The Cube

Weee - does it look like cotton candy?

Of late I'm having a craving bout of sandwiches and chewing gums. Little P said it is some Aussie blood in action. I'm positive that I have no Aussie relatives, but we shall see how long this sandwiches and chewing gums craving go on. So, speaking of Aussie, Little P and I took advantage of the Good Friday/Easter Sunday long weekend and pay respect to Australia's most famous natural landmark - Uluru.

Day 1

We travelled with Jetstar, at that time there is no direct flights from Melbourne (there are now). Our flight had a transit in Sydney, not a long one, so we just lingered in the airport.

Once we touched down at Uluru Airport, we were transferred to our hotel by a shuttle bus. We stayed in Pioneer Outback Hotel & Lodge. This was the cheapest option at the time of our travel.

Front Desk - there were was a queue upon check in

I queued up to check in while Little P was in charge to see if there were any interesting activities that we could do. After sorting out both, we were starving and the only cafe that was opened at late afternoon was Kulata Academy Cafe at the Resorts Town Square.

We had a rest and relax day 1 with walking around the resort, watching some cultural dance and checking out the lookouts in the centre of the resort.

Wakagetti Cultural Dancers

Day 2

Day 2 started with my favourite activity at the resort, despite having to wake up at some ungodly hour - Camel to Sunrise!


After a short nap or chillax time, and fueled with food, we did the Valley of the Winds Walk, a 7.4km circuit/3 hours.


 This followed with Uluru sunset viewing.

Fit for the name Red Centre, doesn't it?

Day 3

We woke up early twice in three days for Talinguru Nyakunytjaku Sunrise Viewing (it's ok, you don't need to read this out loud). Can't say I'm not dedicated... think I have done my quota of sunrise this year. :P

Yes - this is sunrise. I promise.

We have done the walk at Kata Tjuta, but not yet Uluru, so our last chance for walk/climb.

The question is - to climb or not to climb?

Side note: Got to work on hand/eye/leg coordination issue...

Dinner was at Toa Payoh Market & Food Centre (I think that's the correct name) with friends. I didn't take any picture of the food. Dessert was tau fu fah. Yumm.

Breakfast the next day was at Toast Box.

Clockwise from top left: Peanut butter toast, nasi lemak, half boiled egg with earlier toast, mee siam

We went about to do some shopping/errand done and had I♥TaiMei as mid morning tea. Little P has been raving about food in I♥TaiMei so the longest time. Her favourite set is 小S (Xiao S) which comprises of popcorn chicken + sweet potato fries and a drink.

Main star - pop corn chicken, fries on top and bottom mushroom

Despite having a drink that goes with our meal, Moo Moo Cow recommended that we should try this yummy lava cake from Chocolate Origin. :)
We went to the branch in Bugis Junction.


Lunch was at 4 Fingers. I was surprised that I couldn't find any photo in my stash, I remembered taking a shot or two. Was suppose to meet up with a friend and had tea but he stood me up and I ended up hovering at Orchard station for over an hour, carrying some stuff that I wanted to pass to him. The stash of things included a bottle of wine, thinking back, or obviously I wasn't thinking or I would've just open and had many sips. LOL. This followed with dinner at Sakae Sushi with another friend at Junction 8 branch. No photo on this one.

My last meal before departing from Singapore was at a 三盅两件 (sān zhōng liǎng jiàn), according to it's own website as Soup Restaurant. Little P's favourite dish from this restaurant was Samsui Ginger Chicken (below).


Fairly obvious that I wasn't any food blogger cos I just dived in to all other food, so no photos. Grin.

First meal in Malaysia, at Nyonya Colours in Gardens.

Clockwise from top left: Cucur udang, curry noodles,  nasi lemak, nasi kunyit, cendol

These were the only one I didn't eat, we just bought them on behalf of a friend. At Big Apple Donuts & Coffee. They used to do durian doughnuts called Duren Duren but somehow not available when we were there.


One of the food that is always on my to-eat list is Portuguese Grilled Seafood - we usually ordered stingray, a vege dish (usually some beans) and either squid or clams. I picked clams this round.


Of course, there were many more meals but I didn't take photos of all but here are a few more notable ones.

Three Cup Chicken @ Ki Ki Taiwan Cuisine, KLCC

Fat Boy's Wimpy Burger @ Avenue K

Durian Pancake from Sumptuous Desserts

 One of my favourite food and must-eat is this banana leaf wrapped nasi lemak.



Side note: Maybe I should make my own banana leaf nasi lemak? But where to find banana leaf eh?

Welcome to Paradise

Pardon my subpar photo of Paradise. I took it from a moving 4WD. We signed up to a Glenorchy 4WD tour, in the perception that a normal sedan car might be having some issues driving on a never-ending-looking gravel road.

Source: Here

The gravel road did lasted awhile but if you pressed on, you will reach Paradise. Our guide cum driver picked sis and I from hotel, and made a few more pick ups before travelling Glenorchy. Long story short, BIL and niece went for the TSS Earnslaw Steamship Cruise.

We had a stop along the way to Glenorchy as well, remember Wilson Bay and Bennets Bluff? ;)
It was drizzling but we had our photo opportunities the day before as well, so it was all good.


We had a stop for lunch of sandwich and coffee, overlooking wharf view in Glenorchy.

Next stop - Forest of Middle Earth.



Then we were in Paradise.



Of course, we passed the Lord of the Ring's made famous Dart River again, and we had a 4WD off roading treat on the way before reaching Queenstown.




That was our last stop destination in Queenstown. Sis, BIL and niece's flight out of Queenstown was slightly earlier than mine, and involved a transit in Sydney. My flight was about 2 hours later, via a transit in Auckland, so I went to the airport myself, taking ConnectABus. I bought the bus ticket from a stop outside O'Connells Mall.


Side note: Do you know that Malaysians need a visa to enter Serbia?

Wilson Bay

Glenorchy is a small settlement at the northern end of Lake Wakatipu, in the region of Otago. It is about 45 km by road from Queenstown and famed for beautiful scenary, making it one of the popular shooting scene for a few film location. Of note - Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Source: Here

One of the guide books we had in possession recommended a stop at Bennetts Bluff Lookout (on the left, 25 km from Queenstown) for an amazing view of the head of the lake. Due to lack of map and GPS, we stopped a little before Bennett Bluff at Wilson Bay - which also offers superb view. Of course, we also stopped at Bennett Bluff therafter.

TSS Earnslaw Steamship Cruise

By the time we reached Glenorchy, we just missed the Dart River tour for the day. There are certain parts of Glenorchy which are only assessible on horseback or boat. In fact, these are probably the more Middle Earth looking part too.




We did some driving around but stopped just right after the start of gravel road. We didn't know how far out was the gravel road at that time but found out the next day that despite it went on for a bit, there is an end to it. One could pressed on all the way to Paradise by normal sedan car. (Yes - I do mean Paradise)

To make things clearer, here's another map I borrowed from here.

Dash lines shows gravel road

Instead, we turned back to Glenorchy town and did a 40 minutes loop near the Glenorchy Lagoon. Little niece got a ride instead.







Side note: Lotus biscuits are so addictive = bad for me.. I think it is also known as speculoos or biscoff

Arrowtown is a gold rush village 20 minute drive from Queenstown. It is a living historic settlement established in 1862 during the height of the Otago gold rush. The gold mining days are long over but there are touristy bit of gold panning if one is interested. In fact, this Dudley's Cottage offers gold panning activity.

Duddley's Cottage was built during the gold rush, making it one of the historic cottages. It is situated at the main junction, near the main street in Arrowtown. The parking area near this cottage, an easy distance to the start of the famous Chinese settlement was a welcoming sight. This was especially on a rainy day, like the day we were there. It started drizzling as we pulled out of hotel carpark and pouring heavily when we were on the way. We parked the car, donned on our waterproof jackets and make our way to the cosy, comfortable Dudley's Cottage.


Technically, I would say this is a part cafe, part souvenir shop. Fairly interesting though, what were on the rack. The price doesn't strike as cheap at sight but sis bought a hand lotion, to which I later found out that it is cheaper than the retail price in the said duty free shops in the airport.





When the rain was less heavy, we explored a little of the Chinese Settlement.


The Chinese settlement is found at the edge of the river - a cluster of gold rush era homes built and inhabited by Chinese miners who travelled to New Zealand to join in the search for gold, from 1868. This area of restored shelters and buildings paints a picture of earlier times.


There are many walking trails and cycle tracks around the area but we were there on a rainy day in New Zealand. We decided against tracking on those lovely trails, and went on a lazier version of this - walking down the main shopping street and ended with a brunch at Arrowtown Bakery.



My choice of a hearty steak and mushroom pie, accompanied with mashed potato and green peas, washed down with coffee.




Side note: No more public holidays in VIC till Melbourne Cup Day in November *horror*

My colleague and I would sent each other cute kitten(s) pictures when things go down hill at work to keep each other sane. One day, he sent me this picture and said that this is his attempt of drawing a kitten. He asked me what I think and if he should quit his job to become an artist.


Side note: I wanna swim like little sharkie!