I Love Melbourne!!!

Hello everybody!!! Wah... I've been gone for more than a week! I'm sure you guys miss me like hell, especially my woman!!! *wink* Hahahaha... muaks! You can probably tell that I had a great time there...

Melbourne is fantastic!!! I love it! The city is so big compared to Perth, although it is a bit old-looking compared to Sydney. But nevertheless I love the city for its rich of beautiful cafes and food :P Sadly, you see McDonald's, Hungry Jacks and KFC at every possible corner! The Chinatown is definitely much bigger and nicer than the one in Perth, which is mainly just a block!!! Hahahaha... you can get a huge variety of Hong Kong food there.. yum! The dimsim in Melbourne is much better than the one in Perth too!!! hehehe.

The weather was cold, definitely! In the day, it was about 15deg and it got as low as 4deg at night ...brrr. They say the weather in Melbourne is erratic! Changing every minute!!! I found it ok, because sometimes Perth has such crazy weather too. Hahaha. We were lucky to have clear skies most of the time, although it drizzled every now and then.


The Shrine of Remembrance for WW I



Melbourne at night

Have you ever seen such a beautiful view? Oh..it was simply breathtaking! I could just sit there all day just watching the night pass...




I've never seen the sun set right in front of my eyes before. Especially when it is not obstructed by any tall concrete towers!!! It was a pure scenery... the great big South Pacific Ocean and the sunset... just beautiful and the most romantic thing.



The Nobbies

We were supposed to see the rock seals at the nobbies, using a telescope. But nah, we thought we'll skip it and wait for the real excitement instead - penguins!!!

We went to Philip Island to see the penguins, woohoo!!! Penguins!!! Unfortunately we werent allowed to snap any pictures of them because they are afraid of the flashing of lights. We only got to see them come back to shore to their homes in the evening when the skies were dark. We sat on the bences, waiting patiently, shivering in the cold gushes of wind from the open sea... It was the most beautiful sight though, watching those cute little blue penguins making their way to shore, watching them swimming back into the waters again if their partners got left behind. Back and forth, back and forth, they swam before finally running home... They travelled in small little groups of about 5. They were the cutest thing on earth!!! Standing about 20cm tall, they were simply adorable as you watch the little creatures waddling up the sandy shores... I will never forget those little penguins...



Anyone that goes to Melbourne cannot miss out on the new chocolate culture - Max Brenner!!! Wahahaha... chocolate lovers! this place is a must go!!! They serve the most unique way of drinking hot chocolate - the suckao way! Hahaha. No kidding people, the drink is called a suckao - to suck cacao (cocoa).



See that lamp-like thing there? Underneath it is a candle, to warm the small cup of milk above it. Then slowly you drop the chocolate pastilles into the cup, and let it melt a little before sucking it with the steel "suckao srtaw". I'm sorry lah, I dont know what its called. But its a spoon-like straw, allowing you to sip melted chocolate with warmed milk. What an experience!!! Young people hang out at this place like its we hang out at mamak! Hahaha. This is called the Aussie mamak!!! :P Of course there are other mouth-watering stuff like the strawberry fondue (ooh...yummy!) or even the strawberry pancakes/waffles!!! If I had the time, I would just sit there all day and sample everything on their menu!!! Hahaha...

The next trip is the Great Ocean Road trip. Another breathtaking trip!!! The scenery was just so wonderful... the hills, the cows, the sheeps! Hahaha. The clear blue skies, the country living, the big and beautiful trees, phew... it was almost like I was in some scene in LoTR!!! Hahaha. I'm not kidding ok! The view was just so beautiful... next time when I have the $$$, I'm going to buy a holiday home in places like these. So peaceful...


funny picture!

It was also in this trip that I bumped into a friend from uni! O_O" Hahaha. Also a Malaysian guy, doing Engineering/Science. He must be shocked when he saw me holding Jason's hands! Hahaha. Coincidentally his name is also Jason. "Jason, meet Jason." Anyway, he snapped a picture of us together and I can only imagine what will happen as soon as he comes back to Perth and spreads the news to everyone...

We headed down to see the famous 12 Apostles. When we arrived, we saw a media crew and I thought they were filming something. But no! One of the apostles collapsed!!! This ranger was making a report on it, and we jokingly said to him, "oh no! So now there are 11 apostles!" And he jokingly replied, "Well, there was only 9 originally. There was never 12." O_o" hahahaha...so instead of being 11, now there are 8. Hahaha.. how sad. Australia is losing its apostles in a snap of a finger. I think it must have been the strong waves and wind...sigh. So remember ok! EVen though it says "12 Apostles", there are only 8...



There was also this place called "The London Bridge". Yes, there are many tourist attractions in Aust that are named after foreign places or foreign settlers. But again, it is a fallen London Bridge. I think it fell down 15 years ago, but still these tour guides still bring you here to see the "fallen London Bridge". I actually wonder what is so great about it. Because afterall, it is a natural formation of the rock. But I guess it's also beautiful because it is natural...


The fallen London Bridge


The Ferrari Club @ Cafe Corretto

This is for Ferrari Lovers - like my sister Ju Lee. There is quite a huge population of Italians in Melbourne. And there is this street called Lygon street filled with Italian restorante and cafes and gelati shops! It was mouth-watering!!! I was practically drooling each time we walked past those restaurants. I love italian food, especially the rich creamy pasta, and wood fired pizzas... yummy... Not to mention eating gelati in the cold cold night. Absolutely crazy! But fun at the same time! It's almost like eating ice-kacang right in front of the heater! (hahaha... I'm sorry for the comparison. But we did that once in Perth! :P) There is this place called "il dolce freddo" which served durian gelato!! Yes, durian!!! Yum!!! Unfortunately they only serve it during weekends, and by the time we went there, they were already closed for the winter *cry*

That about sums up my trip in Melbourne. Wahahaha... of course some details are omitted to keep this site friendly! *wink* Hahaha. I mostly showed you pictures of the road trips we went on, there are many beautiful places in the city too. Like the Crown Casino! Whoa!!! Can compete with Genting Casino? I'm not sure, havent really been in there. Haha.



Outside the casino are towers that have water flowing down the sides. But at night they transform into flame towers!!! See the picture? We were lucky to be able to see them. We didnt know what time they were going to come on. At the beginning, only small flames would come out the top of the towers, followed by fiercer flames. It was like a flame dance, following a sequence similar to the standing hand wave. And at the very end, the flame was so strong that we could feel the heat just standing below the towers!!! whoa!!! Hahaha. I dont know what it is called, so I'll just call it the flame dance! Hahaha. Sorry this picture only shows the beginning part. The other pictures are kinda blurry...

Then there are other old and historical architectures around which makes Melbourne the arty-facty city of Australia. Hehehe. I'm serious, I love Melbourne! From now onwards, I'm going to start applying for jobs there! Wish me luck! Hahaha...