one of my favourite things abt goin on a holiday, is the day before the day u're supposed to fly and also those few hrs when u're at the airport checking in, and those few hrs on the plane with all the inflight entertainment and FOOD!

coz those are the few hrs when u've soooo much to look forward to, and so much to anticipate, and in our case, 8 full days of fun and alone time with each other... =)))

so imagine when those things are being accentuated by the mere fact that we're taking SIA!!!!! and the mere fact tat we're flying off fr terminal 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yaaaaaaaysss!

i'm a sua gu and i've nvr taken SIA before.

me and les met at the airport at 6.30pm, with my parents and my aunt.




and a closer look at those much-talked-about ceilings...




it's very very nice!!!!! and if u dunno why the ceilings are constructed this way, it's time u go read some newspapers and crawl out from the cavehole u've been hidin in for the past few months lar.




anyway despite being 22 years old and all, and already having flown to USA and lived there for 3 months, it feels pretty good tat my parents still fuss over me everytime i'm flying off... =)




which pretty looked like those in terminal 1 and 2 lar, juz tat it's flanked by really nice designs and decor at the sides... haha...

and inside terminal 3, which i'm gleefully proud of to have seen...




it's nice nice nice! there's something abt the lighting in terminal 3 that seemed to make everything look nicer.




we had some time to burn so we were fooling ard in some of the shops... okay more of lester foolin ard, and me juz standing there laughing.




and the waiting area... where lester pang seh me to go use internet -_-'''




the flight was okaaaaay lar.

i think coz everyone keep gushing abt SIA so much i had pretty high expectations. i mean the service is good and everything... tat's undeniable, but i think there are several other airlines tat could match up actually. like the Swiss airline. i took tat once, their service is superb and the plane is huuuugggggeeee...

anyway our inflight entertainment broke down! so we had NO inflight entertainment until like 45mins before we're abt to land.

seriously. i shd haf complained and mebbe i'll get back like half of the amt tat i pay for the air ticket haha... anyway lucky for me, my boyfren is someone called Lester, so tat was my inflight entertainment for those 7 hrs.



we landed at Melbourne at 6plus am in the morn. and it is cold! like San Francisco cold! like autumn cold! i had a bad cold the few hrs aft i landed lar... i think my body is pretty slow and retarded when it comes to adapting... -_-'''

anyway! here it is! at 7plus am we reach Freeman Lodge! home for 8 days.




Yew Lee, Chang and Ching!!!! we are back in RICHMOND! wahhaha...

how coincidental is that!!!! that one year ago, me and lester flew on 9th May 2007 and reached on 10th May 2007 to a place called Richmond in Virginia, USA.

and now one year later, me and lester flew on 9th May 2008 and reached on 10th May 2008 to a place called Richmond in Melbourne, Australia.

i think it's a sign.

that we're supposed to go back USA and visit Richmond again. wahaha...




my first thought was, hmmm mebbe the hostel wun be as nice as we expect. i mean it doesnt exactly look fantastic from the outside rite... so while lester was ringing the bell, i was tryin to lower my expectations coz disappointment is a bitch.

and den i reach the inside, and i was so glad we chose this hostel.




it's so cosy and homely! more photos of the hostel on our last day...

we couldnt check in till 10am so we threw our luggage there and went to take a walk ard Richmond. wahahha...






we walked down to Bridge Rd where there were some quaint little shops and some factory outlets and some cafes situated there... and we found this nice small cafe tat looked like it sells pretty awesome breakfast...

and so we had, our first Australian breakfast!




the breakfast was so good lar. i always like western breakfast... u noe, the all-american style kind...

a short walk back hostel had me sneezing all the way back and i was thinkin how mebbe i shd haf wore 4 sets of clothing instead of 2... -_-'''

like i say, i'm someone who can stand large amt of heat but not even a single bit of cold. and like i say, my body's retarded in adapting...

so anyway we checked in and caught a 2 hrs nap (coz we didnt slp for like 24hrs alr) before goin into city to take a walk ard.




sometimes when we were in the Melbourne city, and i take a look ard, and you could juz easily pretend tat u're in USA coz their buildings look pretty much alike.

we saw this, and lester couldnt stop wanting to eat it.




according to him "any shop tat's called lord of the fries muz haf pretty awesome fries lar!"

and den i pacify him by promising to bring him back a few days later. haha...




why is tat every angmoh cty seemed to like letting their horses roam the city liddat?
i told lester to bring me out on a date in tat, but he refused to.

and we saw protestors against scientology.




i wanted to go nearer to take photos coz actually most of them are dressed up in really REALLY weird costumes but i dun think u can see it fr the photos. but lester kept pulling me away... i think he was scared they'll bash us up or something...

we decided to settle lunch by buyin all those little snacks tat look nice...




the pizza's nicer den spore's but not as nice as USA's... the chicken kebab is totally superb lar!!!! why why whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy does spore not have tat!

next is sushi!!!!




the sushi cost AUD2.00 and it is long manz... it's as long as fr my wrist to the tip of my fingers... and it's damn freaking nice!!!!! i vowed to eat 1 sushi everyday of the 8 days we will be there...






u will not believe how many stares i've to put up with from ppl in the store juz by taking that photo. and tat lester was soooooo slow in takin it. i think he did it on purpose.




u see how the cars behind are zoomin past and blurry, and yet we're so clear and focused in the center of the photo... very nice!

ppl were not kiddin me when they say night falls very early in australia... at 5, it starts to become less bright and at 6plus pm it's totally dark.




the night view there is pretty nice!




we went to walk along the Yarra River, which is very much like our very own Clarke Quay except it's prob like 10 degrees lower!




we saw this angmoh guy taking photos with a professional camera, and we asked him to take a photo for us... and wat came back was the photo on the right.

i bet he's a photographer lor... it's like damn nice lar... it looked like we're photoshopped in or something...

we settled for dinner at this foodcourt in the building along Yarra River. you'll think we got normal food since it's a foodcourt rite... nooooo, the food there looked more like they came from Marche or something...




tat's oreo cheesecake i think, and it's soooo freaking superb can! it almost tastes like those we had at Cheesecake Factory in USA.

we went to Eureka Skydeck which is new building tat came up in 2007 too. it's this tall tall tower tat u buy tickets to go to the 88th storey so tat u can see the entire melbourne and their city lights...

AND! there's this retracting glass room which has transparent sides, transparent ceiling and transparent floor and it comes out from the building on 88th storey so tat when u look down, u can see 88 storeys below u...




there was a discount for student concession, so we saved qt alot actually... their 88th storey look damn futuristic and had scrolling marquees all ard the room.




and some photos of the night view there...




den we were goin to the retracting glass room! the person in charge gave us showercaps to put over our shoes coz the retracting glass room has glass floor and it's to prevent our shoes fr scratching the glass...




we couldnt take photos inside the retracting glass room, but we bought the photo that they took for us! it's sitting nicely in lester's room now. =)




we went to Crown aft tat! which is this atas atas hotel with atas atas shops inside and a casino and numerous pubs!




look at its name and u'll noe it's atas...

we walked ard the shops inside till like 11plus pm before goin back.
who says australia does not have a night life? hee...



woke up real early in the morn and we had Krispy Kremes for breakfast!!!! which we bought the nite before! we went around city area looking for krispy kremes lar... it's like one of those deprived food tat we couldnt get in singapore u noe...

but like wat i told les, if it's easily available in spore, we'll prob stop wanting to eat them in a few months time.

anyway!!!! do u noe the krispy kremes in USA sell for like S$1.20 per donut... and those in australia (or at least melbourne) sell for like S$2.60 per donut!!!!!!!! it's like extortion -_-'''




i juz needed to take every single road sign tat has the word "richmond" on it... wahhaha...

and like the vow i made on the first day... 1 sushi handroll per day!




tat's calamari handroll and unagi handroll!!!!! calamari sushi lehz! can u believe it????

anyway our first stop that morning was the Melbourne Arts Center coz there's like a street bazaar there... and street bazaars in angmoh ctys (fr our experience in USA) are not like pasam malam in spore, they're more like selling artsy and really nice stuff...




those "gloves" on my hands were the free SIA socks given to us on the flight... and no, i did not wear them on my feet prior to my hands... -_-''' they're clean... and les keep sayin i look stoopid... =(

i forgot to bring gloves lar... i forgot tat my hands get icy cold even in normal air-con places in spore.




sounds cheap horz the stuff? it's effing expensive.




but their stuff are really nice... and all handmade... which is why they jerk up the prices to ridiculously high.

we went back into the city, coz we had to take tram from there to our next stop! anyway we walked along Yarra River again, and i quite like that place actually... nice for slow walks in the morn, i feel.




and a day view of Yarra River and the Southbank.




some of the skyscrapers there include companies like IBM and PWC... that's all i can rem haha...

and like wat i promised tat little boy, we stopped by Lord of the Fries!




they've like a hundred and one different sauces for u to choose from to put on ur fries... and that's Euro Mayonnaise! coz it's one of the cheapest haha...

the fries are pretty good! somehow they taste really different from the normal ones that you eat... and nothing beats bitting into hot tasty fries dipped in mayonnaise on a cooling day...

den we hopped onto a tram for a 25mins ride into St. Kilda! this place with a beach and apparently nice quaint little shops, atas seafood restaurants and famous dessert cafes along the seaside... and seriously, anything with a beach even in the cold weather, still interest me =)




another similarity to spore... this place is another clean-freak country... look at the interior of their trams!

and erm pardon the many many self-shots. this is wat happened when lester is on the phone and leave me alone with my camera. and he was on the phone for pretty long okay! with some IBM guy who's repairing his laptop i think.



okay. one best thing abt goin to a cold cty? it makes my hair SUPER soft and SUPER not-dry. wahahha...




den he finally decided to hang up the phone and join me in camwhoring... wahahha...




and aft 25mins, we reached st kilda!




that was a CANDID shot okay!!! when i was looking at the map and feeling lost and confused and i turned ard, thinkin my BF can help me, and there he was with the camera, waiting to capture my stoopid expression...

st kilda is as i expected, full of tall palm trees! haha...




we walked towards Esplanade which was this place that apparently is supposed to have another street bazaar...




we saw this themepark that's called Luna Park... and i dun understand why ppl would even wanna take rides in cold cold weather...




we saw this street performer at the entrance of Luna Park... and i think he looked like Mr Bean.




Doesnt he look like Mr Bean??????????????????????????? doesnt he??????????????????????????? and he was sooooo hilarious in his acts can... i couldnt stop watching and i couldnt stop laughing...




some of the rides in Luna Park... we didnt take them lar... juz went in to take a look. and after havin worked at Kings Dominion for 3 months, these rides are pretty much a joke.

we walked ard for like an hr looking at all the fancy fancy restaurants and all the not so fancy foodplaces and finally settled on this place called "the street cafe".

sounds cheap rite? but their interior looked damn atas lar! totally dun look like a "street cafe"...




they mainly sell pastas which isnt very expensive actually... and the ppl there are very friendly! one guy tried talking to us, and tot we were from australia itself...

i told lester "they're like americans, they think all chinese from other ctys dun speak english..."

hello?!?! there's a cty called spore, where we're forced to learn eng and chinese since young. haha...






i cant remember wat pastas those are, but their sauces are of premium quality! i tot those at Da Paolo's were abit better tho...


we went to this street behind st kilda beach which is famous for their pastries and dessert cafes... we spend like near an hr searching for this street lar... it's like hidden behind an entire row of ulu ulu houses...



we read abt the oldest pastries shop called "Monarch" from one of the tourists' booklets... so here it is!




anyway all the pastries shops along that street displays their pastries outside liddat... i nearly went crazy looking at all of them lar... i juz wanna gobble all into my stomach! roaaarrrsss!




i developed an intense love for hot chocolate after bein in melbourne for so many days... it juz goes so well with the cold weather outside, and somehow all the hot choc drinks there taste really superb...

the pastries are very nice! the choc pastry has this texture to it tat i've never savoured before... and the plum pastry was juz an all-new experience... haha... tho it looked abit disgusting...

headed down to st. kilda pier!




accordin to the guy at our hostel, there'll be penguins comin out from the sea onto the rocks when nite falls... so we walked ard until it's dark enuff before headin down here...

lucky for me, les brought another beanie for me, and SIA gave out free socks which i could den use as gloves haha...
otherwise i'll positively freeze to death out here...






if i lived in such cold cty, i wouldnt care abt my figure at all coz under all those layers of clothes, everyone juz looked fat...

to be able to see the penguins, u gotta be extremely quiet so tat u dun scare them away... and i was praying hard during my whole time there that there wouldnt be any chinamen ard... they're loud noisy and boisterous as 4 years in central lib has shown me.




anyway all the penguins in melbourne are very tiny and small and damn freaking cute can! they're known as fairy penguins!




imagine jumping in that weather... i think the cold stung my face so much it was red aft tat...

we went back into the city after that and got lost in the midst of tryin to find our tram stop... so we ended up walking ard and ard and ard, with lester insisting that he WILL find the way for us... haha... stumbled onto some nice structures ard city in the midst of it.




and he did find the way home lar... it prob juz took like an extra hr or something haha...




this is when u've 2 ppl who still had loads of energy in them but the whole city has no shops opened nor ppl walking ard in it, and these 2 ppl had no choice but to come back to hostel...

anyway he bought tat cap for his sis! and i chose it! nice riteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!



Day 4 was Great Ocean Road Day!!!!! we booked a one-day tour with Grayline on our first day in Melbourne...

i felt abit bad coz les came melbourne before and he went for this tour before... but he kept insisting tat it doesnt matter and he'll go again juz to pei me... soooooo sweeeeeeet...



i took the license plate coz i rem seeing the same line on some of the license plates in Richmond before... "Virginia - The Place To Be"

we had to travel ard 1hr before we reached all the different stops along Great Ocean Road...

some of the beautiful sceneries along the way!




i love taking these kinda shots, coz u noe u'll nvr see something liddat in Spore... ever.
it's like they're taking every single acre of land that does not alr have a building on it, to construct a buildin on it... -_-'''




there was this ger sitting in front of us alone... and no matter where she go she always bring this frog soft toy with her and sometimes she would take photos of sceneries with the frog right smack in the middle of the photo -_-'''

lester was damn amused by it.

anyway! first stop is Bells Beach!




there were snacks prepared for us by the driver, including lemingtons which les kept sayin were damn good and i was dyin to try them.

AND THEN! we juz went to the toilet for AWHILE, and there was NONE left when we came back.

#^$#&$^$#@$@#(*(*$#&$(*!!!!!!!

Bells Beach was nice, but even colder den the city.
i would have loved to go down and touch the waters lar...




in case u're wonderin abt those specks of things on the bottom right photo... they're surfers...




den we went along this windy road around and around and around the mountain, which made me damn nauseous... thank god my mom packed motion sickness medicine for me.




these are juz some of the shots i managed to take along the windy road, before i felt the bile startin to rise up... -_-'''

and some postcard-worthy shots!!!!!




so nice rite!!! the photo on the right!!!!

i'm so proud of myself! wahahha... and all these while, lester teo is sleeping away. bleah.

2nd stop! apollo bay! which is this small small small quaint little town along the beach...




some of the shots around apollo bay...




tis wasnt exactly a stop actually... it was juz a place for us to settle our lunch...




den we stumbled onto this foodcourt-like place tat has many ppl queueing up inside, and we went in to take a look, and it TOTALLY looked like it served the best fish & chips lar...

like, juz looking at their display make ur mouths water...




seeee! it's like damn mouth-watering lar! and look at the bottom right photo. tat's lester's shades! now u noe how huge that plate is!

next stop! the Twelve Apostles!




okay from wat i remember, as the waters wash up against the cliffs, it will erode some of the rocks at the bottom of the cliff such that the walls of the cliffs will actually retreat further back into the shore... and wat are left behind are 12 standalone humongous rocky structures, oso known as the 12 apostles.

haa! i got read all the information boards they put there onez okay!






and some gek-seh photos haha...




and the 12 apostles... it's actually nothing much lar... but how they're created are pretty amazing...




by that time we were pretty awakened and hyper coz of the long slp we had during the windy road...




next stop! loch ard gorge! which is a gorge lar, duh...
reminded me of the gorge we had wanted to see in taiwan, but didnt get to see... -_-'''




the most famous story revolvin ard the gorge is of this ship that was shipwrecked at the gorge and everyone died except for 2. a guy and a ger. and they climbed onto shore trying to get help yada yada... u get the idea.






the bottom left hand photo is the area where the shipwreck occurred, near the narrow space btw the 2 rocky structures... and the bottom right photo is, i assumed, the area where the survivors were washed up on shore...




wasnt very cold there, as u can see. i presumed those gigantic rocky structures blocked out all wind that could possibly reach us haha...

jumping shots! wahaha... we love leaving our footprints wherever we go haha...




it was so tiring jumping on those sand can... these 4 photos prob took like 20plus tried or something...




we then went to the nearby town, juz to walk ard...



it's sooooo nice and peaceful staying at places liddat! n yet i noe tat i wouldnt survive in such places... i think i've said before, as much as i love the beaches and things like trekking, i think i'm very much a city girl at heart.

but these are places good for recuperating the heart and soul i think.

next stop! london bridge!




i've no idea if the song came from this, or if the name for this came from the song... or if they're even linked.


sort of described that broken bridge tho. mebbe they're linked aft all.




he looked like he's falling aslp on my head in the photo on the right... haha...

on the bus back to the city, which was a good few hrs ride, we caught the sunset!

it was soooooo beautiful!




trust me, when they say a picture says a thousand words, they're lying.
coz these pictures do not capture how beautiful it looked in reality.

we alighted at Crown! to take a walk ard the shops, and to pass time before meeing les's frens for desserts!




we met les's fren who's studying and staying in melbourne (he's from NJC tooo! so many NJ ppl ard haha...)... and oso one of les's hall frens who's on holiday in Melbourne too.

we went to Brunetti at Lygon street! which was oso introduced in the tourist's pamphlet as having one of the best desserts in the city.






look at their amazin range of pastries and desserts!

we didnt dare to take close-up photos coz some shop owners can get really anal abt their products being photographed.
but every single pastry there looked effing good lar!




andrew treated all of us to 4 cakes! and my fav are the fruit tart and cheesecake! supa awesome can!






we woke up pretty early to head to Queen Victoria Market! which is a market tat sells dry food (as opposed to food at wet market) like macademia nuts etc, snacks, fresh fruits and veggies and meat, and tons of souvenirs!

it opened as early as 6am...




oh by the way, all the shops in melbourne do not call opening hours "opening hours", they call it "trading hours".




as u can see, the mkt is pretty big, and sells tons of food. it's really nice actually, but we didnt walk ard too much or too long... coz for some reasons tat i wun divulge, my mood was pretty bad tat morning...

anyway! we saw this stall inside tat sells huge hotdogs tat looked supa good lar! even tho it's not exactly very cheap.




stoopid photos while waiting for the tram...




we headed down to Smith St, which was this long long LOOOOONNNNNGGGGG stretch of road with alot of food places AND AND AND! factory outlets!

from wat i rem, there were nike, adidas, BU (which aust's version of VS) and surfshops. i was damn excited to see surfshops lar! coz they sell those really cheap cheap Roxy, Billabong stuff.

and i bought this very very nice Roxy bikini for S$35! and this very very nice Billabong beach shorts! oso very cheap! cant rem how much ahha...

anyway we bought stuff for our family members mainly fr this st... and oso spent most of our money here haha...

settled lunch at this place called "Nando's"




i liked the interior of the restaurant!




it was pretty cheap lar which was why we came in in the first place, aft spending a bomb along smith st...




the food was better den it looked! the chicken was how awesome can! and they've all these sauces tat range from mild to extremely hot tat were all damn fantastic!




which he kept doing NON-STOP throughout the whole entire trip by the way.




some photos along smith street




of coz these factory outlets cant be compared to those at Williamsburg in USA... those are unbeatable lar seriously... Ching can hold testament to tat haha...

but it's still pretty good! esp when their beachwear there are so cheap.

OH! and me and les stumbled onto this shop tat sells secondhand clothes for like AUD5!!!!!!! and their clothes are pretty decent actually. and the owner is this friendly helpful old man who said that the money from sales will go to charity (i forgot which one).

we ended up buyin qt alot of stuff there... i mean, granted he could be lying abt the charity thing. but he looked so benevolent and friendly i think he deserved the benefit of doubt haha...

went back to Lygon street tat nite in search of good food!




Lygon street is this street near University of Melbourne tat sells alot of diff kinds of good food...

dinner was at this Italian restaurant called Corretto, which Andrew recommended to us...




we ordered a pasta and a pizza to share! too long alr, i cant rem wat's the name of the pasta and the pizza. but i do rem how fantabulous they were haha...

and for that price, it was very worth it lar... i think for tat price in spore, u'll nvr get such good pasta...

and for dessert! we ordered nutella chocolate pizza!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




dun they look soooo good!

anyway me and les figured tat the nutella choc pizza is pretty easy to do... so we're gonna try one day haha...

next stop was the famous ice-cream place tat les couldnt stop ranting abt ever since we started planning for the trip -_-''




they had alot of very unique flavors, one of which is the Ferrero Rocher flavor...




we ordered 4 scoops altogether coz les kept insisting he could finish it... -_-''

i think there was mango, macademia, ferrero rocher and tiramisu... quite normal flavours, but each scoop was damn rich in taste and flavor lar... it overwhelms u...

walked ard Lygon Street awhile more, wow-wow-ing at all the other restaurants, and wanting to eat all of them, but were too bloated and poor to do so... haha...

we met Les's friends at this pub called LIONS in Melbourne Central...




Melbourne Central is a shopping center by the way! tat's one of those places opened till late in Melbourne, while the other shops closed at an extraordinarily early 6pm (and sometimes if u're in luck, mebbe 7pm haha)...




the place looked very classy, and not messy or sleazy like some of the other pubs along the streets... and their beers are actuallly supa supa supa cheap lar! like one pint onli costs AUD4.






this was the day when we're supposed to go for our 2nd day tour, which is to a cattlefarm and Philips Island! I was sooooo excited! coz we're gonna see animals on a farm and those little cutsy penguins, tat i onli managed to catch a glimpse of at St. Kilda's Beach!

woke up early to go try this breakfast place in the city tat les kept raving abt...




even the name of the shop sounds pretty appetizing haha...




i noe it doesnt look much, but trust me, it was enuff to fill both our stomachs! it's an all-american breakfast! my fav kind!

we bought the Grayline bus, and travelled out of city for a good 2 hrs i think...




our first stop was the train station for "Old Billys" or watever their train is called... cant rem...

anyway some ppl on the tour actually paid extra to take a ride on this train, which is why we had to stop there, to allow these ppl to alight.

accordin to les (who had taken it durin his 1st trip to melbourne) the train-ride was "nothing much, and pretty boring". so tat's more money saved, i guess! we did spend some time at the train station, snapping away tho! and the weather tat day was soooooo gooood! it was cooling, with abit of sunshine, and not too cold!




les went behind the station with my camera for quite some time, and came back with this ONE shot.




which he found very amusing, to be written on a dustbin. ---_____---'''''




i'm so jealous of his eyes can!!!!! this world is not fair! there should NEVER be any guy in this world tat should have bigger eyes den ANY ger in this world. his eyes are big and his lashes are long and curled up! like wat the heck! ROAAARSSSS!






it was nice being able to get off the bus for awhile here, coz i was starting to get lethargic and sleepy on the bus too... and having someone snoozing away beside u didnt really help! haha...

and den we finally reached Warrocks Cattlefarm!

my goodness, i totally love this place can!




it's like, the moment u get off the bus, u sense how peaceful and serene this whole entire place is! and it's so countrylike it's really nice!

the house was modelled aft the Old Victorian style... and we were brought inside, free to walk ard the place...




those are juz some of the shots i managed to take inside... some were pretty blurry coz everyone ard us was walking quite fast... -_-'''

we had a country-styled lunch there. pretty expensive, but their food is quite unique... not to mention the ambience. =)




all tasted damn good lar! better den i expected. and my fav is the vanilla pastry! it seemed so easy to make, and yet it didnt taste like something i've eaten before in spore.




and the hayride we were promised! we were brought from the Old Victorian house to the farm and green pasture by this wagon here!




once u near the farm, the smell of those animals hit u. i love goin to farms lar! it's a most welcoming and familiar smell. the last time i went to one was prob like 7 years ago or something...

first stop was the cows!




they're apparently called angus in australia... and i had expected more beautiful ones actually, u noe, those with white patches on their bodies...

anyway! the first thing we had to do was to feed them milk!




there was this huge pail on the ground with tons of bottles of milk there... so all u haf to do is take up one, and thrust it near one of the cows...




they must not haf drank in days... coz u'll be surprised by the sheer amount of force they used to pull at ur milk bottle...

it was soooooooooo fun okay! i dunno why, but i love doin these kinda stuff!




den we went into an enclosed area where bigger cows were kept... and this is where we're gonna learn how to milk a cow!!!!! sooooo exciting rite! i'm alr 22years old, and i STILL have not milked a cow before!




and next to him was this enclosure full of little sheep!!!! they were so young they haven developed wool on their bodies yet! and they looked uber cute lar!




look at the bottom right photo! isnt tat little guy adorable!!!!!!
they're all so cute! and wat made them cuter is they're actually pretty scared of the humans... like when u first stick ur hand thru the fence, they'll all shun away... but if u keep ur hand there long enuff, slowly but surely, they'll start to trot towards u... and den they'll allow u to caress their heads...

wah lao! damn cute lar!

okie, back to the big old cow.




den the farmer started to show us how to milk a cow... surprisingly little milk comes out everytime u squeeze its udders... so u actually haf to squeeze pretty hard and pretty long to get a cup of milk.




see that white line of squirt?!?!?! tat's its milk!

and finally, we got a go at it! wahahaha...




ermm... to tell u the truth, it looked like a penis...

ANYWAYS! i kept squeezing and squeezing and all i got was 1/8 cup of milk. tat was so pathetic can... i think it doesnt like me.

den the farmer said we're allowed to drink from the cup tat we juz squeezed milk into. -_-'''
i tot it sounded kinda disgusting... but oh wat the heck... the milk was erm pretty nice, but very warm... which reminded me of piss actually. haha...

den we went to the green pasture where hundreds of sheep roam!!!




the green pasture stretched over acres of land.

anyway the female farmer let out these 2 shepherd dogs, to get them to herd all the sheep towards us so tat we're able to see and touch them...




see the dog chasing aft them?

u wun imagine how funny the whole process was okay! i laughed my ass off... the sheep were sooo funny lar... den once in awhile, there'll be this joker who tries to escape from the dog, and the dog had to go aft him... -_-'''




the sheep's wool felt damn coarse and like wat les said, felt like "carpet".

it seriously does feel liddat... and i bet there're hundreds of fleas trapped inside haha...

i was more interested in the shepherd dogs tho... they were so cute and so obedient! it's unbelievable...




the golden one is a photowhore... the moment he saw lester point a camera towards him, he sat down and wagged his tail.

the moment i pointed towards the camera and told him to look there, he really did! is tat cute or wat! i wanted to bring him home. wahhaha

the black one is younger and damn energetic! everytime we try to caress or pat him, he'll be off running chasing some other sheep... -_-'''

i wan a dog tooooooo!!!!!!!! or a puppy!!!!!!! luckily, lester loves dogs too. i'll kill him if he ever dares to love cats. haa...

sorry, but i really dislike cats... or rather, i fear them more den i dislike them. their eyes are really scary and when they meowed loudly it juz sound more like a witch's cry lar... *shudders*

anyway! we went into the Warrock's shearing shed! to learn how to shear a sheep!




den he went to the cage next to him and grab a sheep out of it...




and he dragged and manhandled tat poor sheep this side and tat side, to point to us the positions u haf to hold a sheep to shear his wool from diff parts of the body...

and the whole time, i'm wondering why the sheep was so quiet... it looked pretty painful the way the farmer was manhandling him.

den the shearing begins...



and there u have it! a wool-less sheep, which the farmer den let out of the shed into the cold green pasture outside... *shakes head*

i dunno. but it looked abit like animal cruelty there...

we then went out, where we were taught how to crack a whip! wah lao, the sound is damn deafening lar! and it always looked so easy on tv, u wouldnt think u actually need to LEARN how to do it.




tat's us and our 101th attempt at tryin to crack the whip...

les succeeded once tho... i juz succeeded many many times in whipping myself on the shoulder, which damn fucking hurt... -_-'''

and the other animals on the farm...




den we took a few cups of food and went ard the place looking for the kangaroos!!!!




this was the smallest one there and he was so adorable!!! actually i think he mite have been a wallaby...

we had so much fun feeding them lar... i could juz do it all day lor seriously...




they actually had these damn sharp claws... and if u hold the food too high up, they'll actually use their claws to bring ur hands down lower so tat they can reach the food...

and i dun think they did it on purpose, they prob didnt noe their claws actually kinda hurt... haha... but it wasnt tat painful anyway lar... haha...




we took a picture with the kangaroo near the entrance!




he looked so cool with tat cap lar! wahhaha... but he smells alittle -_-'''

next stop was the Koala Conservation Center...




walked past the souvenir shop, and saw alot of props there to aid in taking stoopid photos...




den we went into the conservation area, which was full of tall tall trees and branches everywhere... and basically u juz haf to keep looking up, and squint ur eyes against the sunlight and look for those brown furry things clinging to some branch...

aft awhile it got pretty tiring tryin to find them... so we decided we'll onli look up everytime we see a grp of tourists at a certain spot looking up and pointing... haha...




nothing much there tho... but everytime we take photos we've to be very quiet otherwise it'll prob wake those koalas up and scare them away or something...




and the last stop is the much talked about, the infamous, and my most looked forward Philips Island!!!!!!




Penguin Parade! where all the fairy penguins reside!




les was so sneaky! when i was in the toilet, he went to buy one of the penguin soft toy for me! and it's the same one tat he got for himself 3 years ago when he was here!


as cold as the weather was at tat time, i think i sort of melted inside... =)

he named the penguin tat he gave me "fattie" coz it was supposed to be him... haha...

wells, fattie is sitting peacefully and happily next to my laptop now! tgt with little dumbo and chang jiang qi hao and piglet and pooh bear! i think he gave me like 15 soft toys, to date alr... haha...

den we proceeded down to the beach to wait for the penguins!




no photos were allowed and they were damnnnnnn strict abt it, so i couldnt take any...

wat happened is u juz sit on these benches at the beach and u juz wait...

when the sky turns dark... slowly, u'll see those little fairy penguins swimming up to shore from the sea, and den waddling and trotting up towards the bushes located a dist away fr the shore!

it is sooooooooo cute can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they're sooooooooooooo adorable!
it's like, looking at them, u realise these are the beauty of nature... and for tat moment, u juz wish tat u can carry one of them in ur arms... at least tat was wat i would haf wanted...

den becoz they waddle with their head thrust forward, sometimes they'll lose balance and fall forward, and den they'll pick themselves up and continue waddling forward... hahaahaha...

and penguins always move as a grp! so u'll see a grp of them swimming up to shore and waddling towards the bush.... and den u'll see another grp doin so a dist away... and so on...

and once in awhile u'll see some lost soul swimming up to shore alone. and den he'll waddle alittle, stop and looked ard, and den waddle back towards the sea, stop and looked ard, and den waddle towards the bushes again... it is soooooooooooooooo adorable! i tell u, words cant describe!

anyway the reason why they waddle towards the bushes is becoz when the skies turn dark, they actually move out of the sea into places with soil and they'll burrow holes into it (like a rabbit) and stay inside...

okie i've raved enuff haha...

aft the whole excitement over the penguins, we boarded the bus, and the driver dropped all of us off in this area on Philips Island, that's supposed to be the "city" area of the island...

we had this dinner called "The Hotel"!!!!!






at tat time we were freaking hungry lar! esp when it was so cold, u juz wanna eat all the time... haha... so i was damn glad when the food came and the serving was HUGEEEE!




dun they look so mouth-watering! haha... totally satisfied those hunger pangs...

and during the 2hr ride back to Melbourne, we were damn refreshed and hyper...




i bought us those penguin handphone charms... coz wells, penguins stay with the same partner for life... =))



we started off with searching for this place called "Richmond Hill Cafe" that was reviewed in this tourist's pamphlet as having one of the nicest breakfast ard...

We found it on Bridge Road which was a street away from our hostel...




the decor inside, like all other american and australian cafes, is damn nice and cosy lar... those in spore is so boring and typical aiyo...




so we ordered wat the tourist's pamphlet had recommended and raved abt!




it was damn expensive lar! i think it was AUD10... but anything for good food lar... haha...

it's soooo special can! it's definitely acquired taste, but both of us really like it... juz tat it's a tad expensive... so it's those kinda food tat u try once, and den ok, tat's it. haha...

basically it's egg white grilled with pita bread, with 2 egg yolks half cooked on it, sprinked with vinegar and olive oil and i dunno wat other seasonings, and coriander too...

doesnt it look like a smiley face in the photo? haha...

we went into the city and went to campbell arcade, which was supposed to be this artsy cool place tat's located underground in a subway station...




look at all the shops they raved abt tat's at the campbell arcade.

well, it is crap...

we went down and came up in a few mins... haha...




tat departmental store had one entire floor dedicated to merchandise and clothes from new york and we shopped there for pretty long!

les bought this damn nice t-shirt for AUD5 lar! it's a steal!

and our australian frens there were raving abt this vietnamese place there in the city... so we decided to try it for lunch, even tho normally i'm against eatin food in other ctys tat can be easily available in spore herself.




the place where Bush apparently had 2 bowls... haha...




it is so much better den the vietnamese food in spore...

and their soup base is AWESOME LAR! even i had to admit tat... haha... and to drink hot tasty soups on a cold day makes u feel pretty darn good somehow...

basically we juz walked ard city and ate where we've always wanted to eat, bought wat we've wanted to buy tat we saw in the past few days... and did some last min shopping for souvenirs and gifts for family members...

i spent and spent on cosmetics and working clothes... but they were all necessary stuff okay! and so did les... spend and spend on comics and clothes. hahaa...

dinner was at this atas atas Greek restaurant, tat was very well recommended too.




look at its name, and u can already feel its atas-ness...




the reason why it's called "Stalactites" lie in the ceilings...




we met up with les's tennis fren from NJC, Andrew. whom we've been meeting up pretty often in the past few days haha...

to have sort of like a last dinner in Melbourne tgt before we fly off the next day...




wah lao! the food is superb lar!

esp the 4 sauces... they're sooooo damnnnnnn effing nice can! i've nvr tasted sauces liddat before...

anyway andrew paid for most of the dinner. so if u happen to read this, thanks sooooo much!!!!!!! nicest host ever... haha...

we proceeded to Max Brenner for drinks... i've always wanted to try tat place, the first time i walked past it and saw the smiles on the ppl sipping the drinks haha...




i noe spore got lar, but spore's more expensive i think.




Andrew ordered a hot chocolate too! onli crazy lester will drink cold drinks in a cold cty, and den when we walked outside aft tat, tell me how his insides and outsides are both freezing... haha...

the waffle was like how solid! the chocolate is oooo unbelievably thick! and i love the hot chocolate drinks lar... damn superb and sinful haha... sinful food seemed to always taste the best.

we went back to our hostel, put down our stuff and decided to walk ard the area near our hostel... since it's the last nite alr...

we walked down Bridge Road which had more stuff den we tot... and more pubs and restaurants opened den i tot... at tat time it was alr 10plus pm.






there were many more shops but we were too busy chatting and looking at things ard us, i kinda forgot to take photos... haha...

we went back, packed, watched some trashy shows on tv, and complained abt how we dun wanna go back, but we haf to coz we're broke n we gotta go back start work and earn money haha...



I had to take another photo of another signboard tat showed the word "Richmond" before we leave haha...




we left in the morn to get a good breakfast along Bridge Road, to get our last sushi handrolls! i'm gonna miss those snacks soooooo much!

to buy this damn freaking cheap AUD30 workin pants tat les saw.

and den we went back to our hostel and took some photos of the whole entire place...






doesnt everything look so cosy and homely!






and a few photos from along Bridge Road...




and where we settled our lunch!




being the last day, we were almost down to our last dollar... so fast food is a breather from all the atas and good food we've had in the past few days haha...




the chicken is damn freaking nice lar! not the kind of standard i would haf expected comin fr a fast food place. it was soooo much better!

anyway aft which, we headed back to the hostel, took the airport transfer, and sooner den we would haf wanted, were on the plane back to spore.


i was havin too much fun and at tat time i was seriously dreading the start of work and the end of holidays for both of us.

But i had so much fun darling, and i noe most of the credit go to u becoz u've been so sweet as to take up 2 tuitions this sem juz to save up enuff money to go with me, and u've been so sweet as to not mind spending such a large sum of money goin to a place u've alr been to, and taking up the exact same tours u've taken before.

during this 8-days, i saw wat we used to be, and wat we are now, and wat we will be. and i believe it doesnt end here, coz like u say, penguins stay tgt for life, and so will we. =)

thanx. it meant so much to me, everything u've done. =)


this is to more trips to come, and to the Europe trip next yr, and the USA trip the yr aft.