Excited!!!

Just booked an awesome trip to Melaka with Shereen! The friendly and helpful sales girl at Luxury Travel is the best! Gonna booked from them again if this trip turns out well.

Our hotel is freaking gorgeous! From the website la. I am sure it wouldn't be far from the truth anyway...

Gonna pull through next week and then...time to R&R!

Hehehehehehhe......*can't contain the excitement*

7 Amazing Drowned Churches

7. Potosi, Venezuela

6. St. Nicola’s Church, Macedonia

5. Church of the Holy Rosary, India

4. Church of Old Petrolandia, Brazil

3. Church of Krokhino, Russia

2. Church of Lake Reschen, Italy

1. Kalyazin Bell Tower, Russia

*These pictures are taken from PictrMania.

Aint these architecture uh-may-zing?

Perfect examples of the combination of the genius of the architect and the wonder of nature.

Being a free-thinker, I had never been a fan of churches. Just the thought of getting "tied down" to a religion makes me me wanna S.C.R.E.A.M.

However these churches below are different, I DEFINITELY wanna visit them someday.

Especially the Church of Lake Reschen in Italy. Absolutely fascinating. Gotta find a way to witness its glory in the 4 different seasons.

I just love seeing things get destroyed. *smile*

Looking back at my two major trips so far (major meaning that it requires taking a at least 6 hours flight to reach the destination), I realised that I am lucky that they both happens to be friendly places.

Then I start asking myself which places I prefer - Oklahoma City or Melbourne? Okay, I admit I am bored out of my wits. Therefore I am giving my brain a b

it of a warm-up exercise.

My conclusion to the question above? I prefer Oklahoma City more.

Not that Melbourne City is a bad place. It is a cheerful little place where everyone seems happy and bubbly. But its too cosmopolitan for me. There

are too many hotels and travel inns that its just feels like...well...A SECOND SINGAPORE.

Everywhere you go its like almost everyone are backpackers. It kind of gives me a lonely feeling that nobody is here to stay long. To put it in a more bizarre sense - it feels like everyone is here for a one night stand.

Oklahoma City on the other hand gives me less of a business feel and more of a homely feel. Although there isn't much people walking on the streets due to lack of walkways (I kind of hate that part. So not friendly to non-drivers like me T-T), the people there are looks more settled down and there isn't much tourists around. In fact I doubt many people know about this state except for locals and those that are there for the residency.

Ohhh...I also like the fact that you can get cheap stuff if you just search around. Basically there are things for everyone with different budget criteria and income group

in mind. So there are:

And there it goes infinitely...there are many more levels in between and after "Super High Income" but I am lazy to list them all out.

Whereas in Melbourne...these are the levels of consumer goods:

Some might argue that its due to the currency rate between Singapore and Australia. Okay, even if I take away the currency rate difference. Its still starts from medium-high income onwards. So not conducive for a cheapo like me.

Therefore conclusion is...if I have to choose between these two places to settle down and despite the crime rates and other stuff, I would still choose Oklahoma City.

Hmmm....does this means that I really really dislike touristy places? This aint good...If I really want to travel in the near future I have to do so much extra research just to travel to places without many tourists.

What a sad life I lead.

11/3/2011

Awesome day from the start! We slept until we feel like waking up, then we head to the Gabbie's to get Gena's coffee fix. Unfortunately the coffee machine is outta order. Like every fairytale, there's a happy ending to this sad situation. The owner (I bet he loves us a lot. We are his faithful patrons) brewed us some of his turkish coffee. Potent stuff! I like!

We met Geoffrey for some quick catch before he head to a bush party which he spend his entire savings on. Apparently a bush party is a party in the forest where they invite renowned DJs to play techno music in the jungle. Its pretty common in summertime in Melbourne. And the one Geoffrey is heading to is one of the big ones. Thus the high ticket price. I also get to clear my doubts on whether Geoffrey is a drug addict by asking him directly. I scare myself sometimes.

We headed to Ben Sherman where Gena saw one pretty shirt with nice prints (I never like any of her "vintage" outfit but this one make me go criminal - I wanna steal the shirt from Gena after she bought it) and POST. We went to the 56th Moomba festival since we kinda run of things for the day. Its pretty fun! Its like a huge carnival with concerts, funfair etc etc. We went on a ride called SPEED and its awesome! You really feel like falling down and I kinda like the feeling! Woohoo~ 10AUD well spent. Certainly the highlight of the day.

P.S What's with the trams today? Its so stuffy I gonna die!

10/3/2011, Thurs

Today will be a short and simple entry....I hope.

We signed up for the Great Ocean One Day Trip by Wildlife tour (heavily recommended by our Habitat HQ front desk personnel). We woke up super early at about 5.50am to prepare and send Ah Pek (our European grandfatherly roommate who snores quite loudly --> Gena misses this part) out. In Habitat HQ, if you are checking out, you have to gather your own bedsheets and bring it down to the reception. I have to remember to do this on the 15th.

The trip in general was quite okay. I wouldn't describe in detail about the itinerary since its about the same for the Great Ocean Road tour. Just look up one in a tour agency and you will know roughly what's it about.

One thing I love about travelling with this tour agency is the thought that goes into it to make the trip comfortable and enjoyable. There's a self-introuction at the beginning of the trip which I find it abit extra at first but I realised that the tour guides are really remembering the names and your other particulars such as occupation! I especially love the Minties given to us after we eaten our lunch as that is an awfully nice gesture to help clear our stinky breath after a meal. And the Minties taste great I am telling ya.

I also like the part where we stopover at an area with koalas and parrots. Although the parrots left rape-like scratches on my arms, feeding them is awfully fun! They are pretty heavy though. My hands weighed down a little when the first parrot landed on it but I slowly come to expect that and so I will get prepare for it whenever I know a parrot was going to land. I can barely handle it when there are two or more parrots landing at the same time though. AND I ABSOLUTELY HATE IT WHEN THEY LANDED ON MY HEAD. Its heavy enough without fat birds on it, thank you.

Dinner is at Red Rooster - a fast food restaurant with fried chicken just like KFC. I wasn't really hungry at that moment so Elene (did I spell it correctly? heck care la~) and I just grab something really light. Elene is from Paris and she's on the same Great Ocean tour as us. She's here on a working holiday and now she's starting to travel around and see some sights. I find that pretty fabulous.

Side Note: Gena is right - I gotta find a job, save up some cash, and then go on a long trip. A trip, not a tour. I enjoy myself much more when when I'm getting lost, wandering around figuring what to do next. Probably backpacking around several continents. I might be lazy but that isn't big threat to my survival as I seldom panic and is willing to ask for help when needed. Key word being "needed". In fact I like "getting lost" as most of the time it often brings you to places unexpected. A pleasant surprise. Challenges are always welcome.

Now that I finally have a direction in life (yes I previously do not have any), the next step will be to...find a job. Haiz...it always come back to this. Why must the first step always be the toughest????????!!!!!!!!!!

Holla from Melbourne Part II

9/3/2011, Wednesday

Pretty eventful day. I refused to leave my bed until Gena shake me up (I think she's been wanting to do that since Day 1. She is totally smiling when I opened my eyes). I was actually awake by then but I simply refused to get out of bed.

After that we went to do our laundry. Freaking exp! It cost us a total of AUD6 including washing powder. Lucky we are sharing though so it turns out to be aint that bad. I think the price is actually considered to be cheap as the machine is huge. Its just that we don't have that much to wash in the first place. If I am gonna stay here again, I'll be sure to stay longer so that I can bring more clothes to wash.

After laundry, we went to the Cabbie's pizza and pasta restaurant across Habitat HQ for lunch. Pizza is nice and according to Gena - so is her lasagna. My pizza is AUD10 including a drink which I didn't know is included in my meal.

We went to Melbourne Aquarium. This place is pretty easy to find. Its just around the corner from Flinders Station. I actually find it pretty interesting. Quite worth the money in fact. We paid about AUD30 each after 10% discount. My favorite exhibit there is the Axolotl. Freaking cute!!!!

I want it as pet! He can join Mocha, Latte and their 6 children as part of my ever-growing safari.

The sharks exhibit is pretty disappointing but I guess that is partly due to the fact that the divers show is canceled due to renovations. I enjoyed it thoroughly nonetheless.

Gena picked up a brochure about a camera museum so we decided to head over. Turns out that Michael's is a shop selling cameras and accessories and only part of the 2nd level is where the "museum" is. Despite all that I still enjoyed the place. I even found some photographs that I liked. I like the effect of Pop Art and Dramatic Tone filters whereas Gena prefers Dramatic Tone and Grainy filters.

I love to have a good camera someday to capture my precious moments abroad and even back home. It does not have to be a DSLR like Gena's D90. I probably can't afford that even if I slave for 2 years. I just need something that is non-touch screen (it take forever to get the right focus), focus that is adjustable, high optical zoom....AND CHEAP! If you guys can ever find that I will be eternally grateful. Cause it seems like no such thing will ever happen in my lifetime unless I custom make it WITH MY OWN HANDS.

Dinner is at a Vietnam restaurant due to my sudden Vietnam food craving. I saw many Vietnam restaurants along a certain stretch in Lonsdale (or was it Elizabeth) St and got real tempted. Gena's beef noodle was delicious! My chicken noodle soup however just tasted like Chinese Guo Tiao Tang. Not that it wasn't delicious. Quite the contrary in fact. I am just not happy with the fact that I keep buying cuisine that taste like Chinese food but were labelled otherwise.

At the end of the day, we head back to our hotel (we were early today, about 7 plus?) and start surfing the net. Its an awesome way to end the day and help us get into sleep mode.

Hola from Melbourne

Its been like what...3 days since I stepped on the land of Melbourne. And so far I am still loving it!



5/3/2011, Sat

MK Teng (Gena's & Jayvern's friend), Jayvern and Sendya sent Gena and I to the Changi Airport. Jayvern is the one driving and its pretty evident its has been a long day for her. Later I learnt that she's bee driving the entire day, I feel so guilty!!!



Sendya give us a treat at Popeye (my choice. I'd been craving for it since the day before) to celebrate her new job among other stuff that I can't quite remember....I love free stuff!



Me and Gena love the Emirates plane since the air stewards (its only one of them IMO) are hunky! Eye candy for the long flight!



6/3/2011, Sun

30 minutes before we landed, the pilot told us that the temperature in Melbourne is ONLY TEN DEGREE CELSIUS!!!!! WTF, me and Gena is certainly not prepared with all the summer clothes in our luggage. Later we found out that its was actually quite sunny with rather chilly winds and the cold temperature only happens in the early morning (we landed about 8.45am). We tend to avoid the early morning after that but that's because we can't bear to part with out super comfy beds.



We stepped into our home-to-be for the next week plus a few more days - Habitat HQ. Check in isn't till 2pm though so we went and get ourself lost in the streets of St Kilda. What I love most about Melbourne is that the architectures in the area is a mixture of modern and gothic buildings. Its a real awesome and refreshing mix I tell you.



Anyway we met Geoffrey (is that how its is spelled?), Andrea and Jason at the park. Geoffrey appear us with a random question about whether the grass is greener on the other side. I have no idea what Gena was really thinking by that time but I was like "Wow, totally random. I better run".



After a game of catch and some chit-chatting, they turned out to be awesome people. We suspected that Geoffrey is on drugs though - he is too hyper to be normal. Geoffrey left us his email and phone number which we hadn't really been utilizing till this date. We might utilize them though. Soon.



The day ended with a dinner comprising of cheap subway meal (foot long for AUD7) which we shared between the both of us and a "laptop convention" which we discuss about what we gonna do for the next day.



7/3/2011, Mon

After a lunch at a suspiciously Chinese Thai restaurant, Gena and I head to RMIT to enquire more about Gena's potential future course. The consultant wasn't really that helpful and Gena got to speak to the head of the program in the end, which was a blessing in disguise. We layed on the grass patch in the campus for more than an hour (???). This is a new habit that both of us picked out. You can see people sitting or laying down on grass patches in Mebourne anywhere. It feels fantastic to do so! Now we make it a "at least once a day" thing.



We walked over to Yarra River which is like Singapore River but wider and about 5 times longer, camwhore on the floating platform and then head off to a mall akin "The Central @ Clarke Quay) for dinner at food court. Both of us got a 1/4 pizza with salad for AUD9.50. The portion is fucking huge!! We wasted food =( but I finally got my GG mobile sim! =)



8/3/2011, Tues

Collected Loreal Fashion Fullstop tickets from TicketMaster at a theatre whose name I forgot. Excited! Lunch at a cafe in Federation Square (I think the name of the cafe is called Gig if I rmb correctly). Gena's treat cause she feel pity for the penniless moi. Our coffees are awesome even though I don't like the coffee art (I feel that it could be better) and also the coffee taste could be stronger.



After that we head down to Abbotsford Convent - the freaking boring place. Stupid me didn't realised that our tickets could be used for both trams and buses so I went to purchase another. KNS no money still wasting money. The areas around Abbotsford Convent is pretty interesting though. Kinda like a mini-zoo with sheeps, goats, peacocks, horses. My favorite is the donkey. I love the cute face! The Yarra river at the site is freaking polluted though.



We walked along the mountainous trail. I love walking when I am either in sneakers or Gena's flats. Heels and platforms aren't really for me but I made a promise to learn walking in taller heels. Starting from...erm, let's talk about it when the time comes. Thus I stole Gena's sandals and she has to suffer in her platforms. I am such a "nice" person sometimes =)



We came back early cause we might be doing laundry tomorrow thus we took a early shower and immerse ourselves in the cyberworld...

Its so freaking weird...

I woke up by the sound of alarms.....coming from my parents' bedroom, which is 2 rooms away!

Must be sleeping really lightly by then.

Of course the 3 alarms sounding at the same time help a little somehow.

The reasons for the alarms are that I am heading to my 2nd Aunt's bdae party in Johor. Dunno if I will do another post about it with pictures cause I doubt I will take any. Since I am not a photo person and all...THAT plus the fact that I will only bring my bb8520, which comes equipped with a ok quality 2mp camera. Okay quality for a 2mp but not really wonderful for taking pictures.

We'll see how.

And of course, my new Touchy will be coming as well. Helps to drive boredom. I am so prepared with the frantic downloading of apps yesterday.

Oh, mum's calling.

Tada, off to showers.

I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!!

I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!! Insomnia again! ARGHHHHH~~

Its really gonna hurt putting in contact lenses later.

The Jitters Are Gone (1 Day To Tioman)

As the title states, the jitters are all gone. Replaced by what I supposed is regret ("Why oh why did I sign up for this in the 1st place?) and sian-ness (then I started thinking of how I can get out of this).

I'm so glad that I keep a diary of the pre-travel emotions that I am experiencing. Looking back, its pretty interesting! So many ups and downs. The mood swings really makes me wonder if I am getting a bit crazy. Then again I heard somewhere that everyone is a bit crazy in one way or another. So I guess I'm still doing fine. Right?

Maybe I can do one for post-travel and then let's do a comparison. Too bad I can't do the same for the during-travel. The fees for internet access is not really worth it. And although it usually goes very smoothly once I started hitting the keyboards, it takes a relatively long time for me to really get started.

So worried that something might go wrong tomorrow, the main concern being that whether Lily will appeared late. Think its gonna be another sleepless night, tonight.

Pre Travel Anxiety Syndrome (2 days to Tioman)

Is there such thing as Pre Travel Anxiety Syndrome? I studied Psychology for a short while so you are thinking I should know but I don't. Not at all. The module doesn't go that in depth. Its a Mass Comm course after all.

Did a search regarding it on Google and to my amazement there is REALLY SUCH THINGS!!!

Well not exactly Pre Travel Anxiety Syndrome (PTAS for short. Getting real tired of copying and pasting that long chain of medical terms that does not exist), but travel panic attacks.

The wonder of mankind. Oh, and you too, Mother Nature.

Is that I am feeling right now? Not exactly as I am not gonna change routes or anything and I ain't the least bit scared about accidents happening. I am a firm believer of 'what should come will come eventually' afterall. And I often boast about myself being a sadist for wanting to go where the danger is at. And then come back and bragged about how I am still alive and nothing bad happened to me during the trip. Call me crazy but a nicer way to put it is - 'adventurous'. Oh maybe cause I trusted my instinct for this kinda things. It's been in a coma state so far so I reckoned nothing bad is gonna happen. And so far it has served me well.

What I AM FEELING is mostly a mixture of whether the huge racksack of stuff I packed is enough for the trip as well as an excitement kind of jitters overwhelming me. Anticipation is the word. Can't really wait for the trip to really happen even though its only about two days to the trip. TWO DAYS SEEM SO FUCKING LONG.....

Maybe I should unpack my 'racksack' and repack it again. This time putting whatever that it ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY inside. Nothing more.

Happy Days

Ahhh~ the power of best friends. They always seem to know how to make you happy. Effortlessly.

Lily mentioned something about Korea trip next year. Not sure if thats gonna happen but if it is - Cool!

Her future sista-in-law is coming along too. Might be. That is one bad factor. Not that good with strangers. But gonna try real hard. Love making friends even though that doesn't work for me 100%.

Something about a India wedding too in October this year too. Have to see schedules and stuff. So cool for Lily to ask me along! I wonder if her bf is gg too. Might not be going if that's the case. Don't really talk well around guys. Moreover I behave uncomfortably around couples. You may call it 'lack of experience' or whatever.

Now for the best news of the day. The elder one that I'm tutoring got full marks for her test! Whoa~ This nearly makes me wanna continue tutoring for the rest of my life. But I did said almost. Teaching is not really my thing. I am the heck care sort and its a good thing for me the elder sister is hardworking and really striving for the best. On her own effort. Can't do anything for those that doesn't put in motivation though.

Anyway, once again, congratulations Ira! Keep it up!

And also...I'm good! I'm good! I'm good! *doing that pumping my hands in rounds thingy*

Insom-mania

Its back again.

I guess its quite normal to get insomnia everytime you feel stressed or mentally excited. But...

Two weeks in advance!

Must be REAL EXCITED if you asked me.

The usual stuff doesn't work and I went a bit outta my way to drink cough medicine. Its not drug abuse if you really must know. Its a try to see if it works and one time thingy. Anyway it doesn't work so I didn't drink it again. The taste isn't that fantastic anyway.

So now I'm here blogging, surfing the web and playing games. At the same time. Really got so used to having to multi-task that I felt uneasy if I don't do it. Guess that might contribute to why I get insomnia every so often - my brain still wanna multi-task in sleep mode. Seriously can't you go to REM stage 1st? We can talk about multi-tasking like...10am in the morning!

This is so screwed up. If I continue like this, all I am gonna do at Tioman is to catch up on my REM rebounds.

Hate you brain. You are a lousy brain for not being able to function properly.