Masak Masak at the National Museum

This past weekend we went to the National Museum of Singapore, where they are currently having "children's season": the exhibit Masak Masak, designed for children, celebrates the June school holidays.

We were greeted by a selection of bouncy playgrounds on the front lawn of the museum. R really enjoyed this exhibit and had a great time exploring the different sections. The only downside was that the playground was located directly in the sun, so that by the time we left (around 12:30), it had already been closed due to the heat. Even at 10 am, when we arrived, it was pretty sweaty. If you want to take advantage of the bouncy playground, arrive early!

After R got her fill of bouncing, we headed inside to be greeted by a cool paper rainbow hanging from the rotunda.

Most of the museum is currently closed for renovations: only the children-themed exhibits and one exhibit hall on Singapore's history are open.

On the first floor, they had an interactive flag exhibit and dancing solar flowers (all orchids, Singapore's national flower).

R had fun throwing hula hoops onto pillars in a sort of ring toss game.

We then headed up to the top floor, which housed the exhibit Luma-City. Model vehicles can be pushed around a floor, leaving glow trails behind themselves. It was a really cool concept, but unfortunately the fun of the exhibit was largely spoiled by the execution: kids were only allowed to very slowly push the vehicles around a too-small floor (with no barrier, so the vehicles kept falling off). No riding, no running, no bumping, no no no: the list of forbidden things was endless.

The theme of everything being forbidden continued in the National Museum's new gallery for children, Play@NMS. You are greeted by a whole slew of signs forbidding stuff, which despite the inviting-sounding names, does not entice you to either explore or create.

The actual gallery is theoretically full of things kids like: a play kitchen, puzzles, a movie tent showing short films...

but somehow was oddly barren and not especially appealing or well designed. Here's an example: though this space is aimed primarily at preschoolers, the toy kitchen was too tall for R (who is much bigger than the average Singaporean child of her age), putting everything at her eye level.

R playing with the magnet board, a cute idea asking kids to find the right ingredients for popular Singaporean dishes.

Puzzle tree

In addition to the Explore gallery, the Create gallery was supposed to offer a place for coloring (though paper was actually only dispensed in Explore, begrudgingly and limited to one piece per child, rendering Create rather a non-starter). There is also an outdoor space, but it was closed for unidentified reasons during our visit. R enjoyed exploring the space for maybe 20 minutes, rendering it a poor comparison to her toys at home or a mediocre play gym. It's a good idea but was overall a bit disappointing. At least admission is free.

After we finished with Play@NMS, we headed back downstairs to more children's exhibits. R had fun at the stamping center (linked with an exhibit of woodcuts, which I thought was creative), but the best exhibit was the cool interactive sculpture created out of plastic bags.

It was a bit like a maze, allowing kids to crawl under and over the sculpture. R really enjoyed it.

Once we exhausted the possibilities of the crawl space, we headed into the only traditional gallery currently open, which traces the history of Singapore from its beginnings under the Mahapajit empire through the post-independence period

I found the section on World War Two in Singapore to be the most compelling and interesting part of the exhibit. So did R: here she is checking out a replica of one of the textbooks used by Singaporean schoolchildren under the Japanese occupation. Free tours are available and judging by the one we saw in progress during our visit, seem to be high quality. I would have gone on it if not for R's presence!

After our visit, we were all hungry and headed out to eat at nearby Baja Fresh (yes, the same one all over California: it is always kind of nostalgic to go there). B had a pretty terrible burrito but my fajitas were good, and R got to eat churros for the first time, so we called it a win.

Having a D&C in Singapore

I spent all morning at the hospital having a D&C (dilation and curettage). This is a very common procedure after miscarriage. They open your cervix to insert an instrument, which they use to scrape off the lining of the uterus (and then suction it out sometimes). Basically it's a kind of abortion, but the kind you don't have to feel guilty about (B's description).

The Internet makes it sound quite simple, so I was surprised that I had to go to the hospital and be under general anesthesia. The day started at 5:30 in the morning, when I had to wake up to take some medication after fasting all evening. I was due at the hospital at 6:45 (easy enough as we live less than 10 minutes away),

After checking in, I had to pay for the procedure's estimated cost, in advance (I will receive a refund if the cost turned out to be less than estimated). The system for maternity care in Singapore is a little strange: typically, all maternity care is NOT covered by insurance (including ours) and there is basically no way to buy maternity insurance once you are pregnant. (You can buy it, but only at least 10 months in advance, meaning you would need to pay almost a year of high premiums--probably equalling the cost of care--before using it.) Since we have to pay for everything out of pocket, it's a lucky thing that costs are much lower than they would be in the US. I ended up paying about $1500 for everything. I still felt bitter about having to pay it though, because I didn't end up with anything good (like a baby), just an avoidance of something bad (getting an infection). I can certainly think of better things to do with that money, like go on a trip somewhere!

Then I waited around for a while, first in the waiting room and then in my hospital cubicle. I slept most of the time as I was tired from getting up at such an ungodly hour (by my standards, anyway: R usually wakes up around 7). The anesthesiologist visited, the nurse prepped me and in general it was just like having surgery in the US or any other Westernized country (I had my appendix out in Taiwan. A change from Taiwan was that in Singapore there are real nurses: in Taiwan, the hospital only had nurses' aides with minimal qualifications and did not provide food. Family members were expected to provide nursing care and meals. I was very lucky B was with me!)

Eventually they took me to the operating room and had me breathe oxygen in and out through a face mask while the drugs took effect. I woke up later in the recovery room feeling tired but otherwise not too bad. The recovery is definitely nothing compared to other surgeries I have had. I was very tired from the effects of the anesthetic though, and spent most of the rest of my time at the hospital sleeping. B greeted me when I awoke, and then went off to do some work while I slept. He came to pick me up at 2 pm, at which point I was feeling well enough to go out to Burger King for some lunch.

Since then I have just been resting (for the first day the doctor told me to not do anything). I feel tired and a bit achy, but overall pretty good and even antsy to stop resting and clean the house (which is a total disaster zone; I am trying not to look at it). I think by tomorrow I should be well enough to go back to my normal routine, with some caveats (I am not supposed to have sex, go swimming or exercise for one week).

The entire procedure went very smoothly and I received excellent, if rather impersonal, care. The whole experience gives me increased confidence in the Singapore medical system, making it a good choice to have a baby here (if I am so lucky). I will see what the future holds!

Imaginarium at the Singapore Art Museum

The Singapore Art Museum (which we have visited multiple times) has hosted an annual contemporary art exhibition for children for the last five years. We have been to the last three, and they have all been great shows for kids, with lots of cool interactive exhibits and projects.

This year the exhibit (entitled Imaginarium) is no exception: we have been twice so far, and had a fantastic visit each time. Most of the works are really interesting, like Chiang Yu Xiang's We Built This Estate!, a room full of Tetris-shaped giant building blocks kids can use to create massive structures (a huge hit with R).

Her other favorite, Lee Jeeyoung's Dream House, features a house reminiscent of the Hansel and Gretel witch's cottage, in that it looks like it's made out of candy. Inside is a huge bowl filled with "candies" (little cellophane-wrapped ornaments) which kids can take to the neighboring "forest" and use to decorate the trees. R spent about 20 minutes here (which for her is a loooong time) carefully hanging the candies. Such a creative and cool idea!

To accompany the exhibit, the museum hosts a whole slew of public programs giving children the opportunity to create their own artworks. On our second visit, we attended a workshop allowing R to make her own "house" out of different papers and glue, which she really enjoyed.

Overall, the exhibit is absolutely worth a visit if you have small children in Singapore, especially given the price (free if you are a citizen or permanent resident, $10 otherwise). Highly recommended!

Feeding the Parrots at Jurong Bird Park

Thinking about birds

We go to Jurong Bird Park quite a bit, since it's close to our house and we have a membership there, making visits more-or-less free. Last time we visited R had a good time doing the usual stuff: running around in the water play park, admiring the strange and interesting birds, and eating popsicles (her favorite treat there, even though they also have ice cream: is she really my child?).

R at the 30-meter-tall waterfall inside a different aviary

R also took a big step in finally daring to feed the lories, small colorful parrots from Australia. The bird park has a really cool exhibit of them, a 9-story-high enclosed aviary where the birds roam freely. For a minimal fee, you can buy a little cup of white watery mush to feed them, which generally attracts at least a few birds.

R timidly putting the food out for a lory

Talking to the lory and encouraging it to eat

She has always been too afraid to feed them herself on our previous trips (she is generally quite shy of animals, partly because she doesn't get any exposure to them in everyday life: even pet dogs are not that common here, as compared to the US). I was very pleased with her for being so brave!

Finally daring to actually hold the food for the lory

I fed them too and (luckily, since it would have terrified R) the lories really liked me. At one point I had at least five crawling all over my head and shoulders. They wouldn't even get off when I walked around and I had to literally shake them off.

 It is really fun to feed them and well worth the few dollars it costs!

KidsSTOP at the Singapore Science Centre

We often go to KidsSTOP, which is an "edutainment centre" housed in the Singapore Science Centre. Its mission is to introduce preschoolers and early grade schoolers to science concepts through play.

It is a really great space, full of fun and interesting exhibits or zones. One of R's favorites is this one, where kids can "pick" flowers from a faux flower bed (or plant them, depending on preference).

The zones cover most of children's interests, including the construction site one, where kids can wear little construction worker costumes, play with wheelbarrows, and manipulate ball machines...

the dinosaur pit, where kids can dig in the sand to excavate a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton...

the body corner, where kids can play with a lifesize model of the human body, dress up as doctors or nurses, and look at X-rays...

the kitchen section, which houses a pretend kitchen, store stocked with all sorts of plastic food (and including shopping baskets and registers for checking out)...

a soft play area with giant legos...

a mini-stage where kids can sing along to popular kids' music (like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) under flashing lights...

a projection screen which allows children to imagine they are being chased by a dinosaur or in a F1 race...

and much, much more, including a hidden music room accessible only by climbing a two-story jungle gym, live animals and insects, and a typhoon simulator.

It is a great place and one of our favorite destinations for play, especially on rainy or really hot days (since it's completely indoors and air conditioned).

Exploring Pulau Ubin

Ever since our first visit back in 2012, we often go to Pulau Ubin, a small, undeveloped island off the coast of Singapore. It feels like Singapore must have fifty years ago, before its exponential growth into a modern metropolis happened.

There is one small village on the island, Ubin Town. It houses a small temple, a few general stores and restaurants, and not much else.

The temple

One of the restaurants selling freshly caught seafood

Main square at Ubin Town. We usually get ice cream and fresh coconuts where the umbrellas are.

R chowing down on her ice cream

There's not much to do on Pulau Ubin beyond hike, bike, and admire nature. There are a number of endangered animals and birds on the island almost impossible to see elsewhere in Singapore. We've seen boar, junglefowl (the wild ancestor of the domestic chicken), monkeys, hornbills, and mudskippers.

R often complains about going hiking, claiming "it's boring". But once we get there, she generally has a good time. I feel like it's good for her to go, as otherwise she doesn't get much exposure to nature of any kind except the highly manicured sort. 

Due to Singapore's climate, we usually go in the afternoon to avoid the worst of the noontime sun, and stay until sunset, when we take the bumboat back to civilization and modernity. See you next time, Ubin!