Sing It Singapore!

Another family holiday, this time was a crowded one. The main objective was to make the kids happy, so the destinations - Singapore and Johor - were chosen just to fulfill that goal. Here are some recollections, recommendations, and reminiscence from the memorable holiday :)

1. Peninsula Hotel

- is where we stayed during the short trip. Not too expensive like the hotels in Orchard Road, but still it's pretty decent for kids and the location is also very good. Not far from City Hall station, there is Watson just next door and 7-11 across the street. Recommended! Ow, and the best thing is there's no Indonesians staying at this hotel so you can talk freely in Bahasa Indonesia without worrying somebody will eavesdrop :D

2. Legoland Malaysia

Look at the background! Those two little devils were having a grand time :D

We chartered a bus from Singapore because our group was quite big (17 people). The traveling time was not so bad, about an hour from Singapore to Johor Baru. But the process of getting off the bus to go through Immigration check points (one in Singapore and one in Malaysia) was pretty exhausting, especially for the kids. Finally we made it to Legoland, and since it was a weekday, the place was not too crowded. We almost successfully riding all the rides :)

It's true, though, that Legoland is more suitable for kids below 10 years old. The rides are quite slow and children friendly. They even have two roller coasters, one is for younger kids (like Alap-alap in Dufan). Yofel was pretty excited. Too bad the 4D theater didn't function well, the scent and moving functions didn't work, although the kids related well with the Chima story (you only understand this if your kids play Lego, trust me).

Another cool ride is the Dino Island, but it's not eligible for kids whose heights are below 120 cm. It's like Niagara-gara in Dufan, but instead of Indians and cowboys, there are dinosaurs made from Lego. Too bad Yofel can't ride it.

One of Yofel's favorite rides is the Junior Driving School. Here, kids pretended to enter the driving school, and learn to ride a car (again, made from Lego, very cute). At the end of the ride, they are allowed to have a driving license (although you'll have to pay R35 for this haha).

Before getting the license. Watch out Pak Polisi!

 At the end of the day, we gave the kids a chance to shop for their favorite Lego. My tip is to prepare extra money to buy Lego in one of the shops, because it's worth it, the price is cheaper up to IDR 200k.

We got back to Singapore by our bus, and again, had to pass through the Immigration checkpoints. This time it's more challenging because the kids were already really tired and cranky. My suggestion, if you have extra money and extra time, it's better to spend one night in the Legoland Hotel, and you can also try the waterpark.

Dino from Lego!

3. Dinosaurs Dawn to Extinction (and Annie Leibovitz Exhibition!)

Which one should I choose? :D

The next day, our group split up and we took Yofel to ArtScience Museum in Marina Bay Sands. The building has very cool design, modern and sleek with spacious rooms for the exhibitions. Dinosaurs Dawn to Extinction was almost over, we were lucky it's still there when we visited the museum. The good news was, there's an exhibition of Annie Leibovitz at the 3rd floor and the combo ticket price was quite cheap, so my sister and I decided we will stop by the Annie Leibovitz exhibition after done with the Dino.

But first thing first: Yofel was soooo excited and happy with the dino exhibition. It showed the most wonderful things: real fossils, edutainment related to dinosaurs, replicas of jungle and even the almost real fighting scenes between the fierce dinos.

Cool replicas!

 The audio, video, even 3D demos were very descriptive and interesting. For kids like Yofel, there were some cool games and activities that suitable for children and toddlers. I wish this kind exhibition will visit Jakarta in the future!

Next, my sister and I went to the 3rd floor to see the Annie Leibovitz photo exhibition. I love the spacious, light gallery where the exhibition was held, and I love how the gallery arranged Annie's photos chronologically. My most favorite is of course the Leonardo DiCaprio's one :D

We're not supposed to take picture here *ssshhhh*

4. The Sound of Music

We were very lucky we could watch Sound of Music the musical in Marina Bay Sands Mastercard Theater. This was actually the first time I took Yofel to a musical so I was pretty nervous. Will he make a scene? Will he be bored?

The theater itself is amazing- it's large with live music performance below the stage. The acoustic quality is marvelous and the stage design is beautiful. The performance is wonderful, too. Although coming from Broadway, the theater gave opportunity to Singaporean to also perform. So from the 7 Von Trapp's kids, there's one Singaporean :)

Yofel unexpectedly loved the performance. He sat in the children special stool provided by the theater and enjoyed the musical scenes, especially the Do Re Mi one :) But he was a bit confused because there were some scenes different from the movie. And Yofel got bored during the conversation scenes, especially that involved only the grown ups. He fell asleep after the intermission, but I'm so proud of him for accompanying me in this amazing musical :)

yaaawnnn XD

the gank...

5. Fullerton Walk

Singapore is crazy about running (like Jakarta) and now there are lots and lots of running track. Too bad I didn't bring my running shoes, but one evening we decided to walk from our hotel to the Fullerton area, passing by the running track (and many runners!) to the Merlion. The atmosphere was so nice, and the view was beautiful.

Next time I visit Singapore, running shoes are in my packing list :)

Singapore Fling

My mom is one of the most impulsive persons I've ever known. So I wasn't that surprised when last month she suddenly asked me to join her for a short trip to Singapore, with my sister and sister in law. My father finally joined us too in last minute.

The trip didn't have any specific reasons, other than Mom wanted to spend some time with us, girls only (this was before my father's sudden decision to join us, haha). So we decided to visit some nice culinary destinations that we've never had a chance to visit every time we came with the kids.

There are three places that I would love to recommend:

1. Tiong Bahru Bakery 
Actually, this place has several branches, including one in Orchard area. That's why the concierge in our hotel was confused when we asked him the way to Tiong Bahru, the original location of the bakery. But we wanted to feel the atmosphere besides eating the food, so we decided to just go to Tiong Bahru. We took a bus and it stopped not far from the bakery. The bakery was small and it was Sunday when we went there, so it was pretty crowded. Fortunately we got a table near the windows when we arrived. The bakery is owned by a French couple, so the menu has lots of variety, and authentic taste, too. We ordered chocolate almond croissant, apple crumble, bacon bagel and some pie with cheese (I forgot the French name, sorry!). The price is quite high, maybe because the target market of the bakery is the expatriates living in Singapore (so many bules when we were there, most of them are young couples with small kids). But the coffee and tea are great, and the food is very very delicious, so it's all worth it. It feels like you found a little piece of Paris in the middle of Singapore old town district.

http://www.tiongbahrubakery.com/
#01-07, 56 Eng Hoon St, Singapore 160056 ‎
6220 3430

The Almond Croissant and Bacon Bagel are superb!

Make sure you go to the original location.

2. Song Fa Bakut Teh
I am not a fan of bakut teh, for me the taste is too strong and even a bit like medicine. But my sister said that there's one place in Clarke Quay that has the best bakut teh ever. It even doesn't really taste of bakut teh! So we decided to give it a try and having lunch there. It's located just across The Central, the big mall above the Clarke Quay MRT station. The place is so crowded we even had to wait to be seated. The atmosphere is pretty nice, the interior is designed like an old Chinese restaurant. We ordered pork ribs bakut teh, fish soup, cakueh and vegetables. And my sister was totally right! The bakut teh didn't taste like strong medicine, but more like pork rib soup :) I enjoyed it so much, even the price was okay (we actually spent more for our breakfast in Tiong Bahru than our lunch here). My only complaint is the tea. The Chinese tea was not that good, lukewarm and didn't have strong taste. Not at all like any old Chinese restaurant!

http://www.songfa.com.sg
17 New Bridge Road #01-01
Singapore 059386
Business Hours:
11.00am - 9.45pm
Last Order: 9:30pm Please call to check on availability
(Closed on Monday)
Tel: +65 6438 2858 

From the upfront.

Those pork ribs are heavenly!

3. Tim Ho Wan
We heard about this place because people said that this is the hottest spot to eat dim sum in Singapore now. It's gained an entry in Michelin guide and originally came from Hongkong. In Singapore, it's located in Plaza Singapura, not far from Orchard Road. But since the waiting line is usually very long, we decided to come on Monday (with hope that people are too busy going to work and don't have time to eat dim sum in the morning), and we came very early, before the restaurant was open :) But guess what? There were actually people already waited in the line! And the thing is, because we were still waiting for my mom and dad to join us in the restaurant, we were not allowed to go inside! The rule is to wait until all members of your group are coming. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait for too long. And we ordered so much food because we were very very hungry XD The must try of this place is Baked Bun with BBQ Pork. It's like puffy milk bread, with juicy bbq pork inside. It's so delicious I felt guilty to eat it! Other menu that are also worth to try: vermicelli roll with pig's liver, steamed pork dumpling with shrimp, and pan fried carrot cake. My mouth is now watery just thinking about them XD The price was okay, but a bit expensive compares to dim sum in Jakarta. We spent around SGD 70 for 5 people.

http://www.timhowan.com

68 Orchard Road #01-29A Plaza Singapura
Singapore 238839
Tel: (65) 6251 2000
Opening Hours:
10.00am – 10.00pm (Monday  – Friday) Last Order @ 0930pm. 09.00am – 10.00pm (Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday)  Last Order @ 0930pm.

No reservation so make sure you come early!

The super duper delicious bbq pork bun!

Singapore Philatelic Museum

Saat berkunjung ke Singapura bulan lalu untuk tugas kantor (of course! huhu), gue menginap di Peninsula Hotel, di dekat City Hall. Gue selalu bertekad, di setiap traveling yang berhubungan dengan kerjaan, gue harus menyempatkan diri untuk setidaknya mengunjungi satu tempat yang tidak ada hubungannya dengan pekerjaan :)

Gue langsung mengubek-ngubek peta Singapura sambil mengira-ngira kapan bisa kabur dari si bos (yap, traveling sama bos lebih menantang lagi karena harus tau banget kapan waktunya melipir). Akhirnya kesempatan itu datang saat ada jeda waktu di siang hari, sebelum kembali ada acara sore harinya. Dengan alasan mau cari oleh-oleh buat Yofel (yang memang beneran gue lakukan sih), akhirnya gue pun berhasil kabur.

Ada beberapa tempat menarik yang sebenarnya bisa dikunjungi di daerah hotel. Yang pertama dan paling menggiurkan buat gue adalah Bras Basah, kompleks penjualan second hand books yang harganya murah meriah. Tapi tentunya mampir ke sana nggak cukup hanya 2 jam saja, jadi dengan sangat terpaksa option ini pun harus dicoret. Pilihan lain adalah Mint Toy Museum, museum mainan yang kelihatannya menarik banget. Tapi berhubung jarak dengan hotel masih agak jauh dan kemungkinan menghabiskan waktu di perjalanan, pilihan ini juga dicoret. Maka tersisalah pilihan terakhir, yaitu Singapore Philatelic Museum, yang kalau melihat dari peta sih, sepertinya nggak jauh dari hotel.

Singapore Philatelic Museum

Ternyata setelah pusing mengira-ngira arah, gue baru sadar kalau museum ini letaknya persis di belakang hotel, bahkan kelihatan dari jendela kamar gue. Zzzzz.... Dasar tukang nyasar dan langganan disoriented nih!

Museum ini terletak di daerah yang memang masih dipadati oleh bangunan bergaya kolonial Inggris, terlihat juga dari tampak depan bangunan dengan bata merah dan atap putih yang khas jaman dulu. Banner dan poster warna-warni menambah keceriaan museum ini. Lebih tampak seperti sekolah anak TK daripada bangunan museum sebenarnya. Masuk ke dalam suasananya pun menyenangkan, cerah dan bersih. Meski bangunannya kuno, tidak ada kesan angker sama sekali. (Jadi inget beberapa museum di Jakarta yang agak menyeramkan suasananya, huhu)

Tiket masuknya hanya $6 saja untuk dewasa, dan gue langsung masuk ke ruangan depan, tempat berlangsungnya pameran kompetisi stamp collection antar sekolah di Singapura. Yang menang memang keren-keren banget koleksinya.

Stamp collecting competition

 Dari sana, gue berlanjut ke ruangan display. Museum filateli ini dibagi dalam 4 ruangan utama yang menempati lantai dasar dan lantai atas bangunan. Orange Room merupakan ruangan tempat kita diperkenalkan dengan asal mula prangko, Purple Room menjabarkan tentang langkah-langkah pembuatan prangko dalam detail yang menarik, Room of Rarities menyimpan koleksi prangko langka museum ini, dan Heritage Room menyinggung sejarah Singapura secara general.

Purple Room, warnanya eye catching banget!

 Selain itu, ada juga Children's Gallery yang sering menampilkan eksibisi khusus anak-anak. Waktu gue ke sana, eksibisinya adalah tentang permainan Ular Tangga (Snakes & Ladders) yang diselenggarakan dalam rangka merayakan tahun ular.

Snakes & Ladders - I wish Yofel was here!

Terakhir sebelum pulang, gue mampir ke souvenir shop (of course!!) untuk membeli beberapa postcard termasuk vintage Singapore. Gong-nya tentu saja ketika gue menemukan koleksi prangko dinosaurus yang dijual dengan harga $3. Uhuhuhu unyu banget! One day kalau Yofel udah gede, rencananya koleksi ini mau dihibahkan buat dia aja :)

Dino stamp

Overall Singapore Philatelic Museum sangat menarik untuk dikunjungi. Kesederhanaan konsepnya didukung oleh fasilitas yang keren, menarik, dan ramah untuk anak-anak, sehingga tema prangko yang bisa dibilang sudah ketinggalan jaman, masih bisa tetap dinikmati oleh anak-anak masa kini (yang lebih familiar mengirim email daripada postcard!) tanpa berkesan membosankan.

Dan untuk kesekian kalinya, tentu saja gue masih berharap Indonesia akan punya lebih banyak museum keren seperti ini lagi! Bisa kok! :)

Singapore Philatelic Museum
23 B Coleman Street, Singapore
www.spm.org.sg

Visit Singapore

Kemaren ini gue baru balik dari Singapore, dan meskipun baru awal taun ini gue ke sana, udah lumayan banyak juga yang berubah.
Perubahan itu ngga laen dan ngga bukan tentu aja gara-gara SARS, si wabah yang bikin panik semua negara baru-baru ini.
Begitu keluar dari pesawat, kita langsung disambut sama alat pengukur suhu, yang bakalan langsung bereaksi kalo ternyata suhu kita ada di atas suhu rata-rata. Ternyata, alat kaya gini ngga cuma ada di airport aja, tapi juga di sekolah, kantor dan beberapa tempat umum laennya. Mungkin konsistensi pemerintah dalam ngegunain alat pengukur suhu ini, dan tentu aja tindakan yang diambil kalo ada orang yang suhunya di atas rata-rata, yang bikin Singapore jadi salah satu negara yang paling awal bebas SARS.
Disiplin, konsisten, dan tegas, emang merupakan karakter dari pemerintahan Singapore. Selain keliatan jelas dari masalah SARS tadi, sejak dulu Singapore emang terkenal sebagai negara penuh denda.
Ngeselin emang, karena kita bisa aja kena denda 500 dollar hanya gara-gara bawa minum di dalem MRT. Tapi terus terang, biarpun ngeselin, mungkin ini juga yang bikin Singapore jadi salah satu negara paling maju di Asia.
Biarpun gitu, tetep aja ada perubahan laen yang juga kurang enak buat Singapore. Yang paling jelas keliatan adalah banyaknya pengemis yang sekarang nongkrong di underpass atau tempat-tempat deket stasiun MRT. Selain itu, tingkat kriminalitas yang mulai naek juga bikin Singapore ngga seaman yang dulu-dulu. Misalnya aja, sehari sebelum gue nyampe, ternyata baru ada kejadian perampokan cewek di salah satu taman kota yang biasanya tergolong aman buat jalan-jalan.
Hal-hal kaya gitu terjadi emang karena keadaan ekonomi Singapore yang kurang oke akhir-akhir ini, yang salah satu penyebab utamanya adalah wabah SARS itu.
Tapi.....pemerintah Singapore ngga keabisan akal. Buat ningkatin pendapatan dari sektor turisme yang sempet anjlok kemaren ini, diadain SALE gede-gedean, hampir di semua toko, mal dan pusat perbelanjaan.
Nah...ini yang bikin Singapore emang jadi tempat yang asik banget buat belanja sekarang-sekarang ini.... terutama buat para shopaholic...

Btw, kalo ada yang punya rencana pergi ke Singapore deket-deket ini, beberapa hal dan tempat yang menurut gue bikin acara jalan-jalan di Singapore jadi tambah asik, mungkin ini nih :
* Jangan lupa nongkrong di toko-toko buku, kaya Borders ato Kinokuniya. Di Borders, kamu bisa nongkrong sampe jam 11 malem di hari-hari biasa, dan sampe jam 12 malem di malem minggu. Tempatnya asik banget buat sekedar liat-liat majalah dan buku baru, ato numpang baca gratis!!
* Kalo udah cape belanja, sempetin mampir ke cafe kaya Starbucks ato Coffee Bean yang emang banyaaaak banget di sekitar tempat belanja, terutama di sekitar Orchard. Kadang menu-menunya suka beda sama yang di sini, selaen itu suasananya juga seru, ngopi sambil ngeliatin orang belanja..
* Ke Far East Plaza, tempat belanja yang penuh toko-toko murah. Barang-barangnya up to date, dan toko-tokonya juga lucu-lucu. Wardrobe nya VJ MTV suka ngambil dari sini lho.... Trus, kalo udah di sini, jangan lupa buat mampir ke toko sablon Chicos, di mana kamu bisa nyablon kaos kamu pake gambar apaaa aja, termasuk foto kamu sama pacar kamu!!
* Jalan-jalan ke Anex (di Heeren, Orchard) ato The Edge (di Bugis Junction), yaitu area belanja yang penuh sama distro, tempat nongkrong seru kaya Grafitti Cafe, dan tentu aja anak-anak gaul Singapore yang biasanya emang suka nongkrong di sini.
* HMV, toko cd yang suka tiba-tiba sale gede-gedean. Nyari kaset apa aja juga ada di sini... HMV yang gede ada di Heeren (Orchard) atou di City Link
* Newton Circus, tempat makan yang penuh sama segala macem makanan, mulai seafood sampe makanan khas Singapore. Tapi ati-ati, kalo tau kamu turis, biasanya harganya suka dimahalin...

Banyak lagi sih yang masih bisa diliat di Singapore, kaya maen ke Sentosa Island, Singapore Zoological, atau Discovery Centre. Kalo kamu masih punya waktu lebih dan ngga tau mesti ngapain lagi, coba aja keliling-keliling pake MRT atou bus yang sekarang udah pake sistem link. Kamu tinggal beli satu kartu terusan yang bisa diisi ulang, dan kamu bisa jalan-jalan sampe puas keliling Singapore...