Top 5 Free Outdoor Activities for Kids in Singapore

Singapore can be an expensive city. Expensive to live and expensive to visit, but there are some gems that can be unearthed with a bit of advance planning and a willingness to be outdoors in the tropics.

Here are the Vagabond Kid's Top 5 Free Things to do Outside in Singapore





1. Go to the Beach. This can be free if you visit any of Singapore's free beaches on the East Coast at East Coast Park, but for a small fee if you drive or take the monorail(Okay I may have already broken the "free" rule) we like the beach at Sentosa Island. It is free to enter if you take the bus onto the island however. Sentosa can get really crowded on weekends and let's face it, Singapore is only 45 miles from the equator so it can get hot, so we head to the beach early in the morning, get there by 9am and enjoy 4 hours of beach time before people really start to arrive en mass. Palawan Beach has lots of food and beverage outlets nearby as well for a lunch before you end your morning out. In favor of the totally free option, East Coast Park also has a number of food options and a great bike/hiking path as well.





2. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Did you know that there are only two primary virgin rain forests located within city limits in the whole world? Did you know that Bukit Timah Nature Reserve right here in Singapore is one of them. Did you know that Bukit Timah Nature Reserve has over 500 species of animals and over 840 flowering plants?


(Thanks Kathy for these pictures)

Where else can you climb to the peak of Singapore's tallest "mountain", see monkeys and watch people walk up hill backwards. Only Bukit Timah! The parks have also opened up a learning center on the Dairy Farm side of the Reserve with trails and another visitor center. Oh, and it is very likely you will see monkeys. Please leave them alone and don't feed them as they become aggressive and unable to fend for themselves when we feed them.






3. Mount Faber Park and the Henderson Waves. Take a walk and explore the views from the top of Mount Faber over the Singapore skyline, look over and marvel at the World's Busiest Port(in terms of tonnage see more stats here) and then walk over Henderson Waves Singapore's highest pedestrian bridge as a link between two parks.




Finish your walk, if you are full of energy over the Canopy Walk a great above ground walk through some of Singapore's tallest trees.



4. MacRitchie Reservoir and the HSBC Tree Top Walk. While your head is still up in the air after your Canopy Walk and Henderson Waves, head back out of the downtown core and off to the MacRitchie Reservoir. MacRitchie Reservoir serves as one of Singapore's water catchments and therefore there is no swimming allowed, but there are plenty of trails to keep kids busy exploring.




The Treetop Walk is Singapore's first free-standing suspension bridge through the Secondary Forest at the canopy level. (Thanks again to my sister for her Pictures of the Treetop Walk).




5. Botanic Garden and the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden.




The last on this list is Singapore's crown jewel of parks. The Botanic Garden is filled with plenty of activities to keep any kid happy. From the Orchid Gardens (Not Free) with over 6000 species of Orchids to the Ginger Garden, from the central amphitheatre to the Pitcher Plants (one of my son's favorites) the day can be finished over at the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden where there are water play areas, trees that are climbing approved and exhibits that share information about the plant diversity in Singapore and the region.


A snack bar with kid friendly food is also available at Jacob Ballas and many Singaporeans, and guests have been known to laze away a Sunday morn having breakfast in the Garden at the open air restaurant located near the Visitor Centre.


So, while Singapore can be spendy, I hope you have a few free outdoor activities you and the kids can share. Which is your favorite?

Off the beaten track: Prawn Fishing in Singapore

Name a kid that doesn’t like fishing, I bet you can’t. Even my girly girl loves the idea of going and fishing for fun. Singaporeans are no different, let's face it, fishing is fun. A true local spin is to fish for fresh water prawns. While the days of “kampong fishing” where children would run down to the local river and fish for prawns no longer exists, clever Singaporeans have filled the gap by creating prawn fishing ponds.



If you are looking for an unusual way to spend a morning in Singapore with your family and seeing a side of Singapore that the tourists often miss (there are no prawn fishing ponds on Orchard Road or at Sentosa Island…I’m just saying) you should head out, rent a rod and enjoy a few hours of fishin’.




We have gone to a few different prawn fishing facilities and I will list them below but the drill is basically the same at all of them. You can rent a rod, which come with the bait- chicken liver and you are given an hour (or more depending on how long you pay for) and a basket in which to keep your prawns. Remember, these are real prawns heads, tails and pincers attached so a parent may need to help take the prawn off the line.At the end of your hour you are able to take the prawns with you or you can BBQ them right on site with BBQ pits provided. Most of the ponds have local style eateries located next to them and you may even be able to take your prawns and have them cooked for your lunch or dinner. Doesn’t get any fresher than that. My kids love to know that they caught lunch.





A few final thoughts-

Most of the ponds are open 24 hours but early mornings tend to be more family friendly and fewer crowds.

These are “farmed” prawns and the ponds are frequently restocked through out the day.
Experts say the best method is to find a deeper pond and move the bait frequently to catch more.

Some ponds often through in a whopper or two in order to increase your chances.



Here is a list of prawn fishing ponds in Singapore and the first two are ones that we personally have gone to and would go back again. I have not been to the others, but have friends who have. As mentioned they are all very similar.

East Coast Prawn Fishing 1020 East Coast Parkway 65 6227 3330
Hai Bin U Enterprise Prawn Fishing, 603 Sin Ming Ave 65 6554 1986
Jurong Hill Prawn Fishing & Beer Garden , Old Crocodile Farm, 241 Jln Ahmad Ibrahim #01-16 65-6265 2598
Farmart, 67 Sungei Tengah Rd, Choa Chu Kang 65 6767 0070

Photo Friday: Resorts World Sentosa Lobby

Hanging Lanterns,
Mobile Phone Picture May 2010







The Sentosa of 2010 is very different than the Sentosa island of 2004 when we first arrived in Singapore. The quiet laid back beaches have been replaced by luxuary homes, upscale bars and more notiably the Resort World's hotel, casino and shopping complex and Universal Studios. While I miss the more staid and casual Sentosa beaches, I can honestly say that the art work and the some of the interior design has been a welcome addition.

Photo from the lobby of the Resorts World Hotel, May 2010

Photo Friday: The Vagabondboy

A trip to Phuket Thailand, Spring 2002

In the first nine years of my life, I think I traveled to exactly 2 foreign countries. Canada and Mexico. I think I did not go beyond those 2 countries, and my own home country of the USA for an additional 10 years. At the age of 19 I stepped out of my comfort zone and went to Germany with stops in France and Austria. Not a huge step into the un-known, but quite enough for me.


Taipei Taiwan 2002

Now, contrast that with my Son’s first 9 years. He was born in Taiwan. Traveled to China, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, the continental US and Guam, as well as Singapore and Japan all before he was 2 years old. A few more years he has made trips to Thailand an annual event, with side trips to Malaysia, Indonesia and the island of Borneo as well as semi-annual trips back to the US and a trip to Mexico. Not bad for a kid who does go to school from August to June and whose parents work full time.


In honor of my third culture son, who is celebrating his 9th birthday with an Indiana Jones Adventure birthday party this weekend, here are some highlights of some of the explorer's trips around the world.



Shanghai China, Summer 2002







Macau Fall 2002


Japan Fall 2002





Guam 2003






Penang 2004

Singapore Zoo


Phuket 2006


Mulege Baja Mexico 2007



Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia 2008


Disneyland 2010




Sharing these as part of Photo Friday on Delicious Baby visit her page for more great Photo Friday posts

Eating in Singapore with Kids: Hawker Centres

Asia is an amazing place if you are a foodie. Singapore, in particular, has a great reputation as being a city filled with great local and exotic cuisine. Singapore has a huge food blog scene (Some blogs are great -like one of my favorites I Eat I Shoot I Post while others have recently raised a ruckus for failing to disclose the fact they don’t pay for meals.

Anyway, I was reading today in the Singapore Expat Living magazine (where VagabondDad just had an article published by the way (Skip to page 244 on the flipbook here) and I noticed that in 4 reviews of places to travel, few if any ventured beyond the hotel to eat. What a waste! Why travel to places if you are not going to try to eat local dishes, and no I am not maligning the hotel restaurants, they probably do a mean Laksa, but at three times the cost. BUT, what about the kids? You know those little ones that are traveling along with you. Not an adventurous bunch? Mac and Cheese the extent of the culinary range? Well, fear not, Singapore’s got that covered too - you can hit the Chili’s if you need to, but our first stop is the hawker center for some Local Food. Here are a few favorites dishes that grown ups and kids will enjoy and they won’t break the bank.




Chicken Rice

Seriously, my daughter would eat this dish (and Ramen noodles) for a week straight if I let her. Chicken Rice is a simple meal with either Roasted or Steamed Chicken, a bowl of chicken broth and rice cooked in chicken stock for extra flavor. Served with soy sauce, chopped garlic and chili sauce (for the brave) all on the side.


Source Here

Roti Prata

Grilled flour based “pancakes” served in Indian food stalls. Dipped in curry, if you want, a simple and delicious snack.



Satay

Grilled chicken, beef or lamb (not pork) grilled over a fire on sticks. Who doesn’t like BBQ meat on a stick! Served with cucumber slices and rice formed into cubes. Also, served with a Peanut dipping sauce.




Photo Source

Ice Kacang or Cendol

Basically two versions of the same dish. Cendol is shaved ice with a brown sugar topping and coconut milk and Ice Kacang has additional toppings, a red syrup and can include corn and beans (yes really) and it is delicious. But they are both great for a desert in the warm tropical business!





Cooking up some Satay



Note: I am in the process of reorganizing my pictures so I was able to grab images from Flickr to round out this post. All images that are not my own have been credited.

Singapore with Kids: Singapore Science Center

As you may recall, I mentioned that our summer plans had originally been geared towards the US. After nearly 12 years overseas, we planned on taking the kids home to bond with the grandparents and cousins for an extended trip. Well one gallbladder and a bout of severe pneumonia later, we are still in Asia.










We will be heading to the US next week, but we had a lot of bundled up kid energy and extra time so we are doing some "staycation" activities in Singapore and a side trip to Kuala Lumpur. The kids are sleeping away at the hotel now, so I thought I would take a quick minute to post about the Singapore Science Center. Tomorrow I will post about the Malaysian PETRONAS Science Center (Petrosains) in Kuala Lumpur by way of comparison.
















The Singapore Science Center is actually the third most visited attraction in Singapore behind the zoo and the night safari. Not surprising really when you figure that the Singaporean focus on education and science. The kids have gone to the center a couple of times and always enjoyed the center and the water park and play area outside. This weekend was the first time I got the opportunity to check it out as well and we went to see the exhibit on Pixar animation.


The center itself is split into separate “galleries” each having multiple interactive displays and exhibits. We spent the bulk of our time in the Maxwell wing, looking at the exhibits on Climate Change and Microbes. After Declan’s stint in the hospital with pneumonia, the virus section was fascinating for him! There are also sections on the human genome, space, nanotechnology and math. The exhibits are designed to match portions of the Singapore educational system so while some exhibits are not interesting to a 7 and 8 year old as the intended audience is more for high school student, you couldn’t get them away from other exhibits (like the kinetic sculptures).




Growing up and getting to OMSI in Oregon as a kid I always enjoyed the hands on activities that were presented as part of the educational experience. It was just never that fun when I got back to school. I like the idea of teaching the cool stuff and funky side of science to get children engaged. The Singapore Science Centre could be a good day of fun. Bring your swimsuits and get in the water at the end, play and learning all wrapped up together and I love seeing the kids play with science and hey if I end up with a scientist or lab geek when these kids grow up… I think that would be alright by me!

Kids in Singapore: A Day at the Zoo

I love living in Singapore, it really is one of the greatest cities in the world. One of its best features is not unsung, but it deserves all of the credits it gets. Yes, the Singapore Zoo is high on my Top 10 things to do in Singapore list. Even better if you have kids.




Four Cousins at the Zoo













Open every day, from 9-6 the Singapore Zoo has to be one of the best zoo's in the whole world; free and open animal exhibits,creative use of space, ability to feed certain animals, interactive guides through out and oh yeah a totally kickin' water park on the back side. (If you still have strength you should check out the night safari!)








The water park

















Our strategy for the zoo is to get there early. Particularly on weekends… here’s a little secret about many Singaporean's; they sleep in on weekends. So, if you get to the Zoo around 9am you should find yourselves with the animals not crowds of people. Besides, by 2pm in the afternoon, it gets pretty darn hot even with the well designed zoo. So we try to get a big part of the zoo done early in the morning and hit the water park at the back side of the zoo in the afternoon to cool off.










White Tiger Exhibit























One of the great things about the zoo, other than the Polar Bear Exhibit (a long story), is most of the animals are native to SE Asia. The zoo has exhibits featuring the White Tiger which are totally amazing to see these creatures this close. The exhibit is also interactive with information about the Asian Tiger, its diminishing habitat and information on the white tiger (did you know that all white tigers are cousins to each other as they all have the same ancestor?). The zoo also has the Malaysian Tapir, a huge Orangutan exhibit, SE Asian Otters, Asian Elephants, Komodo Dragons, Proboscis Monkeys, Hornbills… in addition to the standard Lions, Zebras, Rhinos and the like.
















Feeding the tortoise










The kids love feeding time, in some places it is a talk by a keeper and in others for a small fee you can feed the animals. Some of the more popular animal talks/feedings are the pygmy hippos, the giraffes and rhinos, but we love the giant tortoise. Less crowded for Singapore $5 (about US$3.50) you get a bowl of fresh fruit and you get to walk around and interact with the tortoises while you feed them. My sister and her family visited us last summer and this was a highlight of the zoo for them.



















The whole zoo is a great place to hang out, you can have breakfast with the Orangutan, see a few shows, play in the water and head over to the night safari for dinner and a whole new zoo experience. I am torn between this or Sentosa being my number 1 for things to do in Singapore with the kids. What do you think?


Here are a few more fun pics from the zoo... click on them to see a larger size

From Vagabond Kids

From Vagabond Kids

From Vagabond Kids

From Vagabond Kids