Strava 54km Challenge Part 2

It is the last weekend of the Strava challenge and the kids must chock their remaining 27ish km to complete the 54km challenge. The kids can't ride far and I am bored of the usual PCN so I suggested that we drive to downtown somewhere to explore the other parts of Singapore.

That is a big project - we had to lug the 30kg bike rack, remove one wheel of 2 of the bikes to squeeze them into the boot and mount the remaining 2 bikes on the bike rack. That itself is a workout already.

To avoid the sun, we needed to start as early as possible. The alarm went off at 5.30am for the preparations. By the time we got out of the house, it was almost an hour later. We literally had to lug the kids off the bed bcos the kids had been maximising the long weekend late nights and were barely able to open their eyes.

As predicted, the moving of bikes was indeed a workout for Daddy Lim. He was perspiring away when he finally managed to load the bikes into the car.

We then decided that we would drive to Alexander and ride the PCN towards Merlion. Zaky continued to catch up on lost sleep on the way. Lol.

The start wasn't smooth. Daddy Lim took a while to fix up Zaky's bike. The front brake was in contact with the front wheel and we didn't bring the right tool. Fortunately the issue was resolved else you can imagine the already slowest rider riding with resistance from the brake.

The sky was already bright when we finally started the ride. We headed down to Marina Square and then to Clarke Quay.

The change from the usual scenery was refreshing for me but not as much for the kids, who were more focused about completing the challenge. That inevitably took away some of the joy of cycling. I think if it was not for the challenge, they probably would have preferred sleeping in at home. Lol.

We rode all the way to Kallang and found bfast at BK. We were still short of the min 27km needed so Daddy Lim led us to ECP before turning back.

By then, Zaky was riding so, so slowly; any slower and I might fall off my bike. Lol.

The sun started working hard on our way back. I was hoping for a 2nd break at some coffee places along Riverside but we didn't find one that had an empty table. Ended up, I kept dreaming about drinking some chocolate milkshake and eating some brownie with ice cream on the way back to the car. Lol.

While there isn't milkshake or ice cream, there was at least Starbucks. Yay! We stopped for ice mocha and ice chocolate complete with muffin before heading back to the car.

Total distant clocked? 40km! Yay! That marked the end of our Strava 54km challenge. What's next? I duno. The challenge officially ends on 17 Aug 19. Daddy Lim says that the kids now have to wait for Strava to email them.

Did anybody fell during the ride? Of course! Zaky fell once jialat, jialat and had a couple of near misses. He continued to be a danger to himself and the people around him. Lil Shauna fell into the bushes twice when she stopped and couldn't balance. Zzzzz. While she didn't hurt herself, she did kill some poor innocent bushes. Haha.

Mummy Lim

Long Weekend Getaway Austin Heights Day 3 and 4

Despite the late night, I was up at 7ish and got to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee and some reads before the house was alive. It was the same time that I realised that my arms and shoulder blades were aching - I had a good workout at the Adventure Park. Haha.

We lazed in the house after a quick bfast of the usual ham, eggs and instant noodles. We probably could laze around forever with WiFi until somebody yelled that we should move. It was a repeat if what we had done the days before - Rocky Basecamp. The kids could do that over and over again.

This time, they managed to get Daddy Lim to join them. My muscles were still screaming and so were the kids but they just don't care. They are strong lah.

Not bad wor. Daddy Lim managed to scale the tall wall.

The Spidey kids were way ahead of him.

He came down and exclaimed how tiring it was. Hohoho. I doubt he would survive long.

The kids just kept going and going. From wall to boulders and then more walls.

By the end of the 2 hours, they were finally exhausted. I had wanted to catch a movie - the tickets were at RM10.50! How cheap is that?! Unfortunately, there wasnt any good shows screening.

We headed back to the Airbnb after lunch. Lunch was at Kenny Rogers and I was craving for it as the chain had moved out of Singapore some time back. If there is anything  that  can be trained in Malaysia, it must be patience. We waited more than half an hour for the food and the restaurant wasn't even crowded. All cravings were long gone by the time food was served. Zzzz.

The rest of the late afternoon was spent chilling in the airbnb. It was too hot to go anywhere. We got out at almost 7pm for VR only to realise that it was fully booked for the rest of the day. By the, the drift cart and jump street were long closed too.

Plan B was karaoke and we managed to find one with an immediate room for RM100ish for a 2-hour slot.

Dinner was finger food at the karaoke joint. Singing for 2 hours seems like a long time but in reality, 2 hours gone by in a wink and we could still go on. 

We ended the night with street side lok lok. We must be so brave. Fortunately, nobody came down with anything.

Last but not least, durians again wrapped up the night. This time, we got 2 durians instead. Hohoho. They were so good!

It was again another late night. The next morning, we only had time for a quick bfast before we made our way home, hoping to avoid the custom jam. The kids also helpfully finished the cakes that we baked on the 1st day.

With that, it marked the end of our quick getaway.

GPS directed us to the 1st link. While there was no jam at the Malaysia side; it was super slow moving at the Singapore side.

Probably to cope with the influx of cars, we were directed to the lanes usually meant for delivery lorries. The cars barely moved. It took us 1 hour just to clear just the immigration building. Nevertheless, we survive and home sweet home.

Mummy Lim

Long Weekend Getaway Austin Heights Day 2

What I like about Airbnb is the availability of the kitchen (usually) and therefore the making of simple bfast.

It had been a long while since I had the opportunity to sleep in and that was exactly what I wanted to do. I refused to wake up until I was giddy with sleep. Hohoho.

By then, I was the only one in bed and Daddy Lim had orchestrated the making of bfast with the kids.

Then it was homework time while I caught up with work.

Zaky completed his one and only homework. Lil Shauna had lugged like her whole school bag to the holiday but was constantly lamenting about the need to go homework whilst on holiday. Of course the homework was not completed. That was also the only time during the holiday that she attempted her homework. Then the books were strewed everywhere around the Airbnb and not touched until the day we packed to go home. For show only.

The 1st stop of the day was the Love Fun Baking - our usual hunt whenever we come to Austin Heights. It is much fun and cheap and we get to mess up somebody else's kitchen. Hoho.

We were the 1st customers. In fact, we were so early that we had to wait for the boss to get ready. While waiting, we witnessed the opening of the new Thai restaurant and there was firecrackers! Like the kids, it was my 1st time seeing firecrackers in life.

Again, we are pros already. Lil Shauna opted for the popsicle cake, Zaky did the lava cake and I wanted to bake and eat butter cookies. Daddy Lim was the free man to help whenever needed.

Daddy Lim took this picture of me. Total perfect housewife look. I think maybe it is a calling.

My butter cookies were the easiest and my dough was soon done requiring 30 mins of refrigeration.

Leaving me time to help the kids and washing up. Yes, we needed to wash up the stuff that we used but it was alright. I also  went around taking pictures.

There wasn't much waiting actually bcos we went around helping one another. While the kids were waiting for their product to be baked/ refrigerated, my dough was ready to be cut and everybody wanted to do that.

Soon, Lil Shauna's cake was ready, cooling down and waiting to do decorated.

The finished products. Yum, yum.

A family pic before we made our way to the next stop.

The kids, particularly Zaky had been bugging to do the drift cart.

So they got to go round and round and round the circuit for 20 mins at RM40 each. Daddy Lim and I happily relax one corner. We also took the opportunity to check that Zaky is tall enough for the Adventure Park, requiring a minimum height of 140cm. He barely make the mark. I had wanted to do the Adventure Park for a long time to skip the small water park; I was waiting for Zaky to be tall enough and he finally is!

It was too hot to be running around in the outdoor and we headed back for a rest before the last Adventure Park session at 5pm. We also found this new VR place right next to the Airbnb and the kids bugged no end to try. We had to or risked my head exploding from all the whining.

The VR game was expensive. We paid RM29 each for a game of about 10mins. I opted out fearing that I will puke my way through the game; I get motion sickness easily from these VR stuff. Daddy Lim and the kids ended up shooting dinosaurs. It was good fun watching them. This was Lil Shauna's screen and I saw her killed by dinosaur so many times. Lol.

The kids were all praises for the VR and asked to come back before we even stepped out of the shop.

It was 5pm when we were back at the Adventure Park. Daddy Lim opted to chill while I attempted the adventure with the kids.

We were told that there were all together 7 circuits - 4 indoors and 3 outdoors.

The indoor one made us go round and round, each round higher than the previous. There were together 3 levels; not sure how that added up to 4 circuits. Anyway, the obstacles were about the same that 2/3 through, I was actually quite bored. Zaky waited for me most of the time, Lil Shauna was way ahead throughout. Zzzzz.

The outdoor circuits were a long more interesting. The 1st one was a Tazan swing, begining with somewhat like a free fall - I hate free fall. The kids handled the Tazan swing like a champ and said that fear was written all over my face. Lol. I survived and conquered that anyway. The kids loved it but I hated the free fall and midway jerk when the rope tightened.

The outdoor circuits were a lot more physically challenging. By the end of the adventure, I was exhausted. That largely marked the end of our 2nd day in Austin Height, completed with dinner and DURIANS!

Lil Shauna loves durians too. Zaky isn't adverse to the smell but doesnt fancy them. The durians were so good. We got 1 durian at about 1.9kg for RM50ish. It was 1kg at RM28 and so much better than the ones we had in Singapore. So, so good.

With durian breath, we headed for bed. Hoho.

Mummy Lim