Pirates of Changi Rise

My friend Nina had been inviting us over for the longest time to their condo - Changi Rise. She kept on telling me there was a pirate ship in their swimming pool and there was a beach in the condo complex. It seemed too fantastic to be true, but when we went there, we were amazed at the place.Yes, there is a pirate ship docked in a sandy pool and there's even a slide (she missed out that part). I can truly say this is the most kid-friendly resort condo I've been to in Singapore.

Of course upon alighting from the taxi and seeing the pool, my mermaid-in-a-former-life daughter immediately wanted to chuck off her clothes and put on her swim diaper. Um, wait, we have to say hello to our hosts first.

But eventually the kids made it to the pirate ship, and here are the pictures to prove it.
                                                                            

                                              

The pirate ship, which has two water slides and a tunnel. I wonder what other contraptions they have in other condos in Singapore though? Is there anything cooler and more awesome than a pirate ship in a sandy pool?

 

Lexi trying out the water slides

 

Yes, the water looks green (my husband says yellowish, but between the two of us, I would like to note that he's the one wearing glasses) and the bottom is actually sand

 

The water slide, though there wasn't enough water, and father and daughter tandem had to move their butts to get to the end

 

That was fun

 

Husband trying to catch up with a very spry little almost-three-year-old. 'Darn children move faster in water than a submarine!' 

 

Some of us decide to relax instead - here's Tita Zsa resting. Big night ahead of her, F1 events to go to.

Yes, it takes two people to get a squirmy little baby sunblocked and outfitted in full body swim gear

 Andi's turn to go into the pirate ship

 

This was Andi, the happy baby - before her older sister threw sand in her face. So yes,we got a bit of rough play and drama thrown in, but that's what you get when you have two kids.



 

Another new discovery, another reason to love living in the little red dot.

 





What to do with kids in Singapore

When we were in Manila I was at a loss about what child-friendly activities I could do with my 2 year old daughter that wouldn't cost too much. We mostly went to Gymboree in Greenbelt 5 where she could run, climb, jump and have fun without me worrying too much that she would hurt herself. However, at P260 per hour (member's rate), those Gymboree visits do add up after some time.

It's a good thing here in Singapore, there are a lot of child-friendly malls. Child-friendly meaning there are usually dedicated baby changing / nursing rooms and play areas or play courts that are free for children's use. One such child-friendly mall that I love going to is Vivocity. It has a large outdoor play court which has several features such as a waterspout area where kids can run and play with shooting jets of water as well as tunnels, slides, merry-go-round, and swings. You can also rent motorized cars for the little ones.

But mostly kids love the waterspout area. In fact, parents with kids who go to the area end up spontaneously buying swim gear from a shop conveniently located across the playcourt as kids tend to strip down and start running around getting wet when they see the water. Good thing we came prepared (rashguard. check. sunblock. check. towel. check.) though that didn't stop my little one from stripping down when she saw her new friends were running around in their underwear or in regular diapers. And yes, it's extremely difficult to try to put a rashguard back on a child when the child in question is not only naked and wet but squirming all over the place but hey, that just adds up to the fun.

 Water fun @ Vivocity!