Port of Lost Wonder: Where Pirate Ship and Foam Party Come Together

Have you heard the news yet? Singapore's first kids' club by the beach, Port of Lost Wonder (POLW) has opened!

Thanks to the very nice people of Sentosa, I got invited to a preview of this latest attraction on the Island last Saturday, which was also the day of their official launch.

As Kenan had class in the afternoon, we couldn't stay long, but it was enough for this mommy to recce the new kids’ wet 'n wild wonderland - and to share the details here.

Adventures at POLW

Copyright POLW, Sentosa Island

The POLW at Palawan Beach is just a few minutes' walk from the Beach Car Park

This is where you pay for admission and obtain your curio coins, which are for kids to pay for activities or a surprise snack

The coins come in a bag like this; kids will also receive a Port Pass to record their activities, collect stamps and redeem prizes!

Even before we entered POLW, the boy was already having fun! There was a bubble-making machine near the entrance spewing hundreds of bubbles to the delight of our boy.

Let the Fun Begin!

1. Ahoy matey!

The HUGE pirate ship docked right in the middle of the place is obviously the main draw of POLW.

Children were all having a splashing good time as they moved up and down the decks, jump into the waters and go down the numerous slides. However, parents do keep a close eye on your young children as they play with the various features, and in case the older kids get rowdy in their excitement.

The front and back of the Pirate Ship

2. Sand and foam

Enough of water play? Then head to the sand pit at the back to build some awesome sandcastles or have a frothy good time at a real cool kids-only foam party (pay 30 curios).

3. Pot a plant and meet some animal friends

Over at the Curiosity Island, children can work their little green fingers at a 'Pots & Planks' activity where they get to plant seedlings in a pot or boot and bring it home. The activity cost $20. From what I see on the board, it's not the POLW currency i.e. curios coins, they are referring to.

From what I read on the POLW website, there's also some activities involving little animals but I didn't see it when we were there and was a tad disappointed. Perhaps it wasn't time yet. Gotta check this one out another day as my boy is fond of animals.

There's also supposed to be board games, traditional games and storytelling, which I didn't see on that day. Made a mental note to look out for these too, at our next visit.

4. Picnic at the deck

POLW has thoughtfully incorporated a lounging area called The Deck so parents tired out from running after their energetic kids can take a break here. Families can also buy picnic baskets from Port Belly restaurant and enjoy a meal together in the open shaded area.

Other thoughtful designs include a diaper changing area, as well as locker facility.

Are you falling in love with this place yet? We'll likely be back soon, before the word goes out far and wide and it gets too crowded! 

Port of Lost Wonder

54 Palawan Beach Walk

Opening Hours:

10:00am to 6:30pm daily (last admission to POLW at 4:30pm)

Admission Charges: 

Weekdays -$8.00 (receive 50 curio coins and Port Pass)

Weekends & holidays - $15.00 (receive 100 curio coins and Port Pass)

Annual membership - $90.00 (600 curio coins, Port Pass and unlimited admission)

Charges is per child - accompanying adults enter for free. Love it!

Another reason why you should visit now? POLW is also having an opening specials - there's 15% off ticketing charges, and 20% off membership. For a limited period only.

For more information, check out POLW website or its Facebook page.

Spanking New Playground at Tampines 1

While there are quite a few water-themed playgrounds atop some of the local shopping malls, we've never took Kenan to one. Well, let me clarify. He did go to one once, but it was by chance that we came across it. Since we didn't bring along an extra set of clothes for change, the boy didn't get to play there.

So I was really happy to be invited to a special preview of Singapore's first wet-and-dry wildlife-themed rooftop playground at Tampines 1.

Accessible by escalator on 5F (near Amore Living and KOHONG Fish Spa), the playground is divided into different areas to depict different continents and endangered species.

For example, the bigger polar bear slide and the smaller seal slide (two bottom pics) represents the Antartica. 

There are also educational signboards to teach children about the specific region and about the animals. However, I had been too busy chasing Kenan and trying to take his photos and forgot to snap pics of the signboards.

This is the dry play area. It didn't keep dry for long as children who played at the water area came over to enjoy the facilities and got the place wet as well. So even if you think that your child will only be playing at the dry area, do bring along an extra set of clothes since there's a high chance that the place is wet too.

Kenan was initially more excited about the balloon than the playground itself. He only got more interested with the playground when the balloon burst. Thanks to Tampines 1, the little boy also got to play with a water gun that came with the goodie bag we received.

And Kenan made some new friends too. As you can see, he couldn't resist hugging them!

After all the play, children can take a quick shower or get changed at the toilet/shower area which is located to the left of the entrance.

You can also check some other bloggers' write up and to see more photos:

MadPsychMum

SengkangBabies

mamawearpapashirt

A Juggling Mom

And do visit to Mommy Cafe's Facebook page as I've uploaded more pictures over there.

Thank you once again to the management of Tampines 1 and the really nice folks at Fleishman-Hillard for the invite. We had a really great time!

The playground will officially open to public on 10 March 2012. Have lots of fun at this spanking new place!

Not Sure Where to Go this Weekend? Try the Animal Resort

Do you know that besides the zoo and bird park, there are other places in Singapore where children can have a close encounter with animals? Well, I surely didn't, not until friends started sharing with me about them. The latest that we've discovered is The Animal Resort.

The Animal Resort, whose core business is actually pet business, is located at Seletar West, near Jalan Kayu which is famous for its prata shops, otah and durian/chocolate cake from Jane's Cake Station). 

What You Can See and Do

Stepping into the resort, we were immediately greeted by smell of animal dung - now, how much more 'kampong' can it get? 

While some animals like chicken, peacock, horse and goat were behind fence, there were others roaming freely on the sprawling grounds. We spent about an hour there feeding small animals and exploring the place.

The goat and the horse - I wish they have their own kind for company, they looked so lonely!

Getting to know some feathered friends... as you can see, some of them were roaming freely!

Top pic: Kenan feeding the rabbits. Bottom pic: We put the carrot at the cage and the guinea pig happily gnawed away at it.

Top pic: There were a variety of feeds for the different animals; we bought carrots ($1/pack), which can feed the horse, goat, rabbit and guinea pig. Bottom pic: The shed which holds the rabbits and guinea pigs.

Top pic: Kenan was amused by the talking parrot, which said "hello" to us. Bottom pic: Looking at fishes in the pond.

Our verdict: The resort is rustic but some people may find it run down. Overall quite a good place for young children to be introduced to animals and have close encounters with them. After you're done, you can hop over to Jalan Kayu for some prata and otah! 

The Animal Resort

T81 Seletar West Farmway 5 

Singapore 798061

Tel: 6338 7665

Email: ricted@singnet.com.sg

Free admission

Another similar place that you may like to visit is the Pasir Ris Kid's Kampong. Read about it here. 

Hope your little ones will have a fun weekend!

Hong Kong Trip - Who Says Young Children Don't Know How to Enjoy Disneyland?

When we first decided to bring Kenan to Disneyland Hong Kong, we were a bit apprehensive. We weren't sure if a less than two-year-old toddler would know how to appreciate the rides and other attractions that the park has to offer. But all our concerns vanished and we soon learnt that the magic of Disney knows no age boundaries.

If you're contemplating a trip to Disneyland Hong Kong with your family, especially if you have young children, I would say it's a good choice of destination.

Comparing to other Disneyland parks, the one in Hong Kong is relatively small. This means the little ones will less likely be overwhelmed and the pace will be more leisurely for the whole family.

Here are some tips I've learnt to better enjoy Disneyland HK:

• You can probably finish all the rides and shows in a day but if you prefer to enjoy the fun at a leisurely pace, then make it one-and-a-half day. That way, you can even head to the hotel for a nap before returning for more.
• Go during the weekdays and it will likely be less crowded (translating to shorter waiting time at each attraction). We were there on a Tuesday and the crowd was bearable (we've experienced a much bigger crowd when we went to Japan's Disney Sea some years back).
• Take note of all the show times and then plan the rides around it. From our experience, all the shows were great, though Kenan cried a little at start of the Lion King musical ('Festival of the Lion King', Adventureland), probably a bit overwhelmed by the sounds and lights. For each of the shows, you probably want to go there and queue at least 30 minutes before show starts.
• Make use of your FASTPASS at designated attractions to minimise waiting time (read more about it here).
• You can skip the shops lining the Main Street and come back for them later. Anyway, there's also shops at the hotel where you can continue the shopping experience.
• You might want to save some of the popular rides for later in the day when the queues seem to be shorter.
• Rent a stroller at the Fire Department on Town Square.
• Don't miss the Flights of Fantasy Parade and fireworks!
• Check out the Disneyland Hong Kong website for promotions and special offers.

By the way, the park will be having a new attraction - Toy Story Land, which opens 18 Nov. If you do visit then, please let me know if it's good.

I'll end off with some photos from our Disney trip!

Kenan enjoying the Flights of Fantasy Parade where there were lots of amazing floats and dancing characters. Crowds already gathered at both sides of the road about half an hour before show starts. Being the kiasu Singaporeans, we found a nice spot and sat down to wait.

The musicals were great! Kenan especially loved the Golden Mickeys show (top pic) and strangely, two days after we returned home, he suddenly asked me to play his music CD - and it's a first! He's never seem to be interested in music before this.

The Fire Dept - where visitors can rent strollers (in blue as seen in photo above). They even put a nice big name tag with your child's name on the back of the stroller for easy identification. You are required to park the strollers at designated area at each attraction.

Enjoying the Tinkle Bell Castle Illumination - a great show of lights and music

A Walk in the Park

Yesterday was one of those days where I could hardly get any work done, thanks to my ever restless toddler. Even the helper couldn't pry him away from me, as he kept climbing up my chair and tried to hijack the laptop, or he would pull my hand to make me come down from the chair and play with him.

I decided to bring him out to the park, specifically the Bishan Park, because he would get to see lots of dogs there, which he so loves.

However, I have another agenda too, which was to visit the new McDonald's (didn't get chance to during our previous visit about two months ago).

While I'm not a fan of fast food, I thought it looked like a great place to hang out, since it's situated within a park that should look really quite good after all the renovation works are completed.

To get to McDonald's, we have to walk across an arched bridge that is built over a river converted from a canal (it looked more like a stream at the moment, since the water was very shallow).

But just getting to the bridge and crossing it took us a really long time, as Kenan was so attracted by the dogs he saw along the way that he would literally run after them.

Mid-way up the bridge, we saw a family fishing, and many curious passers-by stopped to look at their catch, which they kept in a pail of water. I have no idea at all what those fishes are called but I'm told they are edible and taste really delicious when fried!

My curious little boy was so excited about the fishes that he almost dipped his hand into the pail to touch them.

This is the bridge that links to McDonald's.

By the way, the revamped Bishan Park will have three new playgrounds - Adventure Playground (offering climbing play facilities for teenagers),  Bubble Playground (rubber moulds set in a sea of sand) for younger kids, and Water Playground - for children who enjoy playing with water. I'm looking forward to bringing Kenan to  these playgrounds once they are open!

Do you have a favourite park you like bringing your kids to?

Visit to the Kids' Kampong - Getting to Know the Animals

I used to think that I know where all the nice places of retreat are in Singapore. But in recent months, I've been delighted to discover some new rustic spots around the island. Since then, I'm on the lookout for more of such places - places we can escape to from the daily grind and everyday stresses, places that allow us to connect with nature. All the better if it is a great 'playground' for my active toddler.

And the latter is exactly what the Pasir Ris Kid's Kampong is. But don't envision a venue where the animals roam freely like in a real kampung (which I was hoping for), nevertheless, you'll get to see animals that are commonly found  in kampungs back in the good old days.

I found out about the place from a good friend few months ago, and we finally made our first trip there last Sunday.

The Kid's Kampong is located within the Aqua Fauna Centre at Pasir Ris Farmway.

Entrance fee is at $1 per person, which includes a packet of feeds for the animals. Our boy gets to enjoy free entrance. So we had two packets of feeds - one just for the rabbits, the other can be used for all other animals.

Close-up of ticketing counter

Activities you can look out for at the Kid's Kampong:

• Longkang fishing using net and bucket (check out the charges here) 
• Rod fishing
• Animals feeding - fish, birds, ducks, chicken and rabbits

Let the journey begin

Upon entering the 'kampong', this is what you'll see:

A family with a small toddler enjoying some fishing fun at the 'longkang' (which means 'drain')

We began our journey at the 'Birds Station'. We didn't feed any of the birds as Kenan wasn't interested. Instead, he was attracted by something else..

.

The koi pond and the hundreds (my guess) of koi swimming in it. It was quite a sight.

Kenan tried his hand at feeding the fishes. Be prepared to get a bit wet as the fishes swam right up to the edge of the pond and splashed water about as they fought with one another to get a bite.

Next was the chicken. He was so eager to touch the chicken he almost got his little finger pecked!

There are two areas with ducks, this one is built at the koi pond. 

 While Kenan always enjoy looking at the ducks in books and would often go "duck, duck", he wasn't a bit interested with the real ones right before him. It's as if he wasn't sure what they were. Was he thinking why were the ducks white, whereas those he sees in books are yellow? Well son, this are the real ducks!

The rabbits were definitely Kenan's favourite! He was smiling with so much joy and excitement when daddy held his little hand to touch the rabbits' noses. He stayed here for a long while.

Besides the animals above, there's also a tortoise pond, the second area for ducks and a place for washing hands.

We were there in the late morning and before we knew it, it was already time for lunch. We enjoyed our visit, and felt that it was a truly educational trip where our little boy got to see what the real chicken and ducks look, sound and even smell like.

By the way, you can also host children's parties here. I thought it would be a great venue.

Pasir Ris Kid's Kampong

11 Pasir Ris Farmway Way 1

Singapore 519355

Tel: 6583 9030

Opening hours:

Mon - Fri: 9am to 6pm 

Sat, Sun & PH: 10am to 7pm

Please call beforehand if you want to visit on a weekday, as the place may be closed for school booking.