December 6, Saturday
Australian Time: 2205
10th Day
Location: Hunter Valley, NSW
Accommodation: Madigan Cottage
Cost: $350 for two nights
Currency (Singapore is to Australia): 1 is to 1
Woke up especially this morning for horse back riding. After a platonic breakfast (pancakes again), we headed out and reached James Estate around 0910. We were required to sign a contract proclaiming that should we incur any injuries (or even death) during horse riding, whether due to the absence or presence of the tour guide, and no matter they were reliable for the cause or not, we vow not to blame them for any misforgivings. I think I was horrified that they refused to take responsibility even if they were at fault. I mean, most of the customers were probably tourists, with little or no experience in riding horses, so what did we know? The contract blamed it on the temperament of the horses. O.o It was like our fate was in the hands of the horses.
Luckily, they horses were exceptionally well-trained and followed the rules and trails very specifically and faithfully. The horses were all magnificent creatures, my dad’s Jimbo with a dark chocolate mane, my mom’s Trigger with a light brown color, my sis’s (with a name I do not know) a dirty white and mine, Chloe (Emma, your hamster’s name!!!) with a lovely milk chocolate mane.
Chloe is a playful girl, yet she is still very obedient when it comes down to business. I love her. Her personality is vibrant (when I said hi and stroked her neck, she ‘hmmph’-ed and greeted me with a nod – isn’t that sweet!) and she is very energetic.
First, we trekked through a forest trail, with minor accidents along the way (horses pooping out of the blue, banging randomly into trees, scraping our knees when we passed too close to adamant branches and frequently fanning insects away from our faces). The horses were well-behaved, but I noticed (since I was directly behind dad), that Jimbo was very clumsy. She often slipped and lost her footing, which was quite hilarious if not for the fact that my dad was the one riding on her.
I had to steer Chloe very often – she was always too close to trees or too close to branches, causing me to scratch my knees and elbows, so I had to teach her to avoid that. Chloe becomes extremely annoyed when too many mosquitoes attack/kiss her face, and liked to stomp her hooves and shake her head vehemently to show her displeasure.
When we entered the pasture, however, Chloe got a little over excited and started galloping. Though I quickly halted her, I really enjoyed it. The way she ran was so carefree that even I felt it. And the way her body moved was a lot more comfortable for me to sit on than when she was just moseying along.
The next thing to look forward to after horse back riding was dinner at ROBERTS. My dad’s assistant, who had come to Australia just not too long ago, introduced this restaurant to us. We had booked two days ago to ensure that we had a table. When we first got there, the restaurant looked torn and tattered, the wood chipped and the windows scratched. However, the inside was gorgeous. The entire room was candle-lit, and the ambience was warm and relaxing. All the wood made the setting romantic, and the candles just added on to the atmosphere. The fire mantle was decorated with plenty and elaborately designed plates as well as a cock and hen, with a huge vase containing white and yellow flowers. Our table was spacious and comfortable, except maybe the chairs, which was made of plain, hard wood, and certainly not something you’d want to sit on after a day of bumping on horses.
The food was highly priced. We ordered three main courses, comprising lamb, beef and pasta, as well as desserts chocolate fondant and cinnamon ice cream. The lamb was fantastic, but it had a somewhat typical taste (something you’d eat at Morton’s), but the beef was unique due to its very interesting sauce. I loved it. The pasta was nothing I had expected. The sauce was non-creamy, something more Japanese, and the mushrooms were fabulous! Sweet, but a little bitter, and something that you could just chew and chew! Haha. The chocolate fondant was a cake with melted Belgian chocolate inside, and when eaten with vanilla ice cream, brought you straight to heaven! I quote from a chocolate shop we’d visited in the afternoon, “If this was sin, heaven would be hell.” I figured I didn’t like cinnamon much, though. :P
I really don’t want to mention the price…
Saturday, 6 December 2008
Friday, 5 December 2008
Hunter Valley -- Day Nine
December 5, Friday
Australian Time: 2341
9th Day
Location: Hunter Valley, NSW
Accommodation: Madigan Cottage
Cost: $350 for two nights
Currency (Singapore is to Australia): 1 is to 1
Pancakes for breakfast this morning, and sad to say, it wasn’t as nice as one would have hoped. It was just plain. Bland. The redeeming fact was that the butter we had with it was great! Otherwise, it would just be boring.
Checking out was an arduous task. We had to rip out the bedsheets, empty all the food in the “otto” bin, rid the fridge of and traces of food, wash up all the dishes we’d used, switch off the central heating and close all the windows. They call this “self-conditioned cottage/villa”. You can’t really leave anything behind or they’d just charge it on your credit card. I’ve never met the owners of the villas, they just call themselves Kenny and Ross Smith. We just give them the number of our credit card, and they have free access to it until we leave. -_- So best not give them a reason to charge us extra.
After that it was about two hours trip to Hunter Valley, where we searched a very long time for a place to stay. We came across Leisure Inn which cost about $400 per night, which simply blew our minds away. No way were we gonna pay that much! Another promising villa was Crowne Plaza, which looks nothing like the one you see in Singapore! Crowne Plaza Villas look absolutely luxurious, with huge windows and balcony for you to simply enjoy the scenery. $300 per night.
Another shockingly expensive one was set in a classical house, with expensive tea sets, 1980s armchairs and intricately carved cupboards. It was, no doubt, luxurious and zapped us back in time, but the price was eye-popping. $480 per night!
After sifting through more motels and B&Bs, we finally decided to call Crowne Plaza to reserve ourselves a villa. However, on the way there, we came across Madigan Cottages, which was set in a secluded piece of land and near a vineyard. It was similar to a Scottish Cottage, wooden walls and staircase, and two-storeys high. And even more amazingly, it was $350 for two nights!
My parents loved it, so it was an immediate yes. I ended up being the one to break the news to Crowne Plaza, feeling guilty all the while doing the cancellation.
In the evening, my sister and I went driving around our backyard. It was so awesome that we lost complete track of time, and before we knew it, it was time for dinner. Dinner was an easy affair, having driven past a Chinese restaurant by chance. We ordered Prawn Omelette, Mixed vegetables, Mongolian Combination (Tie Ban Shao), long soup (Noodle soup) and steamed rice.
I think I liked the omelette and the rice the best. :P They rest was all gooey and watery…as per usual. ;)
To work off some calories, we went to Woolworths (similar to NTUC in Singapore) to get our breakfast.
Australian Time: 2341
9th Day
Location: Hunter Valley, NSW
Accommodation: Madigan Cottage
Cost: $350 for two nights
Currency (Singapore is to Australia): 1 is to 1
Pancakes for breakfast this morning, and sad to say, it wasn’t as nice as one would have hoped. It was just plain. Bland. The redeeming fact was that the butter we had with it was great! Otherwise, it would just be boring.
Checking out was an arduous task. We had to rip out the bedsheets, empty all the food in the “otto” bin, rid the fridge of and traces of food, wash up all the dishes we’d used, switch off the central heating and close all the windows. They call this “self-conditioned cottage/villa”. You can’t really leave anything behind or they’d just charge it on your credit card. I’ve never met the owners of the villas, they just call themselves Kenny and Ross Smith. We just give them the number of our credit card, and they have free access to it until we leave. -_- So best not give them a reason to charge us extra.
After that it was about two hours trip to Hunter Valley, where we searched a very long time for a place to stay. We came across Leisure Inn which cost about $400 per night, which simply blew our minds away. No way were we gonna pay that much! Another promising villa was Crowne Plaza, which looks nothing like the one you see in Singapore! Crowne Plaza Villas look absolutely luxurious, with huge windows and balcony for you to simply enjoy the scenery. $300 per night.
Another shockingly expensive one was set in a classical house, with expensive tea sets, 1980s armchairs and intricately carved cupboards. It was, no doubt, luxurious and zapped us back in time, but the price was eye-popping. $480 per night!
After sifting through more motels and B&Bs, we finally decided to call Crowne Plaza to reserve ourselves a villa. However, on the way there, we came across Madigan Cottages, which was set in a secluded piece of land and near a vineyard. It was similar to a Scottish Cottage, wooden walls and staircase, and two-storeys high. And even more amazingly, it was $350 for two nights!
My parents loved it, so it was an immediate yes. I ended up being the one to break the news to Crowne Plaza, feeling guilty all the while doing the cancellation.
In the evening, my sister and I went driving around our backyard. It was so awesome that we lost complete track of time, and before we knew it, it was time for dinner. Dinner was an easy affair, having driven past a Chinese restaurant by chance. We ordered Prawn Omelette, Mixed vegetables, Mongolian Combination (Tie Ban Shao), long soup (Noodle soup) and steamed rice.
I think I liked the omelette and the rice the best. :P They rest was all gooey and watery…as per usual. ;)
To work off some calories, we went to Woolworths (similar to NTUC in Singapore) to get our breakfast.
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Blue Mountain -- Day Eight
December 4, Thursday
Australian Time: 2155
8th Day
Location: Blue Mountain, New South Wales
Accommodation: Echo Point Villa 2
Cost: $177 per night
Currency (Singapore is to Australia): 1 is to 1
I woke up to the smell of ham and eggs. We’ve finally come across a villa that provides oil!! I’ve been missing sunny-side up eggs (my favourite way of doing eggs) for ages, and today’s eggy flavour was especially heavenly.
After a relaxed morning, we headed out to the famous Genolan caves, also strongly advertised by the dear Mr. Meinhold we had met in Boonah. He had promoted it as the “most beautiful”, and was a definite must-see. Though I had no idea the trip would take so long! Mostly because it was a long and windy mountain road, resulting in severe car-sickness (not really, just a splitting headache.
The cave itself, though, was beautiful. Some of the huge rocks were enchantingly shiny, whilst others were just gargantuan in size and towered intimidating-ly over the measly humans. It felt like we’d shrunk to the size of ants.
Some of the caves looked suspiciously like a waterfall, some had numerous holes in it, and one of them (we took a picture) looked a really sad person, albeit only having two holes for eyes and a hole for a mouth forming the shape ‘o’.
The Devil’s Coach House was the one that Mr. Meinhold had particularly mentioned (and even wrote it down for us), but we couldn’t find the trek that led to the self-guided tour cave. The signs were pointing in a different direction than stated on the map – we went both ways but ended up going in circles. When we were done walking opposites directions, it was late, and we figured if we continued the aimless walk we’d end up trapped in complete darkness. So we gave up and headed back to Blue Mountain.
And – would you believe it – it was already dinner time! We ended up getting pizza and instant noodles (plus vegetables). Pizza was a lot better than last time; this time we had an oven to make it crunchy, and the sauce used by the different brand was more familiar and tasted much better than the previous failed brand.
Lastly, a few more rounds of Da Lao Er before we headed off to bed in hysterics (again).
Australian Time: 2155
8th Day
Location: Blue Mountain, New South Wales
Accommodation: Echo Point Villa 2
Cost: $177 per night
Currency (Singapore is to Australia): 1 is to 1
I woke up to the smell of ham and eggs. We’ve finally come across a villa that provides oil!! I’ve been missing sunny-side up eggs (my favourite way of doing eggs) for ages, and today’s eggy flavour was especially heavenly.
After a relaxed morning, we headed out to the famous Genolan caves, also strongly advertised by the dear Mr. Meinhold we had met in Boonah. He had promoted it as the “most beautiful”, and was a definite must-see. Though I had no idea the trip would take so long! Mostly because it was a long and windy mountain road, resulting in severe car-sickness (not really, just a splitting headache.
The cave itself, though, was beautiful. Some of the huge rocks were enchantingly shiny, whilst others were just gargantuan in size and towered intimidating-ly over the measly humans. It felt like we’d shrunk to the size of ants.
Some of the caves looked suspiciously like a waterfall, some had numerous holes in it, and one of them (we took a picture) looked a really sad person, albeit only having two holes for eyes and a hole for a mouth forming the shape ‘o’.
The Devil’s Coach House was the one that Mr. Meinhold had particularly mentioned (and even wrote it down for us), but we couldn’t find the trek that led to the self-guided tour cave. The signs were pointing in a different direction than stated on the map – we went both ways but ended up going in circles. When we were done walking opposites directions, it was late, and we figured if we continued the aimless walk we’d end up trapped in complete darkness. So we gave up and headed back to Blue Mountain.
And – would you believe it – it was already dinner time! We ended up getting pizza and instant noodles (plus vegetables). Pizza was a lot better than last time; this time we had an oven to make it crunchy, and the sauce used by the different brand was more familiar and tasted much better than the previous failed brand.
Lastly, a few more rounds of Da Lao Er before we headed off to bed in hysterics (again).
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Blue Mountain -- Day Seven
December 3, Wednesday
Australian Time: 1612
7th Day
Location: Blue Mountain, New South Wales
Accommodation: Echo Point Villa 2
Cost: $177 per night
Currency (Singapore is to Australia): 1 is to 1
This morning we had to wake up earlier than usual, and needless to say, I was sleeping throughout breakfast. Though I still remember what I ate. Moove Chocolate Milk, orange juice, croissant with butter (de-LI-cious) and a few bites of muffin. The croissant was surprisingly tasty, the taste just right. In fact, for something that was bought from the supermarket (frozen/chilled/whatever), the food tasted awesome! Overall, the meal was cheaper than having breakfast at some random café.
After breakfast, I reluctantly left the place behind, and settled myself once more for an arduous journey that would leave my posterior numb. On the way, we stopped at Mudgee (haha) for lunch at Subway. As always, it tasted great and refreshing. We were sitting outside the restaurant, with the wind howling furiously, so things flew all over the place. We had a great time testing our reflex skills.
I fell asleep for the rest of the ride.
Then, we finally reached Blue Mountain. Nothing blue about it, obviously. But we were in the mountains, so when I stepped out of the car, it was as if the wind was just waiting for the chance to jump at me, and it blew my hair all over my face. The wind was strong and bone chilling, and my hair erector muscles all contracted immediately (homeostasis wastes no time). I hurried into the house in hope of some warmth, but the house was as cold on the outside as it was on the inside. Useless thing you call villas.
In turn I searched in vain for the central heater, and emerged victorious. Maybe there was some use for the house after all.
Anyway, the house was just as beautiful as yesterday’s motel room, if not better. This villa had a more warm feeling, and things were made of wood, so that made it feel more at home and relaxing (wood does that to you). The kitchen was supplied with everything we needed for cooking, oil, salt, pepper, etc, and we could not be happier because previous accommodations did not provide such luxury. Usually they gave us a microwave.
Dinner was sumptuous, including noodles, half a stuffed chicken, and Chinese takeaway (steamed rice [here they call boiled rice], mixed vegetables [once again in a malt-like state] and duck meat). We’ve taken to eat more often at home (or in the motel/villa, whatever), so that the bills would not be so ridiculous.
Everyone helping around the kitchen was fun; mom was, of course, the captain of the ship and was sending out orders while controlling the wheel. Many a times we tripped over one another (imagine four people in a mini kitchen half the size of your regular kitchen) and ended up in fits while trying not to get scalded. It was, despite the peril, fun.
After dinner and bathing, we gathered together on the comfortable double bed and began playing Da Lao Er, all the while laughing and screaming, and generally waking our neighbours (hopefully not). Everyone was in hysterics before going to bed.
The room, with the lights off, was so dark to the point that I couldn’t even see my own fingers (think the Chinese proverb). Even after my eyes adjusted to the dark (I hope), I couldn’t really see much except the window (which had a little light penetrating through). With the serene surroundings, it was difficult to not fall asleep almost instantly.
Australian Time: 1612
7th Day
Location: Blue Mountain, New South Wales
Accommodation: Echo Point Villa 2
Cost: $177 per night
Currency (Singapore is to Australia): 1 is to 1
This morning we had to wake up earlier than usual, and needless to say, I was sleeping throughout breakfast. Though I still remember what I ate. Moove Chocolate Milk, orange juice, croissant with butter (de-LI-cious) and a few bites of muffin. The croissant was surprisingly tasty, the taste just right. In fact, for something that was bought from the supermarket (frozen/chilled/whatever), the food tasted awesome! Overall, the meal was cheaper than having breakfast at some random café.
After breakfast, I reluctantly left the place behind, and settled myself once more for an arduous journey that would leave my posterior numb. On the way, we stopped at Mudgee (haha) for lunch at Subway. As always, it tasted great and refreshing. We were sitting outside the restaurant, with the wind howling furiously, so things flew all over the place. We had a great time testing our reflex skills.
I fell asleep for the rest of the ride.
Then, we finally reached Blue Mountain. Nothing blue about it, obviously. But we were in the mountains, so when I stepped out of the car, it was as if the wind was just waiting for the chance to jump at me, and it blew my hair all over my face. The wind was strong and bone chilling, and my hair erector muscles all contracted immediately (homeostasis wastes no time). I hurried into the house in hope of some warmth, but the house was as cold on the outside as it was on the inside. Useless thing you call villas.
In turn I searched in vain for the central heater, and emerged victorious. Maybe there was some use for the house after all.
Anyway, the house was just as beautiful as yesterday’s motel room, if not better. This villa had a more warm feeling, and things were made of wood, so that made it feel more at home and relaxing (wood does that to you). The kitchen was supplied with everything we needed for cooking, oil, salt, pepper, etc, and we could not be happier because previous accommodations did not provide such luxury. Usually they gave us a microwave.
Dinner was sumptuous, including noodles, half a stuffed chicken, and Chinese takeaway (steamed rice [here they call boiled rice], mixed vegetables [once again in a malt-like state] and duck meat). We’ve taken to eat more often at home (or in the motel/villa, whatever), so that the bills would not be so ridiculous.
Everyone helping around the kitchen was fun; mom was, of course, the captain of the ship and was sending out orders while controlling the wheel. Many a times we tripped over one another (imagine four people in a mini kitchen half the size of your regular kitchen) and ended up in fits while trying not to get scalded. It was, despite the peril, fun.
After dinner and bathing, we gathered together on the comfortable double bed and began playing Da Lao Er, all the while laughing and screaming, and generally waking our neighbours (hopefully not). Everyone was in hysterics before going to bed.
The room, with the lights off, was so dark to the point that I couldn’t even see my own fingers (think the Chinese proverb). Even after my eyes adjusted to the dark (I hope), I couldn’t really see much except the window (which had a little light penetrating through). With the serene surroundings, it was difficult to not fall asleep almost instantly.
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Narrabri -- Day Six
December 2, Tuesday
Australian Time: 2056
6th Day
Location: Narrabri, New South Wales
Accommodation: Club Motel
Cost: $165 per night
Currency (Singapore is to Australia): 1 is to 1
We woke up late this morning – at 0800 – since my dad set the wrong time for the alarm clock. -_- Mr. Marcus Meinhold, however, was definitely an early riser and had gotten hold of his book from the mechanics before any of us were up. The Falling Feathers writer was really friendly, and even gave us the book free of charge. I couldn’t be more thankful.
Breakfast at Flavours Café was a cultural shock as usual. We only ordered for two plates of breakfast, one Breakfast Grill ($9.95) and one Full Breakfast ($12.95), but both of them still left us filled to the brim. Bacon, apparently, is a favourite among Australians, since almost everything came with bacon. Burgers, French fries, steak, chicken – you name it. I was totally missing the eggs (I’m a great fan of it) and I was really pleased when the egg came in just the way I liked it – sunny side up. The only downside was that the food was extremely oily, which really was a bummer.
The rest of the day was consumed by traveling, traveling, and more traveling. I think my posterior suffered tremendous claustrophobia. Anyway, there was nothing interesting during the car ride – except when we stopped by Goondiwindi for Chinese food at Fu Sing Restaurant. The food was oily and gooey…definitely not Asian food, but we swallowed it all anyway – mostly we were just glad to fill our stomachs with hot steamy food. Did you know Singapore noodles is actually bee hoon in Australia? O.o None of us saw that coming.
I plugged earphones into my ears for the rest of the day.
When we reached Narrabri, we immediately started looking out for motels, and came across one that looked new and…well, generally inviting. The pastel colors of the wall and the shiny reflecting windows were very appealing. Fortunately, they had one family unit left, just for us(:
I was the first one to enter the room and – OH MY GOSH it was fantastic! Soft, carpeted floors, peach-colored walls, a sleek, clean mini kitchen and a wide, dark green sofa. And the bathroom! The tub was spacious enough to accommodate two people, and the whole place was so comfortable and relaxing! I fell in love with the place immediately, and I thought it a pity we were only staying for a night.
Nothing like enjoying the luxury while it lasted.
My parents went out, while my sis and I stayed behind to use the Internet to do whatever we want, and when they came back, they were carrying bags of groceries. Part of it was our dinner – fish and chips, chicken cutlet, French fries, salad, and a gooey vegetable spring roll (-_-), while the rest was going to be consumed during breakfast.
The fish was lovely, and the chips, albeit a weird shape and color (it was pale and flaccid) tasted better than I’d expected. I tried the fruity wine, but I didn’t like it. I guess I’ll never like wine much. The orange juice, however, was pure and real, instead of drinking loads of artificial ingredients that I was prone to do in Singapore.
And guess what, while shopping, my parents realized that the time in Narrabri was different than the time in Boonah! We were actually an hour faster! So in total, we’re three hours faster than Singapore! I was so intrigued – we practically went through a time machine!
For the rest of the night, I just enjoyed the ambience in a laid back manner, the way it was meant to be appreciated.
Australian Time: 2056
6th Day
Location: Narrabri, New South Wales
Accommodation: Club Motel
Cost: $165 per night
Currency (Singapore is to Australia): 1 is to 1
We woke up late this morning – at 0800 – since my dad set the wrong time for the alarm clock. -_- Mr. Marcus Meinhold, however, was definitely an early riser and had gotten hold of his book from the mechanics before any of us were up. The Falling Feathers writer was really friendly, and even gave us the book free of charge. I couldn’t be more thankful.
Breakfast at Flavours Café was a cultural shock as usual. We only ordered for two plates of breakfast, one Breakfast Grill ($9.95) and one Full Breakfast ($12.95), but both of them still left us filled to the brim. Bacon, apparently, is a favourite among Australians, since almost everything came with bacon. Burgers, French fries, steak, chicken – you name it. I was totally missing the eggs (I’m a great fan of it) and I was really pleased when the egg came in just the way I liked it – sunny side up. The only downside was that the food was extremely oily, which really was a bummer.
The rest of the day was consumed by traveling, traveling, and more traveling. I think my posterior suffered tremendous claustrophobia. Anyway, there was nothing interesting during the car ride – except when we stopped by Goondiwindi for Chinese food at Fu Sing Restaurant. The food was oily and gooey…definitely not Asian food, but we swallowed it all anyway – mostly we were just glad to fill our stomachs with hot steamy food. Did you know Singapore noodles is actually bee hoon in Australia? O.o None of us saw that coming.
I plugged earphones into my ears for the rest of the day.
When we reached Narrabri, we immediately started looking out for motels, and came across one that looked new and…well, generally inviting. The pastel colors of the wall and the shiny reflecting windows were very appealing. Fortunately, they had one family unit left, just for us(:
I was the first one to enter the room and – OH MY GOSH it was fantastic! Soft, carpeted floors, peach-colored walls, a sleek, clean mini kitchen and a wide, dark green sofa. And the bathroom! The tub was spacious enough to accommodate two people, and the whole place was so comfortable and relaxing! I fell in love with the place immediately, and I thought it a pity we were only staying for a night.
Nothing like enjoying the luxury while it lasted.
My parents went out, while my sis and I stayed behind to use the Internet to do whatever we want, and when they came back, they were carrying bags of groceries. Part of it was our dinner – fish and chips, chicken cutlet, French fries, salad, and a gooey vegetable spring roll (-_-), while the rest was going to be consumed during breakfast.
The fish was lovely, and the chips, albeit a weird shape and color (it was pale and flaccid) tasted better than I’d expected. I tried the fruity wine, but I didn’t like it. I guess I’ll never like wine much. The orange juice, however, was pure and real, instead of drinking loads of artificial ingredients that I was prone to do in Singapore.
And guess what, while shopping, my parents realized that the time in Narrabri was different than the time in Boonah! We were actually an hour faster! So in total, we’re three hours faster than Singapore! I was so intrigued – we practically went through a time machine!
For the rest of the night, I just enjoyed the ambience in a laid back manner, the way it was meant to be appreciated.
Monday, 1 December 2008
Boonah -- Day Five
December 1, Monday
Australian Time: 2110
5th Day
Location: Boonah, Queensland
Accommodation: Boonah Motel
Cost: $120 per night
Currency (Singapore is to Australia): 1 is to 1
Breakfast was extraordinarily sweet this morning. Goldsteins specializes in “bakery & pies”, and naturally the entire stall smelled of flour, bread and cakes. We had scouted around the Carrara Market (remember it’s always a huge area of land dotted with one-storey buildings) for something similar to bacon and eggs (I was seriously starting to miss even the icky egg yolk), but to no avail. Thus we settled for chocolate éclairs, bacon and egg pie, a box of chocolate chip and cornflakes cookies, a cup of cappuccino and BIG M chocolate milk (all for $16.40; I had a strong suspicion they overlooked something). Overall, it was sickeningly sweet, but that’s what you have to live with when you’re in others’ country – thus no complaints were uttered, except maybe a jibe here and there.
After the unusual breakfast, we headed towards Brisbane once more, this time with Mt Tamborine as our destination. I had no idea it was situated in the mountains, needless to say, the road there was more curvy and meandered through the mountains. It was a long ride, we expected 20 minutes but the trip took 40 minutes, and we took a wrong turn and had to turn back again. Not a smooth ride, that’s for sure. After much agony and a spinning head, we reached Thunderbird Park, where Adventure Parc was situated. My sis and I cost a total of $82 (student price) to enter the place and went on three different courses, green, red and black, in order to difficulty. The three courses consisted a grand total of 72 obstacles, which included walking on wire ropes, abseiling, climbing (ladders and rocks), balancing on suspended wooden logs and, my favourite, FLYING FOX! Everything was stringed together in one whole series, where you just moved from one tree (platform) to another, always remaining at least 3 metres above the ground. The green course was the easiest one – I got through it steadily without breaking and sweat. The red course raised the bar slightly, and my arms were aching lightly when I finally climbed down the ladder to reach the ground once more.
We were fitted with overalls (full body) and given safety harnesses, with a pulley and attachment cords. The attachment cords ensure that we stay secure all the time and in the case should we lose our balance, we would not plummet to the ground and go to heaven.
What frustrated me the most was that the wooden planks and bars were always situated pretty far apart, and whilst most Westerners would be able to reach them easily, it was a tougher feat for me since I am vertically challenged. But hey, I got through it still, didn’t I?
The forest was hot, the sun was extremely bright today, but yet it was such a dry place that you don’t really perspire much. You don’t get the chance to.
The black course was the toughest of all, and I gave up the last two obstacles and instead jumped straight to the flying fox. It was AWESOME!! It was the longest I’d ever been on, I crossed the forest at least 5 storeys above ground and even crossed over the river/creek! The sense of freedom and adrenaline had never been more prevalent as I had felt then. I was beginning to feel that all those times I missed my chance at flying fox (Primary Five camp and OBS) was well worth it if it’d all built up to this.
Also, there was an obstacle were we had to swing across with a rope just like Tarzan! It was hard to overcome the fear at first – would I fall halfway? What if I let go by accident? What if I slide down the rope? So many possibilities, but in the end, I managed to just forget the questions and just jumped it. It was exciting and scary at the same time.
I was so tired after the black course that I just handed back all my equipments and my family and I headed to the car with the intent of having a filling lunch. And then…the car refused to start. We tried again and again, but the engine was just…stuttering, without getting any better. We were mortified, and hurried to seek for help. A friend of the restaurant’s manager came to help us start the battery, but it was fruitless. Helpless, we could only call for Hertz professional help. They gave us an estimation of 45 minutes for the help to reach, but we were very grateful when help came within half an hour. The mechanic was friendly, and helped to start up the car. He stayed around to ensure that it was completely fixed and running before driving off.
During the wait, we sat down in the restaurant and ordered some things to eat – only chocolate cake, coke and tea were available. They do serve lunches, but they stop serving lunch at 1500, so they didn’t turn on the stove for us. It was only 1440 too! Argh.
So we decided to eat our own emergency cookies, and also begged them for some hot water to cook instant noodles. They weren’t very pleased, but hey, who was the one who refused us hot food even before their time was up?
Anyway, after lunch we drove off, and I fell asleep on the car.
When I woke up we had already checked into Boonah Motel, situated in a small town called Boonah, with a population of only a few hundred people. The motel room was small, and things were kept dirty (I guess they can’t do much about it), with insects flying all around. INSECTS WERE ENLARGED. Looking at the insects was like looking under the microscope. You could see the legs, the body…ew. And there were frogs! Little green frogs as well as large brown ones! A brown frog was trying to hop into our room by continuously banging against our closed door! It was hilarious. Then we went to a secluded road and had driving lessons there from my father. I was getting quite the hang of it – whether it was turning a corner, reversing, or controlling the petal. I love driving, and I had a fabulous time driving around.
I drove all the way back to the motel to pick up mom for dinner. We were actually looking for a Chinese restaurant which the motel owners had introduced to us, but after 40 minutes of aimless driving (and it was a small town, even) we realized that it was closed. Which rather pissed all of us off, since we were practically starving.
In the end, we bought pizzas from Eagle Boys (a restaurant chain bigger than Pizza Hut in Australia). A double decker set (includes 2 large pizzas, 1.25litres of coke and garlic bread) and chicken wings cost $31.40, which was relatively cheap considering that a usual dinner at Pizza Hut in Singapore amounted to about $65.
One pizza was Hawaiian, whilst the other was Aussie Bacon & Eggs. AB&E was a very interesting combination, who would’ve thought that eggs could come with pizza? Even on them?
Anyway, we polished everything off and then threw them away before ants and other insects could get to them. You wouldn’t believe the large population of insects here. All sorts. Cockroaches, crickets, mosquitoes, flies, you name them. I think they’re the reason why there is such a wide variety of birds around as well.
Lastly, we came across a writer, who was just driving around from place to place, writing when the inspiration came and spending his days not knowing where he was going next. He’d stayed in China Xin Jiang for ten weeks, and could speak Mandarin. Though not the best, but we were still impressed. He had just finished his second book a few days ago, and was hoping to go China again to write his third book. His first book was Falling Feathers.
His name is Marcus Meinhold.
And now, it’s late, I’m tired, and I’m off.
Australian Time: 2110
5th Day
Location: Boonah, Queensland
Accommodation: Boonah Motel
Cost: $120 per night
Currency (Singapore is to Australia): 1 is to 1
Breakfast was extraordinarily sweet this morning. Goldsteins specializes in “bakery & pies”, and naturally the entire stall smelled of flour, bread and cakes. We had scouted around the Carrara Market (remember it’s always a huge area of land dotted with one-storey buildings) for something similar to bacon and eggs (I was seriously starting to miss even the icky egg yolk), but to no avail. Thus we settled for chocolate éclairs, bacon and egg pie, a box of chocolate chip and cornflakes cookies, a cup of cappuccino and BIG M chocolate milk (all for $16.40; I had a strong suspicion they overlooked something). Overall, it was sickeningly sweet, but that’s what you have to live with when you’re in others’ country – thus no complaints were uttered, except maybe a jibe here and there.
After the unusual breakfast, we headed towards Brisbane once more, this time with Mt Tamborine as our destination. I had no idea it was situated in the mountains, needless to say, the road there was more curvy and meandered through the mountains. It was a long ride, we expected 20 minutes but the trip took 40 minutes, and we took a wrong turn and had to turn back again. Not a smooth ride, that’s for sure. After much agony and a spinning head, we reached Thunderbird Park, where Adventure Parc was situated. My sis and I cost a total of $82 (student price) to enter the place and went on three different courses, green, red and black, in order to difficulty. The three courses consisted a grand total of 72 obstacles, which included walking on wire ropes, abseiling, climbing (ladders and rocks), balancing on suspended wooden logs and, my favourite, FLYING FOX! Everything was stringed together in one whole series, where you just moved from one tree (platform) to another, always remaining at least 3 metres above the ground. The green course was the easiest one – I got through it steadily without breaking and sweat. The red course raised the bar slightly, and my arms were aching lightly when I finally climbed down the ladder to reach the ground once more.
We were fitted with overalls (full body) and given safety harnesses, with a pulley and attachment cords. The attachment cords ensure that we stay secure all the time and in the case should we lose our balance, we would not plummet to the ground and go to heaven.
What frustrated me the most was that the wooden planks and bars were always situated pretty far apart, and whilst most Westerners would be able to reach them easily, it was a tougher feat for me since I am vertically challenged. But hey, I got through it still, didn’t I?
The forest was hot, the sun was extremely bright today, but yet it was such a dry place that you don’t really perspire much. You don’t get the chance to.
The black course was the toughest of all, and I gave up the last two obstacles and instead jumped straight to the flying fox. It was AWESOME!! It was the longest I’d ever been on, I crossed the forest at least 5 storeys above ground and even crossed over the river/creek! The sense of freedom and adrenaline had never been more prevalent as I had felt then. I was beginning to feel that all those times I missed my chance at flying fox (Primary Five camp and OBS) was well worth it if it’d all built up to this.
Also, there was an obstacle were we had to swing across with a rope just like Tarzan! It was hard to overcome the fear at first – would I fall halfway? What if I let go by accident? What if I slide down the rope? So many possibilities, but in the end, I managed to just forget the questions and just jumped it. It was exciting and scary at the same time.
I was so tired after the black course that I just handed back all my equipments and my family and I headed to the car with the intent of having a filling lunch. And then…the car refused to start. We tried again and again, but the engine was just…stuttering, without getting any better. We were mortified, and hurried to seek for help. A friend of the restaurant’s manager came to help us start the battery, but it was fruitless. Helpless, we could only call for Hertz professional help. They gave us an estimation of 45 minutes for the help to reach, but we were very grateful when help came within half an hour. The mechanic was friendly, and helped to start up the car. He stayed around to ensure that it was completely fixed and running before driving off.
During the wait, we sat down in the restaurant and ordered some things to eat – only chocolate cake, coke and tea were available. They do serve lunches, but they stop serving lunch at 1500, so they didn’t turn on the stove for us. It was only 1440 too! Argh.
So we decided to eat our own emergency cookies, and also begged them for some hot water to cook instant noodles. They weren’t very pleased, but hey, who was the one who refused us hot food even before their time was up?
Anyway, after lunch we drove off, and I fell asleep on the car.
When I woke up we had already checked into Boonah Motel, situated in a small town called Boonah, with a population of only a few hundred people. The motel room was small, and things were kept dirty (I guess they can’t do much about it), with insects flying all around. INSECTS WERE ENLARGED. Looking at the insects was like looking under the microscope. You could see the legs, the body…ew. And there were frogs! Little green frogs as well as large brown ones! A brown frog was trying to hop into our room by continuously banging against our closed door! It was hilarious. Then we went to a secluded road and had driving lessons there from my father. I was getting quite the hang of it – whether it was turning a corner, reversing, or controlling the petal. I love driving, and I had a fabulous time driving around.
I drove all the way back to the motel to pick up mom for dinner. We were actually looking for a Chinese restaurant which the motel owners had introduced to us, but after 40 minutes of aimless driving (and it was a small town, even) we realized that it was closed. Which rather pissed all of us off, since we were practically starving.
In the end, we bought pizzas from Eagle Boys (a restaurant chain bigger than Pizza Hut in Australia). A double decker set (includes 2 large pizzas, 1.25litres of coke and garlic bread) and chicken wings cost $31.40, which was relatively cheap considering that a usual dinner at Pizza Hut in Singapore amounted to about $65.
One pizza was Hawaiian, whilst the other was Aussie Bacon & Eggs. AB&E was a very interesting combination, who would’ve thought that eggs could come with pizza? Even on them?
Anyway, we polished everything off and then threw them away before ants and other insects could get to them. You wouldn’t believe the large population of insects here. All sorts. Cockroaches, crickets, mosquitoes, flies, you name them. I think they’re the reason why there is such a wide variety of birds around as well.
Lastly, we came across a writer, who was just driving around from place to place, writing when the inspiration came and spending his days not knowing where he was going next. He’d stayed in China Xin Jiang for ten weeks, and could speak Mandarin. Though not the best, but we were still impressed. He had just finished his second book a few days ago, and was hoping to go China again to write his third book. His first book was Falling Feathers.
His name is Marcus Meinhold.
And now, it’s late, I’m tired, and I’m off.
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