Welcomed by familiar surroundings dabbed with Christmas decor.
Super quiet – looked like super low occupancy period with local folks still travelling, and not many foreign visitors at this time!
We take a similar photo as our last visit.
Then (Jun 2023)Now (Dec 2024)
Snagged the same Lady Astor Double room (911) after having stayed at 811 last year (exactly same configuration/facing).
Welcome amenities.
Butler sent some welcome drinks (coffee/tea and iced lemon tea), and a personalized note for Daddy who’s a real sucker for our notes 🙂
We check out the pool (Daddy says its unfortunate we again did not get to swim!), we head to the (again very quiet gym) after dinner (to check out weight and BMI!) and Didi here soaking in the tub!
Last day of school on 14th Nov 2024 where we head back for the penultimate time (prize-giving day, in anticipation to the final day on 20th Nov which would be release of the dreaded PSLE results! Yikes!)
With only 5 days to juggle with Daddy had planned for us to Scoot to Sydney to visit (after living in SYD for 2 years, we have actually not had the opportunity to go back until now) – so this would be our 1st trip back in 10 years! Whoa!
Believe it or not we’d actually not packed until getting home on Thursday afternoon, frantically chucking all our barang-barang into the suitcase (we only bought 1 check-in bag allowance of 20KG and managed to snag additional 5KG free) so that wasn’t very much after half of it was filled with stuff/gifts for friends.
Diggin’ the Hello Kitty 2024 Golden Jubilee Fest at Changi!
Our flight was TR2 scheduled for departure at 230am which unfortunately got delayed by an hour plus; it wasn’t until almost 4 in the morning that we had wheels up. We tried to get some shut eye given there was no IFE. We did prebook 2 meals (Nasi Lemak and Ginger Chicken with Rice) to share amongst the four of us but unfortunately we were already stuffed (after visiting the Plaza Premium Lounge at T1 – using Daddy and Mummy’s Priority Pass/Dragon Pass respectively), plus we were just too dead tired. The food didn’t look so good either, so we just took the drinks and candy through the flight to keep us perked! And by the way Daddy was a little unwell in the tummy the whole trip…
Despite the announcement over PA reminding pax to take note of boarding their respective boarding sequence, overall it was a hugely messy exercise with priority-boarding free for all – almost like a frag-fest rampage! So much for priority boarding (more like hoarding!)!
Still awake and wide-eyed!
[1:58am] All smiles – checkout Doc Brown at the back![3:13am] Still waiting…
Kind-deed Mummy decided to bless an uncle seated in front of him with one of the meals we didn’t eat. We also gave away another meal. And no, for avoidance of doubt it wasn’t to Doc Brown lurking at the back!
No drama getting into Kingsford Smith Airport Sydney (FYI did you know there are still curfews enforced in some AU airport, with no flights allowed to arrive/leave AU between 11pm-6am). Thankfully for the free forward seats we were allocated we were able to get to the immigration counters fairly quickly and ahead of the rest (on the flights, and other flights). Can you imagine with flight-bunching, many other airlines arrive around the same time! We even requested to have our passports stamped with the Aussie arrival chop – not so easy these days with electronic clearance rolled out to most airports! There was also quite a wait for the bags at the carousel but we made up for good time after being waved through without any bag checks (oh we did miss seeing the cutesy beagles sniff our bags as we saw in Perth last trip!). Collected our car from Avis where daddy got a free upgrade to a swanky BMW X3 despite having booked the smallest category Suzuki swift given his Avis President membership (thank you #Amex), which was apparently the same car he got when he was there few months back in July!
SYD Airport!
Nice weather when we arrived. It was about a 45 min drive to Burwood, where we pretty much stayed at. Headed straight for Westfield and strolled K-Mart and Target before heading to Strathfield for Korean dinner with Gong Gong and Popo.
Day#1 – Koala Park Sanctuary – West Pennant Hills
Surprisingly the highlight wasn’t so much the Koala viewing and Kangaroo feeding, but our Cockatoo friend (checkout his funny antics!). He must have been craving much needed attention that he was trying to follow us when we were about to leave! He was always following us around and saying “Hello!”
Mummy Koa at Koala Park Sydney!
#Throwback to 10years back at Featherdale Wildlife Park Sydney – easily an hour North-West from Burwood which we didnt have time to do this trip, hence the closer option of Koala Park at Pennant Hills (30mins away) where we still get to see Koalas and Kangaroo. Lookit those cutie pies, both with headgear and without!
The OG Mummy Koa!Wide-eyed Jo, after being the one sleeping last trip at Caversham Wildlife Park. Perth, WA.
Lunch at Pyrmont Fish Market! Daddy and Mummy’s go-to location for one-stop seafood each time!
Glorious seafood galore!
There was so much food there, and our favourite was the fish and chips!
SYD Pyrmont Fish MarketGlorious SeafoodYums!
We also ate takoyaki with bonito flakes. Mmmmmm!
#throwback to Babypower 10years ago at SYD Fish Market, our fav one-stop seafood joint, *munch-munch*…
Sydney Opera House!
In the middle of the road outside Aunty Luan’s house in Killara!
SYD Harbour BridgeSYD Opera House
Dinner with Gong Gong Popo and Aunty Luan at Ipoh Hawker (what was previously Sambal). After dinner, while mummy and daddy went to shop at Coles, we baked Black Forest cupcakes with Popo. (Chocolate cupcakes with cherry filling, whipped cream and a cherry on top)🍫🧁🍒
Day#2 – Cornerstone Church Eastwood
Old friends at Cornerstone Church Eastwood
Woolies at Marsfield after checking out our old house, look who we spotted!
Woolies!Iguana!Yikes!
Lunch at BBQ Wang at North Ryde – we had initially rendezvoused there in hopes to find an old Viet haunt we used to visit for rice paper rolls but found the new Korean joint instead which Daddy and Mummy said served even better food than Korea (yes they were in Seoul again just a week before SYD while we stayed home – thanks Gugu who stayed over with us during that time!). We all agreed that the food was excellent and wanted to go there again on Monday. However, little did we know that they would be closed on Monday. Boo-hoo, another hurrah another day!
BBQ Wang – the Wagyu Specialist!
We went to visit Rhodes Shopping Centre (lookit the playground we used to play at, Gugu says where only us Asian kids were the usual suspects frolicking around past 10 in the night when all other kids were already in bed by that time!) and then our house in SYD. Come to think about it, we really don’t remember anything much about our early life here though the waters seem to be a wee bit familiar now that Daddy mentioned he used to cycle around with us strapped in the back of the trailer!).
56 Walker St.Rhodes Riverside
We were able to go in a take some photos – thanks to our gracious tenants!
Look at this blast from the past pic!
Peek-a-boo! OMG who are those little kiddos straddled at the back of the baby trailer?
Updated to recent year(s) [May 2019] – almost outgrowing the max weight supportable and working our old man really hard…
We managed to catch a game of mini-golf at Holey-Moley at North Strathfield.
Day#3 – More shopping (I was looking out for squishmallows)
Since it was daddy’s birthday and he was at work, we decided to surprise him by making a chocolate birthday cake with “magic” candles— they wouldn’t go out no matter how many times Daddy HUFFED and PUFFED. In the end, we had to use a wet towel to douse the flames.🔥
Burwood Chinatown!Daddy’s Birthday!
Day#4 – finally time for us to head back to take our results!
Again another delay wherein we arrived back at 4am (originally scheduled for 3am!) after almost another hour’s delay (seems to be a trend here on TR flights hmmm….).
We head back in for some shuteye and then it was back to school (again!) for the final time to collect our results!
OMG so amazing Praise the Lord!
Both didi and I achieved AL4 and Distinctions on Higher Chinese which means we will be headed to our dream schools!
YAY! AWESOME!!! WOOHOOO!!!
With South View Primary School Form Teachers!With South View Primary School Form Teachers!TheJTwins rock PSLE both with AL4 and HDs on Higher Chinese! PTL!
So Daddy and Mummy get the yearly invite for a free movie night out courtesy of Singapore Airlines PPS Club, this year for a preview of Red One (having missed previous years’ – in 2023 it was Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on 20th Dec which we missed as we were already on holiday). Jumping at the invite this year, they ditched us at home to binge-play our video games.
The event was again held at Golden Village Vivocity and food was catered for at the annex adjacent to the level 6 box office where apparently private events (birthday parties, corporate events) were usually held.
SQ PPS 2024 Movie Night – Red One
Daddy snaps up the pix (and food), and while there were heaps of delectable food and sweets, Mummy indulges in some bubbly, but the grownups quip that the satay wasn’t half as good as the on 40,000 feet up in the air. For some reason it just wasn’t the same. There was of course also the signature SQ laksa akin to the ones usually found at Silverkris (SKL) lounges.
SQ Satay!SQ Laksa!_cuva
There was a card which participants had to keep, to redeem their goodie bag after dinner, en route to the movie hall. Inside were some chips, bottled water and a pair of reusable shopping bags (how very thoughtful and practical indeed!). Before the movie, some SQ and Krishop/Pelago ads were aired adding to the touches which continue to make SQ a ‘Great Way to Fly’.
Overall a very nice touch by Singapore Airlines.
SQ PPS Club Movie Night 2024 – Goodie Bag.
Oh yes, disclaimer, both the red and Polo blue SQ bears are blasts from the past – they didnt come with the goodie bag (though Daddy wished otherwise!).
We head back to the (by now not-so-newly-renovated anymore) Hilton Orchard for Sunday birthday brunch @ Estate (previously Mandarin Orchard which was more confusing since there was the Mandarin Oriental and the other Mandarin Orchard!), previously celebrating Yeh Yeh and Mah Mah’s Wedding Anniversary and Gugu’s Birthday.
Best part of Estate is that we get to do some fun activities (painting on canvas and Didi playing chess with Daddy), while the in-house magician goes around strutting his stuff!
Very nice spot, it didn’t seem like there was anyone else that day so we pretty much had that area all to ourselves…
Oh BTW we also (pre) celebrated with Daddy and Mummy the night before at Asian Market Cafe – checkout the fireworks in the background in celebration of our birthday! (LOL, actually they were the rehearsals ahead of NDP 2024!).
Arriving home after CDG, YYMMGG check in to the Hilton Orchard to stay over for Christmas.
Yeh Yeh and Daddy checking us in (check-in could have been done at the Exec Lounge for Diamond but with it being on the 6th floor of the Mandarin Wing (a different lift lobby away!) it was quicker to check in at the main lobby. Facade looks familiar with a touch up on the main checkin area which is in the same part where the old Mandarin Orchard lobby used to be.
Our upgraded room @ 3638 at the far end.
Great view of MBS in the distance.
We check out the Lounge after checkin. The pre-dinner spread was really good, akin to a full dinner outside!
Heading out with Yeh Yeh and Mah Mah to check out the Christmas lights along Orchard…
Us kids had been waiting a super long time for this trip, first planned circa July in the year, finally the day arrived (more like night since we took a night flight out to get into Europe in the morning)!
Nice festive decor at Changi!
Soon it was departure time!
SQ324 from SIN to AMS.
Daddy get some serious Priority Passenger Service treatment!
Loot from our friends from SQ324!Miffy from Amsterdam, Yoshi from Germany and the SQ bears from the kitchen!
Check out the SQ bears (chef edition, this time round we get both the boy and the girl versions!).
Flight time was 14 hours thereabouts headed from SIN to Amsterdam, but seemed a little shorter (13 hours from Paris back to SIN). What do we do but the obvious!
Day 2
Hello Schiphol Airport!
Zaanse Schans village with traditional windmills, clog making and cheese making factory.
Miffy is from Holland!Henry Willig Cheese
Clog Making at Volendam!
Madurodam, little miniature village with some rides and Dutch history. Miffy! Did you know Miffy is Dutch!
Madurodam!
Pretty much hang around the Amsterdam main shopping belt around Dam Square.
Eagle-eyed Mummy spots Primark, her fav go-to in Europe! We have dinner near Dam Square after walking past some shops selling magic mushrooms (who thought there would be magic mushrooms outside of Super Mario Land!) and space cakes!
Dam Square, Amsterdam
Manneken Pis (yes like the little boy from Brussels) – voted #1 fries in Holland.
Who needs space cakes and magic mushroom when you have the best fries!
Day 3 We take it easy a little today since everyone was trying to adjust to local time, and after day yesterday!
We headed went back to the Dam Square and have some time shopping for souvenirs, tulips, clogs and the likes. There was the option to visit Anne Frank’s house which we passed on since tickets had to be prebooked ahead (The Diary of Anne Frank, which is apparently the most translated Dutch book in the world!).
Take a canal cruise and get off at Gassan Diamonds to visit the gallery. It was interesting to see intricate canal system and boat houses in Amsterdam.
Lunch at an Argentinian Steak house!Pork Schnitzel Dinner!
Day 4 Today, we travel to the busy port town of Rotterdam. We see the De Verwoeste Stad, a sculpture by Ossip Zadkine which commemorates the bombing of Rotterdam during World War II, marvel at the innovative Cube Houses, a unique housing project that survived the war.
Next, visit Markthal Rotterdam, the country’s 1st covered market that features 96 fresh produce stalls and 20 hospitality and retail units on the 2 lowest floors. Designed by Dutch architects, this covered food market is shaped like a giant arch. A staircase in the centre of the market, named the Time Stairs, displays a permanent exhibition about the history of food and artefacts found during the excavation of the site. In the afternoon, we travel to Roermond designer outlet, close to the German border.
We spend a couple of hours there, had lunch and then drive a further 1.5hr to Cologne to see one of the most fascinating old towns in the country. We reach late in the evening and headed straight for dinner at a traditional German bierhaus (Didi says he has space cakes in Amsterdam and now beer in Germany – like Orion beer factory in Okinawa!) thereafter check in to our hotel, the Mercure Koln.
Day 5 The next morning we explore Koln town, mainly around Cologne Cathedral, a gem of Gothic architecture and one of Germany’s most visited landmarks. While Daddy, Mummy, Gugu, Yeh Yeh and Mah Mah (pretty much everyone else had been there in the past) it was the first time they were visiting around Christmas.
Lighting Candles inside Cologne Cathedral
There was a Christmas market adjacent to the cathedral, Weihnachtsmarkte Koln, bustling with stalls from souvenirs fashion and food for the last minute Christmas shopper. Daddy says the brats have bratwurst and crap (actually it was creppe!) and choco fondue and some warm ribena milk thingy which is supposedly warm wine which folks sip while strolling around the market (we find out they gave us the zero alcohol version but of course burps!). There was even a some stage performances. Really like pasar malam style…
Bratwursts!Weihnachtsmarkte Koln Christmas Market
We turn travel 5 hours south-West towards Reims via the Belgian border. Mummy gives us 30mins game time during this time.
In the evening we went to another bierhaus. Even though Reims is in France it’s proximity to Germany meant we (oops the adults) would likely get some good beer!
Mummy wanted to get escargots but in the end we went with beef stew and more fish and chips, obviously with beer to boot!
Holiday Inn Reims, Germany
After dinner we took a stroll along the French Christmas market at Reims just a stone’s throw away from restaurant and our hotel.
The 3 Brasseurs Restaurant, Reims
Day 6 We headed out towards Epernay, Champagne region and visited Maison Mercier, one of the largest and longest Champagne houses (since 1858!) in France. We took a tour down into their cellars 30m below ground, and a 30min train ride around the sprawling 18km network of tunnels in the underground labyrinth. Whee!
Mummy bought some bubbly, her happy drink! We find out they are the same family as Dom Perignon, Moet Henessey, Krug having been acquired by LVMH since 1987. At 20 Euros a pop daddy had been mumbling the whole way to the airport we should’ve bought more!
2 hours later we get into Paris city. We embarked on a city tour and immerse in some of the most iconic sights of this timeless city – Napoleon’s Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees (shop dou nei sei) Boulevard and Eiffel Tower. Thereafter, we check out Fragonard Perfume Museum, one of the largest perfumeries in France, and indeed, it also happens to be an awesome place to purchase exclusive French scents that won’t break the bank. We get the best-selling Etoile (made of Ginger, Bergamot and Apple), Frivole and Diament. FYI #funfact, did you know that perfume came about because one of the French kings, King Louis XIV was so terrified to bathing they he forced court officials to create a new scent every week and said to spray his visitors with perfume upon entering his palace. He was said to have had only 2 baths in his adult life – both occasions recommended by his doctors! OMG… I don’t need to be a doctor to tell you bathing is good for you!
We walked towards the Louvre.
We spend the rest of the day at Galeries LaFayette where mummy gets a new bag as Christmas pressie!
Day 7 – Merry Christmas! We hang out around Paris City on Christmas morning, and take a river cruise along the Seine. There is a point in which we see both the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty! The original apparently since the one in New York was a gift to America.
We go scouting for Chinese food after setting for McDonalds the night before!
French McDonalds party in our room!La Fontaine de Jade, Paris
Day 8 Next morning we get up early to head to Paris Disneyland. We take the train past Gare du Nord to Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy station about 45 mins away. From there it was a short 2 min stroll to the gates of what was supposedly the happiest place on earth.
We have a super early breakkie but when we were about to leave, we spot Yeh Yeh, Mah Mah and Gugu having breakfast!
We skip the character meets and go straight to the rides. First up was Pirates of the Caribbean boat ride. All aboard! Ahoy mate and who do we see but Captain Jack Sparrows!
We find the Indiana Jones roller coaster ride. Mummy chickens out halfway in the queue and ditches us. We take the first car and daddy’s right behind. At the end of the ride we were blown away. Whoa this was our biggest roller coaster ride thus far!
Mickey and Minnie Mouse in Euro Disneyland!
Dumbo!
Main Street, Paris Disneyland
It was such a cold day to be out queuing for rides in the open, seems our old man caught a chill. At which point we thought it wouldn’t be worth queuing up anymore for rides so we paid for the Express/Fast Pass for the Buzz Lightyear ride, at 12 euros a pop per pax it seems OK to escape queuing in the cold. Poor Daddy. Slept like a log all day when we got home to nurse the cold.
So tired, and Daddy wanted to take an Uber back to the hotel, but turns out the metro ride took only an hour to get back to our hotel!
More Chinese Food!Mercure Paris
Day 9 We head to the airport to catch our flight back from CDG TO SIN…
Hasn’t changed much really since our last visit during COVID in Sep 2021, save for the reception which has been temporarily moved to the rear-end of the lobby in view of some reno works (the games corner at the lobby is still available with some really good board/card games, along with the Spin & Play (Laundry/Games room on each floor).
We’ve been here a couple of times now (first was when it was still SHN during COVID!) and always seem to discover something new in this somewhat of a gem tucked away in an otherwise unexplored part of Singapore (note NeWater Visitor Centre which we wanted to visit but unfortunately did not get this time round – tours don’t run daily and should be booked out ahead).
We also discover another way (other than the basement via the carpark) to get into an otherwise nice and quiet adjacent mall.
Note we get a somewhat smaller room (looks to be the lead-in category vs. the previously upgraded room).
Not an issue since one of us kids fit snuggly into the ‘sofa-bed’ – given it was a 2-night affair, both Jie Jie and I had a go at that!
Being at the far east, we decide to check out Changi airport, a mere stop away from Expo/Changi City Point, but not before finishing up work – though the pool outside looks so inviting!
Managed to sneak in a note for Daddy – he’s such a sucker for our littl’ notes! 🙂
We get on the MRT and there was an incident where someone dropped his phone into the gap between the train and platform. Poor guy looked as though he was going to cry but Daddy does a good dead, goes up to him and punches the emergency button to report the issue. Way to go Dad-O!
We get to Changi Airport and find our way to Jewel.
My, look who’s here?
It’s a me-Mario! And Princess Peach!
Turns out it was the Mario’s Pipe Around the World exhibition at Jewel!
We head back to the expo to grab dinner thereafter headed back to the room!
Later in the night Daddy and Mummy wanted to grab us supper from Mackers but it appeared it closed at 10pm, as with all the shops/restaurants at the mall (would’ve thought Macs would at least be opened till late!), but oh well…
Now you see it, now you don’t!
So again in a blitz the 2nights come to a really quick end (and nope Daddy didn’t get time to swim with us in the pool as he promised!) and we’re looking forward to our trip to Europe for Christmas 2023.
Whaddayaknow Daddy says lets head to the Ritz for the long weekend over Deepavali!
Good thing rooms were still available considering it’s the long weekend (though not officially the year-end school holidays yet!) – you know what that mean; a bag full of school books and Mummy’s homework in tow!
Anyway he arrive in early Sunday arvo and were informed the rooms were ready. How nice considering this property does not participate in the Marriott Bonvoy programme. Daddy drops us off at the porch, offloads the bags, zips down into the basement and comes back up to the checkin.
We get a room on the (8th?) but didn’t seem too high up… had a nice view of the Kallang (without the river) though!
…and the supposed infamous Ritz octagonal bathroom with tub with iconic bubble bath – no need for any other B&B bathbombs!
There is also a kids room which we checked out on the 2nd floor but seriously for the infants/toddlers!
We reluctantly leave the room (after much coercion from the adults!) to explore.
Lo and behold what do we see at the basement towards the pool/gym – why not 1 but 2 grand pianos!
A Yamaha we see and a Kawai – guess which one Daddy makes a mad dash for!
Walkway to Marina Square and Millenia Walk! (Didi and Daddy walked the same way when going to the 2022 NDP, then at the Marina Floating Barrage)!).
We come back to some late night screen time and make a mad dash for the room – guess who’s playing but Mr Shark!
And a surprise turn down service (with mints and oh-wait, a cake we see!) – they must’ve known it was Daddy’s upcoming birthday! Happy Birthday Dad-O!
Rise and shine.
We hit the pool for a bit.
Noteworthy mention of Mr Water Balloon made by Jo which burst and flooded the floor!Ritz-Carlton Monopoly version!Hello and Goodbye, till the next one!
Staycay at the Ritz ended in a blitz for sure… and we’re ready for the next!
We check out from St. Regis at 2-ish, dashed home, repacked another set of clothes and we’re off again for a week on the road – a reprise of our roadtrip from June 2019!
We split this week into 2 segments, the first half in KL and the latter part in Klang so it made sense that while the first would be at Hilton Doubletree KL (revisiting this since our last visit pre-Covid 2019), the 2nd was Hilton Doubletree Shah Alam I-City, a fairly new Hilton property which opened just 2022. This comes highly recommended by Gugu J and Grandpa J who typically stay here when travelling here for work or to visit family given its location conveniently smacked in between KL and Klang.
We kickstart the trip with durian!
Nothing much has changed about the hotel.
Welcome by the standard DoubleTree Cookies!
Now you see it, now you don’t!
Lounging by the Executive Lounge at L34…
Settling into our room… Daddy adds on a rollaway bed which the were nice enough not to include in the final bill.
What’s a day out without Mummy’s homework!
Breakkie at Makan, most of the setup is identical to what we recall it to be, save for the new honeycomb!, green corner and Kidz corner (thankfully we didn’t see this previously lest Daddy make us sit there!). There’s also the live prata station that whips up a wicked prata.
Honeycomb!
And what’s a holiday without our usual prep time, and TV as reward! As if a deja vu we get so engrossed with TV and again miss the opportunity for a dip in the pool. You can checkout the pix from before, nothing much has changed on this front.
We spent a lot of time on the 34th…
Hilton DoubleTree Kuala Lumpur
After 3 days, its time to leave. We checkout at 3pm from KL and make our way to Klang/Shah Alam.
Interesting that the Doubletree Shah Alam is located adjacent to Wet World (or was it Water City) Shah Alam. Parts of it looks like Sunway Lagoon which we also wrote about back in 2019, OK maybe just a subset of it, and not as big.
In the absence of an exec lounge, there are welcome drinks and daily snacks/canapes at the Axis Lounge.
They upgrade us to a Deluxe Family Suite, but because this is a fairly new (small-ish) property there is no executive lounge, but in the absence of which, invite guests to the Axis Lounge for welcome drinks and light bites. Here’s also a nice gesture with welcome amenity.
Back to Work!Welcome Amenity!
Hilton DoubleTree Shah Alam
For the record, it wasn’t all work and no play!
There’s a fancy Games Room on Level 5, gym…
Books and fruit infused waterDidi having a crack at foosball against Yeh Yeh and I!
And an infinity-like pool!
We lap up breakkie and head to Kidzania. This was totally unplanned since we only considered Petrosains which we we planning to visit on Friday. Nonetheless Daddy found out that Kidzania had reopened which he thought surprising given the SG one shuttered indefinitely, so we check out tickets the night before. Note you get a discount for repurchasing this before 12pm the day which we unfortunately did not qualify for since we only booked it past dinner the night before. Anyway they’ve all gone cashless so remember to book out your tix ahead. There is also a pre-registration (uploading a selfie of oneself) prior to arriving at the gates.
We proceed with our check in and boarding passes were now in the form of wrist bands. Boarding was a breeze with the automated facial recognition.
Check-inBoarding
Seems some of the store fronts have changed. Notable updates include A&W for McDonald’s (you do need to pay to ‘work’ there since you would get to keep the meal you whip up, comprising burger/hotdog, root beer and waffle ice-cream.
Here’s us enjoying the fruits of our labour…
The others include:
1. F&B: Yayoi, Subway and Tealive. Daddy quipped ‘for the life of me can’t figure out if it’s pronounced Tea-live, or Tea-life’! Note Tealive (whatever and however its pronounced!) had the longest wait list so take note if you’re a fan of bubble tea and making your own bobas, do make sure you register early (yes as simple as rockin’ up and telling the kakak your name so she notes your name on the record).
Well F&B here implies food outlets with a kid training centre and a separate food outlet operating at what Daddy says are astronomical prices!
2. Non F&B – well Foodpanda has a delivery system which we enjoyed doing. Here’s a pic of us with Pao Pao.
We didn’t realize the last trip that there was a parents lounge which our parents this trip took turns hiding at (grandpa and grandma pretty much camped there for most parts).
Here are some of the other random pix..
Working at Foodpanda (with Pao Pao in the back!)
Didi doing his delivery rounds, part-timing as a housekeeper at the hotel, and moonlighting as a wannabe-magician at what must have been his favorite gig at Urbano’s Magic Shop.
Jie Jie at the florist, and her own delivery round.
At the hospital!
Some other miscellaneous jobs…
Daddy says he was on this radio station a couple of times previously…
Map of the park
Us in the prison, and the parade where we meet the mascot KZ, and a final family pix before we head out.
At the end of the day, we earn like $200 KZ Dollars between Jie Jie and I – the equivalent of 2 erasers which we redeemed! Life must be hard as an adult… working your butt off all day for a day’s wage which buys nothing more than an eraser…
Ahead of our week long road trip (revisited from 2022 which we did same time last year (*knock knock* on Daddy to get this posted since its a year long overdue!), Daddy thought it’d be a good idea to celebrate our birthday with a StayCay at St. Regis!
Conveniently located along Tanglin and tucked in a little inconspicuous nook which we never really took notice of despite visiting Focum and Tanglin Mall!
Seems to be one of those sit down check-in concepts and Daddy duties beckon…
There’s a nice sit down bench in at seemingly larger-than-usual elevator.
Getting into our Lady Astor Double Room, tucked away at the corner.
Some nice birthday amenities – thank you for the nice gestures! And did we mention the amazing butler service that the folks at St. Regis are really well known for!
Soon enough its back to prep time!
Heading out to dinner at the nearby Tanglin Mall! Not to be mistaken by the adjacent Tanglin Shopping Centre which is now shut!
Its a long day and we tuck in for the night, but not before a long bubble bath…
Exploring the grounds – pool and gym…
After a hearty brekkie at a very picturesque Brasserie Les Saveurs!
