absolut ginger

A few days ago, I found two boys around age 8 to 10 loitering behind my house. They were so active and running all over the place, feeling excited. Actually, I hardly see any children running around behind my house till recently. Now I remember – it’s school holiday!

I saw the kids walking around with sticks and kept looking under my dad’s car. At first I thought it was the stupid neighbour’s small dog ran under my dad’s car. I watched as they tried to get the “dog” out just in case if they scratch my dad’s old car. After a few failed attempts they left.

I didn’t give it much thought till yesterday.

My cousin sister, Stephy told me, she overheard a commotion behind the house and decided to check it out. From our house balcony, she saw the kids were screaming with glee as they took out their self made sling shots and had a go at the cats.

Thinking it was merely a child’s play, Stephy didn’t really pay attention till she overheard one of them said, “I think I managed to hit the cat’s leg! It’s limping now! I can see blood!!”

Then, Stephy went out and was shocked to see that both of them took a narrow plank with a nail on it and started to shove it up and down the drain, hoping to get the scared cats out from its hiding so they could torture the cats further!

She shouted at them to stop. One of them heard and was alarmed that their actions were being watched. Yet, they kept shoving the plank with a nail towards the cats.

Stephy took out a pail of water and splashed at their side to get attention.

Being quite slow and retarded, they kept talking to each other and said someone was watching them but it didn’t occur to them to look up. Not very bright aren’t they?

My cousin shouted at them to look up. Then only these stupid morons looked up in shock. My cousin told them to go home to study if they have so much time at hand to chase after cats.

They left in a hurry but not without firing some shots at the birds clinging on the wires above our houses.

Fucking morons.

I don’t know how their parents teach their children about compassion. I guess everyone has some animal instincts in us but, animals kill for food and not pleasure. Or maybe they kill when they are provoked.

I wonder if these two children lead a very sad life at home where the mom is hit repeatedly by the father then, the mom hit the kids that they had to resort to venting their anger and frustration on hapless cats.

I know it might sound as if I am a hypocrite since I myself a meat eater. Well, like other “animals”, we eat meat because those meat are provided solely for consumption purposes. Cattles and chicken are reared and meant to be slaughtered and eaten. Or else, this world would run out of foodie bloggers. Haha!

Well, before I stray, what I am trying to say is that, these cats do not do anything harmful to you. In fact, I find with these cats around, there were less mice in my neighborhood.

And if you like to inflict pain on cats to show your superiority, by all means go ahead. It’s for people who have small balls or rather lack of, who would resort to hurting small and helpless animals in order for them to feel great.

So parents, if you have boisterous boys or girls, please check what they do to have fun during this school holiday. If running around the neighborhood and inflicting pains on small animals is an idea of fun for them, I suggest you take your kids to a psychiatrist for counseling. Maybe you ought to go to see a psychiatrist as well since you allow your children to do so. I think we have enough crimes these days and we do not wish for more serial killers coming from your houses.

3 Comments | In: Society | Permalink
Posted by Gina

9th October 2008, Thursday

I guess you guys must have been bored shitless with the stories in Melbourne-Sydney. Haha! Anyway, to spare you guys from my long windedness, I am going to keep this final post on Melbourne short and sweet – and filled with pictures!

We spent the Thursday morning having some delicious breakfast at Gingerlee. It serves quite good tuna linguini and mushroom foccacia.

After the long and chatty breakfast, we made our way to Queen Victoria’s Market to shop for some last minute souvenirs, nougats and chocolates. Then, we proceed to St Kilda’s Beach for a look around.

We took the tram to St Kilda’s. The wind was quite strong and it was a little cold despite the glaring sun.

It’s good to come over here to this quiet place for a cup of coffee and wile the day away.

We spent the late evening back in Chinatown to buy some groceries for Curly and Al as they have been really nice to us by cooking for us almost every day while we were there.

So on the last night, we meet up with the rest of the gang in Melbourne and had dinner at Baba’s. It was a new outlet along Lygon Street. However, the portions served were too small so we left the restaurant with half filled stomachs. We made our way to Brunetti’s for some cakes and coffee and chatted the night away.

10th October 2008, Friday

The next morning, we went to have another big breakfast at Poached and it was time to bid good bye to our lovely host – Curly and Al.

Thanks to Curly for letting us sleep in the room while he took the sofa bed in the living room. Thank you for clearing your closet to let us have space to store our clothes. Thank you for letting me use your lotion and moisturizers! Thank you for lending me your socks! Thank you for doing my laundry! Thank you for cooking for me! Thank you for showing me around! Thank you for buying us tram tickets! Thank you for lending us some warm clothings! Thank God I could fit in one! Lol!

Thanks to Al for the jokes he cracked and number of tips he gave me to take better pictures. Thank you for letting us eat your biscuits! Thank you for making us coffee and cooking us maggi mee for supper! Thank you for the delicious caramel chocolates!

We bid Curly, Al and Ryne good bye with a heavy heart and were glad that we enjoy ourselves pretty much in Melbourne and it was a totally “unforgettable” trip for many years to come.

We reached Singapore and then, proceeded to meet up with some old friends for a day or two till we returned to Kuala Lumpur.

That’s about it for my trip to Melbourne-Sydney-Singapore. Hope you guys are not bored to death! Will resume with “normal” blogging in due course.

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Posted by Gina

8th October 2008, Wednesday

For the last package with AAT, we chose Yarra Valley wineries and Puffing Billy. I am not a wine connoisseur, I just drink wine like water. LOL!!! Ahem! Well, I just wanted to go there to see grapes on vineyards and take snapshots of the breathtaking view.

We got on the road along the Dandenong ranges and drove through Ferntree Gully. It was a feast of lush greens of forest for the eyes! There are many white trees called mountain ash tree which are the tallest broadleaf trees in the world! It is one of the many species of eucalyptus trees in Australia.

We made a stop at one of the spots along the Ferntree Gully to feed some crimson rosella birds and parrots while having breakfast of some Lamington Cakes and vegemite with biscuits and washed it all down with Billy Tea. The birds reminded me of the bird park in KL where I went sometime in September for some photo treat.

After the short break for breakfast, we made our way to the Puffing Billy. It was Australia oldest steam train from Belgrave to Gembrook, cutting through the beautiful Dandenong Ranges. You would never believe that there are actually 600 volunteers working in this train station for free! Puffing Billy is open every day except Christmas and the service runs up to 6x a day.

Here’s a tip – I think sitting on the right side would have better views. You get to see the train turn to the right in front of you and some people along the way and scenic lush forest. On the left side, you get to see the hills and trees and not much of the train.

When we got down the train at Menzie’s Creek, there were hordes of people hording the train to take pictures. Some silly one put their hands on the engine and got scalded. Imagine how stupid can one be? No common sense one??? It’s blowing steam and this woman nicely put her hand on the train. I didn’t take pics of myself as I don’t want to join the maddening crowd.

After the train ride, we went to the Ferguson’s winery for lunch. Here, you can either have the spit roast beef on prepaid meals or you can opt for ala carte. We had the gnocchi. I don’t know what is it! Haha! It’s something like hakka dim sum if you ask me. Instead of using minced pork, this comes with a little bit of cheese and olives. But it was sourish in taste and quite unique.

After lunch, I quickly went out to take some pictures. I was rather disappointed that there was no grapes yet! It’s early spring and usually, the grapes would grow in the summer – all green and eventually turn red in autumn. So I guess if you would like to take really nice pictures of the beautiful amber colored vineyard in full splendor, try going there from January to March.

We took some photos of the place before moving on to the next winery. Rockford’s winery. We made a fool out of ourselves. People don’t gobble up the drinks when they go for wine tasting. They would sip a little, let it roll back and forth their mouth palate and then spit it out. Being Asian (and also some of the Mat Sallehs) and not wanting to waste one bit, we swallowed everything till the last droplet. Lol!

The last winery we visited is the Domaine Chandon where you get the world’s awesome sparkling champagne – Moët et Chandon.

Here, we were guided on a tour around the factory to learn how the wonderful sparkling wine is being made. It’s a rather tedious process and even the quality of the oak barrels used to store the wine has significant impact on the taste and quality of the wine! Christopher, the person in charge to take us around emphasize that  Moët is pronounced as Mo-at.. and not Mo-ay… and he looked somewhat annoyed when people pronounced it as Mo-ay.

We were served with a full glass of champagne of our choice (if not mistaken, I think we had the sparkling Blanc de noirs) – sweet or dry with a cheese platter for free! Awesome! It tastes heavenly! No wonder celebrities ordered them in contennas when they have their weddings.

We could have second glass at AUD9 per glass but somehow we couldn’t because the bus is arriving anytime.

Since we were in a hurry, I drunk everything in less than 10 minutes and I was rather tipsy when I was trying to take pictures of the beautiful poppies in the garden!

Luckily, it was the last winery to visit so I could catch some sleep before reaching the city… or else, I guess someone has to cart me home. Haha!

7 Comments | In: Travel | Permalink
Posted by Gina

Being a girl is fun. You could dress up, wear make up, put on jewelery like Christmas tree, then paint the town red with your fabulousity!

I wish I could play dress up like every other girl. I wish to participate in this contest of dressing up, take a picture of myself and blog about it to win a very nice top from i. candy @ 1st Floor, Asian Avenue, Sunway Pyramid.

i.candy has many selection of tops, skirts and dresses as well as bags to go along with those nice little pretty shoes you may have owned; which would make the characters in Sex & the City green with envy.

So girls, what are you waiting for?

Get your cute little asses to i.candy this weekend and win yourself a nice top/dress.

Click here for more details of contest rules and regulations.

PS. For girls who don’t own a blog and wish to participate, you may send me your picture with you posing with a nice top or dress of your choice from i.candy, with short description and I would help you to post your entry here!

PSS: Please leave your comments here with your e-mail addresses and I would get in touch with you.

12 Comments | In: Tips & Reviews | Permalink
Posted by Gina

7th October 2008, Tuesday

Since we had a long day the day before, we started the following day a little later. Firstly, we visited the Melbourne Museum. If you are a student – regardless where you study or where you are from, you get to enter the Museum for free. Else, you would have to pay AUD6 per entrance and the ticket is good for the entire day. You can always walk in and out of the museum. Dan and Ryne got lucky that they entered for free. I don’t know how they use their charms but it seems to work! I should have used my driving license since it’s in Malay! They won’t know it’s a student card anyway!

I wish I could spend more time in the museum because there are many things to see. A gigantic skeleton of whale greet you at the entrance, there’s a story on how this whale landed on the Australian shore and subsequently died and being placed in the museum, aborigines history, human body history (a lot, a lot of naked people!), from dead animals to live animals, history of designs and architectures, science, psychology etc. too bad the dinosaur section is closed for upgrade while we were there. You can take pictures here except the human body and aboriginal sections.

We walked about town before hopping onto the AAT Kings bus again. We were glad that the tour guide for the day is the wise joker himself – Collin.

We prayed for good weather throughout the day. However, again it drizzled there and then. Bummer!

We made a stop at Warook Cattle Farm to see some Australian animals. It was a small farm with wombats (I didn’t know they could be bigger than a cat!), kangaroos, sheep, birds, ducks, chicken, swans etc. I went to feed some kangaroos and took pictures.

We had our Devonshire tea and some delicious scones. They are pretty huge! Just enough for morning breakfast to last right through lunch.

We then, stopped by the Koala Conservation Centre somewhere along the way to Penguin Island. This place.. there was nothing much to shout about. As usual, eventhough they  adopted the concept of having koalas in the “wild”, it somewhat look like a “safari” to me, with more trees.

The way to the Philip Island is graced with yet and again picturesque landscapes. I have a favorite spot along the way to Phillip Island. Cape Woolamai. It has spectacularly beautiful and pristine clean beach. The sand at Cape Woolamai is soft and white. Cape Woolamai is a home for surfers during summer. The water is really blue and cold. Collin recalled vividly of his youthful days spending his entire summer away on this beach. You could see the sparkle in his eyes when he told his stories. I was envious that he could get this place all to himself every summer with his surfer friends.

We stopped by Cowes to have early dinner before we head for Penguin Islands. There was a port here. Sometimes, you get to see some seals hanging around the dock. When we were there, again, there was a gale and it lasted throughout the entire journey.

We stopped by the Noobies for some photos. Unfortunately, there was rain and gale as well. There was one nerdy Korean girl who traveled with us. She got down from the bus and stood in the rain to take picture of herself. We laughed at her and were impressed by her determination to get pictures at every single stop.

No one was supposed to take pictures of the penguins. Well, it’s like paparazzi chasing after some celebrities. Do you like people to shove their cameras on your face when you are walking on the street? No, right?

However, there were still some idiots having their cameras pointing at the penguins as they emerged from the sea. Even though, they don’t use flash, but by taking out the camera, it would have domino effect on everyone else. Others will follow suit when you take out your camera. So, for Christ’s sake, if you like penguins SO MUCH, you can get their pics on postcards or even have your pictures photoshop standing and patting the penguins at the local kiosk set up there.

It was quite silly actually, to wait for the penguins in the rain! The penguins would arrive to the shore from their daily fishing activity to their little burrows on Summerland. I find this place is overly commercialized. If you want to get good look at the penguins, you need to pay extra to go to one special platform where you could see bigger groups of penguins coming out from the sea, lining up and marching to their respective burrows. It was quite an experience though.

After freezing our asses off standing in the rain – I felt numbness on my fingers due to the cold, I couldn’t wait to get on the bus for some warm comfort. Seriously, it was freaking cold that night due to gale and drizzle! I was informed that, we can actually see penguins at St Kilda’s Beach for free!

The night ended with a movie “Happy Feet” on the journey from Penguin Island right to the city.

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Posted by Gina

I remember a friend used to tell me that she always takes all her friends as lock, stock and barrel. For better or worse, she said, her friends will always be her friends. It befuddled me because I find the company she was with is full of flaws.

For instant, one of the friends she always hang out with, always owe her money. Even when her own financial is tight as she is a single mother with two children, she would willingly fork out money every time whenever they go out and sometimes, she doesn’t even remember that this person pays her back. As usual, this friend would “conveniently” forget his wallet at every occasion whenever we go out.

Sometimes, I see her doing a lot of things without getting any appreciation. She would meticulously plan a birthday party for a person – doing everything including sorting out invitations and marinating the chicken for BBQ to cleaning up after the party. Yet, the friend she threw party for did not even acknowledge her effort. The moment this friend found new love, she would take the back seat as if she never existed at the first place.

Then another friend from Penang who is a big creep. Every time he came to visit, they would go out for supper, he won’t even offer to pay at least ONCE when she brought along her children for a glass of teh tarik and some roti canai. Talk about being such a cheapskate! It’s not fine dining! And this creep expects her to fetch him from the bus stop to the hotel whenever he comes to KL to visit her.

I was pissed whenever she relay such incidences to me. I find that she was being used. She would laugh; seeing me in utter wrath and said, “Never mind. They are still my friends. Remember.. I take my friends as lock, stock and barrel.”

I told her as a matter of fact, she doesn’t need these friends. It would be best to remain alone than to have friends to live off you or taking you for granted. Of course, not all her friends are bad. I just hope that she would be more selective in befriending people and not to let people walk over her just because she is just too nice!

I attended a friend’s wedding recently. It was weird that he has not many friends despite his funny and friendly demeanor. So I was lucky to be one of his very few friends. His best friend – some guy I dreaded to meet simply because he talks too loud and sometimes, could be embarrassing to be seen with him in public, came to the wedding as the emcee as well as the best man.

They knew each other for over 20 years and despite both of them not being perfect (they bitched to me about each other), they still remain tight as brothers till today. It was touching to see a best friend giving speech about you in the wedding, such once in a lifetime occasion and be part of the memory that would last forever.

Then I came to reassess the friends that I am mingling with now. Some are very insensitive and say most hurtful things (I know I am one too!), some may try to piss me off for no apparent reason, some simply are too gullible and subject themselves to mercy of other friends, some are overly blinded by love to even think that their friends still exist, some are manic depressive, some taking me for granted, some trying to please me all the time (this type I like! Haha!), etc.

As I am listing down the “flaws” of my hapless friends, I came to realize that, I myself am not a perfect friend; so why would I impose such perfections on my friends? I don’t even try to “shorten” the amount of time of me bearing grudges. EVERYBODY knows that I bear grudges for the longest time, probably for life!

I could still remember once a housemate and I quarreled over some matters. I avoided bumping into her for a few days because I was pissed mad. After a few days of silence, I came home from college and saw her coming out from the kitchen. Our eyes met and suddenly, she just shoved a banana to my face and said, “Lei Oi Yak Jiu Mou?” (Cantonese: Do you want to eat banana?)

I struggled hard to remain stone cold, trying not to respond to her amusing break-the-ice remark. But that day, I was glad that I checked my ego outside before I came into the house and Boy! We laughed! Then, we made a promise not to get upset over small, petty problems anymore and vowed to be best friends forever.

I firmly believe one need not many friends in this life. It would be adequate to have just a handful of good quality friends that could see you through the ups and downs in life.

That is why from now onwards, I will try my best to eat the humble pie before I pass judgment on someone else.

I surely hope when friendships turn sour because of one’s hurtful words or actions, I would be the one to take initiative to apologize, regardless if I am right or wrong to make things right. Despite my shortcomings, I certainly hope my friends would be kind enough to take me as lock, stock and barrel.

PS. But don’t expect the “eat banana” phrase could be used under ALL circumstances. It depends on how much affection I have for you. LOL!

7 Comments | In: Contemplation, Journey of the Soul | Permalink
Posted by Gina

6th November 2008, Monday

Bell’s Beach before it started to pour

We started the day early to get to the Great Ocean Road with AAT Kings. The driver cum tour guide is one jolly good fellow named Collin. He is very informative and good at cracking jokes every now and then to keep us interested. Two thumbs up for his service.

Bell’s Beach

It wasn’t a really sunny day when we left Melbourne for the Great Ocean Road. I guess one have to properly check the weather before planning to go to Great Ocean Road. Imagine the breathtaking views you could take and enjoy if it’s sunny! Too bad, it was drizzling all the time while we were on the Great Ocean Road. Too much rain for my liking.

Eucalyptus tress along the road

Along the way, we passed by the eucalyptus trees forest to spot some sleepy koalas in the wild. Koala is always sleeping because of its low calorie diet on the eucalyptus leaves. Out of the 700+ over species of eucalyptus trees, apparently koalas only eat 22+ of them! Koalas could sleep up to 20 hours a day! Collin joked that, if he were to reincarnate, he wish to be a koala in his next life.

I think I didn’t want to bore you guys the details of the trip and let some pictures do the talking.

The Twelve Apostles

There was a gale on the day that we arrived at the Twelve Apostles! Imagine a fat buffalo like me had to struggle to walk due to the strong winds, what more a skinny ass like ML! I am not surprised that she complained about the coldness all throughout the trip to Great Ocean Road, amongst other days. Lol!

Apollo Bay

I have many, many favorite spots along the Great Ocean Road. Almost every spot carved a memory in my mind. The entire journey to the Great Ocean Road was decorated with breathtaking views of the ocean, cliffs, greens, forests, rivers and beaches. There are different shades of flowers aligning the sides of the roads, as if they were planted on purpose to welcome us to the Great Ocean Road.

Loch Ard Gorge

They say, life is not defined by how many breaths you take, but moments that take your breath away.. I think I probably had many, many moments where my breath was literally taken away in this trip. I was awe struck by the beauty of nature along Great Ocean Road. I couldn’t help but think God is such a perfect landscaper.

Woman feeding seagulls at Port Campbell

On the way back, we feasted our eyes on the golden field of canolas. Imagine golden yellow bedded fields along the vast green plains, peppered with sheep grazing lazily at the grasses surrounding the area. It was  awesomely picturesque. Too bad we didn’t stop to get a picture of it.

If you plan to go to Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road is something not to be missed. If I were to go back to Melbourne again, I hope to drive instead and go on for at least five days to thoroughly enjoy the scenic and beautiful scenery! This is the place where you could feel as if the worries in this world had vanquished and you would wish and wish and wish the day spent here would not end! And I think one should take the helicopter ride (AUD60 to AUD90) to check out this place. It was truly an unforgettable experience.

4 Comments | In: Travel | Permalink
Posted by Gina

5th October 2008, Sunday

Curly, being a fan of antiques, loves the flea market in Camberwell. Sometimes, if you are lucky you would get pretty good deals here. They sell just anything here, from small ear rings to things as big as sofa or arm chair! To get to Camberwell, you need to take a train ride from Flinder’s. If not mistaken, the flea market is only open on Sundays and till 12 pm only. I didn’t get anything but Curly and ML got themselves really nice brooches.

We walked about here for an hour before going to Sofia’s for an Italian brunch. We ordered risotto, garden salad (HUGE portion!) and pizza. Try ordering pizza without anchovies. They are very, very salty! Too salty for our taste! We ta pao-ed back some leftovers as all portions are too huge by Asian standard!

We went to Federation Square after that to check out some tour packages since we decided not to drive. We were greeted by a huge crowd, all looking upwards to this man who juggled torches of fire while balancing on a tight rope, held by some members of the crowd. In Federation Square, there were many talented people coming up with tricks to entertain the ever engaging crowd for a small token of appreciation. They usually would be welcomed with a warm round of applause from the cheerful and laid back crowd.

At the travel advisory center, situated at the lower ground of Federation Square, we waited quite awhile to get our bookings, not because there were many people at the counter waiting, but the volunteers were overly patient, answering one question after another! Perhaps you can try to take a number first before deciding what tour packages to take!

We decided to go with AAT Kings to Great Ocean Road, Penguin Islands, Puffing Billy, Cattle Farm and Yarra Valley and Wineries. We paid only AUD314 for the entire 3 days package. All packages come with a light breakfast of scones and coffee and you get a free half day city tour too. If you want to include lunch, you need to pay the difference of probably AUD30 per day.

We hop off the tourist shuttle bus at Alexandra Gardens to check out the statues and Shrine of Remembrance. It was a day when there was daylight saving, so we turned out clock one hour ahead. At 6 pm, the sunlight was still as bright as it is in the morning and yet, the air is still cold and nice. I love it.

So, we walked about Alexandra Garden to watch people jogging by, took pictures of blooms of springs, birds and lovers. You can see a lot of people lying on the grass to sun bathe. It was indeed a splendid day to walk about Melbourne!

We ended the day with a bowl of delicious beef pho in Mekong along Swanston Street. This shop is quite well known among the locals and tourists alike. Pictures of Hong Kong stars were plastered everywhere, having their meals here – Jackie Chan, Samo Hung, just to name a few. The beef pho is good though but not something that I would miss. For AUD9.80 per bowl, probably cheap by Australian standard. To me, it’s a little too pricey. I still crave for the stir fried lemongrass beef in Bong Sen, KLCC!

7 Comments | In: Travel | Permalink
Posted by Gina

4th October 2008, Saturday

We woke up late to have breakfast at A1 along Sydney Street. Curly and Al took me to this really nice Lebanese cuisine. Lattes and cappuccinos are selling at AUD2 to AUD2.50 per glass. Two thumbs up for the Lebanese bread at A1! Sometimes, on weekends, this place would be packed to the brim. It was a lucky thing that we came a bit early to beat the crowd. We had the nice Lebanese bread, garlic, minced lamb and pizza. They were superb!

Along our morning walks, I couldn’t help but took a photograph of this. Haha! I didn’t know I could be this far and still be reminded of Franco!

We took the tram to Queen Victoria’s Market for Curly and Al’s weekly grocery and fresh produce shopping. I found that the chocolates or nougats sold here are not the cheapest. You could probably get cheaper nougats in the airport and cheaper chocolates at Safeway (equivalent to Tesco or Giant in KL).

It was a good and sunny day in Melbourne. The air is still cold and crisp. There were street musicians, people lining up to buy hot dogs, people sitting by the sidewalk cafés to enjoy the sun, etc. Everyone would be seen having the sunnies on and caps and hats. Ah.. what a feeling!

Since I was still stuffed with Lebanese food, I didn’t try the sandwiches or hotdogs that everyone was eating. I think the sandwiches are quite delicious judging from the queue and also, horde of people sitting at the benches eating their quick lunches with their dogs.

Al advised that, when you take pictures here, try to be discreet or if you happen to see a hostile looking vendor, it’s wise to ask for permission before taking pictures. They don’t like it if you shove your camera up their goods to take pictures. Thankfully, I didn’t step on anyone’s toes here! He only told me this the night when we got back home!

After the grocery shopping, Curly and Al went about their daily business. I decided to catch a tram to town to check out the Dream Festival exhibition along Yarra River at Birrarung Marr. It’s a festival of art and music that celebrates dreams, ideas and aspirations. This is the first time that Melbourne has this large scale of outdoor gallery of giant artworks for public. I guess we were pretty lucky to be here at the right time. Since everyone in Melbourne is supporting a healthy lifestyle – this event is alcohol free! How cool is that?

We then took the last Melbourne Tourist Bus Shuttle ride at 4.30 pm around the city to check out some tourist spots. The shuttle runs daily, every 15-20 minutes from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm, excluding Good Friday and Christmas Day. You would be impressed that their City Ambassadors, all dressed in red are volunteers. Most of them are elderly people and they always offer you tour advice and give you prompt directions with a smile. For info on the stops made by this FREE shuttle bus, please click here. There is also a City Tram which also comes free of charge!

We got home by 7 pm to prepare ourselves to go to Greyhound that night. It’s a pub to watch the drag queens in action!!

The pub was packed. I was surprised that there was not a smell of smoke anywhere in the pub. Melbourne is supporting a smoke-free clubs and pubs. So if you would like to smoke, there is a garden outside for you to smoke.

The drag queens are fabulous! They are not as pretty and young as the ones you can find in Thailand but they are doing pretty much the same thing. Lip synching songs and dance in full costumes splendor! And some songs, I guess they alter the lyrics and it was funny. Especially one song where they sing, “Everyone is fucking, but me!”.

I had a great time dancing and drinking. After all, Curly said, nobody is going to recognize me as I am not a Melburnian! It’s okay to embarrass myself here! But nobody would even bother about you! They are too busy looking and singing along with the drag queens!

On how I was being kissed.. I was standing there as usual, holding my camera to snap pics of the drag queens. Along came a bespectacled guy in cotton vest. Yes, nerdy. Think of Henry in Ugly Betty. Since the dance floor was packed, there was no table around for people to put their drinks, so they would place their drinks at the tables arranged at the side of the room where I was standing. I helped this guy to put his glass since he couldn’t reach the table himself.

He was happy that I helped him and gave me a peck on the cheek to thank me. How come I don’t get this when I club in KL? Lol! Curly and the rest were deliriously happy when the guy pecked me on the cheek! Haha!

We ended the great late night out, going home in the chilly windy night to our welcoming warm beds in Brunswick East.

10 Comments | In: Travel | Permalink
Posted by Gina

3rd October 2008, Friday

Our last day in Sydney was spent at the Sydney Fish Market. It was a great place for fresh seafood fare. I think this is probably the highlight of our trip. For some of us who would think, “Aiyoh.. fish market ah? Sure smelly one!” It wasn’t smelly at all. The place was quite clean in fact and there are some restaurants inside the place. You get to see a lot of sea produce in gigantic sizes!

A lot of people would prefer eating in the building instead of outside at the wharf as there were many annoying seagulls around waiting for left overs.

It was quite a good place to take pictures as you have the scenic Anz Bridge as backdrop and some fishing boats rocking at the jetty.

On how to purchase food at this place, you need to place your order at any girls manning the food counters, and you would be given a number. You pay when your number is called and you would get your order.

The seafood platter here cost about AUD28.50 per platter. Half dozen fresh oysters cost about AUD14.50.

After the scrumptious lunch, we made our way to Bradfield Park where you get to view Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge together! It was a breathtaking view! Luna Park is also situated here, so you could get some rides to view the place from high up in the sky if you want to.

Before we go to the airport on our last day, we went to visit WL’s university. The University of Sydney looks uncannily like the School of Hogwarts! Harry Potter’s school!

We bid WL and Little Isaac good bye to head back to Melbourne.

Again, Jetstar was delayed for an hour and we were stranded in the airport. Sigh!! Very bad traveling experience!

We were greeted by drops of rain upon reaching Melbourne Avalon airport. The airport is like LCCT in Sepang. So, we had to run to the terminal under the rain. Imagine the chilly wind that blew while you were soaking in the rain. Gawd! I think if the walkway is much longer, I would have probably suffered hypothermia! It was a good thing I decided to wear my jacket before getting down the plane! My teeth were chattering like crazy the moment I stepped foot into the terminal.

We reached Brunswick East and were welcomed into a house with delicious aroma of chicken in bitter guord soup. Nothing could beat a nice warm soup on a cold night of October in Melbourne.

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Posted by Gina