Land of Oz - Day 1

It was budget airline time again. We hoped on the budget airline, with budget fair, budget seats, budget food, budget taste, budget stewardesses and budget services airline bound for Melbourne. It was our second year in a row to the Land of Oz but we thought, "What the hell. AirAsia flies there and we are cheap so let's go for it."

We also thought that Melbourne offered a bit variety than Gold Coast. Gold Coast was very "theme parky" and "tourisy". Also holidaying with the Khor family is also very "zooey". You just gotta see some animals for goodness sake!

So, we all piled into our flight and arrived at Melbourne airport at midnight. Initially we thought we would rough it out in the airport, you know like sleep on the bench or the by the wall thinking that 10 people including 2 teenagers, 3 hyperactive kids and a toddler that will can speak to bats using it's high pitch sonic boom that will wake up all the neighbourhood dogs and some bats from out of town, will go by unnoticed. You know it turns out that Melbourne Airport is not like those of 3rd world countries where you can loaf around. They will kick you out or worse, lock you up.

Staying in the airport hotel was not very advisable either seeing that it was an Hilton and with the exchange rate the way it was, it would probably have cost me some pints of blood for that one night stay. Fortunately, I have a very good friend who is in Melbourne and has a very comfortable and nice place. Some of us roughed it out on the floor in the living room. Just like old times....at least for us adults. For the kids, it was a novelty and hence it was fun. Win for all. So Chee Keong and Mimi opened their house to 6 kids and 4 adults, one of which snores loud enough to turn on mating hippos.





We woke up early and was driven to the van rental place and got our ride. We piled everyone on board and away we drove. We stopped at the rest stop, when both drivers were totally zonked out. It was so bad that I fell asleep WHILE talking!! So we pulled over, slept, woke up, had some really delicious coffee with whipped cream and ice cream and sandwiches. You know when you purchase coffee from Starbucks and they give you this white thing to COVER the coffee cup for you to take away? Do you know what that white thing that is used to COVER the coffee cup called? You would think it's call a "COVER" and you would be an language impaired imbecile! It's called a "LID" in Melbourne. Remember that!

We drove south and took the Great Ocean Road which is the coastal road that took us East to Warnambool. We were passed many really cool sceneries and even saw wild dolphins. At one juncture we took a spontaneous turn to visit a lighthouse and saw a wild koala posing for us. We suspect it's a professional koala hired out during tourist season. After enduring strong winds from Antarctica, we decided to visit a popular tourist attraction call "12 Apostle" where 12 (now only 7 is left) rock formations jut out from the sea, to encounter winds strong enough to strip you naked. The wind here is so strong that toddlers will find it remarkably difficult to walk.




My chopstick son had to hang on to me for his dear life. Nobody's laughing at the aerodynamic one now!!! It was evening then and our van was running on fumes. We finally found a town that had one diner (but didn't have a washroom), which was also a petrol kiosk which was opposite a convenience store that double up as a take away pizza place.






We arrived at Warnambool and dinner was really expensive and bland! Can't complain since every bloody restaurant kitchen closes at 9pm and since it was summer, darkness only came after 8pm. No one eats dinner when it's light out right??? It was a nice motel that we stayed in as our holiday got underway.

Quotes from Dave Barry

"Look, in particular, at the people who, like you, are making average incomes for doing average jobs--bank vice presidents, insurance salesman, auditors, secretaries of defense--and you'll realize they all dress the same way, essentially the way the mannequins in the Sears mens wear department dress. Now look at the real successes, the people who make a lot more money than you--Elton John, Captain Kangaroo, anybody from Saudi Arabia, Big Bird, and so on. They all dress funny--and they all succeed. Are you catching on?"



"In fact, most home projects are impossible, which is why you should do them yourself. There is no point in paying other people to screw things up when you can easily screw them up yourself for far less money."



"Then along came the first Electrical Pioneer, Benjamin Franklin, who flew a kite in a lighting storm and received a serious electrical shock. This proved that lighting was powered by the same force as carpets, but it also damaged Franklin's brain so severely that he started speaking only in incomprehensible maxims, such as 'A penny saved is a penny earned.' Eventually he had to be given a job running the post office."



"I disapprove of the F-word, not because it's dirty, but because we use it as a substitute for thoughtful insults, and it frequently leads to violence. What we ought to do, when we anger each other, say, in traffic, is exchange phone numbers, so that later on, when we've had time to think of witty and learned insults or look them up in the library, we could call each other up:
You: Hello? Bob?
Bob: Yes?
You: This is Ed. Remember? The person whose parking space you took last Thursday? Outside of Sears?
Bob: Oh yes! Sure! How are you, Ed?
You: Fine, thanks. Listen, Bob, the reason I'm calling is: 'Madam, you may be drunk, but I am ugly, and ...' No, wait. I mean: 'you may be ugly, but I am Winston Churchill and ...' No, wait. (Sound of reference book thudding onto the floor.) S-word. Excuse me. Look, Bob, I'm going to have to get back to you.
Bob: Fine."



"I argue very well. Ask any of my remaining friends. I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me."



"Ever since prehistoric times, wise men have tried to understand what, exactly, make people laugh. That's why they were called 'wise men.' All the other pre- historic people were out puncturing each other with spears, and the wise men were back in the cave saying: 'How about: Would you please take my wife? No. How about: Here is my wife, please take her right now. No How about: Would you like to take something? My wife is available. No. How about ...'"

2nd Oz Vacation

It has taken me a while to write down my holidays and since joining IBM, I realized that I didn't have that much time for myself and my writing. In my previous company when I started blogging, I had TONS of time. Where has it all gone?? Story of my life anyway.

Last December, our family together with my cousin KLY's family were at it again. We went on a holiday to Melbourne! That's right! That's 2 Aussie trips in 2 years. Looks like we can get enough of the sheep, billy tea and their G'day! This trip was for 11 days and we spent most of it on the road, traveling around the state and making a big round trip back to Melbourne.

We took the Great Ocean Road which was a coastal road with fantastic view and scenery of the ocean. A lot of people don't realize that the southern part of Australia opens up to the Antartic Sea, which means when it wants to, it can get FREAKING cold! We drove down Geelong and entered the Road and traveled along Apollo's Bay, Lorne and some other small coastal towns.

We ended up in Warnambool, spent a nite and then drove up to the Grampiens National Park. We stayed in the quaint tourist village of Halls Gap where wild kangaroos graze in front of your chalet at night and the night sky is littered with stars. The rock and mountain formations are in perfect harmony with the forest and rivers.

Halls Gap and Grampiens was a very good outdoor experience. We got nature, wild animals, good food, forest, brooks and most importantly, running water, TV, air conditioning and a proper bed. There is only so much wiping my ass with leaves or taking a dump by the river, that I wanna do in my lifetime.

After that we drove back to Melbourne via Ballarat. Other areas we came across was the "Puffing Billy" which is the only steam train in Australia and Philips Island where we watch the tiny penguins going to their burrows from the sea.

It was a good trip with a lot more variety and not just theme parks and zoos like the last trip. However, there was more traveling and transfer of hotels and that was a bit tiring. The currency exchange didn't help either so there was minimal shopping. Thank goodness we found some REALLY good Malaysian restaurants coz Aussie food really sucks. Only Aussie food I enjoyed was their "The Lot" burger which had everything but there is only so much burger you can take! I will be sharing our daily trip and some photos in the next few postings, so stay tuned!!