You got to give it to Papa Isaiah sometimes. He’s really such a resourceful and committed Papa. We mentioned that we would like to go fly kites at Marina Barrage, and he actually went to google where we can buy kites from!
The googling brought him to the Singapore Kite Association and through the website, we found a kite-maker by the name of Patrick. He operates from his home in Sengkang and so guess what did we do? We drove from Woodlands to Sengkang just to buy kites!!!!!
I say, we ought to be given the ‘NICEST PARENTS’ award.
But I am so glad we did that! It was quite an experience to meet the kite-maker in person.
When we reached Patrick’s home, he was warm and friendly. He took out many of his kites and hang them on the wall outside his home along the corridor. There are hooks on the wall for displaying the kites to his customers. I love how colorful the kites are!
Butterfly!
Bumble bee! And the ladybird at the bottom!
Stingray & Squarepants!
Joey looked in awe at the very pretty kites!!
The big kites like those above were selling at $25, $35, $45 and $55 depending on the sizes. Much as we liked the kites very much, we dared not buy the expensive ones as it’s Joey’s first time flying kites, so we don’t know whether she likes it. If she doesn’t, it’s going to be such a waste.
So, in the end, we asked for the lower-end kites, and he brought out those that cost $6 and $9. Joey liked $6 kite which was a bright cheery yellow smiley face, so we bought that for her (She’s holding it in the photo below). We also bought a black & white stingray at $9 for Gan-Ma Serene who was going kite-flying with us.
Kite-Maker Patrick showing us how to tie the strings on Serene’s kite. So simple! :)
So armed with our kites, we set off for Marina Barrage!
I think it’s such an awesome place!!!!! I liked the serenity and tranquility of the place, although there were many people there!
The scenery is really quite lovely. With the cool breeze blowing in our faces and taking in the nice scenery, it felt very peaceful actually. :)
We had our lunch at the cafe before kite-flying.
As it was drizzling after lunch, we went to tour the Sustainable Exhibition Gallery first. It was quite a well-put-together gallery and we had fun inside!
And this was what amazed me – This is the vision which birthed forth Marina Barrage! 20 years ago, MM Lee said that there would be possible breakthroughs in technology in 20 years’ time for Singapore to put up a barrage at the mouth of the marina so that we can have a huge freshwater lake. Now, that is what I call foresight!!!!! He visualized it 20 years ago, and 20 years later, the vision came to pass!
We had loads of fun in the interactive walkway which allowed us to snap instant photos and as we walked down the aisle, our faces would be shown on screens like newspaper cover stories!
There was also an e-postcard station where we could take photos against several Marina Barrage backdrops and it would be emailed to our friends. And so we took and emailed it to OURSELVES!!!
The all-girls one turned out pretty nice, but not the Kuan family one! Aiyo! =D
And finally, we did what we planned to do at Marina Barrage!
Presenting the excited KITE FLYERS!!
The roof-top garden was lovely. :)
There are many groups of people strolling, chit chatting, picnicking, playing games and flying kites.
Our kites soaring high in the sky!!!
I have to say that my Joey has a knack for kite flying! It’s her very first time flying a kite, but she did it so well! :) She kept tugging the string, going ‘Pull! Pull! Pull! Pull!’ Hahaha..
I packed a snack bento for Joey – Mamee, Cornflakes, Cheese & Chocolates!
And Baby Jayne? She amused herself staring at the blue sky. :)
We did manage to fly the kite pretty high on several occasions, and had fun! I think we’ll go again!!!!
Joey’s fun did not end here though. After a sweaty good time kite-flying, she had a splashing cool time playing at the water playground on Level 1. :)
A man is his most charming when carrying a baby in his arms. Haha!
I just love Marina Barrage! I totally enjoyed myself there!! =D
Looking through your post, it reminded me of my brother-in-law's family and their kite-flying activities at West Coast Park. Another popular kite-flying spot in Singapore apparently!
ReplyDeleteWe make our own kites - it's the basis for our whole website actually. Like yourselves, it's fun to capture pictures of very little kite fliers :-) Our Aren is 3 1/2 and loves to hold the flying line from time to time, even on some of our bigger kites, when the winds are light enough.
Keep on with the kite flying, it's a great family activity!
You looked like u had much fun! And what a timely post, we were planning to bring the girls kite-flying and wondering where we should get kites from. Now I know where to get pretty kites from.
ReplyDelete@Fang: Yeh, I just added in a hyperlink in my post for Patrick's website. You can check out his address & contact from there. Better call before going down. :)
ReplyDeleteMy girl probably had more fun at the waterplay than the kite flying though.. Haha.. I was the one who had so much fun flying the kite! =D