velleyjie

llThe plane touched down at Hongkong international airport at 10:50pm 8th May 2005. The flight was long and tiring, and cramped, because it was a full flight, with people enroute to the UK. Customs was a nightmare, so many people and so little counters, so much for calling themselves the "best airport in the world". The plane’s luggage took forever to arrive at the baggage claim area, and nobody mentioned anything over the PA system to inform us that that was a technical problem. Horrors of horrors finally happened, when the ground crew announced that they have no idea where our luggage was and whatever happened to them. Angry passengers mobbed the counters demanding explanations, but all they could do later was fill up some forms so that the airport can deliver the luggages to them the following day. I did’nt have a choice, so I requested my luggage to be sent to my office the next day. The delay in the buggages caused me to miss my last coach ride into SZ! I contemplated taking a train into the city to get accomodation. But it would have been expensive and I had no idea where i could stay. I tried to hook up with the airport hotel but was told the rooms are fully booked. I finally realised, that i had to stay overnight at the airport arrival lobby to catch the earliest bus out the next day. It was a first for me. So i snug up on one of the benches, story book in hand, and tried to pass time. I caught the 7am bus into SZ. Arrived back at the apt at 8am. Was so tired that i took half a day off in the morning so that i could sleep a little. There was no electricity and it was raining. I had to bath in cold water before i left the apt. BUT ALL THOSE DID’NT MATTER. I have Qi with me. Although not physically as i had hoped, but you’re always in my mind. Those 8 days in Sydney/Melbourne were magical. I MISS YOU MY DARLING. AND I LOVE YOU EVEN MORE.

it was really hard when jie leaving the apt…but i was really grateful that jie allowed me to see him off at the airport..although it was really painful to hold back all the tears but i was really happy that i could at least spend just that one more hour with him.

the 8 beautiful days in sydney | melbourne went by like a blink of an eye… i find it so hard to do our photoshopping of our photos…becos it has now become the past. i can feel the lumps in my throat as i see our photos and tears are brimming becos he is no longer here with me.

the nites now seem so cold and the bed is no longer warm, there is no more hugs and no more kisses and no more "i love u"s

but whenever i see the woody figurine and the hearts pasted onto my wardrobe, i know that i will see jie again and be once again his 幸福小女人。

today as i went back to the apt, the walls seem so cold yet i feel some warmth cos i know that jie was just here a few hours ago…it was so real.

i now just wait patiently for his plane to touch down HK and hope to hear his voice over the phone..and i really hope hongdian will get well soon and jie can msn me once more. Long distance relationship is painful and yet sweet.

like jie said…if we can overcome all these…we will become invincible. haha wonder wat he means by that!

muacks! my love! i’ll be waiting down south here for ur call….

HAPPY 3RD ANNIVERSARY DAY!!!

::1030am::

Breakfast at, no not Tiffany’s, but at VicMart. The craving for hotdogs has’nt died off for 洁. And 淇 settles for good old fashioned fish and chips. The thought of it even makes 洁 hungry as he is typing this!! Well if you look beyond the fats and calories and other stuff, they are actually quite tasty. HAHA!

::1130am::

Having decided that the first Smith St expedition was not a fully satisfying one, we decide to explore it once more today. A slow walk from VicMart down to Swanston and Bourke St intersection where we took the tram once more. No problem at all finding Smith St this time round. At the request of 淇, 洁 tries on some new shirts and clothes and does a little pose or 2. Well, not entirely professional but hey, he’s an architect and not a model! In the end 洁 buys only 2 new shirts forgoing a couple of others because the budget was tight.

Next stop FILA. Having missed this shop the previous time when we came to Smith St, today was just the rite day to visit it. Because both of us found things which we liked.. shoes! He bought a pair of leather shoes at a steal because it was the last size already; and she bought a dainty pair of white shoes, which was very pretty!!

One thing about Melbourne was that because it did’nt have many shopping centers (unlike Singapore), finding a public washroom was like finding a chinese in the middle of Bangladesh. KFC did’nt have any. Cafes only opened their poo and pee pee areas to patrons. Mac Donalds was no where to be found even though they have signs all over the place advertising the junk food that they serve. We literally walked for a mile before we managed to find a respectable public washroom.

Found the other Crumpler shop down at Smith St. It was pretty interesting because they cordoned off a section of the shop where they could customize individual Crumpler bags. So you just bring in a design and they will manufacture it for you! COOL! One day, 洁 must customise a crumpler for himself and for 淇. Pink colour and the word "PRINCESS" across it or a TIARA/CROWN….

We had some fun taking silly pictures while waiting for the tram to go back to the city. Turned out some of the pictures were quite fantastic. What can i say, a good camera and a good subject….

::300pm::

Back to the city where we visited the Parliament House, Princess Theater and St Patricks Cathedral. The architecture was really unique and crafted in detailed proportions. Victorian Style. We hopped from place to place visiting everything that was worth taking a picture of or taking a picture with….

Down in St Patrick’s Cathedral, some guy was playing the pipe organ. It gave us quite a shock at first because the sound reverberated off the interiors of the church and produced a loud humming echo. Initially it was quite awe inspiring to hear that impressively big organ playing. But as the notes went on, something was just not right. Either we were musically disabled and tone deaf, or that someone was playing a load of ermmm…"things you find in a waste disposal unit". We still gave the musician behind the keyboard the better of the doubt. He WAS dressed in a proper looking shirt and pants and had a pile of music scores with him and a black leathered briefcase. There was however this other gentleman, whom we had no doubt that he was spiritually away in a world of his own. He was seen walking around the interiors and standing at different spots; HOWLING whenever the organ was playing. Nontheless, to each man his own way of expressing his emotions. With that we left the church and headed back to Chinatown to have dinner.

::545pm::

Chinatown Red Silk. We had indonesian fried rice, thai tom yum bee hoon and 2 glasses of HK styled milk tea. It has been a while since 洁 has enjoyed all these southeast asian delicacies.

::800pm::

We went back to 101, where we changed and headed to Crown Casino for another round of dessert and fire watching. Stopped by at the Warner Brother’s Studios shop where 洁 bought a "Bubbles" keychain for 淇 to hang on her new LV pouch. *happy 3rd anniversary!!!*

Managed to find a seat on the outside. Well we did’nt exactly find it because the staff were nice enough to add a small table on the afresco dining area just for the 2 of us. It was quite funny to see some of the waiters serving us the wrong food and getting confused with the table numbers; all because our table was the "extra" table that they never realised they were suppose to have.

We shared an apple crumble and a double chocolate cake. A latte for each of us.

Vroom vroom vroom..

The fire display went on all around us as we were having our dessert.  9pm, 10pm, 11pm.

::1100pm::

Paid for the bill and walked through the Crown Casino Mall. 淇 stops at the candy store to buy a box of chocolate truffles for 洁. *happy 3rd anniversary!!!*

Waited at the tram stop for ages before the tram arrived. The night was cold and we just held on tightly to each other for comfort and for warmth….

::1200am::

Whispered sweet nothings in each other’s ears and hoped the night will not end and tomorrow will not come.

*I love you baby*

ZZZ

::900am:: We wake up to another wonderful morning. As they say, "Mr Sun is especially happy today because Mrs Sun made him breakfast." It was the kind of day when you needed sunglasses to go out, but it was not hot because it was winter time! ::1030am:: Arrived at St Kilda’s Beach hand in hand. Since we have not visited the little place called Acland Street, we took a morning stroll along it. Most of the shops managed to open in time for business as the 2 of us arrived. It felt a little as if they opened their shops all for us. There were hardly many people on the streets. Maybe because its also a weekday! But one thing caught our attention really fast, the old fashioned bakery and confectionery shops where there were heaps of pies and cakes and all things chocolate! ::1115am:: Having feasted our eyes, we turned around to feast ourselves on other things. Greasy Joe’s was the place! They probably served the best breakfast and best burgers in town. Why is this so? Because they served some of 洁’s favorite food! Although 淇 was’nt a fan of them, but the combination of its ingredients tempted her enough for us to share……. THE LOT BREAKFAST!! And then we had a cup of latte each too. For those who are wondering whats in a LOT BREAKFAST just in case they get cheated of their food elsewhere when ordering, here’s the list: 2 grilled sausages at least 2 scrambled eggs 2 big slices of toast grilled mushrooms grilled tomatoes lots and lots of bacon…mmmm smoked salmon (optional) And we basked in the sun while having our yummilicious breakfast. And had some fun too… ::1200pm:: The beach. The perfect picture postcard scene. The sky was blanketed by a layer of clouds which seemed to stop short just before it reached the sands. There was a rickety wooden jetty, clean sands, clear waters, blue skys and green grass. We spent a lazy afternoon lying on the grassy hills, chasing seagulls, toying with ladybirds and snacking on chips. The feeling was awesome. ::200pm:: Packed our bags, and decided to head back to town to catch a tram to the much elusive Smith St ( please refer to 4th May Blog for more information). The interchange for the tram was at Bourke’s street and Swanston street. It seems all our tram travels are all designated to start from that busy little junction of Melbourne. It is also where we can find the largest sculpture of a purse we had ever seen. Next stop, Smith Street. The road name is correct this time. And the place a little more familiar, with the Adidas signage to double confirm the location. 淇 says, "shopping at smith street is so much better than chapel street! and i want to come here again!". There were a lot more trophies today as compared to our day at Chapel Street. 淇 manages to buy her adidas shoes which she had laid eyes on since many many moons before, as well as the adidas matching bag which came along with it. Not to mention all the surfing and beach wear and the ROXY mini skirt!! Well, 洁 manages to steal a bargain from the nike factory outlet with a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Oh, and 洁’s 2 handphones now comes with winter warmers in the form of BOND’s baby socks! ::630pm:: Back to 101 to unload our trophies and to grab a bite. Dumplings we made yesterday was the menu that evening. Yummy! ::730pm:: Changed and headed to the city to take a tram to Crown Casino. This was nothing compared to Las Vegas but it still attracted tons of tourists and visitors and locals alike. Made ourselves comfy at a cafe called Cafe Grecco along the Yarra River front. Well, not exactly at the edge but still close enough to see the waters. We dined and we "coffee-ed". Ordered a Seafood linguini, a Mango Passionfruit Cheesecake, a capuccino and a latte. Spent a few moments or 2 updating our escapades on our new MUJI journal. ::900pm - 1000pm - 1100pm:: The infamous Crown Casino fire display. Neat. Gave us a little warmth each time too. Vroom Vroom Vroom. ::1130pm:: Lygon street. Who could resist the temptation to have another go at a dessert on such a night as this. Brr. It was cold but we decided we had each other to keep us warm on the way back to 101. ::100am: Mr Sun has long retired for the day. Only the moon was out that night. 洁 & 淇 shared a bed that night and was fast asleep in slumberland. ZZZ

::930am::

GOOD MORNING MELBOURNE!!!

洁 packs and 淇makes sandwiches! VicMart here we come! Gosh it seemed like just yesterday when we last sat at the alley to have breakfast together. Amidst all the eating, chatting, holding hands and looking at each other, the seagulls were eyeing our food keenly. It was a pretty interesting sight to have a picture taken but our Mr Goh hesitates. He thinks..and thinks…’aiyah better not waste the film!’… So whips out the lomo and takes his favorite subject instead. CLICK! <淇>

She hasn’t even finished her sandwich and he brushes the bread crumbs off his palms and gets up to say, ‘Right! i’m going to get something else to eat!!!’

淇: "hotdog darling… for ur craving?"

洁: "no lah…hotdog too heavy will get something lighter! wait for me love!"

A few mins later…he comes back with a satisfied grin and a HOTDOG!!!! *TEH*

::1030am::

Grocery shopping at VicMart and we bought:

1. mince pork and pork ribs
2. prawns and calamari
3. tomatoes and carrots
4. strawberries and french beans …&….
5. 3 kilos of potatoes!!! (for qi to stock up for winter!)

::1130am::

Went back to 101.  Chop chop, dice dice, chop chop, dice dice, the preparation for tonight’s dumplings have begun. The man of the house was grappling with the "aritificial forces of nature" in the freezer department of 淇’s fridge. 洁 was busy trying to make the arctic pole a more hospitable place for food. It had become so physically inaccessible that the amount of frost that was cleared could easily build a snowman the size of a basketball! An hour and a half later, with the fridge cleared,  we started to wrap the dumplings.

::300pm::

Strolled down to reject shop where qi bought a musical box for 洁. And over at Lit’ Bourke St, 洁 bought another crumpler for himself; something which he had his eyes and heart on for the longest time! We trudged almost the whole of Melbourne Central and finally went down to QV’s MaxBrenner for some aromatic coffee and to rest our tired legs!

SOUFFLE! for the both of us! And Danish Toffee Coffee for 洁 and Venezuela Dark Choc coffee for 淇!!!

::700pm::

Back to 淇’s apt for our dumpling bangohan!!! With carrots, vegetables and mushrooms as our soup stock, the dumplings were boiled and served. A simple yet magnificent dish! Bon Appetite!

It was a quiet night. Hardly anyone or anything to entertain us except each other. It was simple things we did that night. Washed our laundry, sat and waited at the lounge, talked, played abit of gameboy, ate Doritos (cheese supreme), hanged our laundry to dry. We even found one side of a prada sock which has gone missing from its owner. But it has found a new resting pace in the bin *sorry!!! whoever it belonged to*

::100am::

Miyazaki’s Howling castle ended the night for us.  A dreamy yet sweet little story. May we all have sweet and wonderful dreams everynight.

As we lay cuddled together, there were whisperings of "晚安, good nite my love…"

ZZZ

9:30AM

洁 and 淇 wakes up to a bright new morning! and GOSH we see a different ceiling! On that bright cheery morning, the ceiling of  101/9 Earl street looks especially charming.

9:45am

淇makes banana| strawberry cereals for 洁. Its so wonderful to make breakfast for a loved one and to have breakfast handmade by a loved one!

10:30am

Off we went to Chapel street! 洁 was wearing his new FCUK tee with the usual bottoms…Psst he never changes them! haha!!! 淇 is wearing her new Penguin Parade tee which she has been hiding in her wardrobe for the longest time! She carries her new Patrick Cox bag and like jie… the usual bottom (she changes them.. heehee). We boarded tram 8 and reached chapel street in minutes…

11:15am

洁:"Okies, lets go find the Nike factory outlet and all the surfing wear outlets!"

淇:"Yups yups, I can’t wait!"

洁:"I wonder which direction should we walk because I dun seem to recognise this place. But its ok, we’ll just walk towards where everyone is heading!"

淇:"Okies!"

After walking the longest time, we realised that this wasn’t the place where they have NIKE & Adidas factory outlets!!! Silly silly us!!! It was supposed to be Smith St instead of Chapel St. Haha! It turned out that Chapel St was a pretty middle/high end shopping district. With shops lined up along a long stretch of road. Nontheless, since we were already here, we might as well enjoy ourselves. Walk, walk, brisk walk brisk walk, walk walk, brisk walk brisk walk, walk walk, brisk walk brisk walk, brisk walk brisk walk. For those who are wondering what that meant, it just means we skipped those expensive shops and browsed a little at the not so expensive ones. Walk, walk, brisk walk brisk walk, walk walk, brisk walk brisk walk, walk walk, brisk walk brisk walk, brisk walk brisk walk.

12:30pm

After deciding that there was nothing more we could see or buy or walk, we started to head back to the city. We settled our lunch at one of the dingy alleys in chinatown>>>the shanghainese noodle shop! where 洁 was starving aredi! we ordered 渣酱面 and 蜗铁!!! Yummilicious!! Initially thinking that we had to 打抱 the 蜗铁 because it just looked like there was a mountain of them, we started eating slowly. But at the end, we found out that our stomachs were a bottomless pit that afternoon. NO FOOD WAS SPARED!

3:30pm

淇goes and meet her fellow studio mates for a mini meeting while 洁 was off to do his little secret surprises for 淇!!!

1. Develop Lomo pictures
2. Reject shop: buy potpurri burner, tealight candles and shoe rack
3. BigW: Chocolate, glass bowl, espresso maker, coffeemugs, milk frother and a heater fan for dearest  淇 so that it can keep her cool during summer time and warm her up during winter time
4. Collect photos!!!
5. Convenience store (off Lygon St): Ruskin Lemon, Batteries and coffee powder

5:00pm

Sounds of pot and pan clatterring. Knife chopping. Fire burning. Chocolates melting. Eyes panning (between chopping board, Tv, clock, handphone, microwave, pot and pan). Time waiting.

Poor 淇 was gone the longest of time because her classes took forever to end.

Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock.

10:00pm

Somewhere down at RMIT, someone makes a dash back home………

A call finally comes through. The sweetest voice  洁 has ever heard asks him to open the door. So at 101/9 Earl street, someone makes a dash downstairs. Dressed in his sleeping T-shirt and shorts and shoes with no socks, that someone opened the door for a pretty little princess. *Welcome back darling!*

Dinner: steamed rice, with stewed beef,potatoes in tomato sauce, boiled broccoli.

Dessert: strawberry and banana chocolate fondue, 洁’s own homemade brewed coffee with foamed milk (in other words, a latte..heehee)

11:00pm

The stars were out to greet the 2 people that night who had just finished their dinner. A lovely day spent again.

Twinkle twinkle twinkle.

ZZZ

9:00am Check out of hotel… It was a fine and dandy day on the last day of our crusade in Sydney. We woke up a little later than usual. Those who needed to bath bathed. Those who needed to pack their luggages packed. But all of us brushed our teeth. Checked out of 417 at 10am. We managed to store our luggages at the reception until later that afternoon when we were ready to go to the airport. 10:30am Tour around Hyde Park… Armed with a Lomo holga colour splash, a Canon Ixus 500, a waterbottle, half a bottle of wine and some jalepeno flavoured nuts, we were off!!! For some reason the Hyde Park in Sydney was named after the other famous Hyde Park in the UK. A large green oasis right in the middle of Sydney’s city center. Even though it was a working day, there were still a couple of blokes lazing around in the park! Our objective that morning was pretty simple; to stroll to Mrs Macquerie’s Chair. It was a lookout point for which one was able to see the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Botanical Gardens all at once. What was planned as a 30minute stroll ended up becoming a 1 and a 1/2 hour treasure hunt of sorts! But of course there’s a reason for things happening. We found out that the route was laced with lots of interesting places to see and lots of things to do!!!!! There was the 1) Anzac War Memorial 2) scrutinizing love notes engraved onto tree truncks 3) Crossing of roads 4) looking out for cars 5) looking out for birds coming in the way 6) Water Fountain with a rainbow!!!! 7) holding hands admiring the Sydney Tower 9) threading the wrong paths 10) holding hands again 11) stopping to check the map 12) more holding hands 13) crossing more roads 14) St Mary’s Cathedral at College street 15) checking the map again 16) crossing roads….. again 17) the Art Museum , and of course: 18) Our Impromtu Picnic no.1 A bottle of wine, some nuts, a great view, nice weather, and of course my darling Qi. Life is so good to me! *kiss* vice versa darling!!! *grin* 12:00pm Look out point! Mrs Macquerie’s Chair. There was no chair. Just a few coin operated binoculars perched on a slight plateau. It was at such a quiet and far corner of the map that you would think no one would ever go there. But the number of tour coaches there gave it away immediately when we approached. There were plenty of tourists. Fat ones tall ones skinny ones short ones. We had to jostle a little to get our picture taken without any "background" or "foreground" interference! But it was well worth the effort! With just

our picture was taken. GOOD JOB! 12:30pm off we go to sydney opera house! Leaving the ‘place with no chair but named after a chair….’, we made our way through the botanical gardens that was along the waterfront. Like all botanical gardens, there were plenty of trees. And they literally came in all shapes and sizes; not to mention the unpronouncible scientific names that came along with them! And there were cockatoos in the park too. It was quite interesting to see other kinds of birds besides the normal sparrows, mynahs and crows in Singapore. The Royal Botanical Gardens. The kind of place you would love to spend much longer time in and laze the lazy afternoon away…………………………………….. so that is why…. we decided to have our impromtu Picnic no.2 on a beach under a shady tree! A bottle of wine, some nuts, a great view, nice weather, and of course my darling Qi. Life is so good to me again! *kiss* "oh i feel like morticia adams!" 1:15pm The place at the end of the botanical gardens was the Sydney Opera House. But today, we managed to see it in its full glory in the daytime! There was a lot more people in the day as compared to the first night when we visited it. Well at the least the souvenir shop was open today. We managed to get a nice fridge magnet for Qi’s fridge at Rm101, and an antique gold pin for Jie’s crumpler. It was time to whip out the lomo and canon to start clicking away! Despite not having a proper tripod, we still managed to take some really pretty pictures. Thanks to our handy wine bottle and this thing called the timer function! 1:30pm Stopped by at the local FCUK boutique which was having sale. **one of Qi’s favourite brands!!* Shop Shop Shop. 1:45pm We lunched our final lunch at a cafe which had such a …….s…….l…….o…….w………. service. It was almost half an hour when our drinks came….. followed by our beef pie 15 minutes later…. and our bowl of chips another 10 minute later!! Thank goodness we had the sun, the harbour, the view, and each other to keep ourselves occupied. 2:45pm A detour to Oxford street. Becaue Qi wanted to be the owner of a HRC (Sydney) kid’s T-shirt. Qi wants the HRC (Melbourne) one too!!! *grin* 3:15pm We took our favourite and most widely used bus (no.380) back to Hyde Park to visit the last destination of the day. Queen Victoria Building. It was a heritage and preserved building and now its been converted into a shopping mall. Better a shopping mall than to be demolished! We didn’t manage to spend much time there, because we had a bus and a plane to catch. 4:30pm The Airport Shuttle bus came earlier than planned. Heng Jie saw the shuttlebus as we were going to seat ourselves comfy at starbucks. And so we had to entertain ourselves at the Sydney Airport. But what came as the greatest shock was when we realised that our Jetstar flight had been cancelled!!!! Aparently they have been trying to contact us to inform that the plane could’nt make it. But i seriously doubt it. Because half the plane’s passengers arrived at the airport too, awaiting to take their scheduled flight; just like us. Can we ever boycott Jetstar? Guess not with cheap flights that they are offering, Jie is aredi planning our next trip to Sunny Gold Coast in October!! 6:45pm Cancelled our Jetstar flight and asked for a refund. Booked 2 tickets on Virgin Blue back to Melbourne. >>>You know the feeling of walking to the plane has this "star arrival/departure" feeling? haha! With that, our 3 days in Sydney ended… Kinda sad rite?… 9:00pm BUT…. Our Melbourne adventures were just about to begin! So hang in there and wait for more to come! p.s And did i mention that we were wearing matching Calvin Klein T-shirts today? *Cheers my love! MUACKS!*

7:00am

We wake up to a new environment and in a new room by the name of "Room 417" at a place called "Capitol Square Hotel".

Brush, brush, splash, splash, wipe, wipe……We changed to our new battle uniform for the day and looked forward to conquering Blue Mountains today! Qi was in a splashing new MNG top, pastel green with a big pink flower on her left shoulder, ardorned neatly with sequins and dangling silver/gold chains. A frilly flower skirt and black stockings with boots accompanies the top. Jie was in a dashing dark blue FCUK top (thanks darling!), levis jeans and diesel shoes.

7:30am

First stop: Starbucks. Every heroin and hero needed their coffee and sandwich every morning too mah!

7:45am

The FJ tour bus came to fetch us on time. After picking up various passengers from all over the place, we changed to a bigger and more comfortable coach and were headed towards the mountains of blue. On the way up the hills, we managed to catch a few glimpses of other parts of Sydney too. Like the Anzac Bridge (locally termed Madonna’s bra) and the Sydney fish market which sadly we did’nt have time to visit.

8:45am

Featherdale Wildlife Park. Home of the kangas, wallabys, koalas, scaly lizards, dingos, wombats and birds of all sorts. We were lucky and got friendly with a couple of resident koalas. Managed to have some photos taken with them too. They were a bunch of lazy animals. Eat, eat, eat and make funny faces were all they could do! The people who managed the park came up with an idea to make kids try and visit each and every section of the park. It was called a Wildlife Passport. Whenever you go visit a section, you could collect a stamp and chop it on the passport. This tells people that "hey! i have visited the albino kangas you know!" BUT we only found out that they had this stamp chop thingy until we were back at the entrance. Time was running short because we had to get back onto the coach soon. So Jie bravely volunteers to RUN to each section of the zoo to collect the stamps. So off he goes!! WEE!!

Only to come back 10 minutes later and realise that the chops could also be found right at the exit. All of them neatly placed on the counter for you to "chop till you drop". Hee Hee. But nevermind, Qi was sweet enough to get a gift for me from the souvenior shop while i was panting and running ard the zoo. *kiss*

12:00pm

Lunch at a little restaurant. Buffet style. Fruits, salads, toast, pasta, baked rice, beef stew with mushrooms, vegetables, chicken and ice cream.

Munch, munch, munch. Yummy

1:30pm

We made a stop at Echo Point. And finally we got to see the Three Sisters of the Blue mountains! Aboriginal legend has it that the three sisters were from an aboriginal tribe long long time ago. There was one time when tribe A had to go into battle with tribe B. So the father of the sisters from tribe B(who was the local magic magic man) took his 3 daugthers up the the mountains for safekeeping. He cast a spell on them to turn them into rocks to protect then from tribe A and promised to return to undo the spell. But sadly he never returned. But some people (like geologists) on the other hand claimed otherwise. They believed there were actually 7 sisters (or rather 7 stones since the beginning). And 4 of the stones had actually been broken off and were left with only stumps on the ridge, which if you squint hard enough, you could actually see them. Fact or fiction, legend or myth, it was still great to meet the Three Sisters!

2:30pm

We arrived at Scenic World Australia. What better way to experience the Blue Mountains than to get into it. Though we had to risk our limbs and legs to get down into the valley, we thought it was well worth the experience! The contraption we had to use to get us down was the called the "Railway". It was not an eye catching piece of a thing but what made it so special was that it  travelled on the steepest railway in the world. We were practically standing up while it made its descent! We’re sorry there’s not picture here. All four hands were holding quite tightly to the handles. *ha ha*

The air was clean and refreshing down in the valleys. We choose the 15minutes route on the broadwalk and were greeted by trees, trees and more trees. And of course the usual bunch of tourists were there. We managed to catch the "Fly Way" up. As the name suggests, it was like a cable car of sorts. As we ascended, we could see the view of the Blue Mountains as it came up. Nice.

4:00pm

Quaint little town of Leura. There were hardly any cars on the road. Even less people on the streets. Most of the people walking around had been tourists. Leura had this famous little candy shop which we did’nt have much trouble finding. Actually it was because we stumbled across it quite accidentally! There were so many so many sweets! Sweets in vintage metal boxes, jars of coloured candies and god knows wat! We could’nt resist ourselves and bought a packet of strawberry bonbons. The choice was obvious. Strawberries + pink. * i hope you like them baby*  I LOVE THEM DARLING!!! *SMOOCH*

The next thing we bought was a toast maker from a homeware shop. We do not know the name of it but here’s how it works. You take this thingy and press it firmly on your un-toasted bread. Then you put the bread into the toaster. When it pops up, you’ll be able to see whatever you imprinted onto the bread previously. You could imprint smiley faces, "good mornings" etc. Ours was " I love you". *hee hee* We managed to have some time left to have coffee at a quiet little cafe called "Wazygoose". A Cappucino for her, and a latte for him.

4:45pm

Wentworth Falls. 200 steps down through rugged terrain. 10 minutes to get down.

But the view was magnificent and the climb well worth it! We were almost at the edge of the cliffs looking down at the mountains and at the water fall!

5 minutes at the edge of the mountain. Another 200 steps. And 15 minutes to get back up. And there was sign on our way up "PRINCESS ROCK" !!! *GRIN*

5:30pm

The Sydney Olympic stadium. Arena of the atheletically fit people. We did’nt stayed too long.

6:00pm

We took a cruise from a jetty somewhere near the stadium. The cruise down the waters towards Circular Quay and Darling Harbour was fantastic! The Opera house and Sydney harbour bridge looked awesome as we passed by one of them and under the other. Brrr…. did we mention it was cold too? Because we were both at the bow of the ship most of the time! Thats where the best view is from. *when a guy is in full concentration, that’s when i find him the most attractive!!!* like in this pic pic!!!

7:00pm

The tour ended with us alighting at Darling Harbour. We were swift to make our way to Cocklebay Wharf to find dinner! Blackbird cafe; as recommended in our itinery. A cosy restaurant on the balcony level where we had a view of the entire wharf.

Calamaris, Salmon, mussels and bread. Yummy.

8:15pm

With dinner over, we went to take a walk along the harbour. Nice and Romantic. But it was getting too cold and so we took shelter at Darling Harbour Shopping Mall.

9:30pm

Time came for us to bid farewell to Darling Harbour. There was a sign that said "Chinatown", and so we decided to take a slow walk back to our hotel. After the second day in Sydney, streets near our hotel was becoming a familiar sight. And very soon we found our way back to our love nest. we also bought a bottle of white wine and nuts for the next day’s picnic!!!

Room 417

Shared a warm bed with Qi.

Cuddled. Sweet dreams my love!!!

ZZZ

4:00am

It was a day both of us had been waiting for since months ago. Our second holiday and we are going to Sydney!  Waking up to find Qi beside me was such an invigorating moment. I wished i could have the same exact feeling everyday for the rest of our lives…..

Jie was wearing his new mitt green POLOtee from COTTON on  and i was adorned with my new POLO Ralph tee (one of my 25 prezzies from Jie) *grin* and off we went to Franklin street, in the cold drizzling weather!

5:30am

We finally got onto the coach as scheduled and we were off to the airport. Melbourne Avalon isn’t the kind of airport that you would normally have imagined. For those of you who travelled often, you can forget about wanting to buy duty free goods, up market retail outlets, Mac Donalds, high ceilings, comfy seats or frenzy ticketing counters. This was a small little airport 100km away from the city. The size of its departure and arrival hall was no larger than your average school canteen.

But they were nice enough to sell us a cup of hot coffee and a chocolate bar! What more could we ask for when we already had each other’s company and warmth…

7:55am

It was near boarding time and we got ourselves on foot out onto the runway and onto the plane. WOO YOO! SYDNEY HERE WE COME!!

Jie was so sweet to lend me his scarf….*aww*

7:55am - 9:10am

Bump, bump, roar, roar, flap flap, woosh, woosh, screech, screech….. We made it to Sydney international airport; where we took an airport shuttle to a place called Chinatown in the heart of Sydney city center. Check-in time was at 2pm, but we decided to give it a try anyway.

Capitol Square Hotel:check in earlier & we have 2 pay a surcharge! can u believe that!!!

No luck. But we managed to store our luggage there until it was time for us to check in later that afternoon.

11:00am

Armed with a map and a copy of our itinery, we were off on our plan to conquer Sydney in 3 days 2 nights! First stop: Chinatown. We stopped by at Market City to have some food. Spicy beef soup noodles for the lady, and chicken laksa for the gentleman. Market City was full of factory outlet stores of different brands: CKs, Mambo, Giordano, just to name a few. So Qi is now the proud owner of 2 kid’s sized Mambo Ts! After that, we went downstairs to Paddy’s market.

It was like a Vic Mart except that it was all under one roof. Things they sold ranged from clothings, wigs, accessories, handphone covers, cheap china-made electronic goods and handcrafted gifts. It was here that Qi saw a ring with cystal pyrimidal beads all over it. I’m sure she liked it even more now that she can wear it on her finger as and when she pleases… *kisses*

As with all chinatown across the world, it was filled with chinese people, chinese shops, and chinese tim sum eateries, or dim sims as they call it there. We got tired from all the walking and decided to rest our feets at one of the bubble tea store near the hotel. Thats when we started on the paper version of our journals; a memorabilia for our great grandchildren to have a look at our glorious youthful adventures! *wink*

2:00pm

Checked into the hotel, dumped our luggage, threw our arms around each other and shouted," let’s change and go to Bondi Beach!" Bondi Beach was really b. e. a. u .t. i. f. u. l….the sea was foamy and the seagulls flying in the sky, the sand reaching far and wide into the sea and the backdrop of the quaint houses were so electic, reminded me of scandinavian colours! the bright hues of oranges and yellows.

4:30pm

Bondi Beach Market was a place that was only opened on Sundays. And we were lucky enough to catch it before it was their closing time. The things they sold there were quite exquisite i must say. It was so much better than the singapore pasar malams and even the St Kilda beach market. There was vintage stuff, vintage stuff and more vintage stuff! Qi loved it. And I promised her someday we will come back here again…

We took a walk along the beach front shops and went into a small little cafe to grab a bite to eat and have some coffee. Shared a bowl of chips and and a strawberry pancake, and a latte for each one of us. Yummy.

Went out of the cafe to find a chippery shop where they sold fried mars bars! Who could resisit the temptation to give it a try?? So we bought one, and brought it down to one of the pavilions along the beach front. Yummy Yummy.

7:00pm

Took a bus to Circular Quay. For the first time in our lives, we managed to see the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge in real life!! It was a really nice, and romantic moment………..  *awwwwwww* They say a picture paints a thousand words. So here they are.

10:00pm

Back at Capitol Square to rest for the night. I did’nt have to dream that night. Because Qi was just less than an inch away from me…..

Life is so wonderful with you around my love…Ditto Darling.

ZZZ