Roof-Top Outdoor Playground @ East Point Mall

The mall has been opened for about a week, and the hype surrounding its opening was more than I'd expected. There was much to be thankful for  considering that it had been shut for renovations for over a year, and the opening of its doors seemed to change the landscape of our heartland overnight. There are still many tenants who have not yet moved in, but since I was on leave, it was the perfect opportunity to check out the rooftop playground before dinner.

Find your balancing point!

We got there around 6 pm when the sun was not so hot, and were greeted by a nice 360 degree view of the Simei skyline. There were already many children. In fact, one or two small groups of teenagers had also found their cozy corner on the soft synthetic flooring, engaged in chit-chat and enjoying the good weather. Parents and helpers had plenty of space to sit and watch on the concrete ledges surrounding the greenery, but sheltered benches were limited if the sun decided to come out.

Nautical-themed structures to climb and slide!

It was fun to watch the girls play with one another, but even more interesting to see how they picked up new friends so easily. Little 'cliques' developed among the children who barely knew each other, and just as quickly as they'd formed, they'd disband when a parent decided it was time to go. It was amazing watching how these little ones set examples for us 'grown-ups' when it comes to relationship building.

The structures on one side of the playground were simpler in nature for the younger kids to explore...

The large climbing structure on the other end, however, was more challenging and targeting older children.

There were shower, toilet and hand-washing facilities provided.

The girls spent over an hour on top of the mall, and at appeared to be engaged every minute. It helped that we bumped into neighbours and friends we hadn't seen for a while. Or perhaps, it was the novelty of the first visit, or the fact that we don't get as much time to go to the playground on weekday evenings when Daddy is not on leave.

As the sun fell, the lights came on, giving the playground a very 'soft' and surreal feel. It also signaled to those of us who had not eaten our dinner that it was time to look for food.

Food options are a plenty at the new mall. Unfortunately, so were dinner time queues. The girls had a specific craving for Sakae's corn-mayo and egg sushi. We sat down for a grand total of six plates of those before hopping over to NTUC Food Fare under the MRT for desert and drinks - good old Ice-Kacang. We wrapped it up with a trip to the round-the-clock NTUC Fair Price to get fruits for supper.

Bonding happens on night walk home...

Needless to say, we went to bed later than usual, but it was a nice way to celebrate Daddy's first day of leave for the December holidays. After all, school's out, and there was no need to wake up early the next day!