Clean Up yr Act, River Cruise....

Kids, Daddy apologise for posting complaints here. Reason being daddy was so fed up with the service level and also, daddy need to post something (probably real reason..hehe)



"My family and I were shocked and appalled by the level of service and behaviour of the staff at River Cruise taxi station (Boat Quay and Clarke Quay stations) today.

My family of 4 (my wife, 2 toddlers of 2yr and 1yr old, myself) went for a boat ride at Clarke Quay this afternoon. We were greeted by a lady at the station who was visibly irritated and impatient with us enquiring about the prices for different trips. Regardless, we paid for 2 adult one way tickets on the taxi (instead of the more expensive river cruise).

Upon receiving our 2 tickets, the lady then insisted that we had to pay for our 2yr old toddler or else he will not be allowed on board. We were surprised as we had taken a round trip 2 months back at the merlion station and were told that our kids do not need tickets! She was rude and impatient and kept on hurrying us by threatening that the bumboat's leaving the pier. She didnt even ask for his age! When my wife started explaining that he is only 2 and we didnt have to pay 2 months back, she just insisted that we have to purchase tickets for kids above 2yrs old, whilst the one year old is free.

Having left with no choice, i purchased the additional ticket. While boarding the bum boat, i presented only 2 tickets to the boat man and was allowed in. After alighting at the boat quay station, i approached the man at the station, and requested to use the additional 1 way ticket back to clarke quay in view it was not used earlier. As i did not purchase the ticket from him, he called the lady back at clarke quay station. I was then told that i cannot use the ticket, eventhough it was a standard one way ticket and indicated our ticket had expired although the tab was not even torn off!

When we asked the man what was the policy for child ticket, he said it depends. When prodded how he would have charged us if we are buying from him, he said he would charge half a ticket for each of our toddler (as they are small), hence 2 for the price of one. To top it off, we were shocked when he added that he would charge 4 tickets if we are foreigners... in a way, we are 'lucky' enough already!

We told him we will lodge a complaint in view we cant even use our ticket and when my wife tried to take a photo , he immediately confronted my wife (who was holding a 1 yr old toddler) in a threatening manner. He came out from the booth and started shouting at her with my sleeping baby in hand that she should not take a photo of him!

With so much attention to service level of late, we could not but help wonder how embarrassing it would be for tourists to be attended to by these staff. We also wonder what kind of training or policy River Cruise has set for these river taxi operators. Bear in mind, incidents like this will leave a lasting impression of singapore to our foreign friends.

For us, as locals, not only had we wasted $3 for an unused ticket, that would definitely be the last trip for us on the bumboats, if continued to be operated by the same people. Moreover, their own sales policy and customer rights unclear, but having to be confronted like that was a bad experience enough. We'll just have to find another boating option for our kid who loves boats."

She walks!

Its been a while since I last blogged (ha, what else is new?) - still trying hard to find time amidst clearing off stuff at work, getting K to obey instructions (yes, this calls for a separate post altogether), renting out our flat, finishing my 100% handsewn patchwork quilt for Mei (yes, thats my new project which has unfortunately come to a standstill at this point, hope to show the final product soon) and others - life's pretty hectic at the moment...

Mei has been pottering about since she turned a year old... started with standing, taking a few steps, falling on butt, to now being able to walk anywhere she wants, albeit still a bit off-balance at times. Still faster than her brother who started walking only at 15 or 16 months (if I am not wrong).

Comparing my kids. Sophie of a year old definitely has a stronger character than her brother. Let's just take walking, she is a less cautious person. Half the time, she climbs off the bed or even attempt to walk down the stairs like an adult - ie face forward - even though she is just a beginner at this new art. 

Her brother always took the careful way - 100% backward approach - feet outstretch to the back to find footing/grounding before moving off his whole body weight. She doesnt care - face forward, walk, face the consequences later.

Haha, because of that, I have been lunging many a times to grab her before her face hits the ground or the sharp bedside. Looking after her in this aspect is definitely more 'challenging' :)

Oh did I also not mention, she has started running even before she could walk properly. She really races around. One good thing is, she is still a lot more 'hardy' than her brother. If she falls, she picks herself back up again unless it is a big bump and cause for concern. I think the roughness of being pushed around by her brother has definitely 'toughened' her up!

Crawling gets you anywhere, also is the most reliable method of moving!

Crouching tiger (hidden dragon)?

Wong Fei-Hong. And dont worry, I didnt hurt myself..

OK up again, let's try again.

Ah... maybe a shorter centre of gravity is better!

Off I go again... Hands are a must to balance me!

Here's me looking all happy having found my independence!

Conversation: Ice Cream

Last Saturday, WK was having one of those "struggle to dress his son" session as K wriggled, squirmed and jumped around wanting to do-everything-else-except-stay-still session.

In such a state, the usual negotiation started... usually around, "if you do this, Papa will give you that" kinda thing. It used to work, when we started using it.... Nowadays as he is more chatty, he is either becoming seriously engrossed with his words (and has less concentration for abiding) or the usefulness is generally just rubbing off...

Anyway, I overheard my men talk.

Dad: Kayden sit still let papa wear yr pants
Son: Papa I want (to) eat ice cream
Dad: You want to eat ice cream?
Son: Yes Papa I want (to) go out eat ice cream
Dad: You want to go out, go kai kai?
Son: Yes kai kai, ice cream.
Dad: How old are you, you can eat ice cream?
Son: Old enough.

Then son started grinning.

I was tickled and wonder in amazement, how did my 2years 7months old son learn to talk like that?? Old enough? Who taught him that? It was really funny. Haha. Then I shuddered thinking of the type of conversations we will all have when he has even better command of the language! And it will be very very soon!

"The early bird catches the worm.... the worm probably tastes best too!!"

"somebody'as got to blog... and its gotta be daddy..."

I just realised that morning matters the most and the impression and impact is most lasting throughout the day.

Think about it. Have you ever sang a tune or heard of a song (maybe from the radio) right after you woke up from sleep? Does the tune or song stay with you throughout the day? What i mean is subconsciously you will keep singing to the same tune in yr mind for the rest of the day. 

Well, this applies to other matters too. I found out that if i sleep really close to Kayden throughout the night and when he opens his eyes and sees me the first thing in the morning, he will be stickier to me for the rest of the day. And of course, once he resets his bio clock after another night of sleep without sleeping close to me, thats another story. By the way, 'sleeping really close' means his head resting on my poor arm. I guess our body's biological clock gets reset after a good night sleep every day. This is how nature functions and that is why sleep is so important to every living creature - to keep our yin and yang in balance.

And so, for the last few nights, my little prince has been sleeping on my arm throughout the night and i even found him staring right into my face when i woke up one morning. Smiling gleefully, as if i was his 'worm' for breakfast. And obviously, the wonders of having yr kid showering so much attention and love back at you outweighs the costs of having a sore arm. From now on, i make it a point to place my right arm under his head during the night........not forgetting also to lift dumb-bells in the day.