June Holidays is one of our favourite month as there are a series of fun activities families can engage in. Not forgetting the sale that every shopper has been waiting for - Great Singapore Sale (GSS).

In conjunction with GSS and the June vacation, Parkway Parade has set "Discover and Win A World of Riches" as the theme for this holiday. 

Shoppers can participate in lucky draws, redeem free trolley bag, share photos of your discovery and stand to win vouchers. The main highlight of the GSS activities in Parkway Parade would be the Egyptian themed Treasure Hunt Playground. With a minimum spend of $50 (maximum 3 same day receipts), children aged 3 and above or minimum height of 0.9m would be able to enter the playground. Mystery prizes awaits them to uncover at the end of the of the adventure.

Denver & Gladys were elated when they spotted the Treasure Hunt Playground from the top.

Bridges, ball tunnel, mini slide and the big ball pool!

We love playing with the balls!

 The kids jumped and 'submerged' themselves into the ball pool filled with colourful balls.

 I love their smile. ^_^

 Denver & Gladys had lots of fun soaking themselves in the pool. It was a great start to welcome the June holidays.

Remember to bring along a pair of socks for the kiddos. Who knows they may be doing some treasure hunting during this holiday. :)

 For more details of the activities/promotions lined up at Parkway Parade,  please refer to  http://www.parkwayparade.com.sg

Disclosure: Sponsored Review - All comments and opinions are personal and no monetary compensation was received. Thank you for the invitation to experience The Treasure Hunt Playground (Parkway Parade).

The year of Dragon has been busy and hectic. We bid farewell to our old neighbourhood, settled down in our new place, met new neighbours and adapted to a new routine.

This year we are extremely excited as it is our first year "蛇"lebrate Chinese New Year at our new nest. We have spring cleaned our home, bought our CNY deco, goodies and not forgetting new pots of plants to give it a touch of Spring. :)

BPDGTravels wishes all a Prosperous and Happy Lunar New Year

恭贺新禧 , 万事如意

1st June - It's June holidays and we wanted to spend some time with our kiddos. Just being together, doing the things we enjoy and snacking along the way. :p

Breakfast was at one of the canteen at Nanyang Polytechnic as the food there is very cheap and yummy! Denver and Gladys enjoying their cup of fruit juice to start their mornings! We decided to leave our car behind and took the bus out, taking a long walk throughout the day.

Our day started with morning prayers at 四马路 Guan Yin temple, followed by a walk to the new shopping mall, Bugis + (formally known as Iluma). Most of the shops seems to be under renovation but there are already a couple of restaurants in operation.

The link bridge from Bugis+ is finally linking to Bugis Junction and Uniqlo store is opening this week!

Taking a walk around Bugis Junction is a pleasure. We stopped by the MIB3 Alien Lockup Cell and took multiple shots with the aliens. Denver and Gladys had fun inside the 'fake' cell and they are very familiar with the faces since we just watched the movie the night before!

 Denver & Gladys are too cute compared to the aliens besides them. ^_^

 Agent "K" is Denver's favourite. See how Daddy is being victimized!

It's LEGO time! From Bugis Junction, we walked pass Bras Basah Complex, Raffles hotel and down to Raffles City. The children spent some time playing with the lego blocks while Daddy & Mommy sat down to rest.

 This is where their creativity emerges.

It's past noon time and we were famished. Denver & Gladys always enjoy taking the MRT since we travel around by car most of the time. While waiting, our kiddos tried their luck hoping to play with Daddy's phone, but no luck! ^_^

Hubby missed his favourite Char Siew and Roasted meat rice ever since the stall has moved out from Hougang. We made a special trip down to China Square's food court, greeting the uncle and auntie at the food stall! It has been months since we our last visit and we are 100% satisified with our meal. The roasted meat is crispy and juicy and it tastes as good as ever! 

It's probably the first time the children are taking a walk within the Central Business District area during a working day. Denver now has a better idea what CBD means and how different this area looks and feels on a weekday compared to a weekend.

We continued with our walk through the shops beneath Raffles Place MRT before making our way out to the Singapore River. The riverside holds a lot of Singapore's history and it looks just as grand in the day as it is in the night.

The above sculpture (by Aw Tee Hong) shows a merchant mediating between a Chinese trader and Malay Chief while Indian and Chinese coolies were loading sacks of goods onto a bullock cart which is a common sight by the river as trade expanded in the older days.

Crossing the Cavenagh Bridge is the Asian Civilisations Museum. We made our way further down and brought the kids to visit the site where Sir Stamford Raffles first landed in Singapore.

Unfortunately, there are obvious stains on the white statue and I hope it will go for its general maintenance works for another round of cleaning and repaint to restore its glory soon!

Denver was very amazed that this was the actual site where Sir Stamford Raffles landed. He read it in books but seeing is believing.

We enjoyed our day out despite feeling very tired after all the walking. However, it is also through walking that we get to observe our surroundings in greater detail and noticing things that we may not have taken note of previously. There's always something new to learn and experience if we could just take a step back and look.

Earlier this week, my inlaws have gone on a well-deserved holiday trip with my brother-in-law's family. Hubby took the week off to look after the children (single-handedly) for the very first time. It was a challenge as Denver & Gladys are always so active and vocal. Not an easy task for hubby as he likes to do his work quietly. I am definitely not surprised with the amount of 'complaints' and 'feedbacks' I am hearing almost every evening when I see them. ^_^

So how did dear daddy managed to pull himself through for the past four days and kept our kiddos happy for their first week of the June Holidays?
Monday - To start the week off, we had breakfast together at Nanyang Polytechnic. Love the food there as not only it is delicious, the price is also very economical! Denver and Gladys were delighted to have western food, supplement with Milo and Teh Terik to start their day! Yummy!

Tuesday - Despite the school holidays, Denver has to attend a Science workshop in school followed by tuition in the evening. Hubby picked him up and took the kids out for a wonderful meal at Pizzahut. Our children love these little treats at anytime of the day! Mommy is feeling jealous already!

Wednesday - It's our kiddos' day out to the zoo with Daddy! Hubby has been updating me their activities and photos through Whatsapp. I am missing out so much FUN!

Primate Affair is hitting the Singapore Zoo from 26 May - 17 June 2012 with fun-filled activities (on Saturday and Sunday only). Children will get to learn about the differences among the various primates and also receive a binocular freebie upon completing their primate adventure (*whilst stocks last).
http://www.zoo.com.sg/l1_t2.aspx?l1=10&langid=1

Even though I am not with them physically, I am glad they were having a splashing fun at the water play and enjoying their tram rides. ^_^

Denver & Gladys had their first peony ride at the zoo!

More yummy treats - Cupcakes and Durian pancakes!

I am delighted to see my dearies picking me up from work. They missed me and I missed them too! We drove down to town to enjoy some family time together with Mommy! We popped by to the Singapore Book Fair (25th May - 3rd June) and spotted 喜羊羊 and 灰太狼!

Our day ended with a special dinner treat at Secret Recipe with Hubby's groupon voucher.

Hubby was exhausted as it has been a whole day affair. One more day to go and Mommy will be back in the team! ^_^

Thursday - It was a relatively quiet day as Hubby needs to do some work. The children did their homework in the morning and they headed down to Compass Point for lunch plus a short visit to the library.

Coincidentally, Denver & Gladys met Spidey who is there for a meet & greet session!   

"The Amazing Spider-man" is not hitting the cinemas yet but we went to catch a movie with "The Men-In-Black 3"!

Our children had so much fun and goodies everyday that they asked Daddy - "Where are we going tomorrow?" -__- Daddy "survived" and had a deeper understanding how tough it was for my inlaws to look after our active and chatty children. :p Who says Daddy cannot do a good job looking after children? Hubby just did and it was an amazing and special 4 days interaction between our children with their father.

Since we have never been on a cruise before, we thought it is not a bad idea to take up the 45 minutes tour on LOGOS HOPE. Each guided tour will take 10 people at a specific time. Hence it is best to approach the staff on board to book your tour first before you move to look at the book fair which is open to public.

We assemble at the waiting area 5 minutes before the start of our tour. Our guide is a volunteer on board and the all volunteer crew and staff of 400 people from over 45 countries worldwide, working in various roles acting as teachers, cooks, event planners etc. They normally join the organisation to live on board for two years.

LOGOS HOPE (The word Logos is Greek, traditionally meaning ‘word, thought, principle or speech’) was originally used as a car ferry in the North Alantic Ocean and has been repurposed to serve port communities around the world. The ship's purpose is to bring knowledge, help, and hope to each port she visits.

We had a look at the 'mock-up' version of the crew's cabin and beds. That would be their resting space while sailing on the seas.  Next, we were brought to the staff cafeteria where the crew have their meals. Sometimes, they also schedule to gather here for short meetings.

LOGOS HOPE's captain, Dirk Colenbrander was away for vacation when we were on board. We were briefed by the guide that at the age of eight, Dirk's dream was to be a deck officer as well as serve God. He did not feel this was possible at that time until he learns about the logos.

The main highlight of the guide was visiting the deck and the ship's bridge (room or platform from which the ship is commanded)! Too bad is was raining heavily and we could not stay on the deck to take better photos of the life boats.

Here is the ship's bridge! Captain is away but we got a good glimpse of the equipments. There are log books and captain's cap on the table!

The meters and buttons looked sophiscated to us. Gladys noticed a glass panel on the ground looking through the sea waters. The guide told us that this is used as a guide when they are docking.

Denver & Gladys put on the Captain's hat and they look really cool! Ah Hoy! Captain!

View from the ship's bridge door. :)

More tour around the various deck. With 400 crew on board, there is also a school for the children. We also learned about the ship's mission and brief history of the other 3 ships.

Logos Hope is currently looking for donations for its generators and to keep the ship afloat and the book fair running. - http://www.omships.org/powerup. 

Our last stop for the tour was the ship's theatre where many events and performances were held. It is amazing to see how this space was transformed from a car ferry holding area to what it is today!  

Before leaving LOGOS HOPE, Denver wrote a short message on the Captain's logbook. It has been an eye opener for our family and we learned a lot.

LOGOS HOPE will be departing Singapore and it's next stop will be Cebu, Philippines. Do pop by to Vivo City to have a look before it set sail to other countries!

Last Monday, we hopped on board Logos Hope which is owned and operated by GBA (Good Books for All) Ships, a Germany-based not-for-profit organisation. This is the first time Logos Hope makes it's virgin visit to Singapore along with the world's largest floating book fair (cargo of over half a million books!).

It was a wet and rainy afternoon as we slowly made our way up the slippery 'stairs', grabbing tightly onto the metal railings to get on board.

There are photos of the ship's history as well as mock-up navigation machine for the children to have some hands-on experience.

Visitors can start by watching a short video introducing and understanding the life of the crew on board followed by a short briefing of the points to note if you are purchasing books from the book fair. 

The crew on board are very friendly and approachable, accomodating to the visitors' request for photo-taking every now and then.

As the ship travels to different countries, all books are priced in units. By doing so, the price tag on the books do not have to be re-tagged. (E.g. 100 units is equivalent to SGD $4).
Logos Hope has a good collection of books with over 5000 titles allowing visitors to look through before deciding on their purchases.

There is also an International Cafe, selling snacks, drinks as well as ice-cream!

At the back of the cafe is a little play corner for the children.

Admission to Logos Hope is FREE! It has berthed at The Promenade, Vivo City and will be here from 17 - 29 December 2011

Opening Hours:
Tuesday - Saturday: 10am - 1pm
Sunday & Monday: 3pm - 10pm

Different opening hours during Christmas:

24 Dec (Saturday): 10am - 3pm
Closed on Christmas Day (25th December)

26 Dec (Monday): 10am - 10pm

Visitors who like to learn and see more about the ship can take up a guided tour. $10 per adult and $5 per child (6-11 years). Free for children 5 years and below. (Note: no pre-booking of tours and it is strictly on first-come-first-served basis).

We signed up for the tour and will be covering this in Part 2. :)