The Phenomenal Mama: Instagrammable Spots in Singapore For Your Teens (to be the best mom ever in their eyes)

In this day and age, if you traveled somewhere and didn’t share a photo of it on Instagram, were you even really there?

With that in mind, I’m doing a round-up of the top Instagrammableattractions in Singapore. If you are a mom to teens, then you better be in the know so you can take them to these spots, and of course, you will be the best mom ever in their eyes. Hahaha!

CHIJMES

CHIJMES is our first stop since it was just walking distance away from our hotel. Chijmes is an acronym for the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus. the entertainment complex has a neo-classical style building which houses one of Singapore’s most aesthetically-pleasing dining and entertainment venues with al fresco seating.

ArtScience Museum

It’s pretty hard to miss the beautiful ARTSCIENCE MUSEUM building in the Marina Bay area. B and I found the architectural work to be gorgeous and spent some minutes admiring the building.

The ArtScience Museum is one of the iconic structures that make up the Marina Bay Sands skyline. The museum claims to blend the worlds of art and science together through carefully curated exhibitions. They have recently added a permanent exhibition called Future World, where visitors can explore an interactive high-tech collection of digital installations.

The ArtScience Museum is just a few steps away from the Helix Bridge, Singapore's longest bridge, so we walked over and had a few photos taken na din. I guess this is a much prettier sight at night when it's all lit up.

Future World

Future World is a permanent exhibition at the ArtScience Museum. It was done in collaboration with teamLab, a renowned art collective that created teamLab Borderless Tokyo, a similar multi-sensory experience in Japan. It’s a digital art experience with interactive light displays.

A highlight of Future World is the Crystal World installation, where a lot of people stalled as almost everyone wanted to take a good photo.

While we found the light exhibit in the Crystal World brilliant, I think they would be appreciated more by younger kids.

I wish they would have set aside visitors in one area to tell us more about the installations, to make us appreciate the art and story behind. Pretty much like how they keep park-goers in holding rooms in Disney attractions while waiting. Di ba? There was no rhyme or reason to it. They could have placed a short explanation before we entered each installation on how the exhibits were related to science, or the artists' interpretation of their work. There were information about the exhibits, but they were displayed in a dark room, in such a tiny font that you'd miss it if you blinked.

I'm not impressed, but I admit the Crystal World installation is the one of the best backdrops for an IG posts.

Gardens by the Bay

Supertree Grove at GARDENS BY THE BAY is not to be missed. We found ourselves here taking pictures during both daytime and nighttime.

Gardens by the Bay is the most popular attraction in Singapore and it isn’t hard to understand why. It’s home to the iconic super tree groves and two amazing conservatories — Cloud Forest and Flower Dome. We gave the conservatories a miss na because the boys could not be convinced to visit. They really feel strongly about not going so I did not force the issue.

SuperTree Grove featuring 18 vertical gardens that reach a height of 16 stories

Walking around the park is free but there is a fee if you want to step inside the climate-controlled conservatories or walk among the Supertrees.

Make sure to get here early in the morning if you want to be the only one in your picture!

The walkway going to the Gardens with a backdrop of the Singapore Flyer

Over 200 different species of plants and flowers cover the exterior of these tall upright gardens. At nighttime, make sure to be there at 7:45pm and 8:45 pm for the Garden Rhapsody light show. The vertical gardens light up and seem to dance along with the music.

Emerald Hill

B and I discovered Emerald Hill during an afternoon stroll along Orchard Road. This postcard-perfect, peaceful street has the beautiful heritage architecture of Peranakan styled shop houses: pastel colored walls, colorful tiles and wooden window shutters.

If you happen to be along Orchard Road already, the main reason to take a quick detour to this side street is because it's like talking a stroll in the past. the architecture of the establishments remain almost frozen in time, with most buildings in their original structure.

B and I had a thoroughly grand time imagining the lives of its residents based on their frontage.

While Emerald Hill remains an upscale neighborhood, some units have been converted to commercial establishments, still with the same charming exteriors that will charm passers-by.

Library@Orchard

This is the one of the best libraries we've been to, design-wise. It is located right on Orchard Road, on the 3rd and 4th level of Orchard Gateway. It provided us with some respite on that hot and humid afternoon,especially since R has been complaining about how he wanted to sit down and rest already.

While it is not as big as other libraries, it is definitely one of the prettiest ones. The wood-paneled floors and warm lighting makes it a cosy spot any time of the day.

It is well stocked with books on lifestyle, design and applied art. Plus there are a lot of comfortable chairs and some individual nooks for reading.

You have to admit the curvy white shelves makes for the perfect Instagram backdrop.

You can even listen to audio books

You can also choose to sit with other people at the wooden common space that could pass for a courtyard

There's a carefully selected non-fiction titles sorted into categories such as People, Space, Product and Lifestyle.

Once we got to the loft area, my kids settled down in the individual cocoon-like nooks opposite each other. One kid with her chosen titles, while the other with his phone.

Tiong Bahru

Tiong Bahru Estate is one of the oldest housing estates in Singapore. Now, it is still quaint and updated with little cafes and unique shops.

Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre is known not only for its food, but also for its wall murals

C waiting outside of Books Actually. He didn't go in na kase basang-basa na sya sa pawis and did not want to go in an airconditioned store and then go out and walk unde the sun again. Books Actually has a nice section on contemporary Asian authors, illustrated books, children’s books. Mostly pieces you wont find in major bookstores.

Woods in the Books is the perfect hideaway for lovers of all things whimsical

We saw a lot of murals as we walked through Tion Bahru, most of them depicting everyday Singapore life.

Orchard Road

Orchard Road is Singapore's most famous shopping district. It's a whole street that's almost dedicated entirely to shopping. But in reality, we didn't do a lot of shopping in Singapore.

While we were there, I took a detour to check out Design Orchard, a newly opened retail and incubation space dedicated to homegrown brands. After quickly viewing the stores on the ground floor, I headed to the rooftop located on level 3.

The rooftop garden overlooking Orchard Road is built in such a way that you can enjoy the view and watch the rest of the people on Orchard Road go by.

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We did not revisit places that we went to on our previous stay in Singapore, but I will put some photos here and put the link to my previous posts just in case you would also like to read about them, too.

Singapore Zoo
The African savanna animals are a sure hit with the kids. Lions, giraffes, zebras, rhinoceros, cheetahs, leopards... all roaming around freely, and if you go to the enclosure at the right time, you can even have the chance to feed them.