Friday 25 May 2012

1st family vacation - Singapore!

So the time finally came for our first overseas family vacation to the Lion Island. Deg-degan? Pastinyaa… Takut si bayi kenapa-kenapa. Tapi Alhamdulillah lancar jaya. Couldn’t be more proud of my wonderful son. J

 

It was quite spontaneous, the plan for the trip. I mean, I had thought of going somewhere during the long weekend, but didn’t think Akang actually approved. But surprisingly he said he wants to go, as it’s been quite a hectic year in the past with settling in to Indonesian life, going back to work, renovating our home, me getting pregnant, giving birth etc… So we do need a holiday. Yay!

 

Of course, we planned a budget holiday, so first thing is to search for budget airline. We got Airasia return flight for Rp. 2.4mio for the three of us. Then, based on blogger mommies recommendation, we booked Tai Hoe Hotel for around SGD 110/night.

 

Before D-Day we didn’t really prepare much, since I was busy at work. I could only manage to do a rough itinerary and asked Akang to search for the transport to get there. We travelled quite light for a 4-day trip, even with Raka’s MPASI food. It was just a suitcase for Akang and my clothes, Raka’s diaper bag for his clothes, a backpack with Raka’s stuff (food, daily clothes and diapers etc) in addition to my handbag, Akang’s camera bag and tripod, and a buggy stroller.

 

We left home for the airport before 8am to catch our 11.20 flight, thinking it would be hectic at the airport. But nooo… Terminal 3 is so so nice. Not crowded at all since it’s only Airasia flight there. The flight was delayed for 1 hour, we arrived in Singapore around 3pm. Raka was sooo happy before the flight, he was smiling and cooing the whole way. And just before boarding, he fell asleep. He slept through the whole flight and woke up just before landing. Great, huh? No crying during takeoff-landing at all. I gave him Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder with pear chunks inside for him to chew on during landing, because his pediatrician said to keep him chewing during takeoff and landing and no need for earmuffs.

 

He pooped just as we landed in Singapore, so first thing we went to the toilet to change him. Quite a challenge, he wouldn’t budge still so it was hard to put his diaper on. After that, we went past immigration and down to baggage claim. Raka rewel lagi, minta mimi. We asked where the nursing room was, but given directions to the toilet with baby changing station instead *tepok jidat*Of course Raka and I wouldn’t want to nurse there. Yes, Raka knows if the place is uncomfortable, he’d nurse on and off and play with my n*pples instead *gubrak* hehehe.

 

Anyway, after we got out at T1 Changi, lo and behold, there’s a nursing room there. So I nursed Raka there, quite comfortably with soft cushioned sofa in a lockable room, there’s also a sink and hot water as well there. After that we transferred to T2 to catch our MRT. We stopped at the Singapore Visitor Centre to ask for directions to travel to our hotel by MRT and pick up maps of Singapore, Sentosa, and other guides.

 

The MRT ticket office was closed from 15.45 – 16.45 and we got there like 16.30. We waited a while to get our EZlink cards. Why did we buy EZLink instead of single tickets and Singapore Tourist Pass? Because we were there for 4 days, while the Singapore Tourist Pass is only for 1, 2 and 3 days. And it would take too much time if we have to buy single tickets everytime we go on MRT, and anyway we were planning to catch a bus to IKEA which means we have to have correct money to put in the box as there are no change given. Intinya: ga mau ribet nantinya. Biarin deh kena $5 untuk beli kartunya, kan nanti bisa dipinjam atau syukur2 ada rejeki kesana lagi bisa dipakai.

 

To get to our hotel, we had to change trains at Tanah Merah station, then again at Outram Park and finally arrive at Farrer Park station. We got out at City Square Mall just in front of our hotel. The hotel is very conveniently located. No regrets staying here. Cheap price, room and bathroom is clean even though very small (as is all other Singapore hotel rooms), there’s bar size fridge inside to store breastmilk and fruit for Raka, hot water dispenser outside to make Raka’s oatmeal and our Popmie and there’s also coffee and teh tarik. Walaupun di Little India dan banyak orang India yang nginep disana, tapi bersiih dan ga ada bau2an aneh disana hehehe.

 

We arrived at the room at about 6.30pm. Yup, lamaaa yaaa dari mulai berangkat dari rumah Jakarta sampe nemu kasur lagi di kamar hotel. Akang said we’re not going anywhere tonight, paling dinner aja. Jadi disana pertama mandiin Raka (but first we had to inflate the Munchkin duck tub yang ternyata susah ya niupnya, harusnya pake pompa hahaha), udah gitu kasih makan. Terus pada shalat, dan Raka mimi sampe tidur. Karena anak bayi udah bobo jadinya Akang keluar sendiri beli nasi briyani sementara saya dan Raka di kamar. Not long after that we were off to slumberland as we were all too exhausted….

 

This entry was posted in

0 comments:

Post a Comment