Friday, April 24, 2009

6 hours

Another 6 hours before i see Zen! Time to sleep..

Monday, April 13, 2009

Day 2 - Shopping in MEL!

after a good night's sleep, we headed down to Luna Park in St Kilda (near the beach) to take some photos of it.. the plan is also to head back at night to capture some photos of it all lit up! which we did after a day of walking and shopping!



Luna Park at night..

it looked pretty promising on the outside but was pale in comparison when we went in at night.. it's more like a mini fun fair for kids.. that said, entrance is free!

as for the first thing in St Kilda that hit me? it's full of cake shops! there were 4 in a stretch of 50 metres!!! Geez! the cake shops all have a traditional feel to it.. with the window display full of rolls and rolls of goodies..

we decided on this shop in the end..

the window display were amazing to watch.. top to bottom stacked full of yummy stuff!

they looked so good.. we had to have some.. but they tasted alright.. made too pretty and fell short of expectations unfortunately.. after a walk down the main stretch in St Kilda (which reminds me of a quieter version of Rundle Street), we tried to find our way to Chapel Street.. we walked a bit and got on the tram and then got off it again.. and realised that we were quite lost!

But! according to Jo, as long as we have a map in our hands, we were "technically speaking, not lost"! hmmm.. okie, that is subjective since map or no map, i'm lost anyway! Haha..

after asking for directions, we decided to take a long long walk to Chapel Street.. which turned out to be good exercise! there's quite a bit of shopping along Chapel Street! we went into GJ's as i was suffering from withdrawal syndromes since i havent had my fix all morning!!!

we then did a bit of shopping before going into the city, this time round, i opted for the tram.. got into the CBD area and swapped to the free tram, which got us to Docklands.. where the DFO is nearby!!!!!!

the ever familiar tram stop..

the ever familiar cow in the tree!

shopping was fun at the DFO and i must say that the damage was not too significant! wahaha! it was packed though.. since everyone was deprived of shopping on Good Friday and shops will again be closed on Easter Sunday!

Shopping ended early for me as Jo was feeling exhausted and wanted to head back to the apartment for a rest before going out for dinner and walking by Luna Park for a quick photo taking session.. i'm glad because i didnt spend too much! wahaha!

Day 1 to MEL - The Overland

it's been a relaxing 3 days in MEL.. technically speaking, only 2 days and 2 nights.. since Day 1 was spent on The Overland..

my train to Melbourne..

Keswick Terminal

the name of the cafe at the far end - Choo Choos Cafe.. cute!

the journey started at 7.40am and i only reached MEL at 6.50pm after spending 10 & 1/2 hours on the train.. that may seemed very long but all things considered, i wasnt bored at all and i really enjoyed the trip!

i think the main reason was that i was seated in the Red Premium Service! both Jo and i had no idea that GSR put me on the Red Premium Service as a Familiarisation trip.. i only realised it when i was looking at the menu while trying to decide what to eat for lunch (when i'm still in the process of eating my packed breakfast: Croissant with a piece of Spam).. See the little red box?

the menu that enlightened me..

i must say that being on the Premium Red Service has all the pros and absolutely no cons at all.. once seated a man came into the cabin and started telling us about the train, how long the journey will take, the major towns that we'll pass by, the highest point we'll go (Mount Lofty!), how to use the toilet (very important to press the LOCKED button!), where the cafe is (right next door!), when they will come to take our orders for breakfast and lunch, where we'll like to have our meals (at our seat or in the cafe) and answered any questions we have..

this is the man.. he's quite humourous and reminds me of 'Nigel' in The Devil Wears Prada!

landscape and scenery was nice too.. like a postcard..


if i wasnt eating on the train, i was sleeping! haha.. it was a few hours into the trip when a lady came to my seat and presented me an envelope with my name printed on it.. and in it contained my ticket for The Overland and a Familiarisation Report that i have to complete.. it was then that i realised that I AM working in the travel industry!!!!!! took me 6 months.. wahaha!

the cafe..

my lunch that cost A$12.50.. those bread were yummilicious~!

my runaway bag..

after much rest, food, scenery and toilet breaks.. we drew closer and closer to Melbourne! the landscape changes and the sun starts to set.. it's been an enjoyable ride!

10 & 1/2 hours later, as The Overland pulls into Southern Cross Station where Jo was waiting for me.. my journey on the train has come to an end.. and my journey in Melbourne has just started.. for the second time!

P.S. The Overland went on the Murray Bridge!!! Gosh!

P.S. Dinner was at Nando's in St Kilda after we dropped my bag in Jo's apartment!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Day 3 - Back from MEL! 2nd time!

got back to the apartment at about 7.40pm.. just in time for SYTYCD!!!!!! i think i'm a bit mad over this dance programme! anyway, got back, switched on the TV and watched it till the next commercial break before rushing down to the 24hr convenience shop to get washing powder in order to do laundry.. got back from the convenience shop and put a load of laundry to wash and continued watching my show.. in the midst of the show, cooked 2 packets of Maggi Asam Laksa and ate it with a can of Tuna for dinner.. i sure can eat! *smilez*

this morning i ate 3/4 of a cup noodle.. it was really yucky (really!!!) but if i dont eat it, i'll be hungry very soon! the brand is SUIMIN and it was the Hot & Spicy flavour.. i normally wouldnt believe any food that has 'Oriental' flavour (can someone tell me what 'oriental' flavour tastes like?!) printed on its packaging.. but i must have been sick from my cold and did this silly purchase! this cup noodle has 'TASTE of the ORIENT' printed on its packaging (i should have known.. it was a warning~) and that was the big warning that i didnt heed! anyway, chucked out the rest of the noodles and move on to eat what's left of my 'Chicken in a Biskit' that i've brought for the trip on the train..

Jo and i finished packing our bags (check-out was due at 10am) before leaving the apartment to go down to the St Kilda Market just along St Kilda Beach.. it was a awesome day.. awesome weather!!! the sun is shinning, the breeze is fresh and light and the sea is clear and calm.. the walk to the beach was funny.. because Jo said biscuits should not taste like 'Chicken', that's more like dog food!!! wahahaha.. Gosh.

at the start of the market..

then a walk down the beach..

sat down at the middle of the jetty for a chat..

it may not look like the black swans are big in this photo, but as a matter of fact they are huge! oh, Perth~!

after the walk down the jetty, we walked back to the apartment to pick up our bags from the apartment.. below are a few photos of the apartment.. the lighting in the apartment and my photography skills didnt do justice to the apartment! i forgot to take some photos of the toilet and shower but rest assure that they are up to standard!

the first thing i saw when i walked through the door on Friday night..

what's on the right hand side after i walked through the door..

the dining table and kitchen..

the living room.. my 'room' for 2 nights in St Kilda!

no, Jo did not torture me by asking me to sleep on the couch.. she personally felt that the couch is very comfy and offered me her bed! gosh, i would be struck by lightning if i accepted the offer.. i didnt and there was an extra single mattress in the 'open' wardrobe.. i covered it with a bath towel.. and i also had a big blanket.. i fold it in half.. one half was my blanket and the other was another layer over the bath towel.. Jo gave me 2 pillows, so i had one for my head and the other to act as a bolster! gosh, slept well i did! (for the first night, that is!)

after picking up our luggages from the apartment, we headed down to Fitroy Street and did internet check-in at a convenience shop and then took the tram into the city to drop our bags at the train station (the same one where i got off The Overland) as we still had time before our Virgin Blue flight in the evening.. my first Virgin Blue flight! we paid A$8 for a locker and dumped our luggages there.. and then proceeded to look for some food..

i brought Jo to the Queen Victoria Market where i managed to get some Dutch pancakes! so cute and yummilicious! i was so hungry by then and ordered pancakes with butter, icing sugar and maple syrup! i reckoned the best part of it? the Salted Butter!!!

I forgot to take photos of them because i was too busy gobbling them up! i managed to find a blogger who had the exact same Dutch pancakes from Queen Victoria Market!

Photo: Courtesy of Broken Lense

we took a quick walk round the market and i can tell that it's not really Jo's thing.. so i went into Sohum and bought more of their products and we got out of there after that! half of my shopping expenditure in MEL was spent on Sohum products! it was at Queen Victoria Market that i knew that Sohum existed and fell in love with their Limequat Body Moisturiser~

we walked to Melbourne Central from the market.. the Central was opened.. but none of the shops in it were.. hmmm.. does that make sense? poor Jo was about to collapse of hunger but luckily we managed to get to a McDonald's on Swanton Street! while Jo went to order, i bought myself a sushi roll (California roll) a few shops down and met up with her again in McDonald's..

after her lunch, we walked back to Southern Cross Station to pick up our luggages and boarded the Skybus to MEL airport, T3.. we were obviously too early for our flight and that's when i went into Hungry Jack's and got myself a Junior Whopper Meal (more food!) while Jo went walking around.. Jo came to HJ to meet up with me and we proceeded to our gate after i've had my fill! i was so tired and full of food.. i fell asleep on the flight back..

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

the Light shining in the Darkness!

It's only 7.10pm and it's pitch dark.. and cold! Geez.. been having the runny nose the whole day.. yucks!

the good news out of autumn is that.. i get to wear my boots and use all my scarves and shawls!!!

the other mega good news for this autumn.. i'm looking forward to welcoming Zen to Adelaide!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Returned!

finally got back the hour i lost 6 months ago! which means i'm now back to an hour and a half in advance of Malaysia/Singapore, 7 & 1/2 hours in advance of Bari, Italy (DST) and 14 & 1/2 hours in advance of Vancouver, Canada (DST)!!! Geez~

No more daylight savings and officially into Autumn.. which was quite obvious with the rain early this morning.. alright, give SA more water!