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Merry Christmas

May you all have a Very Merry Christmas and may the following year bring peace, love and joy to everyone.

Monday Dreaming: Santa In Singapore

Our family is really quite lucky. No matter where we travel, Santa has always been able to find the Vagabond Kids. The first year we moved here to our current home, we moved in on Christmas Eve. The kids were obviously very concerned that Santa would miss our house and go to our old one, but without fail he finds his way. We start the evening with Fondue (my family tradition) the kids get ready for bed and Santa finds his way to our Condo to drop off one present and speak with the kids for a few minutes. Santa isn't able to stay too long as he has the real delivery to make later that night, but the kids love seeing him.




I am not sure how many more times Santa can make a visit here in Singapore before they go to bed, the kids are getting older and Santa is surely busy and may need to visit other children who are younger. But my Monday Dream this week is to have him visit at least one more time. Take a tradition from my husbands family, tied with a tradition from mine and celebrate a few moments with a hot Santa whose clothing are much more suited for temperate climes.

If you want to see more Monday dreams check out Mondays are for Dreaming over at Mother of All Trips.

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?

Friday Photo: Angkor Wat Cambodia

As the year winds down, we have only one more trip for the year. We will be taking the few days before the New Year and going to visit the temples of Angkor Wat in Seam Reap Cambodia. Can't wait to share the amazing culture of Cambodia with the Vagabond Kids.

This post is part of Friday Photo over on Delicious Baby. For more pictures go check it out.