Gold Coast, Australia (Part 1)

G'day mates! Finally managed to spare some time to blog on our Aussie trip. This is our first trip to ang moh country. So naturally we were all very excited for it. I'm particularly very worried about the weather there. It supposed to be summer but from my years of experience watching drama, their summer can be too cold for us. If what they have there is summer, I don't know what weather we have here in Malaysia. Dessert, maybe?

We went from 13th March to 20th March, 8 days and 7 nights. The weather was sunny the first 5 days. Unexpected rain fell during noon later in our trip which dampen our spirit since we can't really play all the rides. Boarded our flight at 10 pm local time. Frankly speaking, I was prepare to dozed off the whole 8 hours with my mp3 stuck in the ears. What I experience was far from that. Constantly waking up with babies crying. I can't even sleep for more than 2 hours. It was a nightmare. Would advise all to not take economy seat for long journey. It is really not comfortable with no extra legroom.

Although we traveled in 12 with kids ranging from 10 to 21, we go backpackers. Personally, I think I enjoy a lot more because our schedule are very flexible. Since we went to a more 'developed' country there is not much problem to plan the travel itinerary. Planning is the key to a perfect family vacation. Before the trip, we did a lot of research on the transport, place to stay and most importantly, finding the cheapest theme parks tickets available. Going with tour is so OUTDATED!

TripAdvisor really helps in deciding where to stay, places to eat and basically have some idea by reading those reviews posted. Besides, godfather and godmother (Chik Pa & Mak Ee) had been to Gold Coast. Besides TripAdvisor, I also went to Google map for help. The street view function is so damn cool. Even before going, I can already imagine myself in the middle of San Churro Surfers Paradise street.

 

Holiday House Rentals are increasingly popular nowadays. For this trip, we actually decided to stay in an apartment/house. For those going to Gold Coast, Surfers Paradise is the perfect location to stay. It is a popular tourist spot and everything is so convenient there. We found our perfect apartment through Youstay.com. It's reliable, ok. At first, we wanted to stay at Q1 Apartment but from the street view, the location of Q1 is quite far from the happening area. Circle on Cavill is apparently the best.

 

Circle on Cavill is totally in the heart of Surfers Paradise. It's located above some of the best shopping with boutique shops and excellent dining choices. Plus, a Woolworths supermarket right downstairs. On top of all that, Circle on Cavill comes with 12 seat private theatrette, indoor and outdoor pool, sauna, gymnasium etc. It is only 30 minutes from Coolangatta Airport. 

 

The apartment actually accommodates for only 8 but if you do muka kesian like me, perhaps you might be allow to squeeze in another 3 more kids. It comes with everything. Dishwasher, dryer, cutlery etc. Amazingly, more complete than home. The not best part is that it does not comes with a modem or internet. Well, that problem can be solve by buying a sim card at the airport. If you landed at Coolangatta Airport too, there's a convenience store at the far end, near the boarding gate.

 

 

Living room that comes with a sunrise view every morning

 

Dinning area where we had our breakfast

 

A 180 view of our home for 8 days

Ignore the messiness, please

 

Stunning view from level 59

 

Master Bedroom with a walk in wardrobe and ensuite with spa bath complete with ocean view

 

 Sunset view at 5 o'clock in the afternoon

 

Groceries shopping after dinner

 

Overwhelmed by the choices of ham, bacons and sausages

 

Night city life

 

We were recommended Optus for AUD $2 and further top up another $15. Activation of sim can be done online (there's free wifi at the airport) or the old-school way by calling them. We took the My Prepaid Daily Plus $2 a day package for unlimited calls within Australia and a total of 500MB a day. That is the best package with 500MB data.

 

 

One thing that I find it different is that the sim card does not comes with a number like the ones in Malaysia. Numbers are only given after the activation. My number was 0402 417 035. I think they recycle the number quite often. While using the number in Australia (obviously I threw it away once landed in Malaysia), I received a number of calls from strangers who are obviously Australian. Having data means I can upload all photos I took instantly on my social media. It's quite fun that we do not need to wait till the end of the day to upload the photos with one eye closed (because too tired of playing).

 

 

If the transfer from the airport to Surfers Paradise troubles you, here is the solution. There are a lot of companies providing airport transfer. Just google "Gold Coast Airport Transfer". We took Gold Coast Direct Charters. Julie was attentive to responding to all my enquires since we're travelling in such a big group, I need to make sure that all the luggage can fit in. With the van, comes also a trailer to load the luggage. Also, I did change the pick up time twice since we need extra 30 minutes to settle the sim card at the airport. We also took transfer with them to Paradise Country Farm and Habour town. We were greeted by Jim at the airport. Jim, our friendly driver was kind enough to layan us the kampongs.

 

While I was away busy...

 

Aside from the airport transfer, we used public bases to theme parks. go cards can be bought at the airport. We planned our journey ahead with the Journey Planner. I can't help but to compare their public transport with ours here. Fret not, the journey planner is very accurate and the busses are always on time. Just put in mind that there are no buses to theme parks after noon. For more convenience, download the Translink app that is available for both Android and IOS. No need to thank me but here's the bus that bring you to the theme parks (FROM CIRCLE ON CAVILL)

• Dreamworld - TX 3
• Wet 'n' Wild - TX 2
• SeaWorld - 705
• Warner Bros Movie World - TX 2
• Whitewater World - TX 3

Dreamworld and Whitewater world are beside each other. So is Wet 'n' Wild and Warner Bros Movie World.

 

 

We had 6 days there, minus the travelling days. So we went to all the theme parks in Gold Coast. The second day in Gold Coast we went to Warner Bros Movie World first. For the pass, we bought from ExperienceOz.com. For an unlimited entry to Sea World, Warner Bros Movie World and Wet 'n' Wild, I would say that AUD $84.97 is very affordable. Plus we got free entry to Paradise Country Farm. It is hard to miss the koalas and kangaroos when in Australia. Printed coupon will be email to you once payment confirm. With that printed coupon, just bring it to the gate. The process is so easy and fast with just 10 minutes waiting.

 

 

We tried almost all the thrill rides in Movie World except for Batwing Spaceshot (due to maintenance). The best would be Superman Escape. Arkham Asylum is the scariest because my feets are dangling. Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster is also fun because there's so much sudden turns. Everything is fun la, ok? For the Wild West Fall ride, we brought along our ponchos. *hehehe Told you, we're kampongs! Kampongs don't like getting wet. Green Lantern was our last ride and it worth riding. A day later, when we were on our way back to Surfers after Wet 'n' Wild, there was an accident with the Green Lantern Coaster. From the news I've read, 6 people trapped in the carriage for more than 3 hours almost 33 meters in the air. The thoughts of that occurring to us seems very scary at that time. The incident have dampens our spirits. Thank god, no one was injured.

 

Main entrance of Warner Bros Movie World

 

Love this picture of us 3

 

The adventure began

 

LOVE!!

 

Personally, I don't enjoy it.

Tires screeching, honking, smokes from car exhaust just not my thing

 

A perfect candid shot before the terrifying Spooky Coaster

 

While waiting for the Spooky Coaster

And mainly because I look pretty here

 

Mandatory group photo!

 

 

Bulging tummy and fat legs is all I want gone this summer!

 

Moments before we literally screamed our hearts out

 

Sexy and hot Catwoman

 

Ended our day at the Movie World with the parade!

 

To a beautiful day

 

Woke up with sweat the next day. The sun rise very early. 5 o'clock in the morning there is our 8 am. Since I slept in the living room, I had the opportunity to shot the beautiful sunrise in Gold Coast. Prepared breakfast with Mum, CK Pa and Mk Ee. Leftover from the breakfast were taken to the water parks. The ham and bacon are to die for!! A luxury where we, kampongs can't afford.

 

The Giant Wave Pool, right after the entrance

 

There's a reason why it is named the Black Hole

 

The not best part about water park is that we need to carry our floats up ourself

And they are damn heavy

 

This is damn embarrassing but I just can't lift my heavy butt up

Another motivation to lose weight

 

Us, girls on the Tornado

 

And our last ride was Surfrider

It's not that scary as it seems

 

While on the Surfrider, there's this little girl, about 10 y/o who said she had sat it few times and they said she's the loudest screamer. So if a 10 y/o can sit few times, why can't you? Jetstream was a different experience, sliding down from high above using your butt. Sadly, we didn't manage to play all the rides. We missed the west sides which are River Rapids, Constrictor, AquaLoop, Super 8 Aqua Racer. Definitely will come back again!

 

The Jetstream ride with Sidewinder at the right



 

We had early dinner at  Helm Bar Bistro which is located just right below our apartment. Totally love the cozy, warm environment there with songs being played, people sing and dance. Just like what they do in the movies. Had our very first glass of lemonade (too much from watching Fairy Godparents but never tried lemonade before). The food was delicious, especially their three pigs pizza and marinated BBQ pork ribs.

 

4 dishes for 6 which is more than enough

 

Sunset view from the Helm Bar Bistro

The Bulletin board right at the door

 

After dinner, we went to Surfers Paradise night market. There are lots of handicrafts, arts and food. Just to experience ang mohs' night market. Bought nothing but Eric bought a wacky whistle which till now I haven't heard him play. I wonder where did the whistle went.

 

You can mimic monkeys, parrots, motorcycles sounds

 

Stall selling jerky

Posted it because it's the only three thing from the night market that I shoot

 

Part 2 here

 

Thanks for dropping by

Hope you learn a few travel tips here

=D

 

p/s: I have this problem where pictures in my older post went missing. Just understand this, if the pictures in this entry lost, I will not update them anymore. Be considerate of the amount of pictures in here. Thanks. Appreciate that.

Actions Of My Past

Life as it goes seems pretty hectic for the past one month. Have been promoted as the 'dog slave', slaving day and night to keep all the 5 dogs happy while our maid is away for her holiday. Can't say that I managed to keep all of them clean, happy and satisfied but I did my best. My best considering that my Kiko haven't bathe for the past one month. I swear, she's the only exception. She was so keen on not getting wet on that shower day and I got frustrated so WHATEVER!

The routines that I been followed for the past one month. Woke up at 4 o'clock in the afternoon (sometimes half past three, depends on how motivated I am that day), had my breakfast + lunch + dinner and off to cleaning my diligent dogs' POOPS!! At around six thirty in the afternoon, it's feeding time which also include feeding the one and only rabbit in the house. I would normally went upstairs, to lock myself after 8. So far, I managed to lose another 5 kilos. An accomplishment worth bragging.

Sales for my online business are pretty slow as I don't spend that much time anymore updating new stocks as well as responding to enquiries. I'm suck at customer service skill. I realized that as I continue to move forward day by day, I don't have that fiery passion anymore compare to as when I started it. It hit me somehow that online business isn't that easy to survive. It seems easy as one doesn't need a capital to open a business, you don't need to register your business, no shop lot to find, no rental or employees to worry about and the list goes on. One just need a laptop or maybe a more frequent visit to CC to work. With just a Facebook or Instagram account, one is ready to open an online business.

On 1st May, I decided to advertise my business with the help of the more 'senior' one. The one with more followers. The thing with newly open online business is that you're not recognized. People don't know you or what you're selling. I went through a few options and decided on one that sells wedding and dinner gowns. Her customers and followers are probably more to females between 20-40. Logically, females tend to spend more on appearance compare to guys, which suit me. It was for RM 30 for a day post on her Instagram account. I never done this before.

So when it was posted up, it did boost up my followers by 30 (not much I would say) but I'm glad I took the risk. It was an experience to gain and learnt. Never in my mind thought of the consequences after. While I was happy gaining followers and responding to enquires, I received this one particular Whatapps message. Like always, I responded with polite and friendly matter but then I was accused of selling fake and such. The person there was obviously toying with me since the first message was sent. That really hit me hard. I am just trying to gain an experience in business and maybe perhaps some pocket money to replace my phone. So, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! My customers' feedback are excellent, the quality of products are superb and there are customers that came back for more orders.

I did, in my polite way to reply back because I was so annoyed that the anonymous ended the conversation with " Hahaha. Kelakar betul berniaga. Hahaha. Tq for the fake bag info". When I was typing the reply, I got thousands of ways to relish my anger. "Fuck you" was on the top of the list. But I held it back for the reputation of my business. You don't see any business owners out there that fuck off their customers when they started to complain. I've been helping and seeing Dad managing his business since small and I always have it in my head that customers are your utmost priority. I did get a fair shares of scolding from customers since small. So what? Like that lo. Apologize and keep that smile on the face.

The month of May has to be my worst nightmare. The courier company actually managed to lost a parcel that belongs to my customers. Things got bad when it involved her parents and also constant calls and threats to report me to the police. For the first time, I'm actually afraid of my future. What if I am charged? The prospect of having a business suddenly doesn't seems fun anymore. It's scary. I am not aware at first that the parcel has gone missing because from the track and trace record, it is always at the courier office. I can't blame it all on the courier company because I should have notice when something is wrong. Right now, investigation are carried out since it involves two courier companies. I'm still waiting for the results if the investigation and I owed my customer and her parents an explanation. Like a real man, I believe I will manage. I hope....

That two incidents actually dampens the fire. I don't have a reason to continue it. I'm not desperate for the profits. I doing this for the passion that I have in business as well as the experience. But if these little incidents bring me down, then I'm sure I will never have a business of my own in future. There will always be these kinds of scenarios to drag me down. I will stay strong, wait for result of the investigation, giving the customer the explanation and refund what needed and continue with my little journey in business.

So, I was watching a reality TV shows called the Amazing Chinese (a spin-off of the America's Got Talent) when this little boy of age 12 went for the audition. He sang a song with a high-pitch lady voice, totally into it with hand movements and expression that even the judges are impressed. He said the reason he came up to stage was to clear his doubts. Doubts of his high-pitch lady voice belong to a girl or a boy. Seeing that part reminds me of a friend. A friend who recently confessed to me that when he was small, he wondered if he was a boy or a girl. It didn't help that we (my friends and I) often calling him sissy, lady boy...

Naturally, I feel guilty. Guilty that he has this doubt. Guilty that I was part of the bully group. Actions of my past brings this doubts. We had this talk during CNY eve and I was feeling so guilty. I don't remember calling him names but maybe there are a few times in the duration when we're growing up. It was suppose to be a joke or teasing but he suffered from it all. Kept questioning myself, "Why did you join the bully side?" The only reason that I can think off is the fact that the bully group is a popular group. The ones with cool friends.

I learnt that we will always envy the popular groups and wanting to be a part of them that we will do whatever it takes to be in that group. Thou doing what it takes are against the morals and values that are taught to us by parents and teachers. I've see the impact of my actions from the past. I don't have the power to turn back the clock nor do I have power to take back all the teasing. I am condemn to live with this guilt.

Please, let's stop the bullying.

Bullying destroy others as well as ourself.