Summer Activities with Teens

[Lisafuller]

Agree that cycling is one of the best activities in Singapore (that doesn't cost a fortune). You can even cycle across the border to JB which is pretty fun.

Also for sailing/windsurfing/paddle boarding there's https://www.constantwind.com

And what happens after you get into jb? The roads are bike friendly? I'm surprised.

[malcontent]

If you still can ride a bicycle, park connectors are a thing. I used to take my son, when I could get him out of his cave (bedroom PC dungeon) used to do long rides from Seletar Camp to Kranji Dam / Changi village or East Coast park. The Park connectors were only on the drawing boards back in those days so it was riding on the roads back then. Would have rather had the park connectors, to say the least. But we were still incident/accident free. Could never talk him into my half circuits of Singapore that I used to do on Sunday mornings.

That has actually been our go-to activity on weekends; from where we live, we have settled into 3 favorite routes:

1. Green corridor from Holland Rd to the end of Rifle Range Road (ideally with a stop at Carl’s Jr, King Albert Park for lunch on the way).

2. Alexandra Linear Park, down the river through all the underpasses to downtown, all the way to Marina Barrage.

3. Green Corridor from Queensway to Lower Delta and then down to Sentosa. This one is the most disjointed, PCN still needs some work.

Each one can be completed in about 3 hours, avoiding the worst of the midday heat.

The only route I could find nearby that we haven’t attempted yet is the one from Buona Vista down the canal west to Chinese Garden.

Every other route from this part of town doesn’t have great PCN connectors. We attempted one to MacRitchie Reservoir and it was too ‘pedestrian only’ through there. Botanic Gardens is the same way.

My favorite route is Rail mall to Holland and back. I walk, but have wanted to get a bike for a while. Held off as we were moving, but with recent developments it might be nice to invest in one to de stress. Any reccs?

What recent developments? Has your daughter changed her mind about studying in the US?

I’ve always gone with Trek brand because they have bikes for tall people, and I’m over 6 feet.

However, if you don’t have any height limitations, my BIL told me there are decent quality no-name bikes imported from China that you can buy online for less than S$100.

[MOCHS]

Wouldn't recommend the Van Gogh experience actually. Very underwhelming. Even the VR portion wasn't too realistic.

Art is subjective. Same with musicals & ballet, some people like them, some people don’t see the point of them. What is nice to me might not be nice to you. I went with zero expectations. Even my colleague who loved Van Gogh brought her non-artsy hubby to the exhibition and they also enjoyed themselves.

Hubby and Iiked it so much we went twice. We booked the earliest time slot for the second visit and had the entire immersive room to ourselves for a few minutes. Only did the VR once though, it was pretty but didn’t warrant a second try.

[Lisafuller]

That has actually been our go-to activity on weekends; from where we live, we have settled into 3 favorite routes:

1. Green corridor from Holland Rd to the end of Rifle Range Road (ideally with a stop at Carl’s Jr, King Albert Park for lunch on the way).

2. Alexandra Linear Park, down the river through all the underpasses to downtown, all the way to Marina Barrage.

3. Green Corridor from Queensway to Lower Delta and then down to Sentosa. This one is the most disjointed, PCN still needs some work.

Each one can be completed in about 3 hours, avoiding the worst of the midday heat.

The only route I could find nearby that we haven’t attempted yet is the one from Buona Vista down the canal west to Chinese Garden.

Every other route from this part of town doesn’t have great PCN connectors. We attempted one to MacRitchie Reservoir and it was too ‘pedestrian only’ through there. Botanic Gardens is the same way.

My favorite route is Rail mall to Holland and back. I walk, but have wanted to get a bike for a while. Held off as we were moving, but with recent developments it might be nice to invest in one to de stress. Any reccs?

What recent developments? Has your daughter changed her mind about studying in the US?

I’ve always gone with Trek brand because they have bikes for tall people, and I’m over 6 feet.

However, if you don’t have any height limitations, my BIL told me there are decent quality no-name bikes imported from China that you can buy online for less than S$100.

Nope, she still moving to the states for school. Me and my husband will have to stay in Singapore for at least the next couple of months due to his health issues.

[Lisafuller]

Wouldn't recommend the Van Gogh experience actually. Very underwhelming. Even the VR portion wasn't too realistic.

Art is subjective. Same with musicals & ballet, some people like them, some people don’t see the point of them. What is nice to me might not be nice to you. I went with zero expectations. Even my colleague who loved Van Gogh brought her non-artsy hubby to the exhibition and they also enjoyed themselves.

Hubby and Iiked it so much we went twice. We booked the earliest time slot for the second visit and had the entire immersive room to ourselves for a few minutes. Only did the VR once though, it was pretty but didn’t warrant a second try.

Fair enough. I'm glad you enjoyed it. As you said, art is subjective, and what was nice to you wasn't nice to me. You're welcome to have your own opinion, I was just sharing mine, as is my right.

[PNGMK]

Looking for some things to do this summer with my son who is almost 15.

I had the idea to play pool with him (he likes to play) but when we got to the pool hall they told me he has to be age 16 minimum!!??

He also likes go-carting, I checked into that and it’s over S$200 per hour per person! I told him to wait until it’s a special occasion or wait until we are in Malaysia where it’s priced more reasonably.

Another idea is to take him to a driving range and learn golf. That shouldn’t break the bank, at least not until we get onto an actual course.

When we were in Korea last week I happened across a shooting club — we both shot a Glock 17, he enjoyed it, but it seems the only way to do that here is to pay S$3k per person to join the gun club. Seems kinda crazy.

Seems like I’m striking out here. Anyone have any other ideas?

Put a pool table in your house. I think you have the room and wherewithal. It's a really good thing from what I saw when I was a teen and my friend's father did it.

Radio Control planes is another great thing if he is mechanical or electronic minded. My son got into skate boarding and roller blading at that age too. Honestly though if you really want them to blossom you need to leave Singapore.

[x9200]

Be very careful with flying any unmanned planes, drones etc in Singapore. There are lots of no-fly zones and regulations must be strictly observed. There are many horror stories of people who violated some rules, police came after them and they were hefty fined or even detained.

It is of course possible to still enjoy such activity (I am flying drones myself) but do not take the regulations lightly. In Singapore everybody sort of expects many regulations could be bent and authorities are forgiving. This is surely not the case for flying UA.

[PNGMK]

Be very careful with flying any unmanned planes, drones etc in Singapore. There are lots of no-fly zones and regulations must be strictly observed. There are many horror stories of people who violated some rules, police came after them and they were hefty fined or even detained.

It is of course possible to still enjoy such activity (I am flying drones myself) but do not take the regulations lightly. In Singapore everybody sort of expects many regulations could be bent and authorities are forgiving. This is surely not the case for flying UA.

There's a RC model club. Join them. Drones don't interest me .

[x9200]

Be very careful with flying any unmanned planes, drones etc in Singapore. There are lots of no-fly zones and regulations must be strictly observed. There are many horror stories of people who violated some rules, police came after them and they were hefty fined or even detained.

It is of course possible to still enjoy such activity (I am flying drones myself) but do not take the regulations lightly. In Singapore everybody sort of expects many regulations could be bent and authorities are forgiving. This is surely not the case for flying UA.

There's a RC model club. Join them. Drones don't interest me .

Doesn't matter. Same regulations. Joining the club is a good idea but don't even try to fly if you are within an official no-fly zone.

[PNGMK]

Be very careful with flying any unmanned planes, drones etc in Singapore. There are lots of no-fly zones and regulations must be strictly observed. There are many horror stories of people who violated some rules, police came after them and they were hefty fined or even detained.

It is of course possible to still enjoy such activity (I am flying drones myself) but do not take the regulations lightly. In Singapore everybody sort of expects many regulations could be bent and authorities are forgiving. This is surely not the case for flying UA.

There's a RC model club. Join them. Drones don't interest me .

Doesn't matter. Same regulations. Joining the club is a good idea but don't even try to fly if you are within an official no-fly zone.

Yes but being in a club means they can tell you the rules etc. Also I think they include insurance.

[tiktok]

And what happens after you get into jb? The roads are bike friendly? I'm surprised.

Much the same as here, if you're comfortable cycling on roads here then you'll be fine there. You just can't go on the toll roads there. For that reason bicycles can only cross at Woodlands, because at Tuas you get directly onto an expressway in JB.

[sundaymorningstaple]

You cannot cycle on LAH's here either (tolls or otherwise).

[Lisafuller]

You cannot cycle on LAH's here either (tolls or otherwise).

Apparently flyovers are a no no too. Honestly I wish the gov would invest more into making the city more bike friendly, I absolutely hate when cyclists are on the road. They hold up traffic and I worry for their safety.

[Lisafuller]

And what happens after you get into jb? The roads are bike friendly? I'm surprised.

Much the same as here, if you're comfortable cycling on roads here then you'll be fine there. You just can't go on the toll roads there. For that reason bicycles can only cross at Woodlands, because at Tuas you get directly onto an expressway in JB.

Wow, I don't think I've ever seen anyone cycle into jb, much less on the roads there.

Just seems like it would be really dangerous for cyclists as the roads are not optimized for bike use. Unless, of course, the cyclist were to cycle in the pedestrian lane/sidewalk, but even so that would transfer the risk to the pedestrian.

[Lisafuller]

Looking for some things to do this summer with my son who is almost 15.

I had the idea to play pool with him (he likes to play) but when we got to the pool hall they told me he has to be age 16 minimum!!??

He also likes go-carting, I checked into that and it’s over S$200 per hour per person! I told him to wait until it’s a special occasion or wait until we are in Malaysia where it’s priced more reasonably.

Another idea is to take him to a driving range and learn golf. That shouldn’t break the bank, at least not until we get onto an actual course.

When we were in Korea last week I happened across a shooting club — we both shot a Glock 17, he enjoyed it, but it seems the only way to do that here is to pay S$3k per person to join the gun club. Seems kinda crazy.

Seems like I’m striking out here. Anyone have any other ideas?

Put a pool table in your house. I think you have the room and wherewithal. It's a really good thing from what I saw when I was a teen and my friend's father did it.

Radio Control planes is another great thing if he is mechanical or electronic minded. My son got into skate boarding and roller blading at that age too. Honestly though if you really want them to blossom you need to leave Singapore.

One of our closest family friends has a spare room in the basement, which they converted into a pool room. It's really fun, especially after a couple drinks.

Alternatively, if you'd like to play pool, but don't want to deal with buying and maintaining your own table, you can try the Jolly Roger along Chu Lin road. I frequent this bar - it has a great atmosphere, good food and drinks, but the highlight is the pool table. It's mostly expats who visit, and I have seen kids as young as seven or eight playing with their parents, so the age shouldn't be an issue for your son.