Melbourne after the wedding

Everyone is quite worn out after the wedding. LOL. So we didn't do much the day after. Just hanging around. It was a nice day. We went to the garden for some photo-taking session. Oink's uncle has a very nice garden. Every morning, a few kangaroos would hop in to look for food.  But they are really shy of humans, and would quickly run away when you get near.

Tomato saw me blowing dandelions. So she also wanted to copycat me. But she tried blowing at it with her pacifier on. *facepalm*

Love this shot.

The next day we went to Mount Dandenong. The weather was warm but not too warm. 

Look at the blue blue sky. How I miss the blue sky and the very blue sea of Australia.

Yellow standing out. 

 Someone is very busy pushing around her own stroller. :-s

Where else can you lie down on grass without worrying about dog poop? LOL. Tomato happily rolled around.

Then we had tea at Miss Marples Tearoom. Glorious food. Look at that sundae. YUMSSSS. Tomato only ate the strawberries 'x'

Melbourne : The Wedding

Hello blog. Its been a few weeks. I didn't notice I didn't blog for so long, few weeks seem to pass by in a few blinks. So I feel sorry I neglected you. *Ahem* 'x' But I promise, I will blog more often, for my own good since I plan to read you and relive the sweet & bitter memories when I am old. The more I blog = the more I get to read right? 

24 March 2014, The Wedding Day.

Woke up early to get ready. I let Tomato sleep in until the very last minute when we needed to get her ready. We didn't shower, it was wayyyy too cold.

Everyone was busy preparing food in the dining area. Me? my job is to take photos only (and to look after Tomato of course)

My love and I. Do we look pretty or what?

Food waiting to be eaten. Can you spot hot cross buns? They are only available on Easters.

Tea sets for the tea-serving ceremony. And Oink and I was served tea, and we get to give the newly-weds 'ang pao'.

Mother in law personally decorated the bridal car. She spent hours on it. It was nice, I really wanted to take photo from the front, but sorry, it was way too cold for me to bravely go out and take the photo 'x'

And afterwards, we were driven to the church which I can't remember the name for the church ceremony. I got no quality photos to share there as it was dark inside 'x' But the ceremony, was intimate and touching. Mother of the groom serenades and I was suddenly moved and felt so touched, I almost cried.

We then lunched at a Chinese Dim-Sum place. And we only get back home, around 3pm. O.O! Tomato fell asleep in the car before we even arrive.

The dinner reception was very interesting. It is somewhat different than what we have back home. I found Australians, are more open at sharing and humorous. There were speeches which are not at all boring, since they are such a funny couple. There's even a flash mob! And the mother of the groom actually was in it! Funny games, proposal video, the groom and pals even made a music video exactly like One Direction's MTV (can't remember the title, I am NOT their fan).Sorry, not much pictures, as I only brought my phone 'x' and I was busy getting entertained. *Ahem*

Here's a photo of the couple dancing. 

Here's one of the photos taken at the photobooth. Only get to play 2 times. Sigh.. LOL...it was popular with the guests.

Melbourne : Queen Victoria Market

After Hobart, then Sydney, we are back to Melbourne. And our free and easy days commences. LOL! Well, you see, we are here for a wedding, and everyone is busy preparing for the wedding. And uncle's house is quite far from the city center( I can't remember the address 'x', but I remember it being really near to the airport).

but lucky for us, another aunty is coming down to pick up his sis from the airport, so we tumpang her car down to QVM.

Its much like our Kuching's Sunday Market, but is much more organised, with sections selling different categories of goods. But less crowded as it was a weekday. We picked up most of our souvenirs here. I bought shirts for the kids and my parents for 5 AUD each, only to find another stall selling for 4 AUD each #facepalm :/.  I love how they have a section selling organic fresh produce. LOVE IT!

Got lost while trying to find the food court. After walking around a bit, we manage to find it! Finally!  I got tired of fried food, but apparently Oink don't 'x'. Manage to find a Malaysian food stall and got Tomato porridge, which I thought was too salty and I suspect there's msg :( Oh well..And I had mediterranean potato salad.

After lunch, we walked a bit around the fresh vege and fruit section and got some pumpkin, sweet potato, a big bundle of fresh grapes for only 3AUD! and also a small box of strawberries for 2AUD! CHEAP! And all the sellers was super polite.:)

SWEET SWEET strawberries, this is when Tomato starts loving to eat strawberries.

We wandered around until around 3pm when they start closing and decided to leave. But how?ROFL!

We then found out we need to take the tram till the last stop towards the airport, and in order to do that, we got to have MyKi card, you can't purchase single tickets : /. So we walked around trying to find a shop selling the card and manage to find one.  And its about an hour ride back to the last stop, in which Tomato slept through. When we reached, it was sooo windy and cold, and Tomato was still sleeping, we decided to go to Westfield Airport West for some shopping. When we are there, only I shopped, Oink instead babysat Tomato at one corner. HAHAHAHA. But I end up didn't get much. Now another problem, how to go back? No one is at home because they all went up to another uncle's house for the preparation. My wise husband luckily had copied down the address of the house before we left this morning.

We walked to the taxi stand, and waited. And waited. And waited. WTH. Where's the damn taxi?! There's a young mother with her tiny baby and a shopping trolley full of groceries also waiting. And she told us she has waited for 3 hours. My God! This cannot do. I told my husband lets go back to the tram station. I bet we'll have better luck there. And what do you know, we manage to catch a taxi in less than 5 mins. I gave myself a pat at the back for being wise 'x'!! Worth braving the cold wind for it. While inside the the taxi, i told him about the young mother and his tiny baby still waiting at the taxi stand and tried to make him go back to pick her, but he seem reluctant. I really hoped he did. Poor baby, its cold and they have been waiting for 3 hours.

For dinner, we cooked instant noodle, and it devoured it, it seem like ages since we last had instant noodle and it was oh so good. LOL. Of course tomato didn't eat the instant noodle, she had porridge and mashed up pumpkin. We then had the sweet strawberries.

Melbourne : Rest & Relax

Before we went to Tasmania & Sydney, we actually rested one day at Melbourne first. With a toddler around, I thought its better we just stay in and rest since we didn't manage to catch enough z on the plane.

After a few hours nap, its already afternoon Melbourne time.

We stayed at Oink's uncle's house. And he has a hen. And tomato is fascinated in animals. Everyday if we are there, she will request to look at kok-kok-kei (chicken) 'x' And since I was there too to watch over her, I noticed something different about ang-mo-kei (foreign country's chicken). Our malaysian chickens run like no tomorrow when sight us, but this chicken, was very curious, and tried to get closer and look at us back instead. LOL

The weather was good, and I wanted to walk around the neighbourhood. It was quiet, with not much people.

And we chance upon a playground much to Tomato's delight. And it was empty. Where were all the people??!! O.O

The sky seem blue-er at Australia, and also vast-er.

Sydney Day 3 - Manly Beach, then to Melbourne

Our last day at Sydney. How I wished we stayed longer. It was also the hottest day we every had at Australia.

After breakfast, we took the free shuttle bus from George Street to Circular Quay again. Since its free, it was really packed. 'x' It took a while to go to Circular Quay as its making stops to pick up more people. 'x'! 

I really regretted boarding the free bus LOL. It was near 11am when we arrived 'x' And our plane to Melbourne is 3+pm 'x'!!!  we missed the 11am ferry to Manly and had to wait till 11.30am for the next one. I was so worried about how much time we have.  

It took around 30 mins to arrive Manly. All throughout the ride, I keep praying that we could arrive earlier. 'x' But look! The water is so nice, the sky is so blue!

It was HOT. Really hot day. Some random church I guess which I didn't get the name 'x' We only had limited time on Manly and there's no time to find out names. *ahem*

Obligatory tourist-y photo. SO SO HOT. But what nice beaches they have. Anyway, even with the little limited time we had, I still insist on having Ben & Jerry. LOL!! Its too hot, ok? I need to cool down.

With less than an hour spent there, we took the ferry back to Circular Quay, and this time we are smarter, we decide to take the train back to Central. I then came out with a master plan. Oink is to rush back to the  hotel to get our luggages while I will buy the train tickets to airport + buy lunch.

Anyway, we were in time. Thank God. Sydney Airport look so nice and huge, I regret we didn't have time to explore it, should have checked out earlier and just come explore the airport 'x' LOL. Didn't get to check out the airport when we landed a few days ago because it was already late night when we landed.

There was a guest in front of us who was too late for check in, he kept face-palm himself 'x'

And because we were last to check in, we got the last row seats 'x' which was window-less, and I pity the person who sat next to us, cos Tomato was as excited as usual when in the plane. I said person, cause till this day, I am not sure its a SHE or a HE. I thought its a HE because erm, the person was big, had short hair, wore like a man. Oink insist that its a SHE because of the higher pitched voice. Oh well, whatever 'x'

When we arrived at Tiger Airways's terminal at Tullamarine, we had the shock of our lives 'x' LOL. This, ladies and gentleman, is the terminal, do not doubt me. Oink said look like some kind of factory. LOL. He can't stop laughing, and I think he posted this photo in FB 'x'

Sydney Day 2 - Darling Harbour, Fish Market, ydney Opera House & Sydney Harbour Bridge

It was a lovely warm sunny day. We took train from Central Station to Town Hall Station and then walked all the way to Darling Harbour from there. I really regretted we forgot to attach the rain cover to Tomato's buggy as the sun was really bright. So I kept walking & pushing the buggy in a fast pace until I reach the shaded area :-p.

After getting all sweaty, we arrived! Tomato got all excited cos there's a pretty cool playground there. * shiny eyes*

Happily exploring around. We saw a few families with kids there. Have I told you I love Sydney?

The playground was really well maintained.

They have all these cool recreational equipments. Like this one. Your kid sits on it, and slides from one higher end to the other end where the spring mechanism at the receiving end will spring you back if with enough momentum. But my kid is still too light, and can't do it her own, but she  was willing and dare to try it when we ask whether she wanted to have a go. Oink helped her. At some point, Oink let go of his hands and run after her to make sure she doesn't fall, and guess what? She didn't even get scared knowing her daddy wasn't holding onto her. She just hold on tight and have fun.

 

Hot! Hot! Hot! I wonder why I didn't open up the umbrella?hmmm

 

 

Time for snack. Hehe. Need to replenish all those energy that was burnt when playing. Actually there's ferry going to Darling Harbour from Circular Quay where Sydney Opera house & Sydney Harbour Bridge is. But we decided to come to Darling Harbour first as we wanted to go here.

 

For lunch. :-p  The problem is, I know its somewhere near Darling Harbour, but had no idea how to go there. And because we thought its pretty near, we decided to walk and used Oink's  Waze app. HAHAHHA. We got lost a bit, and walked more than I expected under the hot sun 'x'

At least we get to eat good lunch. The place was packed! With China tourists 'x' Tomato attacked the chips. Since its a holiday for her too, we just let her eat all she wants. And after this trip, she is hooked to fries 'x'!! I guess she is a lot like me.I love fries but try not eating too much of it.

After lunch, we walked all the way back to town hall station again, back to Central Station, and walked back to the hotel, so Tomato can nap for a couple of hours.

After that, we took the train again to Circular Quay. This time, we don't need to walk far to reach our destinations. And it was cooler, and windy. And again, its packed with humans.

Obligatory photo to show that we're there 'x' We circled the Opera House and there's was some construction work going on the front as that area was blocked. Such a pity, how nice if we could take photos from the front.

We took our time, found a bench, just sit around and did people watching. And left around dinner time.

Sydney Day 1 - University of Wollongong

Of all the cities we went in Australia, Sydney is my favourite.  :)

Compared to others, its nice and warm-ish and yet not too warm. Just nice. I love it.Its very obvious that Tomato also liked it here, she was immediately well, and her appetite suddenly increased 'x'.

We plan to take things easy at Sydney, since we are relying on public transport here.Our hotel (Central Station Hotel), and is pretty near to the Central Station. 

I believe Tomato enjoyed Sydney most too, cos her appetite suddenly grew so much here. Keep asking for mam-mam (food). And also maybe because she didn't eat much when she was sick while at Hobart.

I decided to go and visit University of Wollongong. Although I didn't physically study there, but my degree program was from there.  My college offered this twinning program with the Uni. And since we are at Sydney, I figure I should grab this opportunity to go and have a look.

But first, let us take a selfie. LOL! We took a south coast line train from Central Station to North Wollongong Station. The journey took about 2 hours 17.20 AUD  for a return ticket. From there, there's a free shuttle bus which will bring you to the campus, just look for the Uni Logo on the bus.

The bus will make a few stops once inside the campus. And in my mind, I ran through my memory to get down as close to the duck pond as possible. My friend told me its nice there. And I think it would be nice for Tomato to run around looking at ducks since she likes to see animals so much.

The Uni is smaller than I expected. And we quickly reach our destination. But the pond is really nice. And the scenery is so serene. Students lying down relaxing on the grass, reading, chatting, eating. So carefree. I envy. LOL!  

The people there doesn't seem to be surprised when they see Tomato. She is the only small kid around. I was told by my friend, there are parents who are students that sometime bring their kids here.

Tomato had a blast, she ran around like nobody's business, exploring the surroundings, while we sit down in the shade watching. Oink got panic whenever she is too near the pond.

Hello there Duckie! The ducks there is not even afraid of humans. And the grass seem clean, I wonder where they poop? 'x'

We lunched at the nearest cafe (there's a few) we can find. And one pretty student commented that Tomato has very nice hair colour. Her dad has brown hair as a kid, hers is not as light as what he had, its a darker shade of brown.

We left around 2pm but took the wrong shuttle bus, which goes to town instead of North Wollongong Station. Nvm, we treat it as 'makan-angin'. Tomato fell asleep in the bus.

And she slept through the train ride back to Central Station. :)

Hobart Tassie Day 3 - MONA

On our last day in Hobart, we went to MONA (Museum of Old And New Art).

Museum of Old and New Art

655 Main Road Berriedale
Hobart Tasmania 7011
Australia

You can either drive there, or take the ferry from the MONA Brooke St ferry terminal (Hobart), which takes about 30 mins.

Opening hours varies with season and entrance tix is priced at 20 AUD per adult.

Usually I am not a fan of museums as they bore me. But MONA is different. The exhibits are more, how should I say..hmm, provocative. Go see it for yourself. Its very interesting. I would recommend you bringing older kids though, some of the exhibits I think are not very suitable for school going kids. Ahem.

Anyway, Tomato was busy playing with our phones for most of the time while we are there. Most areas are dark which scares her, so we had to give her our phone as distraction.

I was very intrigued by this piece of art. Alot of time and patience sure was put into making this work.

Me :-p Wanted to show more photos but I think I read somewhere that  distribution of photos on the museum is prohibited.

There's a lot of eye-opening arts & exhibits in the museum, I highly recommend it to people who are open-minded enough.

The view outside the museum. It was very windy, cool and sunny.

Tomato running loose.

Hobart Day 2 - Richmond Village, Richmond Bridge, Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary & Royal Tasmanian Botanical Garden

It just so happen that while we are there, Richmond Village is having a fair. :D

After driving for about 40 mins with the help of the GPS (its a must!), we arrived.

Already cars start to crowd. The weather could not be more perfect. Clear blue sky, sunny, and yet not hot. In fact it was very windy that Tomato demanded to wear her beanie. Anyway, Tomato was still not feeling very well, no appetite, refuse water, but still in playful food. In fact, she vomited at 5am in the morning :/

 

 Double Decker bus spotted on the way to the fair. Its actually operating. 

Our very first country fair :D Now get to see it for ourselves. Kids were running around, there's a band playing instruments, food stalls, handicraft stores, animals, animal rides.

 Looking at Cao-ni-ma ( I am not cursing here 'x'). Its Grass Mud Horse.

HEEE. What's a fair without people dress up in colonial costume? See, told you its windy.

 

We walked over to Richmond Bridge. 

There's a very scenic river under the bridge and Tomato was very excited when she saw the ducks  waddling around, she called out "dok dok" LOL. 

After that, we wanted to lunch. I really wanted to try some scallop pies, but unfortunately its finished. BOOHOOHOO. So I settled with some fried stuff. We ate alot of fried stuff while at Aus. I even bought 2AUD juice for Tomato, but she rejected it :( still no appetite.

After lunch, we headed to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. 

 

Entrance Fee :
 
Family (2 adults & 2 children) $65.00
Adult $25.00
Child (4-15 years) $11.00
Child (3 years and under) Free

It pretty near to Richmond Village. And with GPS, its no problem for us to get there in 15 mins.

With every ticket, you get a packet of feed to give to the kangaroos. Papa Kangaroo is also carrying a Joey too (Tomato). LOL!! I was very excited to feed the kangaroos, but I found their nibbles a bit painful O_O So I end up throwing the feed on the ground so that they can have it. LOL. And while they eat, I pet them, and when Tomato saw it, she also bravely pet them, but Oink is very worried the Kangaroos might scratch  or even kick Tomato, so he stopped her. We saw 2 kangaroos fight. It was funny, it was not vicious or anything, but the bigger kangaroo keep kicking to keep the other one away from the food on the ground.

We saw Tasmanian Devil too. It kept running around and around. I saw it bite into a carcass too. Its jaw is really strong cos I heard bone crunching :S

After that we drove back to Hobart Town  for Royal Tasmanian Botanical Garden. Its free but there's a money box where you can drop donations at the entrance. The Garden is hugeeeee.

 

The sunflowers is crazy big. Some of it is actually bigger than my face!

Close up shot of one of the many plants available there in the park. We didn't spend along time there as Tomato was getting really cranky and clingy.

Ending this post with a sunset view from the balcony outside our room. Its really pretty, and the sunset later there, around 7pm. Its really cold at night at Hobart.