Want to take the kids for some good, old-fashioned fun? No childhood in Singapore is complete without days spent longkang fishing, so grab a net and try your luck catching tadpoles and little fish for a fun day out with the children!
We really love finding simple childhood pleasures in Singapore to try and keep it a little bit real for the kids. Whilst there are heaps of great indoor activities in Singapore, I personally love days spent outdoors with the kids. When my son became obsessed with frogs, crabs and wildlife in general we decided we should go and catch some tadpoles so he could watch them grow legs. Don’t you love the fascination and obsession of a four year old? It was high time we go longkang fishing!
We did a quick search and found a fish farm that was kid-friendly in Pasir Ris, called Mainland Tropical Fish Farm – which offers fishing for kids for $4 for 30 minutes. It’s hugely entertaining for the kids (and the adults) – the friendly staff at the fish farm armed my six year old and four year old with a bucket and a tiny net and sent them off to their rather well-landscaped longkang (which in Malay means ‘drain’; so consider this a bit like fishing from tiny canals).
Longkang fishing was a national pastime for kids in Singapore. Older generations of Singaporeans grew up in kampongs that were surrounded by longkangs – so catching fish and tadpoles was perfect entertainment for kids in our stormy Singapore climate.
The fish farm had several tanks and even my two-year-old son really enjoyed the experience of seeing all the different-sized fish, which were very excited to see people standing near their tanks.
It was great to find such simple outdoor entertainment, with an easy educational element too. We also now have 12 new pets swimming around at home – which the kids caught themselves, not to mention the container of tadpoles in the bathroom.
Next up: prawning in Singapore, so at least we can eat the catch!
Visit Mainland Tropical Fish Farm at, No.1 Pasir Ris Farmway 1, Singapore 519352;
www.mainlandfishfarm.com
Cost: $4 for 30 minutes per kid (exclusive of tank)
Operating hours: 8.30am-7pm daily
Also check out Fish Big Splash
#01-30, Block H, Big Splash, 902 East Coast Parkway, Singapore 449874, www.fishatbigsplash.com
Cost: $12 for 1 hour per child (exclusive of tank)
Operating hours: 24 hours!
