We booked ourselves an overnight staycation at Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa with our two-year-old. There was going to be minor renovation works at home. So a staycation would make things more fun until the dust at home settled… Haha.
When I told Little P we were doing a staycation, which meant we would not be sleeping at home. Little P’s first question was, “那里有没有冷气？” (Is there air conditioning where we are staying at?) Little P’s priorities are so different from mine. Haha.
Anyway here is the first view of our lovely suite… with text all over it to mar the view like those China overlay-comment videos. 🤭
If you would like to see more photos of Shangri-la Rasa Sentosa’s hotel rooms, I have more of these toward the end of the post to show you how older and younger kids can make use of the toilet for washing up, dinner and also sleeping arrangements. You can also google and you’ll find lots of marketing images of their various rooms.
The room was nice but we were more interested to get out and maximise our limited time here! It’s time to hit the beach!
Sentosa Siloso Beach (西乐索海滩)
Sentosa Siloso Beach seemed to be the most logical choice since it is right by Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa.
First thing first, laid out our picnic mat to stake out our territory in one of those roped spots that Sentosa laid out to ensure social distancing. Here’s our little sandcastle of sorts right by the rope that delineates our spot.
Travelling with a two-year-old means we do prioritise to bring some toys in case he wants them. They are nice to have but not absolutely necessary depending on the individual child. Little P seemed to have no problem finding little sticks in the sand which he used to decorate our sandcastle (see photo above).
But here’s a look at what toys we brought for Little P.
Beach & Water Toy: Nesting Barrels (叠叠杯酒桶玩具）
I like to get toys that serve multiple purposes because space is a constraint in the flat. Therefore, instead of the popular nesting cups that people tend to get for babies, I opted for the Plapskool Stack & Nest Barrels instead.
I try to reuse plastic toys for Little P for environmental reasons. That is why Little P’s set is preloved and bought from its original owner from Carousell.
AdvertisementBut if you are unable to find a used set, there is always Amazon. Unlike my set of 4 Playskool Stack & Nest Barrels, this Funskool Stacking Barrels come in 5 colours. Check it out on Amazon
Like Russian nesting dolls, these barrels allowed Little P to fulfil his development needs like:
- grasping and pulling apart
- opening and closing
- counting
- colour matching and
- nesting and learning about big, bigger, small, smallest!
We’ve also used these barrels in the bath for pouring and learning about floating and sinking. These barrels float but can sink if you put something heavier in them.
And of course we have used them as molds for sandcastle building at the beach. They are also pretty handy for corralling bits of shell and broken coral bits that we picked up while walking along the shore.
Not a Beach Toy: Daiso slippers
It says, “Not a beach toy” in the heading above but obviously Little P thought otherwise. Look at the present he quietly left me…
Beach Toy: Green Toys Construction Trucks
Speaking of plastic toys for bath and beach use, Green Toys remains a favourite for us because of how sturdy they are and also because they are made with recycled plastic.
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The Green Toys Dump Truck is a great option for sand play at the beach! I’m pretty sure Little P would love it but I bought the Scooper because it was on sale. :P Check it out on Amazon.
So our Green Toys Scooper Construction Toy in dad’s hand (photo below) is the other toy that we always bring to the beach.
Walking by the Shore of Siloso Beach
We didn’t rest on the picnic mat for long. Little P was really into exploring along the shore. There was lots to see.
Rasa Sentosa Kayaks, SUP & Peddle Boats
We were at the public beach right next to Rasa Sentosa’s private beach. So there were many hotel guests on kayaks, SUP and peddle boats on the water. These held Little P’s attention for quite a while.
I thought I had done my homework looking up what “canoe” and “kayak” is in Mandarin. But that was not enough. Haha.
The problem was, I was clueless when it came to differentiating if the single, double, 3-person crafts were all kayaks or canoes and kayaks. And then what the heck was SUP (立槳衝浪) and peddle boat (脚踏船) in Mandarin?? (So I did more homework after the staycation writing up these post and adding to my dictionary of Chinese staycation terms. Hah!)
But I digress. Back on the beach.
Finding shells and bits of broken coral at Siloso Beach
We walked along the shore all the way up to the boundary line that separated the Rasa Sentosa private beach to the public beach where we were at. Along the way, we picked up a few shells and bits of broken coral.
We also found whole shells that were tightly closed. I explained to Little P that these shells are still alive and we should return them back where we found them. And so Little P put them back on the sand under the water, repeating what I said, “下面是他们的家。” (Their home is under the sea.) He was very serious about it, and that was cute. :P
We were lucky it was fairly cloudy during our two days of staycation but it can get really sunny in Singapore too. Unfortunately, only Little P was in swimwear the first day so we didn’t go too deep into the sea. And that was still ok since Little P was unsure of the waves and moving sands beneath the water anyway… that first day.
AdvertisementIs this too bloodthirsty for a toddler? :P
Check out more UPF50 sun protective swimsuits at Amazon.
I really couldn’t be bothered to reapply and reapply and reapply sunscreen on Little P and myself every so often so sun protective swimwear with UPF is a mainstay for us.
People watching at Sentosa Siloso Beach
Little P also did lots of people watching at the beach – babies and kids, bikini babes, people in the water, kids playing with sand and also people going down the Sentosa MegaZip （圣淘沙高空飞索）. This is a 450m long zipline （滑索）from the top of Imbiah Hill to Siloso beach.
It was getting late. We needed to head down Siloso Beach nearer to the Beach Station where we intended to buy our dinner. Little P grew all quiet and serious when he heard we had to leave.
But we really needed to go and Little P was such a trooper.
He was reluctant.
He dragged his feet.
He reconciled himself by picking up small sticks along the way.
Eventually, he made it to the exit with us!
On hindsight, I think it would be a better idea to go to the part of Siloso Beach nearer to the Beach Station. One because we would have avoided the sight of people jumping down the 50 meter high Skypark Sentosa Bungy Tower as we headed towards the exit. As I watched the screaming person hurtling down, I wondered how was I to explain to our two-year-old that he was NOT supposed to jump off high places.
And two, the beach shuttle took such a long time to come we decided to make the trek to the food area near the Beach Station instead. Due to personal health reasons, it was really tiring for me especially after I have been on my feet with Little P the whole time we were at the beach. So yah, not fun.
A quiet night in our Rasa Sentosa suite with our takeaway dinner
It was Friday, a weekday night and probably because of Covid, a lot of the roadside eating places like Coastes and Sandbar were closed. We only had three options – Marrybrown, Toast & Curry and The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Hurhur.
The good news is we made it on the last beach shuttle back to the resort. By now I was the one dragging my feet since dad was carrying Little P.
We could eat our takeaway dinner at the outdoor table outside on the terrace but that table was covered in a puddle of rainwater. So in-room dining it was.
Bedtime was way overdue, so dad did a quiet sticker activity with Little P and then it was time for bed.
We got the suite room since we brought our helper along. So in case you plan to stay at Rasa Sentosa with a couple of older kids, or like us plan to bring another adult, this is the sofa in the lounge that the staff converted to sofa bed while we were out on the beach.
Stay tune for Part 2 where we check out Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa’s private beach!
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That’s all unlike here. We’re in the Sonoran Deseret, a couple of hours north of Mexico.