Joyous Spring in Canberra

Canberra was my last recess week trip and also my first solo trip. I decided to go for the Floriade Spring Festival as this is my first time experiencing Spring! Traveling alone wasn't that bad as I can do whatever I want. Although when I reached Canberra at night, the place was kind of scary. There were drunkards everywhere along the streets and I can here shouts here and there. Luckily I made it to my hostel safe and sound! :)

I saw this scene of white everywhere the next morning and I thought it was snow! I was so touched but later I found out there were just some plant spores. What a pity, I still dream of really seeing snow one day! Missed the chance to go to snowy mountains during winter cos I hesitated too much! :(


Then I headed to Floriade, I was greeted by a million colorful flowers!! What a beauty! :D







So this is what spring is like! If only Singapore have seasons.


There were many other showcases like gnomes and gardens in the festival.



Buskers were everywhere! Though they are around in Singapore too, but we're always too busy to stop and look at them.


It was a great way to end the recess week, lazing in the midst of spring and listening to talented musicians. It would had been perfect if I can share this joy of spring with someone special. :)

the legendary Gold Coast!!!

Finally here to blog again, school has been so cruel to me but today I can finally catch some breath. Shall continue writing down my Aussie adventures before I forget everything. I have always wanted to go gold coast because everyone is like saying it is a really fun place and a must-go when you're in Australia! The main thing there is definitely the theme parks! It is my first trip in Aussie which required a plane, and I went with Caleb, a friend I just met for the first time in school. But good thing he is also from NTU, so we have things in common to talk about. Finding traveling companion is really tough in Newy, people are either on a tight budget or not on enough. So I'm glad I met Caleb. We have to choose between the various theme parks packages in Gold Coast cos due to tight schedule, we can't afford to go to all. In the end we picked the warner bros Movieworld, Seaworld and Waterworld package as it seems like a better deal.


Movieworld!! I'm really shocked by the length of queues in this theme park. Never had I queued so long just for one ride, sometimes the waiting time takes almost an hour. Even at the opening time, the queue was already there. But the rides were totally worth it, adrenaline rushed to its max! We managed to sit every ride once in the end, so that wasn't so bad.

Superman roller coaster! It was so scary, the near 90 degrees rushing-up-and-down!


The scooby doo indoor roller coaster is another of my favorite rides, full of surprises in this dark mansion! haha


I didn't manage to take a pic with any of the warner bros characters mascots as they only paraded once, but at least there were the statues! haha


The next day, we headed to wet n wild water world, a much scarier place than Movieworld!


The locals really know how to enjoy life, so many people sun bathing everywhere, even on grass patches. Some people simply came to this theme park to sun bathe. haha. We joined in the crowd n really felt like kings! haha


This is my favorite ride, cos it's dry! haha due to my fear of water, water rides always seem more terrifying than dry rides.


The ultimate ride is definitely this gravity defying aqua-loop! We have to go in this coffin-like time capsule and then there will be this countdown "3, 2, 1.." and the platform at the bottom of out feet will suddenly open while we free fall vertically down and then defy gravity through a loop and out! It was damn scary, had my eyes shut all the way! The thing about water rides is that you can't really scream cos water will go in, haha, which makes it even scarier.

Our last stop was Seaworld. The rides here were mild in comparison but the highlight here were the sea creatures! There were so many dolphins around and I am really amazed by their show.

They're able to lift humans up! cool! :)


I really love dolphins as they always seem happy and friendly. :)



Gold coast is full of heavenly tasting Asian food at affordable prices! Yummy! It's a pity we didn't get to go surfers' paradise as Caleb need to get back Newy to work. I sure would wanna go back Gold Coast one day for it and also to Dream World, another kick-ass theme park. :)

Flying!

Wollongong was one of the first major trip I planned all by myself. I did quite a bit of research and even printed out maps and train timings as I was still quite a noob then, didn't really know my way around well. I'm glad I have Sarah to join me. She is a Korean friend I met when we went for a party and really happy she trusted me in all the itinerary and planning. The main highlight of Wollongong is definitely hang gliding! I have been wanting to try it ever since I watched the movie, Rio. It's really nice of Sarah to accompany me to Bald hill for the activity even though she's not doing it.


The experience with a Korean is definitely interesting to me. Sarah is like a "princessy" kind of girl we often see in Korean idol drama, she expect a guy to to what a guy has to do in many ways. Haha which explains this :


The start of the trip didn't went on smoothly as we missed our stop at Hamilton and have to run back and we eventually got lost. Haha after much hassle we boarded the next hour train and off to our first stop, Symbio Wildlife Park!

Both of us were very excited to see the native animals! It was our first time feeding kangeroos too.


We even kissed them! They are just too cute to resist. :)


Got to know one interesting fact, kangaroos actually love to eat fries. One Kanga kept snatching fries from Sarah's lunch box.


The most interesting animals we've met are definitely these cute looking monkeys. I think they are called pygmy monkeys, the smallest monkeys in the world! The way they eat are simply adorable!


After a tiring day, we went for traditional Thai massage! It was my first and last time trying it, a painful experience I must say. But after that it makes us feel so good and revitalized. Still I'd prefer the process to be the enjoyable one instead of just the aftermath.


The next day we set off early for Bald Hill, where I will be hang gliding! :D The view up the hill was awesome and the wind and sun was perfect for a glide.


Off we go! I thought I would feel a sudden plunge down as we walked towards the edge of the cliff, but no! It was super smooth, once off the cliff, we were already flying!


Flying and seeing everything in the birds' eye view was totally amazing!


Initially we wanted to visit Nan Tien temple but unfortunately it was closed. We headed to the beach instead. Sarah was so excited to see the beach that she ran straight towards the sea and to and fro like a little girl. I was still okay as I had been to beaches for the past few weeks. But the evening beach offers another beautiful sight and it was really nice.


Our 2 day trip almost ended badly as we almost missed the train. We ran like hell just like what we did when we came! haha This trip really taught me that my orientation skills really kind of sucks.

SWING!!!

One of the things that never fails to excite me is the swing!! Will gladly jump onto one whenever I see it!


I miss the railways tracks in Australia too!

I'm suffering severely from post-exchange syndrome. Feeling kind of miserable now, with very high tendency of comparing every little thing I'm experiencing here back home. Ever since I came back, I've been feeling very negative. I don't like it! The misery I felt before I left seemed to have returned. I guess I'm having too much time now, too much alone time actually. Urgh, loneliness, lost, unable to feel contented, urgh, I hate these terrible feelings. :(

Sydney

Traveling to Sydney was quite frequent when I was in Australia. It's the nearest city from Newcastle and as there's nothing much in New, we will often go Sydney for a short getaway. It is a dreadful 3 hours train ride away though. The good thing is that the train is quite comfy to sleep in and food is allowed. I love the seats design where you can just push it in any orientation you desire. The scenery along the way also provide some form of entertainment, because you don't get such view in Singapore.

The thing about 3 hours train rides is that we've to set off really early to make our day trip worth which is quite impossible for some of my nocturnal friends. Some of the trips are cancelled due to oversleeping, but one fine day we finally made it to Sydney, with Bel, Adele, Sarah and I.



The locals are really hospitable, offering to take photos for us and even playfully hopping into this candid shot. I really miss the smiles on peoples' faces and the greetings from random strangers, cos back at home, what we get is mostly a foul face.


And on our very first trip, we got stranded bad as we took the wrong train. Look how sad and tired we were, haha. After much hassle, we made it back alive at 3am.


Another memorable trip to Sydney took place during our recess week. It was the best recess week ever just because it is a long 2 weeks break with almost no assignments to worry about! We went to Sydney's famous beach, Bondi. I wanted to see what's so great about it, but it turns out to be just another beach. But still way more awesome then any beaches in Sg! The weather was unfortunately chilly and windy so we couldn't really enjoy the beach the "beachy" way.


Got myself a new disciple! haha


Then we explored Hyde Park. We met this crazy old man who started shouting vulgarities at us for no apparent reason.



We ended the night with beautiful touristy places, Habour Bridge and the Opera House.

I spent my last few days of Aussie trip in Sydney too. It was kind of inflexible as I have to fly back from Sydney no matter what as the ticket is already bought. Otherwise I would have gone to more places and just flew home from there.

Darling Habour is quite a nice place to go to. It's quite a romantic place to bring a date.



Chrismas decos were not as plentiful as what we can see in Orchard road, but they kind of give a warm cosy Chrismasty feel like no other. I love the giant Santa hanging at the edge of the building, lol.


Sydney often has fireworks display even though there isn't any special occasions. I managed to catch one in my last few days there and it was quite spectacular. A great sight to conclude this wonderful journey.