It was the long weekend, and in desperation of trying to find somewhere to go with the kids, I sought help with Google. Somehow, the Singapore Chinese Garden came up and I thought, 'Why not?'
I'm expecting all the major attractions in Singapore to be super packed and crowded with people on the public holiday, so the Singapore Chinese Garden might just be a good choice to have a peaceful and quiet family outing. Really didn't expect that we would have so much fun there. Or maybe I am just born very optimistic. Haha! But I could tell from my girls' expressions that they had fun. How easy to satisfy them. =D
And so, the last time I visited the Singapore Chinese Garden could be even before I went to Primary School. Yes it was that long ago. It was of course the girls' first trip there. As expected, it was quiet and peaceful, with sparse small groups of tourists here and there. I like it that there's lots of greenery and wide spaces everywhere. Always therapeutic to stroll in a quiet park.
We took a short MRT ride to Chinese Garden station (turned out to be pretty near to my place!), and there is a path right in front that brings you straight to the Garden.
One of the main reasons for visiting the Garden was to go to the Live Turtle & Tortoise Museum, which will be covered in another blog entry. Not sure what to expect before we went, but the website did promise that the tortoises & turtles would be alive. Nice assurance.
The girls were excited. So was I! =P
The wide bridge at the main entrance with strings of colourful light bulbs above our heads. I can imagine it must be quite pretty at night.
It's freaky, but when I saw the pagoda, I could actually recognise it as something I've seen as a kid! Maybe I have supersonic memory. Or maybe it's just so iconic it cannot be forgotten easily.
I don't know what powers the 7-storey pagoda holds, but my girls like it very much and kept bugging me to take photos of them with it.
Baby Jayne even tried to hold up the pagoda, as you can see.
And that begun my 20 minutes of trying to catch up with them, as they ran with all their lives up the long flight of staircase and UP THE SEVEN STOREYS OF THE PAGODA, omg. I have to admit I had absolutely no intention whatsoever to climb up the pagoda. Who cares about what a good view I can get from the top floor of the pagoda?? But the girls thought otherwise, and before I could do anything to stop them, they had scrambled all the way up screaming and screeching with delight. I had no choice but to chase after them.
Total of 148 steps. 148 up and 148 down. Not funny at all.
I have to admit though, the spiral staircases make a lovely pattern.
In between huffing and puffing, I snapped a few shots from the top.
Yes, before I could even catch my breath, the girls have begun their descent. =.=
And this is the view from the 7th storey of the pagoda. Just a lot of trees.
At the Singapore Chinese Garden, you can learn about Chinese history and stories of famous historical figures. Turned out, I don't really know most of them. I've heard of their names, but I got all their stories mixed up, much to hubby's amusement. =P
Something trivial but interesting - Chinese opera faces for toilet signs. Thank God I didn't let Joey go to the washroom by herself - She might not be able to tell which is which.
I might be able to daydream that I was having a holiday in China, looking at this scenery, if not for the high-rise flats behind. Haha..
When the girls are in the mood, they pose and demand that we take photographs of them. I don't mind of course. Except when we are under the scorching hot sun.
Not my idea to pose like this. But I figured she thought it was befitting to do a cheena pose in such a cheena place.
As you walk into the Garden, you will come to a huge pavilion over a lake where you can feed fishes with bread. Several people who were there brought their own bread and gave some to my girls to feed the fishes with. They had a lot of fun throwing bread pieces into the lake and watching the fishes jump at them excitedly. :)
This would also be a good place to rest your feet, or have your lunch. Saw some families who prepared a picnic of food for their lunch. :)
To be continued...
