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Thursday, August 23, 2007

Wonderful Australia




2nd time in Australia, but a whole new feeling washes over me. It is a mixed feeling of nostalgia, an excitement, a yearning. I'm VERY, VERY looking forward to this holiday. Admidst all the ups and downs that occured in my life recently, this trip would be a refreshing break for me. A time to unwind with my loved one and to run away from the harshness of reality. For a while.





Now that I'm back, and reality sets in. My memories are still oven-fresh, and I must get them all down in writing before they fade away over time.


Pre-Day 1

It was Sunday, 20th May 2007. My dad sent me to the airport. I was there 2 hours in advance. After checking in the luggage, I had a good amount of time to idle with. So I wrote notes, people-watch, shopped in the airport, used the free internet service available readily throughout the waiting area.

Surprisingly, all the excitement in me dissipated. I was unusually surreal at that time. Maybe it was because I had already pictured in my mind, the scenario of being in that foreign land many, many times.

The flight I was taking was Qantas QF010. I was assigned a good seat. I must hand all the credit to my tour advisor, Raj from Fortune Travels. He was very professional and experienced and booked me a very ideal seat. There was no one beside me, and I enjoyed the personal space.

Throughout the 7 hours journey, I did not sleep for a minute. I don't know why. But that didn't come as a surprise as I usually couldn't sleep on such flight or coach travels. I watched a film "The Holiday", by Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. Also 2 documentaries on dinosaurs.





The time ticked slowly. Many thoughts ran through my mind. Close people would know I am a thinker. I can spend long hours, keeping silent, just thinking.

When I finally landed at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport, it was 4.50am. Picked up my luggage and proceeded to the Skybus Pick-up point for my transit to the city.




Melbourne, Tullamarine Airport


Skybus Waiting Stand


Skybus Ticketing Booth




I must say, for this trip, I spent easily 20 man-hours just researching and planning for both of us. I always liked to plan ahead, and plan in details. This knowledge of information gives me control and confidence. So you wouldn't be surprised if I can just rattle off the places and roads like I've always lived there. I studied the map of Melbourne city and Hobart city (Tasmania, our 2nd stop) very well. (I am Micheal Scofield!! :) ) No lah, I just think it helps to be prepared.


Interior of the skybus


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Ok, anyway, I was there ahead of my scheduled arrival. The second I stepped out of the airport, WHAM, the icy winter wind hit me. I had underestimated its impact. So long had I not spent time in wintry places that I almost forgot the harshness of nature.

I shook, dragging my luggage and tugging at my coats, at 5am in the cold and dark Melbourne airport and boarded the bus. On the bus, I tried dialling for Mr Sim, but I realised I could not make calls out. So I thought, never mind lah, reach the hotel then call reception.

It was almost 5.30am when I reached the South Cross Station Terminal on Spencer Street in the city, I thought I would board the connecting free shuttle bus that would drop me at the hotel. But the first bus was an hour away at 6.30am! Oh right, never mind, I'll take a cab then, since it is already pretty near.

I hopped onto the cab and said, "Crown Hotel please." To that, the driver replied, "Which one?" WHAM again! This is so shitty. I tried the Crown Plaza (that later turned out to be correct, heng ah). Now in Melbourne, the cabbies sometimes expect the change to be tips. So for my $8 trip, I gave a $10 and never saw it again.

The reception of The Crown Plaza was truly opulent. Totally befitting of a 6-star hotel. I asked whether Mr Sim or his colleague's name was in the guest list. The answer was no. She called the other hotel, they too don't have anything. After 10 minutes, they finally found the mandarin name of his colleague. Hell, why didn't anyone register their 'Ang Moh' name??


The new 'Owners' of Crown Complex... heehee...

A city view from the Crown Hotel Room

Posh Lobby




Day 1 - 21st May, Mon

While waiting for My Sim to get ready. I started cam-whoring for a bit. In fact, throughout the trip I was cam-whoring. :) :) The Crown's got very posh rooms. The casino, which sad to say, did not allow photography. But it was huuuuge. The size of a football field... It had not 1, but 2 floors, countless of machines and tables for you to play on. We played a bit and lost some...

Stunning Ceiling

Wide steps leading to the Casino








We checked into our downgraded hotel (what to do, on a budget mah), the Kingsgate Hotel located on King's Street. It is just a street away from the Bus Terminal and newly-established DFO (Direct Factory Outlet). And accessible to the other parts of the city, and just an 8min walk to the casino.


Kingsgate Hotel





Him...

Her...

Us!

Super nice backdrop!



So, we walked to the Botanical Garden and snapped numerous photos of the lush green lawns, wide tree-lined lanes, English monuments. Posed a few poses as if we just started dating. Heeehee...










Next, we hopped onto a tram to St Kilda Beach. Again, photo opportunities. There, we had an adventure with the sea-birds! A few other tourists were throwing french fries up into the air and making a huge commotion among the birds! The wind was super strong and cold, and the bird could not advance ahead!








After a leisure dinner of chips by the sea, we headed back to the city, to the DFO. Because it was towards closing time when we reached, we didn't manage to shop a lot. Then we surfed the net a bit at the hotel before zzzzzzzzzz.......


Day 2 - 22nd May, Tue

Bright morning! That day was shopping day! Our first stop was to Bridge Road at Richmond. Where the 2 rows of shops lining the streets sell cheap clothings. One can actually find A$5 items! What a rip-off! Had lunch at the MacD there.






Next, we popped on a cab again and dropped at Smith Street at Collingwood. Where there are huge discounted outlets of Nike, Converse, Timberland etc. Throughout the whole time we were at Melbourne, Mr Sim was looking for a pair of white or beige shoes to go with the light suits he will have to wear on our wedding, and he finally found THE pair on this street. It was selling at A$69, which by Melbourne standards, were cheap. FYI, men clothings there were generally expensive, compared to Singapore.




Indians on strike for more benefits.



Then, we rushed down to DFO again to check out their stock. Yep, not too bad if you are really keen in shopping. But not for me, because I am trying to keep cashflow up. We were at Levis outlet and there were jeans going for as low as A$39. Of course, don't expect them to be the latest styles or the nicest shades. Under 'instruction' from my li'l sis to grab something 'nice and cheap' for her, I had to make do with a pair of grey, skinny jeans at A$79. Mr Sim also bought another pair at A$49, which came with a gadget! Hooray!! The special gadget was a retractable earpiece in cool iMac white, which he instantly took to a liking. I suspect he bought the jeans because of this gizmo!







There's also this stall selling incredibly yummy-licious donuts, dripped or stuffed in rich cream. Hmmm... if you are a sucker for the fatty creamy stuff, you'd like it as well. :)


Need I say more?!



After dropping off our buys (or rather Mr Sim's buy), we proceeded to Crown's for some gambling again. Of course, Mr Sim insisted it was not for the gambling, but rather for some nice 'wanton mee' he had to let me try.





Well, the noodles we did try. They only had the 'dumpling' and no 'char siew'. It was Hongkie-style I think. Not bad lah, the noodles. Then we bought tickets to watch '28 Weeks Later' at the Village cinema at the entertainment complex. It cost A$9 for a ticket, as it was what they called, a 'Super Tuesday', where I suppose tickets would be cheaper.

We were catching the 8.20pm show, and had some time to spare, so we decided to try our luck a bit. As it turned out, we did win a bit, and so the dinner and movie was paid for. :)

Now, one noticeable difference about the cinema was that the seats had higher backs, perhaps to accomodate our taller Aussie counterparts. After the show, we tried the KFC, because it was on the recommended list of Mr Sim's colleagues. The chicken, was not bad! They had the spicy, boneless chicken which was 'a-ok'! Well, obviously Mr Sim enjoyed the carnivoring. :)

In Australia, friend-making chatlines mostly had some tinge of sexual indication. There were plenty of advertisements on Aussie TV.


Day 3 - 23rd May, Wed

This is the day where we will fly to Tasmania for our Part 2 of the trip. This is the day of coindence and fate. On our skybus journey, we saw a cutie boy (at most 2 years old), pulling a stuffed-lamb almost as tall as him. The lamb looked so cute that I thought next time, I'll also get one for my kiddo. On reaching the airport, we noticed that the mother and son was queueing at the same line. Wow! I don't believe the coincidence.








Then we went for our brunch at 'Hungry Jack', aka Burger King (in local context). The branding and similarity were uncanny. Shopping around a bit, we had a bit of time before boarding. When we walked to our seats, lo and behold, the baby was seated next to me!!! It was incredulous! I kept thinking, what did it all indicate?? Was there a hidden message for me?? Was this boy going to be my daughter's future husband? :) :) The idea of having grandkids looking like Eurasians kept a smile plastered on my face throughout the trip. Yahoo!!



Is that Burger King reincarnated??




After an hour's flight, we finally reached Hobart! The Hobart airport was small but clean. The kins of the arrivals can actually walk into the lugagge belt area, there was no gate. The flower that Mr Sim bought for me to welcome me to Melbourne was denied entry into Hobart, and so the officer had the honour of keeping my pink roses (actually, to be very precise, the colour was a light shade of peach, I don't know what you'd call that).








Then we picked up our rented car -- a red Kia Rio Hatchback. We were excited man! First time, driving-touring in foreign land. Very special feeling and we were happy.





So, the assigned position for us was, Mr Sim as the driver, and myself, as the map-reader. Best combination. Close friends would know why. :)

Hobart has got pretty scenary. The city of Hobart sits at the foot of Mount Wellington and overlooks a huge river. So most of the people's houses are built on slopes. They even had destinated radio channels for tourists! Wow, how professsional is that? :)





It took only 15mins to reach the city and another 5 to reach our motel. Our motel is the Martin Cash Motel. Sounds dinghy? But it is quite decent! At A$65 (almost half the price of Melbourne's cheapest hotels, but twice the size), it is a steal. It is furnished like a chalet and is quite complete in facilities. Fridge, ironing, hair-dryer, cable TV, strong heater (much needed) clean bath... we like it.

Feeling hungry, we headed next door for some food, but little did we expect them to be really quite tasty! Our fave was the baked potato topped with creamy dressing. Mmmmm...yummmmy.....





It was about 4.30pm when we finally dig ourselves from the seats and drove towards Mt Wellington. It was a long way up. We drove for almost an hour, and am still no sure if we were reaching the submit. The sun was setting and sky was turning dark.


Sunset from Mt Wellignton



Fyi, Australia's mountain roads or highways had no lamps. You had to rely on your car's headlights on the road's reflectors to find your way.


Hobart City from Mt W



Have you experienced coldness? A low temperature may not be as cold, but a strong wind is a sure guarantee. We only took a few photos and quickly rushed back to the comfort of our car. In fact, this happened regularly throughout our stay in Hobart. :)

Next, we drove to the pier, where people were selling freshly fried fish and chips on their boats! It was getting too unbearably cold, so we stayed only a while and headed back home.

Darkness falls at only 5.52pm!



We did stop at a supermarket near our motel, to pick up some milk and cakes (we got a too-sweet carrot cake) for breakfast.

Back in our room, we watched a silly HK movie about a gambler-cum-swinster, and how he was framed. We slept after that, to gear ourselves for the long day next day.


Day 4 - 24th May, Thur

Yeah, Thursday came. We woke up early and called the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. Yes, you read correctly. Cadbury had a factory in Tasmania and there were factory tours opened to public. We were LUCKY!! There were slots available. So off we went!





Before the cadbury tour, we did try to visit a vineyard along the way to Cadbury. It was the 'Moorillah Estate'. But a pity, it was late autumn and the vines had long been harvested and a yellow and brown sight greeted us instead. Very autumnly. Back on the road to Cadbury.

It was barely a 10min drive from our motel, so convenient. We paid A$25 for 2. And at the lobby, we helped ourselves to the bite-size chocolates. Chocolate a tad too sweet lah. Then as we were busy snapping photos, the Cadbury mascot, Froggy, appeared! We seized an opportunity for a photo taken, of course.





The tour guide arrived, informing us that we had to wear hear gears to prevent contamination. The whole factory building was a 100-year old building, rich in culture. The aroma of cocoa filled the entire place! We were led to different parts of the factory floor, to witness the world-famous chocolate in making. We even saw their new flavours - Turkish Delight. Too bad photography was not allowed.

Finally, at the end of the 45mins tour, we were given a surprise present, of yet more chocolates!! Hahaha! Anyway, when we ventured into its retail outlet and 'lup' any interesting chocolates we could lay our hands on. Heehee... ;) We also grabbed some light bites there.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Sim and myself are about to embark on the longest car-journey in an unknown land, we have ever tried. We were going to Port Arthur...





Port Arthur, on the Tasman Peninsula, was the site of a notorious and brutal penal colony. A tour of The Port Arthur Historic Site provides a fascinating insight into the conditions.

It was, as encouraged by Mr Sim's colleague, was reknowned to have beautiful sights and interesting tales to tell. With just a map of the 1st half of 3-hour journey on hand, we felt game enough to try and find our way. Sooo exciting!





Bless us. The journey was long, but smooth. Along the way, we saw plenty of meh-mehs (woolly sheeps). So huggable! After twisting and turning in the lonely road, we reached. The much-acclaimed PORT ARTHUR.








Now, a little history lesson. Port Arthur was the place where the British sent their convicts to, hundreds of years ago. Back in those day, a pickpocket or a horse-stealer would have easily been jailed. Hundreds of convicts travelled for months on ships, many did not survive. Those who do survived might not have been better off, if they realised what they were in for in Port Arthur.







At Port Arthur, many sad tales and lonely souls fill the island. It was not a place of joy. Convicts were made to work on the island, learning different trades, and doing different menial tasks. They were made to stay in the Penitentiary, a 4-level yellowish building. The most hard-core criminals were chained in the lowest floor. Those who tried to run away or had comitted serial offences, were punished, in my opinion, one of the most cruel form of punishment. It was not simply inflicting physical injuries. It was, in the words of the wardens in those days, 'tampering with men's mind'.









Let me explain further. These re-offenders were sent to a cell, the 'Punishment Cell', the size of your storeroom and locked there. The storeroom was completely dark. No light at all. No short breaks outside. Everything was done in darkness. The convicts were not allowed to speak. Only stay in total darkness, 24 hours a day. They didn't know how many minutes or hours or days had trickled by, because they couldn't tell. Guess how many days they were locked up there?








At least 30 days.






My God. Many turned loony. They became out of their right mind. So, right beside these punishment cells, was an asylum. Of course, occupancy rate in the asylum was never low. There might be even some who never made it out of the asylum.








The guards there were allowed to bring their wives along to this island, but as many as 60 couples share a room the size of a school hall, each couple separated by a mere curtain. Shocking! In those days, many terrible things happened. Don't we feel lucky to be living in modern times?

Sad tales aside, I must admit, Port Arthur is indeed mesmerising. Lushing green lawns, quaint little cottages and coniferous trees dotted the green landscape. Clear sky and blue waters.



Port Arthur Penitentiary




Our entrance fare of A$25 per person also included a water cruise round some small islands near mainland Port Arthur. One small one right in the middle of the sea was called The Isle of The Dead'. Phew! A name with impact. That's right, as the name implies, it is not for the living, but for the dead. The dead on the mainland was ferried across to this isle and buried there. It was a cemetary for the people of Port Arthur. It was the future for them.



Cotton clouds dotting the blue sky



F@#%ing cold!



By the time we finished photo-taking all around the place, it was already almost 5pm. Mr Sim and I had signed up for 'The Ghost Tour' earlier on. It was one of the main reason attraction, and also the main reason we made the journey there.







It was still another 2-3 hours to kill, so we slept in the car for an hour. When it became too unbearably cold to sleep, we had our dinner and watched some DVDs.








Soon, the moment came. The tour guide gathered the participants. Hmm, not too bad, 20 to 30 people. Won't be too scary I guess.



Our ghost tour guide



The Ghost Tour Guide, was a plump, bearded man in his fifties, wearing dark all over. He assigned 3 particiants to be his lantern-bearer. One in the front, one in the middle, the last at the back -- all to guide us together. We were warned to stay together and not wander off. I soon realised his intention. What seemed to be an enchanting place by day, soon turned unfamiliar at night. The whole place was in total darkness, except for the flickering fire in our old-fashioned lamp, and the faint moonlight.

The night was cold with drizzles. In silence, the group of us walked behind the guide. Mr Sim and I held our hands -- tightly. Throughout the entire tour. Either for warmth or for safety, I don't know.

Our first stop -- the old chapel.

The ceiling had fallen and some walls down. In the middle of it, we stood in the rain, listening to his stories. He told of murders that were committed during those days when the chapel was built. Convicts murdering convicts and burying them right in the soil. In another part of the chapel, outside a window, a convict had fallen to his death. And on the spot his blood spilled, no plants ever grew.

On we went, to the 2nd stop. I think this is the most eerie part of the whole night tour. We arrived at the Priests house. A small, low cottage. A story was told that another tour group had once sent a brave person up to the door and rap the door knob. He had stood there for a long time. After he returned to the group, he shared his experience. He was rapping on the door for a few times, then he heard a man's voice from inside saying, "Welcome". The group just freaked out. Another time, a group went about the usual routine. A little girl said she had seen a man at one of the windows. He was an exceptionally tall man, wearing a tall hat. Later on, when the group had been dismissed, the little girl and her mother went into to the gift shop and was flipping some books, when the little girl exclaimed, "That's the man I saw." It was the picture of the priest.

Back to our tour. A teenage girl was assigned to walk up to the house and rap the house. But this girl was so overwhelmed by the stories, that she simply could not venture ahead until her grandmother had to accompany her. The rest of us followed.

In the house, I felt uncomfortable. It was a small house, with narrow corridors, wooden floorboards that creaked, and low ceilings. It was pitch black in the house, and had it not been the faint moolight that shone in from the window and the single lamp we were allowed to carry in, I can't imagine how heart-stopping it might be.

Mr Sim and I stood at a corner of the room, beside the door, while we were inside a small room and the guide was telling his stories. I had to admit, I felt that was the lousiest position to stand. We were standing right beside the opened door, if any thing walked past, we would be the first to witness! I pray that nothing would happened. Luckily. The story was over, and we went on our way to an underground dungeon.

Inside the dungeon, I conveniently led Mr Sim to the middle of the group where I felt safer. :) It was also a small room, built out of stones and bricks. In the center, was a solid stone slab, like a table. We were later informed, that it was an operating table! Woooo! Right behind the table on the wall, was a hole. It was said that, in those days, doctors could only perform disection on human bodies on the dead convicts. And on the island of Port Arthur, there were plenty to go around.

The stone slab had a few deep cracks, which the guide claimed, was for the blood of the corpse to flow nicely. And the hole on the wall, it had stories too. People had reported seeing a face whisk out of the hole and looking around. Others claimed to have seen a pair of fiery red eyes glaring out of it.

After a suspenseful 2 hours, the tour was finally ending. Everyone walked back to the tourist centre, almost certainly, with a lighter heart. :)

When we were at the reception, collecting our certificates of participation, Mr Sim told me that when we were at the Priest's house, he could hear loud, hurried footsteps in the room on top of us. It was pacing around the room. He thought it was the doings of the staff, to add the fear and thrill in us. When Mr Sim said those words, I looked at him blankly, and told him honestly -- that I heard nothing at all. We looked at each other for a while. I don't know what to think.

Soon, it was time to head home. It was already after 9pm. We were soon about to embark on another adventurous episode on ourselves! :0

Have you ever driven a car on the Malaysia Highway for 3 - 4 hours straight, without stopping to take a leak? Man, that's what we had. Our virgin attempt, and in Tasmania!

So, we starting driving. It was very dark, with the occasional cars. The light from our car lighting up our way on the lonely roads. You know, according to the Aussies, you could get a kind of vision sickness by looking too long at the night roads. And if the driver is sleepy, he can easily crash. So to dispel all these possibilities, I came up with as many tricks as I can, to make Mr Sim stay awake.

I offered him sweets, chocolates, food, drinks along the way. We sang to the music. We looked at the stars. We talked -- a lot. I shared with him everything from planets to aliens. I kept asking him to make some noise.

So on and on, the ride went on. We finally drove into this town, Sorell, near to our own main city, Hobart. We thought, yeah, we will be home within half an hour. We were so wrong.

We drove for another 20mins into the dark Tasmanian highway. I thought something was amiss, coz I estimated that we would have seen the city lights by now. Nothing. Only the wilderness. Mr Sim felt uncertain too. Then, came the 'sign'. The directions on the side of the road read 'Runnymede'. Hell! Isn't that in the OTHER direction from our dwelling!! Urghh!!!!

By now, we were a bit nervous, because we had only 1 level of gas left, enough only to last for at most half an hour. There were no cars at that time of the night. There were no families living there. We felt stranded.

I said, "Hey, I think we are on the wrong track."
Mr Sim, "Are you sure?"
I said, "Yeah. The signboard says we are on another direction to another place."
Mr Sim, "Are you sure?!"
I said, "Yes. We need to make a u-turn."

With that, Mr Sim made a detour. Apparently, we had forgot to make a left-turn at the little town of Sorell. Although we knew we were headed back to that town and there would be gas station there, we still felt weak. Confidence dropped to an all-time low. Along the 20mins or so ride back to Sorell, doubtful questions still came up. But I egged Mr Sim on, and thank heavens, we did arrive. We drove into a gas station to have our tank pumped. Bought more snacks, cup noodles and took the right road home.

Haaa..... feeling better now, we drove into a KFC near our motel, and bought some 'nerve-calming elixir' - the boneless KFC chicken. :) :)


Day 5 - 25th May, Fri





We woke up to the soft Australian sun outside our window. Today was the last full day we had in Tasmania. We woke up, bright and fresh, ready to make full use of the day.







We decided to visit Richmond, an old-Hobart style village. It was about 30mins drive, and along the way, more woolly sheeps. A pity they were too far away in the grassland, we didn't get a good picture. :(




Self-obsessed



Soon we reached Richmond. Driving into the village gave us a sense of nostalgia... it was as if we had travelled back in time to old European times. There was no tall building, everything at most 3-storey high. After cruising the streets for a bit, taking in the sights, we knew we had to grab some food. Now, in cold places, you seriously feel hungry more easily because your body needs energy to stay warm. We settled on a little cafe/restaurant, which serves some decent food.




This is called 'Ai4 Sui4, Mai4 Mia3' (Want pretty, don wan life). Aiya, heck care the cold lah!




As usual, hot chocolate for me, coffee for Mr Sim. Then we dug in. The food, was quite good! I think, so far the most satisfying for me in this trip. :)



Mine!

His!




After an hour of relaxing, we thought we should walk around a bit. We passed by costume shops and giftshops. And I suggested to Mr Sim to buy tickets into an award-winning tourist spot, which featured the 'Old Hobart Town' model. The models were all built out of skillful hand, and they looked real-like.







I had wanted to go in and take pictures of the miniature constructions. But Mr Sim had his eye on another thing - a wooden maze. He thought it'll be fun to be exploring the maze. Well clearly, both of us had differnt agendas. Aiya, guys don't care about taking pictures of some silly old miniatures, while girls couldn't care less about running in a maze like kids. :p We couldn't agree with each other, and ended up unhappy with each other. So, the verdict was, we ain't going anywhere.

We decided we had enough and so left the village of Richmond.





Driving down towards the Hobart City, we guess we could do with some retail therapy. So, at Salamanca Place (near the waterfront), we parked and strolled around.

The Salamanca Place is a lively place to go, with its daytime shopping and galleries, and its evening restaurants.






We stepped into this novelty store called 'Socrates'. It sold some really interesting stuff. We bought some cutsie stuff as well as out of spore 'adult' reading material. heehee... We spent almost 2 hours in just that 1 little shop! There were so many interesting knick-knacks...








It was almost 4pm when we stepped out of Socrates with our purchases. We walked back to our car and 'Ta-da', there was a sticker pasted on our windscreen -- it was a parking offence ticket. Ahhh! The parking attendents there were so 'on'! It might cost us $20... we felt a little dampened that we had to spend money for the wrong reason.

There was a little park nearby and we decided to explore it a little and see of there were any nice spots for photo-taking. We parked near the park, and this time, we remembered to buy a parking ticket. :)




Saw me? I am in Lilliput!




The sky was getting dark... but the park was still lovely. Green grass, yellowing trees, grey-white European structures...

Next up was dinnertime. Our last dinner in Australia. We remembered we drove past a 'Hog's Breath Cafe'. You know, Hog's Breath is one of our favourite restaurant for beef. Really well-cooked, savoury, wholesome beef. Nice. We thought it would be quite near where we parked since it was a small city central in Hobart. But we were so wrong. We walked for ten minutes in the skin-rippling, freezing Tasmanian Winter wind. We tried to walk fast, making small screams occasionally when we couldn't endure the piercing gusts. 'Arghhh...', one can almost hear us yell.






Savouring the authentic Hog's Breath



So, to finally reach Hog's was somewhat comparable to reaching the heavens. As we pushed the door open, we were greeted by the strong aroma of food, warm smiles of the service stuff.

Pure bliss.

We placed our heavy butts and weary feet into our seats and rested our tired souls. Our nose sniffing like little bunnies and eyes twinkling like a kid looking at a lollipop! Mr Sim ordered their signature beef and I got fish for myself. The food was delightful and the service prompt and friendly.

After a satisfying meal, we endured the same biting wind to pick up our car. We became adventurous and took a different route back, no harm done.



Day 5 - 26th May, Sat

Waking up at 8am, we hastily hauled our stuff into the car, and vroomed to the airport. We thought we were a little late, and rushed throught the return of the car. Luckily, we met a kind soul at the car rental counter, and he gave us some experience on how he managed to successfully appeal for the waiver of the parking offence ticket. We are eternally grateful to you, Mr Kind Soul. :)



Views from the plane




bye-bye melbourne and tasmania...



So then , we went through a 'jet-setting' time, switching flights and reached Singapore almost 10 hours later. Dear friends Amy and Kelvin picked us up.

You won't believe it, but still wearing my boots and long-sleeved clothes, we continued to the Quality Hotel, hardly able to stop gushing about our wonderful trip, first-hand to our friends.

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Three months down the road, in August, when I have just completed this super long post, I am still reminiscing about the sweet memories that flooded my mind.


Nothing bad, only good.


You would too, if you had been to where we had, seen what we saw, and did what we did.


Truly, it was Amazing Australia. We will return again.





Where Bliss Embraces Two { 12:51 PM }