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A few weeks back we spent about a week travelling. We found ourselves in Hanmer Springs for a night both going to and returning from Christchurch. I know travel might not be something you might be doing for a while, but when you do I hope this will be helpful for you. For those in New Zealand already I hope you find this useful this summer. On the way down from the Top of the South, we stopped for some play in nature at Nelson Lakes. This was so much colder than we expected it to be at the end of October! It was chilly, but thankfully, not uncomfortably so. The lake was beautiful. There were a whole bunch of eels hanging out around the little pier, which M found fascinating. M also made friends with some cheeky and very comfortable ducks and black-billed seagulls (which are protected here). We stayed for a while to use the facilities, then went for a short walk amongst the trees where the boys enjoyed finding sticks and pretended to go fishing. We weren't able to follow the track to its conclusion due to time, but it was definitely doable for our two little people. M and A also enjoyed spending time at the little playground by the lake too (city kids!). During the winter months, this area gets snow sometimes, it must be beautiful. It's a great little spot to stop for a quick lunch or snack to break the journey, but please remember you have to take your rubbish etc with you. We arrived in Hanmer Springs in the early evening. The place we booked was spotless, we booked through Airbnb and were not disappointed. Rose met us at the property with the keys and gave us a quick rundown of the place. The boys were delighted to be offered a basket of toys to play with while I got on to cooking a quick dinner. After dinner, the children took great pleasure in using the bathtub. Then stories and bed. The beds were a little high, but the floors had soft carpet. No one fell off the bed in the night so no dramas. When we got to Christchurch, we had some time to kill before checking in to our Airbnb, so we went to the library. My, what a lovely library. It was so family-friendly. Every day we were there we had to go and visit. A had fallen in love with the Imagination Station, it was a Lego section with mini pools of different Lego pieces. There was even a big pool of Duplo for the smaller children. The children's library also had many fun reading nooks, a slide, dress-up nook, large screen where we saw children doing Just Dance together and an area for families to sit and eat. The staircase was apparently based on the Hogwarts staircase (this one doesn't move of course). As you move up the library, it becomes quieter and more for the grown-up people. The ground floor has a cafe, high tables with puzzles and games to play and of course more books. It is definitely a place I can see myself getting comfortable in. I was told a must-do in Christchurch was the Margaret Mahy playground, which was also a hit with the children. It's a large playspace with sand, water, climbing, slides, jumping, swinging, spinning - you name it. The kids really enjoyed the waterplay area and the Archimede's screw in the sand and water areas. I've included some photos for your enjoyment. As we only had a few days in Christchurch and we didn't want to break the bank we choose only a few things they had to offer. There is a lot to do, however, I'm just going to speak to what we did. Our boys are really interested in vehicles and things that move, so that was our focus on this trip. We bought the Tram and Gondola pass and I'm so glad we did. We spent the entire day just exploring the city via tram, bus and gondola. We did stop at the museum, unfortunately, it was the one day the Discovery Area at the museum was closed, but we did catch the tail end of a storytime session and the Moon exhibition. The Moon exhibition wasn't extensive, but it was enough for our little ones. They enjoyed playing with the magnetic wooden blocks on offer, pressing buttons at Mission Control and watching how future moon habitation might look like. I should mention we did do some tree climbing next to the museum, I highly recommend it. The 'octopus' tree is clearly a well-loved climbing tree and I can see why! The tram was fun, we ended up getting to ride 3 different trams that day. The drivers were very nice, not as friendly as I imagined they would be from all the reviews about them, but friendly enough. They had some interesting information to share, which I enjoyed listening to while riding. We then grabbed the public bus to the gondola, the staff at the gondola were extremely friendly and very helpful. We spent at most an hour at the top, there is a Time Tunnel ride at the top as well as lovely views over the area below. The children enjoyed listening for and spotting sheep while on the gondola. As I mentioned, we didn't have a lot of time in Christchurch. The only two other specifically child-friendly things we did were head to a bicycle track in Westburn Reserve, which the boys ended up mostly playing in the playground at. We also headed to the Air Force Museum of NZ, which was free entry, but we ended up paying for a tour because we thought the boys would be interested in seeing the workshop. I have to say though the boys enjoyed their time there, I probably wouldn't recommend the tour unless you are a hardcore plane fan or own your own aircraft. I was slightly uncomfortable during the tour, as there was a lot of talk about how many planes one had, among other things, which didn't sit well with me personally. The tram drivers all recommended Riverside Markets in town, so we obviously had to visit. Coming from Perth, I imagined it to be similar to Freo Markets, but it's not. It is a nice upmarket looking food court, with some nice little crafty/knickknack shops at the entrance. The food was delightful and we enjoyed watching some yummy treats being made before our eyes. Yum Yum! Speaking of yum yum, it was Friday Street Food Market near the cathedral and the burrito I got from one of the food trucks there was delicious. Also delicious was Rollickin Gelato, we went 2 different branches and happened to be served by the same person, who had an impressive memory and was extremely friendly. Definitely check them out. Our accommodation in Christchurch was through Airbnb again. It was a one-bedroom townhouse walking distance to Margaret Mahy. It was so conveniently located we ended up leaving our car parked there (I'm not a fan a the parking situation in Christchurch) and walked into town. Back in Hanmer Springs we, unfortunately, couldn't get Rose's house again, as she was fully booked. We stayed at Alpine Holiday Apartments & Campground. They had just gotten new owners, who were both very welcoming. The place was basic and clean. The next day we spent most of the morning doing the Easy Rider Track with the boys on their bikes, after what was probably 2 hours of riding we had to find a shortcut to get back to our car as the boys were done. It was probably just a little too far for our 2-year-old on his own bike. He did really enjoy the pump track he found in the forest though! After a big bike ride, we grabbed lunch in town. I can recommend the pizza place. Then the rest of the day was spent playing in the hot pools. Remember if you're an AA member you get a discount at the pools. We then grabbed fish and chips for the boys and hopped in the car home. I'm not a travel writer, so if you have any questions feel free to ask. I'm not affiliated with any of the places mentioned, these are my own thoughts and opinions.

I have been in the depths. I have been wallowing in anger and anguish for a world I no longer understand. A world where people believe we need to take sides and fight tooth and nail to be right. A hard and harsh place where being kind will get you nothing and nowhere. Where jargon is used to keep people out. I don't understand how lives aren't put first. Protection is given to those who don't actually need it and lavish comfort is to be aspired for over decency. Why is it so hard for us to even consider being a little less comfortable in order for all to access the basic necessities of life? Why do people have to put their health and safety at risk in order to live? Why have we let this fear of what we don't understand drive us? When did it start steering our ship? I have hated feeling so naive in thinking that we could live more kindly. I don't want to "rough up" my child in order to get them "ready" for the world: that's ridiculous. This last year the world has gone through more emotional ups and downs than someone in the throes of puberty. What continues to confuse me is this... We all understand that society/civilisation is a construct made by people. Some (myself included) believe that those who made these rules made them in order to keep their wealth and power to themselves. I'm not going to get into that right now. What I want to know is: If we as humans made the rules and right now so many humans are struggling to feed their families and having to make choices they shouldn't... Why can't we change the rules? Yes, I know that countless families have struggled over the history of time, but I feel this year that is blatantly obvious and overwhelming on a global scale. I feel aware of the absurdity of it. Not doing something about new knowledge because nothing has been done about it before or has worked before isn't an excuse not to do something now. You'll read that and think, "Rekha, it's more complicated than that.". Well, can you please explain to me why/how we have gotten to a place in our evolution where we are prioritising a human-made construct over actual human life? Living in a country that seems to have prioritised lives over dollars I see a lot of comments about how "extreme" a decision that is. I understand that there are going to be consequences, I don't quite understand why that should be the case. The old familiar "but that's the way it's always worked" does not fly with me. There is always a choice. We have so many incredible thinkers and problem solvers living right now. Anyway, as I was saying, I felt so useless and dumb was I missing a big step in the whole government gives banks money to then borrow the money and be in debt from borrowing money they created process? I did what I do when I feel done these days...I Netflix (not the words you thought I'd type, right?). I have just finished watching Schitt's Creek and Hollywood. I loved Schitt's Creek and I know I'm not alone in this and then watching Hollywood after, well it made me smile. When watching Hollywood, I found myself cringing because I was just waiting for the shit to hit the fan. I was waiting for the struggle for someone to die because of ignorance, intolerance and pure selfishness. It never came, it was hopeful, it was positive it was the world I want to see show up. It's the world I want to live in. I want us all to finally realise we are all living on the same planet there is no race to be won, there are no sides. We are all here but a minute and then gone. We are the stories we tell and as a mother and an early childhood teacher the stories we have allowed ourselves to tell each other, well they are shit. They do not make for a kind world. I love that I'm seeing stories change. No swapping the white males in a story for a black female, that's not solving the problem, the problem is the story itself. These stories were made for a different time, for a different purpose. These new stories are beautifully, unashamedly hopeful and positive. In a world so ready to boil over and in some places already has, I believe it's what we need. For a while, I have wanted to rewrite fairy tales that actually teach values I want my children to have. Then I realised it's not adapting what we already have because, like I mentioned earlier, it's not the characters that are the issue it's the story. Then I realised we do have the stories we need out there right now, stories like Jabari Jumps, Whoever You Are, Room on Our Rock and Kind to name just the tip of an ice burg. They are the stories we should be making part of our classic story narrative not the brutal fairy tales we grew up on. We have changed and evolved as a species (I hope), so much has changed and therefore our stories need to as well. So, all I ask of you is to come along. Be hopeful. We might not know how to solve the problem just yet, but if we all take the energy out of being right, disengage from beating that drum and channel it into creative solutions couldn't we all live better? Can't we continue to change the stories we tell our children and ourselves? What does living a successful life actually mean and can it include success for our race as a whole? Can it include respect for the Earth we share? Can we focus on fixing what we broke before venturing outward? Can we instead of looking to belong by pointing at the Other, just belong and respect different life choices as different and not a criticism of how we chose to live? Can't we see value in all life? We are not there yet, but watching these stories that refuse to entertain the forces which make us feel helpless and alone gives me so much joy. It is stories which hold us all to a higher standard. This is who we are, this is how we are meant to be. Yes, there are those at the back that will try and make their voices loud, but we drown them out for all the joy that comes with being part of a human community. I think this is how we make it. This is how we become decent again. I love that people better than I have started the ball rolling, we just need to keep the momentum going.

“It may well be that we will have to repent in this generation. Not merely for the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence and indifference of the good people who sit around and say, "Wait on time.” Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches When we moved to Australia I was very young, it was a hard transition for me according to my parents. As soon as we could my parents got Australian citizenship for us all and gave up our Sri Lankan passports. My parents were and are what you would call assimilationists. My mother believed if you live in a country you do what the people of that country do and that's that. As a result, I didn't really associate with any other Sri Lankan Australians my age at all. The majority of my friends were white Australians. I couldn't ask for better friends, they are some of the kindest, funniest, perfectly imperfect people I know and I wouldn't have it any other way. I am glad my skin colour didn't stop them from welcoming me into their lives. I know, if they choose to have children, they would raise children who will be equally brilliant. That's not to say that we didn't benefit from white privilege or exhibit racist behaviour, of course we did, we all did. I remember singing 'Clean hands, Dirty hands' (not actually sure this is the name of the song) in the chapel at school one day and one of my closest friends made the mistake of gesturing to my hands as dirty hands and hers as clean. Her face dropped at my reaction when she realised what she'd done. She apologised profusely and I know she would never make that mistake again. I, myself have gone down the path of white saviourism many times and continue to try and find balance in my life in terms of this by talking with others and educating myself. What I'm trying to say in a very convoluted way is I'm grateful for my past and the people in my life, but when people ask me about my 'traditions' and 'culture' (aka my brown skin) I'm honestly not sure. When new people meet me they assume I'm a spokesperson for my race when I know very little about it. I kick myself for not really knowing more than I do. I know I'm not alone in this feeling, we are a product of our environment. How much do you really know about your ancestral culture and traditions? I love my Sri Lankan side, but I admit I have an extremely superficial understanding of it. When I have to write my race I write Australian because that's what I thought it meant, that's who I see. I want you to please keep this in mind while you, hopefully, read on. While I don't believe the world to be so binary as to have 'good' people and 'bad' people, I find the above quote extremely relevant. I don't know about you, but I have felt quite useless in terms of everything happening in the world right now. I want to help and I don't know how; I believe I'm not alone here either. It was only after this week I realised just how much the events of the last few weeks/months have evolved me and have helped me to contribute, hopefully, in a positive way to the world. Let me explain...last week we stayed on a horse farm and met some really interesting people. It was an interaction with a five-year-old girl, her mother and my best friend in Perth that made me realise that we are always learning and that we always have the choice to be better and do better. On her last night at the farm, this little girl was watching Chris and I play a board game while casually chatting. She had gotten quite attached to us and had spent some time exploring and playing together with us on the farm. I don't really know what brought it on, but she started talking about her friends. She said she liked everyone at her school, except for one person. Half listening, and half trying to play the game I asked what it was about that one person she didn't like. "She's got dark skin. We don't like dark skins." "Oh...(seriously hoping her mum would step in)...that makes me sad..." I felt rather stupid. I didn't have a clue what to say, I think because her mum was there I thought maybe it wasn't my place to "parent" at that moment. I think we were all a bit frozen by the comment, to be honest. By the time I got to my senses, I felt the moment had passed and normally I would have let it go. I didn't let it go. I thought about it all night and even messaged my *2 best friends in Perth about it. I was so annoyed with myself, as a teacher, parent, someone who has been reading a lot about anti-racism lately and most of all as a dark-skinned person, how could the best thing I could come up with at the time be, "that makes me sad"!? I woke up resolved to not let this opportunity pass. To change the future you must address the problems of the present. I wasn't going to let this go. Yes, I understand she's five and the fact that she said it to me meant that perhaps she didn't really know what she was saying. At the same time, she said it and that meant that this reason for exclusion was in her vocabulary and that was not and will never be okay. The comment from one of my (white) friends was, "I think this shit makes a lot of white people uncomfortable and they just ignore it yunno.. The mum probably thinks she's just a kid and she'll grow out of it so the path of least resistance is to just not talk about it." This helped encourage me to address the issue head-on because to make a change means sometimes having uncomfortable conversations. I wrote three picture book titles on a small piece of paper I knew were available at this girl's closest library. Armed with my little bit of paper and the support of my husband and friends I approached the mother of this child. I knew she had heard the conversation so I didn't beat around the bush, "Hi, I just wanted to have a chat about the conversation your daughter and I had last night..." The girl's mum was so so incredibly responsive and open to the conversation. We both acknowledged that it was an extremely awkward moment and that we both had no idea what to do at the time, and could, and should have done much better than we did. She took the paper and thanked me for the resources, asked for my number to stay in touch and gave me a hug. It was the best possible outcome I could have imagined, she was grateful that we could have the conversation and said it was important that we did. I'm not sure if that mum would have addressed the issue with her daughter or not. I truly hope she does follow up with her in whatever way she believes will work best for her daughter. As most of you know I have two boys. I'm a dark-skinned woman married to a caucasian Australian (Pākehā) man. As a result, talking about skin colour, gender, etc and highlighting the beauty of all difference, is something that I've always spoken with my boys about. Until this incident, I forgot that perhaps this doesn't happen in every family. I'm here to say if you are not having these conversations, if you do not acknowledge difference and normalise these conversations, you need to. Not talking about it isn't enough. Assuming your child gets it, isn't enough. I did some of my teaching training in an elite all-boys school in Perth and some of the understandings of Indigenous Australians among these 8-9-year-olds were shocking, to say the least. Have the conversation. Understand your privilege. Live and teach with empathy. You have no idea what your life might have been like were you born in a different circumstance. My friend put me on to a podcast, which I will try to link here. At the end they talk about what action they would take moving forward and to be honest I was underwhelmed by their responses, while at the same time I could relate. I wrote that I felt useless with all that's happening around the world, I didn't know what to do either, except educating myself. However, one response really got me thinking and that's the notion of doing 'enough'. We are all learning how to be our best self and it's okay to say you are still learning or you have no idea or even that you feel uncomfortable talking about race. I do. I feel extremely uncomfortable, however, I'm glad I have a community that's willing to listen and learn with me. I've realised my notion of 'enough' has definitely changed over these last few months. Has yours? Here are some resources that may help you along on your journey: Reveal an American Investigative Reporting podcast which speaks about inequality and accountability Four Corners and The Guardian in Australia saying not good enough when it comes to BIPOC. If you can get a hold of the episode it's worth a watch. A podcast about the changing of Mississippi's state flag. It's really interesting and highly recommend you to listen. If you have children these are book resources, I haven't read them all, but they are certainly on my to-read list: Diverse Booklist 1 and 2. I will continue to post books I come across that we enjoy as a family on my Instagram too. AOC saying not good enough when it comes to sexism. *My two best friends are white, one male and one female. I feel so incredibly lucky to have them both and that I am able to have such open and real conversations with them. I honestly don't know where I would be without them, they keep me brave and love me unconditionally, as I do them. I love you guys so much. If you see yourself in a photo in this article and would prefer I take it down, please let me know, as I couldn't get to everyone.

I come from a foodie family. To me, eating good food is like experiencing the highest form of Art. It's the only thing I'm aware of that can captivate all of my senses at once. I was lucky enough to have parents who appreciated and could afford good food when I was growing up. From a young age my parents would take my siblings and I to amazing restaurants, not the kind that children were usually seen at. I loved it! When I think about memories from my childhood those are definitely among my favourite. My mum's family were known for making amazing food. They had a catering company and restaurant in Sri Lanka. I remember spending holidays there and working to wrap Breuders (a Sri Lankan raisin bundt cake) in cellophane for Christmas and serving customers in the take away section of the restaurant. All while stuffing my face with yummy Sri Lankan chocolate eclairs. My mum obviously inherited a love for feeding people, almost every time we FaceTime she is cooking something different, it's her love language for sure. When we talk about what we think the people we love are doing M, will say "Archie is cooking". She's what I think of as a typical Sri Lankan. She also has a massive sweet tooth (also very Sri Lankan in my opinion)! This is something our whole family has. I remember her having to hide chocolate in the house away from hungry eyes. All this to say, good food is extremely important to me. Unfortunately, I seem to have inherited a love for all things food when it comes to eating and not so much the cooking side of things. Ask any of my ex-boyfriends' dads' or Chris' Dad for that matter; for some reason it was a quality of mine they all felt the need to comment on. Being a girl in an asian family, a lot of people felt the need to comment on my food choices and its effect on my external appearance. Like many people in the world my relationship with food was not always a loving one. I was never and will never be a thin person. My grandmother once told me, to the delight of my brother, when I was in my early teens, "You could be pretty, it's a shame you have such fat arms and legs." Hearing comments like this from the people you are brought up to respect is extremely damaging to a fragile ego, it seeps into your bones, there's no doubt about it. I loved food so much, but was reminded often that my love of food would be damaging if not kept in check. Thankfully, I never developed an eating disorder, but I certainly developed some eccentricities and have done some stupid things. I remember in uni I went a few weeks only drinking Boost juice thinking that it was healthy. I tried the Dukan Diet, for an ex-vegetarian it was disgusting. I sometimes went days only eating 1 cupcake because I knew I wouldn't be exercising and I wanted a cupcake. I even used a number of Groupons to inject something into my thighs to get rid of my fat there, it didn't work. I consulted with a liposuction doctor when I was 19, I couldn't afford it and was too afraid of possible side effects. I did fat freeze treatments and felt stupid. I tried to get into exercising to balance out my love of food, which I actually really enjoyed, I felt stronger and I liked that. Even then I never managed to change my body shape the way I hoped. I never became that tall, leggy, skinny girl with the thigh gap I so hoped I could one day become if I just tried hard enough. Then a friend of mine at Drama School sat me down one day and he said, "Rekha, us guys don't really care what you [girls] look like we'd be just f*cking happy to get a girl naked!" I kept that in my head for a long time, because almost all of my need to become something other than me, was because I didn't think I was attractive and interesting enough to get and keep a guy. Drama School also encouraged me to look at myself differently, though it might have been because I was in Singapore. People seemed to be more open to differently looking people there. I started to feel a bit more seen, but realised I wasn't a big fan of that either, it was something I wasn't used to I felt exposed. Long story short I realised no one really cared about my insecurities but me and it was holding me back from fully engaging in my world. I started and am still working on not apologising for my existence. I met a lovely man, who thought I was the bees knees and while, yes contentment with yourself should come from self acceptance, for me it was his words and actions that helped me the most. I stopped trying to do crazy things to try to become a person externally I know is not a possibility for me. I started to enjoy who I was and most of all...enjoy food! I came to the realisation that I didn't want to eat food I didn't think was delicious, food wasn't going to be sustenance to survive nor was it going to be my enemy. I was going to start enjoying the Art of food again. I was going to enjoy food and not feel guilty about it. I do to this day and I share that love with my little family, with no shame. After having 2 children, fairly close together, my body isn't the same but I'm so grateful for it. I mean, it had the ability to grow two beautiful humans! Thank you body, after all I've done to you, you have been a real trooper. After what I went through, and I know it's not an uncommon story at all, I'm determined to change the conversation for my children. I don't have girls, but I want my boys to be like my husband was for me and I want them to love their bodies too. Thankfully, I have some great role models around me I can draw upon. My sister-in-law, I believe, does a fantastic job of it with her children. I have never seen her body shame or even talk about any related matters with her children. I know she has made a conscious choice to do so and I think she does it so well. I'm not quite there yet, but I'm working on it. I feel like the more parents I know the more inspiration I get, because most of us want children who focus on kindness toward themselves and others. There are a few of us that are also questioning the whole concept of "what would people say/think?" as a reason to make, or not make certain life choices. Instead we are parenting and living our lives with a mantra of "is this right for me/us right now?"

It's been a few weeks now, most of my friends and family are living with some restrictions due to CV. The selfish joy I've been getting from this is that people are starved for human interaction, which means so many lovely video calls. I feel like I'm more in touch with my friends than I have ever been in the past! By and large, speaking with my friends the one thing that seems to come through is that though it's been an adjustment for some, most people (at the moment) seem to be surprising content with life. There were some initial teething problems at first, what with almost everything going online, but now it seems most people I know are in the groove of things. I should mention that most of my friends and I are really lucky in that we are still able to leave our houses for exercise etc. Some of my family and friends are a lot more restricted and/or a lot more isolated. So, as I type this I type being mindful that I'm speaking from a place of extreme privilege. I am aware there are some people with no place to find refuge or are dealing with mental health issues where living in ISO is more than a challenge. If you are struggling and don't feel you can talk to your friends or family please contact your local helplines. In New Zealand: Free call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor. In Australia: 13 11 14 In Singapore: 6202-6868 In Sri Lanka: 1926 hotline If you're looking for something more long term there are also apps out there to help too such as BetterHelp. Feel free to add more resources in the comments. One of the things I liked about this time, yes I know I'm going to sound idealistic and naive (I don't care), is that the world got together to do something for others. Most of us aren't home because we are scared we will get CV, we are not keeping our children home because we are afraid for them. We know most of our children will most likely get it at some point and will be okay. We are doing this because of the people in our world that are vulnerable. I feel like our global story the last few years has been really unkind, divisive and selfish "us against them", "I deserve this", "Go back to where you came from" etc. To me, the simple act of staying home, says I care about people other than myself. We are part of a larger global community. Wherever you may be and whatever you are going through right now, I hope you are finding a sense of peace and some contentment during this time.

So...that escalated quickly... Back up about 2 months... Chris was heading to Singapore to sort out our shipping to New Zealand. He was slightly worried about heading there because of something called Coronavirus. I didn't think much of it, but obviously didn't want Chris to contract it. He went, was careful and returned no drama. That was the end of that. These things happen a lot in Singapore, but it's an organised place and used to these sort of things. Fast forward to about a month ago. We were finally packing up our stuff in Bali and saying bye to some of the best people we've met. I was psyching myself up to travel alone with my two boys. I was a little nervous about taking 3 flights on my own with the boys. Not because of the travelling, but more because of the talk of this virus and the fact that having an almost 2-year-old boy and a 3-year-old boy means hands get everywhere and goodness knows what goes in mouths. My solution was to babywear one and strap the other to the stroller...which mainly worked except that all our flights required us to walk up or down steps to and from the plane. Yep...not fun. Well, I survived, we all did and the boys were amazing on all flights. Though the last one was a little tougher on them. For a few days after M would wake up in the middle of the night and think he needed to get on a plane. Bless him. The night before our final flight, we were at *Scienceworks in Melbourne catching up with some good friends while watching the boys play. My phone starts going crazy, New Zealand had just announced mandatory self-isolation. My family were a bit concerned and my mum casually mentioned that they may place us in a detention centre. Thanks, Mum! Thankfully, we arrived without any talk of detention centres. In fact, we didn't get told to self-isolate at the airport at all. I just a slip of paper with a toll-free number to call if we started feeling unwell. I figured this might have been because we arrived before self-isolation was mandatory? Side note: 1. The passengers on this last plane were the most helpful, they literally took both my backpack and stroller and carried it all the way to the airport building from the plane! (New Zealanders are just so nice). 2. Okay, two side notes: I really felt for the flight attendants and thought they did an amazing job handling customers. We travelled with Jetstar and though the flight was probably more booked than it would normally have been, there were still plenty of empty seats. We were instructed from the very beginning of the flight not to move seats. I understood this to be because if anyone got sick they would be able to track who was sitting close to that person (yes, if one person was sick on that plane it would be likely most people would have gotten sick I think, not sure). For some unknown reason, there were a few people on this 3-hour flight that found this piece of advice really hard to follow and would keep trying to move. Each time the flight attendant would have to speak with them calmly and ask for them to return to their seat. This lasted THE WHOLE FLIGHT, yet the attendants kept their cool and were extremely professional. I was really impressed. Okay, so we got to Queenstown, had the mandatory Fergburger and the boys absolutely loved the playground by the lake. We went up the Gondola and then made our way to Wanaka. We went to Puzzling World and did the maze, picked up a delicious cookie from Cinema Paradiso and yes, went to the playground here too. While at the playground in Wanaka I received a notification about check-in instructions for our Airbnb the following day. I clicked on it to find that the host had cancelled that very moment...oh dear. I quickly contacted our other hosts to see if we were still able to stay and booked accommodation for the following day in Fraz Joseph. It was when we were in Fraz Joseph that it finally hit me that even though we hadn't been within 1 meter of anyone for longer than 15 minutes that we should be more careful, as we had done a lot of travelling and could be carriers. Yes, it took me longer than it should have to get there. So, that night we contacted all our hosts and cancelled our entire 6-week long road trip. They were all really understanding. I hope to one day be able to book with them all again. We then needed to decide where to set ourselves up for the rest of our 14 days. We decided to keep heading north to Nelson, as we would then be closer to North Island to continue our travels when we could. Also, I was hoping it may not be as cold as Queenstown would become over the winter months...which it will be...by a degree or 2. Still very cold. We booked an Airbnb in Nelson to stay until the end of our self-isolation and then, as it was booked out after that, we would find another place to stay while we looked for rentals. 1 or 2 days into our stay NZ announced the level 4 lockdown...We didn't know what to do. We didn't want to go to Australia because we had chosen to live in New Zealand, but we were still isolating and so couldn't look at rentals and soon there would be no rentals to look at. I decided to contact our hosts to see if the other booking would still be coming with all these changes and if we could take her up on a 6-month rental. She was extremely responsive and agreed to sign us up for 6 months. Sigh of relief! So, we have a home to ride this out in and it's a lovely family home in a beautiful part of the world. We have already made friends with our neighbours (from a distance) too! Sometimes life does help you make lemonade. Yay! If you're at all interested, which if you've made it this far you might be. A bit of background. As I've mentioned in previous posts, Chris and I made the conscious decision to actively raise our children and in making this decision we realised that wouldn't be possible for us in Singapore. When we were living in Singapore trying to decide where else we would want to live, places like Tasmania and New Zealand came up, but we didn't want to settle on the decision until we'd had some time to decide what was really important to us. This could only happen when we had time to think, which was in Bali. When in Bali the idea of New Zealand never left and it felt right to Chris and I. We didn't know where in New Zealand to settle, so we decided to do an epic road trip to see which places we may like to settle in. I thought North Island, as I'm a girl who's lived all my life in the tropics, so it would be slightly less cold. Our road trip was basically a circuit around North Island... best-laid plans hey. For now, we are here and are happy and surprisingly hot, only time will tell what our next steps will be. Hope that covers it for now. Oh, and for the record, we do not regret for one second the decision we made to move to New Zealand. We are so impressed with the government's response to everything happening and the clear messages we are getting about everything here. We are Jacinda fans, which is definitely one of the reasons we chose to come here and she has not disappointed yet. Feel free to leave comments, questions etc. Please be kind. *if you get a chance to go, it's so great for the little ones. So interesting and interactive. Even the toileting facilities are much better than most.

So, confession...even as a teacher I have always had an issue with “I do, you do” art or “cookie-cutter” art. I think that’s one of many reasons why I was drawn to a Reggio inspired philosophy of teaching. I never liked having every child produce or made to produce the very same art piece. Just like I don't like forcing children to perform for others. I dislike the idea of judging how “good” a piece of art is based on how accurate it is to the original. In fact, (unless I was made to) I never really had the same art piece up in my classroom. My ideal classroom was one that represented each child in the way they wanted to express themself. In reality, when introducing children to art projects in the classroom the concept might be the same, however, there would always be a choice within the project; whether it be materials used, colour, size etc. I believe Art is self-expression. How can you truly express yourself when you’re copying someone else or doing “paint by numbers” art? I love introducing children to new techniques they can incorporate in their art pieces and love watching as they develop their own artistic vocabulary. I’m all about the process, man!! A has started to enjoy engaging in Art experiences. At the moment he’s all about splash art. So, I introduced him to drip art, which captivated him (we have been talking a lot about rain). Then oil pastel and watercolour, and oil and watercolour and multimodal art. It’s been fun. We’re learning a lot - yes, both of us. We talk a lot about choice. How part of what makes art, Art are the decisions the artist has made to use or not use certain materials or techniques when working on a piece. Today Ash wanted to use glue, he had a variety of materials he could choose from. I was proud to see how far he has come because he was able to articulate what material he wanted to use for each art piece he had in mind. He was even able to articulate that some materials I had put out he wouldn’t use at all. Now, this is not to say that I deny my children making cute little shape art animals heavily directed by a teacher etc. No, if we’re part of a playgroup then they can, of course, take part (if they chose to do so)...however, what they choose to do with the direction they are given is totally up to them. My 3 year old proudly copied a shape art mouse the other day in fact, and everyone thought it amazing. I could see how proud A was of it and acknowledged he was proud of what he produced. I celebrated with him. My 1-year-old, however, created his own Picasso-esque mouse; I couldn’t help but smile. Choice. Art is highly personal and subjective, it’s been wonderful watching my two artists’ develop their own unique voice in this area. I look forward to seeing what’s to come. If you have any process art projects you've been doing with your children I'd love to hear about it in the comments below.

We were looking forward to returning to Bali after a great adventure in Sri Lanka. We thought we’d give a different area in Bali a go: Sanur. We had met a group of really lovely families in Sanur the last time we went there and we were hoping to build a bit of a community upon our return. Well, after trying and failing and adapting our plans we just couldn’t seem to catch a break when looking for a house. We had to settle for a place in Nusa Dua, which honestly wasn’t ideal. The place itself was nice, the villa was big enough for 3 families really. There were just some safety things I won’t get into. Chris and I found ourselves missing Berawa and the Sanur community. All in all, we weren’t sure we had made the right decision in returning and to be honest I felt ready to settle down somewhere for a while. I think we both were feeling the exhaustion of constant travel (I know, already!). It’s so funny, because now when we look back on these last months Chris and I both say “I wished we’d travelled SEA more!” We are funny people, aren’t we?! We are incredibly grateful for this opportunity and have learnt a whole lot about ourselves indeed. Chris then very kindly gave me a weekend all to myself where I could sleep, watch movies and just have 2 nights completely to myself. I happily took it, however, spent most of the time in slight pain due to the sudden absence of breastfeeding or pumping (Yep, didn’t think that through!). When I returned, I was fresh as a daisy ready to get back into it. We were two days in and having a really good time, then Bam! I felt like I had expelled my insides from every orifice. I took myself to the hospital thinking that perhaps I had dengue due to body aches and fever, after about 4 days and 3 trips to the hospital I was admitted with a parasite. I spent another 4 days in the hospital constantly hooked up to an IV and given various other things to help me rid myself of its unwelcome guest. I stayed at BIMC in Nusa Dua and was taken care of very well. Thankfully, we had travel insurance and my entire stay was covered. Our insurer was really helpful and supportive, World Nomads, for anyone who wants to know. I returned home but bit fragile and ready to leave the Island of the Gods. After a few days, I started getting back into the rhythm of things again. Asia does have the added advantage of being able to hire a babysitter at quite an affordable rate (Chris didn’t want me diving straight back in for fear of burnout). After about 2 days, we got back into things and I started to feel like myself again. Then, because when it rains it pours, the place we stayed in literally started falling apart, Chris did a quick google and we moved to a place in Seminyak for the last week we were in Bali. Seminyak was nice, a little more fast-paced compared to the Bali we were used to and a little more trendy. After a lot of umming and erring about going to Australia during the horrible fires they were having, we decided to just do it. I’m so glad we did because apart from 1 or 2 days of haze the rest was lovely. It was so hard to believe that firefighters were working so tirelessly not too far away. Goes to show even in the same country how disconnected we can feel and how unaffected you can be depending on where you are. We stayed with Chris’ parents in Australia and they were wonderful, very patient with us indeed. It was lovely to feel that sense of community you can get when you have family close by, which was something so new to us and as an ex-pat mum of two, it was incredible! Though I hope I didn’t take advantage of the extra help too much it was nice to know the family were around. I loved watching M so desperate to water the garden each day, drink freshly squeezed OJ from Grandad and A run out of the room in the morning to see Grandma. The absolute game changer for me was access to the car, I couldn’t believe how much easier parenting felt having a car!! No carting kids and car seats around, looking at transport routes and packing a backpack full of ‘just in cases’. I had everything I might need in the car, I could go anywhere at any time! Wow! But all too soon it was time to get back to Bali. It was so sad saying goodbye to the cousins and I knew I would miss exploring a new playground with the boys and grandad, as well as hanging out eating yummy food with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. We are now back in Bali. I was dreading coming back after feeling like we were surrounded by such a supportive community. While we were in Australia A had so many meltdowns, probably a new record for him! I thought we’d see even more with another change, but to our surprise, both boys have settled back into life in Bali so well! Yay! We are busy every day and have play dates, classes and yes we are in the pool basically every evening. We are making the most of living in the tropics while we can because our next big adventure is not too far around the bend!

As I look back on this year, it feels like it’s taken forever and zoomed by all at the same time. I never thought my life would look like it does now and I never thought I would be the person, I feel, am I today. I grew up believing no one would or could ever like or even love me. What did I have? Nothing. Even after getting married I was still skeptical, I kept thinking Chris would see the real me and run eventually. Well, he hasn’t (phew), but what’s more important is he has helped teach me to see myself as I see children: capable and deserving of love. I really should thank my cousins Rae and Oni here too. They are both amazing supports and beautiful people. Plus my Singapore girls, Hat and UWC family. You know what, I actually think I‘m my friend; I couldn’t say that a year ago. Those voices of doubt will always be there, but I think I’m an okay person. That’s a huge thing for me to say. I hope that if you‘re reading this you stop for a moment and think about you. Can you say you like you? I hope you can. If you’re not there yet, what do you need to do? Can I help? Drop me a line. Last year this time I was in such a dark place. I felt so alone and struggling to do anything really. This year, even with all the moving, uncertainty and bumps in the road I feel so much happier and mentally healthier...I just had a doughnut with ice cream, so probably can’t say the same for my diet! I know who I want in my life and my children’s, and am taking steps to limit my exposure to those who hurt me and mine. I know there is so much love in my life, in all its forms. Every day I’m learning. Even though the future is uncertain and I have no idea what I want to do in terms of my career, I feel hopeful. I’m the most confident I’ve ever been in my life. I know I have so much to work on, but I no longer feel I’m less than. We are all working on something and we are all worth the effort. This six months of travel as a family was meant to be an opportunity to figure out what kind of life we want. I think both Chris and I are learning what works for us and the boys. We have decided instead of travelling somewhere new, we’re heading back to the familiar for the boys. We’ll spend the first few months of 2020 in Bali in the area we enjoyed the most: Canggu. Then we’re off on our next big adventure: New Zealand! I’m so excited. It seems like such a beautiful part of the world. Plus I’ve never met a Kiwi I didn’t like. I‘m slightly terrified of the cold, being a tropical climate girl, but I’m not about to let fear stop me now. (If you have any NZ tips please share them) We are hoping to make New Zealand our final stop for awhile, but I’ve stopped being too certain about anything because-life. I’m so grateful for my life and my boys. Time with them has been such a gift and getting to be such a big part of their lives is such a privilege. I want to continue to put my family first in the way I am currently doing it. I am trying to work on ways I can sustain this, while still contributing to our income (ideas welcome here). That’s the next challenge I guess. I have met such incredible people this year. I have also connected with people who are struggling, but are so strong in their determination to get through, that all I can do is watch in awe. If 2019 wasn’t your year I truly, truly hope 2020 will be. 2019 was life changing for our family. We took a risk, we were brave and we chose each other. 2020 let’s do it! Thank you for reading and supporting my journey. Have a very happy holiday.

I sit here in our villa del ant while the geckos are hunting and my boys lay peacefully sleeping. I look out on to our little space in the world and the lovely little garden, when did we become so lucky? ... It's been a few months since I wrote the above. It was our last day in Bali before going to Sri Lanka. We have certainly done quite a bit since then. Let me fill you in... So we were meant to spend A's third birthday back in Singapore because it was his cousin's first birthday and we really didn't want to miss that. Plus we thought it would have been nice for A to see his friends again (us too). Unfortunately, like so much of our world today the higher-ups messed it up for us; due to what usually makes the world a sad, scary and unkind place to be: Greed. The haze came back to Singapore. The boys had been sick once in Bali, just once when we went to Jimbaran. I think they got a mild case of Bali belly; as did I, but that's it. I remember them getting sick so much more before we left. Nate was diagnosed with childhood asthma in Singapore and had to have a puffer with him. I remember always hearing phlegm in his lungs. In Bali that disappeared. So, when we flew into Singapore and barely made out the buildings for the air pollution, we decided we weren't going to risk it and took off again straight to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka was wonderful, Chris was worried about the air pollution there too, but since we were often out of the city centre it seemed to be fine. The boys had a wonderful time with their much loved grand aunt and uncle. We stayed with my aunt and uncle as our base in between travels and it was really nice. The boys loved Einstein, their labrador. They loved helping my uncle with his fish and just generally spending time with family, but we spent a lot of our trip travelling. I will write a separate post about our travels for those interested. As lovely as it was, we did find the constant travelling was really starting to show in the boys. As much as we could, we tried to keep them in a familiar routine so something was consistent, which was often hard to do. The groove we had gotten into in Bali, wasn't working with all the travelling and socialising. The boys were oftentimes overtired, over-sugared or overstimulated, which would result in tears or poor choices. This made us realise that instead of going somewhere else in Asia after Christmas, that perhaps we should return to Bali to give the boys more consistency. Towards the end of the trip, the boys were finally getting into the rhythm of things and trusting family more. We felt so sad to leave them and for the first week back in Bali A would often ask after my aunt and uncle. I guess that's the sad reality of travelling with kids: leaving when they build such beautiful relationships. It's funny because we had so much more help in Sri Lanka, my aunt and uncle are amazing; they truly are. They have always supported me no matter what, for as long as I remember. They love our boys as much as we love them and they are so hands-on with them! They really respect the way we parent, even if they may not agree with something...Okay except for the whole no sugar thing. My sugar-loving uncle (bless him) guilted me into so many sweet treats! Sri Lankan sweets are so good, I couldn't deny the boys the pleasure! It was just really nice to have the family actually play with the boys and be messy and laugh without judgement. I trust them completely, which is a hard thing for both Chris and I to do. I digress, my point is that even with all the help; Chris and I were exhausted! In Bali, we had this routine where Chris would often do the boys breakfast, while I got some me time in the morning to do yoga, shower or go to the loo in peace. We would then swap so he could do the same before starting work. I'd have the boys for the rest of the morning and we'd then see Chris again for lunch. The boys would both nap (sometimes I would too) after lunch and in the afternoon we would do something active outside. Chris would then finish work and take the boys while I made dinner. We'd have dinner as a family and do bedtime altogether. It was simple, but it worked. On Sunday, Chris would give me a day to do what I wanted, such as writing. In Sri Lanka, for whatever reason, these little things didn't happen and the cumulative effect of not having these little "me time/self-care" moments in addition to Chris working late due to the reality of being on the road travelling, took its toll on us. Our first week back in Bali we were both so short with the kids and with each other. Oh! and had the added pressure of finding new accommodation in a new area of Bali. We never did like to do things the easy way! Now we are in Nusa Dua, living in a little complex and far more settled. The only thing about being in Nusa Dua is that all our friends and the things we like are in Canggu or Sanur. We just couldn't find anything within our budget and good for the kids in those areas. This means that I've been commuting with the boys for playdates and getting groceries delivered rather than being able to make shopping lists with A and going to the shops with the boys. I suppose we could still do grocery lists and he can learn to online shop! It could be worse and it's only for a month before we head to Australia for Christmas with Chris's family. All in all, it's been a busy month. It's been exhausting, fun and we've learnt the importance of family, me time and the boys' limits when travelling. This whole adventure has been for the boys and for our family as a unit. It's a learning journey and we will continue to modify and adapt based on what works for us. Other people will have different opinions and will definitely share them with us (as is the joy of parenting). Social media can also be a friend and foe in equal measure too. I've never been great at trusting I'm doing the right thing for me, but I'm learning slowly that I need to. Not because I'm right and others are wrong, but because no one knows your life better than you or knows your child better than you. I remember as a teacher having to explain to parents that there is no one 'best school' for all children because all children are different. You need to listen to your child and know what your child needs to be successful. My unsolicited advice: One thing to remember, as hard as it may be, is that milestones are just guidelines. They are not a checklist that must be ticked off exactly at that time. Your child isn't exceptional if they walk at 9 months or broken if they aren't walking by 13 months. They have their own timeline. The best thing I feel like we can do, as our children's biggest cheerleaders, is to give them the time and space to learn the things they need to when they are ready. You know as parents if you feel like something is amiss and that's when you follow up with the experts, but please don't put it on your child. They are enough and don't need us giving them our insecurities. Surround yourself with a community that genuinely cares for you and will support you rather than question you on every decision you make. I need to keep reminding myself every day that what we're doing is best for us and while I feel like I keep getting caught up or have to defend myself with the, "Why is he still in nappies?","Why is he still breastfeeding?", "How come they don't have this toy or that?", "When are they going to start school?" questions from some. I have great friends who remind me that life isn't a race, kids don't need to be rushed and we don't all have to follow the same tune. If your child feels loved, safe, supported, healthy and is able to be themself and express themself without judgement or shame; then you're doing something right, right? Right!

Well, it seems the haze is back so I thought it may be a good time to post this for my friends in Singapore or about to head that way. Not an exhaustive list, but enough to get you started. In saying that, not all of these places are haze free, I'll let you know. As most indoor places to play in Singapore aren't free I've put a cost key for your reference to help. Most of my suggestions are either Central or West in Singapore, as those were the most accessible for me without needing a car. I believe unless you take a cab, live East or have your own means of transport it's a pain to travel in the East. However, I've never lived East, so I could be wrong there are a lot of families there. Cost Key: Free On or Under $20 $ Over $20 $$ On or Over $30 $$$ Buds Shangri-La $$$ This is one of the more expensive ways to pass your time. It is really nice though! Thanks to my sister-in-law, the boys got to visit quite a bit because she gifted them some passes. You really could spend a whole day here. There is something for all ages and if you have an under 1, it's free! There are various areas for the children to engage in: soft play, seed play, those ride on slot cars (that don't require coins!!), a painting room (walls can be painted), music room with percussion instruments on the wall, dress ups, DJ equipment and piano, water play area with pirate ship and even a kitchen where they run cooking classes if your child is old enough. There's a little cafe, but I used to just pack a lunch for the boys and let them eat it there, which seemed to be fine. Honestly, if money wasn't an issue, it was a really fun place to be. NLB Libraries I love books and so do my kids. While I would love to buy books and more books I don't have the space or the money. The libraries in Singapore are really accessible and have great collections of books. Most public libraries I've been to in Singapore have really nice children's reading areas so you can get comfy and enjoy a good book with your little one. It's also great to get your children using the resources around them, such as their local library to learn new things! Get a membership and take the books home to enjoy! Woods in the Books This is a delightful children's bookshop. As far as I am aware there are two locations, Forum (Orchard Road) and Tiong Bahru. It has some of my favourite books, I found the staff to be helpful, however some of my friends have found that not to be the case. If you're happy just to browse it shouldn't be an issue. The Tiong Bahru store runs workshops sometimes too. Good place to go if you love kids books. Kinokuniya Another favourite. Most people are aware of this book shop. It is big and you name it, they should have it. If not just ask the staff and often they can make it happen. If I can't find a book I want at Woods in the Books they will have it here. Jem and Westgate Mall (not haze free) Yes, these are malls. On the rooftops of both these malls, which are right next door to each other, are some fun free kids playgrounds (both with a water play area, Jem's is better). In the upper levels of Westgate you can find some paid kids seed play, gym and art and craft places too. For the more crafty among us there is a Spotlight store here too. At Westgate they also have a kids ride on train, which you can send your child on for a fee. I should note that I'm not sure how great these malls would be with the haze around, as Westgate in particular is very open. JCube This mall is a bit of a weird one to be honest. However, it does have a large ice skating rink in it, as well as a movie theatre. It's also walking distance from the two malls mentioned above. Yes, Singapore loves it's malls! T-Play at HomeTeam NS $ This is a place we found not too long before we left. It's an indoor playground with a transport theme. Yes, A loved it of course. I know there's a pool here too, which looked fun. Like most indoor playgrounds, you need socks (adults too). Unlike most indoor playgrounds in Singapore it isn't too pricey, at the time of this post, at most it will cost you is $20. However, it gets so busy on weekends and loud! I'm not sure if it was because of the crowds, but sometimes it gets really hot in there too. However, it's worth a look for toddlers and up if you're in the area. Kallang Wave Mall This mall also has a kids' ride on train. As well as a rock climbing wall and a very small kids indoor playground you can go to for a fee. There is also a seed play area here for a fee too. There is a little water play area on the roof, but since it's on the roof it's clearly not haze free. Playeum $$ This is a creative space for kids to explore and play in at Gillman Barracks, near Labrador Park MRT station. It's not huge and while we did take our 1+ to play here, I do think you'd get much more out of it with 3+ year olds. They also run workshops here and their roaming staff are super nice and lots of fun. The Artground $ This is one of the few places I have been to in the East and it is worth the visit. We would usually take the MRT there, the closest station is Mountbatten. It's about a 10 minute stroll from the station. It's at the Old Goodman Arts Centre near Cafe Melba and La Barca Ristorante, both places are kid friendly. Cafe Melba is a bit on the pricey side, in my opinion, but has a good selection of food. The Artground has a big open space with different exhibitions set up just for children. Check the Facebook page to see if the exhibition is geared towards the age of child you have. They also run children's workshops, music, story time, gardening as well as yoga among other things. We took A to their Babyspace theatre specifically for crawlers and pre-walkers, he loved it. If you get a chance to go, it's a very cool sensorial experience, which is extremely baby friendly and respectful of how young children appreciate the Arts. Cool-de-Sac $$ Look I'm not a huge fan of places like this: overly bright plastic rainbow indoor playgrounds. Though, in all honesty with the heat and the very active boys I have, I do tend to find myself in places like these more often then I'd care to say. It's easy and not too bad cost wise, if you have a child 6 months and under, it's free. I wouldn't take a 6 month old here if that's the only child you have, only because it is very over simulating and the big kids can be rough as they are hyped! There is a little cafe inside, but there's enough food in Suntec that you can just eat around and come back no drama. The toddler area has improved since A was a little bub; there is more than a little ball pit now. There is a larger soft play area with toys, little climbing equipment, glass painting and pretend play kitchens. For older kids (my1+/ 2 year old liked it) they have large blue foam construction equipment, ball pit, larger climbing equipment, slides, ride on cars, arts and craft area and Lego area. I like the Lego area. Blue House Atelier $$ Blue House is a Reggio Inspired pre-school in Singapore. It targets the expat market so does come with expat prices. That said their Atelier is right up my alley in terms of pedagogy when it comes to children's play. They have two spaces, one a right turn before Turf City (near Sixth Avenue MRT) and one more Central in UE square near Fort Canning MRT station. I personally love the one at Turf City, but both are great. They set up the play spaces so beautifully and the children are engaged for hours! The thing I love about it is that everything is so open ended, which allows your child to truly explore and be creative. You just sit back and enjoy the wonder on your child's face without interfering and imposing your own ideas about how to use the materials. Let them teach you and just enjoy playing. It's such a light and airy open space, has lovely music playing and is different every time. They run playgroups etc, but they are pricey. Joy of Toys $$ This place has such a bright and airy feel to it. If you have 2 kids be aware that the older children's play space is in a different area to the baby/toddler area and you can't be in two places at once. Thankfully A was happy to play with M in the babies area. It's soft play with, as the name suggests...a lot of toys! A loves the train set in the older kids' area and would spend the entire day there if he could. It's not really a running and jumping sort of place, that's more your Cool-de-Sac places. Splash @ Kidsamaze $ (not haze free) This place is a little further afield, but my kids both enjoy it. It's in SAFRA Punggol and is an indoor water play area. There are lockers and showers here and they host birthday parties too. Children under 1 are free. We usually go early and get the run of the place before walking over to Waterway Point Mall for some lunch. Kidstop $$ It's right next door to the Science Centre. We only went once and while I think the boys enjoyed it this would be better suited to 3/4+ year olds. There was a construction area, the cockpit of an airplane, a supermarket, sports/movement area, a climbing net, sand/dinosaur area, toddler area and music room from memory. I'm not sure what else. Go and make your own decision. GIM (gym for kids) Turf City $ The people who staff this place are amazing! Every time I have been they have been so very nice. The last time I went I didn't realise it was closed for school holidays, but they let me and the boys in to play for a little while which I was so grateful for. This place is on level 3 in Turf City. It is a gym, they have climbing equipment, sprung floors, balance beams etc. The Play Gym program is every Thursday and Friday morning from 10am - 12pm. This is not a structured class, but rather time for free exploration of the space for 1+ year olds to about 5 year olds. They also run classes for children 2 years and above. National Museum of Singapore This is one that really should have been in my Play in Singapore list. It's a beautiful old building and has free exhibitions throughout, but there are also paid exhibition should you be keen. Check out the website and see what's on or just go and learn a little more about the history of Singapore out of the haze. Haven't been, but want to go... Kidszania $$$$ I think this place is more suited to older children, which is why we haven't been. It describes itself as an indoor edutainment centre. Basically, children get to role play real world professions. Kaboodle $-$$ This place I think is very popular with East Coast caregivers. It's another indoor play space - not soft play, but more sensory/crafty/motor play style. I felt my children were getting enough of this with what was close to us, so never made it out. They seem to also run classes and host birthday parties. Amazonia A good friend who lives near here tells me after the refurb she really likes it for her toddler. It's in a similar vein to Cool-De-Sac. It's at Great World City on level 3. Polliwogs $-$$ Like above. Two locations: Vivocity and Suntec City. Don't Bother -Go Go Bambini's $$$ Look this place was really fun to play, but I really don't think it was worth the price we paid. You pay by the time you spend in there and that includes the time you might be eating in the cafe. I was shocked at how much we spent there and probably wouldn't go there again. -Science Centre $$ I love science, but this place feels so outdated and a lot of things weren't working or weren't as hands on as they could have been. Not to mention the climate change stuff in there was really quite bad and not really accessible. There are some other more Unique to Singapore indoor places in this post.

So, before Bali there was Singapore. I thought it may be helpful to some to write about the places I used to like taking my children to when we were living there. If you have any questions please send me an email or comment and I'll try my best to get back to you. I should say these are some places I liked for my kids, others will have different opinions and you might too. Singapore being ever growing and changing has new things pop up all the time. It's a great place when you have kids because there is just so much to do! This is just a starting point. Below are places I believe are unique to Singapore, but I have linked to other places of interest for our littlest citizens too (posts in progress). Also, I'm awful at taking photos or even remembering to take photos, so some places don't have photos sorry. If you want to check out these blogs they might help you too: https://thehoneycombers.com/singapore/ The parent version https://honeykidsasia.com/ https://www.littledayout.com/ https://expatliving.sg/ https://thesmartlocal.com Cost Key: Free On or Under $20 $ Over $20 $$ On or Over $30 $$$ Play in Singapore Botanical Gardens While this list is in no particular order this is number one for a reason. I love it! We were always here. It's such a lovely garden with so many different places to meet and play with friends. It's great for picnics and often will have family friendly events on. It's not too hard to walk from Bukit Timah Gate (near the MRT downtown line/Blue Line and Cluny Court) to the Tanglin Gate, which we would sometimes do to get to Tanglin Mall for coffee with friends. Dempsey Hill is near the Tanglin Gate and has some really nice places to eat too, but be prepared to pay expat prices for places in Dempsey. There is a children's garden near the Bukit Timah Gate side, but to be honest I wasn't a huge fan of it. The actual garden has so much to offer. Oh, just two points to note: 1. My husband once got told off for playing soccer with a child's sized soccer ball with our son and some other kids and dads. They were asked to stop by the park staff as it could be "dangerous". We have been back since and not had a problem. 2. I was told off by park staff for letting my children climb a low tree. We were told it was again "dangerous" and that we should just stand in front of it and take a photo. Apart from those two incidents we have really enjoyed our time here and hope you make time to check it out. There are chickens, chicks and monitor lizards wondering around the gardens, both are safe and used to people. You'll also see turtles and swans among other things, but nothing unsafe to my knowledge...maybe just crazy fathers kicking soccer balls! Bukit Batok LRT $ This may seem odd, but if your child likes transport this is an easy fun way to spend your time and pretty cheap when it comes to things to do in Singapore with children. We would pick up the LRT from Bukit Panjang station and take it on the loop. A and M had the best time sitting at the front, as there is a big window and nice big sitting area so you can see where the train is going. Please be aware that not all LRT trains are the same, the one in Punggol is not like this one. I'm not sure about the others. Gardens By The Bay, Children's Garden The Flower Dome is nice, there is usually a theme happening and inside it's very cool if you're trying to be 'outside', but away from the heat. The boys like the bridge over to the domes from Marina Bay Sands, but the main highlight here is the water play area. This is where A had his first birthday. It's free and the great thing is that it caters to so many ages. You have an area for little ones and big ones! Plus there's a little dry play area nearby too and sand play. Do be aware that there are no shower facilities, there are toilets and change rooms, but nowhere to shower. There are opening hours you need to be mindful of too, I would recommend going right at opening in the morning because you get the place to yourself for a little while. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve We lived near here so it was easy to visit. Chris would often take the boys up to the Visitors Centre, which A was a big fan of. The Hindhede walk leads to a beautiful quarry, where you can often see turtles, monkeys and a variety of birds. There are snakes, flying lemurs and more to be seen if you keep a keen eye out. If you're going on a weekend go early as it does get busy with cyclists and hikers etc. Don't take a stroller, there is no easy access, it's all baby carriers here. We used to love walking The Green Corridor up to The Rail Mall to grab chicken curry and prata, but they have closed the Corridor for renovations. Same with the Durian Loop of the park, there used to be a really nice little stream the boys could walk in, but it's since been closed. I really hope they decide to keep the stream. Singapore Zoo and River Safari $$ - $$$ We do enjoy our zoo days. Just before M was born I bought a Friends of Wildlife pass because it's pretty good value for money and allowed us entry to the Zoo, River Safari, Bird Park and Night Safari. We did use it quite a bit and if we were still living there, I would definitely have renewed our cards. I really like the way the zoo has slowly been changing their animal "shows". I first noticed the difference in the Elephant Show. It has gone from the elephants performing 'tricks' etc, to more of an educational showcase about these beautiful creatures. They no longer 'perform' for the audience instead the audience is invited to learn more about these beautiful animals, their habitat and what we can do to protect them. I love this change and believe this change in mindset is much needed. Animals are not here for our entertainment and zoo's have a wonderful opportunity of taking the role of advocating how to love, respect and protect our beautiful Earth's fauna and flora. Off my soapbox... We got our zoo days down to an art. Here's what we do if we want to make a whole day of the Zoo and River Safari. First we'd take the children around the Zoo, sometimes going to the Kidzworld area if it was a really hot day, so they could splash about in the water play. There is a baby changing/nursing room, lockers and toilets in this area. Then we would head for a show or two. After lunch we would take the children on the tram where they would likely fall asleep, which is when Chris and I would head to the entrance to get a Ben'n'Jerry's ice cream (yes, so cruel). We would then walk over to the Underwater Amazon at River Safari (turn right, not left at the entrance of River Safari) or to the bridge at River Safari where we would sit and enjoy each other's company until the boys woke up. Once awake we would do the rest of the River Safari with the boys and then head to dinner and go home. It's a big day, but it's a good day! We always took our own stroller and carrier with us, so the boys could sleep in those while we were on the move. However, if you don't have your own you can hire one at the zoo. Night Safari $$ - $$$ Night Safari is probably best enjoyed with an over 1 year old. We took M when he was tiny, but that's just because we went for A. M fell asleep in the carrier and A enjoyed riding the tram and being up so late at night! Yes, he enjoyed the animals too. He also liked the fire show at the entrance of the park. There are different time slots you can book, because it gets super busy and there's a show you can watch. We didn't see the show, so I can't talk to that. We waited a very long time for a tram, but A didn't seem to mind. It was nice to just sit for a while once on the tram. As a mum of more than one child any opportunity to just sit is nice! There are places you can walk, which would be interesting I think, but A was done after the tram because it was just so late for him. It looked like the food options were much better than the ones on offer the the zoo, but we didn't have dinner there so I'm not entirely sure. Jurong Bird Park $$ - $$$ Of all the animal parks, this one has the best water play area. The boys love it. There is a big baby changing/nursing room, lockers and toilets here. This park is also great for little ones because the birds are so colourful and move so much it really catches their eye. If you have a baby and had to chose one animal park out of all of them I'd recommend this one. Esplanade Theatres by the Bay Singapore often has some sort of festival happening. Just go to the Esplanade website and check out what might be happening at their what's on page. There lots of free shows to enjoy and even festivals just for children! They also have a place called PIP'S PLAYbox...it's not amazing, but an area just for children to enjoy if you wanted to check it out. There are crafts, local books, some toys and a little cubby house to play in. I would definitely recommend checking out what's playing at the concourse or outdoor theatre, as they often have free shows that are great! Changi Airport 0-$$$ There's certainly a reason it's the best airport in the world. There's so much to do there and now that Jewel has opened too it's busy, busy, busy. There's lots of places to eat, photos to be taken and things to see. While A and M are happy just watching the planes take off and land and playing in the playground in T1, Level 3. You can also play in the jewel playground, which you need to pay for of course. I haven't been, but it does look cool. There is also another tiny play area in Jewel near Timberland, however you need to watch your little ones closely here as the structures are a little tricky. A fell off the top of one and hit his head on the wood and he wasn't the first to do that in the 20 minutes I was there. He was fine though, just shocked, however it could have been a lot worse. Arts Science Museum $ This place usually has some really interesting exhibitions for adults and children. They also have the FutureWorld exhibition, which if you're trying to find somewhere to play in AC, is a good option. The exhibition changes every now and then, it's a great hands on light and sound playground for the children. There's an area which has these large colourful light up balls, if you have a really little one just watch them carefully as the big kids tend to go a bit wild in this space. Do be aware that it can get loud too. If you're little one is sensitive to light and sound maybe avoid this one, as it's basically dark rooms full of simulating (possibly overstimulating) light and sound. Singapore River Cruise $$ - $$$ If you want to see Singapore from a different angle this is a nice way to see it. I've been on this cruise at different parts of the day and would definitely recommend going in the evening or at night, as it gets really hot otherwise. The boys enjoyed the cruise, at the time we had an under one and 2 year old. The length of the cruise was just at their limit of staying still and being respectful of others, okay maybe 5 minutes shy of it. Sentosa Island $ - $$$ When we go to Sentosa we generally take the monorail over, which you take from Vivocity. It can get busy, but A loves it. We have lunch at the restaurants at RWS, as there's plenty to choose from. There's a lovely water feature just behind the big Merlion - it's frustrating because it looks like such a fun water play area, but there are signs and people that will stop anyone from having fun in it. We used to go to the Palawan Pirate Ship, however I think that is no longer there. There is Tanjong Beach Club, which is very popular with the locals. The beach next to the beach club is calm and everyone is welcome (dogs included). There is a tram that will take you up there, but you could also walk it. You can also head to W Hotel, which is in a less touristy part of the island, they have some nice family friendly restaurants in that area and the children can look at all the very fancy boats in the harbour. Cable Car $$ - $$$ A really enjoyed riding the cable car and though initially he was a little scared, by the end he didn't want to get off! You can get discounted tickets for the cable car if you google a bit too. We took the cable car from Harbourfront back to Mount Faber and stayed on to head to Sentosa. I think that's the best way to do it, because there's often a long line if you take it from Harbourfront straight to Sentosa. Ground Up Initiative (Balik Kampung) Saturdays Only This is for those parents who want their kids to be part of a local community and to lend a hand. Full disclosure, my husband used to work for this non-profit organisation a few years back, which is why I know about it. Now, if you're not a fan of labouring, gardening, sweating or generally getting a bit dirty then this is not for you. If that doesn't bother you, do check this place out. It's a local organisation that believes in connection and community, as well as taking care of the Earth. They are a lovely group of people. The last visit the boys had they planted rice, watered pots, watched pizza getting made, watched rambutans getting plucked from the trees and eating them, walked through the stream and ate lunch with the volunteers. The people here are extremely welcoming and love children. Singapore Fire Stations (Clementi) Saturdays Only Every Saturday morning kids in Singapore wake their parents up in the hopes of a trip to their local fire station. Okay, maybe not all kids, but I know my kids love visiting the local fire station. We enjoyed going to Clementi fire station, I really liked this one in particular mainly because the head of the station was a young woman. I don't know about you, but I love my boys seeing females in these kind of roles. All the staff were really welcoming, the boys got a cute little fire hat. The staff turned on a fire hose for the kids to play in and they got to explore different parts of the station and emergency vehicles. It is always a nice morning. National Gallery Singapore The National Gallery hasn't been around for all that long really. In the time it's been open there have been some really interesting exhibitions, which are usually well advertised. From the entrance facing Raffles City on level one/street level you can enter the children's gallery (to the left) where there are usually really fun interactive exhibitions for the children to play in and most of the time they are free! The Singapore Flyer It's touristy, but the kids will love it. It's basically a giant ferris wheel, which provides some great views of Singapore. If you go a little later on in your trip then the children will get excited when they can name the places they have been. If you go during the week you an often get a pod all to yourself, so you don't need to worry about the kids knocking into people as they run from one end to another. It takes about 30 minutes for one full rotation. There are some food places around here, but I would just head over to Suntec, Millenia Walk or Marina Bay Sands for food. If you're up for it there is a foot spa place where fish eat the dead skin on your feet (gross yes, but an experience). Near the Flyer you will see the F1 Pits and part of the track, which you can walk on, it's by the water. It's really nice to take in the city from a quieter vantage point. Marina Barrage This is a good place to visit if you're around Gardens By The Bay because it's a short walk along the water. Now the actual exhibition is not really all that interesting for little ones, maybe +6, it's all about what Singapore is doing to keep itself sustainable. What the boys love is the little water play area (surprise surprise). On weekends they usually have a whole bunch of people flying kites at the top and A loves watching all the ships docked off shore from here. The last time we went here it was for Earth Day, there were lots of people selling the eco friendly wares, food trucks and talks. It was a really nice day. Pulau Ubin (for kids riding bikes) Pulau Ubin is a little island not far from Singapore island. There are bike trails and walks around the island. This is not for little babies. I say this because every time I have been, I get eaten alive by mozzies. Don't forget your bug spray and sun cream! You can hire bikes on the island, but they are not great quality so please check them before hiring. Check out the boardwalk it's nice. Southern Ridges We used to go here a bit more when we just had A, but it's subtable for little babies and strollers. It's a lovely walk among the trees near Mount Faber. The metal from the bridges may be a little bumpy for a stroller though...It's worth a look if you like nature, but want an easier walk than somewhere like Bukit Timah or MacRitchie. Cultural Walks The following are areas in Singapore that are quite nice to explore with children. I'm not writing much about them because there's plenty out there about these places. I do think you should just go and get lost in them to truly experience them, talk to the locals and check out the local fare. Little India: Here you can get henna patterns done, eat Indian food, look at jewelry, check out temples, saris and take in the markets. If you want to go, do it during the week because it is extremely busy during the weekend particularly on Sundays. It's good to try time your visit here with either Thaipusam (earlier in the year) or Deepavali (later in the year). Chinatown: It's bustling and colourful. The best time to go is January/February during Chinese New Year. They decorate everything the place is full of life. Just be prepared for the crowds! Arab Street: I love Arab St. So many interesting shops, Blu Jaz is really nice if you like good music. The vibe here is really nice. The Malay Heritage Centre is here and there are some lovely pieces of street Art and the food, yum! Don't just stick to Arab St. wonder around a bit, as the street art and nice cafes can be closer to Lavender MRT than to Bugis MRT. Tiong Bahru: This place has one of my favourite book shops, Tiong Bahru bakery and a lovely little cupcake shop too. Woods in the Books and Plain Vanilla Bakery. There are so many cool little nooks and crannies to find here enjoy getting lost in a very hipster area in Singapore. Others... - The Animal Resort Do not go here. When we went here I ended up reporting the way they keep the rabbits to the local authorities, it was appalling. Most rabbit owners will tell you that rabbits shouldn't actually eat carrot as part of their regular diet as it is high in sugar and not good for them. Yes, they love carrot, just like most humans like chocolate! Do not just feed rabbits carrot, they will get sick! They need dark leafy greens, lots of fresh water and hay. They should also have enough space to run about and not be kept in a tiny cage. They have other animals here too and red flags went up for me when I saw the way these animals were kept, it didn't feel right. Do yourself a favour and pass on this one. - Resorts World $$$ Look I know I haven't written a whole lot about it here, which may seem strange, except Sentosa and the cable cars. Reason being I don't believe in the captivity of dolphins. I do try to avoid anything to do with it. Yes, I know I go to the zoo, but for some reason I can't handle dolphin captivity #TheCove. I'm weird, but that's that. I have heard from friends that the aquarium is great especially for babies. I've also heard Adventure Cove is fun, but there are usually lines for the slides, so avoid school holidays and weekends obviously. Links to other blog posts (to come) that may interest you Outdoor Play Indoor Play Classes