Bottled Sky

Last December my parents flew in for a two-week visit, and I got to spend Christmas with them for the first time since I moved to Singapore. We did the tourist thing for a couple of days, which is just another way of saying that we barely managed to squeeze in a couple of museum visits in between marathon shopping sessions.

You guys, my folks are adorable! I snapped this photo on our way to the MINT Museum of Toys, a thin slice of a building that houses thousands of — you guessed it — vintage toys. The admission price was on the steep side at S$15, but I thought it was worth it to see all the quirky childhood memorabilia. Toys were so much more charming in decades past. Now it’s all factory-perfect plastic and high-tech gadgetry.

Meet the original Buzz Lightyear. To infinity and beyond!

“OMG OMG OMG! SNOOOOWWWYYY!!!” was more or less how I reacted when I saw this life-size model of Tintin’s trusty canine sidekick. I calmed down long enough to snap a photo.

My dad, who was born in the year of the Monkey, was happy to see his fellow simians.

Here’s my mom doing her best impression of a crazed Beatles fan.

Fun fact: I still have the first teddy bear I ever got as a baby. Well, I don’t actually have it with me, but it’s kept safely in my parents’ attic. (Mom and Dad — I know you’re reading this post — Buddy Bear better be up there!)