Singapore’s pristine beauty- round #3 for the International Nabers!

Recently the hubs had some work in Singapore so Ava and I decided to join him for a long weekend away- an easy decision since Singapore is a fun and super close getaway to explore, plus I hadn’t been there since before being pregnant with Ava. A win-win for us all :). You can read about our first and second trip to Singapore too!

Anyway, with Ava in the mix, we have found with our extensive travel with her already, that it is best if we can get a suite where a room is closed off- perfect for nap times or when she goes to bed early and we just want to hang out on the couch and order room service. Luckily, although Singapore can be quite expensive, we scored a great deal on Agoda, something I realize isn’t always cost effective but if you take your time and be patient, as well as compromise on some points, you typically score a good deal. We found ours at the Pan Pacific Serviced Suites on Beach Road. To start with, it is a great hotel chain and always 4-5 star. Sure it lacked a few “normal” hotel perks like room service, but it was in a great location, (just off Arab street where there were tons of restaurants and shops), modern and clean with a comfy bed and an awesome little kitchenette, had a roof top pool, workout room, and complimentary hot made to order breakfast in the mornings (except Sundays–only fail on their behalf). We would definitely stay here again! It was a quick cab ride to Clarke Quay, Orchard Road, Chinatown, and the Marina Bay Sands.

Arab Street at night with our hotel in the background

Cute little streets 😉

After arriving Thursday evening, we walked across the street to Arab street and found a cute little mexican joint that served up house made guacamole and good burritos. I mean, for Asia that is. Did the job and we settled in for the night relaxing and catching up as we wandered the streets while Ava was on her best behavior, I might add- she loves people watching and is a total social butterfly :).

It’s a total “zoo” to get Ava to stand still for a picture too- LOL!

I ended up just locking her in- LOL!

Friday while the hubs worked, I decided to do something different that the norm in Singapore and I took her to the Singapore Zoo first thing, before it got too hot. It was about a 30 minute cab ride outside of the city and is absolutely massive. Next door is also a night safari trek, amongst other adventures. We opted for a simple cruise around the park. I think the only fail was that Ava is still, at 15 months, a little too young to really “get it” but we enjoyed strolling around all the exhibits and even caught a seal show before heading out 2 hours after our arrival. You could easily spend a whole day here- there are restaurants and gift shops and loads of shows scattered throughout the day- perfect for older toddlers and young kiddos. Highly recommend! Anyway, we jetted off back to the city for a nice lunch, just the 2 of us near the hotel, and then settled in for Ava’s afternoon nap while I spent time researching our dinner plans :).

After the hubs finished his work day, it was time to play!! We decided to head over to Clarke Quay– our favorite hangout area of Singapore! Located along a river, it houses loads of restaurants, bars, and a few activities as well, one of which being a splash pad we wanted to get Ava tired out on….oh, and lets not forget all the great IPA beer spots to cool off in! Well, luckily we found our IPA beers (for David of course), but due to the Singapore Oktoberfest celebrations going on that weekend that we knew nothing about, they had set up a huge stage on top of the splash pad!! Boohoo :(. In any case, we enjoyed some cold beverages and strolled along the path until dinnertime- of course choosing to indulge in the famous Singapore Chili Crab!! We typically go to Jumbo for this but due to it being packed and us forgetting to book a table, we found an awesome little Chinese restaurant above Jumbo that served delicious crab and other assorted Chinese side dishes. A total surprise win!

IPA Beer kisses 🙂

Goofing off with Daddy

mean parent tricks- lemon wedge bites- hahaha

my girl. <3<3

Saturday was our day together so we started off with a rooftop swim in the morning, followed by a little morning nap since none of us slept well. After that we took a cab over to Orchard Road for some shopping. You can literally find anything and everything here amongst the dozens of shopping malls and arcades. In between shopping for Ava, David, myself, and our home (so fun!!), we opted for delicious dim sum for lunch at the original Singapore Paradise Dynasty restaurant. Yummy- it was Ava’s first try of dim sum and she loved it!! She’s our adventurous eating girl for sure :).

Rooftop infinity pool with a view of the great wheel!

After a bit more shopping we headed back for afternoon naps and relaxation for us adults before heading out to Chinatown for the night to meet up with some friends of ours who recently moved from KL to Singapore. We decided upon Peking Duck at Fatty Wang’s restaurant- where we had eaten before. They’ve recently gone through an extensive remodel so it looked quite different but the Peking Duck and of course the company was divine!! Once again Ava was adventurous and tried Peking Duck for the first time too and she gobbled it up :). After dinner as luck would have it there was an impromptu Lion Dance right outside in the middle of Chinatown- always so much fun to watch and listen to the live band play- we enjoyed a little show and Ava was totally entranced!

Dinner with the Allens!

They kept feeding Ava these tasteless rice cakes and she couldn’t get enough!

Carving the duck!

Front row entertainment….poor short Asian people behind him- sorry!

So colorful!

I’m always in awe of Chinese Lion Dances- so cool what they can do!

Well, short but sweet but that’s about it. We left Sunday after a nice brunch next door to our hotel and jetted off back to KL for the normalcy of our lives…..and the chaos that is KL. It was a perfect few days in the big, clean, safe, modern, and has-it-all city.

Until next time, get your kids to try a new dish- you’ll never know if you don’t try~

Kimbra