new zealand - just arrived

i nearly missed my flight to auckland! all because of the roo-brained, racist immigration people in sydney airport. ok, shall not elaborate too much, it spoils my mood!

at long last, i'm here and i'm happy to see my sis and bro-in-law. the weather here is COLD! shit, didn't bring enough warm clothings. they've a very nice house and i love it. i like the room they prepared for me, the sis had to plug in 2 heaters for me to warm up the room. usually they use heaters for winter only lor..aiyoh, so paiseh. heh...

the outside of the house is nice too, with a swimming pool, although i'm not too sure if it'll ever be warm enough to swim outside!

we went to a santa parade at the city center. i couldn't really see anything cos all the ang mohs were blocking my view :( i got really fed-up so i climbed on top of a bus stop to get a better view. haha. but it was already too late, cos spongebob and bananas in pyjamas have already passed. oh well, it was still good fun sitting on top of the bus stop though. :P

had dinner at a chinese restaurant...comfort food for me... i need RICE!

my last day in the land of kangaroos

finally, it's time for me to say goodbye to this lovely piece of land and its people. it was a great experience and it wouldn't have been possible if not for EC. what better way to end my australian travelling experience by going to a beautiful beach? afterall australia's famous for its sun, sand, sea and surf yeah? although i was quite disappointed that there weren't many bronze-tanned 8 packs cute ang mohs on bondi beach for me to see... but the wonderful seaview compensated for all my loss. :)



we toasted each other goodbye at night, (actually it was just an excuse for me to finish up all the wine we brought back from the farm :P) and it is time for me to move on to my next destination- Auckland, New Zealand. i miss my sister and my bro-in-law, and i'm looking forward to spending christmas with them!

aussie day 8: here gay there gay everywhere gay gay

the first ever gay wedding was held at circular quay in sydney this morning. apparently one of the two grooms is a newsreader from a radio station. the entire wedding was broadcasted live over the radio and TV. everyone's invited to share their special moment so i got up really early this morning to check out the event.

their wedding was from 6am to 9am. (so early!) i only managed to get there at 8, just in time for their solemnization. hell lot of people turned up. and guess what? i think the entire sydney's gay couples were with me at the event. (don't get me wrong, i totally have nothing against gay couples) all the gay couples were there to show their support to the grooms, as the australian federal government does not recognize the union of gay couples. so yeah...this wedding is actually illegal, can you believe it? illegal but they do it so publicly...interesting.


oh yeah, back to the hundreds of gay couples who were with me at the wedding...for the whole morning i saw... 小gays, 大gays and 老gays. some moved to tears when the grooms kissed. awww..... (these are the 老gays)


*qix just wants to emphasize that she has nothing against gays and gay unions*

aussie day 7: alone and thinking

the greatest thing about travelling alone is that you can have time totally devoted to yourself. sit back, relax, and reflect. you can be true to yourself and strip off any pretence. ya' know how you sometimes have to act in a certain way, so that you're being 'socially accepted'. how you have to say things that you know that's what people wanna hear. don't tell me no shit like: "oh...that's hypocritical, i don't do that!" fuck off. you do it...all the time. just that you don't own up to it.

anyways, i was at the sydney fish market today. and i walked past a fisherman, who was mending his nets on his fishing boat. we exchanged glances and i said gd'day to him, aussie style. he said: "come here young lady, have a sit."

i went over and sat beside his boat. he made me some hot tea and we had a long talk...about an hour. we talked about the paradoxes of life. how we've learned to make a living, but not a life. how we've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour. how we've more conveniences, but less time...

the world is spinning too fast...i just hope everyone in the entire human world, can make a pact to all slow down together...no cheating.

a bulgarian woman who sought refuge here, once told him in broken english:
last time, i got many love, many family, many soul, but plate is empty.
now, my plate is full, but no more love, no more family, no more soul.

think.

this is Kippa and his 4 year old girl. lovely. he brought me out to the sea for a ride on his smaller boat. awesome.

on the ligher side... the seafood was beautiful.
it's a pity i went there alone though, cos the servings were too huge for me to finish. i only had space for some fresh prawns and a garden salad.

don't say i'm from singapore (now)

singapore is making headlines on the australian newspapers! but for the wrong reasons!

singapore has decided to go ahead with the death penalty of Nguyen Tuong Van (australian citizen of vietnamese origin) who was found guilty of drug trafficking. the australians do not support capital punishment, so their top officials wrote to us to plead for clemency...but we boh chup them.

aussie PM John Howard is careful not to hurt bilateral relationships. because we're their biggest asian trading partner and they hope SIA can merge with Qantas. so the aussies are quite buay song with Howard for being such a coward. they think singapore so small, scared for what?

eh but sorry hor... our govt is filthy RICH can?! they can buy up all your kangaroos + koalas and make them into bak gua ok!

anyways...imagine if australia boycotts singapore(ans)? then how? what will happen to the hordes of singaporeans in australia? shit lor...i think from now on if any ang moh asks me where i'm from, i'll just say i'm from hongkong or whatever! what a display of patriotism eh?

aussie day 4: sydney

guess i was a little tired after the long road trips, so i pretty much stayed in the room while EC and RV went to work. i was online the entire day.

went to nick's restaurant at cockles bay wharf for dinner on monday. we had a seafood platter and the entire meal costs A$170! mad! not nice lah! singapore got better seafood lor.

walked around a little and yeah...took a standard tourist shot in front of the sydney opera house.

aussie day 3: canberra to sydney

we are not going back to sydney without stopping at the local winery so we bought a few bottles of wine there.

finally we head back to sydney, it's a loooong ride...300 kilometers.

wah...cannot man, the dry weather here is making me feel very sleepy. i was already nodding off to sleep behind the wheels!

finally, we're back in sydney. i am checked-into Sheraton, thanks to EC for letting me bunk in.

went for dinner at a korean fusion restaurant later. we ate kimchi hotpot + lots of other bbq meat. not too bad, but i've had better ones in korea, so i wasn't very impressed.

aussie day 2: blue mountains to canberra

after the suay suay incident of EC receiving a very hefty fine for driving at 'Initial D' speed...it was safer for me to drive all of us to Canberra. especially since that the policeman specifically states that if EC is caught for speeding again, she will lose all her rights to drive in the state of New South Wales (NSW).

on the way to Canberra we witnessed something interesting, it was only raining in one section of the area

then it was a clear and sunny day at another...

finally we reached our bed and breakfast place: Red-brow Garden. it's a strawberry farm, and the room was so cosy and nice to stay in, i love it.

this lake is just behind my room...looks so nice but actually it's infested with FLIES!!! irritating.

very country-style breakfast, nice!

aussie day 1: minto to blue mountains

i followed EC and her US colleague RV to their office at Minto the moment i arrived, because they had to pretend to work for a couple of hours before we can leave and be on our way to the Blue Mountains! so i had the car for awhile and drove around a little while waiting for them.

after EC and Russ knocked off, EC drove at top speed to the Blue Mountains and we arrived in 1hr 45mins...we stayed at Mountain Heritage, a resort on the Blue Mountains. this is the view from my bedroom window.

we had dinner at Swiss Cottage on the Blue Mountains...i ordered seafood fettucine but look what else they have on the menu!!

according to EC, rabbit meat tastes like overcooked chicken with a funny after-taste.

the next day we went to explore the place and the view is awesome...

the famous Three Sisters rock formation

heh...i actually climbed over the safety fences and got really close to the egde of the cliff! naughty naughty...

the trip to Blue Mountains was brief, but rewarding. we had to head to our next destination at Canberra, where we'll be staying on a farm. once again, EC drove at top speed, putting RV's and my life at risk...alas, she was stopped by an australian law enforcer!

ah siao, i love you

ah siao, i want to let you know that, apart from pa, ma and sis, you are the next most important thing to me. although..............

you talk in your sleep

you like to fart right in my face

you are suffering from an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

you also have an Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

you like to attack me when i am most defenceless (when i’m shitting)

everyone is laughing at how your head is too small for your fat body

you had your testicles removed, everyone calls you an ah gua but i still think you are very manly

you are damn chee koh pek, always like to open the bathroom door to peep at me while i am in a shower

you shut down my laptop by dashing across the keyboard without giving me a chance to save my assignment

your fat paw steps on the remote control, changing channels at the most crucial moment of my favourite HK drama

1 packet of your 'Science Diet' cat food ($22.90) can buy me 12.72 packets of my favourite 'Small Marie Biscuits' ($1.80)

you broke 4 of my ikea glasses, a picture frame, ma's china vase and aroma therapy pot, overturned the entire fiesta cheesecake, wiped out one whole plate of unattended fried ikan bilis, ate my favourite malteasers dark chocolate balls without my permission and dipped the same fat paw that you used to change channels into my meiji fresh milk......

i still love you.






i will miss you like crazy!!! how i wish i can take you with me to sydney and auckland :( see you again in 2006!

just put everything into ONE plastic bag!

the cashier auntie at the supermarket totally spoilt my day...

Me: auntie, please pack everything in one plastic bag. thank you.
Auntie: cannot, the chicken breast must put separately in one small bag. then your carrots need to put into the clear plastic bag to weigh, your avocado too, so you need another plastic bag...
Me: no need, just put everything in one bag.
Auntie: cannot, must have many plastic bags! you bought a hand soap, later the soap seep out and kena your chicken breast poisoning it. if you eat the poisoned chicken you will die!
Me: nevermind auntie, just put all into one plastic bag.
Auntie: no no! must separate. and you bought a coca-cola, very heavy, later u walk home halfway the plastic bag will split, so must put one extra plastic bag over this plastic bag so that it won't split...

Me: (still trying to be very polite) AUNTIE I SAID NO NEED...JUST PUT EVERYTHING INTO ONE PLASTIC BAG! if i eat the poisoned chicken breast and i die, then it must be my fate. if the coca-cola really so heavy until will split the plastic bag, then i will sit down and drink the cola until it is no longer heavy. please..just put everything into ONE plastic bag!
Auntie: (very impatiently) CANNOT! MUST SEPARATE! MUST HAVE MANY PLASTIC BAGS...

*faint*

so in the end...

the carrots were in a plastic bag (1)
the avocado was in another plastic bag (2)
chicken breast in another (3)
handsoap and coca-cola in another (4)
one more bag to make sure the previous bag doesn't give way (5)

WHY DO WE NEED SO MANY PLASTIC BAGS???? STUPID SHIT.

did you know that it's estimated that over a million plastic bags are given out a day and nearly 40 billion bags are used each year. that works out to a staggering one thousand bags for each person in singapore!

i think plastic bags shouldn't be free anymore. i'm not asking everyone to bring their own shopping bags. i know it's hard cos we're so used to taking free plastic bags. the least we could do is to REFRAIN from taking more than needed.

CF's bachelorette party at ritz carlton

this was what happened yesterday....
while waiting for the rest, i started exploring the room and found a huge bed...

then a bath-tub with an awesome view...

my dear friend decided to watch da chang jin

exams are not over yet...but did i say i care?

then came evening and everyone has arrived


everyone started slacking around after dinner


LL is my 志同道合 friend! we can practically read each other's mind. we share the same interests..for example: we like to overeat during dinner, then we'll start to regret and feel really bad about ourselves, then we'll come up with funny ideas like going to the reservoir to jog in the middle of the night, hoping that we can burn all the calories we ingested earlier...

oh...did i mention who is the bride-to be?









after a few rounds of drinks, we started to play 海带拳


ok very late already, better tune down before anyone complains...

i'm sure this night would be a memorable night not only for CF, but for all of us. it's awesome being mates with you girls for the past decade! we shared so many happy moments together and i cherish it so, so much. i feel like we always go back to our kiddish behaviours everytime we meet no matter how old we've become :)