Australia Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Escapes From The Little Red Dot

Tasmania 2014 Day 11 – Arrival in Hobart

Posted on August 4, 2014September 22, 2019 by ziyi

Woke up feeling cold and tired. The heater in the room wasn’t working like expected. Quickly we got ready, shivering, as we had a flight to catch in 2hrs time.

The walk to the domestic airport was a little shorter. Checked in by using the self service kiosk first as requested by one of the Jetstar staff. The boarding passes and the luggage tags were printed there. Then we proceeded to the counters just for the bag drops which made things pretty fast.

Going through security took some time as there was already a long queue waiting to go through the X-ray machine. Once through, we went to another queue in front of Giancarlo coffee for some ham and cheese croissants for breakfast.

The boarding required us to go in the open and take the portable stairs up the small plane. It was still unbelievably cold but we managed. The plane was airborne early and we arrived early at the small Hobart airport.

The luggage was sent out on a small belt in this airport which we picked up quickly. Proceeded over to Bargain Car Rentals and found that nobody was in office yet so I called the number that was on the door. Talking to the staff on the line and reading through the details, I found that I have chosen the pickup location set in Hobart city instead of the airport, and was advised that I had no choice but to get to the city where the car was prepared for us.

Checked with one of the staff from Tasmania tourism to ask about the way to the city and the suggestions were either by bus which she thought the service has not started for the day yet and thus she advised the taxi which was almost the same costs and less effort required. So we hopped onto one, where the driver kindly gave us a small intro of Hobart as he drove us to our car rental location, and that costed us a whopping audacious 46Aud.

We did the paperwork and got our Suzuki Grand Vitara and GPS that led us to our accommodation Fountainside hotel. We were there at 9am and weren’t expecting a room but the staff tried to push one for us and after housekeeping completed their work, we got our room on the 5th floor. The room was pretty impressive, nice and warm, spacious with a huge window to the city and free wifi. There was complimentary parking but limited and thus I needed to circle around and wait for a lot before parking in, that wasn’t too difficult as guests started leaving after breakfast.

Our first stop today was to visit Old town Richmond. Getting there could be confusing with the changing directions on the bridge road if utilizing during office hours. Had to follow the GPS intently to avoid getting lost. 25km away and we arrived at the beautiful and quiet little town.

Were at the Richmond Gaol but didn’t enter as we didn’t budget for this. Went over to the see the oldest bridge in Australia, the Richmond Bridge. Walked around a bit more to snapped photos before popping into the Richmond Bakery and Cafe for lunch with a quiche and pie.

Richmond gaol, prison that we didn't visit. — Richmond gaol, prison that we didn’t visit.

The next stop was Mount Wellington, and it was a good time since the weather was getting sunny, and that is not a frequent event in this period of time. Furthermore, with the snow cap on the mountain top, roads could be closed and today seemed like a good time that the roads would be opened because of the improving weather.

Driving back the same way to Hobart and then further on towards Mount Wellington was pretty easy until when we were going up the mountain. The roads became narrower and we had to keep an eye on the oncoming vehicles. The roads were slightly wet too and at then top, there was even snow. However, as long as we observed the speed limits, it was safe.

Along the Pinnacle Road, there was one stop before the final one at the top near the telecommunications station. We went all the way up and the blistering wind with the huge fog and freezing temperature was painful to take. I went around to snap photos before I had to get back to the car to avoid the cold. It was difficult for any scenery viewing due to the moving fog.

Going one level below, it was much better where the view of the city could be seen and photographed. There were plenty of snow everywhere and people all over was playing and building snowman, which we did too. Spent some time before making our way back down and back to the hotel.

Snowman with the view of the city sandwiched between the clouds and the snow.

After checking with the reception on places to visit in Hobart town, we went back to our room to rest for a bit before walking to the port in Hobart. Went past Mawson’s hut and again didn’t chose to visit. Proceeded to Salamanca square, Kelly steps and Battery point and then back to Salamanca, where we went into Vietnamese Kitchen for some overly expensive food (food in general mostly was).

Mawson place. Didn't visit the exhibit. — Mawson place. Didn’t visit the exhibit.

Kelly's street, leading from Kelly's steps. — Kelly’s street, leading from Kelly’s steps.

Battery point buildings with a backdrop of Mount Wellington.

Salamanca housing restaurants and cafes.

A while after finishing dinner, we trekked back the 25mins to our hotel, in windy low temperature, now with the sun gone.

Spend the rest of the evening in the hotel room, tired from the lack of sleep in Melbourne. Prepared for more exploration of Hobart area the next day.

Brisbane 2014 Day 4 – Parklands and shopping

Posted on July 28, 2014September 22, 2019 by ziyi

The sleep was ok in Seaworld resort but it was kinda noisy at times. The sounds could come from neighboring room during their baths where sounds from the running water could be heard or when the fridge started up after a while or from some excited kids at the corridor.

Woke up at 745am as it wasn’t a busy day. Packed and had our packed breakfast from the day before. Checked out at 930am before making our 2nd trip to Sea World to catch the seals’ show we missed the day before. It was an interesting show with the animals being part of a cast of a detective storyline. Amazing to see some the big seals doing the tricks that were instructed, returning to catch the show was worth it. We liked the dolphin show better though.

Left Sea World and drove about an hour down to Brisbane. Checked in at the Meriton Serviced apartments and was given a low floor of 20, comparing the towering 70 over floors that it had. Lifts were all controlled using the electronic card and dedicated to the users. Room was ready and it was amazing. Modern design, very spacious, not too bad a view, a great deal of facilities, good proximity to most of the areas we wanted to visit for a comparatively affordable price. Only for the carpark that was Aud35 a night, it was a good accommodation overall.

In search for lunch we walked about 20 mins to the South Bank Parklands across the river. The walk was easy in the lovely weather and we enjoyed the beautifully designed city and park. And there was free wifi, everywhere in the park! Over at Little Stanley street, there were rows of food cafés and restaurants and we settled for Japanese restaurant Ginga, something affordable and ok food.

Lunch - Katsu Don and Curry rice. — Lunch – Katsu Don and Curry rice.

After lunch, we crossed over to another row of cafés inside the parkland itself, visited Stone Cold Creamery for some ice cream. There were some policemen that were standing around a person somewhere closed by, didn’t bother to find out more as we left soon after we were done with ice cream.

We walked off our lunch as we went past the man made pool/beach within the parklands and past the ferries wheel and across Victoria beach towards Queen Street Mall.

Man made pool in the Parklands. — Public pool in the Parklands.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Ferris wheel in the park.

Shopping here reminded me of Sydney, but at a much smaller area. Had some stuff to buy and visited the stores such as Myer and Target. In the end didn’t get anything much since prices weren’t that cheap.

We decided to go to the City Botanic Gardens for a short stroll about 600m stroll southwards. Nothing fantastic about the gardens, maybe we didn’t walk that much of it, but the chilly weather makes walking in these parks feel great.

Plants arrangement in the Botanic Gardens.

As the sun started to set, we got to Coles to purchase some pasta and soup to cook in the kitchenette of our services apartment.

Touch screen for lift operation. — Touch screen for lift operation, that’s cool!

Cooked some dinner, washed some clothes (washing machine and dryer provided) caught some tv and went to bed. Skipped the Mount Cool Tha lookout as it was already dark and simply too lazy to do so.

Gold Coast 2014 Day 3 – Sea World and Movie World

Posted on July 27, 2014September 22, 2019 by ziyi

Light that came from the window woke me up. Went to the balcony and struggled against the morning chill to take pictures. Went back to sleep when the sun came up.

Got up again at about 745am and got prepared. Checked out and paid for carpark which was Aud8 per day and drove to Pancakes on the Rocks, the branch in Gold Coast! Our 2nd visit here since the last time in Sydney and it didn’t fail to disappoint.

Parking by the roadside was easy, ordered a Chicken Mushroom Crepe and Blueberry Pancake. Crepe was tasty and smelled really great. Pancake was tasty just as usual. Had a filling breakfast before driving to Sea World Resort.

The GPS brought us to the Sea World main entrance itself but the resort entrance was further down the road.

We checked in and left our luggage with the concierge. On to our first Sea World park, which was free for these 2 days, being part of the accommodation package. Walked the resort entrance to wait for the tram but decided to walk instead as the tram regular timing was 20mins. The staff stamped a Dora stamp on our wrists, for reentry purposes.

Went to the Reef Rays exhibition and touched some rays. Waited till 11am as we thought there was some feeding going on but it was in fact feeding by the public who had to purchase 5 fishes to feed, for Aud9. Too expensive for us.

This one protrudes out of the water against the wall.

Touched the stingray as it swam past us.

Walked over to the dolphin show and thoroughly enjoyed a great show by the dolphins. Lots of acrobatic jumps from them.

Went over to the shark encounter and the underwater exhibition area. Was pretty impressed to see lots of underwater sea creatures swimming around, even saw a shark with a young one under its tail.

Proceeded over to the polar bear encounter and saw 2 bears, one of them playing around with a green plastic barrier piece until it got its head stuck in it! That was really funny as it had went on for a while until he took it off.

After the polar bears, went over to the penguin exhibits and for the first time, we saw Emperor Penguins! These huge birds looked great and it was just fun to see them in the ice cold enclosure, some standing proud, some lying flat on their tummies and others flapping their wings.

Emperor penguins in all sorts of postures.

Then we went to get lunch, had Domino’s pizzas. We finished off with some shopping before leaving the park for Movie World, which was also free.

It was a 10km drive away and by the time we reached the park, it was almost 230pm. Proceeded first to watch the Scooby Doo show which frankly was kinda meant more for kids. Then we walked around the park and shops.

Green Lantern ride can be seen from the outside. — Green Lantern ride can be seen from the carpark.

Some indoor thrill ride that was closed.

There were a couple of thrilling rides which we can’t enjoy (due to preggy) so went back to watch the main parade where characters get to walk down the Main Street.

It was a good thing that we sat at the kerb 15mins before the parade to secure a good visual and of course, some hi-fiving opportunity. However it seemed we have chosen the wrong side of the kerb as most characters were at the opposite side of the road. Wifey to get to hi five Batman and Flash though.

Tried to catch hi-fiving Flash on camera but he was too quick.

After the parade, I queued for the Superman escapes ride for at least a good 15mins, when I didn’t knew there was already a queue within the building. But it was good ride, super-man was really fast, too scarily fast. After that, I got onto Green Lantern ride, wasn’t that quick but exciting ride as well since we got flipped upside down. Unfortunately for the 2 rides, I was partially blind without my glasses (not allowed on the ride, taken care before entering the ride proper) but it was still fun as well.

Superman escape with the speed of light!

Screaming my head out, as I zoomed past.

Left with the sun setting in the horizon and a chill coming in. Went back to get our hotel room before going out for dinner, as the resort restaurant dinner was pretty expensive.

Ended up in Surfers Paradise again and while walking, saw a Night Market going about and went walking around. There were many arts and handicraft stuff, some clothing and some foodstuff. We bought some cakes from a store before going over to Ben’s for dinner. Ordered fish and chips and a chicken burger.

Night Market in Surfer's Paradise. — Night Market in Surfer’s Paradise.

Ben's dinning place. — Ben’s dinning place.

After dinner, bought some bread stuff from Woolsworth for the breakfast the next day before driving back to the resort. Then it was internet and sleep before an early visit to the Sea World again, since we missed the seals show in the morning at 1030am.

Gold Coast 2014 Day 1 & 2 – Arrival at the Sunshine State

Posted on July 26, 2014September 22, 2019 by ziyi

So begins the last holiday trip for this year. The PIE was unusually busy today with a few accidents and vehicle breakdowns along the way. But we got to the airport pretty quickly to join a long queue at Scoot.

Upon looking at the itinerary, we noticed that the baggage was restricted to 15kg each and we knew for sure ours was way above that, 2×29″ Sam that we bought from the states. Sure enough after 10mins in the line, the weighs were 17kg and 19kg. No response from the staff and we were given our tickets! Cool!

Had a late dinner at one of the Local Delights before heading to the boarding gate. There was a rowdy crowd awaiting boarding. Soon we were cruising at altitude. Dinner was served earlier than expected, though I requested for it to be served later, it was rejected. The meals tasted ok but the free cans of Pringles were really out of place.

Day 2

The night on board was mainly sleepless due to the screams from kids every so often. The flight was mainly smooth except that there were quite a number of turbulence though not serious.

As dawn broke, I was having a chat with a lady from Brisbane who had had the worst holiday in Patong. Sharing our travel experiences till the plane landed in the tiny airport of Gold Coast.

The queue through immigrations was pretty long but fortunately, the Singapore passport was allowed epassport and that cut the waiting time by lots. There was also an auto photo station to do the verification in place of humans.

Luggage belt took a while to deliver our luggage but eventually we left for the carpark opposite the arrivals across the road for the shuttle bus to ferry us to the East Coast Car Rentals, 10 mins drive from the airport.

Getting the car was pretty quick. Wanted to pay in cash but only credit card facilities are available. Got my own GPS started up before driving the 18km to Vibe hotel.

Room wasn’t available yet and so we went to Coles to buy a toothpaste that we found we didn’t bring along. Went over to Bluewater Cruises jetty and waited for our morning tea cruise to arrive. Wasn’t sure what to do as the cruise company couldn’t be found, only the jetty. It wasn’t long before the open top, 2-storeys cruise arrived, people alighted and we boarded after the staff checked our reservation.

Blue Water Cruises ship coming to the jetty.

Travelled along the Nerang river, known to have bull sharks, we were introduced to various high end properties on the shores of the various islands, while at the same time, having free tea (other drinks payable) and some not-so-tasty light snacks. Haven’t heard of any of the names of these rich people though. Some hotel and shopping mall was introduced too. The skyline of Surfers Paradise was nice but all in all, not so interesting. They do offer a free photo service that you could download from their webpage for keeps.

Surfer's Paradise skyline. — Surfer’s Paradise skyline.

Palazzo Versace. Really expensive hotel.

After the cruise, we walked back to the hotel to find that the room was still not ready. Proceeded to get some sushi in Chevron Renaissance.

Walked to the beach of Surfers’ Paradise and enjoyed the view where the waves meet the stretch of white sand, watched as people were learning how to surf board, as the tiny waves come onto them only to fall off.

Long stretch of white beach at Surfer's Paradise. — Long stretch of white beach at Surfer’s Paradise.

Walked to Skypoint and went up to the observation deck at 77th. Here we get an awesome 360 view of the surface paradise, from this tallest building in Gold Coast. There was an even more adventurous option of walking on the roof of this building but we weren’t ready for that. Spent quite a bit of time at the observatory before making our way back to the hotel.

Towering building with Skypoint at the top.

Bird's eye view of Surfer's Paradise. — Bird’s eye view of Surfer’s Paradise.

Initially wanted to take the tram, G-Linq, a transport system that just recently came in operations but the fees were not cheap. It was AUD5.20 per ticket, as we were only a stop away and thinking that it would cost more than 10bucks in total for a 15mins walk for both of us, we walked.

The room on the 22nd floor was ready. The highest one with a great view of the river was given to us! The room itself was very spacious, with enough room for a small table and a sofa and the balcony looking into the direction of the river was fantastic. Jumping into bed, we instantly dozed off.

Woke up at 5pm and washed up. There was no wifi in room; although there was a LAN cable, our flat laptop didn’t have the port. Got out of the hotel to search for dinner. There was a little drizzle going on but stopped after we left the hotel.

Went around and there were still some retail shops opened. Popped into Quiksilver for a look and didn’t get any stuff. We ended up eventually in a Korean Kitchen restaurant for dinner. Kimchi and hot pot were great choices especially in the chill of the evening. The pancakes were softer than the ones in Singapore though it was still tasty. The hotpot stew was huge, we were both filled to the brim after the dinner.

Went back to the hotel to avoid the cold and eventually ended up in bed. The pitiful thing about the hotel was the lack of wifi. I tried to use it again at 11pm at the lobby but the free 30mins of internet was used up, apparently the clock started ticking once I logged in. Everything from here was payable. Wasn’t desperate and I returned to room where I saw a cockroach running across the room which I stomped it to death. I wondered how it got up to 22 storeys high.

Illuminations alongside the Nerang river at night.

The lack of sleep from the flight made us turned in early for the night.

Escape plan to Australia and Fiji in August 2014

Posted on July 24, 2014June 24, 2020 by ziyi

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Australia and Fiji in August 2014:

Total duration 18D17N
Singapore is 2hrs behind Australia and 5hrs behind Fiji.
Flight time is 6hrs direct flight on Scoot from Singapore to Gold Coast.
Night flight on 25th July and arrival in Gold Coast at 8am on the next day.
Return flight is 8hrs direct flight on Scoot from Sydney to Singapore. Day flight on a Monday afternoon (off in lieu for National Day) at 1240pm and arrival at 7pm on the same day.

Day 1&2 Arrival at Gold Coast
Day 3 Sea World and Movie World
Day 4 Brisbane Parklands and shopping
Day 5 Arrival at Nadi
Day 6 Nadi town, Port Denarau and Robinson Crusoe Night cruise
Day 7 Arrival at Matamanoa Island
Day 8 Matamanoa Island
Day 9 Modriki Island
Day 10 Nadi Transit to Melbourne
Day 11 Arrival in Hobart
Day 12 Bonorong and Port Arthur
Day 13 Freycinet National Park
Day 14 Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake
Day 15 Strahan and Lake St. Clair
Day 16 Penguin, Cataract Gorge and Lauceston
Day 17 Platypus house, Sunday Market, City Park and Launceston town
Day 18 Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was planned as our last overseas holiday for 2014 before delivery of little one. As it was summer in the northern hemisphere, we had to choose to head south. Only Australia was presented an option that was not too far away based on flight time. Fiji was a side trip as it was cheaper to fly to Fiji from Australia then from Singapore.

Budget nature: Budget buster.

This is definitely not cheap for the duration, the weaker currency of Singapore dollar against the Australian dollar, the higher prices of food and accommodation in Australia and a side trip to island resort in Fiji.

Complexity: Easy to get around if you drive in Aussie. Fiji travel by taxi is manageable.

The various cities of Australia is easy accessible by their advance network of public transport but driving would be the easier way to get around. This is even more true in more countryside Tasmania.

Getting around in Fiji is hassle free by taxi but expensive. If you are adventurous enough, you could take their cheaper local transport.

Sydney 2014 Day 4 – Home Sweet Home

Posted on February 3, 2014September 26, 2019 by ziyi

Woke up early to bring the car back to rental company. Checked on google maps to ensure we knew where we were going so as to reduce the confusion especially when driving in Monday morning traffic. Returned to the parking spot where thankfully the car was still around. Still missed a turn or 2 while driving in the smaller roads but made it to the major Williams road and managed to park the car in front of the store before it opened. 15mins later, we returned the car with no complications.

Returned to the room to nap a little before getting breakfast at Woolloomooloo supermarket. There was some time left and we went over to Quiksilver outlet at King’s street for last minute shopping and bought a couple of items. Rushed back, took a bath, checked out and was just in time when Airbus arrived for our shuttle to the airport. It seemed like a blink of an eye – everything happened so quickly.

After going around town picking up passengers, we reached the airport at 1145 and checked in, which was pretty quick as there weren’t any queue. Went into the departure hall and at the customs, we were told to fill up departure cards – it was no wonder why there were many people crowded behind seemingly filling up some paperwork. Luckily there were some empty ones which we quickly filled up for the immigration officer.

After that, it was the slow process of going through the Xray. The queue we were at was moving slowly as the stringent officers were scanning through the baggages very carefully. We had no problem with ours and went through smoothly when it was our turn.

Then it was more shopping at Sydney Duty Free and Australian Produce store to get nougats, the ever so famous foodstuff from Oz. Went to the collection point to pick up the online purchase of ipad mini and picked up lunch. Flight was delayed 15 mins due to plane’s late arrival but else it was an 8hrs back, Home Sweet Home.

This revisit some decades later was quite a fulfilling trip. Managed to do most of the planned activities though some weren’t really up to perceived expectations. The downside were that costs were really high, that driving was quite a challenge and stores closed early. However the lovely cool weather most of the time and the long daylight hours allowed for much more activities to be carried out made the moments for this trip.

Sydney 2014 Day 3 – Blue Mountains and Manly

Posted on February 2, 2014September 26, 2019 by ziyi

Sun was up really early and so were we at 630am. Wanted to maximized the day since shops close early and we had a day trip to Blue Mountains planned. After our breakfast, called Airbus to make our booking for pick up on Monday at 1050am and then walked to East Coast Car Rentals that was positioned on Williams road, just 10 mins from our lodge. Theirs had one of the cheaper offers for rental cars, yet we we didn’t manage to get the Suzuki Swift as it was already reserved. Settled for the auto Toyota Altis similar, which was costing $77 with the best insurance coverage, for one day. Only problem was with the toll system in which everything was automatic and if I had to go through the toll (e-toll), then I had to call to get the vehicle registered. Since we were going to Blue Mountain, the personnel suggested that we didn’t had to do anything since we weren’t be going through the toll. Done the paper works, turned on my own GPS and we were on our way to Blue Mountain.

Driving was easy yet I felt uneasy. I wasn’t sure if I could go faster but was at the same time worried that I might be caught so I kept to the speed limit. Went to a service stop along the way to get bottled water and moved on. Driving took some 1.5hrs, slowest at along the Great Western Highway where the lanes became just one as there were some construction to upsize the road. Arrived at Katoomba, the home of the 3 sisters, went straight to Echo Point, parked and paid for car tickets via the machine, 3.80 for first hour, pretty expensive. Visited the tourism info counter to get maps and tips and went out to get photos taken. Took the easy 15mins return to the 3 sisters and decided to drive westwards and visit the lookouts.

Pathway for the 10mins return to 3 sisters.

The road to all the lookouts were then named the BMD, Blue Mountain Drive and that made navigation straightforward though we did missed some since there were really easy to spot signboards along the way. The Eagle Hawk lookout did not have a big carpark while the rests were ok. The views were similar though and we were all not that impressed. We decided to give Scenic World a miss as it was quite expensive and it seemed like we saw most of what we could see already. Went over to cover eastwards of Echo Point at which point we decided to go for lunch.

One of the better lookouts with the view of 3 Sisters from afar.

Gordon's falls viewpoint. — Gordon’s falls viewpoint.

Drove to Leura town for lunch, recommended by the tourism personnel. Parked and walked the small town and sat into one of the takeaways store to have fish and chips. Walked around a bit before driving to Blackheath.

10km down and we got onto Govetts Leap road and arrived at an info center. Checked the map at the entrance and decided to visit the 2 lookouts, reachable just by car, which was at the end of the road called Horseshoe falls lookout and Evan’s lookout. Definitely a difference in view, especially Evan’s which had the view of a valley. Didn’t stay too long since we had to return the car that day if not risked the uncertainty of getting a carpark in a carpark-starved city of Sydney, although the rental company told us it was easy.

Govett's Leap panorama. — Govett’s Leap panorama.

Evan's lookout panorama. — Evan’s lookout panorama.

The nightmare began on the drive back. The drive back to the M4 was quite the same, slow with medium amount of traffic. While on the M4, there were signs indicating accident on some road called Homebush bay and to avoid it, which I didn’t thought of it much. After pumping gas (E10 gas, something I haven’t never seen before, though it was the cheapest) to the brim into the car 12km from Sydney and continuing towards the city, the cars came to a major slow down at the split towards Olympic park and the main road. There I realized that the whole main road was diverted and no traffic was allowed on M4 anymore. What made matter was that the GPS didn’t recognized this and tried to get us back on M4. Had to “force” it by continuing straight on the diverted smaller road until it recalculated another route back to the city, in the slower moving traffic. The good thing though was that we did manage to see more of Sydney.

2nd part of the nightmare began when we arrived at Sydney center and GPS just went nuts, giving us directions on roads that either had toll, making us turn into single opposite direction roads and was too late in giving instructions. Fortunately we were familiar with the roads on the 2 days of walking previously and depended part of on that experience and re-entered a new destination on the GPS to get back to the hotel.

3rd nightmare was the parking. Seriously, the signs were cryptic and didn’t had other instructions on it. There wasn’t a ticketing box either and thus we found one along the side of the road which didn’t have the time limitation and left the car there, some 5mins walk from our lodge. Got back to the room at 7pm, googled Sydney parking signs and finally understood the requirements. Since it was Sunday, the parking were basically free for the location that we parked.

After rested for a bit, we walked through Hyde Park to Circular Quay for ferry trip to Manly. Bought the tickets from the auto machine at Whaft 3 and boarded at 755pm, just in time for sunset (summer time!). Sat outside at the rear end of the ferry and as it moved towards Manly, we had a fantastic view of the Opera House and the Bridge. It was also chilly and so we sat on the inside of the ferry and moved out for photos when necessary. There also weren’t that many people at that time and so moving around the ferry was possible.

The 30 min ferry brought us to Manly Wharf. It was linked to the pretty Manly beach through a walkway named the Corso, which was also lined with stores and cafés. Night sea breeze was strong and chilly and by the time we arrived at the beach, last of the twilight was gone and we could only see silhouette of waves crashing to the shore. It would have been pretty we were sure.

The Corso of Manly that linked the pier to the beach. — The Corsa of Manly that linked the pier to the beach.

Headed back towards the wharf and went into Hungry Jacks (Burger King equivalent) en-route for some quick bites. The next ferry was at 930pm as we found out, so we walked around the harbor for a while. The pier side had many party goers and a few pretty crowded restaurants. There were also many people sitting on the grass patches near the shore just enjoying their own company and the cool night near the waters.

Ferry back had a little more people and again the night view of the harbour was nice (though sunset was prettiest). Went towards the Rocks to visit the ever popular Pancakes on the Rocks restaurant, hoping that it was still opened. In fact, it was never closed, in business 24-7 daily. And crowded at that time of the day too, amazingly! We got our tables in a bit and ordered 2 different flavors and it was tasty! Pancakes were soft and warm and the combination of toppings was perfect. We didn’t managed to finish everything as they were 2 big pieces of pancakes each topped with a scoop of ice cream and we were not entirely hungry (burger at Manly).

24/7 Pancakes by the Rocks. — 24/7 Pancakes on the Rocks.

Walked back to the hotel and arrived at 1130pm, exhausted from the full utilization of the day.

Sydney 2014 Day 2 – Featherdale Wildlife Sanctuary and Darling Harbour

Posted on February 1, 2014September 26, 2019 by ziyi

Made breakfast with the bread and canned tuna we purchased the day before and walked to Town Hall station. Bought the tickets at the ticket machine – 2 singles to Blacktown station. The double deck train arrived quickly and a one hour ride, later we got off and headed to bus stand no. 9, incorporated with the train station itself. Bus (by Busways) arrived on time, paid 4.60 for two in coins to the driver and 10 mins later, we got off (with the driver’s announcement) at the entrance of Featherdale Wildlife Santuary.

$28 per person entry and comes with a mini map and a stamp collection for different animals visited. In here there was quite a number of displays of native Australia animals including kangaroo, wombat, koala, dingo, Tasmanian devil and many other birds. There was a cuddle up to a koala shed for photos and also a kangaroo feeding place. Presentations on animals where park attendants also feed the animals took place throughout the day and we went to one where little blue penguins were fed. There was also a huge croc in the park. Not long before it was lunchtime and we had ours in the park itself at Billabong cafe, went to the souvenir shop (where we couldn’t resist getting a wombat) and left for the bus stop. Buses came on scheduled time and we were lucky not to have left too late, as subsequent afternoon buses were infrequent.

Returning to the Blacktown station was quick. Got our train tickets back to Central from the ticket counter, another hour’s ride. Did a platform switch at Central for the train towards Circular Quay at platform 17. 3 stops later, we alight at the quay, the panorama of the harbour from the station was lovely. Got out of the station and started heading towards the Rocks weekend market, location where there were many interesting local craft work sold. After walking through tentages, we proceeded to walk near waterfront where we could see both Sydney harbour bridge and also the Opera House. Got our photos before going back onto the shopping streets George Street and Pitts Street.

2nd shopping spree in shops that had a sale on and those with Aussie surf brands, revisiting the QVB again and walked through Koreatown that seemed to have some events ongoing. Some of the sale items seemed worth it but still, the dreaded 630pm came all too soon and we were reminded at one of the shops of closing in 5 mins as we made our urgent purchases.

Continued to trek towards Darling Harbour for more shopping and dinner. We were informed of fireworks display at the harbour tonight and so changed the plan to go to Manly the next day. Always seemed short of time.

Went over to Hurricane but it was filled and available after 9pm. Tried the various restaurants quayside but all outside seats were filled. Without much of a choice, left a name at Hurricane and went to Oporto to get small bites before preparing for the fireworks.

Went to the pier and chose a position as close to the waters at around 820pm. But the fireworks didn’t come at 830pm. When it did so at 9pm, with the music on, it was one of the best 10mins overseas fireworks I had seen. A variety of fireworks painted the night sky of the harbour, well choreographed till a climatic end where it drew loud applause from the crowd in awe. Definitely worth the wait since it was also free.

Once over, went back to the Hurricane for our dinner and it was even more crowded then before. Checked with the waitress and she said we still had to wait a while till our tables were ready. My wife then went to the other popular restaurant, Pancakes on the Rocks to queue but it was only a matter of minutes after she left that we had gotten our tables! Ordered half rack ribs which was still huge, soup and beer. Really filling and the service was superb as usual. Left satisfied.

The walk back was long, around 20 mins, which started at around 1030pm but the city was still wide awake with many people and a jammed street full of cars. It was really just a straight route back where we took the opportunity to pass through Hyde park, saw and shot St Mary’s cathedral which was illuminated slightly to give that old mysterious building feel. The streets felt safe. Arrived back at the hotel and there were some packing to do from the shopping in the day but all in all, a good long day out – loved the long summer days.

St. Mary's Cathedral at night. — St. Mary’s Cathedral at night.

Sydney 2014 Day 1 – Arrival in Sydney and shopping

Posted on January 31, 2014September 26, 2019 by ziyi

Soon after start of CNY, we were aboard the Scoot Boeing 777 on a 7.5hrs flight towards Sydney. We booked the seats with more leg space but it seemed similar to the rest. Being a budget carrier, it didn’t really gave the feel of one, though there weren’t touch screens monitors on the seats for info or anything. The flight was smooth sailing and we slept though the bulk of it, with the exception of a moment where I dropped my spectacles but managed to recover when my wife awoke and found it underneath the seats behind.

There wasn’t a long queue at immigration and we got through that quickly as well. Luggage took a while and we exited the arrivals without going through any quarantine (like those that were frequently shown on tv). Proceeded to the shuttle bus stop which was under a bridge with our printed tickets in hand that was reserved online. Had to wait for bus to arrive so I went back to arrival hall to get a drink. Went past a vending machine and saw that the drinks were expensive, about $3.8! Went further to a shop to get the same drink, didn’t know the price till I paid, $4.70. That’s bloody expensive! It was just sparkling spring water in a pretty plastic bottle. How do people survive here? I missed Singapore. Mini bus (Airbus) came 30mins later.

It was not another 1hr that we arrived at our hotel. The shuttle brought us around the city, dropping off passengers along the way. This gave us a hint on where all the major shopping streets were, so as to revisit later. The downside was that there were traffic jams, as in many cities, time was wasted on this van. We alighted at Strand hotel and walked towards the Sydney City Lodge and checked in. Given the top floor, I had to bring one luggage up 3 flights of stairs, which was a little tight. Door was locked using numeric password using keypad on door. The main entrance to the lodge had the same system though we had a little issue with that while testing it and had to have the personnel come show us.

Nicely decorated though a little small but we weren’t spending a lot and thus this met our expectations. Went over to Woolloomooloo supermarket to get lunch and breakfasts and checked out the items using their unmanned cashier. Munched the lunch back in our rooms and used the free wifi before heading out to the streets.

Sunny weather with a temp of 30degC but wasn’t humid which made walking ok. Went thru Hyde park, seeing the Sky Tower and a huge cathedral en-route before ending walking along Pitt Street and George Street, the shopping streets. Bought some jeans as the start our shopping experience. Went over one of the tailors recommended by the shop but was quoted a high price which we declined and continued onwards northwards on George Street.

Went into QVB and down to the level below for the more affordably priced stores. Joined a queue, mostly made out of Asians and bought a Matcha Tea Latte, which was pretty good. Continued with walking around the myriad of shopping levels and getting lost. One moment we were at QVB, the other we were at the Galeries, and then we were at Myers and then Westfield, but time flew by quickly and it was already 630pm and shops were already closing for the day. We took a walk along George street and then onto Liverpool street and finally into the Oxford street.

715pm and with the sky still brightened by the sun, we went over to Oxford Social for our dinner. Weren’t sure what to expect but when the food was served, it was simply mindblowing! Definitely worth the more expensive price tag.

Went back along Crown street to our lodge and noticed that the room wasn’t made so I guessed what you pay was what you get. There was a smell too, most probably coming from the toilet. Guessed we had to keep the ventilation fan open when we go out the next day. Feeling exhausted from the walk around town and probably the lack of a proper sleep on the plane. Or maybe, I was getting old.

Escape Plan to Sydney in January 2014

Posted on January 30, 2014June 24, 2020 by ziyi

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Sydney in January 2014:

Total duration 4D3N
Singapore is 3 hr behind of Sydney, Australia.
Flight time is 8hr direct flight on Scoot from Singapore to Sydney.
Friday early morning flight on 31st Jan and arrival in Sydney at 1240pm on same day.

Day 1 Arrival in Sydney and shopping at QVB
Day 2 Featherdale Wildlife Park, Darling Harbour
Day 3 Blue mountains, Manly Beach
Day 4 Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was to take advantage of the long weekend for Chinese New Year to escape to Sydney, where it was still operational, unlike a Singapore that was pretty much shut down. Also, the tickets were pretty cheap, SGD $350 all in for return on Scoot and presented a good opportunity to test out this budget airline.

Budget nature: Really expensive city.

Transportation costs were so much higher than Singapore, be it parking fees or taking the train to the city from the airport. Be ready to pay if eating in restaurants for all 3 meals.The accommodations were expensive too. The only cheaper stuff were probably Ipads and Quiksilver.

Complexity: Easy by public transport, madness to drive in Sydney

Travelling around Sydney by public transport was easy peasy. It would be effortless if there were some preplanning down before by checking this site as it a search engine to provide all the possible routes from your location to your destination. Driving in busy Sydney was frustrating if you weren’t familiar, and so was parking. Read all about it before attempting.