HB

A long, personal journey worth having.

I’m 32 today!

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birthday present
Best birthday present ever!

It appears that I was born on this very date, 32 years ago. 1981 to be exact. I’m not big on birthdays coz I’ve never really had positive experiences with them. However, certain things have changed. I’m totally clean now (except for the cancer sticks) and I’m in a very happy relationship.

ling hb
Photo taken by the big one

That’s the best thing that happened to me. You’re the best thing that happened to me. 🙂

dinner

I just came back from dinner at McDonald’s (it’s the place we had our first date – the Kota Damansara branch) but I didn’t have the food there. I ordered an iced caramel latte from McCafe and the little ones had sundaes and chicken nuggets.

roasted chicken dinner

I ate a very nice home-cooked dinner made by my girlfriend instead. It’s roasted chicken (there are 2 drums and a thigh inside) with potato salad and rice, all packed into a large Tupperware the size of a large pizza.

huge dinner

I’m not kidding, it’s huge!

I’m surprised no one told me that I shouldn’t be eating outside food. Haha!

cupcakes

I know you spent a long time in the kitchen making this and I’m thankful for the food and the chocolate chip cupcakes.

They’re delicious! I appreciate the effort you put into making all this. <3 eating birthday dinner

I also like hanging with the kids, it makes me happy to see them happy and I like talking to the big one and taking care of the little one. I brought a round of Ramune (the Japanese drink with the glass ball) coz no one seems to have heard of it before and I wanted everyone to try it.

glenfiddich 125 anniversary edition

She also got me a Glenfiddich 125 Year Anniversary Edition box for my birthday. I was looking at it on the trip back from Melbourne but didn’t want to get it coz I still have a lot of single malt whisky.

birthday gift

…but while I was in the toilet, she *ran* back to the duty free shop in Tullamarine and bought the damn thing! She said it’s coz I wanted it and also coz the “25” in 125 years is our anniversary date. I thought that was really sweet of her.

present

I’ll be off tomorrow for a surprise weekend birthday trip that Ling has arranged. I don’t know exactly where we’re going but I’ll update after my birthday trip. 🙂

Thanks for everything dear!

32 birthday

I don’t think I can be with anyone else but you. You’re everything that I’ve been looking for, someone who loves me for who I am, who accepts that the past is the past and who can tolerate this emu cassowary. I always say I’m lucky to have you and I always mean it. I love you Yee Ling! *hugs*

P/S – Cheers for all the birthday wishes, everyone! 😀

Breakfast at POP Restaurant, Hardware Lane

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hardware lane melbourne

Breakfast at Hardware Lane is one of the greatest Melbourne institutions. Hardware Lane is filled with tiny little sidewalk cafes that crowds into each other, every one vying for your attention and crammed with people eating and drinking coffee.

breakfast hardware lane

It’s more of the coffee culture and the breakfast (they also serve lunch, of course) that I go for. POP Restaurant is one of the most well known nowadays, offering modern Australian cuisine. Part of the ambiance of Hardware Lane is the people stuffed into small tables and chairs on both sides of the narrow lane.

pop restaurant melbourne

I wanted Ling to experience this so we took a tram to Elizabeth Street and walked over to Hardware Lane. I remember making this very same commute 10 years back. 🙂

cappucinno

POP Restaurant has their POP Breakfast from 9 am – 3 pm on weekends. It’s basically an all-day breakfast or close enough to make no difference.

Atlantic poached eggs, salmon and hollandaise (AUD 14.50)

atlantic poached eggs

There are various sides on offer – bacon, hash brown, sausage, mushroom, spinach, baked beans, ham, avocado, grilled tomato, salmon, prosciutto, parmesan and hollandaise sauce. You can add one for AUD 3 for choose a package of 2 or 3 sides for AUD 5.50 and AUD 7.50 respectively.

bacon avocado salmon

I added on bacon, avocado and ham but they forgot my ham and I didn’t want it by the time it came out. Thus, this breakfast set me back AUD 19.50 which isn’t too bad if you don’t convert. It’s almost RM 63 if you do. 😉

French Toast with rhubarb and almonds (AUD 14.50)

french toast rhubarb almonds

This is what she ordered from the Sweet Tooth menu. I thought it was pretty good – I like the rhubarb jam on top of the nicely done French Toast and the sprinkling of almonds but she thought it was the worst French Toast she ever had.

poached eggs

My bad, dear. I gave her some of my breakfast instead.

pop restaurant

It showered slightly (as weather in Melbourne tend to do) in the middle of our breakfast so we shifted slightly inside so the patio covers the worst of the rain.

pop restuarant bill

I like the service at POP Restaurant, I’ve always had positive experiences at Hardware Lane in Melbourne. Granted, I only go for breakfast, but that’s the most important meal. 😉 The waitress apologized for messing up my order when I asked for the bill (they forgot the ham) and told me the other two sides I ordered are on the house. I thought that was a really nice gesture.

hardware lane breakfast

I ended up tipping her just about the same amount so the karma balances out. smirk

Pringles bowling!

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pringles dancers

Yup, you heard right. I saw a loooonnng line of people queuing up at 1 Utama and jumped into the queue. *kepoh*

pringles bowling

It’s Pringles bowling!

bowling

There’s a huge “bowling ball” made of foam which you’re supposed to drive down an alley (no throwing) using your hands. The “bowling pins” are soft cans of mock Pringles.

victory dance

Everyone gets a can of Pringles for participating…but if you actually manage a strike (down all the pins) or get a spare (down all the pins with two attempts – the most you’re allowed) there will be a group of dancers who comes out and celebrates with you.

Take a look at this video!

pringles bowling pins

It’s a very “feel good” event – no purchase necessary, they’re just giving them out and letting the mall crowd play Pringles bowling too.

bowling dance

It’s an awesome idea. I don’t know who came out with it but it’s one of the most interesting things I’ve seen.

pringles pins

I tried it out when it was my turn to bowl and unfortunately didn’t manage a strike.

bowling pringles

My second attempt masuk longkang. -_-

pringles

However, the people were kind enough to hand me two cans of Pringles anyway, which is what you’ll get if you manage to successfully bowl over all the pins.

dance skit

This is exactly the sort of thing that goes viral very quickly. I Whatsapped a friend of mine and told her about it. I heard that the Sunday turnout was a lot higher than Saturday too – the Pringles bowling event was held at the LG Oval of 1 Utama over two days.

old man

The dancers have several different routines for a strike. I saw them pull a (rather unwilling) old man when he managed to get a strike. The man was reluctant at first, as most Malaysians are, but warmed up quickly and started dancing together with the crew. Haha!

human bowling

That’s not the best part! When a little kid comes up to bowl, the dance crew will act as the bowling pins (!!!) and fall on cue.

I thought that was very sweet of them.

kid bowling

In the spirit of giveaways, I passed a friend of mine the two Pringles that I won during lunch just now. Sharing is the name of the game.

joyce hb ryan

It really made my weekend to see all this. It’s not just the novel idea of bowling with Pringles but how they executed it – with human bowling pins for children so they could win two cans of crispy goodness. It’s an opportunity for kids (and kids at heart) to have some fun while at the mall.

humans bowled over

I hope to see more of this in the future. I was there with Joyce and bumped into Ryan. Thanks for an excellent diversion and fun times on a lazy Sunday afternoon! 🙂

My first day trip with the M&Ms

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sunway hb ling

Took a day off and we all went to Sunway Lagoon. It was a really fun trip and very different from what I’ve done in the past. I can really get used to this though. 🙂

ling noodles

Ling had cooked some noodles for breakfast, which I ate in the car while she drove. She also put a little note in the carry bag, which I didn’t notice. It’s little things like this that makes her awesome! I got her an anniversary gift and she forgot, but you know what? She doesn’t need to coz every day is an anniversary for her, she gives me random surprises that makes me happy.

sunway lagoon

(or maybe she’s still guilty about the anniversary gift and she’s making up for it)

Kidding dear! smirk

porcupine

There’s a package for 2 adults and 2 children that came out to RM 275.

wristband

We went to the Wildlife Park. Feeding horses were on the agenda but we couldn’t find the horses.

tapir

Going on the Volcano – a dry park ride with the big one. It was so much fun we went twice.

volcano

We still had our bags at that point – one small backpack for me and a large gym bag for her (which I both carried) and I had to sweet talk the operator to let us on. She didn’t allow it at first coz there was a “no bags” rule and no place to put them, but with my powers of persuasion, she relented and let us all through. 😉

teacups

Next, we went on the teacups together, and spun around till we were dizzy. These are huge teacups which can fit 6 people if you squeeze.

locker

I finally got a RM 30 multiple use large locker to chuck our stuff in. Essential!

coffee

Why M&M? They’re sweet, with a candy layer! 🙂

carousel

Those are the only two rides we took – spend the rest of the time at the water park. No slides though, we didn’t do what we want – we did what the kids want and I found that very rewarding in itself. The end result (i.e. seeing them happy) is the reward. 😀

surf zone

Rented a RM 20 two-person float and dragged everyone around the canal that rings the surf pool like a moat.

souvenir photos

I also dragged everyone (since I was the only one who could swim) into the surf pool on the two-person float. There was this guy going around taking photographs with a waterproof camera and I wanted one to remember this day. 🙂

marrybrown

We ate a very late lunch at Marrybrown (fast food again ;)) and I got a very irritable server who didn’t seem like she wanted to be there. I put up her with for the big one and then got so annoyed I asked her what her problem is, and gave her a very stern lecture about front line customer server, to which she immediately backed off and started apologizing.

wristband rfid

I hate people like that – they’ll give you all sorts of body language and indicators that they don’t want to serve you, included the furrowed brow and tsks of annoyance but once you confront them, they are timid mice. She kept on apologizing to me but I bet she’ll do it after a while to the next customer.

surf pool us

Anyway, all is good, we got our (dubious) nutrients and headed off for more swimming!

multiplex 5d sunway

Oh, and the big one was tall enough to go to the new 5D Waterplexx (supposed to be the world’s first) but the little one wasn’t so I took her to watch it while the girlfriend took the other back to the surf pool. It’s quite an experience – 3D, with motion chairs and sprays of water. The big one got so scared she didn’t want to look at the screen and was pulling my hand across her eyes.

keychain

I got souvenir photos of the day out too! Bloody rip off prices but damn worth it! Everyone got a piece to bring back of our first trip out together – mine was a keychain. 🙂

My trip to Club Med Bali – Body and Soul: Four Colors in Four Days

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club med bali

I just came back from Club Med Bali a couple of days ago. There was a really interesting event going on called Body and Soul: Four Colors in Four Days. I was there for 5 days for the Club Med experience and thought this was a great concept.

garden yoga

It was a lot like my Club Med Phuket trip in that everything is all inclusive and there are friendly GO’s who answers any questions you might have and even eats with you. The best thing about Club Med is that everything is all-inclusive and you can choose to do whatever you want…or nothing at all.

zoomba

Anyway, since the 4-day Body and Soul event was running, I went for each of the themed events. There’s a new color every day and that color denotes the “theme of the day” which encompasses everything from activities to food!

club med bali restaurant

  • Rejuvenation in Yellow
  • Energy in Red
  • Balance in Green
  • Revitalization in Purple

club med food

Body and Soul: Four Colors in Four Days is meant for people who want to immerse themselves in a health and wellness program. It’s a way to get away from the hectic city life and check into Club Med to awaken your spirit, heal your hearts and bodies and even your sense of well-being.

chi balls

I must say I was rejuvenated by the end of the program. 🙂

kayaking

It’s really quite interesting – for example, on Green Day: Balance – there’s kayaking to start the day…

yoga window

…followed by a session of yoga with Yin Yang Chi Balls by experts from the award winning Australian fitness company Physical Best – Lisa Westlake, the fitness instructor/owner/physiotherapist/presenter/author (there’s little she doesn’t do) and Lynley Gladdis (an international presenter in the area of mind and body fitness with degrees in Arts Dance and Remedial Massage)

aqua aerobics

There was a really upbeat class of aqua aerobics which I totally enjoyed – had a blast doing this, it’s a lot of fun! 🙂

I even had a video of me doing aqua aerobics – thanks Becky!

green day food

There’s also green themed food and special platters that highlights nutrition based on this color.

cucumber sushi

Cucumber sushi with fish roe

green tea macaroons

Green tea macaroons <3 cucumber olives

Cucumber with olives

spring rolls

It’s pretty amazing, eh? They even had pistachio ice cream on green day!

body soul club med

There are also kids programs with the similar theme and night entertainment (green party during green day). Thus, each day is broken down into several activities e.g. for Red Day: Energy:

red food

Main Program
Cherating Beach: Tree Top
Bali: Flying Trapeze
Fun Family Mini-Olympic

Expert Program
Tribal Rhythm
Zumba

Kids Program
Tie dye T-shirts

Night Entertainment
Latin night

cindy

If you think Club Med is fun, wait till you experience the Four Colors in Four Days event! I did things with my body that my girlfriend didn’t believe until I showed her the photos from yoga (that’s Cindy from Malaysia, who’s a yoga instructor on vacation at Club Med Bali).

tribal dance

Body and Soul: Four Colors in Four Days was held on Club Med Bali in March and will kick off in Club Med Cherating Beach from 7th – 14th April 2013! Yup, it’s coming to Malaysia right after Bali. It’s a health and wellness retreat to boost well-being through a series of 4 consecutive color themed days with the color included in everything from diet to parties!

yoga

You can also safely leave your kids in Club Med, that’s why I love the place so much. They’ll have stuff to do and be entertained while you go do your own stuff. Check out Club Med Cherating Beach if you’re interested to know more about the upcoming Body and Soul event in Malaysia! They have special packages for a 4D/3N stay!

(Related: Visit the following to find the best optiate alternatives)

Thanks for the invite Jisan! 🙂

The Nobbies (Seal Rocks) in Phillip Island

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nobbies australia

This is my favorite place on Phillip Island. The Nobbies (previously known as Seal Rocks) is located just a stone’s throw away from the Penguin Parade. It’s located on the south-western tip and admission is free!

us nobbies

If you have limited time in Phillip Island, I suggest you head here just before you go for the Penguin Parade.

nobbies

The Nobbies is a system of boardwalks that overlooks the Seal Rocks, The Nobbies and The Blowhole (which is a 1.2 km walk away). It’s home to Australia’s largest colony of fur seals, which can often be found basking right on the rocks itself.

nobbies phillip island

However, you’ll need a pair of binoculars to spot them. We didn’t see any seals or SEALs but there was a seal behind the camera. Haha! Contrary to popular belief, sixthseal.com does not mean “seal” (the animal you club) or “SEAL” (the elite group small mission unit that killed UBL). It’s a passage from Revelation that means “seal” (the wax you put on an old letter).

seal rocks

Seal Rocks (as it was known back when I first visited) is now known as The Nobbies and offers stunning vistas perfect for photography. It’s like a scene from a postcard! The rays from the sun comes glistening through to hit the large rock where fur seals sun themselves

silver gulls

It’s also a place where Silver Gulls nest. These are amazing birds that we first mistook for a kite. Silver Gulls has a distinctive way of “flying” – they remain stationary! The wind coming into The Nobbies is amazingly strong – I had to fight my phone to keep it from flying away. The gulls can just stay motionless at one place, riding the draft and not even flapping their wings, unless it’s to move to another altitude. Amazing birds!

the nobbies

It’s a nice place to walk around and just relax at. It was my favorite moment in Phillip Island and I wanted this to be the last post about our trip there. You can see how strong the wind is just from the way it messes with our hair and clothes (it constantly flipped my stiff collar).

seal rocks australia

It’s a must visit if you go to Phillip Island – don’t just go for the Little Penguins, spend some time at The Nobbies and watch the seal colonies and relax by the boardwalk. It can be slightly chilly in autumn though, so bring a windbreaker (instead of borrowing mine like Ling did). 😉

Odette & Siegfried’s Room @ Swan Lake Guest House, Phillip Island

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phillip island vacation

This is the honeymoon suite we stayed in on our trip to Phillip Island. Swan Lake Guest House is more beautiful than I had imagined – with 4 hectares of land and 5 luxurious suites to choose from. Odette & Siegfried’s Room is the honeymoon suite.

swan lake guest house

The room looks out to romantic sea views and beautiful sunsets. There’s also a private balcony with extensive views of Western Port Bay and Bass Strait. You can feel the gale-force winds blowing at night but it’s very serene and chill in the daylight.

private balcony

This is the only time we used the ensuite jacuzzi in Melbourne (technically Victoria). Haha!

sea view

It’s AUD 270 per night (about RM 900) but it’s well worth the price. The service from Bernie is impeccable!

odette siegfried room

I had asked for flowers in the room for my love (I was thinking of a bouquet) and when we arrived, the kind lady proprietor (Bernie) subtly told me that it wasn’t ready and she’s heading to the market to get it done.

flowers

She was thinking fresh flowers in a vase.

phillip island swan lake

Close enough, I guess. Heh! It’s the thought that matters. She wouldn’t accept a tip either, very kind of her.

tea time

There was tea service the moment we arrived, with a wide variety of choices and chocolate biscuits.

tea

We had the entire place to ourselves since it wasn’t the peak season and the privacy and views are to die for! The main living room is immaculately decorated with a real fire place!

swan lake phillip island

Swan Lake Guest House is a mixture of a guest house and a B&B (Bed & Breakfast) – albeit a premium one with all the privacy you need. The breakfast spread was nothing short of lavish!

croissants

Our kind host brought out warm croissants and had coffee and tea brewing.

juices milk

Fresh juices and three (3) different types of milk were produced.

bread

BREAD!!! There’s a lot of local Phillip Island produced bread – country, multi-grain and multi-cereal and also this fruit packed loaf that we both liked.

cereal

There’s also a big bowl of single serve cereal boxes to choose from…

ham

…as well as ham, cheese and other cold cuts. I remember asking Ling how she knew we weren’t Muslim or had other specific dietary requirements that forbids pork. 😉

breakfast

I had my eye on something that’s *not commercial* when I planned for our stay at Phillip Island. I told Ling that I’ll take care of it coz I wanted her to have a nice stay without worrying about the cost. This place fits the bill perfectly.

ham cheese

I’ll highly recommend Swan Lake Guest House if you want to stay at Ventnor in Phillip Island. It’s very close to the Penguin Parade. The service is second to none – the owner is friendly and goes out of her way to accommodate your whims. The place is nestled in a huge farmland and you can see the sea from the private balcony.

sunrise

There’s a lot of rooms but only one is the largest (and most expensive) meant for honeymooners and that’s Odette & Siegfried’s Room. You won’t be disappointed. I think we only went to bed at around 4 am coz we stayed in the jacuzzi till late. She loved it, and so did I. <3 ling sleeping

We were both so tired when we took the V/Line coach back to Melbourne that Ling slept most of the way through. Thanks for making the stay memorable for us. 🙂

Penguin Parade @ Phillip Island

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phillip island trip

This is undoubtedly the most famous thing Phillip Island is known for. Little Penguins come back to nest every evening on the shores of Phillip Island after a day out hunting and doing whatever penguins do. smirk

penguin parade

These are not the Emperor Penguins of the Antarctica but a different species of penguin called Fairy Penguins. They’re quite small and furry creatures – about the size of a particularly tall roti tissue (35 cm tall).

penguin parade sign

We drove down to the Penguin Parade after visiting the Nobbies. It was a particularly cold day as the sign shows – you need cold weather gear. Unfortunately, Ling didn’t bring a wind breaker so I gave her mine and went through the night with just a button up shirt with a cardigan underneath.

penguin parade weather

I half froze to death, but the layered clothing helped a bit. Haha!

penguin parade trip

She was still cold even after wearing 3 layers (including my wind breaker) and I even offered her my shirt (could do with just the cardigan), which she thankfully declined.

The things you do for love. 😉

penguin parade entrance

There’s no photography allowed these days, primarily for commercial reasons and coz of a few bad apples using flash to take pictures. However, 12 years earlier when I visited Phillip Island, photography is permitted, you just can’t use flash.

fish chips

Anyway, we had a fish and chip dinner while waiting for the penguin parade countdown to start. You’re advised to come at least 1 hour earlier. The time of the penguin parade changes according to the season – you need to check out the schedule. It’s usually sunset and since it was autumn, our session begin at around 8 pm.

penguin parade countdown

The “no photography” rule is enforced quite strictly – saw a girl being hauled off by the rangers after she attempted to video the first few penguins making landfall.

penguin burrows

There are a lot of rangers around and one kind lady told us the best spot to sit to spot penguins returning to their burrows. She was right – only that rock formation on the beach had incoming penguins!

little penguins

It was fun to watch the cute little penguins waddle up from the surf and into their nests (burrows). People started leaving soon after though and we found out why – it’s better to go and watch from the board walk coz you can get up close and personal with the penguins!

penguin parade view

You can hear their mating calls and see their social structure (one penguin was waiting for his/her mate for ages).

penguin parade phillip island

There were lots of people taking photos since the rangers couldn’t manage everyone on the board walk and I saw this Caucasian guy surreptitiously videoing the penguins near the public toilet. I decided to take one photo too – it’s using Ling’s iPhone (my digicam ran out of battery at the Nobbies) and taken by me while she went to the wash room so this is the first HuaiLing Productions photo. 😉

penguins phillip island

I present to you: A very dark and grainy photo of the Phillip Island penguins!

There was also a souvenir shop and we both wrote our own addresses on two stamped Phillip Island Penguin Parade postcards and gave it to the other to write. It was agreed that we won’t see what the other wrote until we received it in the mail. <3 penguin parade postcards

We also bought each other souvenir tees to commemorate our Australia trip and wore it the next day!

australia tees

The best part of the trip was when we saw a penguin that was less than 1/2 meter in front of us! The penguin could definitely see and smell us but it wasn’t afraid at all. That was a very nice experience indeed – worth the entry fee in itself. 🙂

Driving to Phillip Island, Victoria

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phillip island driving

This is where we headed on our second day in Melbourne, Victoria. We headed out of the city to see penguins!

vline cowes

It’s essential to have a car when you go to Phillip Island. The attractions are all spread out and the famed Melbourne public transport system does not extend that far. The V/Line bus will drop you at Cowes – it’s the main in Phillip Island.

koala

A lot of people think Phillip Island is all about penguins. That’s the most famous attraction but there are other things to see too.

phillip island 3 parks

Ling got an iVenture card which allows us to choose 5 different attractions for AUD 130. One if them is a 3 parks pass in Phillip Island (includes Penguin Parade).

driving phillip island

I recommend you drive down from Melbourne though – it only takes about 90 minutes by car but the V/Line coach takes 3-5 hours, depending on whether the bus is direct or stops at stations along the way. The direct route starts from Dandenong and stops at Anderson and Koo Wee Rup.

vehicle rental agreement

The car was only registered under my name as the driver though. You only need a valid credit card and driver’s licence. There also might be restrictions to where you can drive – check out the name of the excluded areas. Haha!

rented car

We rented a car for AUD 88 (about RM 300) per day. You can use your Malaysian driving licence over there. I drove most of the time and got Ling to drive too so she could say that she has driven in Melbourne (albeit at a car park in quiet Nobbies).

kangaroo

She wanted to see kangaroos so we drove to Wildlife Park. It’s a open range in Phillip Island and has wallabies and kangaroos which runs hops around you!

feed kangaroo

The wallaby and kangaroo population is very friendly. They’re used to humans around them and expect to be fed. The latter can be slightly aggressive when they see you and come hopping over to get fed while wallabies need a bit of coaxing.

feeding wallaby

I reckon wallabies are shy by nature – I tried to get close to a wild wallaby in 2002 when I was studying in Melbourne but was unsuccessful. I got to feed a wallaby two years ago in 2011 though, but that was in a park as well.

emu

There’s also a scary looking emu there. Huge bird. Slightly intimidating. 😡

I took a video of me feeding it the cassowary.

koala conservation center

The Koala Conservation Center in Phillip Island isn’t anything to shout about. There are koalas in trees but most of them are sleeping. I think Ling expected to see more koalas but it’s actually quite hard to see large populations nowadays and you can’t pet them unless it’s in a zoo.

cone

She was also apprehensive coz we passed a sign that said: Beware of Hidden Snakes!

sleeping koala

It’s probably the lowland copperhead (which is common in Phillip Island) instead of the eastern brown snake (3rd most venomous snake in the world – gotta look out for it in Melbourne). The latter is a highly aggressive snake while the lowland copperhead is pretty much harmless (most snakes avoid confrontation with humans) even though it’s also venomous.

phillip island roads

It doesn’t help that the trees are brown in color too and could easily hide an invisible snake. smirk

driving

We spent a while at the koala park in Phillip Island, strolled through the new koala treetop walk, took a couple of photos and headed down to the Nobbies. I love that place so much, I’ll write about it in the next post, coz my camera battery ran out of juice and I had to use Ling’s phone to take photos.

bed breakfast

This is the view out of our honeymoon suite at a guest house there. Phillip Island is more than just the Penguin Parade. There’s a lot of things to do there, we stayed at a nice place and had a lot of fun. Most people just come for day trips so the population is predominantly island folks but if you stay, the hospitality is amazing!

phillip island couple

Just remember that you need a car to get around for food and attractions coz everything is far away and there are only a couple of taxis operating…on the entire island! 🙂

Our trip to Melbourne

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federation square

a.k.a. Huai Ling goes to Melbourne. smirk

Our flight was a really interesting one – there was a bit of a commotion when it landed coz someone was apparently sick in the plane and no one could leave.

quarantine

It was boarded by health and quarantine officials before everyone was let out. The original arrival time is just after midnight so I had planned to stay at Tullamarine since it’ll be almost 2 am by the time we clear customs and immigration. Tullamarine is where Melbourne International Airport is and I reckon we’ll just crash there and head down to the city the next morning. I did have it in my mind to check out sites like https://buymelbourneapartments.com.au/ while I waited. I know how desirable that city is so I know what to expect. It’s going to cost a lot.

I asked for airport transfer (which was complimentary) but for some reason we didn’t see the motel shuttle. We stayed at Ciloms Airport Lodge Motel (about USD 130++ per night) and since it’s just 0.5 km from the airport, I hailed a cab instead.

ciloms lodge

The taxi driver was Indian/Sri Lankan (as is the trend in Melbourne) and really didn’t want to go for the short time. It was a crazy ride that had Ling fearing she would die in Melbourne. Haha!

Anyway, we reached the hotel with all of our appendages more or less intact and the fare was AUD 15. My smallest denomination was AUD 50 and the taxi driver couldn’t make change and finally gave us AUD 40 – a AUD 5 saving, at the risk of life and limb. 😉

We walked into the motel and discovered that there was no one at reception. -_-

Luckily, there’s a 1800 free phone number listed and a pay phone beside the counter so I called and the person who answered said he’ll be coming in 5 minutes.

ciloms airport lodge

5 minutes later, a shuttle pulled in loaded with Malay passengers from the exact same flight as ours. It was a free service that we didn’t see.

ciloms melbourne

Ciloms Airport Lodge is pretty decent – the other option is Ibis Budget, which is really crap. Our room even had a spa! 😀

ciloms airport motel

We didn’t use it though, there really wasn’t enough time.

skybus

The next day, we took the complimentary shuttle back to the airport and caught the SkyBus for AUD 19 each.

skybus tickets

Tickets please!

skybus hotel transfer

The SkyBus took us to Southern Cross Station where we took another SkyBus shuttle – the SkyBus Hotel Transfer is a feeder service that they run for free.

rydges

Our destination was Rydges on Swanston, which is right in the middle of town

off ya tree

I noticed that Off Ya Tree is still around. It’s a headshop (called a smartshop in Amsterdam) that sells all sorts of stuff from blunt wrappers to Ecstasy test kits.

trams melbourne

I also remember some very familiar shops like Nelayan and Club X.

club x

Their sex peep-shows are still AUD 2! It seems to be recession proof. 😉

myer

I showed Ling the big Myer in the city. It’s to Melbourne what Harrods is to London.

buskers

There were still plenty of buskers around – the really popular ones are still the painted statues which I’ve seen 10 years ago when I was studying in Melbourne.

aussie pies

We had breakfast at Hardware Lane (more about that later) and got pies for dinner. There’s a Chunky Pepper Steak Pie and a Bacon & Cheese Roll.

tim tams

I also got some of the deals on offer – Buy 1 Big M milk and get another Big M milk for AUD 4 (about RM 12), a 1.25 liter Coke with Tim Tams for AUD 6 (about RM 18) and a candy bar for just AUD 1 (about RM 3) with the previous combo.

purse melbourne

The prices are really cheap if you don’t convert. The next day, we headed to Phillip Island via V/Line (a bus servicing outlying areas in Victoria).

melbourne us

Hereby ends the Melbourne 2013 trip report for Day 1. 🙂

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