Singapore | Nyan Thomas L's Blog

Nyan Takes to the High Seas

Well, not exactly the high seas. But a local bank offers free sailing sessions in Marina Bay, in downtown Singapore. It’s tough to get a slot as it’s very popular, and the program was halted for quite a while during Covid. But once they re-started the program, Daddy quickly scored some seats. He and Nyan kept it a surprise from Mommy, who loves to sail. Here are Mommy and Nyan just before the event:

Here we are, getting ready, and then boarding the dinghy that took us out to the sailboats.

We think the boats they use are known as SM40’s, if that means anything to you, dear reader. Whatever: it was pretty great! Check out all these pics.

Nyan helped out with pulling the lines and whatnot (can you tell your correspondent doesn’t know much about sailing?)

Some great views from the boat and the dinghy, too. Singapore sure is a photogenic place:

The whole thing lasted about 45 minutes. Highly recommended!

Afterwards, we took a casual family stroll around downtown, walking down some picturesque streets and ending up in Chinatown.

We posed for a few pictures too.

A really great weekend afternoon outside!

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Posted by Chris L. on March 8, 2022 in Uncategorized

Tags: outdoors, Singapore

The Return of the Light Festival

15 Feb

Singapore used to have an annual “light festival” downtown every year – basically a chance for artists to display some public light-based sculpture. We made a habit of going – see here – and it was always a pleasant evening out.

Of course, Covid put a quick end to that tradition. But in early 2022, even though we still had to wear masks indoors and out, the festival made a comeback. One Friday evening we renewed our tradition. It was smaller than in years past but still quite nice.

The main thing was a series of lights projected onto the façade of one of the museums downtown. Kinda cool:

Nyan enjoyed it:

That museum, by the way, is the National Gallery, and it was open for touring, so we checked out some of the exhibits.

Afterwards we strolled along the river. In years past there’s been plenty of exhibits along here; this year, none at all. But it was still nicely lit, a pleasant stroll and a great way to end the evening.

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Posted by Chris L. on February 15, 2022 in Uncategorized

Tags: art, Singapore

The Great Outdoors

10 Feb

January in Singapore means winter – but that doesn’t mean snow and ice. Instead it means slightly cooler temps (very slightly, but noticeably) and, often, a refreshing breeze out of the north. It’s certainly almost always the nicest month weather wise, and we took advantage of January 2022 with a good amount of time outside.

That included, of course, the swimming pool. There was plenty of slow-motion jumping into the water:

And flips too:

Our hero also continued to work on his diving, with the help of his swimming instructor Pang:

We also went for bike rides along the coast. I mean, just look at that:

Look!

Just lovely.

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Posted by Chris L. on February 10, 2022 in Uncategorized

Tags: outdoors, Singapore

A Day at the National Museum

05 Feb

During a day off from school in early January, Daddy decided it would be a day of culture and walking around. So we headed to the National Museum of Singapore, which is all about the history, culture and art of Singapore. Pretty cool place!

There’s a big exhibit about life during WWII, when Japan occupied the country. Nyan was especially captivated by the tanks.

He goofed around a bit with some mirrors:

And he spun around in the soaring rotunda at the entrance:

Afterwards we took an early evening stroll around nearby Fort Canning Park. A really peaceful green space.

There’s a cool feature at the park where a spiral staircase leads you down through a steep slope. It makes for great photos!

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Posted by Chris L. on February 5, 2022 in Uncategorized

Tags: Singapore

December Fun with Jayden

25 Jan

(Editor’s note: we know there are a number of new viewers lately — welcome! — and we also know we are pretty late in posting. For instance, it’s June and we’re only up to December. Rest assured we’ll get caught up one day. So come back often! Or just subscribe to get emailed whenever we make a new post.)

The Christmas holidays brought three weeks off from school – and that brought lots of time for Nyan to hang out with his bestie Jayden, as well as brother Jonnie and the rest of the family. Let’s take a look.

Some time in and around the pool:

The boys spent a fair amount of time outside, walking around fields and on abandoned rail tracks near Jayden’s place:

There was bowling too. Strike!

One evening, Jayden and his family headed for a sunset picnic near downtown, and they invited Nyan along. What great views!

We also went to the Science Center one rainy afternoon. The kids mostly ran around and ran away from the adults, so not many pictures – but we did manage this video:

And finally, Nyan spent New Year’s Eve on a sleepover at Jayden’s, at which everyone managed to stay up all the way til midnight. Much fun – and twerking – was had!

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Posted by Chris L. on January 25, 2022 in Uncategorized

Tags: friends, Singapore

Christmas Eve, High Above Singapore

05 Jan

We had big plans for Christmas Eve – swimming, dinner, hanging out with friends, etc. But those friends came down with last-minute fevers, so the plans got scuttled. Disappointing! But we took advantage of having a wide-open day with no work or plans and made the most of it, by heading to one of the highest points in Singapore for a holiday high tea.

It was at a restaurant at the top of Ion Orchard, an upscale mall and luxury condo tower in the heart of the city. It’s 50-something stories tall, one of the tallest buildings in the city, and offers great views:

Mommy and Daddy enjoyed themselves too.

Afterwards, we had a stroll around the shopping mall, which was jam-packed with last-minute holiday shoppers. We weren’t shopping, just browsing; Nyan got tired of the browsing and entertained himself by sitting outside a store, drawing.

There was one other big activity we did at the mall, but we’ll save that for the next post…

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Posted by Chris L. on January 5, 2022 in Uncategorized

Tags: family, Singapore

Going Downhill, Fast

07 Dec

Singapore has an entertainment district on a near-shore island called Sentosa. It’s attached to Singapore proper by car, walkways and whatnot, and it’s got hotels, beaches, the amusement park, the aquarium, etc. And…a luge ride! Basically motorless go-carts. One day in November, Nyan went with Jayden and his family.

You have to ride a ski lift-style cable car to get to the site. Pretty great views from up there!

And finally, the ride itself!

Not much more to say. I think Nyan was a little nervous ahead of time, having never done this before, but he had an absolute blast and is already making plans to return!

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Posted by Chris L. on December 7, 2021 in Uncategorized

Tags: friends, outdoors, Singapore

A Visit to Sungei Boleh

05 Aug

In the far northwest of Singapore is a place called Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, a coastal nature reserve featuring jungles and wetlands, with boardwalks and trails and viewing platforms to look at the birds and lizards that live there. It’s quite a haul from our place, but one morning in July Nyan and Daddy headed up there for a morning of light hiking and communing with nature. We were glad we did!

It’s a beautiful place. Supposedly there are crocodiles there, though we didn’t see any. We did see this water monitor lizard though:

Nyan had a good time.

Listen to those jungle sounds!

At the end of the trails is a more curated area with small man-made ponds you can sort of walk through. Bit different from the raw nature of the rest of the park, but fine enough.

All in all, a great way to spend a few sweaty hours!

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Posted by Chris L. on August 5, 2021 in Uncategorized

Tags: animals, outdoors, Singapore

A Sunday Morning Nature Hike

16 Jul

One steamy Sunday morning, Nyan and Daddy set off on a jungle hike to a place called the MacRitchie Reservoir. It’s a series of trails along the shores of a man-made lake. It was hardly roughing it: the place is a 20-minute taxi ride away, all the trails are wide, well-maintained boardwalks, and the place was mostly heaving with other people having the same idea. Still, it was a nice escape.

This being the Singapore jungle, yes there were monkeys.

And plenty of turtles in the near-shore areas.

Pretty great scenery and a good little break, complete with fresh air and (modest) exercise.

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Posted by Chris L. on July 16, 2021 in Uncategorized

Tags: animals, outdoors, Singapore

Kicking off Summer at the Raffles Hotel

06 Jul

School ended in mid-June, and we celebrated with a two-night stay at the iconic Raffles Hotel, which has stood in the heart of Singapore for about 150 years and which recently underwent a thorough renovation. They were running special deals that made it far more affordable, and we figured it was something that we had to do at least once in our lives. Really glad we did – the place was luxurious, the staffers were amazing, and we had a great time overall. No complaints at all.

Some interiors of the lobby and our room:

And random photos from outside — the views, the facades, the courtyards.

As usual for our ‘staycations,’ we didn’t actually do all that much. It was about relaxing, spending time together as a family, taking our feet off the proverbial gas pedal. So what all did we get up to?

We posted for pictures: