding the various activities, kindly click here: http://www.nightsafari.com.sg/l1_t2.aspx?l1=10&langid=1

109. Indulge in the tai-tai life at Cafe Mosaic at Carlton Hotel

From now till 15 Dec, on kid dines FREE at Cafe Mosaic's hi-tea buffet with every one paying adult. And to let the adults eat in peace, the kids will be able to shape cupcakes and cookies at their cupcakes and cookies making demonstration, as well as other fun activities like story-telling, face painting and magic show!

For more details regarding prices, click here: http://www.carlton.com.sg/specials.html#promotion2-tab

Have a totally enjoyable time for the whole of December! :D

Penang Getaway - The Food

2011-12-02T14:20:00.001+08:00

(Daddy salivates)

We didn't go out of our way to look for good food actually. In fact, we just relied on one of our good friends' recommendations on where to go pamper our stomachs. There was only one problem - there just weren't enough meals to try everything!

One of the newest place to spring up in Penang is the Straits Quay Marina.

Not only does it have pontoon berths for docking boats, it has retail shops as well as waterfront dining. Much like a combination of Raffles Marina and Boat Quay.

We had to go try the Peranakan food at Nyonya Breeze, we were told. And so we did.

This was our first meal in Penang since we landed, so naturally we were all famished!

And the first dish to appear in front of us was a salad - Nasi Ulam.

Nasi Ulam, or Nyonya Herbed Rice Salad, is basically steamed rice with lots of greens and herbs. Known as the Queen of all Peranakan rice, this dish is served cold and with all-too-shiok sambal. It was my first time trying this Nasi Ulam (it's rare in Singapore) and I loved how the taste of the herbs were infused together with the grains of rice.

And things got even better after that.

The curry chicken was my top fave, as well the pig stomach soup. Oh, and I also love the... heck, I'll just pick everything! As for Ash & Ayd, they loved the chap chye and soups. They just love all kinds of Chinese-style soups - Canto-boys they definitely are.

Ale also deserted her jar food and went for the the combination of rice, vegetables and soup. Smart gal I say. No wonder everyone were thoroughly satisfied (and bloated!) after lunch.

Needless to say, we had to take a stroll along the Marina to soothe those bulging tummies.

Lots of photo-taking opportunities that's for sure.

Straits Quay is quite a nice place, though I think it would be even better at night. For one, it wouldn't be that hot, while the seafront would only serve to up the ambiance level at night.

At least the sun served its purpose too. :D

Shadow play!

For dinner, we had a craving for seafood so we headed to an ulu (or secluded) part of Penang.

It's in Telok Bahang, off Batu Ferringhi and the feel of the place was totally serene and laid back.

This was the backyard of the seafood restaurant - nice place to mill the time away while waiting for the food to arrive.

With a place like this, the boys forgot all about playing with iPhones. Heh.

Yup, I would jump for joy too.

And when our food finally arrived, the highlight has got to be this.

Salted egg Crab. Heavenly.

The clams and cheese-baked oysters were just as tantalizing, as were the other dishes. I didn't manage to take a lot of photos... erm well, because I was too busy whacking the food.

But I took a photo of the menu though - in case anyone needed the address of the seafood restaurant. :P

And if you want a nice place to dine, complete with a beach view, there are definitely plenty of restaurants to choose from.

But the one which came recommended was this rather aptly named restaurant - Beach Corner Cafe.

Beach Corner is along the Batu Ferringhi stretch, and beside The Ship restaurant which is in the shape of - you guessed it - a ship.

Much like the Fishing Village Restaurant, the boys had the beach to keep them occupied.

Dishes to try include the Duck Yam claypot, as well as the Assam Prawns. Sedap!

The springrolls also came highly recommended, but unfortunately they were not ready when we were there for lunch. Looks like we have to make a trip back to Penang to try those rolls then. :D

And for the hawker centre experience, there is the Long Beach Food Centre along Batu Ferringhi to try the likes of Char Kway Teow, Prawn Mee, Assam Laksa, Satay... you get the drift.

Utterly packed, and full of tourists. Food-wise, it's decent fare but I guess it's a convenient place to try out all kinds of food under one roof.

The satay is one gem though! Slurp!

Or if one has an enormous appetite, there are the dim sum breakfast buffets!

We indulged in one such buffet along Gurney Drive and it costs RM15 per adult. I know, totally worth it!

Sigh, I miss Penang's food already. As much as my boys miss the Water play area at Hard Rock Hotel I reckon.

Elephants on Parade

2011-12-01T23:30:00.000+08:00

So how many elephants have you spotted around Singapore so far? Yup, it's the Elephant Parade that we had blogged about a few weeks back.

We haven't been around town much (yet), so only a handful have been spotted by us so far.

And here are the current faves of di-di's & mine.

Absolutely pretty!

Think Mummy's fave should be this one then.

Wonder if free smells come with it too? Hee.

You can find out the exact locations of the elephants by downloading the Elephant Parade Singapore 2011 Routemap.

Have fun hunting them down!

Penang Getaway - Adventure Zone

2011-11-30T16:56:00.000+08:00

(Daddy recounts)

As if the water play area at the Hard Rock Hotel's swimming pools weren't enough, the boys clamoured to be brought to a drier playground - an Indoor Playground that promises to bring those adrenaline levels to dizzying heights.

Changi Airport T3 may have its Tallest spiral slide, and Amazonia may have its high wave slide... but you ain't see nothing yet til you see THE slides at Adventure Zone at Golden Sands Resort!

Check out the 3 Drop Slides & 3-lane Wave Slide!

These slides are the main attractions in this 10,300 square feet indoor play facility. Of course, there are the usual playgym-kind of obstacles and a play zone for toddlers aged 4 and below but I don't think my monkies really cared about that.

And for starters, the boys rode down the Wave Slide in the gunny sacks.

It looked so fun that I had to give it a go too!!!

To put it simply in Singlish - it was dem fun can!!! Confirm, and double confirm lor!

Then the boys wanted to up the challenge, and so they decided to go onto the wavy blue slide.

This one looked equally as fun, but alas, one has to be clad in long sleeve tops when using the drop slides. So I could only look on in envy as Ash & Ayd went slamming into the colourful balls again and again.

And of course, they got a tad bored of that blue slide after a few rides... so they turned their attention to the RED ones.

Now these red slides are the penultimate ones in my opinion. They are vertical drop slides and trust me, they looked extremely intimidating from where I was standing.

But credit to my 2 boys, they bravely trudged up the long flight of stairs and wanted ever so gamely to try out those slides!

Erm, maybe there was a last minute change of heart?

NAH!!!

They loved it! Although perhaps their Mummy couldn't understand why. Hahaha...

So it wasn't a surprise when the 2 boys declared they wanted to tackle the final one there - the tallest vertical drop slide.

I think just by looking at them coming down the slide, I already broke out in cold sweat.

But obviously it was no sweat for the both of them!

And so, they went on that slide so many times til I utterly lost count.

That was Ash. And here comes Ayd.

Suffice to say, we had a totally fun afternoon there at the Adventure Zone.

And actually for me, one of the best things of this place wasn't the slides or the crazy fun factor - rather, I have to say I was very impressed by the cleanliness and the staff there. All the equipment were very well-maintained and clean, and as for the staff, they were always keeping their eyes on the kids and ever ready to render their help.

I have a feeling the boys are going to nag me to bring them to Penang again - and it's all because of those vertical slides! But next time, I'll remember to bring a long sleeve top for myself too! :D

Some useful info:

Golden Sands Resort is located along Batu Ferringhi, and it is along the same stretch of hotels as Hard Rock Hotel.

Dress Code: Socks must be worn when on the play equipment, and long sleeve tops must be worn when using any of the slides

Opening Hours: 10am to 7pm

Price:
For resort guests
Children : RM40 for half day package or RM20 per 2 hour session
Adults enter free of charge with paying children

For non-resort guests
Children : MYR30 per 2 hour session
Adults enter free of charge with paying children

Partying with my K2 friends

2011-11-29T15:30:00.001+08:00

I attended my classmate, Wenxuan's birthday over the weekend and it was great to see all my K2 classmates once again. All of us would be venturing to different primary schools come next year, so this party gave us the perfect (final?) chance to play wildly together.

That's the birthday princess, and since the party was at Ridout McDonald's, there was sure to be fun and games led by the party host!

Erm... well, actually it was just one game - we had to use a spoon to transfer as many bottle caps we could in the given time. And one surefire way to up the competitiveness level was to pit the boys versus the girls!

As the counting of the bottle caps began, every kid was looking on in anticipation.

And the result? The girls won!

BUMMER.

But no, we boys didn't demand a recount. Instead, we tucked into our Happy Meals. :D

And the girls were such copycats too! :P

As for mei-mei, she was far too happy with her stash of fries.

After all the food, it was time to flex some muscles for PINATA TIME!!!

I think the party host was rather paranoid that the stick would somehow hit her. Hee hee.

I don't blame her actually... just see how much force we all put into whacking the poor castle.

Di-di pretty much epitomized that look of enthusiasm, I think.

FINALLY, the castle gave way and candy started pouring down.

Which obviously caused a mad scramble.

And after all the dust has settled, there was something very important that was left to do - cut the cake! Oh, and of course sing Happy Birthday to Wenxuan too.

It was certainly fun playing with all my classmates once more... who knows when we will ever meet again?

Arthur Christmas

2011-11-28T15:54:00.001+08:00

(Daddy reviews)

The boys and I had the chance to catch a sneak preview of 'Arthur Christmas' in 3D - a feel-good holiday family animated movie - last week, thanks to DadsForLife and Sony Pictures.

And with a movie title like that, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure what festive season this movie is all about.

Sure, there are tons of Chirstmas-related movies out there. But have you ever wondered how in the world does Santa deliver ALL those presents in ONE single night?

By going the hi-tech way of having a huge Santa aircraft (yup, not sleigh) and hundreds of elves who go in every house in every city in less than five minutes. Everyone's a team player... well, all except for Arthur who is extremely clumsy and accident-prone but with a heart of gold.

And after all the presents are delivered, it is discovered that an error has occurred.... that a child has been missed! It turns out that one present had fallen from the conveyor belt and Arthur thinks the kid, a girl named Gwen from England, is going to think she's the one kid in the whole world that Santa doesn't care about. In desperation, Arthur and Grandpa Santa go out on the traditional sleigh and reindeer to get the last present delivered before sunrise on Christmas Day.

Frankly, I wasn't expecting much from the movie. But the script provided a fresh update of the whole behind-the-scenes Christmas myths and most importantly, bravery, self-sacrifice and determination are strong morals that appear throughout the film. Coupled with some very witty (with a caustic edge) dialogue, I quite enjoyed the movie. As for the boys, they had the lively action sequences to keep them seated for the whole 97 minutes.

Final thoughts - Made with heart and wit, Arthur Christmas makes an entertaining movie to catch with the kids.

Catch Arthur Christmas in cinemas from 1 December onwards!

That's one movie down for the holiday season (not forgetting that's a strike off #100 of our 100 Holiday Activities for Kids List... HA!) Guess the next one will be something with lots of slapstick humour that the boys will love as well.

Hello, Alvin, Simon & Theodore! :D

Penang Getaway - The Hotel

2011-11-25T23:15:00.001+08:00

(Daddy recounts)

We, together with the monkies' maternal grandparents, made a 4D3N jaunt to Penang on a whim. And on the last week of school, no less.

Well, the reason for the impetus was actually rather simple - it was the last chance for the kids to skip (kindergarten) school as Ash would be starting his (looooong) official education journey come next year. Yup, it's hello to peak period travelling then.

And so, with the lure of cheap, non-peak air fares simply too good to resist, we found ourselves right in front of Hard Rock Hotel at Batu Ferringhi.

As we had arrived early, the rooms weren't ready yet. Luckily there were some horses to keep the monkies occupied, all thanks to some corporate event that has just concluded.

Ayd was pretty eager to feed the horse some hay, and I think both enjoyed each other's company.

I can't say the same for Ash though.

Hmmm, do boys get more squeamish as they grow older? Or maybe they are just more aware of the dangers of feeding a horse, like getting yucky mucky saliva dripping off one's palm?

Anyway, it didn't take him long to warm up to the horse. Soon, both of them were happily stuffing the horses' mouths with hay. Oh, and the balloons that they picked up sure made for one happy morning too.

We soon got our keys to our adjoining rooms, and our first impressions? Pretty decent and rather large for a normal Deluxe Room.

The interesting bit of the room has got to be the bathroom. See the bathroom mirror?

When it's in its normal position, one can look right into the bedroom from the bathroom and vice versa. While that usually makes for good ventilation during those potty moments, I don't think everyone else in the room will share that same sentiment.

So one can simply just slide the mirror apart and voila - you have Ray Charles to spend some quality toilet time together.

But for the monkies, the highlight of any overseas trips will have to be the comfy hotel bed.

They always remark that the hotel bed always feel much more comfortable than the ones at home. Well, their beds at home would be just be as comfy too, if not for their pee, vomit and mucus.

But I digress. Luckily, Ale was focused enough to lead us back to the right track. And she seemed to be trying to tell us something.

To the beach?

Nah.

The beach was rather satisfactory, but I think more people are using it for watersports as opposed to sunbathing or swimming purposes.

The destination that Ale, and her 2 older brothers, were looking forward to was actually THIS.

Yup, what else but waterslides!

Obviously, the boys needed little invitation to slide/jump/splash into the cooling waters.

They were having so much fun that this was the only decent photo where I could get all three of them to sit down properly at the same time.

Right beside the pool, there is the Lil' Rock Kids Club where parents can drop the kids (between 4-12 years old) off and there will be staff to look after them while the parents go chilling on their own. I love the sound of that!

And there are plenty of activities to keep the kids occupied. Best of all, they are free!

Unfortunately, the monkies didn't get a chance to participate in any of the activities at Lil' Rock Kids Club. All because the only place they wanted to go for the entire duration of our stay there was - you guessed it - the swimming pool and waterslides.

But truth be told, the spiral slide was indeed very very fun. I know, because I went spiraling down with my boys countless of times! Heh.

Ale was just content to watch her 2 brothers plummet into the waters.

While munching on her snack at the same time.

Good life eh?

And so, this how we spent our time whenever we were back at the hotel.

At the pool. Everyday.

Not that I minded of course. Certainly not the grandparents too.

And most definitely NOT the 3 monkies. Not when there was the occasional pool bar ice cream treat!

And when night falls and it's time to give our pruned fingers a rest, we didn't have to leave the hotel in search of entertainment.

We caught the Live Band performance in the hotel lobby after our yummy seafood dinner (coming up in my next Penang post!) and it was a rather nice way to just chill the evening away.

The large comfy sofa chairs certainly helped in upping the chill factor!

As for Ale, she was bopping to the beat of the music. Great way to tire out toddlers, I reckon.

On nights where there wasn't any band performance, cartoon movies were screened on a huge screen at the lobby. Nice way to end the day too.

Needless to say, the kids always fall asleep in record quick time once their heads touched the pillows. Definitely THE nicest way to end the day!

That pretty much sums up our hotel experience at Hard Rock Hotel, Penang. My next Penang post will be about the sights and attractions that the monkies had enjoyed. Stay tuned!

Super Steep Slide!

2011-11-23T20:44:00.001+08:00

Okay, so now that Daddy has finished with his '100 Holiday Activities for Kids' project, it's time to bug him to churn out our Penang trip report.

So for now, here's a short video of our marvelous time at Adventure Zone, Golden Sands Resort Penang.

Looks scary huh? Wait til we try the steepest slide there! :)

Christmas Shows at the Malls - UPDATED

2011-11-23T17:45:00.001+08:00

-UPDATED LIST-

It's time for our annual Christmas Shows at the Malls compilation list once again! The shopping malls have been a tad slow in releasing their line-up this year, so we'll update the list again once we receive new details. Or if you know of any that we have missed out, do let us know too! Thanks!

(Kindly credit our blog if you share it elsewhere, okie? Thanks so much!)

Toys Come Alive @ Singapore Flyer
Singapore Flyer
12 Nov - 1 Jan
Weekends only: 6-8pm

Dora the Explorer - Three Kings Day Live Show
Raffles City, Level 3
18 Nov - 4 Dec
Tues - Fri: 1pm & 7pm
Sat & Sun: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm

- Dora & Diego Jungle Party
Raffles City, Level 3
3 & 4 Dec: 2.30pm
*Spend min. $30 between 18 Nov to 4 Dec to redeem a pass (40 passes a session).

Disney BIG Holiday Adventures
Parkway Parade, Outdoor Recreational Area
18 Nov - 25 Dec (except Mondays), 12pm - 9pm
Go through space with Mickey & friends, sing to the tune of festive rhymes, help Mickey decorate his house and fight bandits in the snow to save Donald and his nephews. This first ever 3D Disney experience will thrill and excite your senses and bring you into the realm of Disney Magic.
*Simply spend a minimum of $80 (max. 2 same day receipts) for a session.

Sesame Street Christmas Show
Plaza Singapura, Main Atrium L1
29 Nov - 18 Dec
Tues - Thurs: 1pm & 7pm
Fri - Sun: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm
*Spend min. $30 for a Meet & Greet pass (admits 4).

Snow & Avalanche at Tanglin Mall
Outside Tanglin Mall
Avalanche - Weekdays: 7.30-7.45pm; Weekends & PHs: 7.30-7.45pm & 8.45-9pm
Snow - Weekdays: 7.45-8pm; Weekends & PHs: 7.45-8pm & 8.45-9pm

A Galactic Christmas with Mr. Moon
1pm, 4pm & 7pm

Centrepoint, 22-27 Nov
Compass Point, 29 Nov - 4 Dec
Nothpoint, 6-11 Dec
Causeway Point, 13-18 Dec
Changi City Point, 20-23 Dec
Bedok Point, 24 & 25 Dec (Only 1pm, Meet & Greet only)
Anchorpoint, 24 & 25 Dec (Only 4pm, Meet & Greet only)
Robertson Walk, 24 & 25 Dec (Only 7pm, Meet & Greet only)
*No purchase required for meet & greet

Elves & The Shoemaker Musical
Downtown East, Event Square
19 Nov - 27 Dec
3.30pm & 7pm daily

Spongebob Squarepants & Patrick Star
Singapore Zoo
Birthday Pavilion, Rainforest Kidzworld
19 Nov - 18 Dec (Weekends only)
10.30am & 3.30pm

Disney Ball Arena
Parkway Parade, Basement Atrium
22 Nov - 4 Dec (except Mondays), 11am - 9pm
Come join us and have fun in the largest ball arena in the east! Work your way around specially designed activities that promise a fun-filled time!
*Simply spend a minimum of $80 (max. 2 same day receipts) for a session.

Angry Birds LIVE Show and Meet & Greet
Takashimaya, B2
25 Nov - 10 Dec (except Mondays)
1pm, 4pm & 7pm

LIVE Pinocchio Musical
West Coast Plaza, The Oasis B1
25 Nov - 11 Dec
Tues - Fri: 7.30pm
Sat & Sun: 2pm, 5pm & 8pm
*Gigantic Candy Slide (The Spring, B1)
18 Nov - 11 Dec: 11am to 9pm
Spend $80 ($120 for supermarket receipts) for one child's pass.

Meet Puss in Boots!
Central Mall
26 & 27 Nov, 3 & 4 Dec
2pm, 5pm & 8pm
*Meet & Greet for first 30 shoppers

Bubblelicious!
Experience the magic of bubbles by the scenic Singapore River.
Central Mall
Now til 2 Jan 2012
Mon to Fri: 7pm (except Wed)
Sat & Sun: 7pm & 9pm

Pokemon Eco-Christmas Show
City Square Mall, Level 1 Atrium
26 Nov - 4 Dec
Tue - Fri: 7pm
Sat & Sun: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm
*Meet & Greet with min $30 spend

Hi-5 Christmas @Millenia Walk
Millenia Walk
26 Nov - 11 Dec (except Mondays)
1pm & 7pm

Beastly Encounters: Scenes from the Gruffalo
Forum the Shopping Mall, B1
26 Nov - 15 Dec
Weekdays (except Tues): 1pm & 5pm
Weekends: 1pm, 3pm & 5pm

*Gruffalo Workshops (26 Nov - 15 Dec)
Forum the Shopping Mall, B1
Weekdays (except Tues): 1.45pm
Weekends: 1.45pm & 3.45pm

Barbie Princess Charm School Live Show
Junction 8, Atrium Level 2
29 Nov - 11 Dec
Tues - Thurs: 1pm & 7pm
Fri - Sun: 1pm
*Meet & Greet: Tues - Sun; 4pm (with min. $30 spend)

Doraemon's Dokodemo The Magic Door
Bt Panjang Plaza, Atrium Level 2
30 Nov - 4 Dec
Wed - Sat: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm; Sun:1pm, 3pm & 5pm

Sembawang Shopping Centre, Atrium Level 1
6 - 11 Dec
Tue - Fri: 1pm & 7pm; Sat & Sun: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm

Lot One, Roof Garden Level 5
13 - 25 Dec
Tue - Fri: 1pm & 7pm; Sat & Sun: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm

Hello Kitty's Christmas Fairytale Shows
Nex Shopping Mall, Atrium
1 - 11 Dec
Tue - Fri: 1pm & 7pm
Sat & Sun: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm
*Spend $30 for photo pass (admits 4) with Hello Kitty & Friends (limited to 35 per session)

Christmas Carnival at United Square
United Square
- Barney & Friends, Fireman Sam & Pingu
2 - 12 Dec
Mon - Fri: 2pm & 7pm (No shows on Tues)
Sat & Sun: 12.30pm, 3.30pm & 7pm

- Thomas & The Fat Controller, Angelina Ballerina & Bob the Builder
14 - 19 Dec
Mon - Fri: 2pm & 7pm
Sat & Sun: 12.30pm, 3.30pm & 7pm

Winter Dream - A Christmas Musical
VivoCity, Amphitheatre Level 3
2-11 Dec (except 5 Dec); 8pm
*Spend a min. of $100 (max. 3-day combined receipts) from 21 Nov to 11 Dec to redeem a pair of passes. (OCBC cardmembers need spend only $80)

Traintastic Time with Chuggington
Marina Square, Central Atrium Level 2
2 - 18 Dec
Tues - Fri: 2pm & 7pm
Sat & Sun: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm
*Meet & Greet passes for first 50 families (No spending required)

- Let's Ride the Rails with Wilson (Marina Square, Kids Zone Level 3)
2 - 23 Dec: 11am to 6pm daily
*Spend $30 and purchase a Chuggington goodie bag - which includes a Chuggington Badge, Chuggington Cardholder and Wilson Ride-on Pass - for $10. Limited to 2 goodie bags per $30 spent (max. 3 same-day combined receipts).

Garfield 'Live' Musical Show and Meet & Greet
Jurong Point
2 - 18 Dec
Tue - Fri: 4pm & 7pm
Sat & Sun: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm

Mr. Men & Little Miss: Dillydale Mini Musical Live Show
Downtown East, Event Square
1 - 31 Dec (Weekends only): 6.30pm
*Meet & Greet passes for first 50 families (No spending required)

Mr. Men & Little Miss: The Dillydale Disco
Downtown East, Event Square
2 - 30 Dec (Every Friday): 3.30pm

Snow & Bubble Fun
AMK Hub, Main Entrance
2 - 25 Dec
Mon - Thurs: 8.30pm
Fri - Sun: 6pm & 8.30pm

Dora, Diego & Boots Musical Meet & Greet
Raffles City, Level 3
6 - 11 Dec
Tues - Fri: 1pm & 7pm
Sat & Sun: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm
*Meet & Greet for first 50 (No. min. spend)

- Dora & Diego Themed Craft Session
Raffles City, Level 3
6 - 11 Dec: 2.30pm
*Spend min. $30 between 18 Nov to 4 Dec to redeem a pass (30 passes a session).

Care Bears Musical Meet & Greet
AMK Hub, B1 Exhibition Hall
9 - 18 Dec
Tues - Fri: 4pm & 7pm
Sat & Sun: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm
*Meet & Greet passes for first 40 families (No spending required)

- Spectacular Christmas Parade (AMK Hub, B1 to Main Entrance)
10, 11, 17 & 18 Dec: 8pm
March along with the Care Bears and other Christmas favouritesat the evening parades.

Christmas Moments with Looney Tunes
Suntec City Mall, Tropics Atrium
10 - 22 Dec
Tues - Thurs: 1pm & 7pm
Fri - Sun: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm

*Tasmanian Devil Meet & Greet
Suntec City Mall, Happy Kidz Level 3
9 - 22 Dec; 2.30pm to 3.30pm (No session on Mondays)

Santa Claus Meet & Greet
City Square Mall, Level 1 Atrium
10-25 Dec
Sat & Sun only: 1pm, 4pm & 7pm

Christmas with Precious Moments in Elves & The Shoe Maker
West Mall
12-15 Dec: 7.30pm
16-18 Dec: 1pm & 7.30pm
*Meet & Greet takes place 30 min after showtimes (Min. $30 spend).

Pop! Goes your Heart @Asiamalls
Be entertained by witty characters like Lady Gargle and Black Eyed Peanut in 'A Christmas Popsicle' as they share the values of charity.
14 - 17 Dec; 2pm & 7pm - Hougang Mall & White Sands
18, 21 - 23 Dec; 2pm & 7pm - Tiong Bahru Plaza & Century Square

Sylvanian Family Meet & Greet
Raffles City, Robinsons
17 & 18 Dec
1pm, 3pm & 7pm (20 min each)

Christmas at Changi Airport
Changi Airport T3

Bouncy Castle
T3 Departure Hall, Row 11
2 Dec 2011 - 2 Jan 2012
12pm to 10pm daily
*Present Changi Rewards card or a receipt with any amount spent at Changi Airport for one pass.

Christmas Workshops for Kids
Event site at T3, B2 (Opposite KOPI Foodcourt)
1 Dec 2011 - 2 Jan 2012
2pm & 4pm daily (Redemption starts 1 hour earlier)
*Spend $80 (max 2 same day receipts) or $50 for Changi Rewards members for a single pass.
*Limited to 30 children (aged 3 to 12) per session.