1st "overseas" trip!

On 10th June, papa, mama and Lele went for a wonderful 3day-2night stay at Sentosa. We stayed at Amara Sanctuary Resort.

Mama's and Papa's verdict of resort: While the resort environment is quite peaceful with a nice seaview from the balcony and an openair sea-facing adults' pool, there is nothing much else to boost. The spa massage we received was of terrible standard for its price. The breakfast spread was minimal. The location, while nicely located on a hilltop, made it quite inconvenient to go to the beach with a toddler. We will not stay there again as family.

Lele's verdict: The big big bed and big big bathtub were 2 big wow factors for him. When he saw the bathtub, he was so excited and couldn't wait to get in. We took a bath together for the first time and then soaked in the bathtub. He truly enjoyed the whole experience. After the stay, he kept telling us that he liked to drink milk on the big bed at the hotel room:) He even said that he liked the hotel room bed better than his own. This boy knows the good stuffs in life. He also gave thumbs-up for the seaview balcony. On our 1st day, he was woken up from nap by the grasscutters outside the balcony. He spent quite some time at the balcony looking at the grasscutters do their work. He also enjoyed looking at the ships sailing about in the sea while at the balcony.
While it is quite tiring travelling with a toddler, I must say that Lele has been quite easytravel. He slept well for naps and night and ate quite well too. We are already looking forward to another trip at the end of the year, hopefully to somewhere further:)

In the 1st night, we wanted to watch "Songs of the sea" show but the timing wasn't right so we just took a stroll around. Above is a pic of papa and Lele atop a man-made castle. We even saw a bit of fireworks and special effects from the show. Lele showed little interest. Papa felt that Lele will not have the patience to enjoy the show.

We strolled around the Merlion Park. Lele was so excited by the water fountains that he almost jumped in on a few occasions. It was quite tiring to be chasing after him, yet heartwarming to see him enjoying himself without a care in the world.



A dream come true! Lele had always wanted to get into one of these (buggy, we call it. Though not sure if correct:p). We decided to indulge him on thie trip while no one was watching...

In the 2nd day, we decided to visit Underwater World. Here's us getting ready to get onto the beach tram and go to UNDERWATER WORLD.

"Look, Papa! What a big fish! Can't wait to see more..."

"Let me see what this is."

"Get me away from this monster!" Note: Lele was very afraid of the hideous-looking octopus, but liked the cuttlefish alot, though it looked just as hideous and gigantic to me.

"If this place is for rental, I'll be the first taker!" Note: Cannot be seen clearly here but above is a tank for some sea creature.

"Doing my trademark 'smileyface' pose."

Taken in the underwater world passage. Lele was only mildly interested in the sea creatures. He was much more interested in stepping onto and off the conveyor belt (is that what it's called?). Both Daniel and I agree that he was more interested the last time we came, when he was little over a year old. Could it be because he has seen enough during the last trip? I wonder... ...

Behind us are the jellyfish, which I hate, Daniel finds hauntingly beautiful and Lele has no particular interest in.

Observant Daniel saw this creature enjoying and playing with his food and couldn't resist taking a snapshot of it. It looked absolutely child-like!

After lunch, Lele fell asleep on the way back to hotel but woke when we got reached the room 10 mins later... He didn't sleep till 4p.m. because Daniel and I went for a massage next door to our room. We left him with the babysitter provided by the hotel. He seemed okay at first with her at first and we slipped out. But when we returned, the babysitter told us that Lele kept asking for us...:( He refused to take his nap and tried hard to keep awake in our absence, asking her about us every now and then. Though I was sorrie Lele had to postpone his nap because of our little indulgence (and the massage was so not low-quality!), I was also glad he did not cry histerically or kicked up a big fuss in the care of a stranger.

When Lele woke from his latelate nap, we took a bus to Vivo City for dinner, chill and then took the cable car back. Lele enjoyed the cable car ride pretty much. He still remembered about the cable car ride even after the trip.

Day 3: How good time flies! Before we knew it, it was time to pack the bags. After breakfast, I brought Lele for some sand and water play at Palewan Beach while Daniel watched soccer (or was it NBA? No difference to me, actualli...) in the room. I was glad I did it. Lele enjoyed himself thoroughly in the company of many other children playing there. I think the highlight of this trip for him is reallie the unlimited sand and waterplay, not the cable car ride, hotel stay, underwater world, and expensive food (all of which cost so much!). Once again, I think Lele is quite easily contented with the simple pleasures in life. Aren't they all?

Here's Lele enjoying a green apple at the bus stop outside the hotel. He reallie knows how to sit back and relax. He insisted on finishing the whole apple before eating lunch.