My Australia Trip..... Fun Fun Fun!!! Day 9

We woke up to a bright and sunny day. Once dressed, we made our way to our first stop, The Rocks. It is located in the Sydney Harbour Bay area. As it is a weekend, the weekend market was on and we went around with great interest to look at the ang moh "pasar malam".

At the sydney harbour bay, of course, you can see the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the famous Sydney Opera House. And Of course, we were busy snapping away (in the hot sun) happily like happy tourists. hahahaa....

After a few 'thousand' photos, we went in search of a branch of Pancakes on the Rocks (pardon the pun). Highly recommended by our friend for its delicious pancakes, we were not disappointed. The pancakes are well done with lots of tension and 'passion' thrown into the mixture. It was a delicious branch encounter.... if i dare say it, the best we had in Australia so far... After branch, we board the ferry towards Manly. Its a nice beach tpwn that is not too far away and we enjoyed a nice walk around, eating ice cream, watching the surfing, feeling the damn cold sea and generally relaxing and forgetting all the problems in the world.

We went home tired but very happy that day.....

:)

My Australia Trip..... Fun Fun Fun!!! Day 8

Our First Day in Sydney! As we wake up to our Krusty Kream Donut breakfast, I was looking forward to a fun filled day ahead.















The first stop was at the Sydney Fish Market. We took the Light rail who had a stop there. Boy oh Boy oh Boy!!! Seafood Galore!! After stooping around for a while, we started the feast with some cooked fresh prawns.






Fresh is the word! And all around the market, there were tons of fresh seafood. There are many people rushing around to buy the delicious stuff to satisfy their tastebuds.


Check out the oyster bars!! Cool like dont know what as the staff pop open the oysters with experienced flicks of their knife.

There are also live crabs and live lobsters for you to purchase and buy. We really saw a few lobsters that are BIGGER than little girls. OR in chinese, " Long Xia Da Guo Xiao Nu Hai!!!"






We ate till we almost burst with seafood. hahahaa.......



Next up is shopping!!! lots of shopping as we arrive at Paddy's Haymarket (near China town). We bought a lot of souvenirs and stuff. It was a pretty big place and lots of different types of stuff to buy. In the end, we carried bags of T-shirts, magnets, shot glasses, key chains etc etc......back into our hotels before we can come out again. Lucky we forecast this and bought an unlimited train ride ticket for the day.


After a short rest, we were back up on our feet and on our way to Darling Harbour. Darling Harbour is a nice shopping place beside the sea with lots of attractions. I only had eyes for one as the Mrs dutifully accompanied me into the Sydney Aquarium!


Once inside the aquarium, i was lost in my favourite world. Nothing distracts me more than fishes. We spend almost 3 hours inside as the beautiful world of the underworld whirls around us with Dugongs, Sharks, Sea Turtles, Lobsters, Crabs, Penguins and tons and tons of fish...... No need to write more... Check out the photos.....

After the aquarium tour, we walked around Darling Harbour and had our dinner at this little japanese place. Not too fantastic though.. so i cant remember the name of the restaurant. hahahaa...

As it was Darling harbour's 21st Anniversary, there is a fireworks display scheduled that evening. A bit of an extravagant display, but hey! What's not to be done to lift the gloomy recession mood..... Very very nice though and truly enjoyable.... and a great way to round off the day.... (albeit we did one short stop for some food at Chinatown... was really tempted by the tou hwa that night... hahahaaahaha....)

Attitude Problem of some hawker!

Just came back from my fav blk 85 market (bedok North) ..... the experience is horrible this time.

I just tabao from this duo stall that sell fried kway tway, fried carrot cake, fried oyster, omelette and stuff.. you get what i mean. its the one with 01-4? and 01-5? as they own 2 stalls.

I starting eating at their stall when it was just one stall. Supported them for many many many years and also introduced my friends to buy the fried stuff there..... After today, NO MORE.

I order a pack of $2 fried carrot cake to bring home. They immediately collect the money from me. After waiting for a good 7 mins or so and seeing some of the aunties who order later than me getting their order. I ask the lady where is my order, she dont even look at me and just mumbled something very faintly like 'ordered liao'. i.e the order has been to her chef.

After a few more mins, i asked her again where is my order. She say coming coming with a VERY VERY irritated look.

after another few mins, i gave up. I said i want my money back and I dont want the food. Guess what is her reply? "Cooking liao". well, all this is ok... then this irritating B*tC& said, "$2 thing say so many times. $2 only. why like so angry."

WELL, EXCUSE ME!!! my $2 supported your stall for years! my $2 or $5 or $10 has contributed to the success and growth of your business. It sure feels sickening to pay money and be insulted. Money really can get into the heads of idiots..

U know what? I am going to let all my friends and relatives to know that our $2 is not good enough for your stall.

so whoever is reading this, DONT order from the two joining stall (behind the famous bak cho mee row, beside the wet market and has a Toilet sign in front of their stall. #01-4? and #01/5?) that sells fried oyster, fried carrot cake etcc..... your $2 is not good enough for them!!!.... Please spread this along if you can.

Arsenal vs Stoke City

Last game of the messed up season of 2008/09.

As there is no pressure, expect our flowing game to be at full force.

5-0 to the Arsenal!!!

My Australia trip.....Fun Fun Fun!!! Day 7

Day 7 was more of a travelling day as we made our way from Melbourne to Sydney....

We had Maggie Mee for Breakfast! A very nice change from the usual bread stuff after 7 days in Australia. Mind you, maggie mee is damn expensive is Australia as I got them from Coles. I guess you could get them cheaper at some Asian supermarkets but we did not have a chance to explore such details on Philip island.

Anyway, the AUS$1 (normally 30 cents at most in Singapore) went in and out of the cooking pot and we were enjoying the taste of home soon...

We drove around Philip Island a bit but were unable to do much as most of the shops and attractions open around 11 am. This is a bit late as our flight departs at 2 plus from Melbourne domestic airport. Wanted to do some fishing in Australia and there was a few spots in Philip and along G.O Road to do so.. unfortunately, timing is a bit bad

We did manage to go to the Panny's Amazing World of Chocolate. It seem to kiddish and so, we did not go into it to see the amazing chocolate display. But we did get some free chocolate samples though. Quite delicious. :)

It was a mad rush to the airport then as we got delayed by all the small roads that Susan brought us through. Should have gone by the highway and ignored the STUpid GPS..... hahaha.... but we made it anyway... And had our virgin flight on Virgin Blue.....

We arrive at our Sydney airport within 2 hours ++ and took the train to the Sydney centre. Our beautiful Mercure Hotel is just beside the train station and we even have a small balcony to stand outside and look at the world.....

Nothing much happen that day as we were pretty tired. so it was just walking around the hotel (although Chinatown is always Happening...) One thing though, the Abalone are huge in Australia! Did not know the current pricing so we did not buy any of them. Worth a thought though if you are going to Sydney....

My Australia trip.....Fun Fun Fun!!! Day 6

As we struggle through the wonderful breakfast at our B&B, I was already dreaming about the wines I am going to taste at the vineyards at the Mornington Peninsula. We thank John for the nice breakfast and wonderful stay and make our way up to Dromana to check out the big information center there.

We were wondering about the post cards on the colourful beach houses when we saw them on the beach!!! so sua ku.... Did not realise its an in-thing to paint all the storage houses along the beach in bright colours....

Check out the wine selection from the Mornington Peninsula!

After checking our directions and inputting the address into Susan (but she still got us lost as she had no updated map), we were on our way to the vineyard of T-Gallant and Montalto. We were the first customer at T-Gallant. I started on a few whites (pinot in particular) and progress to the red. However, as the guy who served me was not very inviting, I settled on a bottle of Moscato called Juliet. Its a bit on the sweet side which I prefer.

The experience at Montalto was much better as we were greeted by a joyful guy named Justin. He showed much enthusiasm while he brought me through many award winning wines by Montalto. I was rooting for a riesling but was soon convinced that the Chardonnay is the best tasting one. We spent a good 45 mins or so doing the wine tasting and chatting about life. Truly enjoyable and I wished I could have brought back another few bottles...... well, the good news is i can order online and they send the bottles over to Singapore! 3 cheers for that!!

I drove through the long highways after the wine tasting feeling like the road was so long... hahaha....... After quite a long time,with a short break of Kentucky lunch (which tasted almost the same as Singapore's version), we arrived at Philip Island, a.k.a Penguin Island!

For Philip Island, the official recommendation would be to do their 3 attractions of Churchill Island, Koala Conservation Centre and the Penguin Parade. Of course, there is also the Nobbles, where you could see thousands of seals.

We skipped the Churchill island as that is more for trekking stuff. The Koalas were cool although they are quite hard to spot and very far away bar a few. Koalas are really cute animals though..... We got a few photos of one super close to us. :)

We did a quite check in to our Apartments at Glen Isla and made our way to the Nobbles; hoping to catch a sight of the famous seals and the so called Blow hole. The seals were all lost at sea unfortunately while the hole is there though..... hahhaaa..... Nice views on the whole.....

After that, its the big highlight of the day as we proceed to the Penguin Parade! The penguins would come back as the last light goes out, after a hard day out at sea fishing. They are very cute when they reach the beach and try to gather enough courage to climb up the beach to their home. They will move forward and then rush back to the sea when in fear, until finally, they managed to go into the bushes. Then they will start crowing andd screaming for attention. Very very interesting!!!

After watching the penguins for a good hour or so, we went to had a Chinese Dinner as we somehow missed chinese food after 6 days. hahahaa.... Never happened before but maybe getting old liao.. .... And then we went back to the apartment feeling happy and contented for a wonderful day ending with the show of the amazing Fairy(Little) Penguins.... day after day they did this for hundreds of years....

My Australia trip.....Fun Fun Fun!!! Day 5

The beautiful beaches of Apollo Bay does live up to its name. I rose early today to make breakfast (or breaky as they like to call it down under). After a sumptuous (overly fatty.. hahaha) meal of eggs, sausages and bread, we made our way to the roaring sea. The health freaks with their dogs have already beaten us to it and left tracks all over the beach for us to admire. The icy sea water on the other hand, is not too friendly to cold feet of ours.....

After a few rounds around the tiny town of Apollo Bay (which shows my interpretation of town is definitely different from the aussies), we made our way back to our villa and relunctantly say good bye. A nice place and we made a point to come back if and when we have the chance again...

Check out the Villa!

We decided to take an adventure trip to Marriner's Fall. After a scenic drive thru the rain forest, which included some very cramp driving when 2 cars meet in the small road, we arrived to see in dismay that it requires another hour to track the 3.4 km to the falls. As time is precious, we had to make a U-turn on this. maybe another day another trip i guess....

The next stretch of the Great Ocean Rd consists of falling cliffs and narrow stretch. I quite enjoy the sea by my side as i breeze thru the road ahead. Although we did get a few pesky hounders along the way, the drivers were generally nice and polite on the road.

There is a place along the G.O. Rd where everyone says we definitely have to take photo and this is the memorial arch. Its an arch to commeorate the efforts put in by the returning Australia soldiers from WWII who has contributed to the building of the G.O Rd. So, here is our lovely photo. :)

We reached Queenscliff in time for the 3pm ferry that will bring us to Sorrento. This is the end of the part with the Grean Ocean Road. Truly memorable and I will encourage anyone to give it a shot. I quite sure you will enjoy it too......

As we cross the lake and reached the sleepy town of Sorrento, everything seems to have close and as usual there would be nothing to do except for dinner and tv. As we window shop a bit around the 'town', we were surprised to see that the cinema is actually open! and they have late night shows.... However, the price is steep. about 14 Aussie dollars per person. As the shows were not really compelling, we left it behind us and went for unexpectably, the best restaurant dinner that we were going to have in Australia.

The place was called The Baths. It is recommended to us by our B&B (Dougal) owner. They have been around and they serve good seafood. I had a lovely special of Seared Tuna with Couscous while the mrs had a very nice seafood marinara pasta. A great way to round off the day with a cool relaxing riesling.....

My Australia trip.....Fun Fun Fun!!! Day 4

There are a few scenic spots at Warrnambool. A nice beach where horses took bathes was our first stop. A scenic place off the tourist information center.

Next up was the Logan Beach, otherwise known as the Whale watching beach. Too bad the whales dont arrive till June. Nonetheless, the beach is quite an awesome sight and definitely worth the trip with or without the whales.

As we leave Warrnambool, it is with feelings of excitment as we finally embark on the Great Ocean Road. Within 30 mins or so, we arrive at our first place of interest of the Cheese World that of course sell CHEESE!!! There is also some free cheese tasting session. Unfortunately, we miss it by a few minutes!
Our first view of the sea was granted by the Bay of Island. Not sure if it is becuase it is the first site seeing stop or is it really really so beautiful that we felt it is much more beautiful than the 12 Apostles. The scenary was really breath taking and the Mrs and I took a great deal of time to admire the work of nature over here.....

There are many stops along the great ocean road and many are really under-rated and though not as famous as the 12 Apostles, I think they can rival the beauty of it. Check out some of the photos here (though i think we might have to invest in a better camera or a photo taking lesson!)

After being overwhelmed by the sights along the way, we reached the famed 12 Apostles. Filled with tourists, we wiggled our way to the front and took in the sights. Somehow or another, we still cannot count 12. seems like some have fallen until not countable anymore! hahaha.... some tour guides were spinning tales that there are hidden Apostles so that is why we would never be able to count to 12. That is a nice try, mate!

We were seriously distracted and lost track of time indeed. As we rushed through the road, we finally arrive on our wonderful lodging at 6 plus. The wonderful Rayville Boat house offers a nice mansion for us to stay with a fireplace, jacuzzi, balcony and double story comfort.

The Mrs managed to whip up a superb dinner from our quick purchase of groceries. Best meal i had in Australia!!! :)

My Australia trip.....Fun Fun Fun!!! Day 3

We were too early on the Sunday morning as we made our way to the shopping streets of Richmond. So, we had to walk around and window shop for a while. Luckily, the shops started opening from 1030 onwards. The Mrs had a great time at Country Road though. Check out the shopping bags......

We had lunch at the nearby Degraves street before making our way to Hertz. Check out the huge bowl of soup they served!!!

A little surprise awaits me at HertZ as i was upgraded from a Camry to a Audrion. Never driven one of those baby so was looking forward to testing it along the Great Ocean Road. We got a GPS (her name is Susan! ) and was gamely assured that we will Never get Lost with it! hahahaha...

Anyway, armed with Susan and a very nice and stable car, we embarked on our road trip! First stop is to drive all the way to Warrnambool, 263 km away from Melbourne. Then, we will make our way back along the famous Great Ocean Road.

Nothing much happened along the way, just a smooth drive and constantly trying to keep myself from pressing too hard on the accelerator. Australia is famous for keeping a close lid on the speed demons. well, some things are better left unsaid..... At least i had my Red Rock Deli to keep the hunger away... ....

We reached Warrnambool at around 5 plus. It may seem early for some of you but with the Autumn weather upon us, we were fast losing light. Advised by our nice receptionist at the Comfort Inn, she told us we MUST see the laser light show of Shipwrecked at Flagstaffhill.

We hesitated at first as we thought she was trying to make some commission. Anyway, as there was nothing much to do after dark, we decided to give it a shot. Overall, its a lovely experience and we were glad we did it. Because the famous shipwrecked story is told and re-told along the Great Ocean Road... luckily, we watched it. Or else we wont know how the hero saves the damsel in distress on the dark and stormy night.... Well, as least it was worth the money. :)

My Australia trip.....Fun Fun Fun!!! Day 2

We woke up early on Day 2 and bought a full day pass (tram, bus and train) in anticipation of our packed itinery.

As we walked through the grounds of RMIT, we reached our first point of interest: The OldMelbourne Gaol (voted best Heritage and Culture Tourism Attraction in Australia in 2008)

The gloomy jail and the story of Ned Kelly certainly was interesting but was hardly exciting to say and we thought it was a bit overrated. Then...... we went on their facinating holding area tour. The tour guide was a policewoman in uniform and she was a sure small loud woman that held our attention. We were 'treated' as would be prisoners and it was all quite real and fun play acting. We were told to 'toe' the line and be straight while she check us, especially under the tongue.

It was quite funny and fun and we were also 'locked up for one night" and the lights switched off with great effect. All in great fun and laughter......

After which, we went to the Italian street of Melbourne, Lygon Street where there are many italian restaurants and shops for us to check out. Of course, we cannot miss the MUST try IL Dolce Freddo for their ice-cream. HUGELY recommended by our friend, Baoling. It did not disappoint at all. GREAT GREAT taste... i can still imagine the taste in my mouth now!

After a hearty lunch, we made our way to St. Kilda beach. We made a short stop at the South Melbourne market to try the famous Dim Sim. At first, i thgt Dim sim is Dim Sum and the Ang mohs spelt it wrongly. Well, when i reach there, i saw the shop name is Dim Sim! hahhahaa...

They serve some meaty Dim Sim. More cater to the Ang moh taste anyway.. I will not say it is good or bad... just quite interesting...

St Kilda was nice.. There are many shops and drinking spots. In addition, there was also a wholesale Birkenstock shop there too. We spend a good 45 mins in there but were unable to get the smaller sizes as the Mrs feet are relatively small. But a good selection was indeed available.

The beach was nice but dont expect Langkawi or Tioman standard. Good place to sit down, unwind and have a beer and talk about life. Luna park to me is truly over-rated. Maybe its something to look forward for small town enjoyment but after Disneyland or even Genting's amusement park, its definitely a small molehill in comparison.

A fun filled day and we were totally exhausted when we return from the beach.....
Somehow or another, we found the strength to go to our pre-booked appointment with the Sharkfin House in China town. Famed for their dim sum and also sharkfin, we did not have a chance to taste the dim sum as they are not served during dinner. Nonetheless, dinner was sumptuous to say at least with a bowl of nice shark fin, Mei cai kou rou and nice big prawns! The only pity was as we are only 2, we could not order more dishes to eat. After dinner, we like gained 3 kg over the day! hahahaa.....

My Australia trip.....Fun Fun Fun!!! Day 1

The Mrs and I went on a delightful 11 day trip to Australia from 30th April to 11th May, covering Melbourne and Sydney in particular. The trip was fun and easy and the drive along the Great Ocean Road has been memorable to say at least.

We landed in Melbourne via an SQ flight admist all the nonsense\scare of the Swine Flu. Timing could not have been better as the alert was on Orange when we embark on our adventure. Well, hack care lah! just go..... :)

Check out our first meal (breakfast as we flew overnight from singapore) and my sleepy face! Bread (We did not know that MORE and MORE bread is to come... hahaha)

As we walk around the vicinity of our citigate hotel, we inevidently stroll onto Federation Square. Very Unique designs, i must say.....

Well. the weather was cooling. Like an aircon on full blast (a welcome change for me although a tat cold for the Mrs.) After a short, refreshing nap in the hotel room (yes, we were that stone after the flight), we set up for the famous Victoria Market. Food food and more FOOD!! Glorious food, especially SEAFOOD!! yummy yummmy!!!

Oysters Galore!!

joy of Seafood!

After we burst our stomach with the seafood, we went for some shopping around and some free tram ride (great idea to induce tourism) around the beautiful city of Melbourne.

Soon, it was dinner time, and we made our way to the famous casino of Crown Casino. Blood suckers as they are, I still managed a respectable AUS30 win on the rolette table. Many thanks to our lucky number 14 and 17. hahahaa...

A great start to our trip.....

What happened?

Well, i was away for 2 weeks for a nice long-awaited holiday.....

What a shocker i was in for when i return to see our season disintegrated.... What can i say? Another empty season. Another disappointing performance....

Too tired with catching up with life to comment further.. let me catch my breath before more comments...