Tag Archives: baby

SEA Aquarium, Singapore

Posted on March 1, 2018 | 4 comments

The S.E.A. Aquarium is the second largest aquarium in the world featuring more than 100,000 marine animals of over 800 species, across 10 different zones in 49 different habitats. IT also has a world record from the Guinness Book of Records for the largest aquarium in the world and the longest in the world view panel. 

We have visited many aquariums and Chhori seems to like them a lot. So we were excited to go and visit this famous aquarium on Santosa Island.

 

As we walked inside the aquarium, we saw the shipwreck habitat from the waters of Java Sea. It is so interesting to see how marine life eco system works. While shipwrecks are said to destroy coral reefs, it can also be home to a wide array of marine species.

 

From there we went to Shark Seas where we could see the endangered predators, including the Scalloped Hammerhead Shark, Silvertip Shark and Sandbar Shark. It was a bit crowed in that area so we took a few photos and moved to the next section which was the Coral Garden.

Coral Garden is known as “rainforests of the sea” with coral reefs form some of the most diverse underwater ecosystem on Earth where it is home to a large variety of marine life.

 

We saw Bluestripe, Emperor Angelfish, Japanese Giant Spider Crab, Floating Bell or Australian Spotted Jellyfish, Japanese Sea Nettles, Moon Sea Jellies, also known as Moon Jelly and the Saucer Jelly or Common Jellyfish .  

The Jellyfish looked so amazing with their translucent, saucer-shaped bell.

 

The main area of the S.E.A Aquarium is the world’s biggest Open Ocean tank offering a panoramic view of the ocean which is home to many gentle giants of the sea including Leopard Sharks, Groupers and others over 50,000 marine creatures. 

We rested in the area and waited for the feeding session. Chhori decided to have her nap so we had plenty of time to relax after walking for so long.

Chhori woke up in time for the feeding.

 

As it was around Christmas so we were visited by Scuba Santa and the Underwater Cheeky Elves delivering special Fishman’s treats to the marine animals.

 

Chhori was so excited to see the Santa inside the tank. We took heaps of photos in front of the tank and moved to the next area of the aquarium but this was definitely the highlight of the day for us. 

At one point we walked past a floor of glass filled with predators like sharks under us and Chhori loved it so much she decided to lie down on the glass to watch the sharks under her. It was really funny.

 I also liked the popular discovery touch pool where you get to touch Starfish and other marine specimens. I was excited about it but Chhori decided that it was not her thing.

 She did love the Starfish that was on display in the zone and all the colourful fish in the tank.

Every time we saw a clownfish, she got super excited and cried out, “Nemo, Nemo.”

 As we were near the exit, we passed through another huge tunnel where there were more sharks swimming above our head.

 

Overall we had a great time at the aquarium and Chhori was so happy to see so many “fishy”. I would definitely recommend a visit to the aquarium in Santosa Island; especially if you have kids with you.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to  check out winners of  NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2017

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Posted in Holidays, Singapore

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Fun @ Sentosa Island

Posted on February 28, 2018 | 2 comments

Sentosa Island is a famous tourist destination in Singapore. The island got the name “Sentosa” (which means “isle of tranquillity”) only in 1972 after Singapore government decided to develop the island into a holiday resort for local visitors and tourists. 

We spent one day in Sentosa Island doing many amazing things and I wished we had more time to spend there. There are so many things to do that a day is definitely not enough.  

I remember going there the last time to Universal Studio but this time we wanted it to be more fun for Chhori so we stuck to kid friendly stuffs. 

We started outside Universal Studio where the water sprinklers are. Chhori was so happy with the water that she was running from one end to other. 

From there we passed through the Trick Eye Museum to go to SEA Aquarium. I will post about the aquarium in a separate post. 

After the aquarium, we were hungry so went to the big food court for lunch. There are so many places to eat from that it is a bit confusing but we decided to stick with Malay traditional food. The food was yummy and it was nice to rest and eat in the air-conditioned hall. 

After lunch we decided to walk around the area and Chhori was fascinated by the lollies outside Candylicious. She kept running from one to another saying “M n M Mama”, “Surprise mama”. It was nice to see her so excited. 

As it was so hot we decided to get an ice cream before we start on the Festive Walk. Festive Walk is a strip that connects several attractions.

You can shop in some of the luxury boutiques, including the very first Victoria´s Secret boutique in Asia, Versace, Rolex, Ralph Lauren, Bulgari and many more or just walk along to reach the Merlion Park. 

The legendary Merlion is a half lion half fish guardian of prosperity which personifies Singapore’s history as a port city. The lion depicts the folklore of Prince Sang Nila Utama’s rediscovery of lion (singa) and City (pura) while the fish tail symbolises ancient fishing village of Temasek, meaning “sea” in Javanese. Today, the majestic Merlion is a Singapore icon attracting visitors from all around the world. 

Legend has it that the Merlion would visit Sentosa Island every year to guard Singapore’s well-being.  

This whole walk was very picturesque and we took heaps of photos. From there we took the train to go to the Siloso Beach as we had booked tickets to watch the Wings of Time. 

The Wings of Time show at Sentosa is a night show that is available daily at 7.40pm and 8.40pm. The show, which cost $10m to produce, is set outdoors at Siloso Beach against the backdrop of the open sea. It’s wonderful to see how art and science come together to create the show. 

The 25-minute show tells a tale about two friends, a mysterious pre-historic bird and their journey across several landscapes and time to find the bird’s home. 

We had tickets for the 7.40 pm one. When the show started and for the whole length of the show, Chhori was really good and enjoyed it, even asking questions sometimes. 

The show ended with a bang, a wonderful display of fireworks. 

After the show, we walked from the beach to the Merlion Park as the queue for the train was too long. We wanted to go to Merlion Park to see the sound and light show at 8.45 pm. 

Merlion sound and light show ran every half hour starting at 7.45 pm. The show was National Day themed, showcasing the diversity of the cultures in Singapore that coexist so beautifully. We thoroughly enjoyed it and were glad to have such a wonderful time at the island. 

It was almost 10 pm then so we caught the train to Vivo City and a cab from there to our hotel. We were all tired but we were happy to have had a wonderful day on Sentosa Island.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to  check out winners of  NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2017

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Posted in Holidays, Singapore

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Little India and China town in Singapore

Posted on February 27, 2018 | 1 comment

While we were in Singapore we went and enjoyed roaming around Little India and China town. 

That morning we woke up and caught a Grab cab to go to Little India for breakfast. We found the MTR restaurant which is very famous for Indian vegetarian food so decided to give it a go. 

The restaurant was busy so we had to wait for a few minutes before we got our table. The place was small and extremely busy but had great service. We ordered some dosa and idly.

The food was good but not exceptionally good to be so famous. May be we didn’t pick the right dishes or maybe I have eaten in many nice Indian restaurants. 

After breakfast we went to roam around the area. We went to Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple and Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple. We also went to different Chinese temples. 

It was nice and surprising to see so many Chines temples in Little India and visa versa when we went to China town. 

After visiting the temples we went to Mostafa Centre for some shopping. It was really overwhelming for me as it was so big and things are everywhere. I prefer to shop in small shops where I feel like I can go and browsers where as in a large place with too many things make my head spin. 

We bought one item from the whole building and left the centre. 

From there we walk around the area and went to Taka centre. The first thing we did was to go to their food court where there were choices of so many authentic Hawker food. 

The food is really cheap here and so yummy. I really loved the food. The only negative point was it was hot and had no air conditioning. 

After that we went to the centre to look around and were equally overwhelmed by so many shops selling traditional sarees and lengha. I wanted to buy a few for me and Chhori but it was too much to handle and look inside any of the shops. AS wanted me to buy something but I told him that we need to leave as I couldn’t make up my mind with all the options. 

From there we went to the hotel to rest and Chhori had a nap. 

In the evening we went to China town. First of all went to a few temples around the area like the Hindu temple Sri Mariamman Temple and a few Chinese temples before walking around the market stalls.

We bought a few souvenirs and gifts.

 

We also went to a famous Tin Tin shop. 

It was AS’s birthday that day so we decided to go to a restaurant and celebrate. We went to Xie Lao Song restaurant and I was glad it was so cool with air conditioning.  

For dinner, we ordered chilli crab and duck dishes.

The food was yummy and AS enjoyed his with local beer. AS also had a yummy cheese cake I had got for his birthday. 

After dinner, we went for a stroll and saw many people dancing with to some music in an old square. It was so nice to see that anyone can walk and join the group and leave once done. 

By this time Chhori was fast asleep in her stroller so we caught a Grab cab and went back to the hotel. 

We had walked so much this day and we are so tired that we were fast asleep in our soft warm bed as soon as we go into it. 

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to  check out winners of  NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2017

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Singapore Zoo 

Posted on February 25, 2018 | 9 comments

When we went to Singapore for holiday, we wanted Chhori to have lots of fun so Singapore zoo was on the top of our to-do list. 

Since we travel as a family now, the way we do things is very different compared to when we used to travel as a couple. Now there are a lot less adventurous stuffs and more baby friendly activities and so the zoo was on top of the list for us in Singapore. 

Chhori had enjoyed the Dubbo Zoo and Nepal Zoo so much that we knew that the zoo would be a must visit destination for us. 

The Singapore Zoo, formerly known as the Singapore Zoological Gardens and commonly known locally as the Mandai Zoo, occupies 28 hectares (69 acres) on the margins of Upper Seletar Reservoir within Singapore’s heavily forested central catchment area. 

Singapore Zoo is home to many exotic and endangered species.  

We caught a Grab Cab and arrived at the zoo around 10 am. It was already packed with families with kids and bus full of tourists. We queued for tickets and got a map with and it looked really easy to navigate. There are a number of zones located around the zoo: Frozen Tundra, Wild Africa, Fragile Forest, Australian Zone, Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia, Treetops Trail, Gibbon Island, Primate Kingdom, Reptile Garden, Tortoise Shell-ter and Tropical Crops & Orchid Garden.  

When we checked the timetable, we saw that there was a giraffe feeding soon so went and queued for the feeding. It took 30 minutes to get our turn but some for reason, the giraffe had decided to go away when it was being fed by the people before us. We waited for a while but the giraffe didn’t come back so they cancelled the feeding and we were so disappointed. I know we have no control over the animals’ behavior but I was so looking forward to do this one. 

Anyway from there we explored the rest of the zoo. The zoo is an amazing place to spend the day and is designed to be easy to navigate so you get to see as many animals as you want. 

Chhori was so excited to see the polar bear, cute otter and orangutans jumping in the trees. 

We also saw reptiles, pandas, dolphins and a white tiger. 

But the best part for Chhori was the waterpark in the Kidzworld and I have to say what a great idea. It was a hot and humid day and the waterpark was ideal for the kids to chill out in. We had packed her swimwear so she was super excited to play in the water. 

We spent more than an hour before we move on to another area. Chhori didn’t want to leave and wanted to stay longer but we were hungry. 

There is not many lunch option inside the zoo. There is only one main restaurant located in the middle of the park and a KFC at Kidzworld. There are a few more outside. 

We went to the Ah Meng restaurant and they had various stations of food like Malay and Indian, I had Nasi Lemak and AS had roast chicken and rice while we bought nugget & chips for Chhori. 

The food was ok but it was really busy. 

Overall we had a great time at the zoo and it was great fun for Chhori too.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to vote your favourite blog . NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2017

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Singapore adventures 

Posted on January 31, 2018 | 2 comments

As I had mentioned before, we went to Singapore for our Christmas – New Year break.

Initially, I really want to go to Phillipines but we end up going to Singapore at the last minute. Can you imagine the cost of the flight and accommodation when you book during such a busy period? I am just glad that we still managed to have a holiday.

Anyway, Chhori was excited about the holiday from the day we booked the flight and told her about it.

I am so glad to see that she will be a traveler like her parents and enjoy new stuff in life. When we were boarding our flight to Singapore, she was so excited that she was dancing and jumping and saying, “We are going to Singapore for holiday.” Making all the onlookers smile.

We had an evening flight from Sydney so it was perfect for Chhori and me as she slept most of the 9 hours flight while AS couldn’t sleep a wink. For some reason AS can’t sleep on the plane making it hard for him when we reach our destination.

When we reached Singapore, it was 3 am in the morning so we caught a cab 🚕 and went straight to our hotel. We checked in and were very happy with our room. We got upgraded to a better room and I am so thankful to Novotel for that. They definitely gave us a very good start to our holiday.

We decided to sleep for a few hours and woke up hungry. We had breakfast at the hotel itself and decided to go to the city for the day.

We used GRAB, a car hailing app like Uber, while in Singapore and it was so convenient as well as saving us heaps of money.

Our first stop was the Merlion Park and Marina bay. As tourists do, we went around and took heaps of photos with all the iconic monuments. 

Chhori was equally excited to see this new city. I have been to Singapore before but this time it is so much better as my baby and my better half were with me.

From there we walked the bridge to go to the other side to Mariana bay shopping centre. We had lunch there and found this amazing activities for kids.

Chhori was excited to ride on animals, play on the big sandpits with balls and toys. We spent more than one hour there before going to an art and crafts stall where we painted and made snow man out of paper before leaving.

By then Chhori was so tired that she decided to sleep on the stroller.

We decided we should have dinner before leaving and found this little restaurant serving local food. 

I ordered chicken laksa and AS had pork belly. The food was amazing and it came with local tea and koffee as they call it.

We had an amazing first day in Singapore and were very excited for the rest of the trip. 

Will write more about our holiday soon, till then take care.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to vote your favourite blog . NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2017

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