For a couple of years, we had been taking a short holiday during the PSLE marking days; it was to celebrate Zaky's bday and the school break was too wasted to be missed. This year, we delayed it slightly bcos Ah yee was coming home and we thought that it would be nice for a family holiday.
We had to make some logistics arrangement bcos our car couldnt take so many. Lil Shauna had to head over to the 3Fs' place for a sleepover on Friday night. She was more thrilled than anything and took my brother's car to the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. Ya, her belongings were all in that white plastic bag - Popo's style.
Athena took the car seat. Yes, this same one that we bought for Lil Shauna and was passed down to Zaky, then to Lollipop and finally back for awhile. So much memories.
We arrived at the ferry terminal at about 7.45am for out 8.55am ferry. We thought that we were early and were thinking of what to have for bfast only to be advised by the ferry sales to clear immigration asap bcos of the crowd. My bfast bubble burst.
There was a seriously understaffed food stall inside the immigration. We ended up queuing for a good half an hour for some desperately needed coffee and fishballs. Then survived on the bread that Popo and ah kim brought.
Nevertheless, everyone was in good mood.
Even the baby.
Finally time to board!
Athena was very managable. We even brought her to the upper deck to enjoy the sea breeze.
Unfortunately, she didnt enjoy the breeze as much as we thought she would. She ended up hiding in the ergo. Lol.
The other kids had a much better time.
The ferry was a short 30 mins and the sea was largely calm. We arrived at the Nongsapura Ferry Terminal and had to wait for the free hotel shuttle and the kids bought so much bubble gum from the only mama shop. The baby was passed from one adult to another.
And there was so much bubble blowing.
Lil Shauna is getting really good. I can imagine the bubble bursting and the gum sticking to her hair. Zzzzz. Didnt we all had that in our growing up years?
We convinced the gang to stay in Batam View Resort bcos of their mini private beach. Unfortunately, a company was having their Family Day in the same resort and the beach was very crowded. They were largely on land though and our kids were happily waddling in the waters while ah kim sorted out the checking in. I was disappointed to find that they no longer had the water playground.
In the name of the baby, we requested to have at least 1 of the 4 rooms and got it. Though it wasnt pleasant to squeeze all 12 of us in one tiny room, we had a place to put our belongings and change for swimming! Athena "swam" as well.
She was very much given the princess treatment.
We were all peckish from bfast and fought over the little snacks.
One cons of the hotel is its location and there wasnt much food selections. Ah kim had foresight and bought a lot of snacks and cup noodles, which was further topped up at the mama shop shopping. We ordered room service but it took 45 mins to serve and we survived on our food supply.
The girls had their little own picnic at the balcony.
The Batam afternoon sun was merciless. The kids were happy to play in the hotel room. I even dozed off and stole a cat nap. It felt like a good holiday already. Lol.
We had intended to go back to the beach for sea sports in the afternoon when the heat was less intense only to realise that it was low tide. While we cant have sea sports, it didnt stop us from exploring.
There were so many sea snails and hermit crabs! The sea bed was filled with them and the surprising disappeared in high tide.
We returned to the room soon after to wash up. It was nearing dinner time and we had an early dinner at the seafood resturant. Before that, a walk at the jetty is a must, with beautiful sunset in the background. The kids were mesmerised by a fishing uncle. Zaky was even "interviewing" uncle, asking him about his fishing credentials. Lol.
Dinner was decent, just a little too salty.
We didnt need much entertainment after dinner. We self entertained in the lounge before adjoining to the rooms.
We were all tired from the early morning and the activities. It was bliss to watch TV in bed and fall asleep.. at least that was what Zaky and I did.
Lil Shauna was happy to squeeze in with the girls. Good night world.
Mummy Lim
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