Category: Australia

I chanced upon this news. Walaneh…I stayed at Lee Gardens Hotel before. It’s a cool place and now it’s reduced to a shadow of its former self. What the flying?

So typical. Just get on with life cannot is it? Is it so damn hard? Have to kill this person, that person, burn flags, bomb people and shit. Kamikaze so fun ya? Ya ya, die already go to heaven can get your cock sucked everyday is it?

+++++

Swan River.

My stay at Perth was quite unmemorable. I had chinese food for lunch (ack….) and Japanese food for dinner (errr…). I didn’t even bother to have breakfast.

Didn’t go anywhere. Just took the Red Cat to Murray Street. What is Red Cat? It’s the name of one of the city’s shuttle bus routes. They have Yellow Cat and Green Cat too. The best thing about this city shuttle service is that, it’s entirely F.O.C! Best…

Inside the Red Cat.

The Red Cat’s exterior.

Murray Street.

Went to have my lunch at this nice chinese restaurant called Chi. The portion was big and the food was quite delicious!

Good Chi.

Poser with the menu.

My delicious wantanmee.

My colleague’s hot pan beef thingy. This was damn tasty.

After lunch, we went to Woolworths, a supermarket beneath the restaurant. I refrained from buying loads of junk food. But I did buy some dirt cheap muesli and a few Cherry Bounty’s (ooh la la). As I was browing for macademias for the Suan, I came across this packet of cashews.

Anything suspicious? Look closely….

Acccck! A strand of hair trapped inside the packet -_-

By the way Suan, didn’t get you macademias…SO EXPENSIVE SIAL. I bought you Beernuts instead. When I more rich first k?

Left Woolworth’s at dinner time, decided to tarpao some sashimi back to hotel..

My dinner: Salmon sashimi, a box of Australian strawberries and Mini Cheezels! Mini Cheezels is damn good…can pwn Super Ring and local Cheezels.

Strawberry with sexual connotation.

After so much food, my bowel cried for some relief. While doing my business, I noticed something…..

Hahaha, doesn’t only happen in Malaysia ;D

Among all the hotels I’ve stayed in, my favourite is the Sydney’s Hilton. I love the view, the huge bed, the plasma tele, the night blind control at the bedside (omg, darkness in stark daylight at your fingertip!) and the location too, of course.

I have had several problems with its ultra-modern facilities though. One such problem is its wakeup calls. I usually arrange for wakeup calls with the hotel. Then I would set my own alarm clock to wake me up before my hotel’s wake-up call. It’s a foolproof plan to avoid oversleeping.

One morning, I woke up to my own alarm clock and proceeded to prepare for yet another bloody day at work. I was grumpy and agitated. As I meticulously put on my eyeliner, the phone rang. I knew it was the hotel’s wakeup call. So despite being half-way through the make-up I went to pick up the phone. An automated voice greeted me.

Good morning! This is your wakeup call bla bla bla…

I hung up, walked to the mirror and continued with my routine. Then, while putting on mascara, the bloody phone rang again. I thought it was an emergency regarding work, so I ran to pick up the phone. And there it was, the same automated greeting. I slammed down the receiver by that time.

10 minutes later, the phone rang for the third time. Half-way through applying lipstick (it sucks to be a woman). I figured it was another wake-up call. I picked it up and sure enough, I heard this…

Good morning! This is your wakeup call.. I cursed, “What the fuck another wakeup call, tiuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu” huh, yes Miss Kimberly?

Just great! A real person this time…

So yes, if you were in Sydney for work, do put up at the Hilton. You will definitely be on time for that dreaded meeting.

I was a bit of an emotional wreck in Sydney. The beauty of the city didn’t do much to alleviate my nerves, only to get them more worked up. No, I’m not blaming Sydney. If there’s anything, Sydney has reminded me of how much I need my loved ones by my side.

Tears attempted to pierce through my eyeballs every now and then.

The room I stayed in was fantastic.

Camomile tea that practically got me into a coma.

Queen Victoria Building.

I bought a hop on-hop off bus tour ticket from city-sightseeing.com for $30, which valids for 24 hours. The tour has 22 stops around Sydney. At any one point I feel like exploring the area around a certain stop, I could get down and then take the next bus to resume my tour. The frequency of the bus is 30 minutes. I think it’s a fabulous system. Maybe Tourism Malaysia could take a hint somewhere.

There are several companies offering similar service in Sydney. At first I was going to use Sydney Explorer, which was featured prominently in my hotel (good marketing). While waiting for the bus, Hop On-Hop Off arrived first and I found out from the driver about the existence of other companies. At $9 cheaper, I bought the ticket from the bus driver without much delay. Personally I’d recommend Hop On-Hop Off for its open roof double decker bus and super clear automated tour narration. Sydney Explorer uses only ordinary air-conditioned buses.

Practically had the upper deck all to myself.

Turning into Kings Cross.

Kings Cross is a red light district in Sydney famous for its strip clubs. I had a lunch of fish and chips there in a relatively populated cafe. It was quite mediocre, but the cannoli I bought next door more than made up for it. At a hefty $2.50 per piece, I had no regrets. The pastry was fluffy and crispy and the orange custard filling was simply sinful.

Fish and chips.

Kings Cross Cakes and Pies.

Mouth-watering goodies.

The scrumptious cannoli.

I had my lunch al fresco and throughout the 30 minutes there, I was approached by 3 different people asking for spare change and ciggarettes. After the 2nd person, I thought it wasn’t such a good idea being in Kings Cross alone. Nevertheless, I had a fairly peaceful 30 minutes there.

Wani.

I struck up a conversation with the bus driver, Wani. He is from Jakarta, Indonesia and has been working in Sydney for several years. I was talking to him in Bahasa Malaysia and he to me in Bahasa Indonesia. Anything lost in translation was rescued by English. Wani offered to take me around Sydney after his break but I declined. I’m sure he meant well but I suppose it wouldn’t be very safe for a lone female to go off with some stranger in a strange city. We did exchange contact numbers though.

Posing with Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The detail of Sydney Opera House’s roof.

My reflection.

You Are Here.

On Man ‘O War Jetty.

Royal Botanic Gardens.

Tears threatened to flow down my cheeks while watching couples embracing each other, drowned in their own private world and families playing catch on the soft green grass. I was baffled as to how they could exist so comfortably in the cold with barely a singlet and shorts and then it struck me. I was alone and all I could hug for warmth was the damn tree.

Some alien plant.

Sun bathers.

Tranquility.

Still in love.

Wish you were here.

A shot of Sydney Opera House from Royal Botanic Gardens.

Do you notice the water droplets on the right side of the picture above? That was the very moment before I got splashed by waves and laughed at by two locals. Probably thinking, “Stupid chink”.

I went back to my hotel after that, quite happy that I’ve seen what I came to see but still bothered by pangs of loneliness. If only my boo were with me. Lovely things aren’t meant to be experienced alone.

Back in my room.

p/s: View the rest of the photos here.