Impulsive Gluttony

I've been planning to travel to Kuala Lumpur right after my exams but held back due to some commitments. However as the day grew closer, which should be fully concentrated on my exams, I decided to impulsively book the flight a few days before my last paper.

I managed to ask a classmate to follow, sort of a travel companion tryout for my study trip in 2016. He passed but need some ground rules set especially those time related matters.

My urge to Kuala Lumpur was basically to satisfy my cravings for food before the Ramadan month starts. I craved for the local Burger Ramli special, Pesto Spaghettini at Ben's, Nasi Ayam Hainanese, kerepok lekor and sorts. The results ended pathetically. Many of the food stall that I know were closed due to the MRT construction in the area, and/or we didn't had sufficient time to look for them.

I knew a 24 hour stay is very limited but it was fruitful when an objective was set. I had my list of things to do and my classmate didn't. He was there to follow but his time sensitivity was quite lacking as we were rushing for time. We were one of the last few passengers to finally board the plane. It was so close to missing our flight due to the journey to the satellite terminal. 

Though I have to admit that we were able to tolerate each other which was crucial for our study trip. We need to set some ground rule for that.

Down Under 02 - Melbourne

It was a bright shining day when I checked out from the hotel in Sydney. Why wasn't it like that the whole time I was there? Alas, I had to catch my flight to join Hakimbo and Izad in Melbourne. 

The flight took about an hour and I had to pick up the rental car via Apex Car Rental upon arrival. The rental centre was about 10 mins away from the airport which was accessible by a shuttle service every 15 mins intervals.

That was my second overseas car rental and I managed to get the same Hyundai Elantra like the one I used in Jeju. Apex was one of the cheapest for AUD60 per day including CDW and GPS navigation.

Since the boys were out and about in town, I had to meet them at Fritzroy area. Driving was a breeze but parking was a heart ache. An hour parking was about AUD 3-5 per hour. 

There wasn’t much to do at Fritzroy; we were only there as a centralized meet-up with myself and Izad's friend, Sheereen. A walk down on Fritzroy and we moved on towards Swanston Street for dinner at an Indonesian Restaurant. 

We managed to walk around the CBD and I've started to shop as there was some good stuff on sale. I was TARGETed. I love Target, they have awesome items and mostly cheap too. I went crazy with clothes and some gaming peripherals. Screw the Apple Watch that I planned to get. I'll just get the next version once more reviews are up. 

Since I crash the Melbourne trip, most of the itinerary was Hakimbo and Izad's, so the choice of accommodation was theirs. They picked a superb AirBnB loft and host at York Street in Richmond. The place was lovely and the host, Damien wasn't home much. We stayed up till late on my first night. That was when I got to know Sheereen and also matched mate with my doppelgänger. Well that's another story if I'm up for it.

Since we were staying in a loft, Hakimbo had the liberty to cook. I fetch Sheereen from her hotel nearby the next morning and had a lovely breakfast before driving off to Brighton Beach. 

We were after the box houses and erroneously dropped at the wrong beach front. We drove to the correct beach and went crazy snapping photos. Since it was winter, there weren’t people soaking in the water except some crazy ones. Though I heard it was slightly therapeutic to soak in the freezing water. Next, we made our way to Bridge Road for brunch before dropping Sheereen off for her to prepare for duty. We then made our way to Chapel Street. 

My god, it was a long stretch of road. I wasn't daring enough to park by the roadside due to the hassle of hourly limit hence I parked in Jam Factory. Luckily, it was a Sunday and the charge was per entry at AUD 8. Hence we had the liberty of time. 

Hakimbo planned to go to one of the Weekend Market but they were closing very soon hence we had to divert elsewhere and ended back at CBD where we had more groceries to stay in. 

The third day started quite late. We set out for a drive to Philip Islands for the penguin parade. Since it starts during sunset, we made a stop at Chadstone Shopping Center for more Target and some other chain stores. The mall was huge and by far one of the largest mall that I've been to. If it wasn’t for the time constrain, I could have ran around the mall looking for stuff.

The drive to Philip Island took forever, which was actually 2hrs only. It was truly a nice drive thru the country side and I had a blast. After crossing over to Philip Island, we made our way to the Koala Conservatory first. It was a combined pass, costing about AUD38 for both Koala Conservatory and Penguin Parade. We were told that there were only 6 Koala in the conservatory and we were challenged to find them all. We found all 6 but they were high up the branches and some other animal in the compound.

We spent about half an hour at the conservatory before driving off to the Penguin Parade which was about 5-10 mins away. The place was densely packed with tourist and students. We were led to the beach stand where we waited for the complete sunset before the penguins appeared.  It took almost 1.5hrs from getting good seats and to viewing the first pack of penguin emerging from the sea. We were quite far off from them but we managed to get up close to them near their burrows. Sadly, photography was not allowed in the whole compound so I’m unable to share the experience.

Everyone thought that driving back would be slower as I might be tired, but it was so much smoother and faster, even in the dark. We even managed to stop for dinner at McDonald’s at Cranbourne. The drive back was roughly about 2 hours inclusive of the stop and congestion. We returned around 10pm and packed our baggage.

We were bound to return to Melbourne CBD the following day where we did some last minute shopping and a check at Hosier Lane. The café at Hosier Lane enables you to pay advance for anyone in need. That was really a nice thought and I paid mine for a small beverage. At least I contributed back to the people of Melbourne before I return back home.

I truly enjoyed Melbourne more than Sydney as it was more laid back. I’ve spent most of the time driving, so I didn’t get to immerse in the local activity of taking public. I would really like to come back to Melbourne someday just to enjoy the peace and scenery.

Photos of Melbourne,

Down Under 01 - Sydney

On the rarest occasion, I’d celebrated my birthday in Singapore this year all due to a friends wedding. So, I had to delay my trip a few days later. 

I never had the intention of going Australia and it wouldn’t really be my choice of destination. Since Hakimbo planned a trip to Melbourne with Izad for his birthday, I thought of crashing their trip. However, I decided to go ahead to Sydney first since I have a few more days to spare.

Since Sydney was my solo trip, I had to plan the entire itinerary. I flew in by Emirates/Qantas so I could return back to Singapore in the same flight as Hakimbo and Izad. Hotel was an excruciating decision where rates, location and convenience were a factor. I booked Park Regis City Centre, which is located within the CBD, so it was convenient to get around. 

Day 1

I decided to venture the city first instead of going to Bondi beach as initially planned. I didn’t managed to get the Opal Card for my transportation usage. So I walked the entire CBD to check the Sydney Opera House and walked along the Rock to underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I wanted to climb the bridge but the climb would have cost me AUD 280. It would have been an experience but the price was just to steep. So being underneath was just satisfying.

From there I walked to the Sydney Eye Tower which was about 1 train stop away. It’s located at Westfield Shopping Centre and the cover cost was about AUD 26. I managed to plan my route for the next few days from up on the tower. However, I was super groggy from my overnight flight and I had yet to freshen up. By then it was almost time to  check into the hotel and that pretty much summed up the day. Went out for dinner and returned back to the hotel by 6pm. Knocked out since I was up the whole of the day before.

Day 2

Got up early to catch the scheduled intercity train to Katoomba, to check out the Blue Mountains. By then, I had gotten my Opal card and it was a breeze getting around . The train ride was about 2 hours long and there would be a connecting bus awaiting to transit to Scenic World. 

I missed the bus because I had to change due to the wet weather. The bus operates at 30mins interval and walking to Scenic World is the same duration. It took me slightly more than an hour because I managed to have breakfast first. The walk to Scenic World was thru residential and then by some campsite. After the rain subsided, the whole neighborhood seems so eerie like those from from Silent Hill due to the fog. 

After that eerie trail as a lonesome traveller, I've reached Scenic World. Admission was AUD 38 which covers unlimited rides of their 2 cable car and the tram. The fog made the whole place last scenic. My horizontal cable car ride went through the fog and unable to view the vast Blue Mountain, waterfalls and the 3 Sisters. The highlight however was the world steepest tram ride which I took quite a bit. I was also literally dampened during the trail because it was raining. Thank God for my overpriced umbrella and forest canopy to keep me slightly dry. 

Made my way back to the town center by bus and on time to connect the intercity train back to Sydney. I managed to find a way to cross the Sydney Harbor and made my way to Milsons Point. Beats paying the AUD 280 and the view is about similar. 

Australian day ends early but I managed to stay out till 8pm that day. Yah, such achievement.

Day 3

The day started bright and early and I made my way to Bondi Junction. I decided to walk around Bondi Westfield for a meal before heading to Bondi Beach. Waited for bus service 333 but took a chance by taking 380 which also landed me at Bondi Beach.

The bus journey was disheartening however as it started to rain, heavily. I've disembarked opposite the beach at the row of shops and waited for the rain to stop. I had Churros and coffee, exactly the same scenario waiting for the rain to stop at Scenic World. Once the rain stopped, I rushed out to the beach.

Due to coming winter, the beach was empty besides tourist and surfers. My intent of Bondi was actually the trail from Bondi to Bronte. The walk along the cliff was magnificent. Every passerby were so friendly and welcoming. While enjoying the sound of waves crashing underneath, a police helicopter was hovering by and it turned and hovered closely to where I was standing. I was holding my camera and point at it, smiled and waved. I think they thought I was suicidal, standing by the cliff. HAHAHA...

The trail was relaxing and I ended it at the Bronte Bath. I should have brought my swimming gear because swimming there would be awesome especially in the current weather. The water was just right next to the crashing waves and the temperature was just suitably warm.

I returned back to the city and made my way to Darling Harbor. There wasn't much there beside Madam Tussuads, Sealife and Wild Life. I just walked around the harbor and ended at Starbucks for a familiar comfort. I also got to book an appointment with a Thai masseuse for the rejuvenated self before venturing onto the next city.

It has been raining in Sydney most of the time I’m there which was sucky. I didn’t managed me to do something or time was mostly delayed waiting for the rain to pass. I did all those in my itinerary just did not fully enjoy it due to the weather. If given the chance, I would do come to Sydney again and re-do some like Scenic World. 

Sydney Album