Melbourne - Recap

It was good to be back in Melbourne. The familiar aussie accent, aroma, and sight were very nostalgic. They instantly brought back alot of memories, both bitter and sweet.

I remembered I used to dread going back to Melbourne - the thought of waking up early in winter, the house chores, and most of all...missing home. But it was different this time. I couldn't wait to go back there. My brothers, cuzzie, and good friends really welcomed me with great hospitality as if I was a tourist. Couldn't ask for more, they are the bestest!







The naked trees







First night - After dinner, we hit the Wine Bar at Lonsdale St. Very cosy, nice ambience. I wouldn't mind chilling out there every night!













Next morning, off to the mountains. Juggling between skiing and snowboarding, I finally decided to join the minority - the cool snowboarders. Did one run on the beginner slope with my sifu (pic below) where he taught me the basic skills and the ways to fall before joining the others on the blue run (or so I thought). They were actually doing the black runs!























On the way down, I lost control. Fell off the slope, rolling down onto a cordoned off closed run and hitting tree branches before halting. *blush*








The next few days, my body was all sore and tired, but managed to get up on my lazy ass to go do stuff.

Jenny's golden retriever






This is one dog you should avoid if it is wagging its tail












Greco cafe renowed for mouthwatering cakes














Chaddy the Fashion Capital






So big I didn't know where to start from







Dim sum



















and more dim sum














Abit of adventure at an indoor rock climbing





The top of the top! Holding on with all my might, waiting for buddy to stop yacking and loosen the rope



















Absolutely not to be missed - Il Dolce Fredo - the best gelato
Mango, Strawberry, Durian, Coconut, Hazelnut roche, Nutella, Greentea, Snickers, Cookies and creme, Tiramisu, Toblerone, and many more.
I wished I could try them all (without gaining any weight, that is!)


Paintball... it's not funny when you get shot














And finally, some souvenirs from Melbourne...

The genius in me

Besides the routine lim teh, badminton and movies sessions, I have been spending hours the past few nights trying to solve a 4x4 Rubik's cube. To be somewhat exact, it was 5 hours on Tuesday night (got the centres in place), 3 hours on Wednesday night (got the top corners right) and then realised that I should be doing edges first, so another x no. of hours (lost count!) on Saturday to fix the edges. Not to mention the working hours I used at work hehe.

And TADA ....






















and what do I get for doing this? A free meal from kc !!! which I'm gonna claim after I come back from leave. Oh..and also that little satisfication I get from this little achievement ;)

Early Dive

Today's dive was scheduled to an hour earlier 'coz one of the divers, Caryn, had to rush back to a work meeting at 2pm. This is what we called HARD CORE DIVER hehe :P

First dive at the Oil Rig wreck and reef, water visibility was very good! An oil platform which was placed strategically (or sunk) on the seabed to foster marine life (i think! not quite sure of its history).
























On the way from the wreck site to the reef, we saw clams and baby shrimps on the sand patch.























At the reef...







Giant Lobster











Playing with the clownfish







Next, we decided to do a dive close to the shore 'coz we were running late. On the way there, we discovered a reef site (thanks to the good water visibility). The boat driver wanted to record it in his GPS as a reef dive site so we brainstormed for names. One thing lead to another, we finally agreed to name it after our initials. Caryn, Lawrence, Emily, Azli, Ricky...and BINGO...CLEAR reef! Our newly discovered site ;)

Second dive at another site wasn't as good. We couldn't see much underwater...max 3m. Nevertheless, still an enjoyable dive experience.







Another lobster










Pufferfish. There were alot of them!











Katam











Someone dropped a kettle?











Mama puffer trapped in a bubu







*************************************************************************************
Dive No1: Oil Rig Wreck and Oil Rig Reef, Muara
Time In: 9.30am
Time Out: 10.25am
Depth: 18.4m

Dive No2: Erin(?) Wreck
Time In: 11.50am
Time Out: 12.29pm
Depth: 12.8m

This one time, at band camp

Last weekend, Priscilla threw her farewell party (she's leaving to HK) at Riverview with the theme "School Nerds and Playboy Mansion". Did you think all girls were gonna dress as Playboy bunnies??

I was enjoying myself... mingling, drinking, and dancing (hopscotching on the dance floor :P) until a bunch of idiots came and ruined it all - long story which I'd rather not bring up. It could have been a great party, but nevertheless, the process of transforming into a nerd and the after-party at Pris's apartment shall be cherished ;).

KK trip (continued)

The group that made the trip a BLAST!







Lobby @ Le Meridien










Shenanigan










Shenanigan










Suite room @ The Bed

Sunny Day

Going out to the sea on a warm day... in a small boat, with limited shelter, wearing my new 3mm wetsuit was not funny! Didn't wanna get any darker, so I had to leave the suit on. And guess wot? I still got a tan line in the end.

Half an hour later, we arrived at our dive site and I was v. v. eager to jump deep down to stay cool. I was one of the first to gear up and jump into the water. Visibility wasn't great.







Swimming with a school of fish










The back of a lionfish.







Didn't wanna swim to the front to scare it away..like I did to a super huge grouper, and got blamed =(







A scorpion fish I spotted. Excellent camouflage but I've got better eyesight. Hehe









Crabby










Mama lobster and her babies










Everyone hanging onto the rope to do a 3min safety stop at 5m






After 1 hour of surface interval, we en route to our next dive site, Pyramid. It is named Pyramid because of its structure - a patch of coral reef surrounded by sand bar.







Me taking a pic of another diver while somersaulting







Some of the biodiversity of the reef: -






















On the way back to the shore, we stopped at an island, Pelong Rock, for a brief snorkel.











Playing with the Clam












Tired?











Can you spot the crab?











Sea cucumbers everywhere









Camouflager












Wot you looking at?








*************************************************************************************
Dive No1 - Roslan's pontoon, Muara
Time In - 10.16am
Time Out - 11.05am
Depth - 16.6m

Dive No2 - Pyramid, Muara
Time In - 12.15pm
Time Out - 1.09pm
Depth - 15.8m