The Yangs go to Sydney 2016 (Video)

Our family holiday in Sydney, Australia in November 2016!

I was there for a work conference so I took the opportunity to bring the kids along too. Ava celebrated her 3rd birthday there and it was hilarious how we just couldn't find candles and lighters after buying the birthday cake(s). The weather was wonderful and the sights were beautiful. The locals were very friendly too!

Day 1: Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, Darling Harbour.
Day 2: Sydney Tower, Sydney Fish Market, Madame Tussauds, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay.
Day 3: Cockatoo Island, Australian Museum, Hyde Park.
Day 4: Bondi Beach, Wildlife Sydney Zoo.
Day 5: Taronga Zoo, Luna Park.
Day 6: Manly Beach, Circular Quay.
Day 7: Home sweet home.

The Yangs go to Dusseldorf 2016 (Video)

After Munich, Manchester and London, Dusseldorf was the last stop before we flew back to Singapore. It's our first time there so we did not venture out, although friends did recommend hopping over to nearby Cologne.

The weather was pretty warm compared to the first 8 days of our trip, so we ended up shopping and looking for water and ice cream more often than sightseeing! Still, we found Dusseldorf to be compact but beautiful. Perfect for a 2-day walkabout.

Till next time!

The Yangs go to Manchester and London 2016 (Video)

Our holiday without the kids in Germany and UK in August 2016.

After Munich, Manchester and London were the second and third stops before we ended in Dusseldorf. It's our second time in London so we only visited places that we missed years ago, except shopping. It's always a good time to shop, especially when the Pound took a pounding (pun intended) after the Brexit vote.

The highlight of the UK leg must be the live game that we watched between Manchester United and Southampton at Old Trafford. It was United's first home game and Pogba made his debut. The atmosphere was fantastic, much better than the Real Madrid game that I watched at the Bernabeu some years ago.

Unfortunately, it was raining so much in Manchester we could not do much sightseeing. Mummy Cher certainly didn't mind though because that meant we went shopping instead.

The Yangs go to Munich 2016 (Video)

Our holiday without the kids in Germany and UK in August 2016.

Munich is the first stop before we head to Manchester, London and Dusseldorf. Our friend were so kind to offer a room in their house for us to stay in! It's our first time in Germany and it was interesting to see the culture behind its world famous efficiency. While the museums were underwhelming, the castles were brilliant and a must-see.

Check out the video highlights from our Munich leg.

Skyhigh Trampoline Park

It was a dreary Monday for me, so I rounded up the family after work and hopped over (pun intended) to the nearest trampoline park I could find - Skyhigh Trampoline Park. Our first time doing this! There used to be one in Tanjong Katong (in the old TKSS campus where I studied!), but the government lease didn't get extended. So to Serangoon Gardens we went!

The name of the place was a hint of what was to come, although it didn't tell us Mummy Cher was going to hurt her ankle less than one minute into the jumping. If I had known, I would ask her to observe from the viewing gallery instead haha.

Anyway, the lady boss was there and was super nice. It was pretty quiet too when we arrived at 7.15pm, so I'm guessing weekdays are completely kids friendly at Skyhigh Trampoline Park. Aiden was so certain he could jump around for at least two hours (they close at 9pm), but I had to concede defeat after just one hour. One recommendation would be to wear rubber grip socks as it can be quite difficult to jump forward or backward with normal socks.

Skyhigh Trampoline Park may be one of the smallest trampoline parks in Singapore, but the prices are reasonable, and you get exactly the same workout as you get from the bigger ones. The children are already asking when we are jumping back there again!

Charges: $12-$15 per hour per pax. Free for an adult accompanying a child below 3 years old!
Website: www.skyhigh.com.sg
Address: #01-05/06, 45 Burghley Drive, Burghley Lifestyle Hub, Singapore 559022

Visiting Coney Island Singapore

Today, we finally brought the kids out to Coney Island (or Pulau Serangoon), a small island in north eastern Singapore.

Thought it's a good idea to try out the new camera there (we bought the Canon 80D + 18-135mm STM for videos, which complements the Canon 6D + 24-105mm L for photos). We were delayed by the rain but eventually made our way to the West entrance (next to the Punggol Settlement) to Coney Island and spent about an hour roaming around. Must go back soon to see the rest of the island!

The Yangs go to Hong Kong 2016 (Video)

The Yangs go to Hong Kong! Ava's first time there. We usually stay in the Mong Kok area for the shopping and to soak in the energy of the city. This time is different as I planned kids-friendly places to go and tried to do new activities. Had to ditch the original plan to go to Japan due to the April earthquakes. The kids obviously didn't mind though! They had lots of fun!

Amsterdam & Brussels 2016 (Videos)

Serious withdrawal symptoms since we came back to Singapore. Awesome holiday! Can't wait for the next one!

Extra Footage: Amsterdam & Brussels (February 2016)
Too many clips didn't make the cut in the original video so I just had to throw them into another montage. That's what happens when kids are not holidaying with us. :D Music is more mellow to reflect the post-holiday withdrawal symptoms. :(
Posted by Darren Yang on Monday, 14 March 2016

Hello 2016!

Two and a half months into the new year, we opened our third PriviKids store at Waterway Point Punggol in January, celebrated Aiden's 5th birthday in February and came back from our first trip to Amsterdam & Belgium early March.

As busy as it gets, it is really fulfilling doing what we love. Constantly trying to strike that fine balance between time with the kids & the business, seizing pockets of quality time with them.

The boys in my life, putting the finishing touches for our new store.

PriviKids, Waterwat Point Punggol West Wing #02-32

Unique, quality products for kids 0-12 year old

Dressing up, practising their 'Gongxi Fa Cai', snacking non stop and collecting red packets. It is fun this Chinese New Year with Ava at 26 month old, mimicking her gor-gor Aiden and unveiling her cheekier side.

Aiden & Ava ushering in the Year of the Monkey

Aiden celebrated his 5th birthday in school with his friends, before we set off for our Singapore Flyer experience. This year, it was also the first time we did a larger scale birthday celebration for him with a barbecue by the pool.

Happy birthday my dear Aiden!

The siblings hanging out

Love the intimate celebration

After a stressful period preparing for the Waterway Point store opening, I am really glad for our holiday to Amsterdam & Belgium that Daddy Darren planned just for the both of us.

Having withdrawal syndromes now and dreaming of our next holiday with the kids.

The Yangs go to Tokyo (9 - 13 November 2015)

Before I started work with my new employer in March 2015, I actually brought Mummy Cher and Aiden to Tokyo for a long awaited holiday. We thought Ava was too young to travel with us then (she was 16 months old), going by Aiden’s travel experience. He doesn’t remember his first Hong Kong trip at 3 months old at all, but has some memories of his adventures in Hong Kong at 23 months old, particularly in Disneyland. And since we decided not to bring any proper camera with us to Tokyo in March, all we had were random and limited pictures taken on our mobile phones.

For our Tokyo trip in November, I made sure Ava would join us and brought my DSLR along! Here’s how it went.

Travelling on Singapore Airlines Business Class

We weren’t sure how Ava would handle the 7.5 hour flight from Singapore to Tokyo, and being conscious that Ava’s ticket will be heavily discounted as a "lap child”, I decided that we should try the Singapore Airlines Business Class on the Airbus A380.

Being a “lap child” means that the child would have to share the seat with an adult. However, the child must be less than 2 years old in order to qualify. The special thing about a lap child is that the ticket only costs 10% of the adult fare. In comparison, Aiden’s ticket is 75% of the adult fare as a child between 2 and 11 years old. Ouch!

In SQ Economy Class, having a lap child on medium/long haul flights is not advisable, as the bassinet (even if available) is not the most comfortable place to be in. It is about 76cm long and only supports up to 14kg. Also, it cannot be used every time the seatbelt sign goes on, and during take off and landing. Instead, you would have to secure the child with special seat belts while he/she is sitting on your lap. Imagine finally coaxing the baby to sleep in the bassinet and then you are forced to bring her our due to turbulence!

The SQ Business Class seats in the Airbus A380 are not the newest (which are found in selected Boeing 777-300ER flights) but are the widest in the world at 34 inches (or 86cm) and you can sit beside your child in comfort. Another advantage of the Airbus A380 that flies to Tokyo is that the entire upper deck is dedicated to the Business Class. It is more likely that the seats would not be fully taken up. Typically, the air stewardess would offer the empty seats to people travelling with kids. In our case, we were given 2 extra seats on the flight to Tokyo and 1 extra seat on the flight back! 

In a 1-2-1 seat configuration on the Airbus A380, most business travellers would prefer the window seats and avoid the middle aisle seats or change the seat if they see that there is someone sitting beside them. They would also choose the seats in the front rows first. A tip would be to focus on the back section of the plane and choose just one of the middle aisle seats on separate rows. That should give you a good chance of scoring extra seats!

Day 1 - Ginza / Yurakucho

We arrived at Narita Airport in pretty good spirits at around 5.30pm and were already thinking about our first yummy meal in Tokyo. Aiden however paid the price of watching too many movies and not getting much sleep on the plane. He dozed off on the Narita Express train which conveniently connects Narita Airport to Tokyo city.

We stayed in the very new Millennium Mitsui Garden Hotel right smack in Ginza and we were not disappointed. It is situated right above a subway station so getting around with children in tow is no problem at all.

First stop was skewers for dinner at the Yurakucho area, a 10 minute walk from our hotel. Located underneath a bridge are various restaurants, mostly selling skewers. Pretty cheap and quite affordable and frequented by many locals, the best part is the trains rumbling above us as we tuck into the food.

Day 2 - Ginza / Odaiba

In the morning, after breakfast in the Ginza area and some window shopping, I left Cheryl and the kids for lunch with some colleagues who are based in Tokyo. I know I shouldn't have but I'm glad I did, as they treated me to amazing BBQ beef, or Yakiniku.

I rejoined them after their own lunch date with Cheryl's local friend, and proceeded to Odaiba. Although it wasn't far away, there were a few train connections to make and luckily the kids were up for it. Maybe they were looking forward to the toy shops and attractions that we mentioned.

Unfortunately, we arrived 5 minutes past the last admission time for Legoland and were denied entry. Pretty bummed I must say as the place was going to remain open for the another 2 hours or so! I guess the tip is to research and plan properly when it comes to attractions and not go with the flow like what we tried to do.

Day 3 - Disneyland

Tokyo Disneyland is a must go if you are visiting Tokyo with kids. However, I wouldn't recommend staying in one of the hotels next to it as it would be quite inconvenient to go elsewhere, like Shibuya or Shinjuku. Amazingly, Tokyo Disneyland is actually cheaper than the Universal Studios in Singapore. Restaurants served proper food at reasonable prices and everything else was wallet friendly. I know I had to say "That's too expensive. Why don't we buy something else?" many times when we visited USS, but never in Tokyo Disneyland.

If you have older kids (maybe above 12), you might want to visit Disneysea as well. "Duffy" the Disney Bear is exclusively sold inside Disneysea and we were so tempted to go. However, the rides and characters would not be as kid friendly. I've been told that you hardly see Mickey Mouse in there! It would be tough for me to explain who on earth is Indiana Jones, so no Duffy bear for us yet again.

Back to Disneyland. A common problem of such themeparks is the insane queues, especially when you have young children with you. Two tips would be to get as many Fast Passes as you can, and to take more rides after the fireworks display.

Unlike in USS, Fast Passes in Tokyo Disneyland do not cost anything. You just have to be at the machines to get them, and return for the ride at the stipulated time. It works on a quota, first come first serve system, so the later you take the Fast Pass, the later the given timeslot. Also, once you get a Fast Pass, you can't get another one until an hour or so later. So an efficient way is to have one person go around collecting Fast Passes for everyone while the rest queue for the faster moving rides the normal way.

Secondly, if possible, try to stay beyond the fireworks display which is around 8.30pm. The park closes at around 10pm. Many visitors are Japanese on annual passes and they would start to leave around dinner time. That's when the queues start to shorten.

Oh, maybe this doesn't count as a tip as it would be obvious to Singaporeans, but do get your tickets online to avoid queues. You can buy first and decide on the actual day which park to visit, land or sea.

The kids had so much fun hunting down their favourite Disney characters and trying the rides. The Disney magic is real!

Day 4 - Tsukiji / Chiyoda / Asakusa / Oshiage

Many people would wake up early to witness the Tsukiji fish market auction but not the Yang family, especially after a long day in Disneyland. In my defence, we would have to arrive at 3am and wait 3 hours for the auction to start at around 6am. That sounds crazy for even myself to sit through, let alone the kids! So, we arrived at the outer market area at around 10.30am to check out the various shops selling super fresh seafood and delicacies. There are a few famous ones in the inner market with long queues and higher prices. As we have eaten there before years ago, we decided to try the restaurants in the outer market instead. No regrets, with shorter queues, lower prices and uncompromised quality!

After filling out stomachs with various seafood and street snacks, we headed to the Imperial Palace, followed by the Senso-ji temple at Asakusa. We had a great time people watching and stuffing our mouths with Japanese snacks. So many samples to try!

After dinner (I'm surprised we could eat some more!), we made our way to the newest observation tower nearby, the Tokyo Skytree. It is even taller at 634m than the Tokyo Tower at only 333m. The best thing about the Skytree is that it sits on top of a train station and a shopping mall that has many quirky shops. Some would say it is a tourist trap but we love it this way. We are such typical Singaporeans haha!

Day 5 - Aoyama / Harajuku

It's the last day of our holiday already! After checking out of our room, we headed to Aoyama for some window shopping, before walking to Harajuku to buy some toys at Kiddyland. After a mandatory meal at our favourite ramen place (Jangara Ramen), we explored the famous Takeshita Street and had even more snacks.

We rounded off Ava's first overseas experience by visiting the Honda showroom (with the Asimo demonstration) and some last minute shopping back in Ginza.

Even though we only had limited time in Tokyo, I'm glad we didn't pack the schedule. We took our time at the various attractions, took many coffee/snack breaks and didn't set out to see everything that was penciled down in the itinerary. We ended up with many beautiful memories of the time spent together, and that is just priceless.

The kids still remember the trip fondly and are looking forward to the next family trip!

View the video of our trip here (watch in HD!): http://privikids.blogspot.sg/2016/03/the-yangs-go-to-tokyo-november-2015.html

The Yangs go to Tokyo 2015 (Video)

Finally a trip for all the Yangs! Hope you enjoy the video as much as Aiden and Ava! Will post thoughts about the trip soon. Promise!

Chasing dreams

Unveiling our new store at Suntec City Mall, and really happy to see our dream unfolding right before us. Love the way Daddy Darren puts it, Amazing things happen when you are chasing dreams. Took just one month to go from 'Should we take up this little unit?' to 'Hello Suntec!'

I definitely hope the amazing continues.

Sweat, blood, tears literally in the process of opening this store and I am happy to have friends, customers, overseas visitors come up to us, sharing how they love our store concept and the products we carry. Thank you. These little things keep us going.

Squeezing as much time as I could with Aiden and Ava, who works alongside mummy on photo shoots.

I love how a pair of shades and a wide smile work to brighten any outfit! Bold colors work on boys too, so be open and pick out hues of red, violet and yellow for them.

The baby in the family who is not so baby anymore. Floral prints are a favourite for little girls. And who can resist the cute matching baby bonnet! The dresses start from teeny 0-3 month size, who says newborn clothes are all boring white rompers? A big hit with parents looking for pretty baby shower outfits for their one month old baby.

One stop, fuss free shopping in our stores. Discover our new shoe collection, and complete your kids' wardrobe in the comfort of our store. An interesting observation - kids head straight into our store, sometimes ahead of their parents, to the play area. Pleasantly surprised, parents can spend time browsing in store and have to wait for their kids to finish playing before they leave! Wish more stores were like this, so I need not have to negotiate with Aiden on spending ten more minutes shopping in a (non toy) store. He would be the one negotiating for ten more minutes of play in the store.

The little white (and black) dress. Dance with me mummy, in the mood for some swirling action in this dress. Headbands for girls are a big trend, especially when girls resemble daddy most of the time. Before their rapunzel locks grow out, I guess headbands work wonders.

Come say Hi! when you next visit our stores.

PriviKids

Suntec City Mall (Tel: 62388655)
3 Temasek Boulevard
Tower 3, #02-712

Changi City Point (Tel: 6443 8802)
5 Changi Business Park Central 1
#02-04