Legoland, Malaysia

We took a day trip with some of our friends to Legoland in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.  The trip was organised by the Association of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore, who made all the ticket and travel arrangements for us.  We travelled by bus to Legoland and it took us about two hours to get there (including crossing the Singapore/Malaysia border).

Legoland Malaysia opened in September this year and it is Malaysia's first international theme park.  The park itself is divided into different zones (similar to Disneyland) and there is something for everyone with lots of rides and interactive activities.  Despite a heavy downpour in the early afternoon (good thing we had plastic ponchos), it was a fun and enjoyable day.  

Miniland

Located right in the centre of Legoland, Miniland was the highlight for us with an array of miniature landmarks from all over Asia.  These landmarks, all made from Lego bricks are built on a scale of 1:20 and include the Taj Mahal (India), Patuxai (Laos), Angkor Wat (Cambodia), the Great Wall of China, the Singapore River and Merlion, the Petronas Twin Towers (Malaysia), Karaweik Hall (Myanmar), Purah Tanah Lot (Indonesia), Kuala Lumper International Airport and Port Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia).  

All the fine details made the models very impressive.  While not all the structural information was given for every model, Miniland's 19-foot Container ship called the "LCM", was highlighted as being the largest Legoland ship ever built, weighing 351 kilograms and taking about seven months to complete using 123,000 Lego bricks.  Not far behind is Miniland's 17-foot Cruise Ship called the "Le-Star Go".  This cruise ship took a year to build and it is the 2nd largest Legoland ship, with 131,000 Lego bricks and weighing 376 kilograms.   

David's Birthday

David celebrated his birthday this year with a lot of cake!  The weekend before his actual birthday we were invited out for dinner by some of our friends to celebrate David's birthday.  We had a nice dinner, followed by a delicious home-made vanilla and chocolate cake that was baked by one of our friends (such a lovely gesture!).  It was an enjoyable evening spent with friends.  

Due to work commitments, we could not go out on David's actual birthday, so we celebrated the night before by going out for a lovely dinner at Il Lido Restaurant at the Sentosa Golf Club.  Il Lido is a lovely Italian restaurant with gorgeous views of the ocean.  The staff knew we were there for David's birthday (they asked if we were celebrating anything special when we made the reservation), but we had no idea they would do something special.  That said, after our dinner, they brought out a dark chocolate mousse cake for David's birthday (had we known we would not have ordered dessert!).  Needless to say, the birthday cake was a nice touch and we enjoyed not only our entire meal, but also the ambiance and lovely setting of the restaurant.  

On David's actual birthday, a co-worker took him out for lunch at Wooloomooloo Restaurant (where we went for our anniversary dinner) and after lunch the restaurant staff brought out a small chocolate lava cake for David's birthday.  Another nice gesture, but little did David know, there was more to come.........    

A few hours later, David was surprised at this desk when a group of his former staff members surprised him with a cake.  Another kind gesture and one that David also appreciated.  Needless to say, David had another wonderful birthday.

Family visiting Singapore

At the beginning of October we had more family visiting us in Singapore, this time from Melbourne, Australia.  Sam's cousin Sally and her husband Brandon, and their kids Kyle and Jade, made a stop-over in Singapore for a few days after spending a week in Phuket, Thailand.  Sally and family were last here in January 2010 and we saw them again in March 2011 when we went to Melbourne for a visit.  We met up with them for dinner one evening and it was good to see them again and catch-up.

Family and Friends Visiting Singapore

In September we had friends and family visit us in Singapore, and it was nice to see all of them.  

Colleen, Thomas, Nicholas, Timothy and Alexandra
At the beginning of the month, our friends Colleen andThomas, and their triplets Nicholas, Timothy and Alexandra were in Singapore for a short visit.  Colleen, Thomas and their kids live in Munich, Germany and they decided to come to Singapore for a few days, after spending two weeks in Hong Kong and Vietnam for Thomas's work.  Colleen also came to Singapore to visit her childhood school friend Glynnis, who recently moved to Singapore with her family from Australia (they are also ex-South Africans).  It was lovely to see all of them again and to meet Glynnis.  The last time we saw Colleen, Thomas and their kids was about seven years ago in Vancouver, so it was lovely to catch-up with them and it was also so nice to see how the kids have grown.  Unfortunately David was travelling on business, so he could not meet up with them.

Ruth and Robin

Colleen and Thomas's visit was followed by a visit from David's parents, Ruth and Robin.  Ruth and Robin arrived just in time for the Formula 1 race weekend.  They stayed in Singapore for the race, then went to Malacca in Malaysia for a few days before returning to Singapore.  Upon their return to Singapore, we took a trip with them to Siem Reap for the weekend.  After Siem Reap they came back to Singapore for a few days, before continuing on to Beijing.  

While in Singapore, Robin celebrated his birthday and as a gift, we bought him some time on a Flight simulator.  David tried this in March 2009 and had a lot of fun (although he says it was pretty stressful), so we knew Robin would enjoy this too as he also loves planes.  

Haw Par Villa, Singapore

We decided to take David's parents to Haw Par Villa, as we ourselves had never been and thought it might be interesting.  

Previously known as "Tiger Balm Gardens", this park is now named after its original owners, the Aw brothers, Boon Haw and Boon Par.  The same brothers who are heirs to the Tiger Balm ointment fortune.  Haw Par Villa is a Chinese mythology theme park with over 1000 statues scattered all over the park.  In the past this park featured rides, theatre shows and multimedia attractions, however all have been closed and today only the statues remain.  These statues feature characters and creatures from Chinese legends and religion.  The other feature of this park is the cave-like enclosure called the "Ten Courts of Hell", a gruesome display of statues depicting the terrible tortures awaiting various sinners in Buddhist Hell, before they have their memories erased and are sent back to earth to try again.  Haw Par Villa is a very unique, if not tacky and kitschy place.    

Formula 1, Singapore

The Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix 2012 took place on the 23rd September.  Singapore hosted the Formula 1 for the first time in 2008 and it was recently announced that Singapore will continue to host the Grand Prix for another five years.  What makes this race so special is that it is the Formula 1's only night race.  This night race takes place on a street track (Marina Bay Street Circuit) and showcases the beautiful Marina Bay area in the heart of the city.  

David was fortunate in that he was able to get two complimentary tickets, one for himself and one for his father, to watch the practice round from one of the VIP boxes.  Both David and Robin are Formula 1 fans, so they had a good time at the practice race.  As for the actual race, we watched this on television in the comfort of our home.  Sebastian Vettel from team Red Bull was this year's winner.