So I'm back in Singapore. Homecoming was tougher than I thought it would be. Everything was familiar but yet unfamiliar. I felt out of place. The feeling of knowing that you belonged but yet not really feeling it was very disconcerting. I know Vene would understand how I feel. =) I miss you much, my dear! =( Say hello to our newfound small friend for me. Hehe. =P

And of course, a million things happened during my stay in Australia since the last time I blogged. So I shall continue with My Australian Adventure.

For those of you who are wondering, this is what I bought to uni as breakfast/lunch during the last few weeks. I realised too late that what I brought to uni during the first few weeks was too much. Hence, the current fishball-like face. Vene, baby food? Hehe. I wish Singapore had LCM's!

On 24 May, Stephen invited Vene and I over for mahjong after youth. We played past 2am. I played more mahjong there than I do in Singapore. It was cool knowing that a church elder, who is also a pastor, allowed us to play mahjong at his place and even joined us. I learnt quite a bit from Uncle Tony. It was fun staying up just to play, but I was kinda gone halfway through.

The next evening, we had JayKay's 18th birthday dinner at our favourite Chinese restaurant - Miranda Chinese Restaurant. The youth, most of whom were white Australians (sorry if this is offensive! I have no idea how else to phrase it.), were seated at another table. Auntie Sue ordered different food for the two tables, with our table getting the nicer Chinese food. Hehe. She knew that the youth might not appreciate the food we ate.

We went over the the Tans' for mahjong again that night.

Sunday Sunday Sunday. I made a great big achievement! Hehe. It was my second bike-riding lesson. My first lesson was a horrible one, and it ended with me not even knowing how to balance. But within five minutes of my second lesson, I was on my own! Thank you, Jake and Vene! I didn't get to ride to San Souci with you guys. =(

That's about it for now. I miss everyone back in Australia HEAPS (said with a lisp. Hehe.) SIGH. BOOHOOHOO. Please come visit me!

The Melbourne post is finally up, after a delay of two weeks. I haven't had much time to do up the collages, given that I had essays due the past two weeks. And making the collages are a headache because I have to look through all the photos and decide what to include.

My Jetstar flight to Melbourne was cancelled because of engineering problems. Thank God it was cancelled because I would have missed it otherwise. The next Jetstar flight to Melbourne was full already, SO I got transferred to a Qantas flight! I was so happy! That meant I had more leg space, could check my luggage in and got breakfast. That would have cost at least AUD $300 more, I think. The two-hour delay was worth it. Hehe.

So Timothy Shu Shu picked me up from the airport, and we went straight to the Great Ocean Road. It was a LONG drive. Despite him asking many times, I didn't drive. His Yaris is too new and I was unfamiliar with the roads. I wouldn't have been able to afford any damage done to it.

The drive was very scenic, albeit long and windy. The beaches and the ocean were gorgeous and majestic. The beaches in Sydney cannot compare to them at all.

I was beat by the end of the day and I slept at 10pm. That's early for my standards.

The next day, I had booked a Phillip Island Day Tour to occupy myself the entire day. Shu Shu dropped me off within the city and I had a two-hour walk around the city before being picked up by the tour bus. I had much fun walking around alone. Thank God I've developed a better sense of direction since being in Sydney, otherwise I might have gotten lost.

The city is very different from that in Sydney. It is less crammed. It was probably because of the presence of trams, which meant that they had to build bigger roads to accommodate them. One of the trams I saw had an advert that said "Netball like you've never seen before". I liked the Melbourne city better than the one in Sydney because I felt less claustrophobic. I got to see a protest that was happening at the exit of a train station because of the new budget that was recently released.

The drive to Phillip Island was a long one as well. It was a scenic one as well. The roads were lined with grass plains, some of which had animals grazing, and plantation. A different sight from Sydney, and definitely Singapore.

We had a few stops along the way to break up the journey. Our first stop was a lunch stop. Because I brought biscuits for lunch, I decided to go into the nearby shops. The first thing that caught my eye was a bookshop which was having a sale. All books were going for under $10. I ended up buying a dessert recipe book for $9.95. I was contemplating buying another recipe book for chocolate stuff, but I had to restrain myself.

While walking along the lake (or whatever water body it was), I spent some time talking to two elderly men. One started talking to me because he thought I was taking photos of him. People in Australia are very friendly, by the way. They're very willing to have photos taken of them, as will be shown in a later post.Our next stop was a winery. While everyone else was wine-tasting, I walked outside taking photos of everything. I only tried the dessert wine, which was really nice.

The next stop was a Wildlife Park. I spent most of my time photographing the animals instead of falling in love with them since I had gone to Symbio with Vene prior to that. I gave the pack of kangaroo food that I got by donating a dollar to an Indian lady who wanted to get close to the animals but was afraid of them. I befriended a Chinese guy when I asked if he needed help with taking photos.

The pony was really naughty, fighting with the horse for food although he had already been fed. I got upclose with the kangaroos, unlike when I went to Symbio. They were everywhere and I could pat them. This time, I got to take nicer photos of them.

Then we went to this other scenic place called Nobbies Centre. I don't know what the place was for. Animal conservation, maybe. The tour guide said that that was the only place where we could take photos of the penguins. I couldn't find any at first. With seven minutes left till the bus moved off, I ran back down in search of the penguins. I was ecstatic when I found them. I had to lie with my stomach on the boardwalk in order to take photos.

The last stop, and the highlight of the day, was the Penguin Parade. I sat outside in the cold with the wind blowing to watch the penguins come ashore. They waddled up in groups. Some were uncertain and went back into the waters before coming back up. SUPER CUTE.

The next day, I went to Queen Victoria Market. There were so many many things there! I loved the food section the most. There were so many different pastries there. I wanted to buy everything! Then there were candies as well. I saw that they were selling emu, kangaroos and camel meat in one of the meat shop. EEW. Apparently, Australians eat rabbit meat as well. EEW.

Here's where they sell meat. When I walked into the section, I was greeted by a few men shouted to attract customers.

And the fruit/ vegetable section. Everything was really cheap by the time I got there 'cuz they were closing. But the fruits still looked relatively fresh.

Here's something I saw at the market. My sister and Daph always say that there is no such thing as "one size fits all". This is probably more correct. Heh.That night, Shu Shu and I met Teresa and Wei Hong for dinner and coffee. It was nice catching up with Teresa after not seeing her for so many years. That girls is still as sweet and crazy as ever.

I really love Melbourne. It really is a very pretty place. If anyone ever goes to Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island (the penguin parade in particular) and Queen Victoria Market are must-go's.

After travelling to Tasmania and Melbourne, I have started to think about travelling all over Australia one day. There really is a lot to see here, and my stay here isn't long enough to allow me to see everything.

While driving home after uni today, it started to rain. I thought it weird that the rain drops made loud noises when they landed on the roof of my car. And then the noise got louder and heavier. Guess what I saw through my windscreen. H-A-I-L. I was so super freaked out because I have never driven in heavy rain on my own before, much less hail. I could barely see through my windscreen.

But anyway, I'm home safe because the angels protected me. =)

At the moment, I'm in uni and I managed to get a desk with a power point. So I thought I should make use of the wireless internet access in uni to blog. I'm having my four-hour break and I'm supposed to be studying, given that I have assignments to hand in over the next few weeks. BUT I'm distracted. I'll go back to doing my reading once I'm done with blogging.

I cooked funny rice, kai lan and egg for dinner two Tuesdays ago. Funny rice 'cuz it's rice fried but yet not. I had capsicum in there. Odd, eh? I've learnt to like capsicum over the past few months, by the way.

Look at the first photo. We cook our rice in the microwave oven. We cook instant noodles in there as well. Vene and I love the microwave oven.

We decided to have chocolate fondue for dessert since we bought a set each two days before. We tricked Jake by telling him that we'd be having fruit platter for dinner. Desser t was YUMMY. =)The Friday night of that week, we decided to go to Pancakes on the Rocks for supper. It was an impromptu thing. So a group of 12 hungry ghosts headed to the city for supper that night.

It was a really fun night. That was the first time I've gone out for supper during my stay in Sydney. Vene and I ordered a yummy savoury crepe and a sweet crepe to share. I really really loved both, and we probably made the best choice of food that night. Everyone else's pancakes were so thick, so that they were full by the time they ate one and a half pancakes.

I'm so going there again!

The next day, Vene and I woke up past 12, if I remember it correctly. We stayed up till 4.30am the night before just chatting. I love staying with Vene! =)

I continued with baking Vene's oreo cheesecake. It turned out to be a disaster 'cuz I didn't check them while they were in the oven. Not that the cheesecakes were inedible, they just weren't as nice as the ones I made for Christmas.

I've come to realise that creaming the butter and whatever not manually isn't all that tough. I just might stick to it when I get back to Singapore so that cleaning will be easier.

While I was baking, Vene was preparing lunch - rice paper rolls. Another simple but yummy meal. We watched Hairspray while having lunch.

Last Tuesday, I cooked Western food for dinner. Didn't feel like eating Chinese food. I cooked a steak, which didn't turn out to be a disaster. The pork schnitzel turned out pretty all right as well.

On Thursday morning, I was steaming a 包 for breakfast, and I forgot to check the water levels. I ended up almost burning the pot. I took the pot and put it on a cloth, forgetting it was REALLY hot. So, here's the cloth I burnt. Not very clever, I know.

Vene cooked kim chi noodles on Thursday night. It was super yummy 'cuz it was so spicy. I really liked it.

On Friday, I had coffee with Gary, Jake, Sarra and Vene before youth. I really liked my apple crumble! There's a photo in there documenting Gary torturing me.

We attended a youth service at Hillsong later that evening. Bao, the place is a CONVENTION CENTRE. It's not even a church.

The next day, Vene and Jake gave me my first bike-riding lesson. After about 45 minutes, I didn't want to learn anymore 'cuz I was getting so angry with myself. But I continued anyway. I should learn to ride a bike. It's a good skill to learn, and I cannot 对不起 Vene and Jake.

Those two are teaching me the scariest things! I learnt how to drive a manual car a few week back as well. And as usual, I was so scared/ angry with myself that I wanted to give up. Heh. But I love them. =)

So it's back to studying. I need to be a good girl.

OKAY. I'm going to write two of Vene's favourite Charlene quotes here.

So, Vene and I are going to the Hillsong church tomorrow night for a Youth Alive event. And, you know, Bao's a HUGE Hillsong fan. Or rather, Darlene Zschech fan. So, Vene suggested that I get a souvenir for Bao from there. So I said...

"For what? Get a Darlene Zschech figurine for him ar?"

That's quote one. Vene thought I was mean. HAHA.

And last night, I was telling Vene that we need to wash our clothes and I took the basket out. She told me she didn't want me to be the one putting them to the wash 'cuz it'll be as if I'm her Cinderella. So I said...

"At least you compared me to Cinderella. She's pretty."

Proof that I can be a bimbo.

Okay, I'm efficient today! I might as well use up as much of the remaining bandwidth now since tomorrow's the last day of April.

Well, I don't know how many I've told that my Tasmania trip was boring. But yeah. It was a disappointment. I was back in the hostel by 4pm everyday with nothing to do except rot. I honestly wanted to die from boredom. I ended up not bringing a book to Tasmania 'cuz I thought that I wouldn't have time to read. Alas, I had too much time with absolutely nothing to do. I wouldn't have minded studying during those hours, I tell you. I realised that I can never have nothing to do 'cuz I'll get really bored. ANYWAY, enough whingeing.

Here are some photos taken while walking around the domestic terminal. Bao, do you see Darrell Lea? HEHE. There was this display rack that was like a conveyor belt - the clothes on the rack were moving.

And on my way to the boarding gate and then on the plane. That's the plane I took.

And I arrived at Hobart Airport. We walked down steps from the plane instead of walking through a tunnel-like thing. I thought that maybe it's because it's a budget airline. Little did I know that 40 steps from the bottom of the staircase would lead me out of the terminal. The nectarine that I brought to eat for lunch had to be thrown into a bin 'cuz of quarantine issues. I would have not thrown it away if I knew that there would not be any bag-checking on my way out. RAA. MY NECTARINE!!! =(

The Hobart Airport has no public transport, but a shuttle service takes flight passengers to their destinations or somewhere nearby. While on the way to my hostel, we went on the Tasman Highway. It really is a pretty sight.

Here's the hostel and my room. I almost got lost after alighting from the shuttle bus 'cuz the driver forgot about me and dropped me off elsewhere. Thank God for nice people who were willing todirect me to the hostel, and for good memory (how rare.) so that I could recall the street that the hostel was on.

My room was right at the end of the hallway. It was daunting having to walk there at first 'cuz it's really dark. I actually asked the receptionist to move me to another room 'cuz I didn't want to sleep alone the next night after the other lady in my room left. I ended up not moving the next day 'cuz there were other people coming into the room.

My room was a medium dorm with 3 sets of double-bunk beds. I wouldn't mind staying in a hostel next time if it's like this one. The room was clean and the shower facilities were all right.

The first lady I met in the room was a German lady. She was probably in her late 40s. She injured her ankle/ had an inflamed muscle during her third day in Hobart and ended up being confined in the hostel for the next few days before her flight to Melbourne. Knowledge from her previous job as a doctor's assistance helped 'cuz she knew exactly what was wrong and could ease the pain. Apparently, cabbage can help take away heat. I spent half an hour talking to her on the first night.

Then there was another German girl. She's pretty interesting. Talked to her a little.

On my last evening there, a Taiwan lady came into the room. I think it helped to have someone who can speak Mandarin in her room 'cuz she wasn't totally comfortable speaking English, I think. She said she could tell that I'm Cantonese by the way I speak Mandarin. how that works, I don't know. Heh. Celine, she said I should go take a ride on the Dream Mall's ferris wheel or the Miramar Ferris Wheel. HEHE. I told her I watched 换换爱.

And here are photos of some things outside the hostel. There was a huge Starbucks 1 minute away from the hostel. Heh. I didn't patronise it though. I like GJ's better.

10 minutes after arriving at the hostel, my friends and I had to fly out to catch the bus to the brewery.

And so we went on the brewery tour. The tour was boring but it was interesting to see how beer is made.

We were each given 3 bottle caps to redeem 3 drinks at the bar after the tour. I, of course, wasted almost all 3 of them. I barely finished my cup of sparkling juice and only took a few sips from my two cups of cordial. But the sparking juice was really nice. Two ladies gave the guys 5 more bottle caps in total. I don't know how they manage to drink so much beer. I tried a little bit of the beer (a Blonde) that was supposed to make me think beer is nice, and still decided that I dislike beer. Gross.

The hostel is located near a wharf. The sights at the wharf were really really nice. We went there to catch the bus that would take us up Mt Wellington.

Up at the mountain, I felt like I could have been blown away by the wind. It was so super strong! And it was so cold that I lost all sensation in my hand. Well, apart from that, my stay at the mountaintop was enjoyable. I loved the scenery. AND I can proudly say that I went to the topmost point 'cuz I climbed up there. It's called The Pinnacle, if you can see the photo in there. I had to step on rocks to get up there, and I got up there without help!

We only booked a one-way trip to the mountain 'cuz we wanted to climb down. The climb down seemed to extend into eternity 'cuz I almost didn't talk at all 'cuz I don't know the two guys. And they were so ungentlemanly lah. They walked ahead most of the time, leaving me to catch up with them. RAA.

But the climb up to The Pinnacle and the hike down mt Wellington proved to me that I can do even the toughest things on my own if I tried.

Throughout the hike down, I was thinking about our Orang Asli trip and how much more enjoyable the climb up and down the mountain was. It would have been a lot more fun if I did the hike down with the Orang Asli team man.

We reached the bus-stop an hour before the bus was scheduled to come. So for one hour, this was all I saw, with the exception of the occasional passing vehicle.

That night, I took a walk down to the wharf on my own, braving the wind and the rain. It was satisfying 'cuz the night view of the wharf and the buildings was gorgeous. I still can't believe I actually walked along the streets alone at night. OH. I remember constantly praying that God would protect me. Heh.

Saturday was the day I was looking forward to the most. Lester told me that if I did go to Tasmania, I MUST go to Salamanca Market. The Market was not a disappointment at all. It was probably the saving grace of the entire trip. But I regret not buying more stuff there. RAA.

The Market had all sorts of things sold there. Everything sold there was a Tasmanian product and many were handmade - even sweet and glass pendants. I really liked the Market and I wouldn't mind going back to Tasmania just for that.

There were quite a number of buskers at the Market. I was particularly impressed by the two group and the old man in the photos below. There were also 3 primary school girls singing and another boy, 15 years old max, busking. You'd never see that in Singapore.

The next day, I woke up at 3.50am because the flight was at 6.25am and the shuttle bus was coming at 4.40am. In the end, my flight got delayed till 7.15am. So i spent more than an hour and a half at the airport doing nothing. I literally watched sunrise at the airport.

Hobart's literally surrounded by mountains. I saw them everywhere I went. It's a nice scenic place but I would not live there 'cuz there really is nothing to do after 4pm.

So that was my Tasmania trip. TIME TO COOK DINNER!

I just realised that I haven't posted up any photos of Newcastle. So goondu. Yep, that's how blur I am. This is going to be a quick post 'cuz I'm tired.

During the drive up to Newcastle, the clouds were hanging really low. It was a really night sight.

We went to The Entrance before going up to Newcastle. There was a market going on nearby.

There is a beach at the Entrance, which is muy bonita. There were people fishing there as well. The current at a certain portion was visibly strong. Quite a few people were fishing at that area
'cuz that's where most of the fish were. They had restrictions on the amount of the different types of fish that could be caught by people with different fishing licences. It was all on a chart.

We walked on the rocks and I watched the prettiest waves I have ever seen in my life crash against the rocks. And I walked into a few puddles of water 'cuz I don't look when I walk. 走路不看路。(I almost walked into the path of an oncoming car yesterday 'cuz of that.)

Vene tossed stones into the sea and watched them skip. It's been so long since I last did that. Always went to the reservoir with my dad when I was younger just to throw stones. And then there was a really tiny crab. I got to hold it between my fingers. It's so fragile!

The sky was really pretty that day. I'm going to enjoy my view of the sky here before I return to Singapore, where the sky is hidden by the high-rise buildings.And here's the BORING Newcastle. My goodness. It was a ghost town. There were really few people around and there was absolutely nothing to do there.

Here's the collage of photos taken at the vineyard.

So that's it for Newcastle. I'll blog about Tasmania tomorrow or Wednesday so that I won't waste the remaining bandwidth.

To Daph C.: I thought I would die here too! I cried at the airport lah. But I'm now enjoying myself a lot. Not missing home too much 'cuz I know I'll be returning to Singapore anyway. Heh. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! When are you due home, anyway?