Merry Christmas to all!!

back frm holiday which was one of the best trips i've ever had. it was rrly lovely. quite sad to be back actually. to b frank, going there on our own we were able to rrly immerse and blend in wif the pple there and they're really REALLY very nice; they will greet u along the streets or in restaurants and go out of the way to help if we r in need of direction. and wad's more service everywhere was fantastic. after awhile we learnt to constantly keep a smile on our face to b prepared in case some passerby suddenly said hi. n now back home we haf to switch to the tao face haha..asians rrly cannot make it man..why r we so proud and unfriendly towards each other? Goodness! after this trip its made me wanna migrate more then ever. Cant wait to go there to study.

alright shall touch on wad we covered the past few days:

Saturday (15/12/2007)- the service on board qantas was nice; when the air steward or stewardness said thank you u can feel tht it's coming frm the heart and not like SIA; rrly superficial and quite fake i wld say. and the music they played when we juz boarded the plane was so nice! seriously. we arrived in perth beyond schedule becuz of some delays on british airways at the heathrow airport and so we had to wait for passengers hu were transitting in spore to perth. when we arrived in the wee hours of the morning it was pretty bright alr. got our rented car and off we went to find some food. it was freezing outside; abt 15 degrees. we went to swan valley and visited Lake Monger before heading to Freemantle. went to haf lunch at the famous Cicerello's Fish and Chips..honestly it wasn't tht fantastic; too oily..but they were quite innovative..majong paper wrapping for the food and wireless technology to call us wen our orders were ready. aftwhich we went to their market which sold alot of interesting local stuff. our last destination for the day was Mandurah where we checked into our motel. this part of the yr there are lotsa flies and they aim for yur face man. disgusting! but throughout the day it was freezing; never more then 17 degrees.

Sunday (16/12/2007)- beginned the day wif delicious breakfast at a restaurant; Egg mania..the food was undescribably good. headed out of mandurah, and had a good drive along their rivers where we saw houses which had short jetties to the waters and they had their boats parked there, and then towards Harvey. visited one of the wineries there. we were all under the impression tht magaret river wld b the best place to buy wine but this information guy( who had those big and thick glasses..those u onli c in fairy..rrly quite hilarious) advised us against it becuz he was saying the wines there r terribly overpriced and not any different frm wad we cld get frm harvey. we den proceeded to Busselton; walked a 2m long jetty which was narrow and without railings to rch an underground observatory. had an interesting tour of the place but the walk there we were freezing; ghastly winds and rain. alright last but not least we ended our day at magaret river where we checked into a motel; vintages accommadation, the place was lovely and cosy. fell in love wif the place upon entering. this place was opened by a couple as part of their retirement job they r such lovely pple. had some trouble finding food cuz it was a sunday and u noe how 'hardworking' ang moh's are..but anw we had a great dinner at a spagetti place..yum yum. the day was still very cold.

Monday (17/12/2007)- mum made breakfast so we ate in. our fers stop was at Lake cave. saw alot of spider's nest..quite a sight. and we managed to climbed down to within the cave..very deep but once again quite a sight. it's an active cave so u can hear water dripping frm the tips of the formation. it's actually still growing. alrighty our next stop was at the Leuwin estate to haf lunch..there were so So many flies! the lunch was super expensive but also super nice! we den went to a candy factory to buy candy..like duh..haha..ltr on we stopped by the chocolate factory..the chocolates there r SUPER nice..but yet again very expensive. our last stop was a lavender farm before we another great dinner. Pizza! fire-cooked! it was once again COLD.


Tuesday (18/12/2007)- left magaret river bright and early and headed to the Cape of Leuwin lighthouse. this was the meeting point of the Indian and Southern Oceans. the winds were tremendously strong and definitely cold. sends shivers down yur spine! went up the lighthouse and it was a picturesque view up there. unfortunately we were 2 wks late or else we wld haf been able to witness the whales migrating. had a little accident here when i bent down to pick some dirt off my slippers and i din noe my sis was bending over me. and so as u can imagine i headed her wif my head. i tot i broke her nose man cuz it was quite hard but luckily it was juz her lips tht i hit..though it was bleeding quite abit but i was rrly quite relieved. haha. Sorry sis!! we went to the Beedelup National Park to c the waterfall b4 heading to Pemberton, which was our pit stop for the day. stayed on a farm. wasnt a very desirable place but oh wells no choice. hiked to the famed Gloucester tree n i wanted to climb it but there were so many flies; was afraid if one landed on my face i'll loose my grip and fall off the bars. the tree was rrly tall and there was a treehouse right at the top. had dinner at this place called the Shamrock restaurant..we ate Kobe beef, trout and their famous Marron..definitely the best but...expensive! today's temp was abit better; nt so cold.


Wednesday ( 19/12/2007)- once u reach wednesday, the wk juz flies by. so i was rrly dreading today. anw started the day wif some eggs collecting and animal feeding. our nxt stop was Walpole. rched there before lunch and checked into our Cabin. it's called Tinglewood Cabins. the place is simply BEAUTIFUL. the pillows were so fluffy and the bedsheets so soft and colourful. there were plenty of towels. we had a verendah and started a fire! the place is very clean and well maintained. it's run by a couple and there're onli 4 cabins but their expanding the place i think. we made frens wif them and found out the husband used to b a computer programmer and he and my mum suddenly had so much in common.ahaha. he bot this huge piece of land for $128000 some 14 ys ago and he's been developing it ever since and they onli permanently moved frm perth last dec. but for tht price he bot the land we cld well build a mansion on it man. even the flats here i think there're more expensive then it right? haha. anw aft hanging out in the cabin which we were so reluctant to leave..we headed to Valley of the Giants which was actually a treetop walk suspended 40m above ground. the scenery was breathtaking. and it was rather windy up there and bridge swayed wif the wind..hahha. alrighty aft tht we went on a scenic drive to the beaches and waters were so clear like our swimming pool waters. so clean=) dinner was at a teahouse in Nanalup where we tasted some exotic food like rabbit and kangaroo meat. but they difinitely weren't cheap. temperature tht day was constantly abt 17 degrees; chilly:))

Thursday ( 20/12/2007)- relunctantly we left the cabins Thulby Herb Farm. had a delicious breakfast there. cheese and ham on turkish bread :))) stopped by a blueberry farm and had blueberry ice cream yum yum. lastly juz before we rched Albany stopped at a wind farm; it had huge turbines spinning and generating electricity. quite a spectacular sight. checked into our hotel at Albany before doing abit of grocery shopping. had dinner in the hotel wif a bottle of wine. NICE. today was still chilly.

Friday (21/12/2007)- left Albany and embarked on our long drive back to Perth city. made a couple of stops along the way though. firstly was the Gap..which were 2 big rocks; one of which belongs to australia and the other to Antartica. each yr the gap between these 2 rocks becomes wider and wider. the scenery was absolutely stunning. it started raining halfway and pple were makng for a dash for their cars. nxt we went to the blowholes, it was raining and the winds were so strong we were literally shivering. but the seas werent rough enuf and so the holes were not blowing. we den headed to Sandalwood factory and ltr on to the woolshed for a cup of tea. rched perth around 6.30pm. we had to travel all the way 2 the airport to return the car cuz their office at perth was alr closed..some miscommunication..they were supposed to wait for us. anw by the time we rched back perth it was almost 10 and super dark. luckily our hotel was in the middle of a shopping district so it was very convenient. temp today still cool.

Saturday (22/12/2007)- SHOPPING DAY TODAY! travelled ard the city to the malls. they haf busses tht travel within the city area FOC. we shld haf tht in spore shldnt we..haha.

Sunday ( 23/12/2007)- started our day very early. joined a tour to the pinnacles. went to the sand dunes and had an awesome time on the four wheel drive. we even did sand boarding. aft travelling the whole day it was the highlight man. At the sand dunes we were in a sand storm..and the winds were so strong tht sand was flying around everywhere. Wen we went back to the bus we had sand everywhere..even in our ears! Hahaha. A lot of restaurants were closed except for the Chinese restaurants so we juz decided to eat in the hotel. Den we headed over the supreme court to watch their caroling. It was beautiful. Pple were sitting on the grasspatch carrying candles and choirs were singing; they hail frm churchs, schs, and the Australian choir..rrly talented wif beautiful voices. Ended the whole performance wif a spectacular fireworks display. Stunning beyond words. Way better then our ndp ones. Before we noe it we’ve come to the end of our day and our trip. Very sad. And it was starting to warm up.

Monday( 24/12/2007)- our last day was basically picking up some last min items packing our stuff and waiting for taxi and waiting for our plane. The roads were quite empty and our cab driver was saying everyone’s left the city to go back home. how nice how x’mas is celebrated over there. It’s nth like spore all the elaborate décor but simple decorations but u can feel the festive spirit in the pple. It’s so sincere. They wish u merry x’mas on the streets, in shops, and even the cleaning lady wished me. The feeling is juz so different.

Oh well I guess all good things haf to come to an end.

Thank you Lord for your protection during the trip. it was amazing.