At 5am, the next chapter of the Festival of Fifty officially began. Well, technically. If we are being precise, Chapter 2 should have included a couple of domestic flights to Brisbane and Adelaide to watch cricket (Chapter 1 was Ecuador). But since I failed to blog that chapter at all, we are simply striding past it with confidence and moving straight on.
January launched us into Asia, Part 1. The original plan involved cruising on Disney’s shiny new Adventure out of Singapore… but let’s not reopen old wounds or discuss Disney’s less than magical execution. Instead, we pivoted. The revised plan had us flying to Singapore, meeting Oma and Opan, boarding Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas, and finishing with a short but sweet stint in Chiang Mai.
Travel logistics are rarely riveting blog material, so I will keep this brief. The only moment worth documenting was Jonah’s suitcase tipping the scales at a remarkable 6kg. The rest of us stared at him in disbelief, silently asking what exactly he did pack. The suitcase alone weighed 2.5kg. Apparently, the shoes on his feet were the only pair he brought. No swimmers. No sandals. A bold strategy that required immediate shopping intervention upon arrival in Singapore.
For context, Elliot’s suitcase weighed a modest 8kg, while Lara’s clocked in at a confident 20kg. Entirely justified, of course, as it included a pair of fluffy pink bunny ears complete with a bow on one side. Clearly essential travel equipment.
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| Yes flying economy. Sigh. But we did secure a cozy corner for the 5 of us without having to share seats with random strangers |
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| "Refreshment" |
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| The photos made them look bigger than they are. Mixed reaction from the family from meh to delicious |
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| Lunch. Some chicken dish. Apparently the rendang was delicious |
My parents were beside themselves with excitement to have the kids in Singapore. They were waiting for us at the airport like our own private tour guides, complete with a minivan, preloaded transport cards, and bags of freshly cut fruit. Three kilograms of mangosteen, one kilogram of rambutans, and the family favourite, jackfruit. Add to that my personal weakness: ba kwa.
For those not familiar...Ba kwa is a Singaporean style barbecued pork jerky. Sweet, smoky, slightly sticky, and completely addictive. Thinly sliced meat, marinated and grilled over charcoal, then snipped into squares. One bite is never enough.
We were whisked back to the family apartment, miraculously with enough beds for everyone. Elliot, Lara, and Oma did have to share, and Elliot’s feet hung well over the end of the bed, but nobody complained. Free accommodation with aircon earns a lot of goodwill.
With less than half a day in Singapore, my parents were on a mission to maximise every minute for the kids. Buying Jonah budget swimmers and thongs was thankfully quick. We then moved straight into serious eating. Calamansi juice to start, hot and crispy pisang goreng, followed by Hunanese cuisine for dinner. The family bravely powered through the burning pepper heat, followed by shamelessly pilfering the freebies on offer, ice cream and bags of asian chips. Well it was mainly Opa.
We ended the night the only appropriate way: cendol. Sweet coconut milk, gula melaka syrup, green jelly noodles, and shaved ice. A perfect full stop to our Singapore stopover, and a very delicious opening scene for Chapter 3.
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| Minivan ready and waiting at the airport |
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| If you've ever wondered, this is what 3kg of mangosteens look like |
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| Rambutans peeled and chilled! Dangerously...usually the labour of peeling limits the number that you eat |
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| Fruit fest |
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| Transport card locked and loaded! |
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| Drink stop! |
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| Hunan cuisine |
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| Food was delicious so long as you don't accidentally bite into chilli or peppercorn |
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| Massive drinks sizes to rival the good ole US of A |
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| Yup free! |
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| More freebies! |
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| Ba kwa |
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| Apparently once upon a time, Singapore Airlines business class passengers used to get free gifts! This was my aunt's lovely collection of porcelain Dutch house courtesy of Singapore Airlines |
