Day 6
Went to this church at Boxhill for an ‘early’ service at 9.30 am. Another big church with atmosphere. Had cracker and grape juice for communion. Then notice that my aunt and her husband at the pew behind me. Coincidence? Her husband works as the pastor for this church. Also met a few people from FGA KL and SIB KL.

Up the Dangdenong mountain we go. Check out the photos…

And we had …. Pancake flips for breakfast. Super full. And the best natural orange juice I had. There are various types of pancakes but we settled for the peach, sour cherry and banana ones. We were amazed at an Aussie couple who ordered a main each , had a huge mango lassi and ordered a plate of pancake to share. We can’t stomach that!! Hehe

There is also this “Pie in the sky” which Colin really wants. ….

Next, the wineries of Yarra Valley. Here is the summary.

Biachet – here is where the Vardosa variety comes. Only 3 wineries in Australia has this. An Italian influenced small winery with good looking restaurant. –Rate : 4 grapes.

Yarra Track - did not try as it look very expensive.

Dominique Chandon – THE place to go. It has lush green grass , fully landscaped. And it offers tours for free. It also have a huge exhibition centre where it showcases its champagne making process. And the store offers a lot of variety of wines/ drinks in different combination. We also sat down and had 3 different types of champagnes – The cuvee 2004, the 1996 classic and the slightly sweeter version. All at $9.00 a glass. Oh yeah, I have to be so stupid to ask the waitress to change one of the cup as it got scratches at the bottom.

Had a typical Aussie BBQ at the Seow’s , courtesy of Auntie Margaret , Roger and his wife Denise. It was an elegant house with big garden. And things do grow in this garden. We even had a huge zucchini sliced up for the BBQ. The food was soooo good that we over ate ..again. And auntie cooks the best Penang dishes , which makes me miss home at that juncture.

After dinner , we spend some time at the K-mart and then on Nintendo Wii. I think it is a fun gaming device that the family can join in. Must admit that I loose to auntie playing bowling.. sob sob…. And tennis to Roger…. Sob sob….

Day 7
It was the best sleep that I had for some time. In fact, did not get to say good bye to Roger and Denise. Had my breakfast of milk and flakes. Then my auntie come to pick me up. Had another breakfast with shake and toast at McD. Yep, they have pastries in McD Australia. Too bad no pork.

Went to visit their son who is working at the “Rebel Sports” shop. Oh my , how he has grown. Nice looking chap with good personality for a youth. I guess uncle Joe is right that it is important for parents to trickle down teachings to their children. And I got an beautiful Aussie Rules football as a gift. Hope to use it soon.

Went to Springvale ( Ching vale – too many Asians here too ) to have the Vietnamese beef noodle. Again, I was ordered a large bowl. My Asian stomach nearly exploded again. The soup is very sweet and the beef is super tender. Go Aussie cows..

Caught a train to the city. Both Charlene and I are new to the city , though she has been in the town once before. We finally figured out the tram system. Took a free one ( yep , we figured that free is good ) that brought us around tourist spots. First stop – Melbourne Aquarium. It looked bigger in the photos and just too expensive. Went to the game convention place and turned out to be Crown casino. Oh ya, saw the biggest crab in my life yet… yumm…….. but no money.

Charlene: Tickle tickle

The sad truth is that the next two stops are devastating. QV is closed on Monday and so is the ice cream shop. But managed to lunge ourselves to Koko Black for some fabulous chocolate consolation.

And dinner at Glenn china food. Had my first taste of Croc meat ... and i guess the same with Colin and Charlene. Look at their face.

Day 8

Lets see what I did ...

Queen Victoria Market in the morning; Prayed that it did rain and it did not. phew; American Donut as reckommended by Irene; Ah Wen with her jam tart and mocha;Another sign of the variety of animals in Australia ( smack ) ; cherries are $2 a 100g.

More food at Lygon Street

First things first, Durian gelati at Il Dolce Freedo in Lygon Street. Favourite among Malaysians and must admit that this tastes good. Made by gwai loh.

And then , the climax of eating. The national symbol of Australia. Kangaroo steak with special source with pepper at Il Gusto.

Had a visit to Melbourne University to remember my ex ex boss from Loreal. Speaking of Loreal, they have a Loreal Fashion show at the same time.

At , the not recommended Melbourne Zoo. I did it in 1 hour and got a painful leg after that. Well, i guess Mr Kangaroo should meet his peers....


Yes, it is a Koala up there. sigh.... The next best interesting thing are these totems :)

"Stalactites @ corner of Swanston and Lonsdale Street. 24 hrs restaurant offering Greek food. This is seriously super good. Get the mixed plate so u can try everything". Was joined by Johnathan , Colin and Charlene. And it is extremely cold outside at 18 degrees....

Ah , what an enjoyable trip Melbourne was. A truly cosmopolitan city with loads of things to do , eat and see.

Its getting hot!!

Blackberry; the cool kangaroo ; first aussie fish and chips at $27, Mercure hotel ; some pigeon like birds who as 'lan see' as the kangaroo.

Day 3
Work!!! At the Geelong Refinery . Since I can’t discuss work , lets talk about the food. Had rock sweets on the table and lots of sandwiches and pastries for lunch. Learning 4#- sandwiches can be real tasty even with lots of vegetables and fruits.

For night dinner, we had a sumptuous dinner at the 2 Faces Restaurant. This is THE restaurant and has its own celebrity chef couple. I had a prawn pie ( it has a better sounding Italian name ) for starter, a spinach and cheese goulash and another merlot. The food was quite yummy and different. But the cheese is awfully strong for an Asian.

Day 4
Work!!
At night, we went to see kangaroo at the local club house . They are so near and uninterested that one can probably jump at them.

Then down the Great Ocean Road with a little history lecture which is useful. We went pass a town called Angeles which has an awesome looking lake. Especially since the farms before the town is parched dry due to the draught. We hit a town called Lorne which is a beautiful beach town. Had my first fish and chips here. We also met with a British couple who will spend 6 weeks driving from Perth to Sydney. Lorne is now the ‘hip’ town for the Melbourne wealthy and young things. Hence , most of the things here are expensive. And during weekends, a lot of biker and fast cars will come and show off their stuff.

Day 5
Met Poh Hean and Mr Krashalf to go to a town called Apollo Bay. PH is my friend who was an intern in Western Digital. She kind heartedly offered to fetch me there to view Ocean road and Mr Krashalf to his bakery in that town. This time we used the inner road and up the mountain and back using the sea side road. Awesome view when we hit the highest ground overlooking the town.

German Pig ears which is super nice; Saturday market; gigantic something ; waiting for old Mr Baker

Had a cheaper fish and chips at $6.50 per pack. Also had this super yummy “ German Pig ears” pastry which is loaded with icing and sugar. If you are in this part of town and want to have something good, this is highly recommended.

Tried the beach here. The sand is yellowish and the water is super cold. And the pesky sea gulls are around to snap up any food that lies around. And also, the local Aussie lifeguards that is in yellow suits than red ( Baywatch is the “standard”) . The funny thing is that 6-7 of them hold up together in a tent- like contraption and they seemed happy to stay there away from the cold winds. Wonder if they like the cold waters.

Nude beach.

Oh ya. Geelong has a car shop that sells Proton cars. But not seen one on the road …

Took a train to Melbourne for $7.20. Contrast that out with $165 that I paid to the taxi man over.

wah, the garang look ; nice looking station .. Spencer Street ... and the outside.

Charlene and Colin came to fetcher me from the station. I will be staying over at their place that night. We went to this street that is like the Bangsar of Melbourne, only much much longer. We decided to have Greek food as it is in my list of food to try & settled for this shop called the Greco. Simple décor that seemed abuzz with local and Asians. We each had a main – bad idea. I had a souvlaki , basically meat on sticks. Bit dry. Colin had a pasta and Charlene has a huge pizza.. or is it the other way round. Had a riestling that I think is the best I have tasted. And, the best thing about this store is actually the dessert. Brick sized chunks of cakes/ etc. can be had but we were just too full.

Meat paradise; C&C having an intellectual discusion about ........ fats.

Sin !!! , buckets of it ; look at the car behind. wow...

Did I mention that Colin bought a Rav4 for $40K and have a GPS system that works?!

The Down Under Experience.

In Summary : It was a good time scurrying around the city/ town to meet people and places. Oh, and the meeting was good.

Upside : The weather, the friendly people and pace, met Mr Koala, Platypus , seagulls, Wombat, etc. and ate Mr Kangaroo, Ms Gummy Shark, Mr Whitting and Ms Crocodile. Not to mention the lambs and chicken that died for my stomach. And, did not roadkill any natural animals.

Amazingly, Aussie tend to think that I am just a teenager by my look. Love this country.

Downer : The unfriendly immigration officer and some racist remark in inner towns. Have not felt so distinctly Asian before.


Day 1
Yep, coming down the airport was less than a breeze. The officer was ‘just waiting ‘ for me when I check into the counter. He was rather rude and snappy. Perhaps an extended overtime. How ‘unAussie”. The younger officers are more gentle and smiley.

Anyway, got to the cab at about 2330 local time. The flight was delayed, perhaps to allow me to enjoy the 1st class treatment more. Never in my life that I managed to talk to TWO air stewardess and get some real conversation… instead of trying to run away. I guess they have nowhere to run. J Oh, and I was acting like I know much about luxury.

This cabbie is a natural ( name withheld to protect his identity). He fit snugly into his Commodore steering wheel and is a real chatter. Oh, we spent the first 20 minutes looking for the place that I was going for. But after we got moving, he got into rhythm and manage to even drive and point. He has splendid passion for Melbourne.

Another observation is that the people sleep very early. Hey, what is 1.30 a.m. to Malaysians?


Day 2 - clear skies all round.

And they wake up early too. By 6.00 a.m., the sound of people making toilet sounds can be heard. J And by 9.00 a.m., the cleaning lady threatened to come in. Managed to delayed her till 11.00 am.
First look at the traffic laden streets of Geelong.
My first feel of Geelong is awesome. Each house looked different and the architecture is mixed with Italian and English. And first food that I had is a Japanese Katsu Curry set with free flow of ocha. Not bad. Then to the local mall where I met the same people again and again. Small town. And since it is a sunny day, met a near naked painter with only his brief doing his paint job in full view of traffic. Let me try to do that in KL.
Oh ,and had a $1.99 vinegar and salt potato chips. Stuffed.

At night, had a super fettuccine with cream and avocado. Had a Black box merlot wine which was ok. I can see groups of (presumably) Italian Australians talking loudly and having a good time. Later, walked down the road to the beachfront. The look was awesome. It was 2100 and the sun was still shinning against the tranquil water. There is the fun fair, the gelati stand, some couples wandering about and a picturesque scenery.
Stopped at the yatch club to relieve myself. Learning 3# - that Australian toilets are super clean with ample hand tissues stocked

Night view at 9.00 p.m. I can still see the sun somewhere. Down: Smiling after going for a pee in the yatch club. Cold and loaded ...

Goodbye Chiew Mah on 2007 Valentine

passed by a street on the way back to have lunch. even the town is sad....
Sister and kids paying respect. all 5 generations came back.
She was not able to read but memorises the bible and hymms in teochew.
You did promise to stay till chinese new year but i guess your time has come.
This is my last memory of you ...
My maternal great granmother passed away at the age of 96. She came to Malaysia at the age of 14 and had 4 boys and 3 girls. My grandma is the eldest among the girls. Ms Tan Jooi Kuan , will miss you. She always can remember my name and calls me 'puuy lee ' in her teochew gentle way.