Take your kids to Singapore for an enjoyable culture shock. Photo / Getty Images
Take your kids to Singapore for an enjoyable culture shock. Photo / Getty Images
There are many countries in the world to provide children with their first significant cultural experience, and Singapore is one of the best, writes David Haxton
Myself, wife Tina and our children Isabel, 13, and Luke 11, from Raumati Beach on the Kāpiti Coast, were among the passengers who disembarked.
The aim of the weeklong holiday – four nights on Sentosa Island and three nights in the city – was to give the kids their first major cultural experience in a safe country and have some fun too.
An engaging shuttle transfer driver took us to the sleek Village Hotel Sentosa where we had two joining rooms which were modern and spotlessly clean, albeit on the small side with no chairs.
A drawcard was the hotel pool which had a sea vista with container ships bobbing in the distance, and the breakfasts were top draw with a wide variety of food choices and refreshments.
Isabel and Luke Haxton by the Sentosa Island boardwalk. Photo / David Haxton
The hotel was only a few minutes walk to a monorail and an appealing boardwalk which took people to various attractions, Resort World, beaches and the VivoCity shopping complex.
We enjoyed time at the Adventure Cove Waterpark zooming down slides, jumping around in a wave pool, and chilling on inflatable rings as we meandered around a lazy river, although our feet took a pounding from walking on pimply concrete.
Later that day we dug our toes into the sand at Palawan Beach including a walk over the rope bridge to the islet that is the southernmost point of continental Asia and climbed the watchtower.
Knowing that the sprawling Universal Studios would be busy, we were at the entry gates before it opened and enjoyed the various theme rides and experiences while keeping an eye on electronic queue times.
We wandered the vast VivoCity multi-level shopping complex with the masses and enjoyed lunch in a hawker-type food court that had lots of ethnic options.
A gondola ride gave us a good perspective of the island and beyond before we visited Madame Tussauds and its many Western and Bollywood waxworks.
After ordering a Grab ride (like Uber) via smartphone, we drove to the city and checked in at the Orchard Rendezvous Hotel where we were delighted with a very spacious family room, and rooftop pool, but the hard super king bed Tina and I slept on made for a disruptive sleep, and the hotel was a bit of a distance from the action.
We enjoyed the red double-decker hop-on hop-off BigBus Singapore which was a great way to see the city and hear interesting facts and figures.
One of our stops was in Little India which was an eye-opener seeing people make a living from selling cheap goods in cramped shops. Another stop was at the luscious Botanic Gardens with its beautiful greenery and sightseeing.
Exploring Little India. Photo / David Haxton
On one of the days, we clocked up a half marathon (21.1km) on foot exploring the streets, gazing at the flash stores on Orchard Rd, navigating through the Bugis St Market and taking photos at the mythical Merlion sculpture.
The hustle and bustle of a big city was certainly a change of scene from the more relaxed Sentosa Island and it was a bit overwhelming for the kids initially.
Singapore is about the same size as Lake Taupo, and has about six million people, with the city a beacon for many cultures from the Asia-sphere.
We walked through the gigantic Marina Bay Sands hotel, before joining a lot of people at the Gardens By The Bay where we visited the Cloud Forest and Flower Dome closures.
Photo op in front of the famous Merlion, from left David, Tina, Isabel and Luke Haxton. Photo / David Haxton
The hottest day was when we visited Mandai Singapore Zoo. But we enjoyed looking at the variety of animals from painted dogs, golden poison frogs, flying fox bats, elephants, and orangutans among many others. We enjoyed the slight relief from the heat on the tram which travels around the zoo.
Attraction tickets, such as the zoo, are purchased via your smartphone, making it easier to scan barcodes and reduce queuing times.
When out and about, our day pack comprised things like water bottles, sunscreen, tissues and small umbrellas.
Temperatures were often in the low to mid-30s with humidity making it feel hotter, and being on a tropical island, there were regular thunderstorms and downpours to be aware of.
Going to the Lau Pa Sat hawker market was quite an experience with its ethnic food outlets, lots of people chowing down, and the food was reasonably priced. We would have eaten there more if our hotel had been closer.
Meat skewers at the Lau Pa Sat hawker market. Photo / David Haxton
We noticed that empty tables with a packet of tissues on them meant someone had reserved it.
Throughout the week we were impressed with the lack of litter, tidy gardens, no graffiti, hardly saw anyone smoking, and there was no sign of vaping because it’s outlawed.
Cooling off in the Village Hotel Sentosa pool. Photo / David Haxton
English was spoken everywhere which made communication easy.
A big shoutout to superstar Tina who did all of the pre-planning including getting tips from social media threads to being the chief organiser and financial officer throughout our stay.
Overall we all loved our stay in Singapore and even though we didn’t get to do everything on our wishlist we covered most of them.
