will i am's delayed diary

Melbourne2009044 Swiped from williamnyk . Saturday was reserved for the Queen Victoria Market . It was only mum, sis and I as my bro-in-law went to the Melbourne Zoo for their African animal exhibits. For the first time, we boarded the City Circle Tram , an old style tram that runs around the perimeter of the CBD for free. A very touristy thing with a pre-recorded guided tour of virtually every tram stop ( a tram stop is usually just somewhere in the middle of a road ). Walking from the stop near William Street ( it's great having a street named after you ), we passed by the Flagstaff Gardens and arrived at the market in no time ( but we later discovered that it was faster to walk from Flinders Street ). QVM is actually just like Jatujak Market in Bangkok, only less dense, less chaotic and a more pleasant place to shop due to the cool weather. Standard wares-- souveniers, Ugg boots ( warm-looking, fugly boots ), other sheep fur products, clothes, crafts, food, fresh produc...

Melbourne2009048 Swiped from williamnyk . For some unknown reason, my bro-in-law is an animal freak. He loves the zoo. And so, we ended up a Flinders Street Station ( during morning rush hour no less ) to catch an hour's train ( KTM Komuter! ) to Lilydale and subsequently an hour on the bus to the Healesville Animal Sanctuary ( the helpful people at The i gave us a perfect itinerary of connecting rides ). The further one gets out from Melbourne, the more apparent the graffitti becomes. The sanctuary features 200 species of animals in a natural bushland habitat, but I don't think I even saw 50. The animals were shy? Too well camouflaged? They turned into icicles in the cold weather? Whatever it was, we were quite disappointed. But, we did get to see the kangaroos, emus, koalas, dinghos, Tasmanian Devils ( endangered due to an infectious oral cancer! ), platypi, raptors, etc. Lunch was a hearty meal of red wine beef stew with rice at the Sanctuary Cafe. In our suaku -ne...

Melbourne20090417 Swiped from williamnyk . The first proper day at Melbourne cannot be summed up easily. We were still trying to find our bearings as the itinerary was quite imaginary. It was very random. First thing in the morning, we fried bacon, eggs and sausages for breakfast. After filling our tummies, we headed for the nearby Federation Square to seek out the Melbourne Visitor Centre ( affectionately known as "The i" ) for a headstart. Each town of any tourism value has one and the staff are extremely helpful. I tried to take in everything. The cool air in my face. The mess of wires that give life to the trams that share the road with the other vehicles. The orderly block style of the city with its many lanes, nooks and crannies. The uniqueness of every building. The cuteness of the guy on the street. :P. But before that, we made a quick stop at the nearby St. Paul's Cathedral , a beautifully ornate Anglican church. Everything was ostentatious, from the ma...

Melbourne200904 Swiped from williamnyk . My sister planned this trip to Melbourne and it was supposed to be in the warmer month of April. But as things were at work, I requested that it be postponed to May. Unfortunately, even in May, my work schedule did not go as planned. Be that as it may, with a MYR1070 Air Asia X ticket purchased, I upped and left anyway to see an autumn-y Melbourne. Air Asia X is really no frills. The seats were so bloody narrow ( 3 in a row ). Even the more expensive XL seats ( 2 in a row ) did not look comfortable. Each seat had its own monitor, but to access any entertainment, you must first pay MYR30. Feeling cold? Purchase a comfort kit for another MYR30. 8 hours of that. And the best part was that the seats could not be reclined. You're only given a pseudo-recline, where your cushion actually slides down and forward giving you the impression of a recline. Sad. I spent most of the time in the free chat rooms. And even that software was buggy. On...

AUD Swiped from williamnyk . I say, Australian Dollars look like play money! However, the exchange rate is no child's play. :(. I made MYR70 from my leftover dollars due to the ever increasing rate though. Hehe. One of my Flickr buddies thought I had struck the Oz Lotto Jackpot! This begins my lengthy Melbourne postings!! Late as usual la.

SingaporeHols200910 Swiped from williamnyk . Note: Sorry this took A LONG TIME to end. My Pre-H1N1 Melbourne trip will be coming up soon! Stay tuned! Early Saturday morning, POD, Nic, JJ, KH and I went to the Botanical Gardens . A whole lotta greenery! The landscaping was quite good and the foliage thick, making the surroundings quite pleasant to explore. Trees, flowers, ferns, palms-- you name it, they've probably got it. There's a ginger garden, a swan lake ( got swan de! ), eco garden ( ECO-nomical and ECO-logical ), evolution garden ( a way to traverse a few hundred million years of evolution-- a definite pick for geologists ) and an orchid garden. Plenty of joggers, church cell group members, tai-chi practitioners and photographers. It's all spread out across a huge area and I nearly popped a vein rushing from one end of the park to the entrance to avoid being late for our lunch appointment with Simone. Lunch was at a Thai restaurant in Shaw Tower. Don't know t...

At the invitation of EarlGrey and Dae, SK, mum and I attended VerSeS' A Journey Through The Ages III at AMPAC, Ara Damansara. Well, it was for charity and it involved sacred music, so why not? The beneficiary was Protect and Save The Children , an NGO dealing with sexually-abused children in the areas of awareness, treatment and advocacy. With Dae's map and directions, it was quite easy to get there, but he mentioned a billboard of a HK celebrity holding a crab and it turned out to be a lobster! :P. Upon arrival, I had the chance to introduce my mum to the BFF gang.  Mum: How come these guys always together one? Moi: Same gang ma. I dunno whether she got what it meant. But I don't think she's that oblivious. She was thoroughly amused by Adik ( and his chunky Bimba and Lola rings ), the master of ceremonies for the night. He was his usual flamboyant self and he managed to inject some casualness into the usually stiff setting of classical music recitals. Junior she alre...