Singapore Tourism

WEEKEND JOHOR STRAITS CRUISE WITH KUCINTA YACHT

January 8, 2019 by Little Miss Honey 1,480 Comments

It is the weekend and you want to do something fun with family or group of friends. Do you have any suggestions? We wanted something different and new. Probably a little bit of touristy experience that adults & kids would love to do.

Hmmmm….. Universal Studios? Done already. Singapore Zoo or Night Safari? Done already. Wild Wild Wet or Adventure Cove? Done already. River Cruise? Done already. We also thought of bbq fun at East Coast Park or just touring around Sentosa Island but we had done that several times. We wanted to do more fun & interesting activities on our off days here in Singapore.

Then we discovered another option of family fun here in Singapore: a yacht cruise! I went my eldest son and my dear blogger friend, Farrah of My Farrahdise abroad a catamaran named Kucinta (named after a Singapore cat). I wanted to try it out and see if it could be added in one of our list of activities I can with my little family especially when my husband’s and my schedule would coincide to bring along the two little ones. I also wanted to test it out if it is something that we can recommend to our friends living here in Singapore or our friends vacationing in Singapore.

Kucinta is one of the four yachts by Bbboats, a local yacht charter company. We piled on our sunblocks generously on our skin, brought along our sunnies and we were ready for an afternoon cruise along Johor Straits. We arrived at Raffles Marina a little after lunch time and was ushered to board the spacious Kucinta.

All the people joining the cruise gathered on the top deck where we were given safety instructions and a little introduction about Kucinta. The weather was just perfect. It was slightly sunny with friendly winds dancing through our hair and skin.

We got a little tour of Kucinta. It is a 45 feet beauty that was just launched in 2018. It has twin hulls which creates spacious area for guests to lounge & relax and this minimises the rocking motion & provides greater stability. It is great for people who are prone to sea-sickness. Kucinta has kitchenette and audio-visual amenities including a Bluetooth-enabled entertainment system and a touchscreen karaoke system. It looks like a perfect venue for a fun party.

There are 4 comfortable cabins with 2 bathrooms in the yacht. Naj just enjoyed going back and forth exploring the different cabins. He love lying down the soft bed. He thought we were sleeping on the boat. He asked me to lie down with him, say our evening prayers & tell him a bedtime story which I happily obliged but I told him that “No, we are not sleeping on the boat tonight, haha.”

Then we started sailing. We relaxed in the audio-visual area listening to the audio tour showcasing the sights along the Straits while we enjoy our ice cream on stick & Naj drinking his favorite drink, Yakult. Naj was listening intently at the audio narration that he learned some World War II history and famous Singapore & Malaysian landmarks. He excitedly would tell me with bright wide inquisitive eyes, “Mommy, the boat say there used to be fighting there!” and “Mommy, there is a fish farm there!”

Naj with his new friend, K

The sites that were featured during the cruise were:

1. Raffles Marina

2. Sempit Puteri/ Puteri Harbour (the narrowest part of the straits)

3. Pulau Sarimbun

4. Tuas Second Link

5. Sarimbun Beach Landing Site

6. Lim Chu Kang Fish Farms

7. Singapore Coast Guard Post

8. Cashin House

9. Dataran Bandaraya (Johor Side)

10. Masjid Sultan Abu Bakar (Johor Side)

11. Istana Besar (Johor Side)

12. Woodlands Causeway

It was nice to see areas that are historically significant but cannot be access in land like the mangroves area where Japanese troops first arrived during World War II, the Cashin House, a heritage building that used to be the home of the prominent Cashin family and Istana Besar, a regal seafront Johor royal palace. Naj was excited to see a glimpse of Puteri Harbour because he knows that is near Thomas & Friends Indoor Playground. The cruise was a wonderful relaxing and educational trip for us.

On the 4-hour cruise, Farrah and I managed to take some fun OOTD shots. It was just lovely to bask under the sun and enjoying the wind playing with our hair & skin.

Some tips to enjoy a yacht cruise:

1. Bring along your favorite people to hang out with you

2. Lather on lots of sunscreen and bring your dark sunglasses

3. Bring your fabulous dresses or gowns with props and take lots of OOTD shots because you have the perfect background when you are on a yacht.

(I had some OOTD photos taken using different nursing tops by Milky Way. Keep a look out for those in my instagram account: www.instagram.com/littlemisshoney)

4. Pop an anti-vertigo or anti-emetic pill before the trip if you have severe motion sickness

5. Bring a bandanna or hairband to tame your hair from the wind

6. Practice your favorite song for a possible impromptu karaoke contest

7. Bring your favorite bathing suit if you want to get some tan on the deck

8. Paint your toenails because you would be walking barefoot around the yacht

9. Have a potluck party or a bring-your-favorite-chips party

10. Think of a fun group game for everyone to enjoy or quiz each other on the historical landmarks throughout the cruise

I am sure there are a lot more fun activities to do in the yacht. It is a great way to have a relaxing mini-expedition with your family, a birthday party or bachelor/bachelorette party or an interesting activity to do with your tourist friends. Each cruise can take up to 27 guests and rates start at $1,600 for a 4-hour charter.

After 4-hours of cruising, we were back at Raffles Marina by 6 PM. And like a cue from the sky, the rain started falling hard. It waited for us to arrived safely, enjoying the afternoon with gentle waves and lots of fun.

If you are interested in experiencing the Kucinta Johor Strait Cruise, head to www.bbboats.com for more information.

Great news! There is a 10% discount off the charter rates of the Kucinta, as well as an additional hour of ride which is worth up to $250 on a weekend by quoting “Honey” and following Bbboats Instagram & Facebook Page. This offer is valid between January – March 2019 . Those interested may contact Bbboats for booking and quote “Honey” to avail the discount.

NAJ’S SINGAPORE ZOO BIRTHDAY

July 13, 2017 by Little Miss Honey 378 Comments

Naj just turned 3 years old two weeks ago. We initially planned for a trip to Kuala Lumpur but my husband’s work schedule won’t allow so we thought of other ways to celebrate Naj’s birthday beside throwing a big party. And we thought, hey why not a trip to the Zoo! He can identify animals now and seen animal cartoons on TV. He would love to see the real ones we are sure. And we were right! He and Fynn had a fun time at Singapore Zoo.

How to get to Singapore Zoo

Coming from the East, we rode the MRT from Green Line to Red Line. We went down at Ang Mo Kio Station. The station is connected to AMK Hub and since it was almost lunch time when we arrived, we decided to have lunch there. We picked Fish & Co. We had a fishy yummy lunch before heading to the zoo.

The bus interchange was conveniently in AMK Hub. We waited for Bus 138 to take us directly to the Singapore Zoo.

I got our tickets to through the app, Klook. Admission fee usually is $33 for adult, $22 for child (3-12 years old) and $15 for senior citizen. However, we got our tickets cheaper through Klook. I just printed the ticket voucher before hand. And we arrived, all we need to do was scan the ticket in one of the green kiosk and the machine would provide us the tickets.

What to do in Singapore Zoo

The last zoo I remember I went to was in Manila Zoo (if I don’t count the mini zoo I went to in Sydney, Australia). I have the image in my head that animals are kept in cages. It was refreshing to see animals in Singapore Zoo to be out in open space for them to walk about but safe enough distance for the zoo visitors.

First, what we did was to check out the schedule of shows. Here they are:

Splash Safari Show : 10:30 AM , 5:00 PM – Shaw Foundation Amphitheater

Rainforest Fight Back Show: 12:30 PM, 2:30 PM – Shaw Foundation Amphitheater

Elephants At Work & At Play Show – 3:30 PM, Elephants of Asia

Animal Friends Show – 11:00 PM, 4:00 PM – Rainforest Kidzworld Amphitheater

We were able to see the Rainforest Fight Back Show and the Elephants At Work & At Play Show. My advice is to pick two shows that you like to see and the rest for other activities to do in the zoo. I didn’t really like the Rainforest Fights Back Show so I think you can give it a miss.

The kids love the Elephant Show. We arrived early and settled in the Elephants of Asia ready to watch the show. It was easily packed. I guess it is quite a popular show. We were glad we arrived early so we got seats. Some were already standing in the back. It was fun show to adults and kids. There were also feeding session after the show but we didn’t do that anymore because the queue was quite long.

Next thing you should do is get in a tram and get to see the whole Singapore Zoo which comes with a voice-over narration of the animals in the zoo.

Fynn was soothe by the rocking of the tram, he fell as sleep, hahaha.

Roam the zoo on foot and check out the animals you like to see. There is an area where you see life-like dinosaurs in the bushes. We saw lots of different types of monkeys. We saw beautiful vibrant pink flamingoes, zebras, lions, penguins, seals, giraffes and many more.

Naj is also into bouncing and jumping a lot these days. We saw this MegaBounce and we asked if Naj can go for it. The guy said yes and Naj was so ecstatic.

Next to the MegaBounce is the Rainforest KidzWorld. They have a nice carousel outside it. Fynn particularly enjoyed it. He was so upset when it ended hehe.

Inside the KidzWorld, you can get a pony ride and there is a water park for the kids. We came prepared so we got swim clothes for the kids . My kids just love water parks! They were happily splashing water and sliding down the water slides.

After they got tired from their water fun, we roam the zoo for a bit and headed back to Ang Mo Kio. The zoo closed at 6:00 PM daily. We had so much fun! Naj indeed enjoy his Singapore Zoo birthday. We cant wait to visit Jurong Bird Park and River Safari next time.

For dinner, we headed to Ang Mo Kio- Bishan Park to have dinner at Grub and Naj got to blow his mini birthday cake.

Happy Birthday Naj! You amazed us everyday of your sweetness, your iron strong-will, your ability to learn things, your love for cars & chocolate, your caring ways of making sure we walk on the right side of the road & be aware of cars coming and your adorable smile when we are together. I am so grateful I get to be your mommy and see you grow up…. Mommy, Daddy and Howell love you so much!

Singapore Zoo

80 Mandai Lake Road

Singapore 729826

Tel. No. (65) 6269 3411

Email: enquiry@wrs.com.sg

Website: Singapore Zoo

Opening Hours: 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM daily

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave

TOURIST GUIDE: SINGAPORE FLYER

December 27, 2016 by Little Miss Honey 569 Comments

One thing about living and working in a country that isn’t your own is that you forgot to be a tourist in your new home. We look at it as a place where we go home to and a place of our livelihood. We don’t look at it in an eyes of tourist, a fertile playground for our adventurous souls.

We never know if we will always be staying in our adopted country that has welcomed us generously. So I make it a point to play tourist once and awhile and do touristy things.

One evening, I took my kids to the Singapore Flyer. I purchase our ticket voucher from Klook app. On the day itself, we went our actual tickets at City Tour Tourist Hub at # 1-05 at Singapore Flyer. We were instructed to be at the ticket place at least 15-20 minutes before ticket timeslot. We were told to wait for a bit and the staff will escort us to the Singapore Flyer entrance.

Photo Credit: www.ttgmice.com

Here are fun facts about Singapore Flyer according to Wikipedia: The Singapore Flyer is a giant Ferris wheel in Singapore. Described by its operators as an observation wheel, it opened in 2008, construction having taken about 2½ years. It carried its first paying passengers on 11 February, opened to the public on 1 March, and was officially opened on 15 April. It has 28 air-conditioned capsules, each able to accommodate 28 passengers, and incorporates a three-storey terminal building.The Flyer has an overall height of 165 metres (541 ft).

They treat an experience riding the Singapore Flyer like an airline ride. You get to pass through an immigration like area. Sorry, not strollers allowed. Before entering the air-conditioned capsule, you will pass through the Journey of Dreams. It is an interesting multimedia presentation showing the history of the Singapore Story and the majestic Singapore Flyer, and gives amazing 360° views of Singapore and beyond. The first flight is at 8.30am and the last flight is at 10.00pm. It is a 30 minutes rotation on Singapore Flyer.

We got our tickets for $31 per person, children below 3 years old are not included. Regular Prices are as follows:

Adult (13 years or older) S$33.00

Child (3-12 years old) S$21.00

Senior 60 years old and above (Only Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents are eligible to purchase.) S$24.00

* For Senior tickets, guests will be required to present their NRIC for age verification.

There were lots of kids in our capsule so Naj was happy playing with them while enjoying the view. It was moving slowly you can’t feel a thing nor would you get motion sickness from it. Though maybe if you have fear of heights, this experience might be challenging. You get to see a wonderful view of beautiful Singapore. The sun was setting and I got a magnificent photo of the lights of busy Singapore. I think 6:30 PM timeslot is a great time to book for the Singapore Flyer because you get to enjoy the view before and after sunset. You can take lots of photos though it can be a bit crowded too. Nevertheless, it is a nice experience riding the Singapore Flyer.

There are several premium flights that Singapore Flyer got to offer that offers drinks like Singapore Sling or Champagne or a dining experience on the Singapore Flyer perfect for wedding proposals or anniversaries. Check out their rates here.

Book your tickets at www.singaporeflyer.com or www.klook.com.