Bitten by the Melbourne bug!

This is a long overdue post, but better late than never!

For the longest time ever, i've been saying the same thing, "I'm going to visit Australia soon!" I think that turned into mere words instead of an actual plan.

Plus, most of my friends were there studying while I was stuck in Malaysia. So...what's could be better than going there for a holiday?

Although i'm several late in fulfilling this (many friends have graduated & left Aus), but I'm super duper blessed and thankful for this trip! :) 

The flight there was bad. A combination of uncomfortable seats, air-conditioner on full blast and turbulence made me really unhappy. It even got off to a horrible start. However, i'm willing to do it all over again just to visit any country. :)

I also realised how unprepared I am when it comes to travelling anywhere with the four seasons. I didn't have the right jacket, clothing or shoes. Luckily I got everything from my aunt. Or else I would have frozen. I'm practically covered up in most of my photos with jackets too small or too big. Eeek.

The view from my aunt's place that greeted me every morning!

On my first day there, I was experiencing Melb life through Kevin & Justin's eyes. We visited Mart Cafe (I still find it super cool that they turned a tram stop into a restaurant), Albert Park and Fitzroy Street.

JUST LOOK AT THE AMOUNT OF SALMON. SO DELICIOUS *stares longingly at the food*

Justin, Kevin & CK! :)

I loved the graffiti around.

At night we had dinner at Sofia. I've been hearing about this restaurant from friends there so I had high expectations. The food was alright but the portion is HUGE. The four of us there were stuffed halfway through the meal. 

Garlic Bread - Aussie style

The next day was spent visiting Victoria Market and just walking about the city, even visiting the Melbourne museum. I'm grateful that Shereena took time to bring me, my brother and cousin about! So much love for you! :D

The famous jelly doughnuts.

Famous churros! 

One of the many street performers :)

Kawan baik saya since Form 1 :)

Menya's oxtail tongue rice. ONE OF THE BEST DISH EVEEEER.

Spent the night having Korean BBQ and catching up with the church friends :) 

It's been too long!

Another day was spent in Docklands. Just walking around, taking pictures, eating and SHOPPING. Shereena managed to coax me into buying a lot of things. If DFO's existed in Malaysia, i'd be broke by now. Even after converting, everything was so cheap!

I tried burgers from Grill'd, a healthy burger joint in Melb.

Happy with my purchase!

Then after going to Gold Coast for four days (I will blog about it in another post), I spent the rest of my holiday visiting friends, exploring most of the sights in my "Melbourne Attractions" and my own personal list, eating good food and just having a great time.

Spent some time with these girls catching up over brunch at Oscar Coopers and visiting Chadstone! 

I also managed to meet up with Jia Shen. And it's good to know that he hasn't changed one bit. :P

We also spent one whole day on the Phillip Island tour. We went to a wildlife farm, an actual farm, a chocolate factory, and the highlight of the trip, PENGUINS! 

I was stuck with a bunch of Asian tourist. And it got a little bit frustrating when they started to do the complete opposite of what the tour guide told them to do. It's not only annoying, it's pretty rude too. At one point, some of them refused to feed the wallabies at the sanctuary because they were scared so they decided to try something new. While I was feeding the wallabies, they stood nearby, completely blocking me from the picture and snapped a picture with a baby wallaby that was eating out of my hand. 

I'm just thankful i'm not part of some family's holiday picture. Hehe. 

I fed a wallaby! :D

At the edge of Phillip Island :)

I also had the chance to stop by ACMI, Australian Centre for the Moving Image to see...

Sadly, we couldn't take any pictures of the costumes because it was private property. :(

But we got to see several iconic costumes such as Batman, Harry Potter, Audrey Hepburn's costume from Breakfast at Tiffanys and the one and only Marilyn Monroe's costume.

Spot us!

A tourist shot outside Flinders Station. ;P

Ended that day with mass, dinner at Macaroni's and gelato in the cold weather. That's when my brother and I experienced riding the metro home with a bunch of drunk guys. One kept harassing a couple behind us while another one was doing some acrobat stunts near my brother.

Thankfully we got off unharmed. But it was an interesting experience nonetheless.

We also visited Mount Dandenong during our last weekend there. Tried the famous Pie In the Sky that everyone was raving about, especially my cousin.

Shepherd's Pie! 

After typing all these, i'm missing Australia terribly. I even miss the weather (a small tiny bit). I miss the feeling of exploring a new country, the food there, the incredibly nice people you meet, the friends there and the fact that i'm on a holiday. :(

Gold Coast post coming up next!

My climb.

Although i'm not one who would immediately sign up for marathons or agree to participate in some strenuous physical activity, I was quite excited about climbing Broga Hill. 

It been awhile since I've really exercised (I really miss college life. I used to be able to visit the gym often and have energy for two classes in a row at times.) GAHHHH. I need to find a way to get back on track. Slowly, but surely! 

I digress.

Anyways, after sleeping for about two hour that night (I remember waking up shivering. I didn't have a blanket, nor did I want to wake anyone up so I just grabbed my towel from the edge of my bed and slept off again). Us girls struggled getting out of bed...nothing new here. Hehe.

With only the help of my GPS and Augustine's memory, we managed to reach Broga in one piece. Mission accomplished! 

Upon arrival, I was quite pumped up actually. But after walking for awhile, I slowly started to get out of breath. As I continued, I started to doubt myself. All I wanted to do was stop.

"I can't do this."
" I'm not fit. I'll slow everyone else down." 

"How did I do this the last time? It's impossible!"

Just as I reached the first peak, I made up my mind. I was going to wait for everyone at the first or second peak because I don't think I could continue. Plus, I was very sure I was going to slow everyone else down. 

But these bunch of people refused to let me stop. They continued pushing me, stopping whenever I was too tired to go on, shouting words of encouragement, helping me through tough spots and just giving me the right kind of support. 

I am truly thankful. :)

After that, the climb didn't seem that bad. Albeit, the distance between the other peaks is nothing compared to the one to the first peak. In fact, I could even run at some parts (flat ground of course). 

Once I reached the top, I felt accomplished. Just awhile ago, I was about to give up. 

I guess this teaches me a big lesson. The easier choice is to give up, but if I did that, I wouldn't be able to climb on top huge boulders, hang from trees, look what nature has to offer from the top, marvel at HIS creation and spend some quality time with these bunch of people. 

Next round: Skytrex! :D 

Wanderlust

I'm thankful that this is my year to travel.

I know everyone seems to be complaining that i'm driving/flying off somewhere every other week. But...give me a break! :P

I believe i'm making up for all the travelling I haven't done for the past 22 years of my life. It's better to start now, while I still have the freedom!

I love the idea of visiting different countries. The idea of going in the plane still in Malaysia, but landing in a totally new place. Although I complain about the packing, it's quite exciting packing and mentally preparing my outfit for every single day. I know I tend to over pack too, but it's better to be safe than sorry!

Wanderlust is the exact word to describe me now.

Although most of my travelling is confined to within Malaysia (nothing wrong with that), my top two destinations this year thus far had to be Singapore...and France! *squeeeeals*

side note: Pangkor was just as memorable. However, it was not because of the location but my friends who made it worth remembering. Much love for you guys! :)


Before this year, i've been to Singapore twice. Once with my college friends. Another time with Shereena & Yao Yun - we crammed USS and the Harry Potter exhibition in 2 days!

However, when I was planning for my 4 day trip there this year, I had several MUST visits in mind. It wasn't for the shopping  (which everyone kept bugging me to do. :P) but it was just to visit Singapore's tourist destinations. Being a tourist is fun. ;)

Blogged about my Singapore trip here.

I'm not one who usually blogs/review food but I have to say that this Ramen is pretty good! *sluuurps*

Sadly, I don't remember the name. Looks good doesn't it?

The next highlight had to be France of course!

I was asked to cover Airbus Fly Your Ideas 2013. It's a biennial competition held in France for college/university students. They are required to come up with innovative designs or creations to help model the future of airlines. We not only got to cover the competition, but Airbus representatives took us around to visit their HQ & gave us insights into their organization.

We spent most of our days in Toulouse, only staying in Paris one night.

Plus, our Malaysian team made it to the finals! Although they didn't clinch the grand prize, i'm still really proud of them! :)

First and only time having business class meal. 

Our hotel is right in the middle of two busy restaurants! 

Capitole

With the Malaysian team!

Impressionist paintings in a museum.

Friends that made this trip much more memorable!

History of Toulouse on the ceiling.

The food in France is just exquisite. It taste as GOOD as it looks! Mmhmm :)

I was in food coma most of the time because they kept feeding us 3 course meals. On top of that, they had super duper yummy finger food at places we visited. I was never hungry there. That's for sure.

Our lunch box before the Grand Finals!

The inside!

Hotel breakfast!

Lunch is served!

Tell me...how to resist this? :P

Appetizer - Salmon with vegetables.

Main course - Duck!

Dessert - Watermelon sorbet on top a later of biscuit.

I wished I could have spent more time in Paris though. I only got to see the Eiffel Tower but that's already a dream come true. 

So blessed! :)

My hotel room in Paris!

I'll be back someday!

As i'm posting this. i'm getting ready to leave for Australia this afternoon! After years of planning, i'm finally stepping foot into The Land Down Under. 

Melbourne, here I come! :)