Coney Island

It was very impromptu as we head towards Punggol Settlement today. Daddy wanted us to go out and get some exercise instead of always playing with the phone so we decided to check out the north eastern part of Singapore which none of us have been to before. Daddy has heard of the Park Connector Network and that it is connected to Coney Island. So we thought maybe we can rent a bike around there and cycle to Coney Island to check it out. 

The 83-hectare Coney Island Park houses a wide variety of habitats, including coastal forests, grasslands, mangroves and Casaurina woodlands. It is home to a wide variety of fauna and flora, some of which are critically endangered.

We entered the island from the West Entrance after leaving the Punggol Settlement. The pavement is good for riding although it can get a bit tight because both pedestrians and cyclists share the same path. We stopped by a beach access and decided to go check out the beach. We found many crabs on the water edge and even managed to catch a few. Andrea thought she caught a big crab but it turned out that big crab was dead and just floating around. We spent about 15 mins at the beach decided to move on. 

We continued cycling and came across this area with steps where people can sit and catch the sunset or just watch the big ships sail pass. It faces Pulau Ubin and when we were there, there were a few families hanging on the steps and just enjoying the view. Maybe the next time we come here, we can pack some picnic food and just sit here and chill and enjoy the view. 

Continuing on the path, we went one loop and ended up at the same place we started and decided to head back. I was feeling hungry and wanted to get something to eat. Unfortunately the 7 11 was closed temporary and so we decided to head to Nai Nai's house for dinner and maybe get her to start dinner early. It was a short but enjoyable cycling trip. 

Outing with Daddy

We spent the whole day with Daddy starting with church. For the first time, we were very early for church. We were so early Daddy decided that instead of dropping us first, we drove to park the car and then walk to church, hoping to catch some interesting insects along the way. 

After church, we went to ION for lunch. As we couldn't decide what to eat, Daddy decided we should go to a nice food court in ION and then we can all go for what we like. I went for the prawn noodles while Andrea had the fish soup with rice. Daddy had his favourite Indonesian rice with dishes. For dessert, I ordered the ice kachang which was pretty good and we all shared it.

After lunch, we headed to Okto in Yishun. As it was still too hot to do any pond fishing at 1.30pm, we decided we should go Katapult and spend some time in there jumping before heading to the pond. Daddy paid for a 2 hour session and we started jumping at 2pm. It was a hot day and as there was no air con in the jumping area, we were all drench from perspiration after only 15 mins. 

Vanessa was supposed to join us but she got there only at about 3.30pm so she could only start jumping at 4pm but we would be done by then. So we decided to go Longkang fishing instead. We had lots of fun catching all those longkang fish although some of them were already half dead. 

Daddy and I decided to go pond fishing at around 5.10pm when it wasn't that hot. We took the rod and bait and picked a shady spot. Unlike the fishing in Batam where they have someone to help us with the baits, we have to do it ourselves here. Daddy had to tie the chicken liver with a string to prevent it from breaking apart and I say the chicken liver smelled terrible. We throw the line in many times and although i felt something eating the bait, Daddy was sure it was the small fishes and not the big ones. We were there for an hour and we had no fight at all. It was a far cry from the experience we had at Batam. After a disappointing session, we decided to return the rod and head back. Daddy says we will try to go back to the Batam fishing ground soon. 

We headed to Sengkang for dinner with Ye Ye and Nai Nai after Okto. We were kinda tired from the activities the whole day and almost fell asleep while waiting to dinner to start. 

ARPC Church Camp 2019

We attending ARPC Church Camp for the first time and it was held at KL Sunway Resort. And since it was during the June school holidays, Mummy and Daddy decided we will stay with Aunty Mei Mei and Uncle Vincent for a couple of days before the church camp. They have been asking us to visit them so this seems to be a good time to do so.

We booked our coach with AeroLine and boarded the coach at Harborfront on Monday. They have comfortable reclining seats and even a personalised screen with many movies and games to keep us occupied during the 6 hour journey. We arrived at Sunway Resort without even noticing that 6 hours have passed. Aunty Mei Mei and Uncle Vincent with their 2 sons, Brandon and Jasper, were there to receive us.


For the next three days, we spent much time checking out interesting restaurants with good local dishes. We even went to a famous local wet market call Chow Kit Market for breakfast. In fact, Aunty Mei Mei has not been there herself as she finds it quite dangerous and never visited it before. Daddy found out about this market from a food channel on Netflix and it was really a great experience. And with the exchange rate around 1SGD to 3MYR, the food was not only cheaper than in Singapore, it was also more delicious! We must have put on 2 to 3 kg in that 3 days we spent with them. 

On the second day, Uncle Vincent drove us to a very special place called Sekinchan which was about an hour drive from KL. There are rice padi fields and also a factory which showcases the rice harvesting process. It was very interesting to see how we get the rice from start to finish. Nearby from the rice factory is a seaside area where many people were flying their kites. We bought a few and all the kids were flying the kites. Unfortunately there was a very 

sandy slope where Andrea slipped and fell and had a very bad scratch on herright leg. She cried buckets cos it was so painful. Before we headed for dinner, we were treated to a eagle feeding show. We took a small motor boat and headed out to sea where the boatman will drop chicken on the water and the many eagles will just swoop in for the food. It was an interesting experience. After the eagle feeding show, we headed to a kelong for our seafood dinner. Again the food didn't fail us and the price was very reasonable.

We were very sad to part with Aunty Mei Mei, Uncle Vincent, Brandon and Jasper. We had a great time with them and before they dropped us off at Sunway for our church camp, we had one last meal and needless to say, it was very good. On the way to Sunway, Jasper was especially quiet and we were told that he is not very good with parting and thus can become a bit emo. We wish Aunty Mei Mei well as she will delivering little Daniel very soon. 

For the next 4 days we were based at Sunway Resort for the church camp. While Mummy and Daddy attended the talks, we were at the children's classes and we will get together during meal times. There was free time when the kids were able to go out to play. We spent an afternoon on laser tag and the next day on archery. We even managed to spend an afternoon ice skating. It was my first time and Daddy and Mummy said I did pretty well for a first timer. 

March Holiday to Brisbane

We have been going to Japan to ski in the last 2 years during our March school holiday as it was cheaper and less crowded compared to December. However, Daddy decided it was time to check out Brisbane and the Gold Coast this time instead. It was also partly because Daddy had to go settle his HSBC bank account and also to take a look at our Brisbane property. 

On the first day after we arrived in Brisbane, we headed straight to the HSBC branch in Sunnybank. It was amazing how many chinese live around there and we didn't feel like we were in Australia. Daddy quickly settled the bank stuff and we headed to Logan Street where our condo is located. We looked up Allie who has been assisting Daddy with managing the property and she was very happy to show us around. We had fun running around the rooftop where there is a nice pool and also good views of the city. 

We spent the next few days checking out Brisbane City and went to places like South Bank Parkland where we spent some time at the man made Streets Beach in the city. It felt exactly like a beach with sand and all but the water is not salty so that was kinda strange. We also had lunch at The Charming Squire which served pretty good food and Daddy had his much awaited craft beer. We then walked around the river sidewalk and took many pictures. We also checked out Kangaroo Cliff which overlooks the Brisbane City Centre from the other side. In the evening, we headed to Eat Street Northshore Market where there is a large variety of delicious food and desserts and the shops are actual shipping containers. Atmosphere there was electrifying as there were bands playing and families having a good time. 

After Brisbane, Daddy drove us to Gold Coast where the real action begins! Daddy was pretty disappointed that the drive from Brisbane to Gold Coast took only an hour as he was looking forward to a long drive. We checked into QT Gold Coast which is only about 300m from the beach. We wasted no time after checking in and headed straight for the beach for our maiden surf lesson. I must say it was tiring fighting the waves and keeping balance on the board but we sure had lots of fun. As Gold Coast is famous for it's theme parks, we also checked out Wet n Wild and I must say it was more fun than the one in Phu Quoc because we got to try out all the different rides there.

Daddy felt it won't be complete if we didn't see any animals while in Australia so we checked out Sea World and also Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Sea World was a real disappointment but we tried to make the best of our visit there and tried out all the rides and fed the manta rays. Currumbin was ok but not as good compared to Caversham Wildlife in Perth. The one thing that stood out though was the Tree Top Challenge which we totally enjoyed. 

Although we had a lot of fun in Queensland, Daddy felt we won't be back anytime soon as there isn't much for us to do here. We need to look for greener pastures!

Meomi Cat Cafe

After my class with Teacher Joy this morning, Mummy and Daddy decided to bring us to Meomi Cat Cafe. It has been a while since we last visited this place and it seems there are no new additions to the family. The guy who runs the place recognised us and welcomed us to play with the cats. We were told that Coo the mainecoon might be retired soon as she seems to be suffering from some kind of illness, so it is best that she gets her rest at home. Hope Coo gets well soon.