Gold Coast & Melbourne [240513 - 020613]

Day 1 & 2 [240513 & 250513]

Took a night flight and reached Gold Coast early on sat.. The nice driver, Fred offered to drop us off at Mac and let us have our breakfast there on our way to the apartment! Mac was good.. Had a ham and cheese burger that isn't available here..

Our apartment wasn't ready when we reached, so we went to Harbour Town, the Outlet shopping place. Spent our afternoon there and bought back ingredients to prepare our dinner for the night. Our chef johnson did most of the preparation and cooking.. A simple and nice dinner :)

Our first apartment - Narrowneck Court at Surfers' Paradise. Apartment was big.. Interior was quite normal but our apartment has an amazing sea view!

Day 3 [260513]

Went to take photos at the beach first thing in the morning.. Australia has the nicest sand~

Movie World next! I don't really remember this place since I visited the place when i was a kid. But this time round, it feels small. And i rem there used to be characters walking around for photo taking.. No more? The characters are only there during the parade. 4D show (ice age) wasn't fantastic either.. I like the not-exciting 3D ride though.. Lol! Left the place around 4+ when the sky is getting dark.. The place closes at 5pm i think? Sigh.. that's australia. gotta get used to completing our plans before 5pm everyday!

Went back to Surfer's Paradise to have our dinner at a restaurant called Seafood Empire. The western food was good! Especially the steak and caesar salad~

Day 4 [270513]

Woke up super early to catch our flight to Melbourne~ Picked up our vehicle which accompanied us throughout our days spent in Melbourne. Car wasn't exactly the cleanest.. But at least it served us well during the 5 days.

Had lunch at this cosy place called Druid's Cafe which also offers free wifi, hence we are happy to nua inside till we can check in our apartment. Hahah.. They sell all kinds of food, western as well as fried rice.

Milano apartment was our 2nd accommodation. We loved this apartment! 真的是一分钱一份货.. We paid most for this place and it didn't disappoint us. The apartment was so cosy, clean and nice~ Supermarket is just downstairs and train/buses were walking distance away.

Took the tram and went to the various attractions for our photo taking. Nice architecture. Went to Chinatown in the evening for dinner.. Chinatown is a good place! The whole stretch is full of all kinds of restaurants and small shops.. And the best thing is these shops open till later hours! Went into this 'Vietnam Noodle House'.. The hot beef soup and rest of the dishes were good, esp in the cold weather~

 Day 5 [280513]

Our long road trips started. First stop was the Brighton Bath Boxes. These colourful houses are so cute and photogenic! We spent a good 1.5 hours just taking photos.. haha. After that we saw Burger King nearby so stopped for a quick lunch.. Then off we go to 'Willow Creek' Winery.. A pity that it's the wrong time of the year to visit a winery. Nonetheless, we bought a bottle of wine to share (and kena cheated -.-).

Last stop of the day was to reach Philip Island for the Penguin Parade before the sun sets. It's really a pity that photos aren't allowed at all. We sat beside the sea and waited for the penguins to come home.. Almost got frozen with the sea breeze.. Hahaa. And when the penguins swam back, they walked all the way to their individual homes. They were practically just beside us when they walked home! An amazing experience :)

And after that was the scary drive back to Melbourne in the dark. And it was really in the DARK. The street lamps were as good as nothing, except in the city area.

Day 6 [290513]

Our road trip continued.. Drove to Torquay for lunch since it was on the way to Great Ocean Road. Had lunch in this restaurant called 'Frontbeach' and it was really expensive! The seafood platter cost us $75aud! After that it was my turn on the wheel! Haha.. My first time driving overseas~ It was a long drive to Great Ocean Road.. I drove for 1.5 hours on a road with only empty fields beside, with some cows occasionally -.- Haha! And the best thing was we took a different route as what we planned, nearly got lost and couldn't reach the 'Twelve Apostles' on time! But thanks goodness we just managed to reach before sunset. Phew.

Checked into our apartment late at night - Parkview Motel at Port Campbell. Finally had chance to eat the cup noodles which we brought all the way there.. Lol. This 2-storey apartment was like a chalet. And there was some hilarious and horror story in the middle of the night, shan't share here =p Luckily we were only staying there for 1 night!

Day 7 [300513]

Visited a few more attractions along Great Ocean Road before we have to make our way back to the city - 'The Arch', 'London Bridge', 'The Grotto' and 'Loch Ard Gorge'.

Found this place called 'Frying Nemo' near our apartment to have lunch before we set off for our long drive again. A very small shop but they serve the best fish and chips!!! Am missing it now..

Stopped at Geelong to take photos of their famous bollards. They have many of those along the whole stretch. Then we stopped at a boat house for a cup of hot Flat White~ Relaxing life.. Hahaa.

On our way back, we managed to catch a full rainbow and the sunset after the rain! So desperate for photos that we stopped at the petrol station to take photos.. Lol. By the time we reached the city, it was already dark. So we went back to Chinatown for dinner.. Found this 烧腊 shop and they were tempted by the duck rice. I think hunger spoiled our brains, we didn't realise how big a plate of duck rice was and ordered 1 plate each. Faints! The girls left heaps of rice untouched after the meal.. hahah.

Day 8 [310513]

Our last day in Melbourne. Went to the famous Queen Victoria Market for breakfast and shopping~ We finally had a sumptuous breakfast compared to our budget breakfast every morning (corn flakes, milk and fruits).. Haha. Then we walked around the section for shopping, managed to grab a number of items! Lastly, we couldn't resist the temptation of the cheap fresh oysters. $12aud for a dozen! Bought 1 plate and immediately ate them. We also bought some prawns and sea urchin to try.. My first time trying sea urchin and it was yucks! Not gonna eat them anymore..

Went back to Druid's Cafe for lunch as we were worried we would be super hungry after the flight. Rushed to the airport after and we panicked due to our 12kg excess baggage. No thanks to the heavy nuts, manuka honey and wine.. Lol! Unpacked and repacked.. Managed to scrape through.. Phew!

Reached our apartment at night.. Have to survive with Mac for dinner.. Haha. Our last apartment - Silverton was a disappointment. Everything looks old and creepy.. Oh well.. Can't complain since it's the cheapest apartment on our list.. Haha..

Day 9 & 10 [010613 & 020613]

Thankfully, there is a breakfast place just opposite the apartment so we went for a good breakfast! Our 2nd visit to the Surfer's Paradise to take more pictures before we proceeded to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. The whole place was quite small, managed to take my 2nd pic with a koala again~ And the kangaroo enclosure is quite cool.. They are free to roam around!

When we were done around 4pm in the afternoon, we went back to Surfer's Paradise for some shopping.. Was so sad we didn't have more time! Surprisingly, the clothes are quite cheap considering their high standards of living.. We could have bought more given more time. The shops were all closing at 5pm.. Zzz.

Had ramen for dinner at this japanese place called 'Hakataya Ramen'. The ramen is good!!! Tasty and spicy~ I miss it!

Drank the wine that we bought at Queen Victoria Market at night.. Haha.. Chilling and chatting our night away since we need to fly on the next morning..

A last pic with the friendly Fred before leaving Australia..

==

This trip did change my impression of Australia a little.. I don't used to like this place because I find it very boring.. Maybe a free and easy trip did help.. Since we are able to plan our time and visit places of our choices. Would visit other parts of Australia in future when there's a chance!

有时候不明白，为什么要我经历这么多？

或许很多人还是觉得我是幸运的，或者我真的是幸运的，但通常苦只有自己知。。

经历过这些波折，让我领悟了许多。。

以前看似很重要的事情，也许转眼就消失。

人生短短几十年，不如对一些原则闭一只眼，只要过得开心就好，何必这么在乎别人的眼光?

 不幸中的大幸，让我发现这26年没有白过。我的确有一些能共患难的朋友。

很高兴发觉，生命里还有他们。

希望 “大难不死，必有后福” 是真的。

从今以后，开心最重要。

Went for my LASIK surgery on 24 April.. It's finally perfect eyesight again after more than 10 years! More than happy to get rid of my glasses and dry contact lens! :))

Jean & Cw's bday [100513]

Went to have 海底捞火锅 with the gang.. Such a long wait considering we already started queuing at 530pm! Only managed to get in at 730pm.. And got to do our free manicure at 9pm! In the end we only left the place at 11pm.. Lol.. A place to go when you have lots of time to spare.. Steamboat was not bad.. But you pay a price for their good service..

Wanwei's bday [110513]

Bought voucher and went to Crown Music Box for our ktv.. The ktv was ok.. Except that it seems to be very supportive of china songs? And the MV resolution was lousy.. Lol.. Better to stick to our Teo Heng.. hahaha

Happy birthday, girl! Enjoy yourself in Korea~

Prawning [060413]

My first prawning experience at Punggol Haibin! With beginner's luck.. I managed to get my first prawn within the first 5 mins! Although the catch was not as good eventually.. But i think it's a fun experience! And after the 3 hours of prawning, we were allowed to bbq the 15 prawns we caught. Would like to go prawning again~ Heh.

SEA Aquarium [160313]

Free welfare trip again! This time to Sentosa SEA Aquarium.. Am glad it's free.. Cos i think its nothing compared to underwater world.. Still prefers that one!

The fishes are all the same too.. Don't understand why they chose to build another one? Haha.. And no stingray touch pool! Tsk tsk.. what a disappointment. Probably need to give it another few years.. The fishes are like baby fishes.. So small..

iLoveAHS walk! [160313]

It's been 10 years since we left AHS in 2003.. Haiz.. 岁月不留人啊~ This is the place which left me the best memories with wonderful friends.. Still my fav sch in all my years of education~

Was quite surprised to see a number of teachers still around, which again brought back memories! Although there might be some changes to the school alr.. but im glad it still gives a familiar feel.

我爱圣中 (:

Bali [030313 - 060313]

Bali is very different from what I imagined it to be.. In a bad way. Haha.. My idea of Bali was a very nice beach place with crystal clear water.. Apparently, that wasn't what I saw. The area we stayed at looks like msia, kinda messy, uneven roads, motorbikes everywhere, etc etc. With the relatively expensive things there, I find it rather disappointing. Not a place which I'll visit again in the near future..

Day 1 [030313]

Checked into 'Villa Kumpul-Kumpul 3' around noon.. The villa was like a very big 2-storey chalet with 3 bedrooms. There's even a kitchen, dining place and living room. Followed the receptionist's recommendation to a restaurant down the road for our lunch.. 上了贼船.. Food was bad and expensive.. And the super hot weather didn't help! After some rest, we went for dinner at this quite atas place with most cuisines available.. liked their tom yam soup! spicy enough hahaa

Day 2 [040313]

Had an early rest cos we need to wake up at 2am to travel to Lovina for our dolphin watch in the sea! Started travelling at 3am and managed to start our dolphin watch journey at 6am! This is the most special activity for me in this trip.. Really got to see dolphins after an hour on the sea! And as our guide told us, we were lucky to see quite a number of them! But sadly our boat (if you call it a boat lol) didn't managed to get as near to the dolphins as the guys'..

After the morning with dolphins.. we visited a number of places, stopping along the way. Hot spring at Banjar, Gitgit waterfall and Tanah lot temple. The weather was freaking hot!

At night we went to this atas dining place along the sea called 'Potato Head'. It was so dark that we couldn't see our food properly -.- But the sea breeze was finally something cooling for the night. Had a good chat there too :)

Day 3 [050313]

The rest went for white water rafting in the morning and we did more visiting in the afternoon. Visited Tegalalang rice terrace and volcano. At night, we went to Jimbaran bay to have seafood feast~ That was an expensive meal! But at least the food was good~

Day 4 [060313]

Had an early lunch and home we go~ At the end of the 4 days, I really just felt like returning home.. lol..