To make things even more enticing, we heard that the village would be transformed into a 'kampung' and would bring back some nostalgic memories as participants could take part in some old school games and activities after the walk.
Unlike last year's walk which was held at Gardens by the Bay, we were going to go on a scenic route this year starting at Marina Bay Sands which would then bring us across iconic landmarks such as the Merlion, Marina Bay Sands, Esplanade Theatres and ArtScience Museum. What a terrific way to admire our city skyline as we walk hand in hand and take things at a leisurely pace, right? Let's go!
I have to say that we are in love with this year's race pack and race tees! See below? The dirty green satchel design reminds me of yesterday and for the first time, you can also see chinese words "斯凯奇" (SKECHERS, get it?) featured on both the bag and the shirt. Very kampung indeed!
We arrived slightly earlier than the flag off time at 5pm and managed to check out the village which was set up at the event space along Bayfront Avenue beside Marina Bay Sands. The game booths were not open yet which meant that we could only walk around to snap a photo or two. But look, they had set up all these phototaking spots which featured a trishaw and an old school bus stop with the orange seats somemore lor. How cute!
It was a pleasant surprise to see that the flag off was done promptly without much delay because we have been to some family walks where we had to queue up and wait for a long while before we could march off. It was also evident by now that the skies were clear and as if to make up for last year, we were going to get plenty of sunshine this time round. Woohoo!
The kids are always amused to see the cute SKECHERS shoes mascots at the starting line and ran up to take a photo with it. Gosh, I was thinking it was be pretty hot and stuffy for whoever is inside, so kudos to him/her for making the kids delighted.
Less than a couple of minutes into the walk, we spotted.... our friendly neighbourhood SPIDER-MAN! The boy was so happy to see his hero and immediately ran after him, haha. You can imagine how he was feeling over the moon when Spider-Man offered to carry him for a photo. Awww. Thank you for stopping to take photos with your fans, Spidey, you made their day!
This year's walk was a 4km long one and since it was non-competitive, that meant we could take our steps slow and simply stop to admire the scenery, snap photos, smell the flowers, look for bugs among the bushes (yes, again!) whenever we wanted to. There was no rush in the least and it didn't matter to us if we were the last to finish the race. Right, I think we did end up being one of the last few again this year because the sun was almost setting when we got back and there were only a couple of people we saw trailing behind us.
Check out our new kicks from SKECHERS! I will share more about the designs later on but just so you know, we have been supporting the brand for the longest time and we love their shoes because of the stylish designs, ease of wear and comfy feeling even during long walks.
The long walk took us across so many famous landmarks and many of the sights took our breaths away. We walked past the ArtScience Museum, had a good view of the Floating platform, strolled along Helix Bridge, enjoyed a breathtaking view of Marina Bay Sands and felt the water sprouting from our majestic Merlion - all of which made us stop in our tracks to take a photo or two. It was a good reminder for the kids to feel blessed to be living in Singapore and take pride in our blossoming country and picturesque city skyline. We are definitely thankful to call this our home.
One of the best parts for the kids was when we stopped for............. ICE CREAM! Yup, it's all about feeling happy at the end of the day, isn't it? It was also heartwarming to see how these three siblings would hold or feed each other and despite how they will never stop getting into bickers, they will also never stop loving each other and being the best of friends. I truly hope so.
I have to say that some parts of the route were a little narrow and confusing, especially those just along the road, but thanks to the staff who kept giving us directions, we were able to stay on track. Just outside the Esplanade, the girls were excited to spot lots of beautiful, colourful flowers and even birds too, so we stayed for a while here just to let them take a break while feeling close to nature.
I took a photo of the little sister who in turn said she wanted to take one for me too. Not a bad shot, right?
I saw the hubby lying on the floor and wondered what he was doing before I realised he was trying to lift up his legs and take a photo of the shoes again the facade of Esplanade. Haha, okay, give you points for creativity and effort. So we laid down on the pavement side by side and people passing behind us must have been wondering what in the world we were thinking, haha.
One of the most scenic spots was when we were approaching Merlion Park near One Fullerton. Check out those breathtaking views of our magnificent landmarks, no wonder almost everyone was stopping just to take photos, we couldn't resist the temptation too!
This is the mandatory shoes shot that we would take every year. See how bright and shiny the kids' shoes are as compared to ours.
We were enthusiastically looking out for the obstacle courses because we had so much fun on the inflatable ones last year. This year, the courses are largely different and included a wheelbarrow race, low wall and tire course. They were still very fun and we did every single one of them. The kids were most excited to get a 'roller coaster' ride inside the wheelbarrow as their strong Papa wheeled them around in a fast and furious manner. Haha.
I had a pull-the-tire race with girls and were wondering why it was so hard to me to keep up with their pace before I realised I took the heaviest tire of all which made all the difference. Haha.
They also nimbly ran across the tire obstacle course and scaled the low wall, and did it over and over again because fun mah!
Hooray! We finally made it to the finishing line and received our medals! See, there wasn't anyone at the finishing point already when we reached and all the potong ice creams were already given out. Hahaha. Yup, one of the latest once again.
Luckily, there were still fruit juices being given out, much to the delight of the kids who were more than happy to wave their medals for the cameraman when asked to. Not bad, we completed 4km and they were still feeling energetic!
So, we went to check out the games and activities! They did the ring toss, three-legged race, tic tac toe, carrom, Bishi Bashi and also played on the 'dragon' inflatable playground - that is such a classic and brings back so many childhood memories for me.
Thanks to SKECHERS for the wonderful time, I'm hoping that these three will always regard me as one of their best friends and may we be able to participate in many more Friendship Walks in the years to come!
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Our new kicks from SKECHERS
We visited the SKECHERS outlet located at ION Orchard (#B4-28) which is one of our preferred outlets. There were many designs to choose from and the kids were given freedom to select the shoes that they want. Angel and Ariel both decided on the Energy Light shoes - which can be recharged using a USB cable - because they were so shiny and eye-catching while Asher wanted his shoes to light up like theirs and chose the Boys' S Lights shoes.
As for the hubby and I, we are clad in our matching GOwalk 5 series which come with flexible soft knit mesh fabric and Air Cooled Goga Mat insole system that help to keep our feet feeling dry and comfy. You know what was the most hilarious thing? We were trying to take some couple shots at the park and the boy wouldn't allow it because he said Mama was his. Haha. He cried, whined and kicked up such a fuss before relenting a little but still, he insisted that he HAD to stand next to us in the frame. Just look at that sullen face. So, so cute, right?
I'm hoping that we will make more time for outdoors, be it going for a run or just a stroll in the park. A good pair of shoes and a loving family is all we need - and I think we have both of them already.
To more family walks, outdoor fun and precious memories!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with SKECHERS. All photos and opinions are our own.
