Sunday, June 19, 2016

Melbourne Travelogue 01: SIN > MEL

Our virgin visit to Australia was in 2007, where we did our first road trip (after graduation) with the Uni gang. Then, I went for a touch-and-go 3 days business trip in Sydney. Fast forward to present days: we headed back to Australia on a 8 days road trip in Melbourne. Australia is moving up the ranks on my list of favourite countries. The country is so big that every visit brings much surprises and delight!

I applied for our visas online, made payment via iBanking and got the confirmation within 3 working days. The whole experience was easy and fuss-free. The visa is valid for 1 year, hence we made use of it and headed to Perth as our next holiday destination. So tempted to make another trip back now that I'm blogging about our Aussie adventures. 
On the day of departure, Mummy and lil bro came over and sent us to the airport. After checking in our luggage, we headed over to Poulet for dinner.  It was my first time having a meal at Poulet *suaku me* even though this french-themed casual dining chain has an outlet near my workplace. 
 
We started off with 2 bowls of soup: french onion and mushroom soup.
Leecher ordered these for sharing: braised pork belly, duck and their signature poulet. Boy, we were so full after the meal that we walked around the airport, hoping that it will help with digestion. 
Goofing around with the exhibitions, which were part of the SG50 trail exhibits at Changi Airport. Naturally, we had to take picture with the iconic Changi Airport's Control Tower! Soon, it was time for us to board the flight. We said our goodbyes and headed towards immigration. I even had time to do some duty-free window-shopping, mentally noting down the prices of the skincare that I intend to buy when I'm back.
I managed to secure the red-eyed flight, so we will get to catch up on some sleep before landing at Melbourne when we wake up. Night peeps. 
 Enjoying the view from my window seat before preparing for touch down at Melbourne airport.
 
We touched down at Melbourne at 6AM, which meant we get a whole day to explore. At 7 degree Celsius, we were severely under-dressed. I was in a tank dress overlaid with long sleeve shirt while Leecher was dressed in T-shirt and Bermudas, lol! I guess the Aussies must have thought that we were mad
Thankfully, clearing immigration was a breeze, despite the slight hiccup when the machine couldn't scan my ePassport. No more joining the long immigration queue. We collected our luggage, washed up and changed into warmer clothing. Once we were all set, Leecher went off to sort out the data card as well as the car rental.   

There are a couple of data SIM plans available and we decided to buy $30 for 4GB whole of data since we'll be staying for 8 days and missed the 1GB data ($10 for 7 days) by 1 day! Leecher got the Optus SA to help load the card into our iPad and that became our hotspot

 Grabbed a hot drink to warm my body from Hudsons Coffee.
Leecher, at the Hertz counter settling the admin stuff. We opted for Hertz for a fuss-free experience, even though their car rental might be slightly expensive. We enjoyed member discount for renting with them, so might as well! Once Leecher signed off the bill, we walked towards the huge car park opposite the airport for car collection.
Collecting the car was a breeze too. Boy, I love Australia for their efficiency! Since we had already topped up for max insurance, we don't have to check the exterior for any bump/damages. However, if you did not purchase any insurance, please do a thorough check before leaving the car park as you don't want to be liable for anything which you did not cause.

KIA Sportage, our trusty ride for the next 8 days. Leecher chose this for our road trip and since he is the designated driver, he gets to pick his car. I must say the car is really comfortable and spacious.
Porter Leecher loading our luggage into the boot and we are ready to head off for our road trip, yeah! The main highlight of this road trip was The Great Ocean Drive, which we have been wanting to do but other bucket-list items took priority over it - the cons of having a massive travel-related bucket list :( Nevertheless, we managed to make it happen and I'm so excited to buckle up! I'll be back with more of our Great Ocean drive adventures - stay tuned! 

Monday, June 13, 2016

Melbourne 2015: 8 essential items for your road trip in Melbourne

Now that we are back in Singapore, I'm missing the weather in Australia. No doubt that it was chilly, it was way better than Singapore. Last year, we had fun driving down the scenic Great Ocean Drive route, stopping at certain points to admire the vast coastline. We then crossed over to Yarra Valley and drank to our hearts' content. Having survived our 1st solo road trip in Melbourne, here is my pick on the top 8 essential items:
1. Trusty and Reliable Car
Leecher gets to select the car since he'll be the one behind the wheels. For this trip, he chose a SUV - huge, comfortable and stable. We had so much space to ourselves, dumping stuff on the back seats. Most importantly, Leecher wanted to have a feel on driving a SUV and the best way to test-drive this? 8 days of road-trip! 
2. Music List
 
A good road trip music list which consists of the songs that you can sing along to! We tried to go local and tune in to Kiss FM(101.9) but got tired of the songs. With our data card, we tuned in to internet radio of YES933 and Kiss 92 for a mix of Chinese and English songs. We also got our K-pop dosage from my iTunes list.
3. Shades & Sunscreen
 
The sun in Australia is really no joke. Be sure to slap on sunscreen and wear your shades for extra protection. Furthermore, you'll look like a fasionista when taking pictures too! 
4. Drinks & Snacks
 
Stocking up on drink/snacks is a must to curb your hunger pangs during the long drive. I found my favourite indulge at Coles supermart - this is absolutely yummy! 
5. Data Card
Definitely a must in today's world. We depended on the card for playing the internet radio, keeping in touch with families/friends and not forgetting navigation for the drive. A tip: always download the respective telco app on your device to check data usage/allowance. We paid for 4GB but was only given 1GB. Thankfully, the kind SA helped to resolve the problem and we were credited with our allowance. 
6. Overnight Bag
 
We were shifting accommodation almost every other day. Hence, we opted for overnight bags to contain our clothings/essentials for the night(s) instead of lugging our luggages up and down the car. 
7. Wet Wipes
 To give your hands a clean wipe before/after eating.
8. Mini Trash Bags
 
We exercised basic courtesy so all rubbish went into the thrash bags then into the bins. 

Thursday, June 9, 2016

While I'm missing

While I'm away from social media ....

1. My trusty 6y old laptop crashed under Leecher's merciless hands. Leecher gave his usual sheepish grin and expected me to clear up the mess. Haiz, the next couple of days was spent trying to troubleshoot and backing up the precious pictures and important documents. Not forgetting that I refused to speak to Leecher for causing the problem. 

2. Reformatting the laptop. Thankfully, I was able to restore it to factory settings but the downside: I had to reinstall all the programs that I was using. 

3. Organising the wardrobe, only to mess it up several weeks later.

4. Clearing the study room to make space for Leecher's workspace. 

5. Busy with projects and work. Leaving the office at 8PM was the norm for several weeks.

6. Catching on the DOTS wave, re-watching and missing Korea all over again.

7. Being a guinea pig to Leecher's new experiments.

8. Weekly struggle to either (A) watch more K-drama/variety shows or (B) doing housework. 

9. Went on a holiday with friends, where the only problem we had was thinking of what wine/food to drink/eat.

10. Perpetually thinking of my next holiday.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Sisters Trip: 2D1N in Golden Palm Tree Resort, Malaysia (Part Three)

I'm a little short of time this week as there are a couple of project deliverables coming up. Thus, I have only enough time to finish up on the last installment of our sisters' weekend trip. It didn't took long for us to drift to lala-land since we were pretty tired after a whole day of activities; well - even chilling around drained our energy level too!  
We waited for the girls to head back from their yoga session before we ventured out for breakfast. The resort conducts yoga initiation, which is a beginner yoga class that is suitable for all near the spa deck. The class is conducted every Mon, Sun and Thurs morning at 8.30AM. Otherwise, you can always head to the gym (open 24 hours) and workout with a sea view. 
The breakfast spread! The waffle-making session was clearly a favourite amongst kids and adults. Fling took almost 20 mins to come back with the waffles and also, a wide variety of spreads to go with. My favourite is peanut butter, yums! 
After breakfast, we walked back to the resort to start packing and check out. Our taxi driver came earlier and was already waiting for us at the reception.
 
Goofing around while waiting for the rest of the girls to get ready. I really want to ride on the bike - which comes with basket, my fave! - around the resort next time. #anotheritemforbucketlist #randombucketlist 
 
Time to bid goodbye and head to the airport. Before selfie sticks were invented, my short arm was the stick and I still managed to get 6 people in the picture *awesome*
 
On this day, Qian and Sylvia became twinnie for they were spotted with their orangey outfits. 
Back in Singapore after an awesome chill-lax trip :) Alright, time for me to sign off and back to work.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Sisters Trip: 2D1N in Golden Palm Tree Resort, Malaysia (Part Two)

As I am typing this entry, I had a sudden impulse to jet off for a beach holiday - relax my mind for a couple of things, doing nothing to rejuvenate both body and soul. Continuing from where I left off previously, the resort offers a wide range of activities to keep you occupied throughout your stay, ranging from yoga, zumba to bicycle tours. The sofa and beds were so inviting that we were tempted to take a short nap since we woke up very early to catch the flight. We struggled hard and in order to fight the zzz monster, we decided to head outside and chill out at the pool.
We changed into our swimming gears and headed to the pool. I had a proper bathing suit as I was prepared to swim laps instead of just chilling out at the pool. That was the best chance for me to practice swimming since I had been taking lessons for the past couple of months prior to the trip. Not an expert swimmer, but at least I can proudly proclaim that I know how to swim after decades!
A buggy ride, anyone? This could save us the few minutes from walking.
The infinity pool, which was pretty small given the size of the resort. Everyone pretty much chilled out at the pool instead of doing laps. So I had to abandon my mission and chill alongside with the rest. 
I could really just sit here and relax with a book, with a glass of cocktail by my side! Even though the pool was small, but the view made up for it. It was really therapeutic to swim to the edge of the pool and just look out into the horizon, listening to the crashing of waves while enjoying the sea breeze. 
 With the girls, minus Jacq who was the photographer. 
I can't believe that Miao actually brought her pink float along, lol! This girl super thick-skinned; she went to the swim shop and asked the shop owner if he could help her to pump air into the float. Thankfully, the shop owner agreed. We also pulled Jacq down by tricking her that she can lie on the float but we decided to capsize it instead.
Us having fun with the float :)
 We chilled at the pool for a couple of hours and headed back for a quick wash up. Next on the agenda, massage and spa! 
The escapade spa is located within the resort, within walking distance from the infinity pool. We made the reservation upon arrival, but do check with the hotel to see if you can pre-book for appointments. We checked in around noon and the earliest appointment that we could get was around 5PM. 
We were greeted with the sea view upon entering. 
Reception area while we decide on the type of treatment. The menu offers pampering from head to toe, which includes body treatments to give the skin a healthy boost, aromatic plant and floral facials for nourishing the skin or relax in a warm herbal bath to calm the soul.  
Other beauty touch-ups include hair treatments, manicures and pedicures. They even come with express options for those who couldn't afford the time. 
All of us went for the 2h full body massage.
We were ushered into the respective couple room for the massage. I left my body in the trusty hands of the masseur, who worked hard to knead the stress away from my muscles. My body felt so relaxed and recharged after the session. 
Escapade Spa
Golden Palm Tree Resort
After the massage session, it was time to feed our hungry stomachs! We went to the pool cafe for a quick browse through of the menu. Afterwhich, the consensus was to head outside for more variety.
On our way out in search for more food, since I spotted some standalone restaurants/eateries as we drove into the driveway earlier.
This is the beach located outside the resort, named Smiley Beach. You can head down to the beach for a game of soccer, volleyball or petanque. The resort also organise volleyball matches everyday at 5pm, so if you are feeling competitive, you know where to go!
The sun is almost setting but we can still see a lot of activities going on. This is part of the bicycle path where you can get an awesome view of the beach. 
We even got a gorgeous view of the sunset from our table.  
Besides that, we also witnessed a romantic proposal on the beach. The girls all went "Awww" as the guy knelt down with a huge bouquet of flowers, asking his girlfriend to marry him. So sweet!
We went alfresco, but the downside was that you had to battle with flies constantly. Penang char kway teow and mee goreng mamak were the clear favourites as we gobbled it down. Part of the reason was not to share our food with the flies. We retired back to the villa for the next segment of drinks plus games before we finally collapsed in bed and dozed off to lala-land.
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