Spring Break 'staycation'

For Spring Break this year we decided to stay in town and do some of the things around Singapore that we have put off. It was nice having the kids around, as most their friends were off on vacations - we actually got to see and spend time with our teenagers! We started our 'staycation' with a jaunt over to Johor Bahru in Malyasia. This seems like more than it is - it's important to note that JB is less than a few miles from our house. We live on the northernmost part of the island of Singapore so right across the water - the Strait of Johor - is Malaysia. We had never ventured over to this part of Malaysia, even though it is so close (many people go there on weekends to shop - things are cheaper there). We took a bus to the border checkpoint and then walked around once there. Nothing too exciting, but it was a fun adventure to check it out. Dallin enjoyed getting some knock-off Beats (headphones) that he's been dying for.

We are standing in Malaysia and you can see Singapore right across the water.
They say that Johor Bahru is what Singapore looked like 20 years ago.

We walked to the old Sultan Palace - I would have gone inside for the tour but I was outvoted. We also walked by the new Sultan of Johor Palace.

Our next adventure took us to the waterfront in downtown Singapore. On Tuesday afternoon, the older kids and I headed down for a visit to a Titanic exhibit at new ArtScience Museum (that funky shaped building).
We then took a slow ride on the Singapore Flyer to see the views of the island. It's not a ride - it goes very slow - taking about 1/2 hour to complete the circle.
We then headed over to the famous Marina Bay Sands hotel to spend the night. We were joined that evening by Craig and the younger kids for some dinner and night swimming.
The next day the kids enjoyed hours of swimming at this incredible infinity pool on the top (57th floor) of the hotel. The 360 degree views were stunning!

It was nice to have a day of pure R & R.

The next day we headed to a tiny island off of Singapore called Sentosa. The kids have been anxious to try out the Segway people movers there. They had a good time taking a few laps around a course.

Then it was off to the beach for a few hours of sun, sand, and ocean.

Friday we were suppose to rollerblade at the East Coast but mom was wiped out! It was time for some house cleaning, laundry, and basic catch-up. We had some fun times over the week and were glad to spend some quality time together - I think even the kids would agree.