Trip Pulse: Singapore – A Treat for the Senses on our Around the World adventure!

Our Around the World adventure continues in Singapore.

Singapore is yet another Asian delight that we have discovered on our journey around the world. This city has proved to be a beautiful brew of Malay, Chinese, Western and Indian culture. Although most of the folks speak Mandarin at home, you can pretty much manage if you’re familiar with one of the official languages – English, Tamil, Malay or Chinese.

Where East meets West

This ultra modern city lies just 100+ km away from the equator and houses over 5 million people who have collectively made Singapore one of the richest per capita nations in the world. A glimpse into history reveals that this country was ruled by the British till 1963. Although they were briefly reunited with Malaysia, there were several ethnic, linguistic and religious differences that led to their separation towards the mid 60s.

Today, Singapore stands as an economic stronghold and contains both urban confines as well as getaways of natural beauty. Here, you’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to high quality shopping malls and electronics stores and you’ll find that almost everyone has a mobile phone! In fact, the mobile phone penetration rate stands at 1,400 mobile phone subscribers per 1000 people.

Friendly locals, sizzling cuisine, formidable laws!

You’ll love the locals just as much as the city. They are friendly, polite and well-mannered and they seem to follow all the strict regulations that govern the country. These laws draw heavy penalties so do read up on prevailing rules before you step out.

Don't break any of the many rules in Singapore

All in all, you’ll find that the city is clean, safe, very well-organized and easy to get around especially when you travel with kids.

Singapore offers a grand buffet of mouth-watering cuisine filled with flavour yet amazingly affordable. For less than $10US you can get a whole lot of stuff. On the flip side, accommodations are expensive so you may have to dust off your wallet to get a small room.

Delicious Indian cuisine in Singapore

The perfect playground for your kids!

If you plan to travel with children, then you’ll love the Singapore airport. The child-friendly venue was designed to make parents happy as it comes with custom line-ups, playgrounds and lots of attractions to keep kids entertained.

Niko thoroughly enjoyed the Singapore Zoo. In fact, we did too! This world-class facility follows an open concept so the animals are not kept in sad concrete confines.

Check out Singapore open concept zoo

You’ll find them wandering through beautiful greenery almost like in their natural habitat. The lions and tigers were only separated by specially designed water canals!


Things to watch out for … tips for your Singapore stay:

  • Whether you travel with children or not, do check your luggage thoroughly before you enter the country or you may end up becoming ‘criminals’ like we did, as we unknowingly ‘smuggled’ chewing gum and a bottle of beer! Yes, they thankfully did let us go after a lot of explaining!
  • If you’re looking for a hotel room, book well in advance. A last minute booking comes with a very heavy price tag!

Singapore is the perfect Asian base!

Being centrally located, Singapore is the perfect Asian base from where you can fly to other Asian countries nearby. Visit Singapore, especially if you want to travel with children as there’s plenty for them to see and do. You’ll never have a dull moment in this modern, clean, child-friendly and warm country which promises to be the ‘West’ of the East!

What have your experiences been like in Singapore with your children? Please share them in the comments section below. Thanks!

Here are some of our photos from our Singapore visit:

Trip Pulse: Bangkok – Spicy complexity on our round the world trip.

Thailand is a colourful, tastefully proud and complex society. And, we love it!

Our adventure round the world brought us to Thailand, a colourful and vibrant monarchy that still embraces democracy while being fiercely patriotic to their King. It is a land that offers the perfect blend of tradition and modernism. The Thai people are closely linked to Buddhist teachings and are non-confrontational and very hospitable in nature.

Bangkok – Thai capital home to over 10 million people and the longest official name according to Guinness Book of World Records

Busy Bangkok welcomed us with open arms. A truly vibrant city, the new Bangkok isn’t very different from downtown Toronto. However, although the new Bangkok has its share of western modernism with shopping malls and concrete skyscrapers, we enjoyed the old Bangkok which has retained its traditional core reflecting the spiritualism of this bustling city.  We just loved the street markets.

Famous Bangkok street food - if you have the guts

You’ll find everything from Thai fast food to ‘genuine’ brand items from around the world, all at an amazingly discounted price. Trust me, 100 Baht can go a long way when you’re shopping on the road.


Birthday celebration fit for a king

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej and I share the same birthday on December 5th so our timing was perfect! For a little pampering, I opted for a wonderfully royal one hour Thai massage – amazing!

Amazing meal on Khao San Road in Bangkok

The perfect evening ended with a delicious dinner on Khao San Road in the company of my favourite two people –  Natasza and Niko. Thankfully, we didn’t get a cab back to the hotel so we ended up walking along the street, gazing up at the thousands of balloon lanterns that lit up the night sky.

Some of our most memorable Bangkok adventures

When you travel with kids, every experience seems memorable! However, here are some noteworthy ones that I will look back on with a smile.

Khao San Road

We saw a palm reader on Khao San Road in old Bangkok and were quite happy to find that Natasza had some good fortune coming her way. How exciting!

Boat ride on the River

As the Chao Phraya River runs through Bangkok, the boat ride is just amazing. For a few Baht, you’ll get an awesome view of the city from a completely different angle. Skip those expensive private tours and take a public transport boat like we did. Live like a local!

Tuk Tuk Ride

When in Bangkok, you just have to ride the Tuk Tuk. It’s cheap and so much fun especially when you travel with children. You might even get a free ride as market vendors often offer to pay your fare if you buy something from their store.

Fun and famous Tuk Tuk rides

Temple Hopping

We enjoyed temple hopping and visiting the Grand Palace and Wat Prakeaw Arun by the riverside. Did you know that there are over 400 temples in Bangkok?

One aspect that really stood out was the fact that Thais absolutely love their King and the royal birthday celebrations were truly unforgettable.

Amazing Thai street food

How can we forget Thai food! Both on the street and in up-scale restaurants, the cuisine is delicious but be careful where you decide to eat. Niko loved the chicken satee! Although we skipped the Floating market, we enjoyed a visit to the Royal National Art Museum.

Bangkok with kids can be lots of fun!

When you travel with kids it’s important to keep them occupied and happy! Although a lot of the local attractions were closed due to the floods, Niko still enjoyed the boat trip and the splunge in the hotel pool. Too bad Bangkok lacks kids playgrounds except for a large one in Lumphini Park. If you’re heading to Bangkok, you’ll want to check out the Siam Ocean World and the Butterfly Garden.

Our family travel tips for Bangkok:

A couple of tips to keep in mind especially when you travel with kids would be

  • to avoid tap water
  • be careful while crossing the busy roads
  • carry mosquito repellent
  • remember to dress appropriately when visiting the royal grounds
  • it would be wise not to discuss politics or make any negative statements related to the King unless of course you want to spend some quality time in jail!

Many shrines with the Thai King in Bangkok during his birthday celebrations

 

  • One area of frustration was that Bangkok was not very stroller-friendly, so flex those muscles.

Bangkok was everything we expected and a little more. From a culture steeped in both tradition and modernism, we enjoyed every aspect of this South East Asian city.

What have your experiences been like in Bangkok with your family? Please share them in the comments section below. Thanks!

Here are some of our photos from our Bangkok (Thailand) visit: