Sugar Coated Rainbow Sprinkles

New Zealand 2011 Day 4

2011-06-06T23:59:00.011+08:00

Woke up to yet another grey misty morning. Depressing. Decided to have breakfast at the main house instead of having it sent to us, so that we could chat up our hosts. We were really touched by Michael's and Sharon's friendliness and hospitality. We sat at the dining table while Sharon cooked our breakfast. Breakfast in NZ is really satisfying and fulfilling enough to last us till teatime!

Muesli, cornflakes, rice pops, juices and fruit salad

Bacon, egg and cheese - mmmm!

The main house

Waiting for breakfast

After breakfast, we were about to go and pack up when we saw Harry playing football (as in rugby) by himself outside the house. He would sneak a furtive peek at us and then pretend to self-indulge in throwing the ball around, as if hoping that we would go over and play with him. And we took up his shy 'invitation'. I just needed to ask "So you like rugby?" and he started to babble excitedly in an adorable child-like way (he was 4 years old, I think) about football and the rules, and from there the three of us played together. First time playing rugby for me. Within 10 minutes, I was worn out and panting, but he was so zealous that we could not bear to end the game.

After a while, we really had to go pack our luggage so we promised to continue the game after that. Throughout the whole time we were packing, Harry was riding his tricycle at the basketball court and looking over to our cottage, as if to make sure we did not break our promise and sneak away. Such innocence! So despite time constraints (we had to cover 197km by dusk), we just had to sacrifice a little time to play with him. Besides, he was the only child and he must be really lonely (I assume).

We played basketball for a while, and then he decided to take us to look at the farm animals. So together with Michael the four of us put on boots and stepped into the enclosure. There were sheep, cows and one or two wild hares. Learnt from Michael that he reared the animals and earned money from selling them to the slaughterhouses. He pointed to one particular brown and white one and said he would be "sending him away" next week, and I gulped, "You mean it is ready?" and he nodded. I did not know why, but at that point of time, I couldn't bring myself to speak more directly. It was kind of macabre as I looked sadly at the cow and imagined its fate next week.

Plodding into the muddy field with Michael and Harry

The brown and white cow that was 'ready'

Harry was simply so cute

It was noontime and we really had to go (though we hated it). So we bade farewell to our hosts and got on our way (not before dropping off our rented movies). Looking forward to driving!

With our wonderful hosts

They have a outdoor barbeque area at the front

New River Bluegums B&B

Now we knew why Greymouth is thus named

Took Highway 6 southwards and it was a pretty smooth ride. Hardly any traffic and tried to speed like never before. Reached a town named Hokitika and stopped for a break.

At Hokitika

Stopped at this eatery for teatime

Wow, lots of fried goodies!

Seafood basket - fish nuggets, calamari, fried crabsticks, prawns and fries!

Highway 6 passes through lots of green forests ...

... and was quite empty

Once in a while we would just stop by the roadside and get out of the car for some refreshing winter air. Gazing out into the broad fields, towering peaks and flowing creeks, and enjoying the tranquility of the wild outdoors of NZ was the best remedy for our stressed-out urban souls. No words could describe how liberating the feeling was. Was secretly harbouring thoughts of spending old age here.

Stopped at this river bank

Slug looking out for fishes in this shallow stream

Slug was pacing with some wild duck

Would gladly trade in my urban comforts for this wilderness peace

Stopped by Lake Ianthe for a toilet break and some scenic views.

Fooling around at Lake Ianthe

Fish & Game NZ conducts patrols to ensure fishers have the relevant license

Driving towards Franz Josef now

Reached Franz Josef town after maneuvering through a few mountain roads. Was getting increasingly worried as the sky was starting to darken and the mountain roads had no lampposts. Sped up and reached Fox Glacier town at dusk. Arrived at our accommodation, The White Fox B&B, just as we emerged from the mountains, and were welcomed by our hosts, Gary and Jane. They had two lovely daughters, Meghan and Isla, as well as a border collie named Tussock and a cat named Irish.

We were shown our room, which was a bedroom in their house.

Our room with ensuite bathroom - clean, neat and with modern furnishings

Drove out to have dinner at a bar. Fox Glacier is a rather small town - most of the accommodation, eateries and services were along the main road (which is also Highway 6). Most stores were closed by evening, only the bars were still open. Too quiet and lifeless, in our opinion.

Had pizza at this bar

Could not finish this huge pizza so brought it back. Retired early for the night as we would be trekking up Fox Glacier the next day.

New Zealand 2011 Day 3

2011-06-05T23:59:00.006+08:00

Booked a half-day blackwater cave rafting trip with Wild West Adventures. Could not believe Michael and his son, Harry, came over to our cottage at around 6+am to wake us up. How did they manage to get up so early! Their knocks on our door and windows were too polite, we just slept on without even knowing that they came. When we woke, we were already late. They were so kind to leave breakfast on the dining table! We quickly gulped the meats and rushed out.

Our little private cottage

Drove to the Wild West Adventures base in Greymouth town. It was a grey morning and it was drizzling. Apparently, the west coast of South Island receives rain most days of the year. Yucks, I can't tolerate such a shitty weather. At the base, we grabbed and put on the necessary gear - thermal wear, socks, helmet and a rubbery overall wetsuit with boots. Slug and I were joined by a Caucasian couple and a guide. After we got everything ready, we boarded a van that took us to a section of Grey River 30 minutes away from town.

Alighted at a field strewn with cow dung and soggy mud, and we trekked our way through the rainforest to the river bank. There, the guide handed us each a tube (like some inflated rubber lifesaver) which we sat on, and pedalled our way down the gentle rapids of the river. The guide taught us the art of river tubing. It had been raining, so the river flow was a little challenging. I was swept away from the rest a few times, but the agile guide would help grab onto me. I surely underestimated this shallow river.

At some point of the river, we got to the entrance of a cave. Apparently caves like this are protected by Taniwhas, underground dragons based on Maori mythology, and in order to be protected against as well as show respect to them, we had to streak our faces with mud. Then all of us started floating on our tubes into the pitch-black cave. As the cave was narrow (and felt really claustrophobic to me), we had to float in a line, by propping our legs on the shoulders of the person in front. Slug was made to lead us and steer our way against the river flow (poor thing!) into the cave, while the guide watched our backs behind.

Halfway the guide told us to stop and we looked up and realised the cave ceiling was lit up with numerous bluish-green dots, like a starry night sky. It was breathtaking. These were the glowworms, the larvae of a type of fly which spend the most of their lives being a larva and glow to attract prey. We spent the next 15 minutes or so admiring the glowworms, snacking on a chocolate bar and sipping on hot chocolate (brought by the guide) in the dank, enclosed darkness.

After that, we floated our way out which was easy as we were now going along with the river flow. Once outside of the cave, we trekked up the river bank and back to the dung-covered field. It was amazing that the wetsuit kept us warm in the water in such a chilly weather. We got back to the base where we took a hot bath, and ended our adventure on a sweet note - with a blueberry muffin and lemonade.

We got back to our accommodation and saw Michael busy mending a stone wall for our cottage. Slug borrowed fishing equipment and got some fishing spot recommendations from Michael, and we spent the afternoon exploring Greymouth and its many creeks.

A cow on the farm

We came to this wide river

Wonder what lies beneath the surface

My efficient and trusty road companion

Exploring Greymouth

Singaporean style? Since when we add those keropok things into our veggies?

No luck with fishing, so we returned at dusk. We bought some foodstuffs for cooking dinner at a nearby supermarket.

Slug looking at Michael's cows

The kitchen was well-equipped with the necessary cooking ware and condiments, and Slug whipped up vegetable soup and stir-fried chicken chunks with onion. While Slug was busy, I was slacking away reading some farming magazine.

Very hardworking Slug

Watched two more movies after dinner. Also browsed through three huge guestbooks that contained lots of thank-yous and well wishes from guests coming from all kinds of countries.

It was extremely cold at night. The air-con unit could hardly toast the whole cottage. The compound and its forested surroundings were very dark, but that made the stars appeared brighter which was really stunning. Wanted to just lounge around at the front porch to star-gaze, but it was simply too cold.

Would be leaving Greymouth for Fox Glacier the next day. Hated to leave this wonderful B&B, and return the unwatched movies!

New Zealand 2011 Day 2

2011-06-04T23:59:00.016+08:00

Woke up and realised that the sky would only start to brighten at 8+am. Seems like daytime in NZ is shorter during winter. Had breakfast prepared by our hosts. Breakfast was an elaborate affair with cereals and fruits as starters, eggs and meat as main dish, finished with a beverage. The feeling of being able to sit down and take time to enjoy breakfast was really good.

Slug and I absolutely adored the Victorian feel of this B&B

Their efforts on the dining table were evident - crystal glasses, porcelain cutlery with matching place mats, rolled napkins secured with crystal holders etc

Looking at the garden outside

We chatted with our hosts and Pam remarked that she noticed that Singaporeans like to go around barefooted in the house. We just said it is the norm back home and I refrained from telling her that wearing shoes into the house soils the floor / carpet. There was a guest who was sitting with us, a really young blonde girl from the UK, who, together with Pam, commented that I spoke really fluent English. Methinks they did not know our education system brings us up be bilingual, and when I explained it to them they seemed surprised. Slug and I could not stop gushing about how beautiful the house was, and Pam told us that it was built in 1895, passed down by her grandmother, had undergone restoration and escaped the February earthquake unscathed. The garden would have looked really beautiful with all the flowers and blossoms in spring.

Pam and Denis cooking our breakfast

Starting off our breakfast with muesli and yoghurt

Loved the nice garden view and birds' chirping

Our breakfasts

After breakfast, we bade Denis and Pam farewell, threw our luggage into the car, and sped off to our next destination, Greymouth - a small coastal town on the west side of South Island. It would be a 200+km drive away on Highway 73.

It was another grey sunless morning, as we cruised past forests and wide open fields. Cows and sheep grazing on the pastures was a common sight. Hardly any traffic on the highways as well, which made for easy driving. Hardly any roadkill too, in fact none, as compared to Australia.

Off to Greymouth

Highway 73 would lead us to the mountains

Past grassy fields

Scenic views along the way

A while after Springfield, the road ascended sharply up into the mountains. I was enjoying the challenge - steep terrain, and maneuvering the narrow lanes and hairpin bends. Cannot possibly do this in Singapore. We drove through Arthur's Pass National Park, a forested country park up in the mountains. Once in a while, we would get off the car, stretch our legs and take pictures (but not for long, the strong chilly winds in the highland were too much to bear).

Took a break from driving

Sheep trotting on the grassy slopes

Huge boulders excited the geography enthusiast in me

Grazing sheep

My rented car - a Toyota Corolla hatchback

At Arthur's Pass

We stopped at Lake Pearson to enjoy the scenery and take a toilet break. Slug was feeling the itch to do some fishing (trout and salmon!) at the lake but he did not bring any fishing equipment. We applied for the permit to fish but Slug refused to bring his rod, thinking that he could do some borrowing. Ha.

At Lake Pearson

Signboards on fishing regulations - fish species found, bag limit, type of bait allowed etc

Leaving Lake Pearson

After Arthur's Pass, we took a side road which led us to Lake Brunner. It was another large lake shrouded in fog and eerie silence.

Deviating from Highway 73

Lake Brunner

We stopped to explore a small town called Moana further down the road.

At Moana

A train sending coal to Moana

Back on the road again

We reached Greymouth just as the sky was starting to darken. Our accommodation, New River Bluegums B&B, was quite a distance from the town centre. In fact, it was more of a farmstay, tucked away in a secluded spot along Highway 6. Our hosts there, Michael and Sharon, showed us our 'room', which was actually a little cottage (with living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom) a few metres away from the main house. It was a pleasant surprise to know that we would be having this private cottage all to ourselves! Our hosts were really friendly, who had brownies for us and said we could visit their farm if we liked to.

Living room

Cozy bedroom

Kitchen

I loved these little touches in the bathroom

Drove to the Greymouth town centre for dinner. It was only 6pm and most shops were already closed and the streets nearly empty. Was rather quiet and creepy. Had dinner at a Chinese restaurant run by a Hong Konger. He doubled up as the chef, and chatted with us while preparing the food. Upon knowing that we were from Singapore, he told us that Lee Kuan Yew and family came to dine some years ago. Sounded dubious. Food-wise, we always have high regard for Cantonese cuisine and cha caan teng fare, but the food here failed miserably to meet our gourmet expectations.

At the Chinese restaurant

Unappetizing-looking omelette with rice

Fried fish drizzled in lemon sauce and yucks, cabbage

After dinner, came across one of stores that was still open - a video rental store. Luckily the cottage had a DVD player, so we decided to rent some movies for the night. Went rabid inside the store and could not decide what to watch given that we would be staying in Greymouth only for two nights. Rental was cheap too.

Horror fest tonight!

Drove back to our cottage and was dismayed to find that as we went further and further from the town centre, the number of lampposts got fewer and fewer. I could not get used to driving on such dark roads and using just the headlights. It was also not easy to find the B&B in such darkness and remoteness.

Managed to watch two movies before turning in for the night. Would be going river rafting and caving the next day!

New Zealand 2011 Day 1

2011-06-03T23:59:00.003+08:00

Touring South Island this holidays! Departed from Singapore at 7.50pm the previous day and arrived at Auckland International Airport at 9.55am (NZ is 4 hours ahead of Singapore during winter). Then we transited to an inbound flight to Christchurch and reached there at 1.25pm.

Flying over the inland mountains of South Island

Slug and I picked up our rented car from Europcar at the airport, and we made our way to our accommodation in Christchurch - Lilac Rose Boutique Bed & Breakfast (B&B) at Blighs Road. Driving in Christchurch was somehow as daunting as in Singapore - heavy traffic, roundabouts instead of traffic junctions, no place to do U-turns, lanes dedicated for cyclists, roadside parking and I knew nothing of their road etiquette. It took me quite some time to locate the B&B.

It was 3+pm in the afternoon and there were kids walking and skating along the sidewalks, seemingly to have been dismissed from school. Hardly any sun, just the grey winter gloom and temperatures around 11 deg. Trees along the sidewalks were either bare or still slowly shedding the yellow autumn leaves. Wrong choice to come to NZ in winter, as we would be walking around in our bulky winter wear and braving the cold. But then, looking on the brighter side ... less crowd and lower prices!

We were truly amazed by the stunning vintage beauty of the B&B - a little white house with white picket fence, a pretty garden and white roses that lined the stony path which led us to their stained glass door. Our hosts at the B&B, Denis and Pam, welcomed us in, together with their friendly Golden Retriever, Abbie, which just would hold her favourite (drool-soaked) teddy bear in her jaws wherever she went. Inside the house, we were even more spellbound by the vintage English furnishings - chandelier, old cupboards, mirrors, ancestor and family portraits (those sepia Victorian kind) etc. We were brought to our room - their so-called Mulberry Room, where we freshened up and napped a little.

Mulberry Room (wow, 6 pillows!)

Ensuite bathroom (double wow - scented candles, reed diffusers and underfloor heating)

Linden Leaves bath toiletries - they sure are generous!

They had another pet, Pussy, a lovely and inquisitive cat with really white and soft fur, which sneaked into our room and started sniffing our belongings.

I could not keep my hands off Pussy

Pussy has one yellow and one blue eye

When we awoke, it was 6pm but it was already nightfall. Denis offered to get takeouts for us, but we decided to drive out for dinner. It was a dread stepping out into the cold and the damn vehicle heating system always took a long time to heat up the car. We drove to a corner of Ilam Road, which had a supermarket and some ethnic restaurants. Missed Chinese food so had dinner at Chopsticks Restaurant.

Felt out of place as all the patrons in the restaurant were locals (was at least consoled that the counter staff was Asian). They were rather noisy. At one point of time, someone at a table erupted with a Happy Birthday song for his embarrassed friend, and the whole restaurant chorused together with him. What feisty people! Slug and I somehow felt pressured to join in this cheerful celebration for a stranger, but we just kept our lips to our teacups. Culture clash, indeed.

Our sumptuous dinner of butterfly prawns, fried rice, claypot tofu and roasted duck

Chopsticks Restaurant

When we got back to the B&B, we saw two young Caucasian guests sipping red wine and chatting with Denis and Pam in the living room. They beckoned for us to join them, but I do not know if it is an Asian thing or what, we did not feel that compelled to join in group chats with people we barely knew. We politely turned them down and retired to our room.

Packed up as we would be leaving for Greymouth the next day.

Hong Kong 2010 Day 8

2010-12-05T23:59:00.001+08:00

Had breakfast and did some last-minute shopping before departing for home.

This cha caan teng's breakfast was greasy

Hong Kong 2010 Day 7

2010-12-04T23:59:00.006+08:00

Made our way to 鴨仔坑釣魚場 again for some more fishing since we had nothing to do for the day. Breakfast was century egg porridge with dough fritters.

Man, their dough fritters were huge!

Nice weather for the outdoors

Some stray dog loitering at the fences and looking at us

The dog happily gulping down the foul-smelling bait Slug was feeding it

Had dinner in Lai Chi Kok.

Deep-fried calamari with garlic, chilli and spices

Some girl brought her two fluffy Samoyeds out for a walk in Mongkok which caused heads to turn and camera phones to be whipped out.

These two Samoyeds definitely got a lot of attention from the street crowd

Got my nails done by the male manicurist who could design very well at 信和中心. Their gel nails and meticulous painting were so worth the money.

In the festive mood

Hong Kong 2010 Day 6

2010-12-03T23:59:00.005+08:00

Went fishing at the fishing ground we went to last year - 鴨仔坑釣魚場. Tucked away in a remote corner of Yuen Long, it took us nearly 1.5 hours and many transfers on the MTR to get there.

Suckling pig and roast duck rice

Enjoying their soup

Claypot seafood and tofu

Slug and I waiting for the train

Outside Tin Shui Wai station

鴨仔坑釣魚場

Banner promising that you can land these types of fishes

Slug in action

By nightfall, Slug landed two large fishes. We released them back in the end. Apparently, there are additional charges should you want to bring the fishes here back home for your dinner table.

Our first captive

Spent the afternoon reading

A proud slug

Hong Kong 2010 Day 5

2010-12-02T23:59:00.002+08:00

Spent the day just walking around and shopping in Central, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay, and indulging in simple but tasty cha chan teng fare.

Rice with meatloaf topped with salted egg yolk, accompanied by double-boiled soup

Rice with pork stir-fried in garlic, chilli and spices

7-11 introduced this limited edition collectible from Sanrio, but they would only launch it on the day we were to leave Hong Kong. Damn. It looked so pretty.

A Ferris Wheel with Sanrio character charms

Our dinner

Hong Kong street at night

Hong Kong 2010 Day 4

2010-12-01T23:59:00.014+08:00

Decided to go for a little offshore fishing (in Slug's interests, or else I would be dragging a whining burden when I went shopping). Had breakfast before making our way to Sai Kung.

Typical Hong Kong breakfast

Take green minibus 1A outside Choi Hung MTR station to Sai Kung

Sai Kung was a slow-paced and relaxed seaside town on a sunny Wednesday morning. As Slug and I were browsing the shops selling fishing equipment, we noticed a suspicious old lady spying on us. As soon as we exited the shop, she approached us and offered to take us out to sea to fish for the whole afternoon for about HKD350. We went along with her.

Sai Kung

Drying out egg yolks under the sun

The old lady steering her boat towards us

Fisherman at sea

Coastal erosion

Spent the next few hours on the gently-rocking boat napping while Slug fished.

Fishing with hand reel

Some hilly islets off Sai Kung

Some of the small fishes Slug caught

Slug was increasingly bored because he wanted to land some really large fishes and was resenting the old lady for not bringing us further out to sea where the large catch was. I was rather impressed with the old lady's very simple diet - she cooked porridge on board and boiled cabbage in hot water - and that was her lunch.

The old lady fishing as well

I decided to try my hand at fishing too.

More fishes

Spotted groupers and other fishes

They were too small to be eaten, so we set them all free.

On our way back to Sai Kung

Sai Kung pier on a quiet weekday evening

Slug complained about how unexciting this fishing trip was, but I was just contented enough to spend a lazy afternoon like that.

Hong Kong 2010 Day 3

2010-11-30T23:59:00.012+08:00

Cannot miss out packing in a hiking trip whenever I come to Hong Kong. This time, we were going to take a leisurely stroll on the Ma On Shan Country Trail, supposedly just 4.5km which would take about 2 hours. It starts at Ma On Shan barbeque area, crosses the Ngong Ping Plateau, passes the towering Pyramid Hill and will finally lead us to Sai Kung (seafood dinner!).

Had breakfast at our favourite 翠华 cha caan teng to load on some carbs first.

Enjoying breakfast

After breakfast, took the MTR to Hang On, and walked a while before coming to the start of Leung Yau Road, the beginning of a gruelling uphill walk towards the start of the country trail.

Neighbourhood area outside Hang On station

Crossing the roundabout

Just started to walk to Leung Yau Road

On our way up

Ma On Shan Tsuen Road will take us to the start of the trail

Huh ... another steep stretch of endless walking ...

Rested at a pavilion

Already 2+pm and we needed to be on our way

Came to the barbeque area at the end of Ma On Shan Tsuen Road. Gosh, we hadn't even started the trail and it was already late afternoon. And we were worn out and sweaty (even in winter). Should have cabbed straight to the start of the trail. Didn't intend to spend the night in the mountains, so decided to abort this expedition. That meant ... more rest time!

Barbeque area at Ma On Shan Country Park

Area empty and quiet on a weekday afternoon

Enjoying the tranquility of nature while taking a breather

Finally decided to make our way down, but found ourselves walking aimlessly along little paths that seemed to bring us back to our original spot. Explored some quiet settlements nearby.

A noticeboard with posters

A sad-looking dog (yeah, we understand too much silence can drive you nuts)

A little waterfall

Next time, O Lofty Peaks

Sun was dipping behind the hills

Was disappointed I did not even get to attempt a simple hike. And the wild outdoors with almost zilch civilization was quite daunting at times. We are true-blue city kids whose adventure thresholds do not go beyond Orchard Road.

Just 1.3km to Ngong Ping Plateau but we had to give it up due to time constraints

Was damn lucky to chance upon a minibus that could take us back to Hang On. The friendly driver and another elderly passenger seemed to be amused to see us wandering around in such remoteness. It took only 5 minutes for the bus to descend the steep roads which took us 2 hours to ascend earlier on. We took a bus to Sai Kung - we needed food quick!

Visited our favourite 通记 seafood restaurant and ordered our old favourites. A gratifying consolation for our failed attempt at hiking today.

Boats selling live seafood at the jetty

At the restaurant

Have yet to tried this restaurant

Humongous fish

Went shopping for classic HK movies in Causeway Bay - always enjoyed the sense of satisfaction derived from finding cheap buys and classics that would otherwise be lost with time ...

Must find a way to sneak these across

Hong Kong 2010 Day 2

2010-11-29T23:59:00.008+08:00

We love the cha chan tengs in Hong Kong. A large variety of Chinese dishes at fairly affordable prices, plus my favourite watercress honey drink. We are always looking forward to mealtimes there.

Breakfast

Delectable bo lo buns and egg tarts

Explored the many aquarium stores at Tung Choi Street selling fishes as well as exotic pets like staghorn beetles, iguanas, tarantulas, scorpions etc.

Tung Choi Street

Cute marine fishes

Went to Ap Liu Street flea market, a must-go for Slug everytime.

The Hi-fi shop that Slug must stop by

Went to Hong Kong Industrial Centre in Lai Chi Kok, which is like a factory outlet selling clothing cheaply if you buy in bulk. First had lunch at a cha chan teng nearby. I can't stop raving about soups in Hong Kong - double-boiled, rich and flavourful with assorted ingredients.

The cha chan teng we went to

Soya sauce chicken rice with the savoury spring onion garnish

We analysed this delicious soup - winter melon, carrot, pork bones, barley and dried orange peel

Hong Kong Industrial Centre

Next, it was hours of shopping but did not buy much as the stores were mainly selling winter clothing in gaudy colours.

Can't wear this in Singapore

Storekeepers unpacking the newly-arrived stock

Three towers of factory outlets within the Industrial Centre

Just beside Lai Chi Kok MTR station

Spent the night exploring Mongkok, especially 信和中心 and its 2nd hand CD shops and collectibles shops. We could easily spend hours in 信和中心.

My favourite Rilakkuma shop

Going to have dinner soon!

Another must-try - wanton noodles

Watching HK dramas while eating

Shopped at Windsor House at Causeway Bay

Was proud to have covered so many areas today!

Hong Kong 2010 Day 1

2010-11-28T23:59:00.003+08:00

Our fifth time to Hong Kong - our mecca every December. Always back for the delicious food, shopping and hill-trekking.

Cairns Day 8

2010-06-16T23:59:00.004+08:00

Last day in Australia. Was actually eager to go home because funds were running low (everything was so expensive!) and we had enough of urban life. We took a walk at Count White Park in the morning, before leaving for Brisbane Airport to catch our flight back.

Had breakfast of hotdogs at some roadside cafe

CBD in the morning

Overlooking Brisbane River

We are going to miss Cairns though, and the wild and sunny outdoors that Queensland has to offer.

Cairns Day 7

2010-06-15T23:59:00.015+08:00

Time to leave Mackay for Brisbane. We sped to Mackay Airport as we were getting late, but unfortunately, missed our morning flight and had to pay extra to catch the next flight in the afternoon. Was a little sad to part with the trusty car that took us over a thousand miles, that ran over roadkill, that was caught on speed camera in Mackay, and that harvested a its own roadkill bounty of flies of all sorts.

Works as well as a flytrap

Miners Lodge Motor Inn

Reached Brisbane in the late afternoon. Decided not to rent any car as I was daunted by the confusing network of roads and heavy traffic. Took a cab to our accommodation to Econolodge along Main Street. It was an expensive cab ride of $50!

It was colder in Brisbane, at about 16 deg Celsius, despite the sun shining so brightly in the cloudless blue sky. The Econolodge is a decent and affordable motel situated in a quiet neighbourhood, and we were quite pleased with their clean and modern rooms.

Our room

We then took a Citycat ferry (bloody expensive - $4.50 to just cross over to the other side of the river) to the CBD of Brisbane, and explored that area. Nothing much, mainly expensive retail stores, fine dining restaurants, cultural landmarks and small Asian stores selling large sushi handrolls.

Brisbane River

Exploring the city centre

Brisbane's famous Story Bridge

CBD at night

Boarded the ferry back from the Eagle Street stop

The sophisticated and cosmopolitan feel of Brisbane is so different from the laidback and rugged outdoors of Cairns, Townsville and Mackay that we had experienced and enjoyed previously. Brisbane holds nothing for us and we could not wait to return home the next day.

Cairns Day 6

2010-06-14T23:59:00.009+08:00

Left Townsville after having some breakfast at Subway (finally a familiar taste!). Totally geared up for my 390km drive to Mackay.

Our motel, The Summit

Leaving Townsville

Ahh, a beautiful day for our drive

It is commendable that the Aussies have this 'Driver Reviver' initiative - small simple facilities along their highways meant as a pit stop where weary drivers can get out of the car, rest, have some drinks and biscuits, and go for a toilet break. Very beneficial. We stopped at this one, stretched our legs and had some coffee (it was free, but we gave a little tip anyway).

Driver Reviver stop

After the brief break, we continued down the highway. Resisted the urge to stray off our main route and explore beautiful attractions (the white sandy beaches at Whitsunday) and hidden treasures (maybe crocodile-infested creeks). 390km seemed such a daunting distance to me.

Nevertheless, it was a sunny yet cooling afternoon and I was enjoying the drive and the sights that rolled by (definitely not the squashed roadkill).

Dry grassy plains

Cattle grazing leisurely

Soon after we reached Mackay, some racist prick in the car in front of us pointed the middle finger at us at a traffic junction. That got us really indignant. As we drove further on, I felt a little lost and I pulled up at the side of the street and studied the map. At the corner of my eye, I saw a man from the opposite side of the street running across as soon as I stopped. Unexpectedly, he came to our car and tapped on the window. I was taken aback and instinctively placed my fingers on the door lock switch, but stupid Slug actually wound down the window! The man asked us if we needed help and asked where we wanted to go to. I just mumbled a motel name and he started to ramble on a confusing string of directions. We listened half-heartedly and as soon as he was finished, we thanked him and quickly sped off. For a moment, I thought he was going to shoot us.

We did not follow his directions (god knows where it was going to lead us to), and a while later, we decided to seek accommodation at this Miners Lodge Motor Inn. We had a ground-floor unit which had a secure under-cover parking lot right at our doorstep. Plonking onto the bed brought me tremendous relief after such a long day's drive.

Comfortable bed but gawdy quilt cover

Would be leaving for Brisbane the next day.

Cairns Day 5

2010-06-13T23:59:00.008+08:00

Packed, checked out of our cozy motel and got ready to hit the road early in the morning. The lady at the counter was really nice and did not charge us for breaking their juice beakers. This motel is highly liked by Slug and I for its friendly service and clean and comfortable rooms. We were reluctant to leave Cairns.

The interior compound of Aspect Central Motel

Grabbed some breakfast and browsed through a huge store selling all kinds of necessities for the outdoors like BBQ grills, fishing and camping equipment before leaving Cairns at about 10pm. We took the Bruce Highway, a major highway in Queensland leading south to Brisbane. Hopefully we could reach some major town by dusk.

Taking the Bruce Highway southwards

Small settlements

Driving was such a breeze! Light traffic, direct route, warm sunshine and relaxing views of the expansive plains. However, what marred the enjoyable driving experience was having to dodge the kangaroo (and other animals) carcasses that littered the highway (usually at the roadside). It was heartwrenching to see the bodies in various states of decay - some freshly killed lying in a pool of blood, while most were already run over, flattened and dried up till they had become powder and drifted away with the wind, leaving behind their brown hide. We could not make out what the smaller corpses were, probably wallabies and rats. And also birds.

What a lovely scene of nature

Came to a petrol station along the highway and bought some refreshments as well as went for a toilet break. Slug bought a handline reel and some prawns for bait.

At the petrol station

Had been driving for 2 hours now. Sugar cane plantations, grazing cows and small towns around us. Nevertheless, found it a peaceful and relaxing cruise. Took care not to exceed their highway speed limit of 100km/h, because there was enforcement by the traffic police - had seen the red police cars by the roadside with the officers stopping other drivers.

Decided to go for a little adventure by turning into a small road leading to some creek where we could do some fishing. I did feel some anxiety driving into some quiet unknown territory with no human presence around us. What if we were attacked? What if our car broke down? What if some mutant a la The Hills Have Eyes emerged from the sugar cane plants and chopped us up for dinner?

We came to Eubenangee Swamp National Park. There was a small creek beside the entrance into the national park. There was a family fishing at the creek - the father was resting in their vehicle, the mother was smoking and fishing and the small children were laughing and running around topless. We picked a spot to fish - on the railway track above the creek (okay, I know it's dangerous, but probably not as dangerous as the yellow sign that said 'Beware of wild crocodiles').

At the creek

At Eubenangee Swamp National Park

Slug fishing on a railway track

It was a shallow creek, and the hook kept getting stuck in the rocks. The smoking mother advised us to throw the bait into the water shaded by the tree cover, where Mangrove Jacks rest. No luck. The mother, with also a handline reel, kept hooking up fishes, but she released them back. I admire fishermen (or women) who respect wildlife by practising catch and release - releasing fishes that are not desired or are too small to deserve premature death.

I got bored after a while and we decided to enter the national park. We read the yellow sign carefully - no swimming and no approaching of the swamp and river banks. I was anticipating meeting a wild crocodile! Within the first 10 steps into the national park, I came out shrieking because I could not stomach the sight of twenty over mosquitoes resting on Slug's black T-shirt (as well as our arms). It was fun punching his back in swift kungfu moves and flattening 4 to 5 mosquitoes at one go, but pointless (this is the territory of generations of these bloodsuckers). I gave up and we walked in.

The dark dense forest that greeted us at the entrance

At the entrance

The air was still but moist, and all we could hear was our breathing. No bird calls, no cracking sounds of fruits ... ... where were the animals? We were looking out for crocs as we stared nervously at the gently-flowing but swampy river (the one leading to the creek that we were fishing at), but we saw none. However, we did see some obvious sandy patches by the path (in contrast to the surrounding densely-vegetated grass ground) and trail marks - looked like a resting spot for a crocodile and the tracks it left behind. We could never be sure.

Suddenly a man coming from behind overtook us, and we decided to catch up with him. After a while, we emerged out of the forest and came to a grassy knoll. Unexpectedly he walked up the knoll, which left us wondering where it would lead to. For safety's sake, we decided not to follow and get out of the national park. Felt kind of disappointed that we did not spot a croc.

The man went up the knoll to nowhere

Back onto Bruce Highway again. It was nearing 3pm. Now was starting to get time-conscious. However, saw a road leading to Josephine Falls and decided to sidetrack for a little while.

Empty road

Located along Josephine Creek at the foot of Mount Bartle Frere, Josephine Falls is a popular recreation spot amongst the locals. Surprisingly, when we arrived there, there was quite a number of locals picnicking and trekking there. The small waterfall looked tempting but the temperature made us hesitate towards stripping and swimming there.

Josephine Falls

Some parts of the creek were strewn with large boulders

At Josephine Falls

Got back onto Bruce Highway. We stopped at Cardwell for a toilet break and some fish and chips.

At a jetty in Cardwell

Gentle waves up the shore

Sped as fast as I could but started to get increasingly worried as the sun slowly dipped behind the majestic mountains, turning the scene a dusky orange. Wished to avoid driving on these empty lamppost-lacking roads at night. More kangaroo carcasses and a patch of burning forest along the way.

Evening approaching

Finally, it was nightfall. It was scary driving on dark roads where you could only see bright headlights ahead, so imagine my relief when I eventually saw the familiar orange lamppost lights and the town ahead - Townsville. We decided to settle there for the night. It was tough finding a motel along the beach that could accommodate us - most of them were full. We finally came to a decent-looking one further inland on the slope of Castle Hill - The Summit Motel. The middle-aged man at the counter was very friendly and gave us milk as welcome drinks. The room was equally decent too - neat, comfortable and had a really nice room fragrance.

We drove to The Strand (the road along the beach lined with restaurants, motels and bars, just like The Esplanade in Cairns) for dinner but realised we could only afford to eat Chinese noodles-in-a-box (even then, each box cost AUD$13). We had the impression that Townsville was just a small countryside town, but surprisingly, it had a modern CBD, posh restaurants and bars by the beach with a classy and stylish clientele in formal and clubbing wear. Imagine our shabbiness as we walked along The Strand in jeans and sweaters.

Spent the night resting our sore asses (for sitting in the car throughout this 350-km journey) and watching cable TV accompanied by beer. Had to leave for Mackay the next day.

Cairns Day 4

2010-06-12T23:59:00.011+08:00

Decided to be adventurous and drive out of Cairns town - north to Cairns Tropical Zoo. Initially felt nervous and apprehensive towards venturing out of our current comfort zone - no GPS, vague maps and a novice driver's uncertainty towards the road conditions on Australia's highways. But ... still gotta try!

Went for breakfast at McDonald's at the Esplanade. You won't believe how expensive parking is in Cairns - AUD$8 per hour for just parking by the roadside! However, I just took the risk everytime and did not bother paying for the parking.

At the Esplanade

Took Captain Cook Highway and drove northwards to Clifton Beach. Surprisingly found it a breeze to cruise along the fairly empty highways. Road signs were adequate and clear, together with distance markers. Hardly many trees along the highways, but plenty of tall reeds and sugar cane plants.

On the road

Wide plains and tall mountains that cannot be found in Singapore

Arrived at the zoo about an hour later. Entrance fee was about AUD$32 per pax, but it allowed re-entry within the next three days. The zoo was small, but exhibited mainly Australia's native animals.

Outside Cairns Tropical Zoo

White cockatoo

Agile and cheeky ring-tailed lemurs

A zookeeper feeding the lemurs

The cassowary is a large flightless but powerful bird, capable of inflicting fatal bruises with their strong kicks and sharp knife-like claws. Shy, endangered and skillful at evading humans, it is very rare to spot a cassowary in the wild (they live in dense forests). Sadly, habitat destruction, traffic casualties and dog attacks have caused their numbers to dwindle over the years.

Methinks the cassowary looks like a turkey

The animal that stole Slug's and my hearts was the Nepalese red panda. We just could not stop cooing affectionately at it. Red pandas are also an endangered species, threatened by habitat destruction and poaching (they are highly-prized for their bushy tails, which are made into hats and wtf, feather dusters). They used to roam around in China and Nepal but poaching and forest loss have driven them either further up the Himalayas or to extinction. There was only one red panda in the exhibit. It took quite a long time for the zookeeper to coax it from its resting position to come and take its meals.

Methinks the red panda looks like a raccoon

The zookeeper feeding it some grapes

Isn't it cuuuuuuuuute?

Next we went to The Reptile House which houses snakes, frogs, lizards and geckos, some native to Australia and other well-known species like the Burmese python and Boa Constrictors. Never knew Australia has so many venomous snakes. Wonder if I can get to see them in the wild.

Adorable (can't remember their names)

In a suggestive position

Green tree frog

We bought some pellets to feed the kangaroos, but somehow we ended up feeding the ducks that roam around in the zoo as well. It felt weird when the ducks' broad and plastic-like beaks pecked at the pellets on my palm, leaving behind drops of drool. They would be shy and waddle away if you go near them, but once you stretch out your hand and they see the pellets that you are holding (and also KEEP STILL), they would let their guard down and flock towards you.

The ducks are free to roam around in the zoo

Feeding the ducks

We then went to the wallaby (a smaller version of the kangaroo) enclosure and fed the wallabies.

Feeding the wallabies

Small is cute

We had lunch at the zoo's outdoor cafe, which was built over a pond. There was a huge iguana on the wooden-plank floor. It would walk around occasionally, unintentionally scaring some of the diners. Slug and I were amused to watch two kids panic and run away when they unknowingly had walked near the iguana and got a shock when they suddenly spotted it. The iguana just stared motionlessly at them. Slug and I just kept our feet off the floor and enjoyed our lunch of baguettes.

At the cafe

Baguette with bacon and some really tasty wedges

After lunch, we went to the crocodile and alligator enclosure. These wicked-looking residents were certainly well-pampered - spacious enclosures with man-made rivers and ponds. And considering that many of them were previous serial killers! Many of them were actually the secret culprits behind the strange disappearances of cows and even dogs on farms, and when captured, instead of being sentenced to death, they were sent to the zoo for 'conservation efforts' where they will serve their 'life sentence'. When we were there, they were just laying there sunbathing. I just wonder how they can keep so still for such long periods of time. There were some really enormous crocodiles - must have been their nutritional diets of poor cows and dogs. Their largest was one named Sarge - measuring 5.1metres and weighting 300kg.

Dangerously quiet

Croc smiling to welcome us

Slug and I resting from all that walking (and crocodile-teasing)

The crocodiles are kept safely away from us

We also stayed a while for the crocodile feeding session. We felt uneasy and fearful for the zookeeper as she tried to taunt and lure the crocodiles to snatch their food (dead chickens) from her. The smaller and thinner ones moved faster than those larger ones that could barely drag their obese bodies for more than half a metre on ground. Conclusion: they are fast and scary in water, but probably cannot outrun most humans on land.

Must work hard for that food!

We then went to the koala enclosure but it cost AUD$15 if you want to have a shot of you hugging a koala (pronounced 'koh-air-ler' not 'kwa-la'). Too expensive. They had a marsupial-feeding session where the zookeepers fed the koalas and wombats. The koalas basically did not need much feeding, they just hang on to their eucalyptus trees and munch on their leaves when they feel like it. However, we did not get to see them feeding as koalas sleep most of the time (up to 18 hours!), feeding usually at night.

Koalas also face all kinds of threats in the wild

Wished to cuddle with a koala

The zookeeper also introduced another Australian marsupial to us - the wombat. Short and fat with stubby limbs, they somehow looked cute in a funny way. They are powerful burrowers that can dig under fences and into tree logs. And don't underestimate their heavy and clumsy bodies - according to the zookeeper, a bored traffic policeman used those speed detection devices for vehicles to measure the speed of a running wombat and found out it could run up to 40km/h.

Methinks the wombat looks like a pig

I like being lazy

After the marsupial feeding session, we moved on to the kangaroo enclosure where they were also free to roam around. Unlike the wild ones which will shy away from humans, the kangaroos in captive here will be receptive when you approach to feed them. Of course, that would mean that the whole enclosure was littered with kangaroo poo - fresh ones and dried ones.

A very friendly kangaroo

Which also loves the camera!

This group of kangaroos was alerted by some noise

We left the zoo at about 3+pm, but before that we just had to go see the red panda for one last time.

Resting on a tree branch lazily

Making funny faces

While driving back to Cairns, we decided to make a short side trip to Kuranda. We drove along Kennedy Highway which took us up a mountain and through dense forests. It was a thrilling ride along the narrow and steep road and hairpin bends that skirt the mountain.

We reached Kuranda town about 45 mins later, but we proceeded on further along Barron Falls Road, where we had to park the car somewhere in the forest and follow a trail that would lead us to the waterfall. After walking a distance, we reached a viewpoint which offered us a gorgeous view of Barron Falls - the point where the Barron River descends from the Atherton Tablelands to the Cairns flatlands below. The sounds of plunging waters and the cool misty air, coupled with the forlorn setting sun, were therapeutic.

We love hiking

At Barron Falls!

Barron Falls and the steep gorge

Barron Falls sees larger volumes of water during the wet season

Barrons Falls listed as one of the 1,001 must-see natural wonders before you die

We could not bear to leave the falls but we had to get on our way before the sun set. Kuranda actually offers many attractions - the Kuranda Scenic Railway that can take you across the gorge and very near the Barron Falls, the Skyrail cablecar, and the Cairns Wildlife Safari Reserve. It was a pity we did not allocate time to explore this area.

By the time we got back to Cairns town, it was dusk. We bought some raw salt-and-pepper squid rings and king prawns from a seafood store for dinner. The seafood stores here sell cooked food like fish and chips, calamari etc, as well as raw seafood like fillets, shellfishes and crabs.

We bought from this seafood store

A wide variety

Cairns town is a really quiet town (and easy for beginner drivers)

We had dinner of pan-fried salt-and-pepper squid and king prawns in butter. Mmmm! And who can forget the fizzy booze?

Their seafood was fresh

Happy dinner

Had to start packing up because we were going to leave Cairns for Mackay the next day.

Cairns Day 3

2010-06-11T23:59:00.002+08:00

Decided to go fishing today! We rented a small dinghy at a boat rental store (the guy managing it was cute) at The Pier. It cost about AUD$150+ for the whole morning, together with drinks and the necessary fishing equipment and bait. The guy then gave us a simple map of a river nearby named Trinity Inlet and pointed out some good fishing and crabbing spots. With that, I left Slug to learn how to operate the dinghy from that guy and to do the steering. He had high hopes of catching a large barramundi (seabass, in our Asian context), while I had some hopes of spotting a wild crocodile.

Driving out in the early morning

Slug and I wearing the same Australia T-shirts

We hired the dinghy from this shop

Got to navigate our way out of the pier first

Once we sailed past the moored boats at the pier, we travelled away from the sea and into Trinity Inlet. The weather was really pleasant - cooling and breezy, and the sun was not that glaring. We stopped at a random spot on the river and he started to do his fishing business while I tried to nap.

Slug with the mangrove trees in the background

Within minutes he caught a little fish which we released. We stayed at different random spots just for a brief while, because Slug would get frustrated when those cunning fishes stole the bait and sneaked away. The cute guy recommended for us to fish near the shipwrecks and boulders where fishes usually would hide and feed there.

Don't worry, this fish returned home safely

Fishing near a shipwreck (there were fishes but they were simply too tricky)

Some settlement on the other side of the river

A catalogue of fishes and details on their quality and edibility

What a lazy way to spend the morning

Fishing is a waste of time. However, somehow it seemed worthwhile relaxing in the simple and gently rocking dinghy, basking in the soft morning rays and observing the greenery and sounds of the river landscape. I was keeping my eyes peeled for crocodiles that might be resting on the sandy river banks. I never really saw one, but I suspected I did notice one just beneath the water surface (could easily make out the shape) and swimming towards our dinghy.

We travelled upwards into a tributary called Mackeys Creek, which was really silent and creepy (except for the occasional cracking and popping sounds of mangrove tree fruits). It was also getting cloudy so the whole scene appeared quite dark and ominous. No luck with the fishing, so we travelled back to Trinity Inlet (which had greater human presence).

Some of the tributaries we travelled into had really shallow river beds which made it difficult to steer the dinghy (the propeller would be stuck in the mud). Also, the motor engine were unpredictable - you had to pull the cord several times before it would run. Many times our dinghy hit a river bank and ran ashore, and while we were trying to extract it and steer it back into the water, there would be this gripping fear of wild animals and crocs dashing out from the dense foliage and towards us. I found that fear quite exciting.

At Mackeys Creek

Fishing at another ship wreck

While travelling along a small and narrow tributary, we came across a crab cage that had been set up by someone else. We hauled it up and I got a fright seeing a large fish skeleton with a gaping mouth (oh, and also three mud crabs) in it. We decided to destroy the crab cage and set the three crabs free.

Rotten fishes are a good bait for catching crabs

One of the crabs getting very aggressive towards my probing knife

We returned the dinghy at about 3+pm. We only managed to catch (and release) one fish, but I was proud that we also saved the lives of three mud crabs. We went back to the motel for a nice bath, before cruising along the streets in search of food and other modes of entertainment (not many options though, the shopping outlets were closed by 6pm).

Two cute looking birds

At their local market

Slug loves cream puffs

The shops at Cairns Central close before nighttime

Went back to the food court at Night Markets for dinner. Dinner was an expensive rice with king prawns in some cream sauce, with fruit salad. Cost AUD$15 but the prawns were fresh and succulent.

Slug found the portion too small

Had ice-cream for dessert from this ice-cream parlour that sells unique flavours like Turkish Delight, Ferrero Rocher and Kinder Bueno (my favourite!), decorated with the chocolates and toys that they represent!

Finally got my hands on some liquor to accompany my night! Had a mini beer fest in our room, wooo!

Cairns Day 2

2010-06-10T23:59:00.005+08:00

Woke at 5+am for our Great Barrier Reef (GBR) trip (we had booked a cruise with Reef Magic Cruises from a friendly tour agency located along Abbott Street the day before for about AUD$240 per pax). Couldn't get used to waking up so early, didn't even have time to have breakfast (motels do not provide free breakfast). Drove to The Pier where all kinds of motor catamarans from various GBR tour companies, yachts and boats were moored at. Boarded our cruise catamaran at 8.30am, together with many other tall and large Caucasian (some from even as far as Ireland) tourists. The staff on board were warm and helpful in providing information about GBR to curious tourists.

At The Pier (which also houses many fine dining restaurants besides just booths for booking cruises)

Leaving The Pier

It was an approximate 1.5-hour journey to the GBR. They were taking us to their Marine World platform, located at a private outer reef of Moore Reef. Apparently, the GBR is divided into a few zones with different levels of restrictions towards human activities like fishing, tourism, aquaculture etc. Tourists are able to access the Green Zones (the GBR Marine National Park) and carry out activities like sailing and snorkelling, but Preservation Zones (Pink) and Scientific Research Zones (Orange) restrict human access, thereby conserving the coral reefs and minimizing damage to them. Methinks it is a great management strategy, but that would mean that we will be missing out on the full glory of the corals since what we would be visiting would probably be some tired-looking and tourist-harassed corals in the Green Zones.

On board, a famished Slug and I grabbed some of the cookies and coffee for breakfast, and listened as some of the crew members explained the programme for later, some rules on safety and environmental conservation, marine biology etc. We watched in amusement as some of the kids were given pictures of marine creatures and they got very busy colouring them away. A few other crew members went around encouraging the passengers to sign up for their optional tours (at an extra charge, of course) - helicopter flights above the scenic GBR, scuba diving (even for beginners), guided snorkel tours and helmet diving. Slug and I decided to take up this Adventure Snorkel Safari at AUD$45 each, which promised to take us further to a more spectacular reef wall on the other side away from their basic snorkelling ground.

The kids' artwork pasted at the drinks counter

The catamaran arrived at the floating platform ('Marine World') in the middle of the sea at about 10+am. At first we thought it would be just a normal boring platform for us to laze around, but we realized that there were other facilities and activities. For one, we went on their 30-minute Semi-Submersible Tour at 11am (there were other fixed timings too), which was like a near-surface submarine with large viewing windows taking us on a guided underwater tour of the reef. Slug and I learnt about coral reef shapes with the help of the audio commentary.

Little silvery fishes

Slug and I in the Semi-Submersible

Branching coral

Bushy coral

Table coral

Didn't expect the water to be that murky

Cute little purple fishes

The true colours of coral reefs are best seen when shone under white light (night diving)

A giant clam

Sea cucumbers with the dead coral

Oblique banded sweetlips

Sad to say, what we saw was unlike the bright and colourful coral reefs that we see in books and on TV. It is not that they do not have the colours, it is just that the spectrum of rainbow colours that makes up natural white light is filtered at different depths underwater. Red and yellow disappear first, that is why the reef mainly appears greenish-blue below. However, even sadder to say, there are glaring signs of global warming (and therefore causing coral bleaching) taking a toll on the coral reefs - we saw grounds littered messily with little pieces of chalk-white coral bits. To what extent can we preserve this natural beauty forever?

Lunch was at 12 noon, and it was a spread of egg mayo salads, fresh veggie salads, cold pasta salads, fresh fruits etc. Slug and I were dismayed - no pork, no fried food, no Coke. After lunch we roamed around on the platform - we went to the underwater observatory where we ogled at the fishes that swam around and the swimsuits of the unsuspecting snorkellers.

At the underwater observatory

Looking at the school of big-eye Trevally which came to feed

Me sitting at the edge of the deck for beginner snorkellers

Had wanted to go on the helicopter but had budget constraints

What a fine weather

One of the crew started the fish feeding session which drew many fishes to the platform, and while he explained to the onlookers more about the fish species and their feeding habits, the fishes swam about his legs and occasionally thrashed about to grab the food morsels thrown to them. Just then, Wally, the sociable resident Maori wrasse came by, delighting everyone who marvelled at its size and blue fleshy lips. He is actually so friendly that he allows snorkellers to go near enough to pet him.

Wally

A crew member feeding the fishes

Wally's blue face

Our Adventure Snorkel Safari tour started at about 1+pm. A small boat took us, together with 2 guides and about 6 other tourists, away from the platform and went to the opposite side of the reef before stopping. I started to panic - I did not think I was ready to snorkel (I can't even swim, for god's sake) in the rough waters alone and unaided. When I plunged into the water and realized I could hardly keep my head above water, I wanted to cut it short and quit. I waved to one guide on the boat to save me but the other guide in the water came over and told me to hang on onto his lifesaver. He did not give up on me! So there, all I needed to do was just hang on to the lifesaver and the guide just pulled me along. Ah, what effortless snorkelling.

I supposed stupid Slug was too lazy to swim and decided to come and hang on to the lifesaver occasionally. The guide led all of us along this vertical coral reef wall which was teeming with life - soft and swaying coral branches, vivid colours and all kinds of reef fishes - angelfishes, damsels, clownfishes, parrotfishes etc. He even grabbed some starfishes and sea cucumbers from the reef for us to feel, and disturbed a shark out of its hiding place just so that we could see. Unfortunately could not capture the marine beauty on camera, but it would be unforgettable for many years to come.

I felt sick and tired after drifting along with the waves for what seemed like hours. I was struggling with the goggles that fogged up too quickly and my coordination of breathing in through the mouth. It was a relief when the guide finally led us to swim back to the platform. Upon stepping on the deck, I dashed straight to the bin and out came my lunch (semi-digested egg mayo smells). Nevertheless, I was totally grateful to the guide who did not give me on up and leave me behind.

At about 4+pm, the catamaran left the platform and brought us back to The Pier. For the whole journey, I was slumped in my seat staring blankly ahead, nausea and exhaustion tumbling around in my stomach. As the crew bade farewell to every passenger that alighted, Slug and I left with that lingering feeling of warmness and appreciation for what the crew had done for us and what the GBR had to offer us. We picked up the car from the public carpark nearby and went back to the motel to have a hot bath.

At The Pier

Slug wanting to pet the fake croc

For dinner, we went to the Night Markets at Cairns Esplanade because it opened till late (at least later than the other shopping malls). We were delighted to come across the food court there which sold a wide variety of cuisines - Japanese, Korean, Turkish, BBQ ... ... and finally something that suited our palate - Chinese food! Apparently, the stalls selling Chinese cuisine adopt the eat-all-you-can buffet style. For the price that you pay, you pick whatever food you want and however much you want to eat provided it does not spill out of your plate. They have 4 plate sizes, with the smallest plate charging about AUD$7 and the largest plate AUD$12. Slug and I went for the AUD$9 plate and started to pile on the food - lemon chicken and sweet and sour pork!

Me outside Night Markets

We ate from this stall named Little Asian Delights

Buffet!

We love fried food

I guess we were too greedy, we could not finish everything (the fried food became quite sickening after a while) and were guilty of throwing such good food away. After dinner, we shopped around at the various stores selling honey, souvenirs, T-shirts, semi-precious stones, local delicacies, massages, tribal woodcraft, toys, manicure services etc.

Browsing through the shops

We regretted not buying enough of these rich and buttery Kuranda Macadamia Cookies

This man's shop sells many snakes and he even draped one cold snake on my shoulders

Watched cable TV till bedtime. Now proud to say that I have finally visited the Great Barrier Reef in this lifetime!

Cairns Day 1

2010-06-09T23:59:00.009+08:00

Finally getting a chance to travel out of the Asia region! This time we were going to Cairns in Queensland, mainly to visit the famous Great Barrier Reef, before driving southwards to a small town named Mackay where we would board a plane bound for Brisbane. Australia welcomes winter in June, but we weren't too worried because Cairns being north and nearer to the Equator receives warmer winters (say about 19 degrees?) than the southern states.

Boarded the evening Jetstar flight (nearly missed it because had not realised that we had to apply for visas and therefore wasted 15 minutes doing so, but Changi Airport's staff were just so generous and forgiving to let us in). It was a great choice because it was peacefully silent throughout on board and the star-gazing was fantastic. Transited at Darwin at 2.30am where we grabbed some sandwiches (AUD$9, gulp, our initial shocking exposure to the high cost of living), and then touched down finally at Cairns in the early morning.

Went through an extremely rude interrogation and thorough luggage check by the airport officers, which took nearly 1 hour and immobilised 3 officers. We were asked many irrelevant questions including our occupations and the subjects that I teach, to which I replied Geography. The officer then smiled and said I could go and tell my students how beautiful Australia is, and I just gave him a wry smile. The officer checking our luggage dug out and laid out all my makeup and toiletries and messing them all up, which greatly upsetted me. He even huffed sternly, "Do you have a problem?" when he saw how displeased I looked. There was also an Indian family who also encountered the same treatment as us, and we could not believe we were already racially discriminated against even before stepping out of the airport.

Picked up the car (a near-brand new Hyundai Getz with clean and speckless seats and carpetry and a mileage of only 77km!) that I rented from Hertz, and made our way to our motel. Driving in Cairns town is quite easy - just a neat grid of well-signposted roads and streets with few traffic. However, locating a place can be quite a perplexing experience - not all places are shown on the map especially the lesser-known budget motels.

Along Sheridan Street

Came to the seaside

Had fun chasing tiny crabs at low tide

When we finally located Aspect Central along Sheridan Street and Grove Street, the motel we were to stay at for the next few nights, it was still too early for check-in so we had brunch at Pizza Hut next door. My favourite Coke sells for AUD$2.50 (about SGD$3.10) for a 350-ml can (20ml more than our local can). We were starting to worry about our pockets. After that we checked in and were very pleased with the clean and comfortable room on the second floor that even came with a kitchenette.

Our room

Napped till evening (already nightfall at 6pm) where we drove to Woolworths to get some grocceries. Decided to scrimp and save by cooking our own meals, but were also dismayed because the easiest food to cook would probably be pasta given our limited kitchen facilities. We loved the amazing variety of milk and fruit juices at the supermarket, and could not believe milk sells cheaper than water here.

Parking outside Woolworths

Slug cooking pasta

Dinner ruined by the disgusting pasta sauce but saved by the mango and pineapple juice

Cairns does not have a happening nightlife. Most facilities are closed by evening. There were some chilling-out bars and shops by the seaside, so decided to check them out the next day. Wanted to get some booze for the night but could not believe 1) their bars do not sell alcohol, 2) their petrol stations do not sell alcohol, and 3) when we finally got to know that alcohol is sold at specialized liquor stores, we rushed there just to realize that they close at 10pm. What a bummer to go through a peaceful night sober!

Looking forward to the Great Barrier Reef trip the next day!

Manila Trip

2010-03-14T23:59:00.010+08:00

Went on a short getaway to Manila again, but for the last time as Slug's brother's family will be relocating to KL in July. Will be missing their warm hospilatity, their posh and comfortable apartment and most importantly, the cheap and sumptuous seafood dinner at the seaside wet market.

Didn't take many pictures this time round in Manila. We went to some attraction (forgot the name) far away from Manila which was like a coconut plantation-cum-cultural exhibition place.

Xinmei is such a tiny tot

What a happy family

Playing with Slug's nieces

Exhibitions on the main religion in the Philippines

Exhibitions on their flora and fauna

Exhibitions on their main agricultural activity - rice farming

More pretty flower shots by Slug

Slug and I kayaking on a bamboo raft

We also visited Slug's two nieces at their school. They were delighted to have special guests (us) appearing and waiting for them to dismiss from school.

With Xinmei

Xinmei and her Korean best friend

Passed by (or rather, above) some breathtakingly blue ocean waters and aquamarine atolls on our flight back to Singapore.

Beautiful

Till our next trip again.

Manila 2009 Day 6

2009-12-15T23:59:00.002+08:00

Returning home today! We dared not be late to catch our flight, thanks to the previous experience. And this time, to prevent the airport officials from grinning and asking whether we like popcorn, we sealed our 12 tubs of Chef Tony's popcorn in two nondescript cardboard boxes and lugged them for checking-in.

Till our next trip again.

Manila 2009 Day 5

2009-12-14T23:59:00.002+08:00

It was a Monday and the kids had to go back to school, so Slug and I slacked the whole day watching cable TV and catching up with his brother. We also followed him on his daily routine of picking up the kids at the Manila International School and then making them do their homework and project work at home. What a casual way of spending the day.

Manila 2009 Day 4

2009-12-13T23:59:00.001+08:00

It was the outdoors again today! We were going to visit the Pagsanjan (pronounced as Pag-sang-han) Falls in the Laguna province, and according to Moses, it was going to be a slightly-more-than-two-hour journey there.

On the way to Laguna province

Along the way, we had toilet breaks to drink some fresh coconut juice and stretch our legs.

A roadside stall selling bags and bags of ... ...

... snails, eeek!

We stopped for lunch at Jollybee at some unknown shopping centre.

Slug playing some shooting game after lunch

We reached a spot along the river where Slug's brother rented two kayaks for Slug and I, and his two nieces. We needed not do the rowing - a guide would be rowing the kayak against the riverflow and taking us upriver to the Pagsanjan Falls.

Cruising along the river

No easy feat to go against the river flow

Some mini waterfalls cascading down the steep rocky valleys

Coming to a stretch of the river whereby the riverbed were strewn with boulders and rocks

Amazing guide had to bring the kayak up these rocks amidst the shallow waters

Guide got out of the kayak to pull it up the rocky riverbed

We arrived at the Pagsanjan Falls and the guide brought us onto a bamboo raft. I thought that the experience was to sail through the waterfall and into the dark damp cave hidden behind the waterfall. I felt nervous at the thought of the waters plunging down onto us and that slamming impact on our heads.

Pagsanjan Falls

Getting ready for the waterfall tour

The impact of the falling waters was painful but brief. We were thoroughly drenched from head to toe. Far from what I expected, we did not go through the waterfall and into the cave. We merely passed the edges of the waterflow, just enough for us to be soaked and not be hurt by the pounding waters. What a bummer.

After the experience the guide took us back to where we came from, and along the peaceful river we spotted some locals swimming, fishing and playing in the water. By the time we got back onto land, our clothes had more or less dried up. We had dinner before embarking on a two-hour journey back to Manila. The highways were more packed on a Sunday evening than yesterday as the people were returning back to town for work tomorrow.

Manila 2009 Day 3

2009-12-12T23:59:00.015+08:00

Would be going to Taal Volcano in the Tagaytay (pronounced as Tah-gah-tai) province today! What makes it spectacular is that the Taal Volcano is actually a 'mini' (don't underestimate, it is still considered to be active) volcano within a larger volcano (but what remains of it now is just its extinct crater as it was largely blasted off during a violent eruption in the past).

Slug's brother had hired a local driver, Moses, considered to be their family 'chauffeur' for long trips, to take us there. Went to a weekend market to buy some snacks first. It sold lots of their local foodstuffs that we were unfamiliar with.

Couldn't figure what these were

Wow, large bags of candy floss

Macadamia nuts

Then we began an approximate two-hour journey to the Tagaytay province. It was uncomfortable with 5 adults and 2 kids squeezed into the car, and as the car cruised smoothly along the highways, Slug and I soon fell asleep. After travelling along the Tagaytay Ridge (the crater), we soon reached the place to take a boat ride across the Taal Lake to get to the Taal volcano itself.

Budget accommodation near the scenic Taal Lake

Taal Volcano sitting on Taal Lake

On the boat

Slug's brother and his two adorable nieces

We reached the coast of the Taal Volcano, and some locals approached us to hire their horses which could take us up to the peak of the volcano. Alternatively, we could choose to hike all the way up but it would take a torturous one-hour hike under the blazing sun. Slug and I rejected the offer (didn't want the horse to suffer under the weight of near-100-kg Slug), but the horse-owners were very persistent, taunting us and saying that we would give up hiking halfway so we might as well just hire their horses. We were all quite irritated by them so we decided to prove them wrong by beginning the first step of the hike on our own feet (we did hire one horse for the young ones, though).

Much to our annoyance, the horse owner tailed behind us hoping that we would change our minds. We walked through some small valleys whereby every step we took made the fine sand and dust rise up and coat our legs. In fact, we were inhaling all these things.

Through the valleys

Through the trees

On an unshaded part of the trail

Gazing at Taal Lake and the Tagaytay Ridge beyond

The horse owner waiting to see when we would surrender

There were some parts of the slope which were quite hot to step on and had rocks emitting steam out of the crevices, scary!

Steam emitted from the rocks

These layered rocks (accumulated layers of lava over time) thrilled the geographer in me

A distance away from the volcano peak

Looking down at where we came from

More dusty valleys to go through

Horse owners

As we neared the peak, the horse owner decided to give up tailing us and returned back to ground to wait for potential business from other tourists. We finally reached the peak, hot, thirsty and sweaty. There was a mini bazaar there selling all kinds of knickknacks, from coconut juice to T-shirts, from bags to sunglasses.

Souvenirs at the bazaar

As we peered into the volcano, we were disappointed to find that it was not like what we expected - hot bubbling orange lava. Instead, what was inside the volcano was just water. The inner walls of the volcano were even full of vegetation - it really did not look like a volcano to us.

The water inside Taal volcano

Another mini volcano inside this mini volcano?

Mesmerizing ripples and waves forming on the water

The densely vegetated inner walls of Taal volcano

Steam emitted from the rocky walls inside the volcano

Posing for pictures at the viewpoint

A tempting hiking trail branching away from the viewpoint

When we had our fill of the scenery, we descended the slope and back to ground. Then it was a boat ride back to Tagaytay Ridge, where we had an expensive and yucky dinner at Chowking. Slug's brother bought some pineapples from a roadside stall as Tagaytay is well-known for the juicy and saccharine pineapples that they grow. It was a two-hour journey back to Manila because there were jams along the highways.

Tagaytay Ridge in the background

Some station that measures for any volcanic activity underneath

The horse owners

A mother hen and her cute brood

View of Taal volcano and Taal Lake from Tagaytay Ridge

A pineapple plantation on a small hill

Back at Slug's brother's home, we enjoyed the sweet pineapples while watching cable TV till midnight. There were even fireworks at two separate areas near the house, but God knows what occasion they were for.

Fireworks

Manila 2009 Day 2

2009-12-11T23:59:00.004+08:00

Slug's brother woke us at 6.30am for a sightseeing trip in Manila. After dropping off his two daughters at International School Manila, Slug's brother hired a driver named Moses to drive us all to visit some of the cultural attractions.

The first we went to was Kaisa Angelo King Heritage Centre which showcases the historical and cultural legacy of the Chinese in the Philippines but unfortunately it was closed. We then went to the Manila Cathedral to take a look. I fancied the lighting effect of the stained glass windows - the light was just enough to illuminate the different coloured glass pieces but not too glaring to spoil the somehow gothic feel of the basilica.

Kaisa Angelo King Heritage Centre

Manila Cathedral basilica

Very pretty stained glass windows

Slug playing with a simple replica of a pipe organ

Exhibits detailing the milestones of the cathedral

A tiled mosaic depicting biblical images

We then moved on to Chinatown to have a dimsum lunch, visit a Chinese temple-cum-nunnery (the nuns there were kind to give us some bread and water, and they could speak Hokkien!) and shop for some local produce. Along the way, Slug's brother intended for us to mock at the locals by driving us to look at them praying to a cross with Chinese joss sticks.

What a bizarre integration of two religions

Chinatown in Manila

A golden praying hall in the temple

After lunch we fetched Slug's two nieces from the school and spent the rest of the day eating, slacking and watching cable TV (which was actually what we came here for).

Manila 2009 Day 1

2009-12-10T23:59:00.001+08:00

Decided to spend a few days of my December break slacking and free-loading at Slug's brother's abode in Manila. Off we went on yet another short getaway!

We arrived at 11.30pm at the Budget Terminal to check in for our Cebu Pacific flight at 1.30am. A long queue was forming at the check-in counter and as time passed by we got increasingly puzzled at why the queue was not moving (even though there was staff manning the counter). Only at 1.00pm did it start to move and by the time we got onto the plane it was 1.45pm. Ironically we arrived 10 mins earlier than the arrival time estimated.

Cup noodles selling at an exhorbitant $4

Slug's brother picked us up from the airport and we spent the morning hours sleeping. I thought Slug's brother would let us sleep way till dinnertime considering that we boarded a midnight flight, but no, he woke us up very promptly to have lunch, tea and dinner.

Slug and I started wondering if we could put up with such a strict fatherly care regime for the next few days.

Hong Kong 2009 Day 8

2009-12-01T23:59:00.001+08:00

Took the morning flight to leave Hong Kong at about 11+am, but not before having a rich breakfast at 翠华 in Causeway Bay first. I was surprised that they used genuine abalone for their macaroni soup, although it was shredded till beyond gratification. Slug was disappointed they did not make pork cutlet buns in the early mornings.

I hate the Hong Kong Airport. It was a pain running from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 and then back to Terminal 1 to board our flight. Till our next trip again ... ... which was a few days later!

Hong Kong 2009 Day 7

2009-11-30T23:59:00.005+08:00

Decided to just slack around nearby for today. Basically just walked aimlessly around Causeway Bay, Wan Chai and Central. Had lunch at the roast meat shop (the one selling skewered sparrows).

We could not deny that their roast meats are fabulous

Religion vs capitalism

In Central

Went rabid at the HMV in Central, sweeping DVDs of old-school HK and banned films into my arms. You could hardly get such films like 阴阳路, 精装追女仔, 龙凤茶楼 etc back home, including a rare find - BEYOND日记之莫欺少年穷 casting Beyond, which thrilled Slug and me. Now couldn't wait to return home to enjoy a film fest of all these films.

Chanced upon a 翠华 outlet along Wellington Street, and the taxi driver's rave reviews yesterday motivated us to go in for afternoon tea. Slug was ultra pleased with their pork cutlet bun, and now it was his turn to keep on raving about this renowned cha can teng.

Our afternoon tea of soup noodles

The pork cutlet bun tickled his tastebuds

It was on to Mongkok after that for a last visit to the bustling markets, shopping malls and Temple Street. Was hustled by an old lady waving a large board advertising manicure services up 信和中心 upon exiting the MTR station. She had pushed me a pamphlet and from the glazed look in my eyes while staring at the advertised promotion on gel nails (they were seriously cheap), she knew I was on the hook.

I was then led to a small pink store, where I spent the next 3 hours there doing my nails and watching TV. The first episode of 巴不得爸爸 was showing and Slug and I were already in love with the drama. After a while the old lady who had brought me there came in, left the pamphlets and board in one corner and left after receiving her wages from one of the manicurists. Just as I was raising an eyebrow at such a bizarre situation - an shabbily-dressed old woman promoting manicure services, I was also raising my other eyebrow at the male manicurist. A male in this feminine industry!

The finished artwork made me smile - these manicurists here are professionals in painting! For half the price of what I would have to pay in Singapore for this, I could get a better drawing standard too! Now I wish I never have to remove these delicate pieces.

The 3-hour wait was worth it!

Supper at the dim sum eatery at Temple Street (again) with Slug gorging on his favourite salted fish and minced meat pie with rice.

What a lavish spread

Walked along a dim alley after supper and wanted to steal one of the many posters promoting Ekin's concerts pasted on the building walls, but the hookers standing there were watching me. Shouldn't they just mind their own 'business'?

I was still hungry

Packed and got ready our luggage before we went to sleep. It was weird, but somehow I missed home - the clean fresh air, the green trees and my cats.

Hong Kong 2009 Day 6

2009-11-29T23:59:00.002+08:00

To Macau today! Despite having been fooled to part with our money on the gambling tables for two times now, we were still going to Rio to try our luck. This time it was just a day trip there rather than staying overnight.

We had breakfast at KFC in Windsor House at Causeway Bay and we were quite horrified to see almost every table there filled with maids (nationality undetermined). Sunday was their rest day. You could see the wild side of them - with sexy clothes and heavy make-up, and quite a number explicitly dressing and behaving like lesbians. Suddenly it felt scary to be a minority.

Grilled chicken parts, crisscut fries and a flaky Portugese egg tart

My heartthrob Ekin making a comeback with this Stormriders sequel and a concert on 19th Dec (what a bummer to miss it!)

We took the MTR to Sheung Wan and took the ferry at the terminal to Macau.

At Causeway Bay MTR station

We gambled and had dinner at our usual cha can teng.

Seafood noodles and xiao long bao

I could not help but spend 1 full minute laughing at the menu. I can forgive them for spelling 'fried' as 'fired', 'luncheon' as 'Inueheon' and 'macaroni' as 'maeatoni', but their English names for their dishes are largely inaccurate. The last translation was a hoot - 'The pig digs up the toast or the few buffalo and cow horns package'.

Very bad English translations here

We flitted from the jackpot machine to the Sic Bo table to the baccarat table, and so on. I shall not elaborate on the details but we were foolish enough to lose all our Hong Kong Dollars plus virtual dollars from the ATM. We were really depressed and decided to leave Rio at about 1+am. We were once again angry with ourselves - why couldn't we just keep ourselves away from gambling?

We caught the midnight ferry back to Hong Kong. It was a breeze going through the customs - no queues! As we took the cab back to our apartment, the friendly and bald taxi driver chatted with us in quite fluent Mandarin about Singaporeans often coming here to gamble, as well as to Malaysia and cruise ships. For once, an accurate perception of us coming from a foreigner! He could not stop raving about his favourite cha can teng named Chui Hua. His passionate " 他们的早餐 ... ... very good ah!" kept resonating in Slug's head on the way back and got his stomach curious.

We had a difficult night sleeping. Our heartaches kept reminding us we could afford another long trip back here if we had not gambled our money away.

Hong Kong 2009 Day 5

2009-11-28T23:59:00.009+08:00

Slug was dissatisfied for leaving the fishing ground empty-handed yesterday, so today we went fishing again, at another more professional fishing ground in Tin Shui Wai (another 1+ hour by train again). It charges only SGD13 for whole-day fishing (from 10am till 9pm), cheap!

I love today's tasty lunch - salt and pepper chicken with rice

At Tin Shui Wai again

We took a cab to the saltwater fishing ground, 鴨仔坑釣魚場, somewhere deeper inside Yuen Long. It was remote, quiet and forested like Lim Chu Kang.

Another fishing ground opposite of the one we went to

鴨仔坑釣魚場

The owner of the fishing ground handed Slug a bucket of smelly little fishes and prawns (for bait), and we bought some cool drinks and relaxed by the pool. What a great way to idle the afternoon away.

Patting a stray dog that the owner kept

Slug casting his line

Relaxing to our hearts' content

There was this pair of guys at the other side of the pool who were really getting good value out of their money - they were practically landing a catch every 15 minutes! After waiting for about an hour or so, Slug finally caught a fish which we thought was a tilapia. It was thrashing about when I tried to hold it, but it soon went limp. I decided not to stress it further by keeping it in a basket dipped into the pool.

It was frightened

Very slimy and left a fishy smell on my hands

Evening was soon approaching

Slug suddenly felt revitalized and was hoping for another catch

I sneaked out and went exploring the area nearby. I noticed a number of locals walking towards the bushes and decided to follow them. It was a pain fumbling through the thick bushes and walking on the uneven terrain, but at the end of it, I came to face with a stunning smoky sunset.

It was a part of the coast named 下白泥, and from here, we could see neighbouring China on the horizon. I was amazed to see many locals gathering there, armed with cameras and tripods, to take pictures of the sunset.

Minibus #33 is the only public transport access here

下白泥

Industrial development encroaching into Nature's territory

Eager photographers shooting the sunset

China in the distance

Sunset at 下白泥

Smog a pervasive problem in Hong Kong

We left the fishing ground in the evening, but not before releasing the fish Slug caught back into the pool. We actually had no intention of taking it away, Slug just wanted to enjoy the process of waiting and reeling in a catch. It was sad to know even if we did not eat it, others would, or it might eventually die if it could not adapt to the water conditions of the pool.

We travelled all the way to Sai Kung for a seafood dinner at Chuen Kee. However, we were greatly disappointed with the indifferent service and drastic drop in standard of the cooking there. The servers were cold and curt, and the food looked hastily prepared. There was a table with ten over patrons that had an elaborately-garnished lobster sashimi served to them. We started to suspect we were being discriminated just because the money they made from the two of us was peanuts to them.

No trip to Hong Kong is complete without savouring some delectable milk tarts

Lobster ee-fu noodles that did not look very appetising

Stir-fried flower crab with ginger and spring onion

Baby abalones topped with spring onion

Steamed garoupa Hong Kong style

Anti-drug campaign in Sai Kung

We returned to Causeway Bay feeling so bloated, and came across filming going on at a quiet back street. In the scene, Charmaine Sheh was in a cab, which after turning around the corner, she alighted and walked a few steps while gazing longingly upwards at a building. I was so mesmerized by her beauty that I could not take a picture of her in time. It was not easy for the film crew - a lot of time was spent waiting for the traffic lights, coordinating with the actors and taxi driver, and yelling at us onlookers not to use flash when taking pictures, for a scene that barely lasted half a minute.

Filming

The chilly nights were so good for a comfortable snuggle in the sheets and a peaceful slumber. Sigh ... ...

Hong Kong 2009 Day 4

2009-11-27T23:59:00.018+08:00

Visited the Hong Kong Wetland Park at Tin Shui Wai today, a town in the northwestern part of the New Territories. This new town was so far away from the vibrant central of Hong Kong that it took more than an hour to get there, even by MTR (and we had to transfer across 4 rail lines). This town has been unpleasantly dubbed the City of Sadness for its many social issues - suicides, domestic violence, homicides, illnesses etc. Among the many tragedies was one involving a mother suffering from mental illness tying up her children and throwing them out of the window from their 24th storey flat, before jumping to her death. Various causes had been suggested - remote location, high unemployment rate, inadequate security and social services, and even the influx of immigrants from mainland China. This town is so notoriously known that two local movies were made based on it.

We finally arrived at Tin Shui Wai after such a long journey.

View from the Tin Shui Wai MTR station

School buildings here six storeys high on average - do they have lifts?

We had a really cheap lunch at YLK in Tin Yan Shopping Centre. Seriously could not believe set lunches here (complete with soup, bread and drink) cost only SGD$5+, half the price of those found in the central areas on Hong Kong Island. And they weren't of an inferior quality.

At Tin Yan Shopping Centre

YLK (what a weird restaurant name)

Slug enjoying his pork curry rice

To get to the Wetland Park, we took the Light Rail, their means of commuting between the housing estates in the the town. As the LRT took us through the dense housing estates, we did not get really good vibes. The towering grey housing blocks and the hazy surroundings somehow gave a gloomy feel even in broad daylight.

At Tin Yiu LRT station

#705 to get to Wetland Park

Uniform-looking housing estates along the way

The Hong Kong Wetland Park is an educational facility that aims to conserve the marshes and prevent its destruction from further development of the town. Here, visitors can catch a glimpse of the native flora and fauna, learn more about its ecological biodiversity and understand the importance of conservation. It comprises an exhibition hall as well as many trails that allow visitors to explore the marsh and lake and appreciate the interactions between nature and wildlife.

Wetland Park LRT station

Crossing the overhead bridge to get to the park

View from the overhead bridge

At Hong Kong Wetland Park

Map of the boardwalk trails inside the Wetland Reserve

Slug the nature photographer

Exhibits and animal enclosures in the exhibition centre

Lifelike models of animals

We also came to the enclosure of a crocodile affectionately known as Pui Pui by the locals. It became well-known after appearing in the Shan Pui River and then evading capture for the next few months, but from there, it also raised awareness towards wildlife conservation. Previously housed at Kadoorie Farm, it had been moved to settle here so that the public can take a look at her.

Pui Pui the crocodile

Inside the park

More nature photography from Slug

Directions to the various boardwalks

At the Mangrove Boardwalk

Birds feeding at the exposed mudflats during low tide

Slug took this picture through a telescope

Peaceful lake with a beautiful reflection

Evening approaching and it was time to go

Tin Shui Wai in the evening

Air pollution from a nearby factory

We completed all the boardwalk trails just in time before they closed at 5pm. Then from there, we took a cab to 有叉用烧烤乐园, a barbeque buffet eatery in Yuen Long. Maybe we reached there a little too early, because when we got there, it was so quiet that we suspected it had closed down. We expected that at 6pm, they would be busy with the dinner crowd. A young chap whom we believed to be a helper there led us to our pit, gave us our tray of food and barbeque necessities and collected money from us. For about SGD13, we could have an endless supply of meats and vegetables to barbeque for 5 hours.

He (Slug and I felt that he looked as cute as a beaver) then proceeded to light up our BBQ pit using some superpower torch which got the charcoals flaming within 5 minutes. As we sat there and started barbequeing, we were getting increasingly spooked - dim lights, dark forest in the background, wild dogs barking and just the two of us. We could not help but ask Beaver if we would be their only customers for the night, and he said that the dinner crowd would be streaming in after 9pm after they had knocked off from work. We were really looking forward to some noise and human presence soon.

Beaver setting up the pit for us

Slug seemed a little disturbed by the silence

Oh, never mind, eating was more important

They use pitchforks for barbequeing

Halfway through, Slug went off to fish at the fishing ground nearby in the compound while I continued barbequeing. I had a newly-discovered passion towards grilling honeyed corncobs. Spreading on layers and layers of honey did the trick, which created a thin crunchy caramelized coating on the corncob infused with a burnt aftertaste. Happily savoured 5 corncobs.

Yummmmmmmmm

Meanwhile, Slug was chatting with Beaver and getting to know more about each other's hometown. Beaver was puzzled why two tourists would venture to such a farflung place like Tin Shui Wai, and lamented that the immigrants from China had caused much conflict and unhappiness in this town because of their mannerisms and the competition in the labourforce (we could empathize with him). We also found it amusing when Beaver said he had never considered visiting Singapore because he thought smoking was banned in the country. How on earth did he get such a mistaken perception of Singapore?

Slug at the fishing platform

Housing blocks in Yuen Long at night

A quiet frog hiding in the toilet cubicle and scaring me

Slug did not catch any fish throughout the night, although there was really a huge one that got hooked (but managed to escape because it was not even a proper fishing rod). Later in the night we then realised why he had not been able to catch any - Beaver feeds the fishes in the pond the leftover meats from the barbeque every night!

The barbeque place

We left at about 11pm, and it was so dark and quiet on the way out to the main road that we had to call for a cab. I could not stop thinking about the honeyed corncobs on the way home.

Hong Kong 2009 Day 3

2009-11-26T23:59:00.009+08:00

As usual, I will not leave Hong Kong without a gratifying hike - an intense workout for the legs, a soothing embrace with nature and the sense of achievement upon completion of the trail. This time, we were intending to attempt Stage 5 of the MacLehose Trail, a section of the steep highlands that separates Kowloon from the New Territories. Hence, we were expecting sweeping views of Kowloon on one side, and Shatin on the other side.

Began the morning with a rich breakfast at the 'Beyond' cha can teng (so-called for its playing of good Beyond tunes when we had breakfast there last year) a street away from our apartment. Then visited the Wong Tai Sin temple, which disappointingly, was not as grand as people say it is.

The sunny-side-up looked a bit too raw

Slug had noodles with pork cutlet

Slug buying a bath towel from a market stall

Descending into the MTR station

Students' art works displayed at Wong Tai Sin station

Cute drawings done by kindergarten kids!

Old Master Q makes me feel so nostalgic

Fa Lun Gong still in vogue

At the back garden of the temple compound

Praying at the main hall

Wong Tai Sin Temple

Huge fishes at a seafood restaurant in Lung Cheung Mall

Eeeeee ...

After that, we took a bus to Tsz Wan Shan, and then a cab to Lion Rock Country Park. From the park, we began our ascent up small stony steps and thick forest to Lion Rock (so-named for its resemblance to a crouching lion). The good thing about hiking in Hong Kong is that the country parks and trails have all been marked out, paved and signposted properly, so that hiking there is neither a hassle (you do not need any map or sports equipment) nor a daunting task (at least we are not too far off from the urban areas).

Slug and I on the bus

At Lion Rock Country Park

The summit of Lion Rock at 495 metres

Up to Lion Rock

Safety signs are adequate

We climbed for about nearly an hour before we got to a simple resting stop. As we were catching our breath on a bench, we heard the trees rustling below us. Anxious that it could be some wild animal, it surprised us to see a group of middle-aged folks emerging from the leaf canopy. These hale and rugged folks had taken a shortcut and ascended the steep unpaved slopes just by grabbing onto the tree trunks and branches. Really put us to shame.

Halfway up

A hazy view of Kowloon below

Nobody should hike looking like this

The summit of Lion Rock was beckoning to us

At 16X zoom, we could see a lone human being at the top

30 minutes later, we reached a pavillion where a few middle-aged folks were relaxing there and reading newspapers. The path split into two, one leading to the peak of Lion Rock and the other leading to Amah Rock. Slug dissuaded me from attempting to scale up Lion Rock, saying that my slippers probably could not take me up the steep sandy slopes, but methinks he was just trying to weasel out of this strenuous pursuit.

The pavillion

View of the landscape marred by haze

Adequate information provided

Noticing that it was soon approaching late afternoon, we decided to cut short our attempt of Stage 5 (approximately another 6km to the nearest exit point) and proceeded to Amah Rock instead. What a bummer.

Legend has it that Amah Rock (望夫石 in Chinese) was actually transformed from a woman, who would carry her baby and climb the hills everyday to gaze out at sea and await the return of her fisherman husband. Little did she know that he had drowned at sea. The Goddess of the Sea, touched by her faithfulness, turned her into stone so that her spirit could unite with her husband's. However from a geological perspective, it is just a stack of granite corestones formed under physical weathering.

Onward to Amah Rock

Silly Slug sunbathing on a boulder

0.5km to Amah Rock (seemed like miles to us)

Slippers increasingly worn out with every step taken

Walking in the cooling forest

Amah Rock does resemble a woman carrying a baby on her back to a certain extent

View of Shatin town and Shing Mun River below

Resting at a pavillion to catch our breath

Looking at the dense vegetation in Lion Rock Country Park

Granite boulders that make up Amah Rock

Finally we decided to leave. We descended a long and winding flight of stony steps that never seemed to end. Halfway down, a signpost for the Hung Mui Kuk Nature Trail was enticing us to attempt it, but we were too exhausted to walk any further.

Time to go

Hung Mui Kuk Nature Trail

Amah Rock now far far behind (or rather, above) us

A gruelling hour to get down to ground. Our kneecaps were hurting from the pressure exerted on them due to the climbing down of the steep steps, but overall we were satisfied.

We have completed our hike

We were sniggering unkindly at this man whose way of carrying his water bottles reminded us of 沙僧

What a long flight of stairs

We walked towards the nearest bus-stop to catch a bus to Sha Tin town, where we had an expensive fast food dinner at Triple O's in New Town Plaza.

Finally emerged from the wilderness and into civilisation

Oooooo ... ...

Sitting outside New Town Plaza

And it was not enough, we headed to Temple Street for dim sum!

Slug's favourite dim sum eatery at Temple Street

Savouring Hong Kong's gastronomical delights at 11.30pm in bustling and unpolished Temple Street is our favourite way of immersing in the nightlife there.

Hong Kong 2009 Day 2

2009-11-25T23:59:00.002+08:00

Visited Mongkok and its market streets in the morning, but firstly had an exorbitant breakfast of century egg congee and humongous fried dough fritters at a cha can teng.

A breakfast that cost us SGD20+

We spent the next few hours marvelling at the aquarium shops of the Goldfish Market at Tung Choi Street. The lucky locals could keep exotic pets like iguanas, star tortoises, staghorn beetles, alligator turtles and interesting saltwater creatures other than the typical clownfishes.

Packets of goldfishes for sale

Pet and aquarium shops along Tung Choi Street

Slug and I at the Goldfish Market

Crabs that look like pebbles

Bizarre-looking striped crabs

Moved on to Sham Shui Po for Slug's pilgrimage to its second-hand flea market and high-end audio shops.

Sweet-and-sour chicken rice and teriyaki chicken burger from KFC this season

Walked back to Mongkok for some nighttime shopping at the mini shopping centres there.

My favourite shopping centre at Mongkok

Singaporean manicurists pale in comparison to the creative and skilled ones here

Then moved on to 信和中心, an ordinary-looking commercial building which surprisingly houses many shops and units dealing in a diverse range of trades - Rilakkuma novelties, CDs and DVDs, wholesale of facial products, comics and collectibles, porn, manicure services, games, medical services etc. The CD and DVD shops on the 10th, 12th and 13th floor were what attracted Slug to this building - we could buy banned films cheaply as well as old-school Hong Kong classics like 阴阳路.

At the 10th storey - just like those quiet and creepy corridors at Mt Elizabeth Hospital

Ended off with a stroll down the dark Portland Street and Temple Street to buy some knick-knacks, and then back to our apartment.

Hong Kong 2009 Day 1

2009-11-24T23:59:00.003+08:00

Fourth trip to Hong Kong (again)! Looks like Slug and I have already made this country our staple annual vacation destination. Didn't take many photos this time round as we would be revisiting basically our previous fave hangouts.

At the airport

It was a chilly 20 deg C when we arrived in the morning. Everywhere, even on Lantau island, seemed shrouded in some grey smog, which really put us off. The worsening air quality especially during the winter months lessens the desirability of living in Hong Kong - we found it sufferable to breathe in the air at Causeway Bay which smelled of smoke.

Hong Kong Airport

We napped till nighttime, and then ventured out for dinner. Came across a cha can teng in Wan Chai selling some delectable roast meats. Their soup was a warm comfort for our stomachs in such cold weather. Was appalled that this shop sold roasted sparrows on skewers, each tiny bird no bigger than the size of our fists. While I was protesting to Slug about the atrocity of eating such small creatures, he was apathetically munching on a crispy whole pigeon.

We always love the spring onion and garlic condiment

After dinner, we strolled along the identical-looking streets in Wan Chai for some after-dinner exercise.

At Southom Playground

Would love to steal this cardboard standup home

The public glued to the TV broadcasting the passing away of veteran actor Chen Hong Lie

Retired early for the night, in preparation for some in-depth exploration and sightseeing the next day!

Night Out with Dappy and Peiying

2009-11-21T23:59:00.007+08:00

Night out with babies before I went Hong Kong! As usual, it was just the usuals of drinking and dancing at St James.

With my babies

Dappy trying to touch her nose with her tongue

We always love to do the Yong Lun facial expression

Except for some crazy Hawaiian dances and I-won-Toto facial expressions.

A-go-go dance

Hawaiian dance

If only this holiday does not end ... ...

Lovely Childhood Memories

2009-10-28T23:59:00.002+08:00

Am ashamed to have neglected my blog for so long. This is the longest hiatus I have ever taken from updating this blog - 5 solid months! Sometimes I do feel like closing this blog down.

Was raking through Slug's baby pictures and laughing at him when I suddenly felt a nostalgic urge to look at mine too. Was misty-eyed and all smiles when I recalled those carefree days and childish moments ... ...

Ah Ma was young and had a head full of black hair more than 20 years ago

Nurtured the flair for shopping at 3 years old

Ah Sir, her dog and I were small enough to squeeze onto a couch

Kar Cheng WAS adorable back then

Staring at Henglip's beautiful birthday cake in jealousy

Never mind, we had shiny masks and two boys for company on our birthdays

Classic shot of us cousins

I am always wishing I could live in the 70s and 80s - the simplicity, the kampung days, the close-knit families and communities, the carefree fun, etc, but that's probably a topic I would explore another day when I am free. Ending off here with a handsome shot of Slug.

Tee hee!

7th Month Dinner

2009-09-15T23:59:00.002+08:00

Thanks to 2nd Aunt, I have had the chance to indulge in the 7th Month dinner in recent years. This year, it was again held at Loyang. Great to meet up with Ah Sir and Wee to bitch away (and tickle Wee's chin) again!

Couldn't believe they had roast suckling pig as part of the nine-course dinner - decadently greasy. The three of us were staring at other unfilled tables in jealousy - fewer people meant more food for each. The nameless Buddha-Jumps-Over-Wall-alike broth with all sorts of ingredients in it was good, with Wee and I slurping every drop of it up. We tested the photo-taking skills of 3rd Aunt by asking her to take a photo of us.

Me and Mum and Dad

With Wee and Ah Sir

The steamed prawns were damn good, I really could not stop gorging on them. Wished they could have served some refreshing iced longan instead of steamed pork buns and ice-cream which made a mess all over my dress. Nevertheless, the highlight was laughing at jolly 2nd Aunt (for whatever reason I could not remember).

Night Out with Dappy and Peipei

2009-09-09T23:59:00.001+08:00

Celebrated the onset of the much-needed September break by visiting Powerhouse, amidst the hectic rush to finalize and compile exam papers and rush the syllabus. It just felt so good to get in touch with alcohol and my two babies again.

Really could not stand Powerhouse on a Ladies' Night anymore. It took nearly one hour to get some drinks from the bar counter, no thanks to the throngs of girls making a beeline for the free drinks (and each so kiasu to secure three to four drinks at one go), queue-cutting bitches and the slow service of the bartender. We did not deserve to be fuming at a club.

Us three again!

After tonight, it was back to work again! Aargh!

Night Out with Dappy and Peipei

2009-09-04T23:59:00.001+08:00

Last-minute decision to go to St James on a Friday night with Dappy and YS. Had a wild night of booze, sexually-charged Gino and finger-guessing games with YS and his buddies.

With Dappy and dunno-which-extra behind us

Bao Gong the ghost

Hilmann was so wasted he probably wouldn't understand why his crotch was sore the morning after

Peipei met up with us thereafter.

What was Aaron looking at?

It's the three of us camwhoring again

With YS and Ben

Looking forward to the September holidays!!!

Night Out at Beyond's Concert

2009-08-29T23:59:00.009+08:00

Beyond coming to town! An exhilarated Slug was dying to meet them, so we attended their mini concert at Lunar which was scheduled to start at 8pm. When we reached at 8pm, the first floor of Lunar was almost filled. We could hardly believe the overwhelming response.

So we squeezed our way up to the second floor, and to the balcony overlooking the stage. Securing a spot to stand was easy, but securing a spot that gives a good view of the stage was not. We had to contend with tiptoeing and rubbing shoulders with the other patrons.

Couldn't believe the concert actually started at 10.30pm. We were fiercely guarding our positions and refusing to go to the toilet. Yip Sai Wing came on stage to perform his solo songs, followed by Paul Wong and his solo items, but seriously I believe we were all there to relive the sentimentality of Beyond's classics.

Yip Sai Wing

They then performed their evergreen goodies like 大地，长城，真的爱你 and 光辉岁月, much to everyone's delight. Despite being a twosome act now, their charm and popularity still has not waned amongst us Cantopop hardcores. Some dude wanted to request for a song and was shouting "情人" wildly, but I think they pretended not to hear him. They ended with a stirring encore of 海阔天空 and my favourite 不再犹豫.

Performing the last song with confetti sprinkled on them

We left Lunar feeling so intoxicated. Just $40 to watch them perform close-up a string of classics - never would we ever get a chance like this again.

Night Out with Dappy and Peipei

2009-07-04T23:59:00.002+08:00

Clubbing in celebration of Youth Day! YS joined us for a night of boozing and drunken dancing at Boiler. Powerhouse as usual was overflowing with patrons muct to our disappointment.

Nothing like good alcohol to destress

YS loves to join in the camwhoring and cute-posing

As if hangovers aren't enough, I always have to be jolted awake the next morning by absurd shots which I do not remember taking.

Couldn't believe we did this in public

Philippines 2009 Day 9

2009-06-16T23:59:00.001+08:00

Everything went smoothly in the morning - woke up early, got our luggage ready and left for the airport way too early. Saw the customs officer who made the first "So you like popcorn?" remark yesterday, but this time, he just grinned at my three innocent tubs of popcorn. Now I was irked.

Slug's brother, who had the Dept of Foreign Affairs pass, was able to escort us all the way to the flight gate. He was so kind to buy us some sandwiches to eat on board should we get hungry. I must say, his hospitality is unparalleled!

As if my popcorn had not been harrassed enough in the Philippines, back in Singapore, I had another customs officer asking me "So you like sweet things?" WTF! What the hell is wrong with buying popcorn!

Till our next trip again.

Philippines 2009 Day 8

2009-06-15T23:59:00.005+08:00

Our return flight was leaving for Singapore at 10.55am, so we woke up early, washed up, did some final packing and left for the airport at 9.30am. Carrying the luggage was a dreadful experience - the pineapples were too heavy and the three tubs of popcorn were too bulky. Slug's brother then drove us to the airport.

In the guest bedroom

View from the bedroom

We reached the airport just to discover a long queue of people and luggage snaking out of the airport from the luggage scanners. As Slug and I were queueing up, a customs officer managing the crowd saw the conspicuous tubs of popcorn and could not help but commented, "So you like popcorn?" I just smiled sheepishly, but he even signalled for his colleague to come over, and the two of them just stood there pointing at the popcorn, whispering and grinning. What's the big deal about buying popcorn? When we finally reached the scanner, the officer there also asked, "So you like popcorn?" Now, I was starting to feel uneasy.

What happened next was probably the biggest joke of our lives. After all that waiting and queueing, we arrived at the suspiciously empty check-in counter at 10.12am. However, it had closed at 10.10am! Just as I was about to burst into tears, another airport officer suggested I seek help from the airline office (not before asking if I liked popcorn). Panicking, we fled to the airline office and pleaded for them to let us into the plane. They adamantly refused, but luckily we had the option of buying the next day's tickets at SGD80 each. What a waste of money! All because of the 2 minutes!

Of all blessings, luckily we had accommodation ready for us. If it had been other countries, we would be spending the night on the cold tiled floor of the airport. We quickly called up Slug's brother and explained our predicament, who spent the next minute hooting in amusement into the phone. It was simply unbelievable - to the airport and back to Slug's brother's place again! Moral of the story - you can be late for anything except catching a flight.

Slug sulking away because we missed our flight

Hugging the popcorn which had already received enough attention for the day

The overcrowded and old Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1

So we followed Slug's brother around, whose usual daytime activities were mainly sending and fetching his two daughters to tuition classes. After the two of them were dropped off at the tuition centre, the three of us went for a coffee session at Starbucks. To console us (who were still feeling sore about the mishap earlier in the morning), Slug's brother suggested we return to the Seaside Seafood & Wet Market again for dinner, yay!

Their mouthwatering chilli crab will be on our minds for years to come

I just had to post another pic of the giant fluffy tempura prawns again!

Stir-fried broccoli

Steamed red snapper Hong Kong style

Grilled squid au naturel (which was a disaster)

Back to our accommodation to pack our bags and set our alarm clocks ... ... no more mistakes tomorrow, we had to go home.

Philippines 2009 Day 7

2009-06-14T23:59:00.007+08:00

Slug's brother drove us all out today to Clark to buy fireworks, and agenda for tonight was to set them off right in Manila itself (sounds like some terrorists).

Clark was a two-hour drive away, and we reached a small town where various fireworks, firearms and local snacks are sold. The peak season is usually December, where the locals will be celebrating Christmas and New Year with fireworks, and therefore, all fireworks shops will be open and selling them at slashed prices. From what we could see, only two or three fireworks shops were open today.

We approached one and swept all kinds of sparklers and dynamite-like fireworks off the shelves. His brother's bargaining skills once again helped us save a lot on our purchase, which seriously does not come cheap. We had to listen to instructions really carefully because playing with fireworks is life-threatening.

Town in Clark that sells fireworks

Approaching the fireworks store

Nicely-wrapped fireworks

That's more dangerous

We browsed around the snack shops and bought an unique snack - deep fried pig skin. It is something like the deep fried lard used in soup noodles, except that this comes without the oil. First few bites were okay, in fact, rather fragrant and crispy, but soon after I felt like retching because of the lingering porky aftertaste. How can this be a tidbit?

Deep fried chicken skin, deep fried pig skin ... ...

... ... and deep fried chicken gizzards, chicken hearts, chicken intestines

After dinner, Slug's brother drove us to a part of the Pasig River where we unloaded all our tools of crime. We started off playing with the sparklers, those whizzing ones that could fly a distance and combust with a loud pop. A couple relaxing by the river nearby could not help but come up to us and ask if there was any special occasion for setting the fireworks. After explaining to him we were just tourists and we were just playing for fun, he still could not understand and kept asking if it was a public holiday or if it was anyone's birthday. I could not be bothered to explain so I handed him some sparklers to shut him up.

All the activities attracted a few street kids nearby who came to watch, and they really resembled detestable BLACK SOCIETY kids. They tried to lay their hands on our fireworks, they imitated the way we talked ... ... they were practically a useless bunch of nuisance.

Playing with huge sparklers

Their annoying voices evident here

For the next 30 minutes, we continued to set off the fireworks. They were nothing like those National Day ones, but nevertheless still spectacular. And then there was always the danger of fireworks taking such a long time to set off that you do not know if it was still active or dead. There was one that was absolutely silent for 3 minutes after lighting it, and just when we were about to walk over and collect it back, it suddenly exploded.

Slug holding an egg-shaped one happily

Guess who turned up soon and spoilt the party? The police. They said that fireworks were not allowed to be set off in the city, but actually, setting off fireworks along Pasig River is a common sight during December. No matter how much we reasoned with the policemen saying that we were just tourists / we did not know about this law / we just wanted to see the beauty of Manila etc, he still wanted to confiscate our fireworks and also wanted us to follow them back to the police station. Eventually, Slug's brother stuffed 300 pesos into their hands, and they just huffed, "Pack up and go" and drove off. Conclusion: Police here is cheap as dirt.

So we lugged all the unused fireworks back to Slug's brother's home, and hopefully we would be able to light them again when we return in December. Spent the night packing our luggage (and pineapples) as we would be returning home the next day.

Philippines 2009 Day 6

2009-06-13T23:59:00.012+08:00

Was woken up rudely at 5.30am by the blinding sun glaring through the glass walls and the thin curtains of our room. Seriously, I still could not reconcile with the fact that over here, the sun is already up and shining even before 6am.

Slug's sister-in-law hired a driver to take us to visit the Taal Volcano in Tagaytay, a two-hour drive from Manila, but before that we were taken to Sunday Legazpi Market in Makati for breakfast. It seemed more like a food bazaar than a market, selling a smorgasbord of food products never seen before (including the foul-tasting grilled au naturel fish). Feasted on ukoy (deep-fried vegetable and baby shrimp fritters), Vietnamese rice rolls, black forest cheesecake etc.

At the Legazpi Market

The ukoy was yummy

Selling pieces of lechon baboy (roast pig)

Vietnamese rice rolls look good but taste weird

Chorizo rice, sisig, callos ... ... what are these!

Roasting a cow ... ... whole

Large fresh prawns

After breakfast, it was on to Tagaytay to visit the Taal Volcano and also to buy pineapples and local delicacies. The Taal Volcano is small but very active, and unique in the sense that it is a volcano within a volcano. Taal Volcano lies within a huge caldera (Tagaytay Ridge), formed when the top of the original larger volcano was blown off during a violent eruption in the past. When the top was blown off, Lake Taal was formed within the caldera and subsequent eruptions formed the smaller Taal Volcano in the middle of the lake. Taal Volcano still remains active, but today it was disappointingly peaceful.

At one of the many viewing points

Volcano within a volcano

Taal Lake (where you can hire a boat to take you to the volcano itself and then a donkey to hike up to the peak for some rumbling action)

I like the darkness cast by the massive low-hanging cloud above

At the viewing deck of Taal Vista Hotel

It became unbearably hot at 11am, so we sought refuge at an air-conditioned Italian restaurant and had lunch. After lunch, we went for some horse-riding activities.

Seafood pasta ... Mmmmmmmm!!!

Horse-riding

After that, it was on to the People's Park in the Sky, the unfinished mansion of former President Ferdinand Marcos. Spent the afternoon there playing around, browsing through the shops, and roasting under the sun.

At the entrance of the park

Taking the jeepney up to the peak

Tagaytay - well-known for its fresh and sweet pineapples

View from the top

Viewing Taal Volcano from another angle

Some candid shots taken at the peak

Slug looked silly in that ariba ariba hat

Xinmei with the ultra-glaring chrome jeepney

Taken by the hidden horticulturist in Slug

Another view of Taal Volcano

The driver then proceeded to take us back to Makati, but not before we bought some local produce and fresh pineapples from the roadside stalls and confectioneries store. The pineapples are huge and are sold really cheaply. Slug's brother recommended us to buy the buko (coconut) pie, which is basically a huge flan filled with coconut custard and slices of coconut flesh.

Roadside stall selling pineapples and other fruits

At the confectioneries store

Finally, after such a long tiring day out, we headed back to the city where we spent the night watching cable TV and having the saccharine pineapples for dinner. Slug was grinning happily because he finally had the chance to buy his favourite Chef Tony's almost-spherical and evenly-coated popcorn.

Chef Tony's popcorn comes in many flavours, but nothing beats the classic caramel flavour

Philippines 2009 Day 5

2009-06-12T23:59:00.004+08:00

Packed our luggage and had our last breakfast at Amorita, before taking Gil's car to the airport.

Chicken porridge for breakfast!

Slug giving a spastic expression

Enjoying the decent porridge

At the infinity pool

One last game of table soccer before going

Boarded the plane at 12.40pm bound for Manila. Arrived at Terminal 3, and were picked up by Slug's brother and his family. We were taken to his residence at Kensington Place at Makati, the major financial and entertainment district in Metro Manila. We were deeply impressed by the comfortable condo-style abode, and the best part was, they had tidied up a bedroom for us!

At the airport

Bomb jokes are strictly not tolerated

Slug and I before boarding the plane

Slums along Pasig River

Hazy city centre

Slug's brother then took all of us out for lunch at Greenbelt Shopping Centre, where we also watched Terminator 3 after that.

Burgers at Brothers Burger are huge

Queueing up to get the tickets for the movie

We were then taken to Seaside Seafood & Wet Market for dinner. We chose the seafood at the wet market, and then took it to the seafood restaurants just beside the market where the chefs whipped us our sumptuous seafood dinner. Slus's brother selected two huge crabs, a large pile of prawns, scallops and a red snapper. His bargaining skills are superb.

Seaside Seafood & Wet Market

Inside the market

Oysters, mussels and bunches of disgusting seaweed at the back

Prawns and lobsters

Moray eels are too cute to be eaten

This restaurant is highly recommended by me

We were then served chilli crab Singaporean-style, baked scallops with cheese, tempura prawns and steamed red snapper Teochew-style. Highly delectable. I haven't had such a satisfying seafood meal in a long time. Below $150 altogether for the 6 of us ... ... cheap!

Chilli crab

I would gladly pile on the pounds for this basket of tempura prawns

Pouring tea for my hosts

Me and Xinmei

Spent the rest of the night lazing on the couch and watching cable TV. It is amazing how Manila can receive so many channels from China and Taiwan.

Philippines 2009 Day 4

2009-06-11T23:59:00.011+08:00

Had breakfast at the resort restaurant, and was surprised to encounter and make acquaintance with a Singaporean family based in Manila. They were raving on and on about their diving trips at Balicasag and enticing me to go get a diving license in Manila (which is cheaper), so that I can "swim with the turtles" and "see lobsters at night". Their passion for diving was so infectious that I was thinking about moray eels throughout breakfast.

Yum, soup noodles!

Slug enjoying his cereal

Rented a motorbike to go cruising around Panglao island in the afternoon. Roads had no lane markings and worse, no road signs (but we did not even have a map anyway). The safest bet was just to go straight so that we would not get lost. Enjoyed the relaxing sights of domestic animals loitering by the roadside, kampong-style houses constructed out of wooden planks and rattan, and the locals busy with their activities.

Patting two little goats

An emaciated cow by the road

On second thought, 'busy' would be inappropriate to describe them because many of them were just engaging in simple household tasks and they did not look like they had been tortured by chronic stress. Some of them even had the luxury to nap after a banana tree. They warranted much envy from us.

Filling up the petrol tank at a coffee house nearby

Their basketball court

Down the quiet road

Nothing beats the fresh smell of wind-kissed laundry

Rustic houses

Their austere convenience store

Dropped by a local school and took a curious peek into their classrooms. Saw a lesson on the male anatomy being conducted with a bunch of 7 or 8-year-olds, and was surprised that less developed countries like the Philippines also take sexuality education very seriously, even in the countryside.

Children playing around at a school

Panglao Sentral School

Errr ... okay ...

The principal's office

The simple slide and swings are so reminiscent of my childhood days

The school children got curious to this rude intrusion by a foreign stranger, and started to peer back at me, together with the teacher, so I quickly snucked away. Somehow felt sad to witness the basic classroom facilities there that pale in comparison to our high-tech modern classrooms. Their classrooms did not even have lights and it was so dark inside!

Cocks are the pride of many locals who use them to win in cock-fighting competitions

Boys enjoying an afternoon game of basketball

We could not resist sidetracking to a secluded beach, where I had fun chasing and catching small crabs (and boy, can they run!).

Cow grazing lazily

At the quiet beach

Third time riding illegally

These little critters are hard to catch!

Pink pig idling on the clayey soil

We also stopped by a mangrove forest.

Mangrove forest

Slug at a small pier

Banca

We decided to return back to our resort as the fuel tank was running low and we did not feel like topping up the petrol for them. We stopped by a small bar for our afternoon tea of pizza. The pizzas sold there were really stinging on the toppings and cheese, and they tasted more like soda crackers.

At least they were stone-baked

At the bar

In the late afternoon, we went swimming at the resort pool. Lazing by the pool and watching the sun set - the leisurely feel and relaxed atmosphere were indescribable.

By the pool

It was dinnertime, and we chanced upon a small and modest-looking seafood restaurant as we were strolling at Alona Beach. We splurged on a lavish seafood feast consisting of fried calamari, gigantic prawns with garlic, steamed red snapper, grilled chicken thigh, baked potato and garlic rice. Although not exactly of as high standards as the seafood cuisine in Hong Kong, it was considered worthy enough after all the previous horrible food we had eaten in Bohol so far.

The humble-looking restaurant called Roderick and Vivien

Last dinner in Bohol

These huge prawns cost 300 pesos for 4, NOT cheap!

I will not dare to eat this luminously blue-green fish

Slug waiting impatiently

Last dinner in Bohol, last moonlight stroll along Alona Beach ... ... it felt as though the trip was coming to an end, where actually we were just moving on to Manila the next day. Last night of playing Scrabble and table soccer (we love competing with each other) at the lounge before retiring for the night.

Philippines 2009 Day 3

2009-06-10T23:59:00.004+08:00

Woke up at an unearthly 5am to go for a trip to Balicasag Island nearby. Actually, 5am in the Philippines already feels like 7am back home, so at least it did not feel that depressing. However, what felt depressing was that we would not be able to enjoy the bountiful resort breakfast which starts at 7am, but well, anything for some upclose wildlife viewing!

Gil picked us up from the lobby at 6am and took us to a part of the Alona Beach where several bancas (a type of motorized boat that they use) were moored. From there, another guide and his helper took over and brought us out to the vast open sea. Was looking intensely at the sea to spot the wild dolphins, but all I saw were just cute flying fishes skating swiftly along the water surface.

6.15am at Alona Beach

The guide's helper standing steadily despite the rough jerks of the banca

Suddenly, the guide shouted for us to look in the direction he was pointing, where a few fins were gliding through the water surface. The boat slowed down - we had reached the spot where the dolphins were congregating and feeding. As they were wild, they would not approach the boat, and besides, the loud engine noises scared them off. Hence, we could only look at them (or rather just their fins) from a distance.

Like a shark

It was not easy trying to capture a shot of these dolphins, as you never know when and from where they were going to come up to the water surface.

One of the better shots of the dolphins

Finally decided to catch them on video

We spent the next 30 minutes or so watching the dolphins. Was jealous Slug got the opportunity to see a dolphin jump out of the water in front of him, whereas I was looking around in painstaking concentration and yet never got such a sight. Our guide told us there are whale sightings too, but very much rarer nowadays and he blamed it on overfishing by the fishermen from Mindanao. What a pity.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, the dolphins went deeper into the sea and the show was over. We were taken to Balicasag Island, a quiet and pretty island that doubles as a great diving site because of its marine sanctuary, a protected part of the coast that houses a thriving coral reef and schools of small cute fishes. Sadly we were not divers, so I could only snorkel while Slug chose to stay out of the water.

Balicasag Island

Basically I just snorkelled around at the marine sanctuary, mesmerized by the vibrant colours of the vertical coral reef wall and the many fishes swimming around me. Slug was really missing out on the beauty. After that, we were taken to Virgin Islands nearby, an extremely small and uninhabited island. The only attraction there was the powdery white sand and the sandbar that links Virgin Island to another small islet. The water was crystal clear but the dead seaweed that it was washing ashore was ruining the tropical beauty.

Virgin Island

Long walk down the sandbar

Huge dead jellyfish along the shoreline

I realised we could be just in time for breakfast if we hurried, so we asked the guide to take us back to Panglao. Upon landing at the beach, we ran madly back to Amorita and reached there at 9.55am. Imagine us, with dishevelled hair, slippers oozing seawater, sand dropping off our legs and panting fiercely, arriving at the posh resort restaurant. Must have scared the other guests. We feasted like hungry ghosts for the next 30 minutes.

Breakfast

View of Alona Beach from the resort which is on a cliff

Were too exhausted so we took an afternoon nap. Went for a swim and some sun after that at the cool Infinity Pool, which is a swimming pool that seems as if it opens out to the sea.

Slug near the lobby

In the Infinity Pool (fishing boats spoiling the scenery)

Had a pizza dinner at a small inn along the beach. Prices were exorbitant, for a place like this. We thought the crab soup which cost 110 pesos would contain real crab meat, but it was actually 90% corn starch, 5% corn kernels, 3% egg white and 2% crabstick. What a ripoff.

Pizza overflowing with cheese!

At the inn's pizza outlet

Was falling in love with the nightly strolls along the dark Alona beach. That is what I call a relaxing getaway.