The Song of Two Cities

Day 3: Hong Kong Wedding Shoot

2009-08-16T03:26:00.006+08:00

This is it! The big day has finally arrived! It was the day where we were supposed to don the selected outfits and look our very best for our photo shoot! Upon advice by my fellow colleague who went to the same bridal studio to have her photo shoot a couple of weeks back, I made sure we had a hearty breakfast and packed some lunch for us to eat in between the photo shoot.

This time round, we made sure we studied the MRT map the night before to ensure that we would not let history repeat itself. The sun was definitely working hard to create sweat in us. It is truly summer in Hong Kong. And what a bad season it is for photo taking!

When we arrived at the studio, Mr Low was told to go to the sofa to chill while I was escorted to the changing room to change into my gown and get ready for my make-up. The make-up artist was real pro, fixing me up with hair extension, extended eyelashes, mascara, foundation, lip stick, etc.

The result 30 mins on:

The power of make-up. Oh man. Haha, Mr Low was sleeping on the couch and was dumbfounded for awhile after checking me out. Haha he even suggested to take some pics with his handphone. Not bad for a guy who doesn't bother about the small things in life.

So while waiting for our photographer to be ready, we managed to take a couple more shots:

They proved to be the only shots we took ourselves for the day.

The sun was seriously working itself hard. Our first stop was on the yatch to Yamei Island (I think). On the yatch, the photographer made us strike impossible poses, some of which were cheesy. The classic was when we had to pose with the sun shining right in our eyes. To counter that problem, our photographer instructed us to close our eyes and upon the count of 3, open them and smile simultaneously! Oh man! But that was not all...

Throughout the entire day, familiar phrases we heard were 'Bride, please stand straight, flash ya back towards me and turn 70 degrees backwards to face me and smile! Show me your happiness look!'.

Due to the immense heat, I was sweating profusely, especially on my nose. Another classic was the nose to nose pose that the photographer seemed to love and Mr Low totally hated. I cracked up everytime the photographer got us to pose for this. Cause it meant that I would be rubbing my sweat-filled nose against Mr Low's sweatless nose. Haha. Imagine a scene where the sweaty tummy of some fatso rubbing against your face? Haha, now think micro on how a pile of sweat rubs against your nose. Ewww... HAHAHA...

Oh man I tell you! By the end of the day, we were exhausted and could not remember how to smile anymore, until when we reached the studio where the land of aircon beckons. Ahhh, happiness...

More outdoor and indoor "happiness" shots followed. The best was when the photographer passed us scarfs and gloves and told us to pose as if we were enjoying the snow flakes (imaginary), right in the middle of the park behind the studio! Oh man! Totally cheesy!

Snap snap, shoot shoot, and we finally wrapped up around 8+pm. Total relief! A major tick off our to-do list! Being the bobo bride, I forgot that I was wearing a sleeveless gown and applied sunblock on every part of my body and face except my shoulders and back! SMART. The present I got was a lobster red sunburnt shoulder and back which caused me immense pain for the next week.

All in all, a very interesting yet totally exhaustive experience. Even with my slack personality, I would recommend every couple to have their wedding pics taken, just for the experience which I will bring with me for the rest of my life. When you hear people mention that there are things which one should only experience once in their entire life, man, this is definitely one of them! ;p

Now, now, can't wait for the pictures selection to see how they turn out! Haha. Looking back, we should've took more shots or videoed the photographer at work for our montage! Oh well, can't have it all in life!

Day 2: Hong Kong vs National Geographic

2009-08-15T16:33:00.007+08:00

We started off the day missing the complimentary hotel breakfast - something which has a direct correlation with Deario's sleeping intensity and our late night National Geographic sessions. Doesn't matter though, since there're lots of interesting restaurants near where we are staying at Tsim Sha Tsui, which is apparently well known for affordable food and shopping.

It has been said that dim sum in Hong Kong is in a class of its own compared to that in Singapore. However, after having a meal at a recommended teahouse, I must say that the differences are subtle. Sure, the ingredients are fresher and the variety wider, and we did enjoy a good lunch, but seriously, the level of tastiness isn't all that higher than back home.

I think different people delight in different things when they travel to a foreign land. Some enjoy activities (e.g. rafting, snow-boarding, fishing); some like to sight-see (e.g. nature, places of interest); some indulge in local culture (e.g. people, traditions, conversation). I think that Deario is the kind of traveller who isn't very interested in the culture and people of a country she arrives at but rather, she looks forward to doing activities. In the case of this Hong Kong trip, she looks forward to the rides at Ocean Park (well, she looks forward to food and sleep too but I haven't come up with categories for these yet). I, on the other hand, am always ready to behold the next wondrous nature scenery. For me, it is the forest beyond the horizon, the mountain shrouded in mist, the shores lining the endless sea.

So you must imagine that I was bored with Hong Kong (the location, not the holiday) when all that surrounded me was buildings, narrow streets, and endless traffic and busy people. Hong Kong kind of made me felt constrained and restrained.

Deario and I spent the whole afternoon at the streets and malls along the coastline of Tsim Sha Tsui. Shopping in Hong Kong can be found all over the place while shopping in Singapore is more consolidated at malls. Both countries have as much variety of merchandise and prices are pretty much similar. Deario and I are not really into shopping and our legs couldn't withstand the long hours of walking up and down the streets. We had to take a few tea breaks and in the end, we decided that we are better off watching TV back at our hotel.

On our way back, we decided to give this well-presented and successful dessert franchise called "Xue Liu Shan" a try. Conclusion: over-rated. Moreover, SGD6's pretty steep a price for bland mango smoothie. Philippines maintains its position on my list for the country which serves the best mango smoothie.

Back at the hotel, we spent the night watching back-to-back episodes of National Geographic documentaries and National Geographic Adventure travel journals. Sounds pretty lame for a holiday but these programs are seriously intriguing. The documentary on sightings of a sea dinosaur off Montrey Bay and the documentary on Sahara Desert being a lush coastal forest eons ago were definitely the highlights of the day for me.

Day 1 (Part 2): Gown fitting

2009-08-15T15:20:00.015+08:00

After the noob MRT incident, we were off to the bridal studio to have me fitted with some gowns for our wedding shoot on wednesday. Prior to this, I didn't think much about the shoot and the whole wedding thing. I guess I was just excited to be able to take a break from work and head off to Ocean Park for some fun. Not to say the dim sum, desserts, and feeling like a rich kid on the yatch the bridal studio booked for our wedding shoot.

So, now that we were seated in the bridal studio, awaiting the bridal personnel to pick out some gowns for me to try on, it dawned on me that this wedding thing is really taking off man! Just before we headed to Hong Kong, we were busy scouting around jewellery stores like Soo Kee, Lee Hwa, Goldheart, etc to hunt for wedding bands. Oh man, the thought of being a Mrs is kinda weird, eh? Haha.

Tick tock, tick tock. Soon, the bridal personnel came up with 15 gowns which I am supposed to pick 3 (1 for the day shoot, 1 for outdoor studio, 1 for indoor studio). Upon first glance, I thought, hmm they look so so nia. How come they didn't give me the entire selection to pick?! But looking back, I sure am thankful for her providing me with only 15! Seriously a major headache with my 'great' fashion sense! Haha.

I might look chilled in the following pics but before each change, the bridal personnel follows me inside the changing room and mind you, I had to strip down to my underwear and let her help me change. Seriously, I was like some small boy wearing swimming trunks in the swimming complex. But being a professional, I was cool about it, haha so here goes, the stylo Mich:

Day shoot selection

This looks simple, just the way I like it, but the thing is, the ribbon sucks! But no worries, it can be taken off!

Honestly, the ribbon makes me like a pressie. Haha.

Similar design to the one before this, just that the ribbon is smaller. Somehow, the bridal personnel seem to like ribbons alot. Haha.

Oh man, this makes me look pregnant!

Aww, this looks like a middle eastern princess feel eh?

Outdoor shoot selection

Woo, unique dress. Somehow, it looks like the kind of black and white goldfish in the shops you see eh? Haha.

Interesting cupcake design with those powerpuffs.

Ohh, nice design but trust me, I was nearly suffocated to death from the squeezing to fit me into the gown. Seriously, what were those Victorian women thinking?

Ahh, princessy. Machiam some fairytale story. Now, where's my prince?

Looking like a pressie. Haha.

Indoor shoot selection

On 1st look, before trying this gown on, I thought, oh man dark blue, hmm...But I guess it aint looking that bad eh? Cause when I wore it, I thought I was wearing a night sky full of constellations! Unique!

Happy Deevapali, everyone! Haha this is a typical Sari gown man! Honestly, what was the bridal personnel thinking? Or is she secretly a Bollywood fan? ;p

Now, this is an interesting dress with an uncommon colour and design. Hmm...

Ohhh, another goldfish design! Haha pale purple-ish blue. Weird colour.

Pinky Winky is my name! Lalala! Check out how tight the gown is! I am seriously ready to explode out of the gown! HELP!

So how brown cow? After each batch of gown fitting, the bridal personnel would give us both some private time to discuss on which gown we would pick. In between changing from 1 gown to another, she would also give me her honest opinion on which gown fits my style, or how does it look, etc. Very professional, I would say.

So which gown wins? #1 for each category it is. Simple and unique is how I like it! Keke.

The bridal shop once again impressed me with their professional service and efficiency. Within 15mins, all 3 gowns which I selected were tailored according to my measurements! Impressive is the word! The bridal personnel even brought us to the outdoor and indoor studio to let us have a look at their surroundings. It was a Monday night, and the whole place was buzzing with couples selecting photos and taking pictures. Mega $ making company man, with so many carrotheads like us around. Haha.

Now that we have checked off 1 of the items of our to-do list, it was time for some dinner and more National Geographic programs! Woohoo!

Day 1 (Part 1): Hong Kong beckons!

2009-08-15T15:05:00.010+08:00

The day has finally come for our Hong Kong trip which was planned a year ago! As the clock continues ticking, so is our wedding date approaching. There was no time left for lipo suction or expert weight management, all thanks to my firm which has been making sure I spend every moment of my life either doing the following:

Working
Sleeping
Eating
Shitting
Watching the rare occasional movie

Ha, so what is left is just for me to work hard on breathing in and sucking in my tummy and whatever fats that I try so hard to conceal. Not to forget, about 2 weeks before our trip, I have been discipling myself to daily push ups, the occasional jog that I manage to squeeze in between work and squats.

With the to do list slowly but surely being cleared off, Hong Kong here we come!

This time round when I was checking in at the airport, it dawned on me that I have been back in Singapore for 1+ year. Checking in at the terminal never felt the same. This time round and for the near future, home would always be at most a couple of weeks away, unlike before when I was working in Melbourne, where I would only be back home half or 1 year later.

Boarded the morning plane, which was a tad disappointing cause I thought I was going to sit in the new A380 SQ plane, only to realise mine was still a Boeing B777! BOO! :'(

No worries, the land of yum cha, desserts and dai pai tong beckons! Egg tart, char siew bao, har gao, I am coming for you! ;)

4 hours later, with the efficiency of the Hong Kong Airport Express and courtesy of a friendly Hong Konger who showed us the way to our hotel, we arrived at our place of abode for the week!

Tadah! Honestly, this is the smallest hotel room I have ever stayed in! There is only enough space to place 2 twin beds, which they pathetically have to join together due to space constraints! TV was mounted on the wall and the window is as wide as 1.5 times my size.

The view from our hotel room. Honestly, Hong Kong is an architect's land. With the limited land area, buildings spring up in every inch of free space that can be found. It is a packed city with very small space area.

The itinery for the day is to go for my gown fitting at Kowloon Tong. When we were at the MRT station, I was the navigator. The moment Kowloon station caught my eye, I zoomed in on that. When we went out of the station, oh man, the station is sort of like a mix of Paragon shopping centre + East Coast condominums + Tanjong Pagar office buildings. We went walking around the shopping centre and grabbing a bite so we could let our stomachs expand prior to gown fitting. This is a strategy to not be tormented by super mini sized gowns that make me look good but torment me within. Tsk tsk.

An hour passed and there we were trying to find our way to MRT Exit F as instructed by the bridal personnel when.....

Kowloon station does not equal Kowloon TONG station! Check it out! Oh man! What a noob! Who would have thought Hong Kong will be so bobo to name 2 stations with such similar names! Do you see the MRT in Singapore naming their station 'Simei' and 'Simei Goon'? Totally ridiculous!
So off we went into a mad rush to get to Kowloon Tong as the bridal personnel was waiting patiently for us at the designated time. Very professional people I would say. When we finally arrived about 30mins later, they were still all smiley and friendly. Haha, maybe they have been cursing and swearing behind us prior to our arrival. But whatever! I am a tourist! I am entitled to get lost! Bleah!

With that, off we went, to embark on the journey to discovering Singapore's next Top Bride. Haha.

Till then, stay tuned folks! ;p

7 Eleven

2008-11-07T13:26:00.005+08:00

What is it about 7-11? It is a date to watch out for! You will know when you launch the video...

Haha, by now, you all are most probably laughing your heads off and thinking, it's MQ at work once again. Yeah man folks! Haha set the date down! ;p

NZ Adenture - New Plymouth

2008-06-23T13:19:00.003+08:00

I was coaxed by Mr Low into driving to New Plymouth from Rotorua on the promise of snowy scenic mountain views. After 5 hours drive, a movie at an old school cinema and a night's sleep at a pub with freaky bathroom (green tiles and shower curtains that reminds you of a potential murder scene in a typical movie) and springy bed, I woke up in great anticipation of a snowy mountain view that boasts of beauty like Mt Fuji.

Guess what I saw?

Where is the mountain?!?! This looks more like a tropical garden! What the!?!?

Being the glass half full kind of person, the only great takeaway from New Plymouth is....

SUSHI NINJA! Seriously, who would have thought ulu New Plymouth would have a great Japanese eatery?! Apparently, this eatery is set up by a Japanese couple who loved surfing and migrated to New Plymouth a few years ago.

Check out the yummy bento sets! We had dinner at Sushi Ninja the night before and I requested to eat this before we set off! Totally mouth watering! But seriously, to drive 5 hours to eat Jap food is RIDICULOUS!

Point to note: Never believe Mr Low when he tells you that there is snowy scenic view. Tsk tsk.

NZ Adventure - Taupo

2008-06-23T11:14:00.000+08:00

New Zealand is a country greatly blessed by God. The spectrum of varying landscapes found here is amazing - subterrenean caves, rolling green hills, boiling thermal land, thick forests, snow-capped mountains, lakes and rivers. Geographical features which one would expect to find across lands of different climates can all be located here. It is as if New Zealand is God's creation palette or portfolio.

Given the land's diversity, lots of towns are situated around natural wonders in order to thrive on tourism. While Rotorau is famous for spas and thermal wonderlands, Taupo is known for Waikato River and Lake Taupo. Arriving at Taupo in mid-day, Mich and I decided to take a drive down to Huka Falls. There the sheer volume of Waikato River is squeezed through a narrow gorge and over a short drop. Inevitably, the huge amount of water gushing through the gorge shoots out over a distance to form a beautiful sapphire-emerald pool. Walking on the riverside walk, I paused several times to stare dumbfounded at the ever-swirling and ever-foaming water.

A little distance away from Huka Falls is the Huka Falls Prawn Park. Compared to the over-crowded, production-line-like prawning avenues in Singapore, this place is way better. Here families sit on the grass by strips of water and enjoy an outdoor prawning experience. One can fish for as long as one likes and the park will cook the catch for free. There is also an alfresco restaurant specialising in prawn menus. Mich and I didn't participate in the prawning though as we were on a tight schedule this trip. On our way back to our hostel, we stopped by a small hill to take in the scenary and caught the below sight. Here's my amateur attempt at a haiku (3-line Japanese poem):

The autumn breeze brings
a veil of soft rain

and an drop of coloured sunlight

Compared to prawning, Mich and I were more eager to try out the famed trout fishing at Lake Taupo. On our second day of stay here, we rented a small boat and rode the waves to the centre of the lake. According to our captain, Lake Taupo is larger than Singapore and has a trout population of 3 million. Although locals and tourists are free to fish the trouts, there is a law which requires trouts below a certain length to be released. Additionally, each person is only allowed a certain number of catches per day. New Zealanders really live harmoniously with nature, something which we have no opportunity to appreciate back home.

Within a few minutes, our captain taught us how trout fishing aboard a boat works. Basically much of the activity is automated, you let the fishing line into the water and place your rod in a holder. Then you wait for the anticipated twitching of the fishing rod. When that happens, you reel in the line and struggle a bit with the trout. Frankly speaking, I'm more of a process-focused person than a results-oriented person. Though this method of trout fishing is without fuss and effective, I find it too automated. It is enjoyble still but I would have preferred if there is more hands-on and technique involved. It just wasn't challenging enough for me to feel extremely proud of my catch. Mich, on the other hand, finds automated trout fishing very comfortable and thus, very enjoyable. Guess she's the kind of person who prefers taking in a beautiful sunset from the inside of a air-conditioned beach cafe.

Nonetheless, trout fishing - highly recommended to-do activity in New Zealand. The feeling of a fat catch in your hand is amazing. After we got off our boat, the captain helped to arranged for our trouts to be smoked and sealed. We then obtained an insulator bag from a supermarket and stored the trouts in it. For the remainder of the holiday, we carried the trouts from town to town in our car and transfer them to fridges at hostels whenever we can. Much later, when I returned to Singapore, I made trout cream out of the smoked trout and served them with crackers. Really excellant tasting. Best cream crackers I've ever eaten.

NZ Adventure - Rotorua

2008-06-23T11:13:00.006+08:00

How else but to end off the night with a hot spring bath? Especially when it is 1 for 1! ;) This is Mr Low's virgin attempt on soaking hot spring. The apprehensive look on his face when he first heard that we are going for this activity sent chills down his spine!

At the mud pool, it was smelly as hell. For a moment, I felt we were acting out Shrek in real life, applying mud on each other's faces and bodies as if we are ogres enjoying mud like kids enjoy candies. Haha but for the love of smooth complexion, we generously slapped layers of mud after layers to our faces and bodies.

After 30 mins of soaking in hot mud, we were told to rinse our brownie bodies with ice cold water before we hop into the mineral water spring to chill under the starry night.

This is our humble hostel. Cheap and clean! Friendly people, nice environment. I would recommend it to anyone who is going to Rotorua!

Now, how can we not visit the thermal village in Rotorua which is famous! The pictures speaks a thousand words! Check them out!

Looks like your lime juice, eh? Tsk tsk...

Haha, this picture has Mr Low in a very weird posture. How come he has to put his hand so funnily, like he's flying? But then again, I guess everyone who is busking in my company will feel as though they are on cloud nine? Haha.

More cheesy shots to remember our NZ holiday!

Ain't this just majestic? Mind you, these are piping hot pools which can kill you the moment you fall into them. In some of the commentaries of some pools, there are actually myths of women who are actually killed in these pools due to some crappy soap opera content which I cannot remember anymore. Haha.

Now now, what's with that act cute pose?

Woohoo! Check out all that smoke! Perfect shot!

Check out my stylo pink hat and red berms, each for under AUD$5! Bargain man! Haha.

More holidays to come! Woohoo! Say Cheese everyone! ;p

Do you see me fuming? Haha!

Check out the limestone that has resided in the caves.

What's with that serious look on Mr Low's face? I think he still looks like a joker.

After checking out the thermal village, we decided to make full use of the discount coupons and check out the Rainbow trout park. The park boasts rainbow trouts (seems like something unique in NZ) and some other funny animals.

Did you see that disgusting gecko? One look at it and my goosebumps appears!

Ohh nice blue skies and green pastures. Throughout the entire drive which we have driven so far, NZ is surrounded by splendid nature pictures which any mediocre camera can capture and yet turn out to be a wonderful shot. That's how beautiful NZ is.

For now, we hit the road again, bringing along with us nice memories of our NZ adventures thus far, and looking forward to more action!

NZ Adventure - Waitomo Glow-Worm Cave

2008-06-23T11:11:00.010+08:00

After a restful night at Auckland, it was finally time for us to embark on our adventure. Driving southwards, our destination was the famous Waitomo Glow-worm Cave - almost certain to be the first destination of any visitor coming to North Island due to its proximity to Auckland. The drive in New Zealand's countryside was a program in itself as there was never a boring sight in the immerse and beautiful landscape of rolling hills and green plains.

Upon reaching the cave, we signed up for a guided group tour. Our expert tour guide was an atheletic lady who seemed to be native to the land. She provided us with informative commentary on the cave's historical and geological significance as we walked slowly down into the bowels of the earth. Majestic and ornate limestone formations lined the cave's ceilings - sculpted by Nature's own patient hands. As I admired the otherworldly beauty of the Waitomo Cave, I marvelled at how distant I am from the office life back home.

Soon, we came to a night-black underground river known as the Waitomo River. We carefully got onto a paddle boat and ventured deeper into the cave on water. The gentle rocking motion of the boat and the pitch darkness made me restful and only sheer curiosity kept me from closing my eyes.

Suddenly, an explosion of starry sky greeted us. There were thousands of tiny glow-worms on the top of the cave creating a myriad of living blue lights. These "stars" don't actually twinkle, but as we sail down the river, the shifting curves of the dome above us made them seem like they do. The entire experience was a vision of us floating through Milky Way.

The Waitomo Caves mark the first of many wonders which we will visit in New Zealand but it's ethereal beauty was unlike any other. One day, I hope to return to this place again.

NZ Adventure - Auckland

2008-05-07T17:36:00.003+08:00

Finally, after what seemed like a long endless wait, my NZ trip was finally taking place! The night before was occupied with packing and ensuring that I had all the documents I required and that I would not miss my flight! Somehow, it felt funny that I was gonna meet Mr Low after nearly half a year. But what can I say except that I'm looking forward to it? :D

The plan was for him to meet me at the Melb airport before we head on the same flight to Auckland! Being cheapo, I decided to walk to the train station to take the shuttle bus to the airport. Dragged my baggage and walked for 30mins! Wahlau eh! Was sweating like a pig man! On the way to the airport, I was getting more and more excited. It's as though this isn't a dream no more! NZ here I come!

When I eventually reached the airport, I was eagerly looking out for Mr Shiny Head coming out of the arrival gates. Batches and batches of people emerged from the gate, except the very one that I was looking out for. :(

Tick tock tick tock...Time was running out! It was time to check in for our Auckland flight but Mr Low was still nowhere in sight and he isn't picking up his phone! Oh man oh man!

Just as I was giving some China couple directions, viola! Mr Low called! Suddenly, I felt immense tension and excitement as I walked to meet him. Hee! A polite handshake later, we were reunited once again! :D

Our adventure was finally taking off! A cuppa kopi and 2.5 hours later, we found ourselves in Auckland! Woohoo! Our first task was to collect our car and head off to our accommodation! Hee, exploring the element of the unknown with Mr Low is something I enjoy cause it's fun and interesting!

Initially, I was quite apprehensive about the car rental company that we rented our car from. But when we collected the vehicle, it was a relatively new Toyota Corolla! Woohoo! It's party time! ;p

As usual, Mr Low was the navigator while I was the ahmad. I booked us this economical accommodation for the night! Hee, hopefully it is good!

Tadah! It wasn't too bad, eh? Though it wasn't as fantastic as I wanted it to be. But oh well, you can't have it all in life right? ;p

All was well, until.......

Oh man! All was well until I entered the toilet and looked at the floor! Oh man oh man! How to bath like that?!?! -_-

So how did I bath? Haha, with my slippers on! Keke! So glad that it's just for a night man! If not, I scared all those fungus will grow on my body instead sia! Haha.

I'm sure you all must be wondering why are there so little pictures! Well, that's cause:

Auckland is a boring place and has nothing much to show
We were too busy watching TV and eating!

Hee, next up will be Rotorua and the Waitomo Caves! Stay tuned! ;)

Close shave with death

2008-05-06T23:14:00.002+08:00

Today is one of the days where I feel very thankful for being alive.

I encountered a close shave with death due to reckless driving from an irresponsible driver. In Melbourne city, there is a unique traffic rule called the 'hook turn'. Refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_turn for more details.

So when the traffic light went red, I got ready to perform my hook turn, when a car from behind who was going straight (the driver was supposed to stop given the red light) zoomed past me at top speed. If I had not double checked that there was no more cars, if I had just turned, the car which was whizzing past would have crashed full impact on my side of the car. At the speed he was travelling, I am pretty sure I would be seriously injured.

Yishan was so pissed that she kept cursing and swearing. It was only moments later when I was alone and had the time to think straight that I realised how lucky I am. What a close shave I had, and I thank God for keeping me safe.

Mardi gras

2008-05-06T15:29:00.002+08:00

Yet another spontaneous chatting session resulted in us heading to Sydney to attend the Mardi Gras event! Basically it is this gay parade that happens annually and Hot Babe has been wanting to attend it ever since last year. So here we are, striking one more off our to do list for our secondment!

Due to our cheapo-ness, we decided to take the first flight to Sydney which sets off at 6+ in the morning. Yes, guess what? SHIT HAPPENED! Both Yishan and I didn't manage to wake up in time! I woke up 10 minutes before our flight. Yishan? She didn't even wake up! And Lionel who was supposed to wake me up forgot to call! Oh man oh man!

The only thing I could think of was what our Sydney friends are going to say to us when they see us once again. :'(

Unwillingly, we have made ourselves legends once again! Boohoo...Off we head to Avalon airport to see what we can do to get ourselves on the next flight to Sydney!

1 hour later and $140 poorer, Sydney here we come!

Oh man! Our cheapo-ness cost us big time! :'(

Look at this kuku sleepy head! She's still in the mood to sleep!

After endless mocking by our friends over lunch at Sydney fish market, we headed to my first Wii session at Eugene's place! Oh man! Imagine my excitment when we played Beijing Olympics and tennis! I liki!

Us at Mardi Gras! Honestly, it was like a chingay parade! Maybe that's where the name Chingay came about. Chinese gay parade! Haha.

What can I do at night after all our activities? Wii time! Haha, I spent my entire weekend playing Wii with Horng Yuh and Hazel into the wee hours of the night, sweating and running around the house.

Oh man, I love Wii! But life is not without repurcussions. Being a Wii fanatic has its consequences! I spent the entire weekend aching over my over exertion of muscles. But it was hell load of fun! ;P

Sharing Some Cheese...

2008-01-05T01:53:00.000+08:00

Our Song

2007-11-24T00:46:00.001+08:00

Go and catch a falling star,
Or lie under a jeweled sky,
Tell me, where you are,
And I will journey till I find,
That I hold you in my arms,
That I'm lost again in your charms.

If you have to fly away from me,
For ten thousand days and nights,
To a continent beyond the sea,
Where you will see strange sights,
Promise, that when you return,
You will tell me all in turn.

Most of all, tell me that you reminisce,
Despite the thrills and the land's beauty,
Tell me that you deeply miss,
The love that awaits you across the sea,
And it's me your every thought will be,
Whenever you count to one, two, three.

Happy anniversary, Deario. This poem is written for you, the true love of my life. May time speed us till the day you're back for good again. Till then, know that my heart is with you in Aussie.

A sense of yearning...

2007-11-14T03:37:00.002+08:00

As I sit on the sofa couch in my apartment, awaiting dawn to break, I can't help but feel a sense of yearning.

It has been a series of early nights, waking up in the wee hours of the night when the whole world is asleep.

During times like this, I like the peace and tranquility. Yet at the same time, I feel a deep sense of loneliness. As I see the mist mesmerising the skyscrapers from the window view of my room, Coldplay's song appears in my mind. Home, home, is where I wanted to go.

Entrance into the mid 20s club...

2007-11-08T19:11:00.001+08:00

I spent my birthday working and attending CA focus session after work. It was only till 9pm did I have dinner with some friends at a Italian restaurant I chose which served disappointing food. Talk about being wise with each passing year and you know it apparently doesn't apply to me.

However, a couple of things happened that touched me a great deal.

I received a card from a friend that was totally unexpected.
I also received a cake from a friend all the way from Singapore. This was really a surprise.
I got smses from friends back home
I received a call from a friend just to wish me happy birthday
I got an e-card from a friend
My parents called just to wish me happy birthday

As I sat down and thought about all these people who made the effort to make my day, I can't help but feel blessed. And I got to admit that I am lacking in this aspect.

Despite feeling lonely, I thank God for the little things that truly matters.

THANK YOU ALL, FOR REMEMBERING :)

Daylesford getaway!

2007-11-04T16:16:00.009+08:00

Now that we have sort of settled down into our apartment and life was getting a tad bit boring with studying and our mundane life in general, Hot babe and I decided to venture down to Daylesford, the county famous for its mineral springs and spa in Victoria.

A couple of hours of driving and we found ourselves in spa land, hungry and tired. So we do what we do best. FEAST! Haha! But before that, we gotta check out some places and take some stylo pics of course! ;D

Hee, some duckies and me. Quack quack...

More duckies and goose!

Us by the lakefront! It was a serene place with a couple of lakefront houses. But somehow, don't you think the background makes you feel as though a water monster is gonna pop out anytime?

Ha, now our stomachs were really making funny noises, so it's time to head to the restaurant! Yay!

Me eagerly awaiting the arrival of our set lunch! But of course, some wine to start off!

Cheers people!

Now now, this was the antipastio platter. It is like the western version of the cold dish plate which we serve in a Chinese wedding banquet. On the contrary, the taste sucked big time! :(

Finally, the food has arrived! Now, it only has to taste good!

Haha finally she smiles and you wonder why! Look at the plate! ;)

After filling our stomachs, we decided to check into our stylo hostel and rest for abit due to the rain. Our accommodation for the night - YHA hostel! Haha, 1 of my fav recommendations due to my shoestring budget and economical nature.

But this hostel looks pretty bad on the outside. Ha, we can't even recognise it when we were driving! We drove and drove, but our hostel was nowhere in sight! So we stopped by and inquired, only to realise that our hostel looked like a dilapidated house from the outside! -jaw drops- The look of worry on Yishan's face was hilarious and all she did was niam niam niam on how cheapo I was in a bid to save $. But LOOK!

Heng sia, inside actually looks decent. If not, I can so imagine being bashed up by Yishan. Haha see who that is in my hand? Now, how can a trip be without xiaobai? ;)

So we rested, and decided to head to town to chill and have an early dinner so we can catch a show later!

Stumbled into a vintage retro store while browsing the town centre. I really ain't a shopping gal man. Haha, I need a sofa every now and then, definitely!

We heard that this chocolate cafe was quite famous in Daylesford, so of course we must give it a go! Haha.

I tell you, shopping really makes people tired. So what do you do when you are exhausted? You go for a cuppa kopi! Haha, at one of the famous chocolate cafes in Daylesford! Woohoo!

What can I say? It was a blessing in disguise that we greedy kias decided to have an early dinner. Just after we took away our fish and chips pack, the entire town blacked out due to the continuous rain and floods! What can I say man? Sibeh heng ah!

The smirk on Yishan's face is enough to reveal how thankful we are, being able to enjoy ourselves whilst the others sitting in cafes and restaurants are left there waiting and waiting with the empty promises of food. Tsk tsk.

We thought that the blackout was only gonna last for a couple of hours. Little did we know that it might last for the entire night! So what did we do? We showered in candlelight, chatted with some elderly in the kitchen and slept early! What a way to end the night!

It is finally daylight! Look at our faces when we realised that it was time to get home to civilised Melbourne city where floods and blackouts rarely take place! But before that, we gotta go check out some of the attractions and feast again before we leave!

This place is called 'The Nunnery'! Haha. Looks like a church on the outside but is actually a restaurant cum tourist attraction!

Next up! Farmer's Restaurant! Recommended by the locals!

Hot babe's selection of erm, let's see, duck? Haha. That's the downside of blogging when it's too late, you can't remember a thing!

Some wine to start off the fine dining experience! Hee, what's new right? We are always either feasting or drinking! ;p

The greedy gal and her food. What more do we need to say? Haha.

Oh man! Look at all those moo moos! They must be eaten! NOW!

Not wanting to allow last night's rain and blackout to dampen our weekend getaway, we decided to hike down Daylesford's amazing waterfall and have a look for ourselves on how great it actually is! There you go!

This is the waterfall that we drove about 30mins from the town centre to. Ha, and that was about one of the few attractions in Daylesford. Oh man...What can I say? Haha.

Overall, it was a relaxing weekend with lots of unexpected happenings! But what can I say? SHIT HAPPENS! ;P

Wombat

2007-11-04T15:50:00.004+08:00

While driving up to Daylesford (spa county) over the weekend, Hot Babe and I were having our daily talk cocking sessions in the car.

It never fails to amaze me the nonsense we manage to come up with. This is one classic I will always remember.

While driving, I saw a sign cautioning drivers to beware of wombat...

Mich: Hey babe, what's a wombat?

Hot Babe: Well, it's a bat face trapped in a small bear's body

Mich: ..............................................

Haha, for the real pictures of a wombat, refer to below:

Though it sounds spastic, I must say her description is actually erm, quite apt! ;p

Da 100km madness!

2007-10-25T20:12:00.002+08:00

So our big day has finally arrived! After an initial enthusiatic start which saw Mr Gan and I cycling weekly, age finally caught up on us and our cycling sessions turned from a weekly affair to a fortnight affair to eventually a monthly event! With each session, our kopi sessions began to stretch longer and longer. Haha.

The week of our big race and having not trained for nearly a month, Mr Gan and I knew we were one feet deeper into our graves as race day approaches. Hence, the only consolation we could feed ourselves with was to ensure that we had enough energy for the big day! So the night before our race, we had a big feast of carbo food with our friends! Of course, we bought energy bars, gatorade, and what not, ensuring that we had enough carbos to help see us through the painful day ahead.

Sleep was one of the other most important thing we needed, besides not missing the race. Haha. So for the first time in a long time, I forced myself to rest early to avoid passing out on race day! Time flew by when you are in lala land, that's for sure. Just when I was enjoying my beauty sleep, it was time for reality!

There's no better way to start a race than to have a snap shot to witness DA moment! Oh man, I look like a freaking ball wearing a scarf! Mr Gan looks like he has no teeth! That's why he always smile without flashing his gee gee! Haha. This is it! Here we go! CHEONG AH!

After 7 hours of cycling (with breaks in between) accompanied by freaking hot weather (40 degrees celsius), we FINALLY finished the race! I can't describe how jellish my legs felt after the race but boy were we glad that it was finally over! It sure feels great to finish the race, especially a 100km one! Look at the proud look on our faces! :)

Haha the promised lunch to celebrate Eugene's birthday turned into a dinner celebration instead! To celebrate my victory, Yishan took a pic of me as above! Behind that smile was ultimate pain and suffering! Was too weak to drive with my wobbly legs! Imagine how the next few days went for me!

Still, looking back, I would do it again hands down! Definitely a great start to my cycling career! ;p

Check out the link below for our race pics!
http://www.fusephotography.com/login_c.aspx?q=D9455725F062439DA6F15D0E5B28E8CC6C64DCD30AAE3B3B093162DDDEC2BF10ECEDA56BBD43CE9F45AED3D37A1CDCD8E3B125913413CFB3767061BB2D8DFB40

Indian baptism

2007-10-13T23:06:00.003+08:00

Today in church, I witnessed a humbling and heart stirring testimony. It was that of an Indian gal who finally mustered the courage to embrace the Christian faith despite knowledge of definite objection and persecution from her family and countrymen.

While I was seated in the sanctuary listening to her testimony, something inside of my heart stirred. I respected this woman for her courage and her faith. Perhaps what she has done has always been what I wanted to do but never had enough courage cause of my pride. Some people call it publicity shy, some call it full of pride. I call it plain cowardice. :(

Someday, I wish I will have enough courage to stand in front of the entire church like this gal, sharing my testimony and hoping that all my friends and family will be touched by my message. Till then, I pray that I will continue to grow in my faith and lead a life worthy of Christ! :)

New additions to my cycling craze!

2007-09-09T11:24:00.001+08:00

In light of zeng-ing my bike, I decided to upgrade my pedals to clip-on pedals! Clip-on pedals improve the speed of your bike cause the pedals basically stick to your ankles until you release them by clicking them off your feet. To have such stylo pedals, you gotta have some savvy shoes, eh? So TADAH!

Here is my latest toy! Ain't it cool? Haha, now now, I'm truly preped up for my 100km race! :D

Ski trip to Threadbo!

2007-09-03T18:30:00.001+08:00

Yeah yeah I know you all will be thinking, it has been a long long time ever since I last blogged and this ski trip was held nearly a year ago! Haha but oh well, time to recap those lovely memories....

This was to be yet another hectic weekend! We had just moved into our lovely apartment, thanks to our friends for their time and hard work! Hell of a work out! This weekend, we are heading to our ski trip at Threadbo! I managed to convince Yishan to drive down 7 hours on a friday night instead of taking an airplane with the lure of massive cost savings.

But before we are to embark on our adventurous road trip, we had to accomplish the following on a friday night:

Pick up the ski equipment before 530pm
Drive Joey to the airport
Pick Lizi at the airport (The Sydney junior secondees have decided to join us on after my impromptu invite while on my interstate work trip)
Complete our CA quiz for MAA

The race began right after I knocked off from work. Mad rush is the only work to describe it. Joey nearly missed her flight, Lizi waited super long for us to finally pick her up and we completed our quiz at the airport's mai dang dang! By the time we set off, it was about 10pm! I can already see Lizi's amused expression of her Melbourne seniors. Tsk tsk.

So off we went! Lizi and Yish discovered they were JC mates, more gossips were along the way, etc. All was well until we went on the Alpine Highway.....

We were diminishing on fuel, there was a petrol station that was CLOSED, we made a couple of wrong turns. With a time scheduled to meet our Sydney friends, we decided to drive on. Soon, we found ourselves on Threadbo Mountain. I felt as though I had been driving forever along the same road. It was like Hansel and Gratel! :(

Yishan and I were dead worried that we will be stranded with no help! There was no mobile reception, no wireless reception and worse, NO FUEL! When dawn was about to break, we decided to stop at a rest stop where we noticed a tent. Pasted a HELP note on the camper's vehicle and decided to rest till it was daylight.

At 7am, the campers were still snoozing away. It was time to wake them up from their dreamland. I arrowed Yishan and Lizi to do the dirty job, tsk tsk. Of course the campers were not very impressed, and they didn't even offer us help except that the next fuel stop is 15mins away! With endless upslopes, prayer that there would be enough fuel was the sole thing on our minds. As I drove, flashes of Discovery Travel featuring a family who got stranded on the snow Alps and lost their fingers due to frost bites whizzed past my mind. Nothing can describe how freaking scared and worried I was! Even the scenic views of the majestic snow mountain did not interest any of us.

But THANK GOD! Thank God we made it JUST IN TIME before our car ran out of fuel!

Look at the sign of relief on Yishan's face! We were on Mount Threadbo! Decided to just meet our friends on the mountain instead! Skiing and Snow boarding here we come!

Finally, we had the mood to sit down and smell the flowers! What an awesome view! Haha and guess what Lizi said? 'I always thought we would make it!' Hahaha, there really is a very thin line between naiveity and optimism eh? Tsk tsk.

Finally! After a day of falling, standing up, and attempting to look cool on our skis and snowboards, it was time to stuff our stomachs with nice and warm food! The night did not end. A long session of drinking games which resulted in me losing badly continued after dinner before we rested for tomorrow's snow action again!

This was me clad in my discounted Nike ski jacket and pants bought from the warehouse sale. I was getting extremely frustrated with my inability to snowboard properly.

It was so hard trying to get up after falling down! :(

Finally on my feet!

This was the steepest chairlift on the mountain! From what Darren told me, it would lead you to the peak of the Southern hemisphere where there is a nice cafe. Though scared of heights, I decided to SUCK IT IN and take the lift up after extreme frustration from snowboarding! :S

So here I am! With the Sydney gals!

Haha poser shots coming up!

Me and my snow!

Finally a break at the cafe for lunch!

Not taking no for an answer, Darren got me to go snowboarding for one last time before we headed off for Melbourne! This time round, I did much better! At least I fell down only once from the top to the foot!

This was the rest stop where we pissed off the campers! Scary Mary!

This was the crossroad where we had to decide whether to stop. Jindabyne was where we were supposed to meet our friends. 51km away and our fuel tank was E. How is that even possible?

Before we took off, one final pic of the nice snowy mountains! It was a great first time experience in a snowy environment and snow boarding! Cool bananas! :D

My 1st inter-state trip!

2007-09-03T18:29:00.002+08:00

Due to super luck on my side, I had the opportunity to travel interstate on an assignment! Melb-Syd-Brisbane-Syd-Melb is the journey I will be taking for the next 2 weeks! Excited is what I am! Am already thinking about all the nice meals and accommodation I will be having when I am travelling! NICE!

So on a tuesday, I rushed off work to the airport to head off to Sydney! 2 hours later, I am at the land of the Harbour Bridge! Mango beer was the only thing on my mind! But alas, I arrived at 9+. Dinner was what I wanted. So after some query from HY, I attempted to try out the Jap place near PwC Syd which he recommended. But not before snapping some shots of my wonderful and luxurious serviced apartment!

Studio apartment! Nice nice! :)

Cool eh, there's even a plasma TV with cable!

Toilet's decent and very clean too! Yay! Now off to hunt some food!

When I reached the Jap place, it was closed! Arghhh...Ended up walking 30mins to Chinatown for some crappy noodles at Superbowl which the Syd secondees claim is the best supper haunt in Syd. Oh man, there I was, thinking, the food in Syd must be crap! :(

The week flew by quickly, lots of nice brekkie, lunches and dinners. Of special mention is this particular thai place near the railway station that serves excellent thai food in kopitiam style - SPICE I AM. A must try man!

On the friday, I was to move to a hotel as the serviced apartment I stayed had no vacancy. Ended up in a suite! Woohoo! Cool stuff!

Check this out. It's ONLY the living room! I still have another TV in my bedroom!

Tadah! Nice and comfy king sized bed! I liki! ;p

Oh man, the toilet is my fav! There's a shower room as well as a jacuzzi! Bath salts are provided as well! Woohoo!

Time to meet the Sydney secondees for dinner at Pancake parlour, after which we went off for drinks. When I got back, I loaded the bath salts into the jacuzzi and had a long, warm dip while watching crunchyroll. Life's good! Keke, Sydney fish market tomorrow morning!

Maxy was due to pick me up in the morning and as usual, I was late! Woke up 5 mins before I was due to meet the gang! Rushed like crazy! Sydney fish market was my target, an unfinished desire of Yishan's! It was to be my first time meeting Darren in a long time, as well as the junior secondees!

Look at that spread! Haha, very fresh seafood! :D

Finally, group pictures!

Given the recent golf craze and the lack of khakis in Melbourne to pursue the hot crazed hobby, the Syd secondees decided to bring me to the driving range for some action!

I wasn't good at it, but I laughed whenever someone fluked the ball! Haha, but it was a fun time! It's time to get my own set of clubs!

With nowhere to go after golf and before dinner set at this Japanese ramen restaurant in some suburb where there's rumoured to be a freaking chiobu, guess where the Syd secondees brought me.

......Luna Park! Wahlau eh! It's like a freaking fun fair place for kids that enjoy wasting parents' hard earned money throwing balls to win soft toys! I protested and objected violently but to no avail! Ended up, Max and Eugene wasted $20 each so each of them can win a soft toy! Man oh man! With $40, you can get nice ones dudes!

Being the wiser kid from Melbourne, I decided to save my moolah and just snap some shots to rake in the beauty of Sydney.

The opera house. Just like every post card you see at Borders. My short stint at the photography club had not gone to waste! Keke.

Finally at the ramen place! I CANNOT emphasise how relieved I was to LEAVE Luna Park. Haha. But sadly, there was NO chio bu man!

As tradition stands, a kopi session always follow after dinner. As usual, it was just another talking cock session! Up ahead is the Sun Herald 14km walk tomorrow!

As usual, I woke up late! Mad rush checking out and meeting the gang! Ha what a great day to begin with! But first, pictures to glorify the beginning!

It seemed that we were more interested in taking pictures than starting the race!

We walked and talked, talked and walked till eternity before we eventually reached Bondi, our final destination!

Stopping to take pictures along the way. Wan Wan even had the mood to fool HY into thinking that we have long completed the race! Haha and HY actually believed! Oh man!

Haha, finally at the finishing point!

After washing up and some kopi, it was time to head off to Brisbane! Exciting stuff! Can't wait to check out my Westin Hotel! Tsk tsk.

Brisbane Airport. Kind of small scale compared to Melb and Syd. It's funny how each state's cabs are clad in different colour.

Westin's reception. Grand is the word!

Woohoo comfy bed again! YAY!

Finally at my hotel room! Once again checking out the toilet! Again, shower and bath tub! :D

The streets of Brisbane, only on late night shopping nights then only there will be that many people! Haha.

Brisbane casino! Looks Victorian eh?

Southbank of Brisbane! Cool place where I had a sumptuous chinese dinner and watched cheap movie by myself!

Award winning sia! Let's try to see if it's truly deserving! :D

The restaurant's intro...interesting!

The decor of the restaurant looks a tad too corporate and non-oriental.

Haha the dishes I ordered! For just I, me and myself! Hee!

Outcome? The food was ok la, not fantastic and a tad too oily! But still, free food is always good food! Courtesy of my client! ;p

Sydney was beckoning and how best to end off the trip?

Pork knuckle and mango beer at the Bavarian beer cafe at the Rocks in Sydney! It was obsessing my mind ever since I knew I'm going Sydney! Haha, excused myself from the team to enjoy a wonderful dinner by yours truly again!

Yes, you got it! I finished this entire pint by myself! Hee! -BURP-

GREAT trip overall! Oww, I'm beginning to miss Sydney already.....

Housing Horror!

2007-09-03T18:15:00.000+08:00

Just when we thought that our housing nightmare has officially ended, we got a call from the nasty ex agent that our previous apartment needs to be repainted because all the walls are stained with a yellow substance!

We were shocked beyond words. No way are we gonna pay up! Not after we spent couple of hundreds to get a professional cleaner to clean up the entire apartment before moving out! So we asked to reinspect the apartment, only to realise that everything was in a mess! Given that the irritating landlord has a history of pulling stunts (she wanted to sell off the apartment on the day we were supposed to collect our keys but decided against it when she realised how much $ she had to fork out for compensation), we suspected that she wanted to take us for a ride to furnish her house before she put it up for sale. To think she is also an asian, bullying her fellow country men in a foreign land. PUI!

So we told the agent that we are not going to pay, only to be threatened on the phone that court is the final resort to our woes. She thought we are country bumpkins who would flee at the mention of law. Imagine her shock when we defiantly told her court it shall be!

It was really a coincidence that both Hot Babe and I managed to get time off work to attend the hearing. Nerve wrecking experience it was! And I realised I am not cut out to be a lawyer, for the very fact that I tried to interrupt the judge several times during the hearing and was told to be patient. Haha.

But all ended well! We WON the case on the grounds that the judge was not convinced that damage was beyond normal wear and tear! Ha, everyone should be given a chance to see the pathetic loser look on the bloody agent's face! PRICELESS, I tell you!

Looking back, it seems like we really experienced everything there is to experience during our short time in wallaby land! Haha, but what can I say, VICTORY IS SWEET!!!! ;)

Migration of the Southbank kids!

2007-09-03T18:00:00.000+08:00

After a year of suffering from:

Inconsiderate neighbours who don't bat an eyelid before throwing pizzas, bottles, eggs and what nots down our balcony
Lousy service we received from the housing agent
Nasty landlord who refuses to agree to our request to extend an additional year of lease (she offered only 6 months despite repeated pleas for extension)

Hot Babe and I decided that enough was enough! We were not going to take shit any longer! So we began to search proactively for apartments around the Southbank area and managed to get 1 just a traffic light away within 2 weeks!

Extremely pleased with our efficiency, we commenced preparations to terminate the lease at our old apartment, ask for quotations of movers, etc.

To our dismay, our nasty agent tried to make things difficult for us! Firstly, she tried to convince us to extend our lease for 6 months. When she realised that we weren't gonna budge, she told us that it was not possible for us to move out by the date we wanted as we are supposed to provide her with 28 days notice despite her inefficiency in responding to our requests.

The agent probably didn't realise that she was messing with the wrong company. Given that I was on secondment to a company and was quite free, assertive me decided to give her a piece of my mind by lodging a complaint against her with the Victorian Consumer Affairs. Then, I shot her a nasty email to lecture her on her lousy service, afterwhich it followed into a unpleasant telephone exchange between her and I ending with me telling her that she is a deluded individual.

With so much going on, it was good that I had some time to spare. But I gotta admit that I was kind of pissed with Hot Babe that I had to arrange lots of stuff by myself. As always, we trashed things out and all went well. :)

Being cheapos, we decided to move house ourselves as the movers were just trying to rip us off! Imagine paying $300 for them to move such a short distance! We reckoned we will just sweat it out and get some friends to help us out!

So the nightmare began on friday night. After dinner, we started moving our stuff bit by bit. Only then did we realise that we got so much stuff! By 5+ in the morning, we couldn't take it anymore! Slept for awhile before we met up with friends for brekkie and continuing our ordeal. Saturday was one of the most tiring days of my life. I never imagined moving house, especially just for 1 year worth of stuff to be so massive! Thankfully, by 6+, we were all set up! Really got to thank all friends who helped us out! :D

So ladies and gentlemen, I hereby present to you our stylo little nest!

Finally, we can view the night scenery from the 18th floor! Standing in the balcony at night looking out really gives me the kind of 'rich man' feeling!

Our humble kitchen, it even comes with a dishwasher! Am sure that brought a smile to Hot Babe's face.

Our toilet resembles that of a posh hotel toilet.

Can you imagine the washing area was neatly hidden at the corner of the toilet? Really great space utilisation!

Pretty classy eh, there's even a bathtub!

This is the view from our balcony! You can even see PwC! Haha, yes, that's how near we are to the workplace. Keke.

Now that we are settled into our new nest, everything seems to have fallen into place. I can finally feel at peace without worrying about whether we have a place to stay for the next year. After a year of living with Hot Babe, we are beginning to get more and more comfortable with each other it is so scary. Our friends always comment that we are like a married couple! Oh man oh man!

Anyway, we are both just very very glad and pleased with our new place! If any of you happen to visit Melbourne, don't forget to give us a buzz!

Together...

2007-09-03T17:04:00.000+08:00

Yesterday at church, there was a video played to illustrate the true meaning of togetherness.

A glimpse of the remarkable father-son bond of Dick and Rick Hoyt, and their inspirational journey together in a triathlon and life itself. Twenty years ago, Rick Hoyt ran a 5km race while pushing his disabled son in a wheelchair. After the race his son told him that while racing he did not feel disabled. They have since competed in over a hundred triathlons and marathons together. Truely Remarkable and Inspirational.

I was moved to tears as I sat in the midst of the sanctuary, thinking to myself, what great love is that. Two is really better than one.

Biker Quek!

2007-09-03T15:53:00.001+08:00

After months of tormented turning and tossing in bed, countless moments of devil vs angel battles and endless pros & cons discussion with thyself, I finally took the plunge!

Everyone, focus on the bike, yes, this is my baby! The Cannondale Synapse! Cost me half a month's salary! It is only upon signing the credit card bill did I realise that this bike is actually more expensive than my freaking sports car?!?! What the!!!! :X

I present to you, my cycling khaki from now on. With my powerful convincing skills, I managed to convince Mr Jovi Gan to purchase a super ex bike to participate in the 100km around the bay race we signed up for!

Stylo Quek in action once again with my stylo bike!

Isn't it a nice day out there?

This view really reminds me of Bedok Jetty back home...Boohoo...I wanna go home!

As we rode along in one of our first attempts to fully depreciate our bikes, we took pictures and talked cock along the way. Wonderful view, relaxing day along with great company! What more can one ask for?

Dancing gals reunion!

2007-08-31T11:59:00.000+08:00

Finally, the dancing gals have reunited after a year of saying that they would visit us in Melbourne! While Hot Babe and I slogged our asses working during the week, we decided to go for a farm stay with the gals over the weekend. First time for all of us!

So on saturday morning, we decided to start our day with brekkie! What better place than pancake parlour! It's the Melbourne version of Pancakes on the Rocks in Sydney. But I dare say it tastes better! Guess it's more buttery, I like!

Group picture taken to kickstart the day. Ha, I bet this is one of the rare occasion that xm has so many gals surrounding him. Another thing to check out. My red bermudas! It's a steal! I got it for only AUD$5 at the factory outlet! ;p

Victory picture before we set off!

After driving for 4 hours, passing valleys after valleys, we finally reached the farm house! Tadah!

Doesn't it look very cottage style? So cosy and warm!

Not forgetting to satisfy xm's desire for photo taking with babes, I reluctantly decided to oblige him. Just look at his excited face! HAHA SUA KU!

We explored the place, rummaging through the kitchen to see what food is in store...FRESH EGGS from the pok pok keh and bread made by the farmer!

Seeing that it was still bright out there, we decided to check out the animals.

Meh meh xiao mian yang! I tell you, these beasts are freaking greedy! The farmer gave us a loaf of bread to feed the animals and the moment these sheeps see you, they run towards you not cause they love you, but cause they want your bread!

Haha, see their heads sticking out of the fence? That's how greedy they are! But apparently, ah ser and I are more interested in taking pictures than bothering about them. Tsk tsk.

Know why these cows look so skinny? That's cause we have a big bottle of milk in our fridge!

How can we forget to advertise the farm? Poster gals we are! :)

Being bored as it was getting dark, we decided to take some pictures to self entertain ourselves. Group pictures here we come!

Check out this bedroom. It is actually so story book like. The gals FORCED me to take pictures with teddy bears. Oh man, look at those teddy bears, so bo seh! :(

Another close up one. And I had to act happy. Boohoo!

As if 2 are not enough, the gals were apparently enjoying themselves! I was ready to go bonkers!

This is what numerous photo taking with teddy bears turned me into! Scary, ain't it?

When night fell, ah xian and ah ser cooked dinner while the rest of us slacked by the fireplace.

Cold cold night. I decided to be smart and sleep on the couch by the fireplace! But still, it was FREEZING!

The next morning, we woke up shivering! But the day is not to be wasted! We were gonna cook brekkie using all the eggs and bread and whatever was in the fridge!

Chefs in the making! Look at all our hair! Haha we look so kuku!

After feeding ourselves, it was time to relieve the cows before their bladder explodes!

Haha, see stylo quek in action! Hmm...milking cows was actually er, a weird experience. Haha, but it's fun! Look at how scared I was!

The fruit of our labour!

After milking, it was time for feeding. Look at how greedy this small calf is! I was literally trying to prevent it from snatching away the bottle of milk in my hands!

However, behind every happening moment lies a sad tale...

See that black spot on my knee?

Boohoo! Look at the severity of my injury! And whose fault is that?

Everyone, I present you the violent dog! Bloody dog leh! It jumped on me while I was closing the car door which resulted in me slamming my knee against my car! If only I had a ready fire, I would have BBQed it! ARGHHH...

Yet another group picture before we leave!

Overall, the trip was fun and it was great catching up with the gals and xm. Seemed like such a long time since we met, but it's amazing how some things still remain the same! Friendship is truly an amazing thing!

Vue Da Monde

2007-08-31T09:36:00.000+08:00

The most expensive meal of my life, ever! Imagine the horror on my face when I realised that my glass of Rose wine cost $35! :'(

Stay tuned to Hot Babe's blog for a detailed write-up!

Aussie Road Trip - Conclusion

2007-08-31T08:51:00.001+08:00

On the tenth and eleventh day of my stay in Melbourne, Deario brought me to the Werribee Zoo and the Victoria Market among other places. I shan't go on about these places here as I don't think there are many animal lovers like me out there. As for the farewell between Mich and I - let's just say it was more teary than any of us had expected..

I really miss Mich now that the ocean is between us again.

Aussie Road Trip - Day 8 & 9 (Mornington Peninsula)

2007-07-18T13:23:00.001+08:00

This is da weekend where we live the high life! Mr Low, who has never experienced living a socialite's life has finally had the opportunity to do so this weekend! Su-Li has planned this long ago and it just so coincided with the time that Mr Low is here! Hee, can finally let him into a snapshot of the feasts I always have, though I have my reservations that he will truly enjoy them. He's the typical kind of hawker boy, cheap to maintain. Haha.

Red Hill Market
So off we went on our 1st stop, the Red Hill Market! Basically, it is a pasar malam with lots of food, arts & craft stuff and other cool stuff. It happens only once a month. So off we went walking around, checking out the gorgeous cupcakes, food, paintings, etc. No pictures cause we were simply too busy walking around! ;p

Red Hill Brewery
Next up was to check out the beers at Red Hill Brewery. Being a beer drinker, I have eyed this brewery for the longest time upon hearing rave reviews about it. Since we are around the region, we decided to check it out!

Beer on the tap! Haha here we come!

Variety is da way to go! ;)

Ivana (Joey's vet friend from Canberra), Joey and I immersing in the wonderful joys of booze, with Chee Kheong gazing at the back, hoping to be spotted! Tsk tsk.

Yihua and Mr Low refraining from the influence of alcohol to prevent making a fool of themselves. Haha.

Max Restaurant

Next up was lunch at Max Restaurant. Apparently, Max has won lots of awards for his wonderful culinary skills along with super duper good ingredients he uses.

Hee, I ordered steak! What's new, I just love my meat! ;) Food was so-so but servings are huge! So it's pretty much value for $ more than anything else.

Dessert for lunch - handmade ice cream. Not bad, but not my favourite though.

Unknown Restaurant
After a heavy breakfast, impromptu beer session, along with a sumptuous lunch, we still had to have dinner! Ha, no trip with Chee Kheong and Su Li is without high life food. They really are living it up man! Being the poor secondees we are, we only join them occassionally when we feel like we deserve a good treat. Tsk tsk.

With intestines the size of Starburst's snakes (jelly lolly), we decided to share our dinner. 2 persons to 1 servings.

If I recall correctly, I got the lamb. Not bad at all.

Can't recall who got this, by then, I was already seeing circles, with all that food running around my tummy.

A picture of us looking bloated even BEFORE feasting.

Some yucky cheesy entree. Looks like newborn's poo eh? Tsk tsk.

Rabbit for Su Li! Looks like bone marrow eh...Keke, but it was awesome, apparently.

As if it wasn't enough, we still had to have DESSERT. Oh man....

After feeding ourselves silly, we went back to our motor inn for some fun filled entertainment of Bonanza (bean trading card game I bought Mr Low). It was hilarious. Chee Kheong, who refused to participate in the game, watched along as we verbally abused each other repeatedly. Soon, when everyone was ready to smash each other's face, we decided to call it a night.

Tomorrow's itinery is going to be a food packed one as well! My tummy screams!!!

Montalto
Rise and shine! It was another day of food adventure! With stomachs growling, we headed to Montalto, the well known winery for its famously acclaimed food.

Just look at its credentials and you know this is not a place to miss out on!

Of course, before the feasting begins, Kodak moments must be captured to illustrate the joyful event!

Housemates of the year!

Hot babe trying to get me to replay Titanic. But no way am I going to jump if she jumps! Keke...

Some wine tasting to get ourselves in the mood for some party!

The action bedek owner trying to give us a crash course on his quality wines. Haha, they are all the same, I say. AWFUL!

Ohhh, olive oil! Sprinkle some vinegar in it as a dip for bread. Marvellous!

Now, now, finally, the food fest begins! This raw looking beef dish is ordered by Hot babe! Apparently, upon coming to Wallaby Land, she has turned to the DARK side by eating beef! Haha, so much for being religious eh?

Fish is Mr Low's dish. He thinks he can become more intelligent upon eating more fish. Alas, all is too late, for his puberty is over!

Sorrento Vanilla Slice
As if we have not have had enough food, we heard Sorrento, which is just nearby, is famous for its vanilla slice. So what do we do? We just got to go there and EAT it! YES! HAHAHA!

Look at that satisfied and greedy look on Hot Babe's face and you know if she is one who lives to eat or eats to live!

Tadah! The famous vanilla slice! Hmm, but i think it's not fantastic...Overhype I tell you.

Finally, after a weekend of feasting, a photo of us to end off the wonderful weekend of high life living. Stumbled upon this picture while copying the pics from Hot Babe's camera. No idea this picture was taken! But it was a pleasant surprise :)

But with all happy moments comes an end. The time has come for Mr Low to go home. If only I can keep him with me all the time like my soft toy. Haha. Oh well, we can't have it all in life! ;p

Aussie Road Trip - Days 5,6,7 Mt Gambier

2007-06-10T23:06:00.000+08:00

After a long journey, we reached Mount Gambier in the late noon. After driving around the town in search of a cheap hostel, we finally settled for one which has free vcd rental, which was a really good thing as we were getting sick of the Australian television - having watched reality shows on adultery consecutively for the past few days.

In total, we stayed in Mt Gambier for three days and in the duration, visited many amazing geographical landmarks.

Valley Lake & Blue Lake

Mt Gambier is known as "the city of craters, lakes, caves & sinkholes" and it used to be a volcanic area. However, the craters have long since became inactive and now they are lakes which tourists flock to every year. I had previously visited another crater lake in my life - the famous Lake Toba of Indonesia. The beautiful memory I had then made me look forward to visiting Valley Lake and Blue Lake of Mt Gambier.

These two lakes were exactly the first locations Mich and I headed to. After living the slack life in Aussie for too long, the hike up Valley Lake was an onerous one for Mich. Despite this, her fear of heights was greater than her fatigue. Panting and whining, she can still threaten and drag me when I repeatedly venture too close to the edge of the cliff to take photos. Soon, we reached our destination which was a stoic tower overlooking Valley Lake.

Look at that confident smug on my face, the hike up the crater was an easy stroll for me... can't say the same for Deario though.

There was a caretaker at the tower, a nice old man whose job was to explain the history of the tower and its surroundings to tourists. He told us that he lives not in Mount Gambier, but in a smaller town nearby. In his younger days, he had worked as a tour guide in that town and after work everyday, he would bring his dog to the beach and fish till evening. I was quite intrigued by his sharing and was amazed that anyone can lead such idyllic life. This old man's life and ours seem worlds apart. Chatting with strangers from another culture is a wonderful experience - you never know what kind of stories you will get to hear. This is one of the things I like about backpacking.

As for the view up at the tower, it was really breath-taking. To our left were Valley Lake and the sprawling Mt Gambier town while to our right were the shimmering sea, farms and a few plateaus. In Singapore you can't possibly get such a wide unblocked view of the landscape. Take a look at the video below:

We lingered on the tower for quite some time before moving on to the Blue Lake. The Blue Lake was so named because its water changes from an unimpressive grey to the bluest blue in autumn and winter, though no one can really explain the cause for the colour change. When evening comes, many of the local residents would come up the crater lake for a jog around its circumference, which was a pretty nice activity. In another lifetime, I might have loved to live here and spend my days peacefully with Deario and perhaps a pet dog. But for now, we're contented to strolled round the lake once in the sunset.

Umpherstone Sinkhole

After dinner, when the sky was dark enough, we went to check out the Umpherstone Sinkhole which is well-known for its possums inhabitants. The reason why we we journeyed there only after dark is because the possums are nocturnal animals and they sleep in the crevices of the sinkhole throughout the day. When night falls, however, the possums come out to the garden to scavenge for food. In appearance, they resemble both the raccoon and the cat, except larger. In anticipation of feeding these cute animals, Mich and I had brought along some bananas. Of course, I was the one doing the feeding as Deario is typically very scared of contact with animals.

What a docile animal the possum is. Very greedy though, check out the piece of banana in its paws - that's chunk #6.

This is the sinkhole in the day. It used to be a subterranean cavern but was transformed when its ceiling collapsed during an earthquake hundreds of years ago. A landscape designer later decorated the sinkhole with a mystical-looking garden and this place has ever since been one the popular places for the locals to hold their weddings. Pretty neat, except for the musky smell of possums.

Engelbrecht Cave

On the second day, we visited this impossible-to-pronounce cave known as Engelbrecht Cave. This cave looked like the entrance to Hell from above the ground as the passage leading into the gathering dark seemed to descend forever. As the guide led us down into the bowels of the earth step by step, the gathering dark slowly blot out the sun and I felt the pull of ritual and a sense of tingling anticipation.

Yet another downward passage awaits us at the end of the passage. Like a mirror universe, stairway echoes stairway until we're deep inside the earth.

What awaited us at the bottom was a strange twilite world. In this world, silence is the only sound you hear and time seemed to be at a standstill. Nothing lives down here and even the air feels dead and cold. A subterranean river laid within the cavern, its greenish water still and covered with a thin film of dust.

We spent some time indulging in the eerie atmosphere of the cave before coming up to the surface. The guide, who gave a good discourse on the history of the cave, told us too that cave diving is actually permitted in Engelbrecht Cave and annually, some 4-5 divers come here to challenge themselves. The numbers may seem small but that is because Engelbrecht Cave is a "level 4 cave diving spot", which is the toughest level and there are less than 20 cave divers out there who are capable of tackling level 4 caves.

Princess Rose Margaret Cave

We visited another subterranean landmark known as the Princess Rose Margaret Cave during our stay at Mt Gambier. The Princess Rose Margaret Cave is a limestone cave formed by water from a river above seeping down through cracks and faultlines in the limestone, dissolving the rock and creating fissures and tunnels.

While the Engelbrecht Cave gave one a sense of lifelessness, the Princess Rose Margaret Cave is very much alive. As drops of mineral-carrying water drip from the ceiling, stalactites, stalagmites, helictites and other spectacular limestone formations are actively being grown. Semi-translucent and backlit, these flow stone form sculptures and miniature landscapes that could be from another planet.

Progression in the cave is unhurried however, and it can take around 50 years for stalagmites and stalactites to grow a centimetre. In some parts of the 700,000 year-old cave, a drop of calcifying water might fall on a stalagmite just once a day. Being in the cave is a humbling experience in itself. Confronted with the cave's pristine quality, I cannot help but be keenly conscious of man's mortality and frivolity in the enduring world. Someday, you and I will be gone like a vapour in the wind.. but the earth will still go on spinning.

Potter's Point

On one of the nights, Deario and I drove up to the highest point of the city, known as Potter's Point, to see the city lights. The night-time firmament up on the hill was brilliant with a march of stars on a meadow of velvet. We stood embraced in a clearing among the pines, moved by the wondrous sight, feeling at once awe-struck and encalmed. How I wished, at that moment, that I could lie down with Deario beneath the heavenly dome and together sing songs till we fall asleep!

Alas, the wind was too chilly and soon we had to seek the warmth of the car. But someday, in some distant summer night..

Departure
We had seen many other curious sights in our three day stay at Mt Gambier but I wouldn't be able to finish narrating all that. Where words end, memories take over. Mt Gambier was the last stop for our Great Ocean Road trip and with the conclusion of our stay there, it was finally time to head back to Melbourne.

All the travelling around and sight-seeing has made Deario a tired girl. See how hungrily she was munching her breakfast!

Day of rude awakening...

2007-05-20T20:46:00.000+08:00

This morning, I received a call from my dad and got news that my grandfather is very ill. Apparently, he collapsed on the pavement last night and is currently in a coma. The doctor said that he had suffered a stroke and would not be able to recover as he hit his head. Somehow, as I listened to my dad's trembling voice across half the globe, I can't help but experience tears streaming down my face.

One of my worst fears have come true. I might lose my grandfather soon. The nightmare more than a decade ago, which resulted in me losing my grandma was all coming back to me. Flashbacks of that faithful day, aftermath of the events, family crying everywhere, broken hearts, devastated souls. I cannot illustrate how I feared those moments. Even up till today, I still recall the very details which happened.

The only things that I could be thankful about were:

Grandma was a Roman Catholic and believer of God, which means that she will go to heaven with her departure from earth

The event brought the family closer

It taught me a painful lesson about how I have taken for granted all the things and people that meant so much to be for my own selfish leisure and enjoyment (i.e. going out with friends, chatting online, talking on the phone, etc

Today, I was slapped with the same painful lessons which I have long forgotten. Once again, I have been too selfish. And this time round, things were different. My grandfather, despite years of indicating that he wanted to go to church and follow my grandmother's faith, has just allowed inertia to take place. Likewise, I was just too cowardy to share the gospel with him for fear of rejection. Now, I can only hope that at his deathbed, he really did repent. But I will never know till my death. :(

Nuts over NUTS!

2007-05-20T00:19:00.000+08:00

WATCH OUT! Tragedy has taken over!

My dear friends, see this harmless pack of nuts? It cost me $50! Why? Cause the dishonest uncle selling the nuts refused to acknowledge that I gave him $50. Kept insisting that I only gave him $20! Wat the...

I kept asking him for the change but he just REFUSED! If only there was a camera there to snap down his nasty act! No way am I getting any more nuts from him! I must be NUTS to do that! :'(

Aussie Road Trip - Day 4 Great Ocean Road (GOR) Adventure!!!

2007-05-19T16:44:00.000+08:00

Rise and shine! Today is supposed to be a jam packed day! We were behind my PERFECTO schedule by about 1/3 of a day so no time was wasted packing up and heading towards our 1st destination for the day, Otway Lighthouse!

Otway Lighthouse

This is apparently one of the 1st lighthouse built in Australia after a long long time and many ship wrecks. As I have been here before, this was not something particularly interesting to me. In fact, I was more interested in chilling at the cafe and drinking kopi with the sea view before me. But nonetheless, given that it is Mr Low's virgin trip here, I decided to "entertain" him.

Ha, long time it has been, 3 years it is. I almost forgot how scary the walk to the lighthouse from the carpark is. Why? Cause I am a reptile coward! Any landscape that consists of bushes, trees, sign boards cautioning against snakes gets me all psyched up and uptight, like a mother hen constanly on the outlook for eagles in a bid to protect her line of chicks behind. Haha.

However, something interesting to note about the lighthouse this time round is that they have improved on their efforts to provide more background and history on the lighthouse. They have a story teller stationed at the top of the lighthouse to narrate stories of the past, to which no one can verify! Awesome! Keke...

Ha, finally it was time for us to chill out at the cafe. But it was such a disappointment! They DO NOT serve brekkie! The menu only had scones and pastries. :( No warm and fuzzy food, and the kopi sucks! :'(

Otway Rainforest

Next up, we did a detour to the Otway Rainforest so Mr Low can experience what a tree top walk looks like. Having experienced the walk when I was in Tasmania a couple of months back, I wasn't particularly keen given I have this terrible fear of heights! But oh well, a woman gotta do what a woman gotta do, which is to show the man the world. Haha, so here we are!

Ha, this picture was taken when we were at the top of the viewing stand of the treetop. The hike up was torturous! The stairs were so narrow that only 1 way traffic is possible. I had to get Mr Low to keep talking rubbish to me so I can be distracted from the height! Look at how happy he is in the picture! Probably grinning at me for being such a wuss. Bleah!

The engineers for the treetop walk are buggers who are constantly trying to be funny. They built the path which vibrates and shakes whenever someone is walking on it. Scares the shit out of you cause every step I take, I worry about it being my last!

I cannot emphasize how great my fear was, but perhaps the video below will give you a better idea of how scared I was! :'(

Ha, this was taken when we were at the foot of the rainforest. I cannot tell you how relieved I was. But now, I was afraid that the tracks will collapse and crush me to death! Tsk tsk, scarly cat I am.

To be fair, though this is the highest treetop walk in Australia, I think that the one in Tasmania is more scary cause the edge of track is an open area with the bottom being an open river. Strong winds with huge waves along with a bunch of people standing at the edge of the track is just about enough to freak you out with countless possibilities of a horrible and unwanted death.

Twelve Apostles

Relaxing times ahead! After the stressful morning, it was time to chill! Along the GOR, you CANNOT miss the 12 apostles. It is basically just a few chunks of rocks caused by Mother Nature geographical actions. No idea why it is so famous, but when you are in Melbourne, you got to do what the Melbournians do!

Beautiful, aint it? What GREAT photography skills I have! ;p

This is supposed to be the Loch Arc Gorge or something like that, if I remember correctly. But well, it is just another piece of geographical formation. Haha, I think there's more along the way, but after some time, EVERYTHING just looks the same! Keke.

So here we are, creating self entertainment for ourselves in the midst of the sunny weather. Luckily the weather was not freezy, if not, Mr Low would have died a shameful death for ignoring my repeated warnings of the unpredictable weather in Melbourne. Why you might ask? He was in Sentosa when he got my sms weather report and thought, 'Aiya how cold can it be right? Chill la..'

Haha what a fool he is! Thankfully, his lucky stars were shining. See that white sweater he is donning? That's hot babe's! Luckily she was kind enough to offer him her sweater, if not, I will be laughing all the way while he freezes in desperation!

After all that touristy stuff, it was time to embark on our final leg of today's journey. Warrnambool! I was quite excited about it as I have never been there before and also, due to the fact that hot babe strongly recommended it.

Pit stop 1: Port Campbell

Finally, time for a breather from the hectic day and also, time for a bite. Walked around the town which is basically a 200m stretch of shops, hotels and restaurants, got some fish and chips & a cuppa kopi, pumped some petrol and off we were, hitting the road again.

Just for the benefit of those who are interested in the comfy backpacker place that I mentioned in my Day 3 post, check them out below!

Ha, ain't that nice? Cheap too! I think it is just about A$20/pax for 1 night! Super value for $, except for the fact that you must be great at self entertainment, as there is REALLY literally NOTHING to do at small towns like these along the GOR.

From discussion with Mr Low, we reckoned that towns like these are great for holiday houses but not somewhere you want to live in as your main residence. Unless you are retired!

Warrnambool

Vroommm...About 2 hours of 'Initial D' on the road and we were at our final destination! Advised by hot babe, there was no need to pre book accommodation at Warrnambool as there are countless motels and hotels around.

So off we went scouting around for the best deal in the town! After half an hour, we were settled into a quiet but cosy motel, watching tv while Mr Low studies the attractions of the town. So we were to go for a laser show about yet another ship wreck.

Well, it was a nice experience, except that for A$25/pax, you would expect more. After that, we went for a Taco Bell dinner as Mr Low has never tried Mexican food before. I myself have not tried Taco Bell and at 9+pm, along with the freezing cold weather, any hot and meaty food would do the trick for me.

We literally stuffed ourselves with nachos, beef, fruit punch and more. Needless to say, Mr Low has Mexican food phobia now (common with anyone who eats Mexican for the 1st time) and I do not feel like having it for some time.

Back at the motel, we watched some tv before I performed my daily ritual of getting my CA notes out for my 5 min exercise once again. Haha. Obviously, it did not take long for my eyes to shut! ;)

An exhausting yet enjoyable day, but I am at the same time excited about tomorrow's journey to Mount Gambier (halfway between Melbourne & Adelaide)! Somewhere I never been before as well. Woohoo! Stay tuned!

Aussie Road Trip - Day 3 Great Ocean Road (GOR) Adventure!!!

2007-05-14T22:46:00.000+08:00

After the 'not so exciting' beginning of activities all in the honour of Mr Low, i.e. Flower Show & penguin watching, it was time for the kickoff of my exciting itinerary!

Despite setting off later than scheduled (due to Mr Low nudging everyone in the household the night before to play the card game he brought, Bonanza - silly, inflexible bean trading game), we were both excited and raring to go! After a frantic morning of packing and preparation, we were finally all set and ready to conquer GOR!

Haha, check this out. Ain't the guy usually supposed to be driving while the gal chill in the passenger seat? Now now, is it obvious enough who wears the pants in the relationship? Tsk tsk. Oh man, why do I look so fat in the picture? All because of Mr Low's kuku photography skills! Ha, check his attire out! And compare it to the following:

WAHAHA! It's an exact replica of Where's Wally! Despite knowing Mr Low for nearly a decade, I never knew he had this fantasy of being Where's Wally. The moment he stepped foot into my room and saw that lovely scarf of mine, which my bosom buddy, Donald, gave me when I was departing for Melbourne last June, Mr Low grabbed the scarf and declared that it was his! -Gasp-

1st pit stop: Geelong

Geelong is a suburb about 45mins away from the city. I have not been there before but have heard from many that it is a boring place with nothing to promise. However, since we got to stop somewhere for toilet break and pay the visitor centre a visit, here we are...

Part of Geelong is surrounded by the sea. It was a beautiful day out there, with the sun shining onto the surface of the sea, making it glitter like gold. Lots of people fishing. Did I mention that Aussies just love to fish? For whatever reason I do not know, but somehow, no amount of fishing is EVER enough for them, just like how no amount of booze is EVER enough for them!

Ha, Pirates of the Caribbean 4 in the making. Everybody, check out that hot chick in the middle! Don't you just get blown away by her? Haha!

Haha, Wally wannabe in action. Actually, we just wanted to take a picture of the ship in the background. But we reckoned, hey let's take a picture of us in the photo to enhance the beauty of the landscape. So, somehow, WE became the centre of the attention! Haha, like, what is new right? But then again, how can you blame me?

Ha, another shippy photo again...You bet Mr Low just cannot resist his fingers to snap shots of such a beautiful creature right before him! ;p Ha, I look like a sheepish kid who rather be in bed. Well, such nice weather is always best for chilling in bed ma! :D

GOR Highway

After leaving traces of our footsteps in Geelong, we were to hit the GOR Highway and stop at Lorne, this small beachfront town with a long stretch of shops and restaurant for lunch.

Now along the way, the following conversation occurred when we were searching for directions to the GOR Highway:

Mich: Ok, so where are we supposed to go now?

Mr Low: (Studying the map like a bible) Ok, now just continue going straight and turn right at the junction

Mich: (See the road board stating 'GOR Highway - Turn left 100m') Are you sure? The road sign said left leh

Mr Low: (Calm and composed tone) Yes, don't worry about the sign board, just trust me and go straight

Mich: But...but why...(sulking as I continued driving straight)

At the traffic light...

Mich: Eh, why still don't have sign board to the GOR Highway?

Mr Low: (unsure tone) Errr...Don't know leh, the road looks strange

Mich: (In pek chek tone) Wahlau eh, you see you la, I told you to turn left just now you don't listen...

Stops at road side to study map

Mr Low: (cock sure tone) Aiya I am right la...We have not reached the junction to turn left la, you listen to me confirm correct one. Don't worry, no sugar.

Mich: (In defiant tone while accelerating the car) Haiyah, why do you have to make life so complicated? Just now turn left at the road sign not can liao lor, still wanna chu pattern read this read that...so mafan...

Mr Low: (Scholar tone) -flashes map- Come, I tell you hor, go this way better cos...

Yadah yadah yadah...So for the 1st 10 minutes when we hit the GOR Highway, Mr Low was trying to convince me why his choice of road is the best while I continued to be defiant. Bleah. Guys. Haha.

2nd pit stop: Lorne

Finally, after 1+ hour, we reached Lorne. The road to Lorne was winding and narrow with Mr Low constantly reminding me like an alarm clock to drive safely.

Mr Low: (shaky tone) Hey deario, don't drive so fast k...Safety 1st...

Mich: (bo chup tone) But I'm only travelling at 100km/hr ma. It's so lame. And it's safe ma, don't you feel secure with Safety Quek around? -sniggers-

Mr Low: .......But your car very buang ma...

Mich: (nonchalant tone) Eh you cannot like that say hor, my ma que (sparrow) is one of the most reliable cars in the history of Melbourne hor.

And so the exchange of opinions went along as we drove along, with mini karaoke sessions held in between to the likes of Mr Low's Sony Ericsson's Walkman phone.

Before we knew it, speedy sparrow had brought us to Lorne, where we walked around searching for a nice place to have lunch in. Settled for seafood platter set for 2, where the chips provided was so much, when it was packed nicely in a wrap, it was twice the size of my arm! GOSH!

Apollo Bay

After lunch, we set off to Apollo Bay, where we were to stay for the night at the highly self recommended YHA hostel. Before that, we were supposed to visit the Otway rainforest and the Otway lighthouse. Given that it was already late afternoon, we decided to take things easy and visit all these locations tomorrow instead.

So we decided to check in before exploring the area further.

Tadah! Our stylo hostel at just $20+/pax for 1 night! Highly recommended! They have a well equipped kitchen with utensils and sauces that fellow backpackers left behind for others to use, nice and comfy bunker beds, not forgetting clean bathrooms!

Apollo Bay has changed so much ever since I went there about 3 years ago, more shops, later operating hours. There's even a DVD store there now! Took a stroll along the beach and explored the area we were staying. There's a fishing dock near the beach, saw a super big puffer fish swimming around groggily! So cute! Wanted to catch it but no net! :'(

With too much time in hand, we decided to head to the supermart and buy ingredients to cook dinner! Mushrooms, soup, garlic, chicken, etc...As it was still early, I decided to bring Mr Low to the backpackers I stayed with Qi when we were here 3 years ago.

My impression was that it was a nice cosy place, only to realise that it was the WRONG backpacker hostel I had in mind! The one I thought was nice and cosy was in Port Campbell! No wonder fussy hot babe thought otherwise! Haha!

Compare this hostel to YHA and you will find a world of difference! ;p

So after some magical chef moments by Stylo Quek, we have before us a table of food to feast on! Check them out below!

Now, they say a hungry man is a angry man. Does Mr Low look angry to you? I think he looks more guai lan. Haha.

Check me out! Obviously, when they say that a hungry man is a angry man, they did not realise a hungry woman is angrier! Keke!

After our stomachs are filled, the Nintendo DS (a gaming console to the likes of PSP) competition began! After much nagging by Mr Low, I decided to take out my CA study materials to do some studying. Why? All because Mr Low had to come at a time when my module is going on and with a quiz due in days, I can't play freely without worries! But then again, after reading 5 pages, I dozed off! Haha, so much for being studious!

Oh well, it's not the quantity that counts ma, it's the quality! Tsk tsk, stay tuned for Day 4 of our GOR adventure!

Melbourne Jazz Festival - DIVA Night!

2007-05-09T21:10:00.001+08:00

In conjunction with the annual Melbourne Jazz Festival, alongside our new found freedom after our tax exam, we decided to catch DIVA Night! Why? Just cause it is something we got to do when we are here? Ha, yeah the tickets were costly (A$59) by my Singaporean giam kana mentality but hey I'm only going to be here for only 2 years! Can't possibly just scrimp and save and not enjoy this experience fully right?

Tadah! The venue of the festival was at Crown. This is it! Posh huh? We got seats which were like 5m away from the stage! Very good view, great music, wonderful atmosphere! This is my first jazz concert, but I can truly say I did not regret any single cent I spent!

One of the divas for the night...An award winning singer/songwriter who began her professional singing career at the age of fourteen, Elana Stone has displayed her musical range across Australia for the past decade. Elana Stone was a finalist for Australian Jazz Vocal Album of the Year in the Australian Jazz Bell Awards 2006. At heart an improviser and a live performer, Elana has stepped outside the confines of jazz to create original music, highlighting her song-writing ability and progressive style. The Elana Stone Band has performed at festivals across Australia and Europe.

Personally, she is the young and chic version of a jazz diva. Her voice was husky when she hit the high notes, lyrics were lame at times, but the music and the band were great! They even took the effort to synchronise their songs with the background!

The only downside was that Elana, despite her sharp chin, had a round belly. But that's not all, she wore a black skin tight dress! And I was so distracted as I kept focusing my vision on her belly button, which was bulging out of her black dress like a puffer fish's mouth! Haha...

Now introducing the 2nd diva of the night.....

Janet Seidel, winner of the Australian Jazz Bell Award for Australian Jazz Vocal Album of the year in 2006, is undoubtedly one of Australia's most prominent vocalists. With a voice that is soft and sensuous, Seidel can soothingly sing a ballad and become erotic with a blues tune. She manages the task of sounding flirtatious, confident and even humorous, which gives her songs an extra depth. Janet Seidel has an outstanding international career and has been revered not only on her Jazz tours in Australia but also on tours internationally.

Ha, I always thought she is french. Cause I bought one of her cds back in Singapore and was charmed by her french accent in the songs she sang, oh so sexy! Became a convert almost instantaneously! She is equivalent to the classy and sophisticated version of a jazz diva. Crystal clear and laid back old school jazz. Nice. Though the only off thing was that she resembled my client, who looks like Miss Piggy wrinkled up. Haha.

During the interval, the old lady sitting beside me introduced herself for a chat and asked why we young girls were interested in jazz and if we were part of a band before. Then she started telling me about her adventures, going around Australia attending musicals and jazz concerts, travelling in her caravan with her hubby. All these reminded me of the times when Mr Low and I were up at Mt Gambier, having a similar conversation with an old lady at the sink hole. She too, had a caravan and would travel around Australia with a bunch of friends to chill.

That made me miss Mr Low. I thought to myself, how nice if he could've been here! But then again, if he was here, he might not have appreciated the music and in turn, would have affected my mood! Haha.

Yet another wonderful experience! I remembered at the end of the concert, where I was sitting there soaking in the atmosphere of it all, I took some time and pondered about the time I spent in Australia. And I started to count my blessings, the friends I made while here, the lessons I learnt, the new independence I found, the places I discovered, the experiences I had, and so many many more.

So...There's after all, something good coming out from it all, eh? Which reminds me of Moby song lyrics, 'Open to everything happy and sad, seeing the good when it's all going bad...'

Time to be positive! :)

Keysssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!

2007-05-08T16:22:00.000+08:00

Just when I thought my day was great, knocking off at 515pm, thinking of going for a jog, I recalled I forgot my keys! Just when I am at my DOORSTEP! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...With my housemates situated where I set off from, with my lazy ass growing at an accelerated speed, I opted to sit in the sofa couch of the basement of my apartment, waiting for my housemates to come home, not mentioning that I am currently fighting a shitload full bladder and using the building's electricity to charge my lappie. Haha...

Being boliao and trying to occupy myself to forget about how long more must I wait before I get to relieve my bladder, I took some personality tests...

The Five Love Languages

My primary love language is probably
Quality Time
with a secondary love language being
Physical Touch.

Complete set of results

Quality Time:		8
Physical Touch:		7
Words of Affirmation:		7
Acts of Service:		4
Receiving Gifts:		4

Information

Unhappiness in relationships, according to Dr. Gary Chapman, is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. Sometimes we don't understand our partner's requirements, or even our own. We all have a "love tank" that needs to be filled in order for us to express love to others, but there are different means by which our tank can be filled, and there are different ways that we can express love to others.

Take the quiz

So, let's see...This test is quite interesting huh...But the overall conclusion, in a blunt way, is I'm LOW MAINTENANCE! Haha...cheap cheap...

It's 652pm, anytime I am ready to urinate in my pants...but...my dear housemates are still not home yet!

LESSON OF THE DAY: NEVER EVER FORGET YOUR HOUSE KEYS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE WORKING AS AN ACCOUNTANT! :'(

Ha, so in my bid to distract myself about the toilet, I did yet another test. Gosh, I'm a born curator? What is that man? Somebody who is in an incubator? Haha...Check it out below! ;p

2007-05-01T21:19:00.000+08:00

Aussie Road Trip - Day 2 Philip Island

Early in the morning, Mich and I decided to go to the Melbourne International Flower Show before we embark on our road trip to Philip Island. On the previous day, I had caught a glance of the event at Carlton Gardens in my city walk but could not attend as it was about to close for the day. Happily hopping into the event hand-in-hand, we had expected to find exotic flowers, good food and fun activities.

The event turned out to be somewhat a disappointment. Not that there weren't brilliant flowers and skillfully done flower arrangements, but walking around looking at flowers just wasn't worth the AU$50 entry fee we paid for. The event was more suited for gardening enthuaists who were looking for gardening tips and equipment. After admiring flowers for two hours, we were ready to move on to our road trip.

The journey to Philip Island was a long one (by Singaporean's standards), lasting almost two hours. I did the map-reading while Mich drove, both of us singing along to the MP3s I brought for the trip. The weather was not looking good; dark clouds were gathering in the sky and the winds were chilly and strong. Still, we were determined to enjoy our trip. By the time we reached the island, the bad weather was still persistent and raindrops were beginning to fall.

The first spot we went to visit was one of the many beaches on Philip Island. The sea was all foamy as mighty waves repetitively assualted and withdrew from the craggy shoreline. I was in awe as it was the first time I glanced upon such a raging sea. It was as beautiful as it was frightening - what a force of nature! It brought to mind God's majestic and fearsome power. Indeed, it is as the Bible says, "it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Lord".

As we walked along the beach, the wind began to pick up sharply and grains of sand, stirred up by the wind, became whirling dust clouds containing a million tiny razors. Such was the strength of the wind that when the grains of sand hit our faces, they can cause a prickling pain. We barely lasted a minute in the sandstorm before we had to seek shelter in the car. The cold was also getting to our bones so we decided that we should drive to one of the townships on the island for warm meals and drinks.

The locals who lived on Philip Island are apparently used to the harsh weather here. In the warmth of a bistro, we observed in amazement at kids having a picnic by the sea. Philip Island's main attraction is the Penguin Parade. Since the penguins only return to their homes at dusk, we had some time to burn. We spent some time reading magazines in the bistro and then taking a nap in the car before moving on.

Near the beach where the Penguin Parade is located, there is a cliff overlooking two famous rocks protuding like monuments out of the sea. These rocks are known as the Nobbies. The sea around this part of the island is extremely dangerous; high up on the cliff, we could feel the splash of capricious waves as they surged forward, seemingly to engulf the land. The Nobbies are located at the southern-most end of Philip Island, and as such, it is the furthest away from the Equator in this part of the world. How fitting it seemed, that Land's Edge should have such a treacherous seascape.

Oh, and I spotted a chilling phantom rising out of the sea, take a look at the clip below:

When the sun snuffed itself, refusing to relight for the day, the blanket of night crept across the island and along with it came the imminent cold. Even with our jackets and scarves on, we were both shivering in the dark. I was in half a mind to give the Penguin Parade a miss but I knew that would be letting both Mich and myself down. I reckoned that the temperature was about five degrees on that day but we persisted to sit ourselves down at the beach. Along with us was a crowd of about two hundred other tourists. Everyone was speaking in hushed voices and looking towards the sea in keen anticipation.

I think we must be really fortunate. From what I've heard from others who have been to Philip Island, sometimes it takes as long as one full hour before the penguins gather the courage to waddle up the beach to their burrows. However, on this day, the penguins were rather hasty to come up to land, perhaps driven by the cold. I can't begin to describe how clumsily cute the penguins are, words would not do them justice. The way they consolidate into ranks at the brink of the sea before toddling across the beach in regimental formation really won my heart over.

Finally, when the last of the penguins disappeared into their burrows, and the remaining lights on the island dimmed, we began to depart. It was wonderful to be on Philip Island, but even the excitement of the day couldn't compare to the sweet serenity of the night as Mich and I sang and drove our way home under a vast and perfect star-spangled sky.

2007-04-24T21:22:00.000+08:00

What is it with parking fines and me?

Thinking it was a tuesday, with $1 DVDs and cheap petrol, I tried to encourage myself that it is a great night to head out. You know, pump petrol, buy some milk for my kopi and basically, pay the DVD store a visit after a 3 month long hiatus.

So happily, I lured my housemate, YH, to tag along, with the bait of $1 DVD storewide. Being the gullible daredevil, along with tomorrow being Anzac Day, yet another Australia public holiday, YH agreed with much enthusiasm.

When we arrived, there were NO parking space cause everyone was busy eating and getting wasted, with the string of restaurants and hotels along that area. Thinking that it was late (already 9+), that nobody will be issuing tickets at this ungodly hour (based on Australian standards), I decided to be lazy and just park at the taxi zone opposite the DVD store.

So happily both of us went in and selected our cheap DVDs only to realise my biggest horror when we were boarding our car. A white strap of paper on the bottom left hand corner of the wind screen. I thought to myself, SHIT, this can't happen! :( What can I say? SHIT HAPPENED! :'(

On my way back, I was cursing to myself. To think I still told YH that we should be fine given that it's late. I should have heeded the advice of YS & Botak to just stay home and study. For a moment, I thought about doing it the Singapore way. Write a letter with a pitiful plight of how I was suffering from diarrhoea and needed to relieve myself badly but had problems finding a carpark space, and given the fact that I am repentant and that it was my 1st offence, and plead for mercy. Then, I thought of the 10 commandments in the Bible, 'Thou shan't bear false testimony'. Boohoo, that got me resigning to my fate!

Then I thought of all the parking fines I had within the time I spent in Melbourne (less than a year). And I realised that with the $ I am feeding all these unsympathetic bullies, I could have done the following with all that $:

Fly to Sydney
Buy 20 or more bottles of Omega 3 oil pills
Eat 20 kebabs
Rent 100+ DVDs at $1 each
Countless feasts
Countless kopis
Buy a new kopi maker

And the list goes on...

As if the night has not been traumatic as yet, I came home to YS telling me that my retain (work schedule depicting the jobs I had) has just been smacked with a 2 months job in May and June, where many are on AVAILABLE TIME.

Sigh, what can I say? It's a really bad day! :'(

2007-04-24T00:11:00.000+08:00

Aussie Road Trip - Day 1

Stepping out of the arrival gate into a 5am Melbourne dawn, my emotion is a mix of fatigue from the 8-hour long flight and keen anticipation. I had imagined my reunion with Michelle countless times before this day. Many times, I envisaged us crying in each other's arms, like a scene out of the movies. That did not happen in the end of course, me being too self-conscious to weep in public. When I beheld Mich standing in front of me as I walked out of the airport, what I felt was a sense of relief. A sense of coming home to the most familiar place on earth after what seemed like a millenium of endless wandering. To be home is to be by the side of Mich. As I walked with her, I was once again entranced by her soulful eyes and her animated way of talking, both of which I have come to love so much over the years.

Dawn in Melbourne was quietly beautiful. I stared out of the window and indulged myself in the cool morning air as Mich's small car breezed through the highway. After some time of travelling, we approached Melbourne city. The city is the only place in Melbourne where one can find high-rise buildings; the surrounding country is so vast that for miles and miles only farms and short houses exist. The high-rise buildings are statuesque and many of them carry the same dark-glassed splendor as Suntec City back home. Very soon, we reached Michelle's apartment, which is just across the street from where she worked.

Well, her apartment is a mess (notice the present tense); it's hardly what I had imagined of a place where two girls are staying. Random articles lie all over the place and amass into one big pile at the back of the living room. The overall atmosphere is one of a junkyard. Making a mental note to address that before Mich and I have a home of our own in the future, I proceeded to take a nap while Michand Yishan departed for work.

When I woke up, it was 3pm. Remembering that Mich had told me that the shops in the city close at 6pm, I hurried out to explore the city. I began by strolling around the perimeter of the city and Melbourne, like most other modernised cities, looks almost the same as Singapore. What is interesting is that Melbourne is divided into two sections by a river, and when you stand at one side of the river and look towards the other, it feels like a scenary out of "A Tale of Two Cities". The people of Melbourne are very diversed; everywhere I turned, I saw Asians. There were Hongkies, Chinese, Taiwanese, Koreans and Indians. I saw some interesting sights like a group of international student boycotting against their university for raising school fees, but otherwise, everything was prettty mundane. Soon, I tired of buildings and people, and strayed off-path to find the nature which I had so look forward to seeing on this trip.

My wanderlust brought me to a park, where I lingered on for the rest of the afternoon. It turned out to be quite a disappointment, really. Though the parks here were vast, they weren't as nicely decorated as some of the parks back home. Obviously, the real scenary lies outside the city. Come evening, when Mich and Yishan had finished their work, we went to have dinner at the Chinatown. The food was ok, but I questioned the need to eat Chinese food having just left Singapore half a day ago. When we were done, we went back to the apartment to retire for the night. Mich and I were going to visit Philips Island the following day, something to look forward to.

2007-04-23T00:00:00.000+08:00

The clock keeps ticking...

Gosh, somebody help me! The lazy bug in me has been nurturing once again! Shit man! 8 more days to my tax exam and I am still in a lethargic state of mind. Keep thinking of going on holidays and slacking. Boohoo.

SOMEBODY SAVE ME! :'(

2007-04-20T23:37:00.000+08:00

What a joke!

Haha, with my ego boosted, I tried on this website with another recent pict of mine. What can I say what can I say? I'm like super chio I can spend the whole bloody day just fiddling with this website to boost my ego...Haha, for now, I am sure I will have a good night's sleep! Till then, it's really time to start being a nerd!

Till then, everyone, quick go boost your ego! ;p

2007-04-20T23:24:00.000+08:00

Check who looks like me!

Haha, got this off a random blog website. So qi was right when she commented I look like Shuqi! Gosh! Ha everyone should check this out man! :)

http://www.myheritage.com

2007-04-18T23:22:00.000+08:00

Judgement day?

It's been a long time since I read the news or got in touch with any happenings of the world besides my own.

Just tonight, after a disturbing morning newspaper scan of the Virginia shooting massacre, I browsed Channelnewsasia for the first time in months and took a look at the world happenings.

Bombings in Thailand, Baghdad
Shootings in US, Brazil, Japan

Why is there so much hatred and violence amongst mankind? Must we really cause a blood rift between us all only then will we feel satisfied and accomplished?

It's been a bad week, for both the world and myself. Exam is coming, with no mood to study due to unforeseen circumstances, ridiculous syllabus workload and low morale. When I look around, there's tragedies all around the world it is almost too hard to look.

The world today saddens me to a great deal. My outlook on life today saddens myself. Hello Armageddon, bye Universe.

2007-04-14T13:07:00.000+08:00

My trip back to Sunny Singapore....pics long forgotten...

Haha, guess the title says it all... Slipped my mind that these pics existed until Lionel uploaded them onto my laptop for me when he was here. Haha, oh well, busy people always can't be bothered about stuff like this...

Now, time for some eye candy...

Us having fun @ East Coast Park. After cold broody Melbourne, I thought I could get some sunny weather back in tropical Singapore. Look at the skies! But still, always people who perceives the glass as half full, we did not let the weather spoil our wonderful day at the beach!

Oh well, I hate to admit it, but I do miss my botak very much...sobz...December come quick! Oh yah, everyone, I'm coming home in mid Dec so let's meet up! Woohoo! ;p

2007-03-22T00:02:00.000+08:00

Haha, what an interesting test! Try it out, people!

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

2007-03-12T21:50:00.000+08:00

My tarot card

You are The Empress

Beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, luxury, dissipation.

The Empress is associated with Venus, the feminine planet, so it represents,
beauty, charm, pleasure, luxury, and delight. You may be good at home
decorating, art or anything to do with making things beautiful.

The Empress is a creator, be it creation of life, of romance, of art or business. While the Magician is the primal spark, the idea made real, and the High Priestess is the one who gives the idea a form, the Empress is the womb where it gestates and grows till it is ready to be born. This is why her symbol is Venus, goddess of beautiful things as well as love. Even so, the Empress is more Demeter, goddess of abundance, then sensual Venus. She is the giver of Earthly gifts, yet at the same time, she can, in anger withhold, as Demeter did when her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped. In fury and grief, she kept the Earth barren till her child was returned to her.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

2007-02-10T22:09:00.000+08:00

Aftermath of a fearful friday

So, yesterday was the long awaited day where we were due to get the results for our 1st CA paper, Audit and Assurance. When I first got reminded at the beginning of the week that results were due on friday, I did not feel at ease for the entire week. The thought of having to withstand my fate being reflected on the computer screen within minutes of pop up sent shivers down my spine. Am feeling kind of old for this kind of nerve wrecking shit huh. Tsk tsk.

Yesterday, I wasn't really in the mood for work. Not much appetite for lunch. But nonetheless, I had my favourite Boost Juice and some curry at the city with Joey. She tried her best to calm my fears but of course, to no avail. Haha, the worried can never be calmed down! Yishan managed a whole foccacia sandwich to herself. So much for us being afraid.

So at 5pm, I reached home, calmed myself down and started logging in to check my results. Alas! I passed! Haha, was over the moon, until I realised that Max got merit for his paper. I was like shit! Max would have the chance to keep boasting about his all time impressive record! Haha, oh man, injustice! But nonetheless, I was happy that all 7 of us cleared our 1st barrier in Australia. 4 more papers to go, hopefully every barrier will be just like this 1st one which we cleared.

Of course we had to end the night with celebrations. Went for a korean dinner in the city, feasting over chicken, ginseng soup and rice cakes. Then went to Joey's house for some kopi session, afterwhich we headed off to Boxhill for a spontaneous KTV session. Sang from 11pm-4am! Gosh, by the time we got home, it was near 5am. Haha, hell of a night.

Also got to know from my bro that my cousin did super well for his O Levels! Man, that's what an awesome day is!

2006-12-01T23:57:00.000+08:00

Lonely, oh so lonely

It's one of those nights where I sit by my bed, feeling empty while watching the world go by. Tonight, I wonder what the past 5 months has moulded me into. What kind of person am I today as compared to before I stepped foot on Melbourne to begin a new chapter of my life? Do my friends miss me? Do they still care about me? Will things be the same when I return?

Tonight is one of those nights where I blast sad and moody songs to add onto my heavy mood. I don't know why, but somehow, I enjoy doing that when I'm feeling like this. Sometimes, I wish there would be fullness to fill up the emptiness within me. Tonight, I just feel like having a glass of wine by my balcony, with a cigarette, raking in the deafening silence of the night.

Good night, and good luck.

2006-10-15T15:18:00.000+08:00

Road trip 2 (Continued)
So after some laughs and jokes about our stupidity from the dry road incident, we finally arrived at DA TULIP FARM! Being the resourceful me, I have done my research on the website and knew of a group discount if we are able to get people to pool $ together to buy tickets as a group. Our initial attempt to persuade a angmoh family was disastrous, mainly because I think the father is a racist! He has this 'stupid asian want to cheat my $' look on his face!

Of course, we weren't going to let this racist pig ruin our tulip experience! There was a wise Asian family who overheard our attempts and took the initiative to offer to purchase the tickets together for cost savings purposes! Woohoo! I think it saved us half the tix price. Now now, who's the stupid one? Tsk Tsk. That's why I tell you, not all angmohs are smart lor and, never be a racist!

Tadah! Apparently, this tulip farm is a family owned business. All year round, they family hosts events during the tulip season and charge visitors $ to see the tulips. On top of that, they sell tulips and have merchandise stores come in to sell their stuff as well. This week was the Dutch Festival. Check out the pics below.

Lots of couples dancing the Holland dance. See the big yellow clogs they have! Hee, it is the trademark of the Dutch!

Now, how can we ever leave this place without eating our fair share of Dutch pancakes? :) After all, it is the Dutch Festival!

A little knowledge on Tulips for flower lovers. ;)

Ha, don't you think the dancers look funny? Notice that the dancers are all old couples? Hmm, does that tell us anything?

Of course, we gotta take some pictures when we are there and flaunt our beautiful faces right?

More tulips! Aww, if only I have this whole garden to myself!

Cool eh? Looks abit like an wedding aisle walkdown in a tent. Haha.

Now, what's all these huge poles for? Oh well, as long as they make me look small, I'm cool about it. Haha.

I think with Yishan around, the poles make me look even smaller! KUDOS! HAHAHAHA....

2006-10-15T14:33:00.000+08:00

Road Trip 2: Tulip Farm!
It's Spring time...Spring time...That means Tulip time! Armed with a traveller's enthusiasm in venturing all festivals all season in my short time span in Australia, I make it a point to do whatever activities listed on websites at each season! So here goes, our adventure to Tulip Farm in Dandenong! But first thing first, we gotta fill our stomachs right? And our housemate, Lynn, has recommended us this to-die-for place, Miss Marples! It is a quaint English Teahouse that is adapted from a story book and is apparently very famous.

When we got there, I thought, wow, what a fairy-like town! It's totally Hansel & Gratel! :) But all things great require patient people. Miss Marples does not accept reservations, only sincere people who are willing to wake up early can eat there. Though sincere, we were of course not placing Miss Marples above our warm and fuzzy beds. Hehe, so what happened? We had to wait 30mins just for a seat! Patience, my friend, is what you will learn in Australia. Simply because everything requires your patience here with the speed! Tsk tsk.

Off we went to explore the small town of Miss Marples somewhere in the Dandenong Hills. Just beside Miss Marples is a 'out of the world' coffee & tea shop! Such a wide variety of chocolate coated coffee beans, tea pots, coffee bean grinders, coffee makers, beans, and so much more! I felt like I was Alice in Wonderland.

This is just a small area of the store! Though the store ain't big, it certainly exercises great space efficiency!

Just look at the amount of coffee pots, tea leaves and tea plants! :D

Next up is a tarot witchery store! Look at all those voodoo stuff!

Of course, how can a witch store be without tarot reading? Hee, they even had women dress like fairies to tell your future! Ha, how reliable is that man...

Tadah! The long awaited MISS MARPLES! Cool quaint cottage eh?

Check out the size of the table! It's of course not true that we ordered too much. I mean, how can food ever be too much? Haha. Just looking at the cream and jam and you know we are going to have scones! Woohoo! The pot of tea is apparently some golden tea, that actually honestly just tastes like Lipton tea lor. Bleah.

This is the well acclaimed cottage pie! Being Australian, everything just gotta finish off with tomato sauce! Haha, but it's Miss Marples tomato sauce so nobody's complaining!

Just look at this! Can you believe it is actually a scone? I mean, it looks more like some frost tall bread! But then again, who is to tell Miss Marples that she is wrong?

Ha, this. This, my friend is simply mouth watering. It is called fingers. Toast topped with campagne ham and toasted with cheese on top. Awww. I can't even describe the wonder of this dish, except that my saliva is dripping as I'm typing away now.

Now, for the classic story that I will NEVER grow tired talking about. DA DRY ROAD! Haha, after our wonderful meal, we thought, what a smooth sailing journey to our tulip adventure. Little did we know our adventure has only started.

As we were descending the Dandenong Hills, I was manevouring the car like Jay Chou in Initial D. Suddenly, Yishan just announced with the cock sure map reading skills she has acquired in Melbourne.

Yishan: Ok, now, turn left.

I took a look at the dry road (refer to picture above, YES), looked at her in disbelief.

Mich: You're kidding, right?

Looking at me with the unperturbed expression on her face.

Yishan: No. The map says so.

Mich: ..............

Cindy: .............

Haha, so okay...Given that the map said so, we attempted our ascent up the 'dry' road. Ha needless to say, how can our steady 1 litre Daihatsu Charade possibly be able to withstand this blow? So halfway up the road, our car rolled backwards and got stuck at the side of the road, along with bushes.

Yishan and Cindy had to get out of the car and push to break the car free away from the clutches of the Amazon monsters. I was scared yet relieved. As I was at the driver's wheel preparing to start the engine, I had to juggle between not stalling the engine and at the same time, not allowing the car to slide back.

I tell you, never in my life I was so freaked out, trying not to endanger the lives of my friends. I never remember myself praying so hard to God for everything to be alright. Haha, by God's grace, we managed to free the car, afterwhich we had a good laugh and did a spot check on the car. Woohoo the car was fine! So off we went, unscathed, off to the tulip farm!

Ha, as I always told Yishan, it's yet another cockadodo thing we should add to our 'cock' list. Haha, but I'm really glad we escaped safe and sound, only to find that the car was leaking oil afew days later. Bleah. Oh well. :D

2006-10-13T23:53:00.000+08:00

Hills and Vales, Trees and Flowers - a Cameron Highlands Trip (Day 2)

The next morn, we woke up too late and missed the breakfast at the hotel. Therefore, we decided to take a walk down to the market area to find some food. We ended up having nasi lemak and maize. The maize was simply amazing - easily the sweetest maize I ever savoured, no seasoning need to be added to enhance its taste. The delightful taste of the maize was only matched by its own glorious golden colour.

Having satisfied our hunger, some of us went on to shop around the marketplace for a second round while the rest of us decided to go about snapping photos.

Eventually, some of the group went back to the apartment to slack while Chee Weng, Godmom and me wanted to linger around the flowers a bit longer. Check out the photos below, they speak for themselves as to how beautiful Cameron Highlands is.

The three of us had a really relaxed time down at the gardens. We strolled from picturesque spot to picturesque spot, snapping photos and chatting and laughing. Finally, we ended up at the edge of a hill and glanced down in awe at a farming village at the bosom of a beautiful valley.

It was mid-noon when we returned to our apartment - time for the second round of our planning session. Sean was rather distracted by his bottle of beer.

I was getting a bit restless towards the end of the meeting as well, so I decided to entertain myself by locking Jo out in the balcony and leaving her there to freeze. Check out her contorted visage of anguish.

By the time we were done, it was time for dinner. There's nothing quite like hot and spicy steamboat up on a cold mountain top, yum yum! And the star of the night was the succulent and juicy mushrooms! Everyone was enjoying the food so much that we ordered many more side-dishes.

When everyone is bloated and screaming "very full..", we went for a stroll in the nearby night market. It was buzzing with people and filled with stalls from street to street, much like the pasar malam back home. These stalls sold all kinds of food and sourveniers, and we bought some wild honey back so that we could enjoy honey-gazed strawberries. The combination proved to be heavenly.

Back in the apartment, Chee Weng was getting too relaxed and was sprawling on the sofa and stretching out his hairy legs in a bid to look sexy. The pose struck me as that of a dead insect.

After a while, people started getting bored so the guys went to the hotel lobby to play pool. I was feeling lazy and my toes were cold so I snuggled in my bed and read my comic. However, no rest for the wicked. I was soon arrowed by Boss to take photos for him and the girls. Apparently, they have been playing with some facial products and it was beginning to look like a freakshow. I made an excuse that I needed to join the guys for pool and made good my escape. Enough nonsense for a day.

2006-10-08T19:24:00.000+08:00

Hills and Vales, Trees and Flowers - a Cameron Highlands Trip (Day 1)

Last Fri my department travelled to Cameron Highlands to have our annual planning session. Upon getting off the cab at the peak, we were taken aback by how cold the weather there was. Only an hour's drive from the foot of the highlands to the top and the temperature fell drastically from 30 plus degrees to 11 degrees. It seemed a world out of place. Below are some photos I've taken during the trip.

This is the apartment where we stayed. The interior is very spacious and the charges are cheap. However, there is no internal heating so it can get very cold. Well, you get what you paid for.

After settling down, some of us relaxed by slouching on the sofa and sipping a cup of warm tea as boring soap operas play on the TV.

Others like me, were more keen on exploring our surrounding from the balcony.

After some rest, we took a short walk to the strawberry farm near our apartment. There we saw various kinds of strawberry products including strawberry jam, strawberry-cream biscuits, dried strawberries, strawberry-flavoured lollipops and the most savory of them all... strawberry ice-stick!

Strawberries grow on wooden frames like grapes in a vineyard. You can pay 40 riggit to pluck them and keep them but I wonder where's the thrill in that.

We went slightly downhill to the market area of Cameron Highlands after we were done with the strawberry farm. Besides strawberries, the hills bring vegetables, flowers and other agriculture produce as well. Fresher vegetables I have never tasted. For one, the maize was juicy and sweet, better than any found in Singapore.

Strawberries were sold everywhere. The locals depended heavily on selling these reddies to tourists hellbent on buying local products in order to sustain their living.

The weather up at Cameron Highlands is volatile. All of a sudden, the sky looked like the boiling surface of a witch's cauldron. I couldn't resist but vainly try to capture the majesty of the clouds with my camera. Of all of God's created natural world, the sky enchants me the most. You will never grow bored of watching the sky. It is constantly in flux, it is ever varied. No two sunsets are alike and no two pieces of cloud similar. Yet, despite the sky's diversity, it is also the most consistent presence, the most enduring picture. Like its Maker, it is a certainty in an uncertain world.

All the walking and sight seeing had made us tired, so we went to the town for food. Our manager brought us to this cafe which he heard prepares the best beef steak. The steak lived up to its name, and the mutton was excellant as well. After the main course, we all shared lemon cheesecakes, scones, mud pies, and the famous strawberry cheesecakes.

This is my godmom and also, my fellow sister in Christ. She has a very kind heart and is generous to people. One of the many things I admire in her is that she greets every security guard, food stall aunty and cleaner she meets and befriends them. People like her in return; the food stall aunty always gives her extra portions -laughs-

Finally, after a long day of touring, we returned to our apartment for official business. People are dozing off as the manager goes on and on.

2006-10-04T13:49:00.000+08:00

Life away from home

Some days, I sit down thinking about home. It seems like I have made some foreign part in the world my home in a short span of 3 months. Some nights, I sit down by the computer wishing someone would keep talking to me, perhaps just so I will feel less lonely.

Yesterday, I made my way to a suburb to get my car's oil leak fixed. The mechanic is supposedly cheap and good. While waiting, I made my way to a shopping centre nearby. Turned out it was like a mini vietnam. All the shops were endorsing something vietnam. The bakeries, supermarts, etc. I wasn't aware that there is such a large vietnamese community in Melbourne till yesterday.

On my way back to the mechanic shop, I was chatting on the line with a friend. Little did I realised that there were so many nice flowers growing out of people's homes. I stopped, took my time to admire them and let all that beauty sink in. I thought to myself, what a nice day it is out there! It's been such a long time since I did this. Always too caught up with figures and sitting in the office during the day.

Yesterday, I missed Mr Low a great deal. Yet in my yearning for his presence, I managed to upset him with my tantrums. Sigh, why can't everything just be perfect?

2006-10-01T23:37:00.000+08:00

Food craze

Ha yet another update on what great food I have been eating! How to be the Aussie babe I aspired to be before I flew off to Melbourne. Have been gaining unwanted undeveloped muscles all around my body! :'(

Anyway, we decided to make brekkie 1 saturday morning! 1 of my goals in my 2 year stint in Melbourne is to be able to make pancakes the standard of Macdonalds when I get back to Singapore! Ha, tada, we had pancakes, strawberries, fried spinach, toasted tomatoes with cheese and bacons! Woohoo, what a hearty brekkie! Nice!

I have been wanting to try out this hamburger place near the DVD store I always rent my weekly dosage of films from. Andrew Hamburger. It is a family owned burger takeaway store. The aroma of the burgers never fail to tempt me in walking in to order 1. So on a saturday night, we decided to do just that!

Of course, we ordered the famous burger with everything inside, tomatoes, onions, beef patty, special sauce topped with an egg! All for A$7.50! I tell you, this is awesome stuff man, mouth-watering! :)

Ha, this took place just yesterday. We decided to eat steamboat on a cold spring night! So we went marketing in the morning! Tadah! A feast on the table! It was just pure happiness. But Yishan was a flop, she bought the most expensive prawns. A$28 for a kg. And she didn't even realise she bought cooked prawns! Haha, "domestic" woman she is. Tsk tsk. ;p

Till then, stay tuned for more feasts coming up!

2006-10-01T23:25:00.000+08:00

My baking adventures!
I have always loved to bake. Cheesecakes are my favourite! Without exception, I decided to try out my baking skills in Melbourne given the amount of free time we have on weekday nights, I decided to make thursday my official baking night!

My 1st attempt: English tea cake [Butter cake topped with cinnamon sugar, accompanied by strawberries & cream]!

Good stuff! The cake was wiped out by the end of the week. Ha, for a price of A$2, man, this is economical!

Next up, muffins in the making! Knowing that my housemates are chocolate fanatics, I decided to try out chocolate caramel muffins. Ha, it didn't look like muffins but oh well, at least it tasted not bad. But this time round, they ain't patronising at all. Nobody ate my muffins except for myself and a colleague whom I gave 2 to. Bleah! To think Yishan came up with the lamest excuse of her life, that she just ate a huge muffin yesterday. And before I knew it, she ate another muffin at Kenny Rogers. -Shake head- So much for honesty. Big boo boo to her!

2006-10-01T22:34:00.000+08:00

Yu U
After so much hype on how great this dodgy jap restaurant is, Yishan and I finally decided to try its lunch special it out since we were both in the city! Reservation has to be made if you want no disappointment. A couple of weeks back, Darren, Yishan and I went there with no reservations, thinking we will get lucky if we reach early for lunch. Turned out the place was fully booked and we had to give it a miss!

Apparently, the chef in Yu U is very passionate about his food. His menu constantly changes. For a fixed price of A$15 for its set lunch menu, it seems like we ain't getting value for money huh. All are cheap ingredients! :(

So finally, here it is! Turned out 1 set should be enough for 2 girls! The potato & beef croquette was awesome. Mind you, a whole bowl of rice sat under the brown potato. How can 1 person possibly finish it?

1 look at her happy face and you know she wiped out her entire set! I was left struggling with the meal, hence no pictures were taken. Ended up I only finished half a bowl of rice and noodles. Not worth it for me! :'(

Verdict: Yu U is over rated for its food quality. Ambience though nice, does not substantiate the hefty price for its economical ingredients.

Rating: 3/5

2006-09-06T00:42:00.000+08:00

Who Am I

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You're

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Who Am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who Am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me

I am Yours
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
'Cause I am Yours
I am Yours

When I heard this song for the first time, I was touched to tears. Its lyrics are very meaningful, reminding me that we are so insignificant and yet God would sent his son down to die for us and He would care to have a personal relationship with us. Indeed, who are we but a fading flower, a vapour in the wind? James said this of our existence: "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." Millions of millions have come before us, and millions of millions will continue to come after we have gone the way of the earth. If we are just one in infinity, our value comes not from the fact that we are special (because we are not), but rather from the fact that God chose to love us. Given our rebellious, ungrateful nature, He could have chosen to give up on us totally. But instead, He chose to love us and send Jesus down to die on the cross, taking the penalty for our sins on Himself. "The Lord of all the earth" didn't have to do that, but He did it. Jesus once said that there is no greater love than that a man would give up his life for his brother, and he did exactly that for us. All because He loves us.

2006-08-31T10:04:00.000+08:00

Our 1st road trip: Philip Island
Having a friend (Darren) from Sydney come over, we decided to be good hosts and plan a road trip to Philip Island (the land of penguins) to fully utilise his GPS navigator (TOM TOM) and also fulfill our deepest desire to watch penguins! Having heard countless bragging about about TOM TOM, we decided to let it live out its prophecy. Armed with no map and just a desire to get to Philip Island, we embarked on our wonderful journey on a beautiful Saturday morning!

This is the organic brekkie we had along one of the pit stops we had prior to reaching Philip Island! Apparently, Aussies are big suckers for organic stuff. And they cost so much more expensive! But I can't taste any difference? But anyway, the brekkie rocks in Aust. It is one of the 'MUST DO' things when you come Aust!

A stroll is the best way to digestion! Upon brekkie, we took a slow walk to the jetty nearby to check out the scenery. Not exactly the best of jetties, but oh well, just got to make do. Looks like a super small Punggol Marina huh.

Ha, doesn't the background remind you of the Causeway? For a moment, I thought I was embarking on a journey to Malaysia to makan seafood! ;p

Hee, finally. I present to you, Philip Island! Clear blue skies, big vast sea and boundless greenery. What better way to embrace nature!

Apparently, Philip Island has a history of owners who bought it as a holiday island before it was sold off to the government. The island even has its own radio! One of the main attractions besides the penguins is the farmhouse which a family stayed on a couple of hundreds of years ago!

Always stop to look at the flowers. Hee, small but pretty, aint they? :)

Don't know what plant is this, but it sure looks cool!

There's a flea market happening everyday outside the farmhouse. Sells pretty much a huge variety from plants to food to desserts! Each stall holder drives a van and uses it as their stall! How cool!

Ha, yet another ORGANIC stuff. This is the back of a truck. Equipped with stoves and all, it looks all pro right? But you see, the owner seems more interested in chatting than tending his stall huh. How to earn $ like that!!

Look at that glee on her face! Yoghurt ice cream is healthy for me [or so she ALWAYS tries to convince herself]! Tsk Tsk.

Check it out people! THE BEST POPCORN IN THE WORLD! How can I resist?!?! I bought $10 worth of popcorn! ;D

Don't know about it being the best popcorn in the world, but it sure is not bad!

Look at how sad the auntie is. She has no more food left on her gigantic plate! Shouldn't she be concentrating on selling her stuff instead of gorging herself on food? -shake head-

Woohoo! Look at all these plants! The moment I saw them, I thought of Mr Low and his endless praise of how cool these plants are and how he wants to have a garden in future, yahda yahda. For a person who once killed a cactus despite best efforts to keep it alive, what do you think I should feel about having a garden? Haha.

This is the pathway to the farmhouse. Seems like one of the story books in fairytale huh. For a moment, I felt like Hansel and Gratel.

And the journey continues...

2006-08-31T09:32:00.000+08:00

My "Virgin" footy game: St Kilda vs Western Bulldogs
Melbourne is one of the cities in Australia that is extremely passionate about sports. Being adventurous, my aim in my short 2 year stint in Melbourne is to try out whatever is popular or phenomenal in Melbourne. To put it in simple terms, to embrace the life of a Melbournian!

Here we are, at the Telstra Dome stadium, all ready to enter the gates to watch a footy game [DA game in winter in Melbourne is footy!]!

Ha, just look at how cheesy one of the team name is. Western Bulldogs. My goodness, do all their players look like bulldogs?

Darren and his 5 minute stardom experience. He was picked to be interviewed by a radio station from Perth. Why? Because the radio guy is desperate! No one wanted to be interviewed when there is a footy game around, everybody wanted to be in the stadium! But Darren, being attention seeking, was all game for being heard on national radio! ;p

Basically, footy is quite similar to rugby, except that the guys wear the shortest shorts and are less bulky. Look at the field, they are so tidy they look like ants!

Ha, of course, when you are watching a footy game, you can't walk in without a cuppa beer! It's DA tradition! Realised that the cups are plastic? That's to protect the shorty shorts kiddos from being assaulted when they play like crap! Lucky for them!

See how attention seeking Aussie blokes are! This guy totally ruined the picture!

More boost time! Cheers mate!

Now, doesn't this picture look much better without any Aussie eyesore around? Tsk tsk..

The game ended with Western Bulldogs suffering a shameful defeat. Come on, how far do they think they will go with that kind of team name? Haha, so this is the train station where everybody awaits their train to get home after the game. Trust me, the crowd is like that of the Malaysia cup final. But only on a weekly basis. That's how passionate Melbournians are about sports. Crazy man.

2006-08-31T08:59:00.000+08:00

My fulfilled desires!
I have always been a caffeine enthusiast. A few years ago when I backpacked in Aussie, I felt totally in love with the coffee! Everywhere and anywhere you go, as long as there's shops, there is coffee. Mind you, the coffee taste great!

So after being in Melbourne for about 2 months, and spending lots of $ on lattes and mochas, I decided that perhaps I should get my very own espresso machine! There was a great bargain so here it is, my very 1st espresso kit!

Woohoo! To more happier caffeine induced happiness I come! ;D

Now, I have always wanted to have a scooter like this. So being in a foreign land where I can very much do whatever I want, I bought myself another mode of transport! Check this out man! Don't I look cool?!

In case you are wondering, of course I didn't buy that! Tsk tsk, it was in the carpark and it was so beautiful. How can I not sit on it and take a picture right? Keke...

2006-08-31T08:21:00.000+08:00

Our 1st house visit!

Just a couple of weeks ago, we went to my housemate's [Lynn] friend house for a potluck party. Guess what, they conveniently invited themselves over to our place for a house warming potluck without my knowledge?!?! Haha, but as long as there's food, I am cool! So here we are!

Look at the 4 beauties. Of cos you would have realised 1 person is missing. Now, you should know why, yes? Hahaha...

Now, I am definitely sure my camera is screwed! How can I look so fat?! NO WAY! My face can't be that round! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

People, look at that feast our guest made us! Woohoo! Life in Aussie is all about food and drink! Looks good, eh? Zoom in on the zip lock bag! What do you see? YES people, it's DA famous donut, Krispy Kreme [KK]!

One of our guest, Diana, had a box at home, courtesy of her friend. So being a nice person, she brought us some KK donuts!

Just to let you guys have some general knowledge on DA donut. The 1st bite into the original glazed donut always feels like Burger King! Awesome man! So in future, should you ever see a box like below, hold your breath people!

Haha, looks good right? Wait till you try them man. They look harmless but they are very super duper addictive! Heard that they just opened a new store in the city! I'm so doomed! :(

2006-08-31T08:00:00.000+08:00

Boxhill - The land of Asians!

About a month ago, my housemate, Yishan, had the good fortune of enjoying herself at a KTV gathering our friends from PwC organised. Due to the 'hectic' working lifestyle I have in Melbourne, and the sort of marvellous luck I always managed to possess somehow or another, I found myself having to say no to the attractive KTV gathering because I had to work!

My first real client engagement and I was involved in a quality review! ARGH! How lucky can I get?!?! For those fortunate ones who ain't involved in audit, a quality review is basically having a team of regulators inspect your documentation and work performed and conclude if your work is up to a quality benchmark set.

What does it mean? It meant having to do everything the RIGHT way, the QUALITY way. Which means heaps of time spent on finetuning work, which is why I can't go to the KTV! :'(

Anyway, I digress. Boxhill is DA place when you are looking for some value-for-money KTV or shopping or just basically, it is DA place if you want to feel at home. You might ask why. You might even wonder if it is DA place where people go to a hill and box their frustrations away. Haha, well, it is ALL of the above, plus the fact that it is FULL of asians! Everywhere you walk, you hardly see any angmoh. How cool huh. Hmm, now, does that mean only asians have a fiery temper? tsk tsk.

So I was told that a K lunch equivalent cost only A$15, accompanied by a set lunch & drink with 3-4 hours of sing time. Songs selection were decent too. I wanna go too!

So anyway, after 2 months in Melbourne, I finally had the chance to go Boxhill! All thanks to my Daihatsu Charade! :D

Doesn't it look like a pleasant suburb?

Everywhere looks empty and relaxed. That's Aust for you, people.

This was the MAIN reason why I went Boxhill! It is supposed to be very nice! Though I ain't a fan of Korean cuisine, everything's worth a try when you are in a foreign land! ;)

Look at the satisfied look from my housemates. The food was not bad, though not out of the world. But I thought the tea was special. It's some malt tea that tasted like rice tea. Now you wonder why there ain't any picture of me. These 2 are my housemates, Yishan is the one on the left. See how her face has blossomed in the short 2 months she has been in Melbourne? Haha, now you know why I am not in the picture...Keke

2006-08-31T07:48:00.000+08:00

My very own Daihatsu Charade!!!
After weeks of obsession over what car to buy, furious surfing over car sales websites and constant pestering of people with questions over cars, I have finally made my most hefty purchase in my entire life! Check it out, mates! The stylo milo Daihatsu Charade!

It looks aqua green, but it's actually dark sky blue! 1992 Charade TS, 3 door hatch back, auto thief-lock [the passenger door lock is not working so we can only open the door from the inside], good mileage and fuel consumption alongside free crash course of basic car maintenance. All for the price of A$3,000 [After slashing A$500 off the starting price, of course].

Everyone, I proudly present you, the car of DA century! ;p

2006-08-06T02:03:00.000+08:00

Wedding Song to a Friend

2 weeks ago, my colleague was wedded to her boyfren. I wasn't able to attend their wedding as my convocation ceremony fell on the same day so I wrote them a poem.

Journey

As you embark on this journey,
As you set up a new family:

May your days be filled with joy,
May you find pleasure in all your toil.

May you walk bilithely through life's valleys,
May your doves fly ever free.

May you treasure life's precious moments,
Made ever more beautiful,
by vows between man and woman.

2006-08-03T14:52:00.000+08:00

Our home, finally!

We had to find an apartment before our temporary accommodation at Pacific International Apartments ends. So on a faithful Saturday, we went house hunting! Hot babe and I wanted somewhere near office so we can dash there when we wake up late. With our budget and conditions, there was only 1 apartment available for us to view. We were quite sian when we knew that but little did we expect it to be a pleasant surprise!

When I first stepped into the apartment, I felt, 'Wah'. This was something I really did not expect. The living room was spacious man. The carpet was new.

The kitchen had an oven and stove ventilator.

The room wasn't big but just big enough?

The wardrobe was dirty, but the cleaning up wasn't completed yet.

The bathroom actually looked decent!

Plus it has a dryer to dry our clothes!

What more, we got a freaking huge balcony! Can organise BBQs and hang our clothes! Plus the colour theme of the house is white! I like!

Hot babe wasn't that impressed cause the house wasn't as clean as she would like it to be. By the way, she is a super cleanliness freak! ;)

And it was only until she saw the tennis court and swimming pool before she began to like this place better. Haha, she doesn't even use them. Keke.

So we discussed, we explored and we decided! This will be the place we live for the next 2 years! :D

We still got lots of things to settle. Like our TV, repairs to the house [windows, sink, etc], furniture to buy and packing up to complete before it actually looks like a house. But things are cool. We finally got a place. I feel so much more settled. :D

Ha, life in Australia is super domestic. A typical weekday comprises making your own lunchbox before heading to work, cooking dinner after you get back from work, cleaning up after that and doing your laundry. Weekends are for chilling out, eating out, ironing and doing marketing. So here we are, on a Sunday evening, cooking dinner before the new week starts!

Hee, this is me preparing dinner. Mapo tofu and ginger chicken it will be! Woohoo!

This is our professional domestic dishwasher! Up till today, she HAS NOT cooked a single meal for us. Her reason is that she always come home from work late and we always hog the kitchen! Haha, LIAR i say!

Finally, dinner time, people! Ha, our professional dishwasher bought a bottle of wine to celebrate eating in. It was surprisingly, not bad. Oh, the gal in red is Lynn. She is hot babe's friend and will be living with us for half a year before she graduates! I think without her, we won't even have the discipline to cook a proper meal. So people, if ever I put on weight when I come back, you know who to blame! :D

2006-08-03T14:42:00.000+08:00

The famous KoKo Black

Melbourne is a place full of culture, food and entertainment. It is similar to Singapore in the sense that there is ALWAYS food around. A great variety, in fact. Just that the prices are not as affordable as back home. An average meal here cost like A$7? When I first came, I felt like such a spendthrift whenever I look at the price menu. It affected me so much I didn't get to enjoy my food as much as I should have.

But as the saying goes, 'In Rome, do what the Romans do". I can't possibly indulge in bread and peanut butter and miss out on all the nice cuisines out there waving at me right? So I thought to myself, $ can always be earned back, but I cannot say the same for experiences!

So here I am, upon the recommendation of a departing secondee who is bound to return to PwC Singapore to slog his bond out, Daryl Wang, and my famous housemate, Hot Babe, we headed down to this sinful dessert hangout, KoKo Black. Apparently, I should not even mention that I have been to Melbourne if I have not been here, or so they say.

This is the famous hot chocolate. Look at that nice decoration! Ha, how can you bear to drink it? But who cares? I will smash its beauty and glup it down in seconds! :D

Awww, and this dessert...Ha, it's nice, but too sweet for my liking. The ambience is nice though it is a tad too small. Apparently, there was like a long queue outside waiting to get in when we were leaving. And mind you, it was a weekday night. Apparently, not everything closes after 530pm in Melbourne. At least the restaurants and cafes don't. And I guess, perhaps it is good enough?

Hmmm, when I was there, my only thought was, if only Mr Low can take chocolate and not get migraine, how nice if I can bring him here. Haha, but nevermind, I will ask him to try it out and suffer migraine! Keke, after all, you only live once! ;D

2006-08-03T14:28:00.000+08:00

PwC Melbourne Tour
So, we finally started work on 3 July 2006. I only knew I didn't want to be late for work and that I was excited about getting my laptop because I heard it is new and I can go online with the wireless card that will be provided to us! Life without internet sucks big time, especially if you have nothing to do at night, which is how Australia is!

Ha, I was honestly surprised at the efficiency of PwC Melbourne. We actually got our passes done within afew hours! Though it is not as nice as the one in Singapore [Not talking about the photo, of course], it was still a pleasant surprise, considering that we had to wait for 2 weeks to get ours back in Singapore. Hmm, I am beginning to think that Melbourne is not that inefficient after all.

Singapore 0 Australia 1

Ha, check out the pantry area man! Apparently, Aussies love to eat lunch in. This is like a small corner where they have tables, microwaves, fridge, toaster, jars of cookies, boxes of fruits alongside teabags, coffee and hot chocolate for grabs. They even have vending machines selling tidbits and soft drinks! Once again, with a pantry like this, I am sure no one will agree with me that PwC Singapore's better.

Singapore 0 Australia 2

Ha, this system is just too cool man. Apparently, you check in to office to get yourself a desk. Then they will link your personal phone line to that seat so there are no random calls. Which means Bala and Indira's jobs are redundant in Aussie! You can even reserve a seat for yourself, or locate the seat you have reserved. It is just awesome!

Singapore 0 Australia 3

Look at that! A wardrobe for people to put their clothes in!

And each of us are allocated a locker each of this size. Man, what else can I say?

Singapore 0 Australia 4

The work desks are spacious and new! The chairs are super comfy too! Woohoo! You have a great city view too, for the windows are full body length all around the firm!

Singapore 0 Australia 5

Alas! Now to the laptop, it sucks big time. I got a T42! The Microsoft version is like 2003 and they gave us a backpack for our laptop that looks so kuku I don't even dare to take a picture of. But finally, something that Singapore win hands down. Technology man people, it is all about Technology. And guess what, we got to wait for our wireless cards! Which means, I still can't go online! BOOHOO! :'(

Singapore 1 Australia 5

2006-08-03T14:21:00.000+08:00

2 weeks temporary accommodation provided by PwC: Pacific Int'l Apartments

Ha, now that we are in Koala Bear Land, we gotta find a roof over our heads instead of sleeping on trees like the real Koalas. So here we are, Pacific International Apartments, the serviced apartment PwC put us up for the time being before we find our permanent accommodation.

What more can I say? We have 1 entire room to ourselves, it is like a studio apartment, with a kitchen [fully equipped with pots and pans, bowls & cutlery, utensils and all]. There's even a fridge, washing machine and dryer for you to store your junk and do your laundry! Man, why can't PwC just pay for our 2 year rental in this place?

Ha, cool eh, there is also a dishwasher below the sink! No more dish washing in future! Way to go! :)

This is the living room. Ha, look at the mess I managed to create in a span of days. The TV is not bad too, got discovery channel somemore. Sports channel too. If not, I would've missed the World Cup! Hmm, but somehow, Discovery Channel seems so lame without Mr Low by my side. Watching programmes like these feels so funny and uninteresting without someone commenting furiously on how cool animals are or how ridiculous evolution is.

HAHA. The most important part of the apartment! BED! The bed is super! The pillows are great! The blankets are warm. Was so tempted to take 1 pillow away when I moved out. But alas, thou shall not steal. Ha, check that trench coat out, I bought it for A$89! Cool stuff. ;p

Ha, somemore got built-in wardrobe. It is just like a hotel man. What more can I ask for?

The toilet is good too, with dryer, moisturiser, shampoo and foam! Somemore got house cleaning!

But oh well, somehow, I still feel unsettled despite the luxury and comfort of it all. Maybe it is because I know I won't be staying in here for long. After all, it ain't home, no matter how good it is.

2006-07-31T21:57:00.000+08:00

12 days in Taiwan - The Last 3 Days (Taipei)

Frankly speaking, I cant remb what we did in Taipei after leaving this blog cold for so long. I had to get over the trauma of Deario flying away to Aussie and it wasnt easy. I tried indulging myself in food, but it left me feeling fat. I tried crying but it made me thirsty. I went to KTV and I came out poverty-strickened. So in the end, I had to settle for computer games and basketball. The road to recovery was long and winding, but it gets there.

Our last 3 days in Taipei was spent shopping around for prezzies to bring home to our frens and family. You won't believe how hard it is to buy interesting gifts for ppl even in a sprawling city like Taipei. Other than that, we were mostly engaged in the furious partaking of Taiwanese delicacies. Take a look at the fine example below. The spaggetti may look unappetising due to the sickly green spinach sauce, the foul smell, the oily texture of the noodles and the stale mussles but.. it is actually quite nice.

We went to catch a movie while we were in Taipei too since it was Deario's favourite pasttime in Singapore. I prefer doing something more interactive but she would always jump at the idea of a movie. Surprisingly, the cinemas there were very devoid of people. We later realised that it was because watching movies there cost a bomb (its about S$12.50). In fact, although we always complain about the rising cost of watching movies in Singapore, it is actually more expensive to do so in most foreign countries.

We also revisited Shiling Night Market, which we discovered to be larger than we formerly think. They have like street after street of stalls selling all kinds of foods n consumer products. Be careful if you ever shop there though. If you did not ask for the price before purchasing something, they will pack the thing nicely, smile at you and then charge twice the usual price. It was at Shiling Night Market where we met Jay Chou. Our conversation went something along these lines:

Me "Hey, it's you! JAY CHOU!!"
Jay "mmmfffppphhh"
Me "Wha.. what?"
Jay "mmmfffppphhh"
Me "Erm.. I'm sorry can you please repeat what you said?"
Jay "mmmfffppphhh"
Me "Oh. You're mumbling."

And that was when I gave up and walked off.

All in all, we took it easy on our last few days in Taipei. We had wanted to venture out to Formosa Fun Coast, a Fantasy-Island-styled water theme park but we had to give it a miss due to the brooding weather. It rained 9 out of 12 days during our trip in Taiwan all in all! Still, Taiwan is a place I miss till now, because it reminded me of the time Deario and me spent every minute of our lives tog. I know you have to go, but be back soon my Dear, and stay by my side and never leave again!

2006-06-28T03:31:00.000+08:00

12 days in Taiwan - Day Nine (Goodbye Hualien, Hello Taipei)

Wanting to fully minimise the travelling time for our trip, we got ourselves tickets for the 845am train bound for Taipei. Being super cheapos or rather as Mr Low puts it, thrifty kids on a shoe-string budget, we decided to walk to the train station instead of taking a cab. It was a total mistake! Living by the philosophy "there's always time for food", we decided to pack breakfast at one of the many coffeeshops along the way to our destination.

A normal breakfast in Hualien comprise of burger along with a beverage. Armed with the belief 'In Rome, do what the Romans do', we got ourselves burgers and goat milk. The pace of life in Hualien as compared to Taipei is equivalent to the pace of life in Perth as compared to Sydney. People there take their time to do anything. Just preparing 2 burgers took 15 mins. Oh man, time is running out! We might miss our train!

From walking slowly like snails, we began walking briskly. As the clock kept ticking, we began walking like professional walkers competing in the Olympics. Sweat rolled down our tshirts and foreheads. 5 more mins and we will miss our train! But the train station still seemed a short distance away. I was whining within on how we should have just took it easy by flagging a cab.

Just when I thought we were going to make it in time, a crisis struck! We couldn't find the entrance to the train station! Oh man! Within a span of 3 days, the construction workers decided to give the train station an extreme makeover so much so that we can't recognise the train station!

Luckily, like all fairytales, good things always came along after shit happened. We met a guy who was taking the same train as us! HAHAHA. Luck was on our side! We raced to the platform where our train was situated upon hearing the announcement on our train's soon-to-be departure. Thank God our legs were long and strong enough to get us on the train in time. Throughout the entire race, I felt like the boy in Jack Neo's movie, Pao Ba Hai Zi (Run, Kid).

Just take a look at our faces and you will understand our exhaustion! :(

Ha but today is not a day to whine! It is a perfect day, for it is our half year anniversary! Mr Low promised to let me decide our dinner venue. He planned for us to shop individually in Xi Men Ding for 2.5 hours in a bid to get gifts for each other! He was also going to bring me to watch a movie! Ha, not bad huh. Woohoo!

1.5 hours of walking around Xi Men Ding and I still couldn't find anything suitable for Mr Low. I decided to give up and buy myself bubble tea! Hee. Just as I was happily sipping my tea, there was a pat on my shoulder. I thought it was some guy trying to be funny. I was all ready to turn back and give my trademark evil stare, only to realise that it was Mr Low! Haha, turned out he also gave up finding a present for me. Such lousy shoppers we are. Keke, but it's ok, we bought lots of gifts for our friends!

So as we walk to the left, as we walk to the right, as we walk, as we walk, as we walk all noon. WAHAHA, I stumbled upon a pair of Asics shoe that I fancied! Forever the opportunistic slacker, Mr Low offered to buy them for me as my anniversary gift. Being the ever lenient gf, I decided to let him off by accepting the shoes with a smiley face. Ain't I sweet?!?! ;p

Dinner was at Ding Tai Feng. Food was such a disappointment. I thought Ding Tai Feng in Taipei will blow me away. But the food was just so-so. Sob, all the hype for nothing. :'( Luckily, movie awaits us! HEE! :D

Look at our new hats! We bought them at Xi Men Ding and decided to dress like movie stars to watch Da Vinci Code! The price of movie tickets in Taipei is ridiculous! Imagine paying S$14.50 for a movie on a weekday night! But, whatever la. We were in a mood to celebrate ma. Tsk tsk.

Oh well, the movie wasn't fantastic. But Mr Low promised that tomorrow's trip to Wulai will be! Haha, so far he has not failed to deliver. Let's see what adventure awaits us in Wulai! ;p

2006-06-27T02:19:00.000+08:00

12 Days in Taiwan - Day Eight (Water rafting!!!)

Woohoo! The day has finally come for us to don life jackets and oars to brave the river! Lady luck was on our side, the skies were blue, the sun was scorching. It's a perfect day for rowing! :D

The long winded landlady was astonished when she saw us clad in board shorts and tshirts. She has previously told us numerous times to wear long sleeve and long pants to prevent ourselves from being sun-baked. Little did she know that her advice has fallen to deaf ears, until she saw us in the morning! Hee, you should've looked at her expression. It was like someone seeing dinosaurs for the first time in their lives! ;p

Haha, so what is the moral of the story? We do as we please! WAHAHAHAHA...

Like a mother sending her kids off, the landlady bidded us farewell when our bus arrived. Yay, off to the don't know what river to embark on our first ever rafting adventure! A journey that normally took 1.5 hours needed only 1 hour. The uncle who drove us there must have imagined himself to be starring in the movie, Initial D, everytime he is behind the steering wheel. You should have seen Mr Low's greatful face when we stepped foot on our destination. Haha, his face was white as a sheet. What a lamester! ;)

We were told that due to the typhoon effects, the water level in the river was at its all time highest! Woohoo, what a ride it's gonna be!

Yeeha! The fun has just began! We will conquer the rapids! ;)

Look at the rapids! Despite rowing furiously, we were still swayed to the rocks. We nearly thought we were going to hit the rocks and bleed to death! So scary! :(

Guess where we are seated on the boat!

It was a fun day but all that rowing made my limbs jellish! I felt like a sea cucumber! Hehe, look at my tanned arms and rosy face! I'm the sunshine kid! ;D This is our room! For S$30/night, it is a very decent place, like Hero House in Taichung. The only flop is that the owner has a weird sense of arrangement. Look at where the TV is situated! The owner must have thought that everybody watches TV like a turtle! You literally have to stretch your neck in order to catch a full glimpse of the TV! -slaps forehead-

Yet another classic. This is the ACTUAL size of the bathroom. The entire room is so big, yet only such a pathetic area is dedicated to the bathroom. You can practically shit, urine and shower while sitting on the toilet bowl! Haha, the owner must have thought all her customers are as lazy as her! ;)

With Taroko gorge and water rafting conquered, we are done with Hualien. It's Taipei time, people. The thought of yummy fruits, hot spring and Ding Tai Feng makes me so excited! Watch out, here we come!!

2006-06-25T21:25:00.000+08:00

12 Days in Taiwan - Day Seven (Hualien/Taroko Gorge)

Finally, Typhoon Pearl has finished its course. Good news is the not many ppl in Taiwan and China were injured. Deario and I were also happy for another reason: at last we can go out and soak in the glorious sunlight! Destination: Taroko Gorge.

After dodging our ridiculously long-winded landlady (she had previously made us stand and listen to her speech about the poor service of her competitors for 30 mins) , we went to have breakfast before heading towards Taroko Gorge in a tour bus. One thing good about Taiwan is the price of its food. Check out the lunch box I am holding in the photo below: for a nifty price of S$2.00, you get egg, pork, chicken, plus four vegetables. Pretty neat eh.

Time flies when you're chatting/suanning/poking/fighting each other in the bus; we reached the entrance to Taroko Gorge after what seems like a while. Seeing the rolling hills and gushing river, our excitment mounted and we couldn't wait to see what else the gorge has to offer. We got off the bus at the visitor centre and ran around snapping photos.

After fifteen mins, it was time for our bus to move on to the next check-point in Taroko Gorge. Throughout the journey, sheer marble cliffs, deep gorges and crystalline pools surrounded us and awed us. The lyrics of a hymn came to my mind,

"Hills and vales, and trees and flowers ..over and around us lies the Lord of all.."

Indeed, nature itself proclaims the magnificence of its creator. I couldn't help but raise a song of praise to God.

Soon, the bus arrived somewhere at the top of Taroko Gorge. We got off the bus and wandered around. This part of Taroko Gorge is pretty commercialised, with restaurants, a high class hotel, and souvenir shops selling tribal crafts. There is a small community living here too, they are tribal people who now live in brick houses just like city people. I was amazed to discover that they are now Christians and attend either a Catholic church or a Presbyterian church in their small town. As we walked around, we caught a funny sight: a gang of middle-aged uncles dressed in full-body biker leather trying very hard to be cool.

When we're bored of the small town, Deario and I decided to trek higher up Taroko Gorge. Enduring an arduous climb, we came to a small park near the peak of the hill we were at. The view here was spectacular and we quickly fished out our camera to exercise our photography skills.

(Deario's best shot)

(My best shot)

We took a short nap in the park before returning to our bus. The next check-point was at the Tunnel of Nine Turns. This is truly an amazing place; somehow, man had managed to bore a tunnel five metres wide and a kilometres long through the resistant marble. As we strolled inside the tunnel, we could see waterfalls and cliffs through the "windows" at the side of the tunnel. The waterfalls weren't very big, but they had a mysterious beauty to them as their cascading waters sparkle and dance in the sunlight.

Caught up with admiring the scenary, we lingered in the timeless tunnel for too long and had to run to catch our bus. At last, it was time to go on to our final check-point, which was a small park on the top of one of the mountains. It was really a simple little place, just a grassland with a single willow tree and a stone table. Surrounding this park were taller mountains, giving it a secluded-paradise-kind of feel.

Finally, it was time for us to depart. It was truly a wonderful and complete day, one of the best we had so far in Taiwan. Oh yar, one more thing, there was a very pretty Japanese girl who was sharing the same tour bus with us. As she kept asking us to take a photo with her, we finally obliged:

She asked me for my number too, but I thought that was too much.

2006-06-23T02:24:00.000+08:00

12 Days in Taiwan - Day Six (Alishan & Hualien)

Tru Tru. The phone rings. I checked the time. 4am. In my semi-consciousness, I only remembered it was a guy on the other line asking if I wanted to watch the sunrise and if I needed transport up there. In typical Mich fashion, I tried to sound coherent in a desperate bid to make him hang up the phone so I can get back to lala land. I forgot what I said, but I knew it was enough to allow me to get back to dreamland within 1 minute. But blissfulness is not eternal, we had to wake up in a while for our hiking adventure in a bid to catch the sunrise! OHHH NOOOO... :'(

When we were leaving the hotel, we bumped into the humble couple from Malaysia whom we took the same hell bus up. Pitiful couple they were, being cheated by the sly guide who claimed to offer them a good price for the hotel room. We stayed in the same kind of room but they paid a few hundred bucks more. I got to give credit to Mr Low for this. I was about to fall victim to the sly guide's attempt but Mr Low's persistence in not wanting to relent turned out to be a blessing in disguise! In the end, we got the price we wanted! -Mich looks at Mr Low in awe- :D

Not wanting to be lost sheeps, the gullible couple initiated to hike up together. It was only then that we realised the call in the morn was from the couple. Knowing that we are resourceful kids, they wanted to tag along with us to admire the sunrise together. Look at the photo and you will know they made the best decision in their lives to follow us!

Armed with a water bottle, umbrellas and a unstoppable desire to watch the sunrise, we were ready to brave the demanding road to the sunrise top! But we were shell shocked by the comments of the convenience store cashier. Wanting to verify that we were heading in the correct direction, I decided to ask the cashier for verification.

Mich: Hi, can I ask which is the correct way to the sunrise trail?

Cashier: Just walk straight and follow the sign posts. You should reach there in a short while.

Mich: Oh okay. Thanks. How long does it take to walk up there?

Cashier: Oh, I think it takes ONLY about one hour plus.

-Mr Low and Mich look at one another with their mouths wide open-

Goodness! Talk about misrepresentations and you will realise that Taiwan is ALL about misrepresentation! Whoever can comment that walking for one hour or more is a short while can only be a lunatic or a long-legged freak! So evil! :$

We were cold, we were hungry. But 2 dogs brightened our way up! They were the dogs which followed us on our way to the restaurant yesterday night. They led us all the way up to the sunrise trail, urinating on spots as trails should they get lost! They are truly the animal version of Hansel and Gratel!

The trail was trying on our stamina. It was like walking the great wall of Taiwan! It was like the road that NEVER ends! :'( We were panting like dogs. I nearly couldn't feel my legs! Then, we saw the vomiting couple who took the same bus as us descending from the mountain top. They were true hardcore sunrise enthusiasts. They were up there since 530am! But there was no sunrise to be spotted! The fog was too much for the sun to bear! :'(

Wanting to make the best of our hike, we decided to still continue our way up to the mountain top. Even if there ain't gonna be no sunrise, we aint gonna frown. We will take some cool pics just because we are cool! OH YES! Finally, the summit! ;p

Look at this dog! It is a specist tyrannt! It looks like a wolf and appeared only halfway through the trail. Like a unreasonable landlord, it forbidded one of the dogs that were following us to continue with the journey. Just because it was brown and not black and white like it is! What a specist [direct translation of racist]! All the while, I was afraid it would charge on me and rip me into pieces like how wolves rip their prey apart on animal planet! :(

The road back to the hotel was more relaxing as it was down slope. We were in the mood for more modelling with the beauty the forest had to offer!

Look at what great photography skills I portrayed! My JC years with the photography club has paid off! Ha, though I only attended a couple of times, I was able to grasp all that were taught over 2 years. Talk about talent. Heh heh.

What a fine-looking couple! ;P

Look how cold it is!

With Mr Low being a MSG freak, instant noodles were frequent items on our daily menus. We bought 2 cup noodles with hot canned drinks back to the hotel to satisfy our hunger. Apparently, the sun can only be seen at 930am per the driver who drove us to the train station. Talk about being lazy, now who is more lazy, the sun or me? ;p

This was taken when we were descending Alishan. The driver who drove us down was much friendlier than the hell driver who sent us up. He stopped at strategic places and explained the significance of the landscape. He even brought us to 'pao cha' [drink chinese tea] at a tea shop. See the green patches? They are actually tea plantations! :D

Off to Hualien! I was relieved that we reached the station in time! I have always imagined us missing the train or the flight back home and all the trouble we have to go through to make sure we get to where we want again. But luckily, none of all these happened!

Just when I thought everything was going well, shit happened! I thought we can finally have a place to rest when we reached Hualien. Little did I know after half an hour of walking, we realised that the hostel address was non-existent! It was 11pm and we were stranded with no accommodation. Apparently, the hostel we booked did not have a chinese name, the owner was uncontactable and the Taiwanese know nuts about English. Imagine the 7-11 boy greeting you good afternoon when you step into the store at 11pm. You know something must be very wrong! The best part is that nobody has ever heard of the hostel before after several attempts to inquire about the location of the hostel with various people!

Luckily we found a hostel like Hero House somewhere nearby, per the 7-11 boy's recommedation. Luckily we found a phonecard with credit so we can call the hostel and get our asses there. By the time we had dinner, it was near midnight. I never felt more thankful for not being stranded on the streets overnight. We were exhausted, but the thought of Taroko Gorge and water rafting excited me! I knew our adventure is just beginning... :)

2006-06-18T03:22:00.000+08:00

12 Days in Taiwan - Day 5.6 (Alishan)

This video clip is about the rainy days we went through in Sun Moon Lake and Alishan. It is dedicated to a special someone for a special reason.

2006-06-11T02:51:00.000+08:00

12 Days in Taiwan - Day Five (Alishan)

We woke up to a cold and frosty morning - dreadful weather for visiting Alishan. For certain we cant trek the forest trail in the fog and rain. Nevertheless, we went up the mountain anyway, hoping that the effects of the typhoon would have passed Taiwan by the next morning, and we would still be able to catch Alishan's legendary "sunrise amidst a sea of clouds".

Whether or not we finally got to see the famed Alishan sunrise, our stay up there was still rewarding. Through our experience, we picked up three valuable lessons that will serve to bring us a long way in this journey known as "Life". In a very characteristic act of generosity, I have decided to teach these "Life Lessons" to you.

Life Lesson #1

As the Alishan railway and bus services were cut off, we were forced to take a minibus up to Alishan. Sharing the minibus with us were a young Taiwanese couple and a Malaysian couple. The driver, being an opportunist, took the chance to rip all of us off. We had to pay a 200% premium to get up the mountain compared what it would have costed us had we taken public transport. That caused some unhappiness in us, and this unhappiness only increased when the driver sped through the heavy fog with a blatant disregard for everyone's safety.

Another incident along the way gave us further clue as to the character of the driver. Halfway up the mountain, one of the passengers vomitted as she was giddy from the hell-ride. The driver didn't give as much as a damn and drove on with the same intensity and recklessness as before.

I observed all of these from the back of the minibus where I was sitting, and something just dawned on me...

-------------------------------------------------------
Lesson: Great people can emerge from disaster.
-------------------------------------------------------

I was totally impressed by the way our beloved driver made the best of Typhoon Pearl despite that it was, by default, disruptive to the tourism industry and thus, his livelihood. Not only did he managed to reap an exorbitant profit amidst the disaster, he successfully got away with his utterly bad service. Both accomplishments required shrewdness, bargaining prowess, keen judgement, and guts (not to mention immorality of character).

Life Lesson #2

When we finally settled down in our hotel "Gao Shan Qing" in Alishan, we figured that it was gonna rain the entire day. Since we were gonna be stuck indoors for hours on end, we might as well make ourselves comfortable. Thus, we brewed tea, snugged into our cosy blankets, and began surfing between various Taiwanese dramas and variety shows. Needless to say, Taiwanese variety shows were good. The warmth of the tea and the blankets were greatly appreciated as well.

When we were finally bored of watching TV, we started to explore our hotel. It was really cosy and built with wood, more like a large villa than a hotel really. To add to the country beauty of the place, oil paintings lined the walls, painted by the owner himself. He also furnished the place with Japanese furniture. We took our time to admire the paintings as we strolled through the corridors and then settled down at the dining corner to sip tea.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lesson: Being trapped indoors in fine, as long as you are watching TV or pretending to be Japanese.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Life Lesson #3

When it was time for dinner, we reluctantly dragged our feets out into the freezing night (it was 11 degrees). It was still drizzling a bit and we had our umbrellas with us, but more so to shield the howling winds. The fog had persisted since day-time and now it hindered our progress; it was so thick that we could not see more than 3 metres in front of us. In the haze, the street lights appeared like ghostly flames and they glowed through the trees create dancing silhouettes like witches before a ritual...

As we journeyed through the woods we felt like kids in a fairy tale, maybe "Hansel and Gretel". We were excited and soaked ourselves in the spooky atmosphere entirely, giggling and telling each other ghost stories along the way.

After a long time, we finally arrived at a decent looking restaurant. We took a look at the menu and had a pleasant surprise: wild boar meat on hot plate! What a find in this unearthly weather! Hot, steaming, savory wild boar meat! We quickly settled ourselves inside and order a plate of the long-awaited dish, along with other side dishes like vegetable soup, kang kong and fried rice.

When the food came, we dug in with a ferocity seldom seen outside of the animal kingdom and...

...almost puked.

So bland was the food that they tasted only of cooking oil. The wild boar meat was better, but even so much too oily. Sigh... what a disappointment, after eating we went back to our hotel.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lesson: You're better of walking in the cold than eating at a lousy restaurant.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After dinner, we returned to a night of watching variety shows till the wee hours. The following morning we were supposed to climb to the peak of Alishan to catch the sunrise. Hopefully the weather will turn for the better.