Travelogue ∞ Gold Coast (Day 3 & 4)

Yes.

I am finally back here to write about Gold Coast Day 3 & 4. Well, Day 3 was Hong's Birthday. Initially, we wanted to do tandem skydive together on his birthday. But I chicken-out due to many many reasons and that made Hong postpone to Day 4. Ok, but nobody needs to know the many reasons. What is important was, we also brought ourselves to many many heights!

 WE TOOK THE HOT AIR BALLOON!

 

I tell you, it was FREEZING COLD. Really really really really really cold. I was shivering like crazy and so was Hong. I wore a spaghetti top, denim shirt, rather thick stockings, my skirt with double layer, boots and a winter jacket meant for 15degrees. IT WASN'T ENOUGH AT ALL.

I was ..... brrrrrrrrrrrrrr. You could see the hot air breath coming out as we spoke to each other. Ok, I don't know what you call that. But it was all worth it. Though half way up, I was concerned about our safety and whether the birds would fly towards us - blindly.

But the view, took all that fear away. It was breath-taking. It was... I don't even know how to describe. It felt like heaven. So so so so pretty!!! You could see the mist above the trees, the way the sun lit through the mountains and shone across the water.

Just.. nature at its best.

I think I bought the 30minutes Hot Air Balloon Experience (cause I would think I'll get bored of the scenery pretty soon), but I guess we were up there for more than 30 minutes. We probably went all the way up to like 4,000ft - 5,000ft. It was... magnificent.

Don't judge. We woke up at 4am for this ok. That's like 2am SG time

Yep! and we.... landed safely

Couldn't miss a classic photo moment.

Part of our package, included transfers, 30 minutes air time, and a champagne breakfast. I mean, what more can you expect. The food was so so so good, so fresh and such a delish! But the champagne... was.. well let's just say, you can't be picky if you are getting it as a complimentary drink!

Right after our awesome meal, we went to take a stroll around the vineyard. It was really calming and a lot of pretty. Of course we took the opportunity to take a lot of cover photo worth shot. Which I recommend to everyone. Oh yes, we used the selfie pod and snug it to my LX5. Which caught quite a lot of stares. I think its an Asian thing. Cause our mouths are made of gold, we won't speak and ask for others to take shameless #wefies for us.

Cool or what.

After that, off we were back to our hotel to freshen up (about 1130), before we left hurriedly to Sea World again.. because I missed the Spongebob Parade the day before. Aiya. I don't even want to blog about it. Cause I am really angry at myself for misreading the T&C on the ticket. Ended up we had to pay extra 180AUD for 2 of us, (that's 200SGD you know, I can buy many dresses on taobao), just to satisfy my Spongebob addiction. Then, the parade was SO LOUSY, I would rather use that 180AUD to subscribe to Starhub for Nickelodeon. It was really lousy.

---Note to self, always YOUTUBE it before paying. Just wished my research-y part of my brain was working that day. But I think I was too occupied blaming myself for misreading the ticket T&C. #SIGHPIE.

But Hong was really sweet to offer to pay. Which I appreciate and do not appreciate, because after that, he used it to negotiate for his own addiction (lesson learnt).

So feeling really lousy about the whole thing... we decided to go to Harbourtown.

I think we went kinda bananas at Harbourtown because THERE WERE SO MANY GREAT DEALS (for guys). I went to their Supre and other stores that were retailing female clothes, to many many disappointment. But when I stepped into Forever New, it was a completely separate story. Things were going at like 40% + 10% off or even better!

I tell you, so worth my air tickets. I stepped in and every floral piece was calling my name. I also went a little cray cray in aussie. I bought a total of 6 pairs of shoes (x1 sandal, x1 slipper, x2 pumps, x1 flat, 1 boots). I think my feet lives in Aussie. I had no issue with the size or even the quality. And they were definitely great buys. So happy!

After which.......

We decided to head on to Surfers Paradise...

Can't really recall the details after this, but we went to have dinner at KooKoo Teppanyaki & Lounge Bar at Surfers Paradise, just a few stores after La Rustica!

I think I chose the right place to celebrate Hong's birthday because it was a fantastic experience at KooKoo. 

Food were excellent and the chef was... AMAZEBALLS. 

10 AUD each cocktails. Mine was really good. It was the one with all the berries. While Hong's one was the pineapple one which wasn't that fantastic.

Ok I am damn fed up with this computer and blogspot now. Because they are not allowing me to add photos for this entry. Tmd. 

Yup and while we were walking around, we chanced upon this shooting place right beside Timezone. I told Hong to give it a try, since we can't do it in Singapore, unless you are part of the military something. I didn't want to learn how to fire or try any of the available pistols. Cause... I am not that kind of violent. I think guns are evil.

I mean, it was pretty expensive also. 2 rounds for 80 AUD. I thought the birthday boy should have his own shots and I should just, be the woman behind his back, supporting him - like always. HAHAHA. According to Hong, the recoil was really strong? Cause its a pretty old-fashion gun that the cowboys back then would use. Haha. He scored very well also he hit a bulleyes!

And that marks the end of our night & Hong's celebration!

I can't be bothered to blog about Day 4 yet. Because this blogger is giving me so much problem with the photos that I want to upload. 

So next post then!

xoxo
Andrea

Travelogue ∞ Gold Coast (Day 1 & 2)

Goodness

I think it must have been a really long time since I last penned down any thoughts or musings here on this blog.

I guess Life has caught up with me and blogging just isn't as important or much of a priority as it used to be in the past. Love-Hate relationship though. Very often I do feel like I have completely neglected this space, made so many empty promises, but aiya. I hope this is my redemption post that can last for a good few months to come.

So! I am back from my long awaited trip to the Gold Coast.

Gonna share all that I know right here, right now!

DAY 1

Touched down on Sunday Morning, with a delayed flight from Scoot. Such a disappointment as it was our first time with them. Hate delays. Roar.

Once we cleared customs (Thank you Singapore for the Electronic Passport!), off we were to a public phone booth to make the call to our shuttle service to the Second Tier Car Rental place. Waited for no more than 10 minutes and the shuttle service appeared! Was greeted by a lovely lady who helped us with our luggage. Exactly what you need after a 7 hour flight!

Got our paper work done and credit card swiped and we were really fortunate because Liam from Apex Car Rental gave us a brand new car - Hyundai I20 that had clocked in only 637km when we took the car. Checked the tyres, navigation system, A/C, for scratches and all, and we were ready to head over to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. 

If you are under 25/26 years old, most car rental places would charge extra, but that is all waived at Apex Car Rental, we took the package with $0 excess, so the rental was $55 AUD per day that came with GPS. It was a very good deal!

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

The last time, I got to touch a Koala. But this time round, I got to carry one, that was pooping quite...... a bit. But that is all fine, it didn't matter much to me, cause it didn't poop on me.

On a scale of 1 - 5, I think the CWS is really quite a place for kids to go to during their holidays. There were tram rides and lots of animal encounters for kids. The kangaroos were so overfed that they couldn't even be bothered with tourists taking shots, touching them etc etc. Oh! and it was the first time I saw a baby kangaroo in their mother's pouches! Damn cool please - discovery channel live.

Bo Chup Level = 1000000000x

Such a gentle paw gesture!

It took us about 2.5hrs to complete the whole of CWS, there were a lot of walking to do, so Sports Shoes are the best. After that, we left CWS for our Hotel! 

Meriton Serviced Apartment - Broadbeach

Probably the best choice of Hotel I have made! But I don't think the view is comparable to the one I had in Sydney (over at Macleay Service Apartment). There is something about service apartments in Australia. I would say the services are usually more top-notch, when you compare with hotels.

Our stay was for 6 nights and we sure did made full use of all the amenities provided in the apartment. Dishwasher, microwave, toaster, cookware, washing machine, dryer etc etc! It is a fantastic apartment to live in with the best view of the ocean!

We settled ourselves and drove to the nearest Woolsworth to get some groceries and snacks for the next couple of days. Given my experience at Melbourne last year, I realised it cost a lot less to cook than to eat out. Also, while you are at Woolsworth/Coles, do get the $2 SIM data plan from Optus. It works damn well and has the best prepaid option!

Also,  if you are going to Australia, do download Urbanspoon. They are like the "hungrygowhere", but Australia version.

Dinner was at La Rustica @ Surfers Paradise

 

FOOD WAS FREAKING FANTASTIC. Loveeeeed the incorporation of sun-dried tomato in the penne! Super wonderful flavours! Also! Loveddddd the pizza. It is one of the best pizza with bursting flavours that I have ever tasted my whole life. Even Timbre duck pizza can't beat that! On top of all of that, the rustic feeling in the small little restaurant sure is cosy and warm for a winter night at Gold Coast. Definitely not to be missed. 

Really sorry though, I don't remember the name of the food that we ordered. But you can always ask the friendly host. What we ordered were pretty much "most ordered/chef recommendation"

DAY 2

Woke up at about 7.30am to prepare breakfast for the man from the groceries that we bought the day before.

After that, we left the house at 9am to travel down to Sea World. Took us about 30minutes to get there with normal traffic. Parking was free so we quickly parked the car and went to register for the Whale Watching Tour at the Sea World Cruise Terminal.

 

In my opinion, this was the best, really, one of the most breath-taking, magnificent thing that nature and technology has gifted to us human kinds. Never had I thought that we would be so god damn lucky during this trip that we were able to spot 3 different dolphin pods, one of the pods came up so close I could hear it blowing out the water from its blowhole. Same goes for the cheeky humpback whales that came up so close to our cruise.

It was just.. Discovery-Channel-Live-in-your-face kind of moment!

Shakey image, cause the cruise was rather bumpy. If you are prone to sea-sickness or even motion sickness, please pop a pill before you go on board.

The tour ended at about 12.30pm and we were back at Sea World. Decided to head in to take a look at what it had to offer. Also because I was desperate in wanting to meet Spongebob. I tell you, major sigh about Seaworld man. So freaking disappointing lah. I doubt kids will enjoy too, unless they are fans of dora the explorer. 

The chicken tasted a lot better than the fish and chips. But get prepared to be annoyed by all the seagulls and ibis. No chilli sauce too. This cost about AUD 35 plus a cup of soft drink.

There was a crazy Jetski session before we started our meal which the boyfriend was very very amused by. Haha

The Detective Seal Show, which was about sustainable fishing and how when it used its flippers to slap its hip sounded like how my thighs would wiggle.

The smartest mammal in the ocean. The Dolphins. Am abit on the fence about watching such performances, because I know how they usually get trained. Just like how we opposed Dolphins captivity in SEA Aquarium, I guess it applies to Seaworld.

Such a vast difference watching those dolphins pods earlier in the day as they swam near the cruise and these "educated" dolphins performance.

We ended the Seaworld trip with a visit to watch Spongebob 3D, which wasn't that 3D at all. But it did give the tourists' kids a good scare when all the Jellyfishes started to swim towards.. well, them. Maybe they don't get to watch 3D Movies as much as we do here in Singapore?  Like, quite expensive ah, watch cartoon in 3D. 

Well, right after that, the boyfriend started his engine; not the car engine, but HIS engine of him wanting to go to his all-time-favourite-can-never-say-no-to-place called...... CASINO, again. And so we did. I watched him play for a couple of hours before having my tummy rumble for some hot soup!

Once again, Urbanspoon to the rescue. Settled for this place at Surfers Paradise again..except for some Ramen! 

We ordered a plate of Gyoza along with No. 2 and No. 4 respectively. The soup base was a little bit salty, but the ramen texture was really good. 10000x better than Ajisen ramen. But I guess that is because we chose the miso broth? The char siew was so freaking tender and soft, it just melt in my mouth. Love the heat coming from the Spicy Ramen too! Best for a cold night of about 14 degrees.

We wanted to head back to the hotel earlier that night, because the next morning was the Hot Air Balloon trip. But since we were out already, we might as well explore a little bit more. Found the biggest TimeZone that I have ever seen in my life and played this game with the boyfriend. Obviously right? - Spongebob leh. 

I have mentioned in my Melbourne post previously that this is the Churros stop that NO ONE should ever give it a miss whenever they are in Aussie. But now they have come to Singapore to open an outlet, I have yet to try nor give my verdict on it. But I guess you just can't compare that much. Eating the freshly served churros with hot chocolate is like... a dessert sent from heaven!

I really like how you have to eat hurriedly so that the chocolate doesn't harden. But.. one #wefie won't hurt that much right? 

Yup. And with that, we ended the night and headed back to the hotel.

More about Day 3 and 4 on the next post.

xoxo
Andrea