Stories art Travels (SaT)

Day 9: 14th October 2006, Saturday

2007-08-06T22:04:00.000+08:00

ROADTRIP - DAY 5 END OF ROADTRIP

Cloudy.

We attended the morning mass where Fr. Jude introduced us to the small congregation present. After that, which was 20mins later, he kindly drove us to the local train station where we caught the city-bound train.

In the City. Queen Victoria Market.

It was about 1/2hr ride so, by the time we reached there, it was already approaching 11am. We headed straight for the Queen Victoria Market by taking a tram there.

Signage at the side of the market, along Queen St.

The facade of the market facing Victoria St.

The Queen Victoria Market is a huge market, somewhat alike to Geylang Seri Wet Market but bigger, neater and definitely drier. We spent quite a bit of time there, browsing the products on sale, especially in the clothes and souvenirs section, but not much of the fresh produce and delicatessen sections. I spent alot of money today, getting souvenirs and nougats, and on top of it, the train ticket cost $9.70 for the whole day.

We had lunch seated in a back alley of the market, eating a slice of pizza each as we all had no idea what to eat. Sian... And I bet Juls would like it. -.-" We took a tram and stopped somewhere near David Jones, where we went to look at the yummy cakes and sweets in their food section. Did I mention that David Jones is like our Marks and Spencer? We then hopped onto another tram and went up the road as Mum wanted to visit what she thought was a church, as we saw the spires of a building, which we later found out to be the old Melbourne Goal, where Ned Kelly was hanged. Shivers...

The State Parliament House

I have no idea where this is but I just realized that the palm tree is right in the middle of the photo. Waha!

St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral. Opposite Flinders Street Station.

The dome of Flinders Street station.

Going back to Hoppers at the wrong platform.

We took the train back to Hoppers but not without another adventrue. Someone saw the platform number for the Werribee line to be on platform 10. So we waited there for almost 1/2hr. Enough of the waiting for we suspected something was amiss as we where the only few people on the platform, we went back into the main building where we saw on the screen the correct platform number for the Weribee line. We then went down to a very crowded platform 5 and waited for another 10mins. The train ride back took longer than the city-bound trip. When we finally arrived at Hoppers Crossing Station, it was already 5mins to 6, and Fr. Jude had to do mass at 6. So how was he going to pick us up as planned? Well, he did not and we found our own way back by taking a very empty bus. As Godma said, "Our own personalised bus." The driver of Service #436 was very nice to stop at a little junction that turned out onto Derrimut Rd. We got off there and had a short walk to the church. How lonely. And so thus, for this trip, we travelled in a car, a vehicular ferry, a train, a tram and an aeroplane. All we had left was a helicoptor ride.

Day 8: 13th October 2006, Friday

2007-05-28T02:00:00.000+08:00

ROADTRIP - DAY 4

Sunny with cold winds.

Was up at 6.45am. Gasp!!! Yeah. That early and the time back home was 4.45am. Well, I was quite "zombie-fied" at such an hour. Had a cold breakfast of crumpets, toast and tea due to my lateness. By the time it was eight in the morning, we were already hitting the road for The 12 Apostles.

Stop 1 - Loch Ard Gorge.

We got there at about 9.20am. Spent half hour there taking photos, learning some geography and history at the same time.

Loch Ard Gorge. Makes me wonder how the coast of Australia really looked like thousands of years ago.

The power of the waves... Erosion.

Stop 2 - Port Campbell.

After Loch Ard Gorge, we headed further east to Port Campbell for our morning tea.

Stop 3 - The 12 Apostles.

We had to return the same way we came as Aunt Kathy missed the sign for The 12 Apostles. She said that after so many years, she could not regconised the place. Well, it was evident the local state government quite recently pumped mone to spruce up Victoria's famous tourist attraction, with the likes of a proper graveled car and coach parking area, an underground pass to cross to the coast from the vehicle parking lot, and a visitors' centre-like place housing toilets. Anyway, we spent more time there taking photos and getting ourselves frozen by both the chilly coastal winds and approaching mists.

The sign says it all.

No longer 12... Just about 8 or 9 left standing.

Stacks and stumps. Where are the arches? Gone with the wind, and sea.

Stop 4 - Geelong.

We had tunch down at a beach in Geelong. Stayed for a short while, just to stretch our legs. By the way, after the coastal winds, I was asleep for most of the way enroute to Geelong. Yoohoo!!! Mr Humphryes!!! Where are you??? LOL. :)

Stop 5 - Hoppers Crossing

From Geelong, we went on to Werribee which is another town that is located very near to Melbourne City. We were there looking for a plae to stay till sunday morning but ended up visiting another of Mum's friends, Mrs. P's son, who happens to be a Catholic priest. Fr. Jude,of St. James the Apostle at Hoppers Crossing, was a very friendly man, the male version of his sister, Lou. Looked like it really did run in the family. Anyway, we had a nice time sitting there around the main dining table, having tea and cakes. Mum, Aunt Kathy and Fr. Jude were trading stories, while Godma and I were successfully picking the pieces of their very interesting tales in order to understand what happened. He then drove us to visit a group of youths, the New Evangelical Team (NET), who were in the area helping his parish. After a short while talking to these youths who had already decided on dedicating their youth to God in this form of evangelising, he drove us around looking for a motel or some place where we could stay. When we finally found one, there was not a vacancy left! Fr. Jude then realised that he could actually let us stay with him at the parish rectory since he was the only one there! Viola! Done. So, all 4 of us were staying in a parish rectory which was one of the things I had done for the first time. Amazing. Anyway, Fr. Jude had to meet the same group of NET youths for dinner, thus, leaving us alone. We then drove out to the supermarket to get some food before having dinner at Fasta Pasta, a slightly pricy version of our Pasta Mania.

Yawn...

Day 7: 12th October, 2006, Thursday.

2007-05-27T18:40:00.000+08:00

ROADTRIP - DAY 3

Hot, sunny and windy.

Stop 1 - Anglesea Golf Link

We were on the Great Ocean Road from Barwon Heads and saw many wonderful views of the coast. We tried getting a glimse of the kangaroos at the Anglesea Golf Link but to no avail. Those natives were probably asleep or hopping around elsewhere. By the way, I was feeling sick. Most likely due to the heat in the car.

Stop 2 - Some Caravan Park

After that, we went on and saw koalas sleeping in the trees at a caravan park. It was fun yet fustrating spotting those bears but they were worth it.
Welcome to I-have-no-idea-what-is-the-name-of-this-place Caravan Park. Let's play the Spot the Koala Game!!! Yayyyyy...!!!

Ahhh... There is that elusive koala... This is not a very pretty sight...

Found one nearer to the ground. Sleeping away while hugging his/her tree. And this is also one of my favourite photos. Hee.

Stop 3 - At a road near a famous lighthouse.
Yup. Some lighthouse as seen from the side of a road.

Stop 4 - The 'Seafarers' Motel

We got ourselves a place to stay for the night by the time it was noon. It was a nice "little" place just along the Great Ocean Road, with a view facing the ocean. The highway separated the motel and the ocean. Deja vu, anyone? Price: AUD150/night for 4 persons. Worth it.

Stop 5 - A little town further up the highway from the motel.

We went in to town for lunch, which was quite expensive, probably because it was a tourist place. LOL! How ironic. I, too, was a tourist there. Blah.

Stop 6 - Marriners Falls.

Because of the very few signs leading to Marriners Falls, we asked a lady who was with her children at the picnic spot there for help. She told us to go further up the road, which we did. We got to the carpark and trekked the rest of the way. Yes! We trekked 3.4km there and back. And I was wearing my flip-flops. It took us half hour to get to the waterfalls, which was quite a small one yet old and lovely. The place was serenely quiet. The kind of peaceful that made you want to shut up and absorb the quietness. The water was cold and clear. The return walk took about 20mins, 10 minuets faster than the going to. On the way back, we literally experienced two distinctly different zones. One second we were in the oh-so-nice coolness of the forest, the next second we back in the heat of the day. What a change! It was as if Nature was telling us, "Alright. Enough of the coolness and the quietness for you. Back to your civilization!"
Welcome to Marriners Falls. Please get your footwear off as we prepare for a waddle in the wa... Oh! They are alreadying so.

Ahhh... Another of my fave photos. One of calmness and peace. Nature in progress. Looks like a scene from Jurassic Park.

The water falls... rapidly.

Another photo reminding us there is such a place call Nature that is not in the City.

Stop 7 - The same town we were in earlier on.

We went grocery shopping after that.

Final stop for the day - The 'Seafarers' Motel

Mum and Godma are now preparting dinner and I want to go down to the beach. Did I mention that it is just across the road?

A very blurry photo of the town we were at in the afternoon. The waves crashing onto the shore can be made out through the quickly setting of the sun. Part of the tail-light from a passing vehicle can be seen. Taken from the veranda of our motel room.

Day 6: 11th October 2006, Wednesday.

2007-05-22T20:43:00.000+08:00

ROAD TRIP - DAY 2.

Sunny and windy. 29 deg. celcius.

1st stop - Just across the road...

The motel that we stayed for the night.

Mum and Godma sitting on the verandah just outside our double-double-bed room. Aunt Kathy's humble Honda to the left of the photo.

It so happens that the motel is situated just across a road/highway from the sea.

Welcome to Kilcunda East.

A sight like this is very common. What? The bridge? Oh... I was talking about how the sea/ocean is separated from the inland creek by a sand dune. As for the bridge, it is very old.

Look at those waves!!! Woosh...!!! Surf's up, mate!

2nd stop - Somewhere in the Mornington Peninsular. Had lunch at a Chinese restaurant.

3rd stop - On the way to Sorrento. Some beach in some place which is famous for Spider, a drink, not the eight-legged one. School kids would come down to this beach after school to play, or sun bath, with or without their school uniforms on.

Beach boxes at some beach on our way to Sorrento. Damn colourful and picturesque. This is one of my favourite photos taken on this trip.

4th stop - At the ferry pier.

Ahh... The vehicular ferry that took us from Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsular to Queenscliff, which is on the other side of the bay.

Sun set taken on the ferry's top deck. That explains the unequal-ness between sky, sea and the horizon.

5th and final stop - Barwon Heads. A few more kilometres from Queenscliff where we found lodging for the night. A refurnished penthouse with a bathtub-spa thing. Unfortunately, I was too lazy to try it out, but the adults did. Price: AUD165/night.

Just by looking at this photo, anyone can tell that there's quite a lot of space on this level. Nice... 2 twin-bed bedrooms. A separate toilet and bathroom. Large common area, comprising the dinning area and kitchen.

Lights out!

Day 5: 10th October 2006, Tuesday.

2007-05-18T21:05:00.000+08:00

ROAD TRIP - DAY 1.

Sunny, warm and cloudless. Perfect for our roadtrip.

I finally got up at about 8 and packed. We were off at 10.15a.m.

Stop 1 - Yarragon. Wanted to get something there but the shops were closed due to the electricity company changing the power lines, or something like that. On the road again after taking some photos.

Do you see the right hand side of the photo? There they were changing the power lines. So different from the ones at home, where all power and telecommunications lines are beneath the ground.

Stop 2 - Toilet stop. Another town further down where we stopped to use the toilet at a McDonald's outlet. Went walking around the area before heading back to the car.

Stop 3 - Some wildlife "sanctuary(???)" which is famous for their live giant earthworms. Did not enter their exhibit but took photos of their painted walls and bought something from their gift shop.

Oh! As you can see it here for yourselves, I could not help not taking a photo of the natives themselves, all in a line, hard at work mowing the lawn. LOL!!!

Stop 4 - San Remo. Had bread and ham for lunch there before crossing the bridge into Phillip Island for a spin.

The bridge is called Fish Freeway. Rather, it is the entire stretch leading in and out of Phillip Is.

Stop 5 - Phillip Is. Did not watch the penguin parade as the tickets were quite expensive. Instead, we went to look at seals. Unfortunately, the sun was setting in the backdrop and we could not spot a single seal. Check out the photos.

Entrance to the Penguin Parade at dusk, where the penguins will come walking onto the beach from the sea after a hard day's work of fishing. And people actually pay money to watch those flightless birds walking in together. !!!

Yup. Seal viewing. With another native standing on top of the board (left-hand corner).

With the setting of the sun in the background, how on earth was I supposed to spot the seals???

Stop 6 - San Remo (again). We had the freshest fish and chips for dinner, while standing up, at a fish shop. The place sells fish by day and take-away food by night. That was why we were standing up; there were not many chairs around and it was freakinglly cold outside.

Stop 7 - Motel room, somewhere in Kilcunda. We are all now sitting infront of the telly in a motel and warming ourselves at the same time with the provided heater, after having our very refreshing baths. Right then. I had best turn in. Night! By the way, the price for the room (2 queen-size beds and attached bathroom) after bargaining, is AUD80. Boy, am I glad to sleep on a bed again. :) Haha!

Photo of the motel's sign taken the next morning before we continued with our roadtrip.

Stay tuned for the second installment of my Victoria State ROADTRIP.

Day 4: 9th October 2006, Monday.

2007-05-12T11:52:00.000+08:00

(con't from previous post)

Cold. Lousy weather.

We spent the morning doing the laundry. After we had hung out the first lot of clothing, it drizzled! Had to quickly rush out and bring them in. The rain went away quite soon, and the sun was out to play. Ridiculous weather... All the clothes were out in the sun till the time we were about to go out. So, left them infront of the heater. We had bread and ham for lunch before going out to visit another of Mum's friend, Nina, Mrs. P's daughter. Had tea there in her big house with her husband. The view of the mountains from her living room was amazig. She also have some amazing flowers. After that, we stopped by the supermarket to get some things to take home, like canned clams for clam chowder!!! :)

We had a short stopover for dinner at Aunt Kathy's place (we had bread again, but with omelette this time round) before making two more visits. The first one was to our hostess' cousin's place as Aunt Kathy wanted to tell her personally that she would be heading out of town the next day. The next one was a long "journey" to the next town of Traralgon to visit another of Mum's friend, Nina's sister, Lou. We nearly got ourselves lost on the way there. The residential estate was huge and all the houses there were big, with big lawns. The street Lou lived on was without any street sign, thus we were very nearly lost, but thank God Aunt Kathy remembered how to get there since her first/last trip. There, we met Lou's daughter, Jessica, who is my age. The adults had a ball sitting there reminising and laughing. I laughed along as the stories told were really funny. Finally got back at about 11pm and went to sleep at 12.20am.

Day 3: 8th October 2006, Sunday.

2007-04-07T17:31:00.000+08:00

(con't from previous travelogue)

17 deg celcius. Church.

Woke up at 8++a.m. and was ready by 9:15a.m. While waiting, took photos of the house and plants. Aunt Kathy drove us three to the church. Met another of Mum's old friend there, Mrs. P, who came from Malta with her husband and 6 kids years ago. Attended Mass together without our hostess who wanted to visit some art gallery.

Homily was about divorce in St. Mark's gospel. "What God has unite, men must not divide." This applies not only to marital divorces but also to almost anything that is going in the world now, anything that has to do with conflicts, like wars. The altar was decorated with such gorgeous blooms, mostly local ones, considering that it is spring. Only 1 altar girl was present next to the priest.

Aunt Kathy was waiting for us at the porch after Mass. Apparantly, she did attend Mass. Something/someone changed her mind and she sat at the back of the church, while we were in the front. All of us, including Mrs. P, packed ourselves into Aunt Kathy's car, before heading off to Mrs. P's house. But before going there, we stopped by the supermarket for a short while to get some bread and ham. And yes, we did have ham-sandwiches for lunch, washing all those down with cups of tea and some cakes that Mrs. P had left in her larder.

It was a lovely house Mrs. P has, albeit the largeness of it for only one elderly lady. By the time we left, it was almost 2p.m. Not that we were chased out by her but because she was going out to a social club with friends, who were coming to pick her up. After her place, we went to Mid Valley to shop some more! Bought some wrapping materials; crepe paper and ribbons, and a box of Christmas cards. They were so cute! Also a 'Thank You' card for Aunt Kathy. And yes, I finally got my hands on that t-shirt I was eyeing since yesterday. Thought the shop had it cleared out when I could not find it on the rack! Turns out it was on another rack. Haha! Happy! :) So, we all walked around till the shops closed. FYI, the shops Down Under close earlier than back home, the same goes for the UK and NZ.

So, I am now waiting for dinner to be ready. It's pasta! Yipee! Heard that we will be going out again later to visit another old friend of Mum's.
___________________________________________________________

Finally reached back here past midnight. Stayed at the Morwell Club for more than two hours. Very lively reunion for Mum and her friend, Tony, who works at the club. We three at a cup of hot cocoa each while Aunt Kathy had a glass of weak latte. They made me on the only available piano there which was really old. Very, very old... Guess I had to work for my own cup of hot choc! LOL.

The keyboard was really nice to play/ touch. Easy/soft, in fact. It had a bouncy kind of feeling to it. Makes playing D. Scarlatti's sonata easy. But it was horribly off-tune! The keys were yellow and there were a few that were already replaced!!! Played the Australian national anthem as requested. Thank goodness there were only a few people around or else I would had died of embaressment.

It is a cold night. Reminds me of the time when I was in England at the start of winter...

Nothing more, but my tears.

2007-03-22T22:04:00.000+08:00

Here is a poem I wrote after watching The Phantom of the Opera on the telly on sunday evening which I personally find is more suited as lyrics to a song. Here it goes... But first, please remember that this poem is MINE. No copying/plagerism even though this is a public place.

Night has fallen, completely

I have come to this place as promised.

The silence here overwhelms me

Here in such a desolate place...

The clouds above are passing by

The stars come out from their darkest cloaks.

The moon shines her bright glory

Glory which is never yours...

Come out, come out from where you hide

I know you are here behind that rock.

That hole of yours you had chose

Where the sun cannot reach...

The world keeps spinning

Life moves on.

Empty your heart of hate and anger

Make room for hope on the bright new morn.

Farewell my friend, I leave you here

No words of mine you will hear.

My body tires, my spirit wanes

Nothing more, but my tears.

*M.A Chia 19 March 2007 A.D*

Black and white pictures

2007-02-23T03:14:00.000+08:00

Just some black and white pictures I had done before using Paint. All pictures are done by me, Marie. No stealing.

Intermission:Haiku

2007-01-10T14:05:00.000+08:00

Yes, yes, yes. I know what you will say and I admit that I have been lazy updating this blog. And so, I shall do my utmost to update those travel entries, but for now, just sit back and enjoy some Haikus my classmates and I had written during a short class break.

Char wrote:
Luheng is crazy
Don't know what is he thinking
I can't imagine.

Enx wrote:
Julia and Luheng
Two lovely spoil marketers
Who scares us away.

This blogger wrote:
The boy sits alone
Sleeping and doing nothing
He is all alone.

3 of us wrote:
Luheng the small kid
Who has a mature low voice
Rumbling all throughout.

Day 2. 7th October Saturday

2006-11-06T23:21:00.000+08:00

Warm and cloudless. It was going to be a beautiful day. Nice. Woke up at 9:15a.m. Got ready to go out to the Oktoberfest. Had toast, jam and tea for breakfast. Aunt Kathy's friend, Teresa, had to pick us up as our hostess had to leave early in order to set up her costume jewellery stall at the festival early. We arrived at the fair and saw many other stalls already up and going, selling their wares, costume jewellery and cute handicrafts.
Shared a meal of Pork-knuckle and Hotdog with Mum and Godma. Helped to man Aunt Kathy's stall while she had her lunch. (You see, I was the first to finish my lunch, thus I was free.) Aunt Kathy gave me a beaded bracelet! :)

Watched a traditional German dance where the dancers were dressed in their traditional clothes. It was very interesting yet amusing.

We 3 left for the local shopping centre, Mid Valley, after that. Aunt Kathy's cousin, Jane, offered to send us there as Teresa's car was very much caught in between a tree and another car. And so, her car was stuck. Mid Valley is a middle-size shopping centre that happen to have 2 supermarkets and 2 departmental store. We spent 3 hours there, walking around and looking at things. I did not spend any money but will do so tomorrow. Got to buy birthday presents for 4 guys, and a kangaroo among others for another boy and souvenirs for 3 girls. Must start thinking about Christmas.

I am now sitting here on the bed, waiting for dinner to be ready. Clam chowder and potato salad. Yummy. Mum bought some chocs while Godma bought alot. Not surprised.

Day 1. 6th October, Friday.

2006-10-27T18:54:00.000+08:00

(Welcome to Melbourne, Australia. Taken outside McDonald's near the airport.)

8 deg. celcius. Arrived in Melbourne at 7:10am. Didn't sleep much. Stomach indigestion due to food on MAS. Cleared through immigrations and customs very quickly. Sat waiting in Arrival hall for Mum's friend. Left at 8:15am. Stopped by McDonald's for Aunt Kathy, who's Mum's friend, to get her caffine fix and breakfast. (She left home at 5:30am and came straight to the airport! Gosh... Her place must be far...)

(Melbourne City skyline, taken inside Aunt Kathy's car on the Princess Freeway.)

Drove through Melbourne City as Aunt Kathy's place is in the east of Melbourne.

Stopped by some places along the way...
A strawberry farm where strawberries were not in season as yet...

We stopped at a huge shopping center and had lunch there. There have a huge departmental store that is very much like our Robinsons and Marks and Spencer. I spent my first $25 at one of the clothing stores on a navy-blue sweater. :)

We went to a public park, which was really beautiful and totally unlike Singapore's, and we saw a Kukabarra (unsure of spelling), which is a native bird of Australia, and many different plants and flowers...

After that, we went of to a supermarket to pick out some gorceries for dinner. Finally arrived at Aunt Kathy's at six-ish. I was tired and cold. Mum and Godma cooked "Chinese stir-fry" for dinner. It was basically our stir-fried mixed vegetables, sliced chicken with ginger and spring onions with white steamed rice. I wonder why is it people like the Australians, Europeans and Americans hold such a "high regard" for Chinese stir-fry. They think it as some exotic dish. I am amazed. Anyway, I nearly froze after my shower. Thank goodness the heater was switched on and I was thawed infront of it. Slept like a log in my sleeping-bag on the floor.

5 October, Thursday.

2006-10-24T00:09:00.000+08:00

Home- Singapore

Mum getting ready.

Our luggage.

Is this our plane? I wish...

This is the plane to KL.

Flying with the haze above us.

Welcome to...

2006-10-18T22:05:00.000+08:00

The Stories and Travels Page

As you can see, it is still empty. But do not fret as I promise you it will be filled with my recent travel log and photos. Come back in a week's time! :)