Throwback Thursday | Mt Stirling, 8th Oct '16

It's been close to a month since I last arrived back home. Now that life's beginning to settle down a lot better, I've been spending the past few days looking through my photos and reminiscing the times I spent in Melbourne. I've always wished I could be a skilled photographer, I'm sure I've mentioned before that photographs bring back so much more than just memories. A photograph brings back the feelings and emotions that you experienced and felt at that present moment. Which is why they are always so precious to me.

Today I'd like to share about the time my friends and I decided to hike up Mt Stirling. We'd been discussing going on an overnight/camping/road trip for the longest time (that being a year) but we kept on putting it off. Part of it had to do with the fact that we couldn't find an appropriate date that catered us all (especially when two out of the five were working adults), but really it's also because no one took any action until we finally set our minds to it.

And so after the graduation of one and her departure back to her mainland i.e. Malaysia, the remaining four of us finally decided it was enough of bumming around and time to make the necessary reservations.

We came to the decision to conquer Mt Stirling thanks to Derrick. He'd actually gone hiking up the mountain during winter that same year, but due to the weather was unable to enjoy and take as many pictures as he'd have liked from the summit. Also, Nam was no stranger to the mountain as she spent an entire year during high school up there. Don't ask, but her high school had this really cool one year programme where 15 year olds spend their time up in the mountains organising trails and the likes. Sounds nomadic, but her stories were so enjoyable to listen to. All it took was a photo of how the view looked like from the summit and I was sold.

Does this not entice you?!

We drove up to the base of the mountain courtesy of Dinithi our driver who was very willing to take us there. The entire journey to the base took about two hours or so. We took slightly longer than that because we had a few pitstops along the way.

Prior to the trip Derrick made a whole list of things for us to purchase. Namely items essential for hiking like boots, flashlights and etc. I didn't want to spend money unnecessarily so apart from food and disposable underwear I didn't purchase anything mentioned. Which may not have been a very good idea because the mountains were covered in snow thanks to the heavy rainfall the night before and I was geared up in my Dr Martens. Not exactly ideal for plummeting through the ice... I made it though since I ended up walking in my friends' footprints hahaha!

My trusty sherpa stick which I brought back home for safekeeping hahaha

I love hiking, and the one thing I will miss the most from Melbourne is the abundance of opportunities to enjoy mother nature at it's best. It was such a good workout, and although it was tiring it was a lot more enjoyable thanks to my friends. Come to think of it, I've no idea what we talked about throughout the entire hike. How we managed to pass time by is a wonder on hindsight.

We took close to four hours to reach the summit of the peak. This of course was inclusive of all the times I plopped down on the snow to cool myself down because the intensity of the sun's rays was burning into my soul. I'm pretty sure I lost 80% of my energy to the sun. But here's a hack, sitting with your ass in the snow really helps to cool your entire body down. I did this several times, much to the annoyance of Derrick :P

But boy oh boy when we did make it to the top... It was breathtaking. I'll let the pictures do the talking from here on :)

All these photos were taken by Derrick of course (it explains why he's missing in them), and he captured the mood and the moments so well. It expresses my exact feelings towards the experience, melancholic, romantic and wonderment.

I've always loved the outdoors because it reminds me of how tiny and vulnerable I am in comparison to the greatness of God's creations. I was happy to have had another opportunity to soak in the beauty of mother nature and life, and to be privileged enough to do so.

The journey back down to the base took slightly less than two hours since we took another route. We were accompanied by some very lovely deer on our drive down to the caravan park which we had made arrangements for. Spent a cosy night chit-chatting over instant noodles and drinks, talking about politics, love and life. Headed out the next morning to make our way back to the city.

In all, it was a short getaway that felt like a whole week. The memories stay fresh in my head, and I hope that in future I'll receive the opportunity to go on a similar trip with my friends (including dear Pei Yi who was already back in Malaysia) again.

Thank you for the memories wolf pack ♡

xx.

Photo credits: @derrickkoo_photo

Penang '15

Last week saw me travelling to Penang, an island very slightly off Malaysia. My grandmother was born and raised in Penang, but after getting married to my granddad at the tender age of 18, moved to Singapore with him. I grew up knowing my relatives and family in Penang. We don't visit as often as we would like, but we definitely stop by once every 2-3 years when possible :) Even so, I would still think I'm relatively close to my direct family there because when we do visit we don't do anything touristy since we spend all our time with family. 

I love Penang, and I especially love visiting. Perhaps its because I'm only able to meet up with my family once every few years, but each time I do there's always that sense of excitement that leads up to the trip. This is then followed by that same sense of sadness and forlornness after returning home. Whilst we usually only visit for up to 4/5 days each time, for some reason the trip this year felt shorter than normal. 

Toilet selfie

We usually travel by plane from Singapore to Penang. My dad has long since given up driving into Malaysia because it really takes a toll on his health. I remember taking long car rides back when I was little. We'd depart as early as 5am to travel to Johor Bahru up to KL before making a pitstop for one night and then resuming our trip to Penang. I think it usually takes us 2 or 3 days to get to Penang itself by driving. That's a huge comparison to the 1 hour plane ride to Penang haha! I usually fall asleep once I get on the plane and by the time I'm up we've already landed. 

We stayed at G Hotel Kelawai this year. The last time we came we stayed at G Hotel Gurney but this new establishment at Kelawai just recently opened and my dad wanted to give it a go. The two hotels are a stone's throw away from each other, with both being ridiculously close to Gurney Plaza. It's convenient for us especially if we need to do some last minute shopping / eat after returning from our relative's place. Also the hotel provides a buggy / shuttle service from one hotel to the other. I was originally really keen to be sitting on the buggy, but realised its so much faster to walk there than take the buggy! The buggy takes a longer route since it has to travel on a proper pavement whereas if you were to walk you're able to take the shortcut and its a lot nearer. 

I'm not picky with the hotels I stay at, as long as I'm able to feel safe and have proper rest whilst I'm there I'm good. If I were to compare between the one along Gurney and Kelawai though, I'd have to say I prefer the one along Gurney. G Hotel Gurney to a large extent feels a lot more polished and spacious as compared to G Hotel Kelawai. It was unanimously agreed to be so, but Kelawai is still decent and good for a hotel too :) p.s. their minibar was pretty much free so I was a happy goober. 

Complimentary Taro Ice Cream

Upon arriving at the hotel we were served with complimentary taro ice-cream. I was especially excited for this because the last time we visited they served us ice cream too! Call it a cheap thrill of mine, but I love it when hotels tend for their guests in small ways like these! It prompts me for the room and service that I'm about to be given for the rest of my stay :) Which to be honest, was very good service in my opinion. I have no complaints about their service at all.

Cute toiletries!

Okay, I have a confession to make. I actually took home all four bottles you see at the back there. I am so embarrassed to admit it but just look at that packaging!! How cute is it?! It's from a brand called Appelles, I think they're a company from New South Wales in Australia. I'd never seen it before even though I've lived in Australia the past four years now. I used their products whilst I was there and for someone like me with eczema and dry everything, they worked like magic! *hearts in eyes* My mom also confessed that she brought home the bottles too haha! Like mother like daughter. 

View from our hotel room :)

There were two view options we could have gotten. The first being the sea view and the second what you see above. My parents and grandparents got the sea view whereas my brother and I got the city (?) view. I think I actually preferred our view because it really felt like I was in Penang. Penang's really so so beautiful. They're surrounded by gorgeous hills and nature yet still has the hustle and bustle of a city. It's a more traditional Kuala Lumpur to me.

The pool was located on the topmost floor, and although its nothing big enough worth boasting about, the view definitely was. If we had time I'd have loved to lounge up there just soaking in the view. Must be a nice treat :)

Anyway, we didn't really spend much time in the hotel. We were only in Penang for four days in total and spent only the first day in the hotel rooms because our relatives visited us there then. The next consecutive days saw us outside in the city. 

One of my highlights from the trip has to be this. Parasailing. When the trend for travelling was visiting Penang, I never knew what tourists liked to do there because I guess I was never really a tourist whenever I visited. I did know that most of my friends went there to do water activities. It just so happened that on the weekend we visited, my granduncle hosted a get-together for the family at an apartment he rented along Batu Ferringhi, and so after having lunch we headed to the beach to chill! If you've never been to SouthEast Asia and would like to experience what a beach in these countries are like, I'd recommend Batu Ferringhi. There were a multitude of activities going on from horse-riding, to water sports, the list goes on! Business there is quite lup-sup though, you just have to take their word for it when it comes to the prices to partake in the activities. I'm pretty sure they jack up the price accordingly depending on the type of people they approach.

Anyway if you were wondering, yes that's me! in the picture. I did the activity with my aunt and it was so much fun. It was such a last minute decision too and I was wearing jeans to boot! Love spending time with the fam :) 

Overall, I had an enjoyable and fantastic time in Penang and am counting down to the next time we / they visit :) Blood is thicker than water, and I hope that this continues to be seen in the generations to come. Have a lovely week ahead, and happy holidays to all! 

Love, xx. 

1-Day Tour around Phillip Island

A few weeks ago, and a few weeks after Nicole left, my other dear friend Kimberley came down under to visit me! :) I was really excited about her visit because not only would it mean I get to be a tour guide once more, but it also meant that I'd finally get to meet her after two solid years!!! Kim studied in the UK, and as such, given the conflicting times in our University holidays always found it hard to schedule a time to meet when we were both back in Singapore.

Kim stayed for a total of one week. Unlike Nicole's visit, our itinerary didn't involve as much food as it did sightseeing hahaha :') Well, food was definitely in the agenda but I didn't feel as bloated as I did when I was with Nic. Or maybe it's because I learnt my mistake the previous round and therefore controlled my meals better.

Today I wanted to share my experience with Bunyip Tours. Also as a disclaimer, this post isn't sponsored at all so whatever's shared hereon are genuine and true to what I feel :)

Kim wanted to touch some Kangaroos and Koalas. I mean after all, when you're in Australia, you have to touch a Koala and Kangaroo right? Right. So out of all the available Zoos in Melbourne, Healesville Sanctuary and the Moonlit Sanctuary are the only two places that allows you to do this. However, getting there from the city by public transport would take 6 hours altogether to and fro, plus Kim wasn't keen on being the sole driver there so we decided at looking at other options.

I'd heard of Bunyip Tours since I arrived Melbourne to study. It was part of the package by the University whilst they were advertising travelling around the state of Victoria. I'd never gotten around to signing up for any of their tours since because there never was a reason to, but I did this time!

Kim and I registered for the 1-Day Phillip Island Eco Tour. We chose to travel with Bunyip because it was the cheapest one we could find and it covered quite a few places too. Altogether, we covered five things:

1) The Moonlit Sanctuary

Quite possibly the highlight of the trip for us both. Here we managed to feed some Kangaroos and Wallabies that roamed around the park freely! We also managed to take a photo with their Koala, and Kim signed up to take a photo with their Dingoes as well. We had to pay a fee of $12 for the photo taking session with the Koala, and Kim paid an additional $20 for the photo with the Dingo.

The photo taking session was managed well in my opinion. Those with the tour group were given a different coloured lanyard for priority since we had to return to the Coach by a specific time. We were also provided with ample time to take as many photos with the Koala as we wanted. Well, so long as you don't take longer than usual such that you're hogging the queue :P Kim and I arrived there early to queue up too, so we were third in the line (Singaporean spirit through and through).

The only issue I had was with the enthusiasm levels of their Koalas hahaha! You will see here that they the one we took a picture with looked pretty grumpy. The keeper said it was his nap time and that he was feeling slightly sleepy. Well, considering how they do sleep 22/24 hours in a day it should be normal behaviour...

This photo cracks me up :') Mr Grumps was apparently getting really sleepy. Still many others in the queue Mr Grumps!!

Feeding a Kangaroo!! :)

It was pretty difficult to get the Kangaroos to come up to you to feed. Visitors were only allowed to walk through a certain path, so you were only allowed to feed the Wallabies and Kangaroos that came up to you. The Wallabies were situated pretty much all over the face but the Kangaroos on the other hand were bumming around within the trees. Something like this...

#BOSS!
Image Credits: Pinterest

A cute lil Wallaby :)

This tiny baby was so precious.

Kim and her dingoes.

An inside joke between myself, Kim and Nic when they were here was that I was going to feed them to the dingoes when they came. I failed in getting Nic to meet a Dingo, but Kim did and unfortunately was too happy to be around them for my plan to have been successful hahahahaha.

We spent about two and a half hours at the Sanctuary. Lunch (a small BBQ) was provided for us before we made our way to our next destination.

2) Churchill Island

Churchill Island was an Island off the coast of Phillip Island in Victoria and holds an important value in terms of marking the Europeans first settlement in the state. Here we were able to watch sheep shearing live, touch some farm animals as well as enjoy the beautiful view the island had to offer. To be completely honest with you, I spent most of my time just admiring the view in front of me and wishing how beautiful a life it must be to live amongst mother nature.

Such a breathtaking view :)

We took too many selfies here :P

Really do love horses :)

Gobble Gobble

Look Ma! I milked a cow hahaha.

Some light refreshments were provided here. We stayed here for close to two hours if my memory doesn't fail me. Time really flew by!!

3) Koala Conservatory

We then drove down to Phillip Island itself! We made a quick stop over to the Conservatory to spot some Koalas :) This was a very quick stop that took about 45 minutes. 

Told you all they did was sleep!!!

Fun fact! Have you heard of the drop bear?

YIKES!!

Well, I only heard about it come this year when my friend shared a post on Facebook. I thought it sounded like candy, but when I googled it was in for quite a rude shock. 

Firstly, it looks like a photoshopped Koala. Second, even the Tasmanian devil doesn't look as deadly. And finally, the facts about who it attacks just seems like a troll. But, I am not one to not believe that there's a slight chance it may be true. 

Anyway, I asked our tour guide and he told me that it was a fake fact made up by some Aussie blokes who just wanted to scare some tourists. Phew!  Or at least, I'd like to think it's made up. A small part of me still thinks its true hahaha. 

4) The Nobbies

Before heading down for the Penguin Parade (the main star and attraction of Phillip Island), we headed to the Nobbies to view the scenery. I don't quite remember what the significance and highlight was at the Nobbies, but I'm aware that here you can see spot some penguins if you're lucky. It was pretty interesting as well because Phillip Island was declared a natural park by the Australian Government seeing as how it was the home to so many penguins. They built some man made boxes in the hills to attract penguins to build their burrows and homes there. It was quite a sight to see :) The tiny penguins we saw during the parade later on were making their way back home to these burrows after having spent the entire day hunting for food.

Our tour guide spotted a Penguin under the boardwalk and managed to snap this picture with my phone!

Peaceful :)

5) Penguin Parade

The last stop for the day was the much anticipated Penguin Parade :) We weren't allowed to take pictures during the parade because the flashes would affect the eyesight of the penguins and this would ultimately prevent them from feeding their young when they returned home. I was so frustrated by the tourists who simply refused to heed to these rules. Seriously, idiots who don't understand rules should cease to exist.

I wish I could have taken photos or at least begin to describe what an experience it was to have seen the penguins come up in groups and waddle their way up the path to return home. Some were like drunk little things, falling down every once in a while or just seeming lost. I really enjoyed the parade despite it being my second time there. I think I learnt a lot more this time round.

After the parade, we headed back to the Coach and then drove back to the city. It was a good day :)

***

Overall, my experience with Bunyip was definitely extraordinary. I enjoyed myself immensely, and here are the reasons why:

1) We had a GREAT tour guide.

They say you can't choose your tour guides, but at the same time I don't think your tour guides can choose who's in their tours too. Our tour guide Jeremy was from Tasmania, and I really enjoyed his knowledge on the places we visited. Not only was he friendly, but he was clear in his instructions on the times we had to assemble back and gave us a comprehensive background on the places we were visiting. We never took a photo with him, it was quite a shame it slipped our minds! :(

2) Duration of time at each site was allotted well.

I was quite hesitant originally because they promised quite a few places within a short period of time. We assembled at the meet up point at about 10am that morning and arrived the city by 9pm at night. Coupled with the traveling time to Phillip Island, I didn't think we'd be able to fully explore the places that they promised to bring us to.

Surprisingly (or maybe not), I thought they allocated the duration at each scenic spot really well. There was ample time to roam around and go to the ladies as well. I didn't think it was too rushed or too slow, everything was done very well :)

3) Booking online was hassle-free.

Kim and I only decided on the tour two days beforehand. It was a Friday when we decided to go for the tour, and all I had to do was go to their website and make my reservations for our specific tour. It was done in a few minutes. If you have dietary requirements (I did - vegetarian) you included it during your booking and they'll settle it for you on the day itself. As long as there are still slots available, they'll put you in their tour :)

I definitely enjoyed my time with Bunyip Tours. I think, for the first time since Kim and Nicole's visit, I was finally able to relax and behave like a tourist too! I think a large part of it had to do with me not needing to worry about catching the right train and getting off at the right stop. All I had to do was leave everything to Jeremy and we'd arrive at our destination. All I needed to worry about was reaching the Coach on time.

I'm definitely going to consider Bunyip Tours once more if I ever decide on going for a tour again in the future! I see a trip to the Wilson's Prom coming up soon (hopefully) :)

Have any of you been on a tour with Bunyip Tours before? Or have you ever visited Phillip Island? I'd love to know! xx