OK. Let’s take a break from the “Trip to Downunder” journal. I will continue it once I have more time at hand. I still have a couple of stories to share.

A lot has been going on. Hmm … after I typed this sentence, it didn’t sound right some how. Like a sense of negativity was naturally contained in it. Nonetheless, everything that has been going on is ALL good.

I have been quite busy with work, home, family, photos, friends, events, going places, story books, food, working out. Lots! I haven’t even got time to do some of those more important tasks like professional development. As boring as it may SOMETIMES be for my career, I still think it’s important that I buckle up a notch and really start to pay attention (to my job). Well, truth be told. I never really know what I really LOVE to do only until the last couple of years. So I hope now that I know, I can better balance out my life.

Work wise – A lot of international events been going on. I have been appointed to be the “back-up” photographer. Quite daunting though because it’s not as easy as it sounds. And I am NOT a professional in that field.

Home – it’s been all good. Now my weekends dates are mostly my parents. We are always looking forward to somewhere interesting to eat. And to shop for certain things. Like last week, all of us (my parents and I) bought this titanium necklace thingy. It has an immediate effect to your system, well at least I had the immediate effect but paps couldn’t feel it that instantly. I spent RM225 on a set of necklace and bracelet. Sigh, there goes 25% of the amount of a flash unit I am eyeing for, I think it’s called a SB600? Forgive me if I named it wrongly.

Technology – Like I said I am eyeing for a flash unit for my Nicholas (as in my Nikon – his name is Nicholas). The mid-range one will cost around RM800, I heard. I haven’t done any research on it yet. Then at the same time, my materialistic nature is persuading me to get a Black Berry! I so want a Black Berry! But my sensible self tells me that it’s just a purely waste of money. Then also, I finally got a new Lappie, his name is Deller. (A Dell inspiron 13.3” inch). I just Love tech stuff.

Talking about techie stuff, the internet service provider “sLowMyx” is currently doing such a fuckingly fantastic job that I would declare proudly that it should be given the “Non-service-provider” Award 2009! I can’t believe where I once had the luxury of using internet service of 10GB and now had to compromise or rather “endure” life with occasional no internet at all.

Story books – Oh yeah, this is mainly what has been occupying my time for the past couple weeks. I bought the “Twilight Saga”. Four books – no sorry – four fuckingly awesome story book! I couldn’t stop reading it! Except for Book 3 though, it was a bit dry when they were talking about history of how all these characters begun. Now I am into book 4 with only 100+ pages before I complete the whole vampire-wolve-human-love story saga.

After this, I think I should really spend some time in digesting the manual that came with my Nicholas. It’s time that I should really take this thing which I really enjoy doing seriously. Thanks to those who is guiding me along the way.

Um what else .. blogging .. See, I signed up for this NuffnanG website. The website will analyse the traffic flow of your site and also record the searches where people do that will end up at your site. Hmm… some of the searches were pretty disturbing though, check this out:

 Ugh! Gross!

I guess that’s all for now. I better get back to work. I will most likely be out of touch from this virtual world for the next few days or week. Till then .. adios lovely people.

So everyone says to me: “You have to go to the Great Ocean Road. You must! Otherwise it would be like you’ve never been to Melbourne at all!” …  Okay I will then, I replied. And so I went to sign up for a day tour with the local travel agency.

Now this is interesting. There’s some kind of weird system going on between these travel agencies. If you want to have a local English speaking Australian tour guide, you would have the pay AUD110 for the one-day Great Ocean Road Trip.

Alternatively, if you understand Mandarin, then you could join the Chinese Tour (as in the tour guide will be speaking in Mandarin) for only AUD69 (plus AUD4.00 which the tour guide will ask from you in the middle of nowhere, and where you have no choice but to give him, because you need him to fetch you home.)

Of course I signed up for that Mandarin tour. I couldn’t careless who was driving the bus. I just wanted to get there.

Early in the morning, I left Susi’ home. It was a gloomy day, so I was a little disappointed with the weather for a such an important day out. The weather was pretty cold especially when it rained the night before.

I grabbed my so-called Mount Everest jacket, Susi’s winter hat (though it was not winter but Spring; it felt very winter to me though), my knee-corn baby, a water bottle (mind you, bottled mineral water is some kind of luxury item in Aussie, it costs you AUD2.50 – 3.00 for one. So I brought my own) and off I went.

I wasn’t that hungry when I reached Melbourne Central – that’s roughly where I needed to meet up with the tour. But since I didn’t know if we were stopping by to have meals or not, I had my second round of breakie (as shown above. I had my 1st round at Susi’s), just in case I got too hungry and grumpy.

So I made my ordered at the counter: “ Coffee with raisins toast please.” 

“What coffee would you like, mdm?” 

“Huh??” I didn’t know I NEED TO KNOW what type of coffee to order. The sign says “Coffee + Toasts for only AUD4.00” So I quickly ran through my pathetic little Malaysian mind. Thinking: What coffee were there? Kopi ‘O? Kopi ‘Si? or just kopi? or Nescafe? or NesLo (Nescafe + Milo)? Before I could answer that Chinese lady behind the counter …

“Latte, mdm?” She was getting impatient. For her impatient behavior, I suspected that she might be from Singapore.

“Oh yeah, Latte will do.” If only you let me think through what kind coffee do you actually sell.

I shoveled down the whole set of breakfast because I didn’t want to waste any bit of that expensive breakfast. Expensive in Ringgit terms. And around 8 am I met up with the tour.

That’s the touring company. When they say “Chinese tour”, my head was thinking of like perhaps local Malaysian Chinese or something, but I didn’t expect Chinese means Chinese from China; which was what the whole bus consisted of – Orang Cina.

All that I heard on the bus was “Shing shong ching chong shing shing shong shong.” Not that I don’t understand Mandarin, but I really did not understand their type of mandarin. =_=”

See that girl in the picture? She was actually wearing shots with black stockings. Nothing against such a fashion. Looked OK to me. But on a trip to cold + windy mountains + unpredictable Melbourne weather + rainy season, that China girl actually complaint that the weather on top of the hill was too cold. T____T

I didn’t know what to expect of the whole big “Great Ocean Road Trip”. I’m not the type who would do any research or planning into traveling. Truth be told. The only thing I planned throughout the whole trip was the fact that I gotten a plane ticket and flew downunder. I prefer to surprise myself.

So the name says “Great Ocean ROAD”, there must be quite a fair bit of scenes to see along the ROAD. I shut my mind off that Chinese Tour guide’s babbling, only giggled once awhile when I found that his joke was genuinely funny. Otherwise, I ignored his too-much-about-China-talk most of the time.

Once we drove out of Melbourne city, I saw these cute little country house built on top of this tiny hill. Nice eh? It’s not like those too planned too systematic house in Malaysia.

After traveling for about an hour or so, I was wondering if the driver (the driver was also the tour guide) was ever going to stop because I needed to pee. Amazingly, I supposed the driver read my mind and we stopped at this tiny little town called “Anglesea” for a toilet break and leg stretching.

Anglesea was surrounded by this lake and also some small hills. It was very pretty and quiet. And the toilet paper was different from what we have here. Haha. That also I needed to mention.

 

After the toilet break, we continued our drive. What you would see was actually ocean road. Almost the whole journey or road was accompanied by the ocean. I bet if my bro was there to witness the waves, he would go crazy.

More ocean view. All these pictures were taken from the coach that I was on. There was no way that the driver could stop by the road. And the weather was pretty gloomy which was actually the only sad part of the trip. And then it was almost lunch time. We started our journey at 9 am.

We stopped at another little town called “Apollo Bay” and yes, it’s another beautiful little place. This town is surrounded by mountains and it’s located quite high up the hill. It was drizzly that day and breezy, so as I walked around the town, my fingers were quite numb from the chilly weather. And I almost couldn’t snap any pictures with my almost frozen fingers.

I had fish and chips again for lunch. As I have mentioned previously, fish and chips was just as common as chicken rice here. At first, I only wanted fish and salad, but since I was almost shivering when I got down from the coach, I thought to myself: whatever diet plan I had in mind had got to be thrown out of the window; what I needed to do now was to stuff myself with food that would keep me warm and strong.

I sighed as we left Apollo Bay to continue our journey; because it was such a lovely place. Especially with houses like the one shown here, how can one not love this town and want to live here?

The other scenic views were all these huge huge huge pastures and farms long the way. Though I didn’t express myself out loud, but I swear I was gasping the whole way when I saw this and whispered: Oh My Fucking god! So beautiful, pictures and words are not enough to actually express my feelings.

The only time I saw cows biting grass on their pastures was the picture pasted on the tin of a milk powder “Fernleaf”. And having the opportunity to see it for myself .. was just “WOW!”

“Ah Jo saw some little lambs, little lambs, little lambs~”  

I think I behaved like a kindergarten kid when I saw these fluffy, white, huggish, cute lambs! I hated the fact that the driver didn’t stop to let us better enjoy these scenic moments.

And that’s the journey to not-sure-what-to-expect at the Great Ocean Road …

Next destination … I still wasn’t sure what I would be seeing … stay tuned …

To round up my tour around Melbourne city, here’s a few places which I think it was worth seeing.

 

First stop, University of Melbourne. That’s where Jack studied for about 2 years I think. And he still has the student access pass. Let’s cut the crap about what courses it offers, I am not here to promote the university’s courses. It was the architecture of the university which made me in awe.

Before I stepped into the university’s compound, my mind’s impression of a western university should be somewhat that of those in Harry Potter’s movie. When Jack brought me in, I was a little disappointed at first because all that I saw was modern buildings. I am not a big admirer of modern buildings, big deal, there’s tons of it back home.

But as we proceed deeper into the university, I started to smile widely when I saw those really old campus like buildings. And then I told Jack:”Now, that’s what I came here to see!”.

I never had the luxury to spend any of my tertiary years in an environment like this, so having to even just see it for myself is enough to fill that gap which I carried with so many years.

Next stop, the Royal Exhibition Building. Another sight seeing. According to Jack, and also Steven and Sophie, three of whom were graduates of Melbourne Uni, said that even the thought coming back to this building, brings back a sheer of uncomfortable feeling because this was where they sat for their examinations. I guess I may feel the same if I visited Sunway College.

The park or garden or whatever you call it, which laid in front of the Building was so huge and vast that it’s impossible not to repeatedly gasping:”Oh wow!” “Oh my fucking god!” “Wowowow!” The greenery was just as impressive. I honestly felt like putting down everything I was carrying and roll around the grass; a thought which I had at that moment, in an attempt to absorb everything I saw and felt.

 

Last stop of my city tour, Queen Victoria Market. It’s very different when compared to the wet market back here. One very important point to note is the fact that it’s not smelly at all! That’s like the only one reason why I have not step foot into any wet market over here in Malaysia in ages!

Visiting Victoria Market was one the trips I made on my own. As simple as it was shown on the map, the direction to get to this market, I actually got lost and had to ask someone. Silly! I actually stood in the middle of some cross road, and tilted the map in my hand until I felt I got it right, but then I gave up reading maps. Haha!

It was kind of obligatory coming here because I promised Ah Meng Je that I will get her the Macedonia nuts which she requested. It’s not that cheap though. I bought her 200gm of the nuts @ AUD6.00 and I also bought for mom 200gm of wasabi coated Macedonia nuts at the same price. 

 

If you come from the part of the world I came, you ought to pay the market a visit. The market is divided into poultry, dairy, fruits, vegetables, clothes, souvenirs. I am not so impressed with clothes and souvenirs but for the rest of the goods displayed, even if you don’t know how to cook (like yours truly), you would have the impulse to just buy something back because the vegetables and fruits are so colorful and looks awfully fresh!

On the left was a meat stall. I got disgusted when I saw the sign “Pets Mince”. The first thought I had was: Did they actually murder a pet and minced it and then sell it back to customers?! Then Susi laughed at my silliness and explained that “Pets Mince” meant mince meat for you to feed your pet. Phew~! that’s was a relieve!

Look at those bananas, so huge and so bloody yellow!

 

The dairy section was something I hardly see in Malaysia. The sheer volume of sausages, hams and cheese on display was impressive. I know these foods are very common to them like how nasi lemak and roti canai are to us. If only I had stayed there longer, I would have had the chance to buy some different sausages everyday to try them. Well if that happens, it won’t be very helpful for my waistline.

Then there was wine tasting as well. I didn’t had the time to stop and try them because I was rushing to meet up with Jack. But I had the chance to taste some somewhere outside of Melbourne.

So that basically wraps up my city tour, next stop … out of Melbourne …

Before I start, I have to say one of the more important thing which you need to find in a traveling partner is that he or she needs to be flexible and has not much rules or pet peeves with his or her daily routine or needs. And that’s Jack. Jack is totally flexible and would just dare to try anything at all. Though he is from China, he is not choosy when comes to food at all. I knew some people, a lot in fact, who are pretty scared when trying new tastes. So I told Jack, I had Japanese, Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, so maybe it’s time to have Greek food which I have never tried ever. 

We weren’t sure what to order since this was the first time for both of us, so we asked the waitress to recommend. I think the waitress is from Greece or somewhere else, definitely not from OZ. I do not actually have a picture of her and I think if I did try to snap a picture of her at this close proximity, that would totally be concluded as invasion of privacy.

The first dish which she introduced was this cabbage wrap. The cabbage was actually wrapped with minced beef and basmati rice (those long grained rice). It’s served with boiled potatoes. It has a little of sour taste from the tomato paste which I think they have used, which was actually quite mouth watering. 

This one above is like cheese-baked beef lasagna, the Greek style, served with their uniquely cooked rice. It’s hard to describe the taste though. It has a kind of fragrance which I think it’s the essence of Greek food.

Last one, mixed grilled chicken and lamb wrap. It’s like kebab but juicier.

All in all, their style of cooking has some similarities with Arabian food and because of that I love it! It’s not easy to explain how it tastes like but certainly it doesn’t taste anything like Indian, Malay, Chinese or Western food. I am not even sure what spices were used. Maybe someday, I will do some research on it, and perhaps write a thesis about it, like how some people wish to write a thesis about those people whom they worked with - duh~!

This Greek restaurant is actually located almost at the centre of the City. Not difficult to locate. But then again, I do not remember the name of the restaurant. But it’s quite easy to find, just go to the part of the city which states “Greece lane” or something to that effect and look for this restaurant at the corner of the street. It looks a bit posh from the outside. It’s not that cheap though, pretty price. For our meal, I think it cost about AUD50?

It was Jack who bought me that meal. I insisted on paying him back since both of us are using our hard-earned money to enjoy ourselves. But he didn’t allow me to, and he too, being stubborn, said I could repay him in the future. Ugh future! when will be next time that we meet again!

That’s Jack and I. Oh my god, I look so puffy here!

On one of those days where I hung out with Jack, my friend and my tour guide, I told Jack that I have to go to places with waters. I insisted. I wanted to go to the beach but St. Kilda beach (the nearest in town, and of which I have been to the last time I was here) is not the most breath taking beaches I have ever seen. And I think for beaches in Down under, you have to be at some where like the Gold Coast. At the same time, it’s still Spring and the breeze in Melbourne is so unpredictable, it’s not very smart to be out at the beach with bikinis, so I just settled with rivers (and of course with enough clothes on).

So Jack brought me to the Yarra River. Well to put me more appropriately, he did not necessary “bring me” there, it’s just in the city. But it’s nice to have a companion to enjoy the scenic view and the beautiful weather we experienced that day.

That’s a scene from St. Kilda road, walking down a flight of stairs, towards Yarra River. As I have mentioned probably a gazillion times that I love capturing pictures, but because my skill is not up to the standard yet, so the lighting from the sun helps a lot in enhancing my pictures. 2 of the ladies (in white jacket) were actually getting training from a trainer (I assumed – the guy in black jacket). I wish I have a trainer who would push me to exercise everyday.

After a long walk in the city and a fulfilling lunch, Jack and I decided to just sit on the grass and enjoy the breezy weather. I always wanted to do this; just sit on the grass and do nothing. You could do this back in Malaysia but the weather’s too hot and humid. 

There. Taken from a bridge crossing over Yarra River. We did not seat too long because we needed to head to another place within the city before the sun sets. Jack didn’t allow to go back too late because as beautiful as Melbourne could be, one should not take for granted it’s as safe as the Lion City. Though it was a little sad that I had to end my daily touring early before sun set , I guess Jack’s intention was true; it gets kind of creepy when the sun sets, and the streets get really quiet and creepy. And the weather gets too cold to my liking.

Our next place was Docklands. I supposed you know what it means, as the name implied. I am not sure why but I am always fascinated by buildings or structures built by the waters. I guess it’s the negative-neutron in the breeze which makes one happy.

Docklands is where all the boats dock. Duh =_=" According to friends here, and also from my own observation, the dock is utterly quiet. Even with all these Condominiums built around the dock, still it’s not the most popular place for the locals. I wonder why. And yet the prices of these properties are still sky high. On this very day where we went to Docklands, the breeze was crazily ice cold and I was getting a headache from it. My fingers were numb and I could hardly snap good pictures *Excuses*.

Oh well it’s just a simple day out with a friend, enjoying the scenery and ice-cold breeze, talking about future or the lack-of. Looking into the possibility of perhaps someday, I will too be enjoying all these as part of my daily life.

Sorry for the late update though, to whomever is following my blog. It has been crazily busy for the past week + the internet disruption at work + I am still waiting for the new Dell laptop which I ordered online LAST MONDAY and which will only arrive on 6 November!! If I knew it would take so long, I might as well buy it off the shelve from any retailer!