CNY 2017 Chu San: Batam

Zaky didn't have a good night. Before bed, the behind of his knee and calves were itching like crazy. His skin usually gets dry and itchy while on holiday due to climate change. Unfortunately, his usual physiogel did little to relieve the itch. The itch became worse in the night. I woke up to the boy clawing at his skin and angry bumps covered the back of his legs. All I could offer was more physiogel.

By morning, the angry bumps were still there. The bumps started to spread to his arms and back. When he doesn't scratch them, they reduced to red dots, flaring up to become angry bumps when irritated. We couldn't tell what exactly caused them. Was it bcos of dirty hotel linen? Or the murky swimming pool water? Maybe it was something he ate? The massage oil was a great suspect too.

The itch irritated him a lot when he was tired but tolerable when he was distracted, like in the arcade. Zzzzzzzz... We checked out after pick and choose bfast and headed to the arcade for one last hour of fun.

Given the crazy Q when we arrived, we left ample time for check-in. The Q was definitely so much better. We cleared immigration in less than 1 hour.

Finally, time to board the ferry and go home.

While waiting, we could see our hotel. Bye!

The trip back wasn't too bad except for a little boy who soon was tired and started complaining about the strong wind, then itchiness everywhere.

The Singapore immigration was such a breeze; we were done in less than 5 mins. I love our efficiencies.

The angry rashes were still on Zaky and they are still everywhere. However, prickly heat power comes to the rescue. He had a much better night sleep, all thanks to mummy who was applying powder on his whenever the rashes act up. That is why we need to celebrate Mothers' Day. Haha.

Happy CNY people.

Mummy Lim

SHSS Batam Day 3

Time always seems to fly by when having fun. We had come to the end of our holiday and it was time to go home.

The kids didn't wake up until almost 8am even though Lil Shauna climbed to bed at 8.30pm the night before. It wasn't a fantastic sleep though; the bed was too squeezey for the 4 of us, the fire alarm went off in the middle of the night. We called the lobby and understood that some guest set it off by smoking in the room. We always meet fire alarm while on holiday. This is the 3rd time already!

We joined the rest for bfast and had to squeeze in a last swim before we set off for home.

The daddies had the all important job of making sure 9 kids go into the pool, 9 kids got out safely. Once out of the pool, everything went in a swift and we met in the lobby with all the luggage.

A group photo proved too tough but we had one of the mummies... and a not very happy little boy. I have no idea what was he doing there.

The hotel provided a complimentary shuttle to the ferry terminal however, they gave us a 9 seater for 17 of us?! They provided another car and some of the kids sat with their mummy. The mini van came with a huge trunk and we chose to sit in the trunk with the luggage instead.

It was definitely an experience for our pampered kids. I was reminded of my childhood, the days where we would sit in my dad's pickup or van. The others were worried that it was uncomfortable or unsafe for us. It wasn't too bad and I don't think they were any safer than us in their seatbelt-less seats. The ferry terminal wasn't very far away.

We had over an hour to burn. The kids happily self entertained playing catching while the adults tried not to draw the kids' attention to ourselves. Haha.

The ferry ride home was bumpier but nobody puke. Heng ah! The boys wanted to go outdoor and then Lil Shauna wanted to stay outdoor. I like outdoor.

Overall, it was a great trip. The duration was just nice for such a huge group. The destination and activities suit us as well. Daddy Lim and I agreed that Lil Isaac is usually better behaved when we are in our own. Nevertheless, we look forward to more of such trips in the future. Hehe. When is the next one?

Mummy Lim

SHSS Batam Day 2

I had reminded the kids to not wake up so early. I wouldnt appreciate waking up before 8am and Lil Isaac had to wake up at 6.30am Batam time. Zzzz.. Soon, jiejie was awoken by the little boy. Double Zzzzzz..

We weren’t the only family with early birds. The rest of the families were just as early. Play must be in the kids’ mind and stopping sleep from doing its work. We agreed that we would do bfast own time, own target but were all in the restaurant at about the same time. The kids must have colluded to torture the parents and denied them of sleep.

What do we do after bfast? Throw the kids in the pool so that no adults get killed. It was another round of swimming before we took the complimentary shuttle to Nogoya at 1pm. This time, we hit the deep pool. The daddies had the role to protect the flock.

The kids had fun running around the lobby while waiting for the bus. I cannot help but wonder where did they get their energy from. Did they secretly plug themselves to charge up while the adults took their shower? It was a marvelous feat to get all the kids to sit down for a picture.

We had A&W for lunch. Yes, it is the Singaporeans must eat A&W when they see A&W overseas symptoms. It wasn't actually that fantastic but the food street where most of the food nested in Nagoya is not air-conditioned and we needed to order fast, eat fast and go. We were eating and sweating at the same time.

After a sauna lunch, the kids were treated to 2 hours of arcade. The kids were in heaven. We were initially worried that the kids would get bored in Nogoya since the shuttle would only pick up 5.45pm. Apparently, there is no space for boredom when you are in an arcade. Lil Isaac wasn't the best-behaved though. He threw tantrum and got punished. Then he went to the toilet with Daddy Lim and attempted to leave the toilet on his own when he was told to wait and could have gotten lost if Auntie S didn't bump into him on her way to the toilet. He got punished again.

We had dinner back in the hotel and I almost wanted to allow a night swim for the kids but Daddy Lim thought I was crazy. Haha. The kids were all beat. Lil Shauna crawled into bed at 8.30pm. Lil Isaac survived better as he had a long nap on the way to Nogoya. We visited the other kids in Auntie J’s room but it was obvious that we were dead tired. It wasn't long before we rushed the kids to bed.

Mummy Lim

SHSS Batam Day 1

Finally, we are embarking on another group trip with the girls. The last trip was a few years back to Desaru. Then, the tiger boys were still in diapers! This time, it is the same 5 families. We are 17 people strong, making up of 9 adults (J considered as adult already) and 8 kids. It would be insane to try to plan a long trip with so many kids, big and small. We decided on 3D2N Batam and envisioned a lot of swimming. Swimming can't be wrong. Haha.

We planned to meet at Haborfront Mac at 8am - waking up bright and early and kids lugging their own luggage. I am impressed that the kids were largely responsible for their luggage this trip and nagging was at the minimal for potential luggage lost.

My new sunglasses are finally put to work. Happy!

It was a mad rush upon arrival. The whole world had also chosen to go to Batam on the same day. Habourfront was mad crowded. There wasn't much time to idle after bfast and we packed off to the immigration shortly. The ferry to Batam was smooth. The 2 tiger boys posed for picture. Sorry ER, auntie did a lousy job.

The complimentary shuttle was waiting for us upon arrival. Sweet! We had a whole mini van to ourselves. The younger kids had to share seats but no sweat. We were too excited to be bothered by such small issues.

We stayed in Holiday Inn. It wasn't superbly expensive but their service was excellent! I signed up as their member while booking the rooms and they gave us 1 hr of complimentary KTV! Two of the 5 rooms were ready when we arrived and we waited in the room’s comfort before we go in search of lunch. Right after, we just had to swim; the pool was calling.

The rest of the day was spent playing in somebody’s room or basically ANYWHERE. The kids’ playground was everywhere. We utilised the 1 hour of complimentary KTV but I heard that the songs were lousy. They didn't even have Bruno Mars!

The games in the games room were all free. Lil Isaac was intrigued with the darts. Luckily nobody got killed in the process. He almost got a bull's eye!

There were 3 pool tables free for hotel guests to use. I love that.

After dinner, we gathered at Auntie J's room and the kids spent the rest of the night playing and playing.

Bedtime was super easy after a long day of immersing in the water and running and more running. I barely made it out of the showers and there was Lil Isaac, sound asleep. Lil Shauna needed little help too. Yawn..

Mummy Lim