cong a.k.a jordana site of me and updates (will change soon)

First photography shoot after back from Perth. I am guilty of not completing my Western Australia Travelogue. Last 2 days to go but some local photographic tonic was needed to keep the enthusiasm high. A slight break from W.A photos, HDR was in my agenda for this shoot.

Chong Wu and Audrey were the companions for this trip. Trio again for my photography shoot. Chong Wu led the way to OCH for he had been there before, alone as well! My first visit there was greeted by the huge compound I never expected. I snapped the enclosure keeping in mind with framings done for interior.� Bracketing functions were turned on, tripod was mounted. Not snapping away trigger-happy, I hope my careful selections of viewpoints could put OCH into perspectives. With the injection of HDR processing, beauty could be brought out from what we could only associate dilapidation and eeriness from such uninhabited and forsaken structure. Pictures shall take the stage now.

HDR has always been in experimentation for me. My growing interest was fed from Keyuan when this topic was discussed in depth after our trip from Perth. The limitations of digital photography has no doubt breed this form of processing similar to cross-processing in the film realm. Unless HDR is not being taken for granted with the envelope pushing till it becomes unrealistic, HDR is sure another avenue for aestheticism when digital photography is concerned.

Photos also can be seen at my facebook album.

I know I am kinda late in this. But personally I just thought I shall stand by all in unison for his memorations first as the world was then at grief for this tremendous loss of talent in pop music. Now listening to his ‘Heal the World’, repeatedly, his voice carries with him the compassion and love the lyrics so correctly spelt out. You can never be too uninspired listening.

Humans only cherished what they lost. Towards MJ, we are once again no different. Despite all the negativities he was portrayed by the press, let us forget all the ambiguious comclusions we tend to draw from these reports and remember only the craze he brought to us by his astounding moonwalk. If you feel your goosepimples beginning to tinkle watching his dance steps so excellently-synchronised with the zombies, or the gravity-defying 45 degrees leaning with the mafia, you are not alone. Millions around the world feel the same, and that will continue, as long as he stays in our memories, which I feel time has no say in this matter.

I would not go on too much. I am loss for words to carry on for just his songs playing in my earphone has cause me not thinking. Watching his dancing feats in Youtube just continue getting me mesmerised. Enjoyment of his works would be the best justice to him.

MJ, R.I.P. The world loves you. We miss you.

Day 5 began with the appointment with EuropCar, our can rental company. Scheduled to collect it at 8.30am, we did so at 9am. Having settled all the necessary bills and contracts, we packed our bags into the car trunk and rolled out!

Vincent was the sole appointed driver, as Keyuan being the other authorised driver did not bring his license along. It beats me how we actually managed to find a McDonalds for our breakfast, after setting our destination to Albany. Grabbing a bite was the utmost important thing that moment anyway. Mcdonalds� breakfast was good over there!

Hitting the highway soon was expected after our departure from McDonalds, as we sort of used the same routes in and out of Perth city. The definition of highway, as we soon got to understand, was by no means what we so used to seeing in Singapore. The hilarious thing was the detailed route map Vincent spent AD$7 on was left behind in Lester’s house! So in the GPS we trust.

I am the lucky one. Without driving license, I could sleep at the back. For half an hour maybe, after which I woke up, sensing something not so right. In the past few days of travelling in and out of Perth city, we could easily see clear and concise directions to the highways one could be heading. Looking at the map, we should long be driving comfortably on Albany Highway bringing us straight direct to Albany without all the turns. But we did not see any “Albany” written in the signs at all in our close to an hour of drive. Using the route markers as recognition points, it was amazing and astounding we were heading to the Great Eastern Highway!

Continue we went, we had to look for a turn that could diverge our way down southwards, and not eastwards! Luckily with the availability of the maps and brochures we had, though not precise, we at last managed to hit back to the Great Southern Highway which will ultimately connect to the Albany Highway. So slightly over an hour was lost on road we should not be travelling, the distance to cover seems immensely great at 450km+. And furthermore we targeted to visit some places of Albany before sunset. The projected drive-hours was 5+ hours, the time when we got the bearings right was 11.30am.

It was as if we left Perth only around 11+am, from the distance we still have to cover. The roads we travelled on seemed more straight forward. Great Southern Highway it might be called, it was a single-lane two-directional rather straight road after all. However, what was speeding past us began to take away any disgruntles we were making. The landscapes along Great Southern Highway were a joy to see. Wide meadows, long fences, lonely tree patches, countless sheep/cows/horses gazing with occasional looming mountain ranges under the clear skies. Wallpapers sceneries we too often see, they were there for us to be seen! If not for the rushing schedule, I would be taking some photos by the road side.

Continue we went, the journey was smooth sailing. The whole world seemed to be devoid of humans except us. That was how barren most of the roads and towns were most of the time we passed through. York, Beverley, Brookton, Narrogin, Wagin, Broomehill, Mt Barker etc. These are hardly any destinations tourists would normally chart in their itinerary map, unless they are really globe trekker. But they were important milestones to our journey, serving us with petrol as well as directions to our destination. Having security considerations, we did not spend much time idling in each and every town, except for toilet breaks. Time was not on our side anyway!

We were told the temperature would be colder as we head south. How true. Rain clouds were gathering upon reaching Mt Barker, edging closer to Albany. It was 3.30pm. Seemed like the timing was good. Did I leak out the speed which we were travelling in? Oops, fear not. Well within safety limits, Vincent was one seasoned driver. He would be more so after this trip with the mileage clocked. And as we began to find out, the GPS was hell of an accurate device in detecting our arrival time had the destinations being plotted correctly!

Heading straight to Mt Clarence which oversees Albany from atop, it was 4+pm. Light was diffused as clouds layered in front of the setting sun. Patches of land below were lighted up inconsistently. Presumably that was the golden hour for photography, narrow dynamic range of digital camera proved hard to capture the best out of it. Strong wind allowed the trees so much movement considerations for HDR were not ideal. So we shall left our portraits there instead.

Enough of the chilly wind, we rolled out to the next target, Two People’s Bay. These destinations we went were circled in our list of brochures the night before, heeding the recommendations by a tour pamphlet. Maybe the weather conditions were not met, we were actually rather drown with disappointment. But at least that was quite a South-eastern tip of Western Australia we could boast of going, with the 3 of us, apparently, being the only beings there at the corner of the Earth!

Albany Backpackers was the lodging for that night. Listed in Lonely Planet guide book, we headed there straight without looking for others. The town had gone quiet after 6pm, and we were just so hungry and tired after a full day of road tripping to recce for other accommodations for comparisons. Not a bad sleeping place after all. Comfortable and considerate house rules, the first few criteria for a good rest. Wolfing down the pizzas and kebabs was our dinner ritual for that evening.

Day 6 seemed like the actual tour of Albany. We went right away to Albany wind farm after our breakfast. We knew we had too little time to spare for day 6, for so many places had to be visited with so much distance to cover. A detailed timetable was drawn up the night before to keep track of our progress. That was some serious stuff!

Albany wind farm was not too far from our hostel. Our car was again the only vehicle up there. I swear it was a jaw-dropping moment of admiration in awe the second after we stepped out of our car. The wind turbine was planted, inaccessibly,� just approximately some less than 400 metres away from us! The distant I quote seemed faraway, however, do consider how often we see wind turbines standing majestically from afar, which we could only associate them with toys. Now they are right in front of us and we no longer could view them from above, but panning your head vertically up was needed to be amazed at the modern marvel! Like an aeroplane engine, each swipe of the turbine cutting through the air generated so much resistance that monotonous whirlings of “frooomphs” could only further enchant your stay.

(above: simply awesome! Picturesque.)

The wind farm was an unbearable place to leave. I really love that! But I am grateful that we were able to cover this visit as going on the guided tour would miss this completely. Turning back the route to where we came, it was not long before we reached the Blowhole. A long walk in was tiring, after much morning energy was spent at wind farm, much less with the presence of strong wind resistance. Standing atop the cliffs overlooking the Southern Ocean, it was dangerous, to say the least, after exclaiming it was beautiful. Advancing to the Blowhole needs all the extra care you will need, since a slip could be fatal. The steep drop which was obscured from your view together with thunderous slapping of waves against the rocks, was the worse of a hell you could land in this heavenly view, if you are not careful.

Too bad the Blowhole was not blowing on our visit. It should be, on occasions when currents bring the water spewing out of the rocks opening, like what a whale would do during their gaseous exchange. So we advanced to the nearby Gap and Natural Bridge. Rocks and cliffs again. Spectacular again as well. It would be a Geography blog if I go on to explain. Pretty self explanatory, and to put it simply and shocking, part of what we stood there was a jigsaw piece to another mass in Antarctica. Our mighty beloved Earth was the architect.

Revving up, it would be another long drive to the next destination, the Valley of the Giants. Away from the coast, but not away from the towering structures. Located in between Denmark and Wapole, west of Albany, we stopped over at Denmark, to my delight, for lunch. Initially we wanted to skip Denmark altogether, luckily we did not. I like the presence of cafes peppering around the relaxing region. We had our lunch over at one which was given by Lonely Planet as the best coffee served around there. Satisfying.

Entering into a world akin to the Lord of the Rings, the Valley of Giants houses a tree-top walk amongst the bi-centennial trees around the forested South of Western Australia. AD$8 for the entrance fee, it was a rather quick walk for us. Although we were at the highest point of 40 metres, the trees were still much taller! Do not look down for those scared of heights! Photographing opportunities with the “Tree Ents” were not to be missed back to ground level!

Pemberton was along the way to our venture westward. More magnificent trees could be seen there, as told by Troy. However, after spending too much time looking for the 48km drive-through which promised us of the glorious view, we had to think ahead and scrape the idea. Next 150+km to Augusta was crucial. It was 3.30+pm.

We wanted to go Cape Leeuwin. We had to be there by sunset to see, of course the sunset. By geographical theory, it should be the best so far in this trip for the sight, as it is situated at the South-western tip of a peninsular of the continent, Australia. Looking out is where the 2 oceans, Indian and Southern Oceans meet! A sight to behold, a breath to hold, as the time of arrival shown on the GPS was 5.48pm. Gasp!

After 5.13pm, the car was silent. Music was apparently loud. Vincent was driving a little bit faster. Time of arrival did not show much of an earlier time, 5.46pm. I expected we would miss the “yolk” of the sun completely, thus I could only hope the tinge of emerald and violet, which was harder to come by after sunset, to appear for that few seconds, at least. Sky was getting darker quick, our “yolkset” was viewed inside the car while travelling. With vistas completing the picture at least, it was still an awesome sight to remember.

The GPS was damn accurate! We hated it for that moment. Rushed down to the shore, my camera was already mounted to the tripod. Trigger, shutter, ISO, aperture, bracketing. I hated that inner soul of myself so obsessive of capturing that shot. I regretted not sparing some seconds to partake in the enjoyment of differentiating and viewing the vastness of the 2 Oceans.

Another blessing in disguise was installed, seemingly. As we travelled up north to Margaret River for the night, 30 minutes drive away, the mere 6.37pm was a completely darkness there. Trees were no longer accompanying us in the journey, the stars did. Thousands and millions of stars did! Even the Southern Hemisphere Milky Way did! Part of my lifelong wish was granted.

I might have missed the Oceans, the Milky Way was a pleasant surprise. Not enough of making exposures by the roadside en route to Margaret River, I took some more in the cold outside our hostel, Margaret River YHA, after settling down. The roads were pitch dark, though behind me was the bustling of the house mates. I was not alone; Keyuan joined me soon after. Still, under the Milky Way, I was not alone. My mind was full of people I could thought of. I really wished they were here, you were there, to share the sight with me. It was unexpected of me to see the Southern Hemisphere Milky Way first. I could never able to describe that purest of joy here in this blog.

More photos for Day 5 & 6 are here in my Facebook album.

I am writing this on a Monday. Local time now is 1.16am (GMT +8). So I might be wrong having the title titled Sunday. I might be wrong for what I am about to write as well.

This is written in between my travelogue, for I am quite tired, not so much of the writing, but the sorting of the photos. If only during the photo-taking stage I had taken a constructive measure, I would not have the headache now. Anyway, that is not important. This is just a post of the thoughts rushed in my mind within a day.

The usual morning breakfast on a Sunday with my dad was abit more special. I was trying hard to remember where I was the week before. Obviously I am in Western Australia. Just that I had no idea what day it was during the sunday when I was in W.A. Hope it did not sound too complicated. Anyway, I did not bother to recall deep. Ask anybody when was the last time they could not remember the day and date in any one occasion. My reply was when I am enjoying. So my euphoria was one last sunday, and more of the days before and after I believed. This euphoria was kinda late if I only realised now. But that was one euphoria to realise I once had the euphoria feeling, right? Great morning.

I always feel I am mature in my thinking. Once awhile, I thought not always though. But to put it another way, realising I am immature in some ways of my thinking was some way maturing. Then, seeing how people react to certain outcomings got me to think there are worse people out there in thinking their thinking has some form of maturity when they are not. Words are free expression, but they are not free of consequences. Wrong choices of usage got the author stripped of any initial, and partial, as we humans tend to reserve, impression. Tactful is the key. I might as well forget all these poor choices of words, but I in no way deserved them, all the more if I want to help through my words. There is no difference with spoken or written words.

A Chinese saying goes with “blaming the heaven, blaming the people”, which obviously is not the way teachings advocate. And I will always remember my RSM, (Regimental Sergeant Major) once said, “Don’t always think you had done the best, when in the eyes of others you had done just enough”. I am still short-sighted in terms of seeing the world out there. As far as I could admit that, I am always proud, for there are people pathetically supposed they are being owed a living, an explanation, or assistance. The world is huge. Thus I advocate travelling as it really does broaden the horizon. I will talk more at the end of my travelogue with this.

At some point during afternoon, I felt the real exhaustion as I edit my photos. I have to give the benefit of doubt to myself. I know very well it was a Sunday afternoon. That ticks. My true holidays of losing count of days had ended. Reality check. My school would not start until mid August. From now till then I would not lose count of days.

Take it easy.

Day 3 was the beginning of the 2 guided tours we pre-booked online from Planet Tours. The 1st was a day of travelling up north to the Pinnacle Desert, Cervantes area, Caversham Wildlife Park, together with some fun of sand-boarding and 4WD thrill rides around the sand dunes. 2nd was 3 days tour of down the South-western region, visiting the likes of Albany, Augusta, Denmark, Wapole, Margaret River and Busselton etc. This 2 trips allowed the fees to be paid at a combo rate of AD$551. Paid fully upfront via credit card, these 4 days were the highlights of this tour down Western Australia. And so we thought.

That morning itself was drizzling already. Bad start, bad omen. It was directed to us through email that we should be waiting near All Seasons Perth Hotel, which was located just the corner off our hostel. Timing confirmed was 6.50am. The wait became unbearable, for the rain brought the chilling wind as well. However, the main concern was the bus to pick us up was nowhere to be seen. 7am, we had to split up stationing at some distances away from each other in order to catch sight of any bus. Keyuan had to call the agency, something they should be doing instead, to make sure we did not miss the bus. 7.15am, a huge posh coach with digital signage showing “Pinnacle Tours” arrived. There it was. Confirmation with the driver the was swift, but news from Keyuan came a bad reply from the agency.

Anyway, the trip for that day had no effect from what was a let down from Planet Tours. Just that they told Keyuan the timing for pick up should be 7.10am. Darn! A notification should have been feedback to us the day before when Keyuan made the 1st call to them at AQWA for a confirmation of the tours! A 2nd period of waiting was when our coach met up with 2 more coaches near the city centre, reshuffling the groups of tourists between them. Dozing off inside the coach was just too natural for me.

First stop was the the Caversham Wildlife Park, where we would see native animals of Australia, kangaroos, koalas and wombat. Seeds were given to us from the park trainer to feed the kangaroos. Food was a real draw for them. Without food, it would hard to be taking pictures together with them. But they do look amusing close up! So cute!

Next was the wombat. Looks like a wild boar to me in some ways, the interaction with it was only taking photos together. So for wombat, and the trainer carrying it, it was a morning of being a star!

Lastly, koalas were the limelight stealers. However, they did not bother at all. Because all were sleeping! So many of us travelled from other continents just to see them yet they faced us with their backs! Ha. Anyway, some were huge. Touching them would not wake them up, for they were so deep in their “drunken state”. Well, how precious was that touch.

So the meeting of the native animals only lasted 45 minutes. The next 2+ hours drive was to the Pinnacle Desert which included a stop by a coast. A 1 hour break by a tavern at Cervantes was where we had our lunch, comprises of hams, bread, salads, potatoes and fruits. Meanwhile, a call had to be made to Planet Tours again for a confirmation of the 3 days Southern Curl the next day. The public phone just had no dial tone. Just do not allow the worse to happen, I hoped.

Another 45 minutes drive from our lunch destination finally reach the awaited Pinnacle Desert! The weather had been so unpredictable along the journey after our Caversham Wildlife Park that I had lost count of the number of times we encountered storms. Like the rain, sunshine comes as quickly as it goes away. However, chalked up the chart of luckiness, we scored again. Superb blue skies with fantastic cloud formations followed after a slight drizzle. We moved the slowest, hence we were the last in the group, as they were leaded upfront to the high point. You can see why from the pictures. Can you see any others in our frames?

Another 1+ hours drive brought us near Lancelin. Sand boarding and 4WD thrill were the last of the activities for the day. Clouds had already gathered with rain looking impending. Split into 2 groups amongst ourselves, we started with sand boarding. Fun was going down, not so fun heading up, with feet sunken in sands up the elevation. 3 tries were enough of timing for the groups to swap activities. Seated at the last row of the 4WD minibus, the excitement was top draw. Braking midway down the dunes was simply exhilarating, and only until the wheels rolled again suddenly completes the adrenaline rush. A chance was given for us to alight and take pictures of the bus hanging. I sought the thrills.

Keyuan brought us bad news after a confirmation call was made to Planet Tours immediately we alighted from the coach at the end of the day. The 3 days Sothern Curl was cancelled, due to reasons being 3 of us were the only 3 in the package for that day. How nice of them to tell us by way of us calling them, again! And we thought they confirmed the tour was ongoing the very first time we called! With alternatives already being thought mid-way through the day, we had to finalise them. Contingencies included extension of return flights as they “promised” of the tour the coming Monday. However, they promised us once, didn’t they?

Day 4 began with Keyuan calling the agency yet again. However, the long wait over the phone was the ultimatum we can give as customers. Next interaction with them would be discussions over the refund. Period.

With that, there goes the plan of extending the flights. Might as well, since extending it will have to pay another hundred over dollars. Bags packed, stomach filled, we checked out of our hostel, trying our luck in other tour agencies around Perth city hopefully to find one that offers 2 days tours down the South-west. In the end, we only just found 1 agency out of the 3 I highlighted in our Lonely Planet guidebook. That was the Western Australia Visitor Centre. That visit changed our course of the trip.� The adventure was heightened. The risk had risen. Our excitements could not be hidden.

A talk to the friendly holiday consultant, Troy, had us decided to take up his recommendation, self-driving down the South-west! Although he only suggested us to drive till Margaret River Region, deep down we knew Albany would be the furthest point we would venture. With his assistance to booking of our Hyundai Accent 1.6 Auto car and 2 nights accommodations at Margaret River, we were back on track, back to the Southern Curl itinerary, this time on our own!

With gears fully loaded strapped to our backs, we headed to Lester and Baoqi’s apartment. The initial 1-night home stay over there had to be brought forward as the car could only be collected the next day. So the original plan of touring Fremantle was re-scheduled earlier as well. Travel-light, it made sense to put down our baggage at our to-be-tour guides’ house.

Burden eased, we took our time to travel to Fremantle, along the way discussing and hearing advices from them for our coming 3 days self-drive adventure. Another day of fine weather, we had a rather late lunch at Cicerello, supposedly the famous place for Fish and Chips. The serving was huge! Expected, the fries were too overwhelming and we had to pack them back. It would be another serving for dinner.

Walking around Fremantle after lunch was really carefree. The streets were bustling yet unconstraint to the fast pace of life we Singaporeans commonly see. Parks and spaces were aplenty. You never feel too tiny by high rises over there, but by the amount of spaces around. These differences were such that even monuments or sculptures seemed to feel welcome in space we could find obstructive here locally. A tourist 1st impression maybe.

We visited a market similar to our Bugis Str eet, albeit less cramp. Bought a honey over there to sooth my throat, as well as boomerangs which we can play indoors. Vincent bought 1 additional one which was to play outdoor. Could not fight the excitement, he opened up and played in the park where we came from our lunch. Only the 3rd throw, never mind it did not turned back in all tries, the striking yellow boomerang swerved slightly to the left and caught up the crown of a tall tree. A second of silence, then “oohhs”, then laughters. AD$4 a throw. It was amazing how hard it was to find stones there!

We only got that much time spare to throw stones up the trees. Sun was setting fast. Fremantle was deemed to be beautiful place for sunset, according to Lester and Baoqi. Hurried to the coast, the last available sun ray for the day shining through the gaping clouds already forming was the best we could see for the day. Pity it might be, that day was an eventful and memorable one for me. Missing a sunset should not be taken as loss. You will try harder to pursue the next one. It happens just the next day!

The sky had darkened. Fremantle was then a quiet town. Dusk was a great timing for some photography tricks. While we proceeded to the Maritime Museum to take some long exposures, it was also timely venue to satisfy some of our insatiable photographic cravings.

Heading back home, we are grateful for Lester and Baoqi’s hospitality in allowing us in for the night. The dinner they prepared was the icing of the cake. It was a night of Singaporean flavour in a warm enclosure. The entertainment that night was of course the boomerang, since it could be played indoor!

More photos for Day 3 & 4 are here in my Facebook album.

If food prices had prepared us for the coming expenditure, the taxi trip from the airport to our hostel would be the ultimate adrenaline rush of reminder to our wallets’ sizings. Heading to the exit of the airport was already a 50-cent increment. After that the meter was jumping like a taxi in Singapore driven to the speed of F1. Should not have wasted my money on “Mother” or Nescafe, this lightning speed regularities was enough to drive me awake for the heart irregularities it caused. Total spending in the taxi was a hefty AD$37! But considering the amount of time saved from taking the airport-city shuttle, the mere AD$2 difference turned out to be well worth as we can recuperate inside the warm beds for the coming Rottnest Island trip.

Just less than a minute stepping out of our hostel, the mini bus to Rottnest Island arrived at 7am SHARP, picking us up as promised. Weather reports had been unfavourable for the day, with dark clouds reported to be looming with occasional showers. Despite snorkeling being part of the package we booked, the decision to go into the water had been in contemplation even before we boarded the plane. Our shivering in the early morning streets was against the idea. Yet the lovely sunshine peeking past the delightful clouds gave us as much hope of turning against the weather forecast as to the idea of dipping into the water. It was a unanimous vote of leaving to the afternoon weather should snorkeling be continued, since the scraping of the snorkeling would not make the fees any lesser.

Another 45 minutes were used to catch 40 winks in the ferry before we shiver again. Beating the wind, we cycled to the appointed cafe to use our breakfast voucher that came in the package. Sweet food. Very sweet for a breakfast. Topped with a scoop of ice cream as well. Dumbfounded. The warm coffee was a welcome treat though.

Rottnest Island was not a Sentosa afterall. Apologies for any comparison, but that was my initial impression before I set foot on the island. Man-made features were less seen the more we cycled in. Even with the appearance of lighthouse and wind farm in our frames, it was more of a case of harmonising with the nature in utilisation than creation of any aesthetic via human architectural constructions.

The weather was terrific! Probably the earlier forecast missed this island entirely. The coastlines were awesome. The view from atop was splendid. The cliffs and hills were breathtaking. These adjectives would be repeated in the coming days. Pictures will say the thousand words for now.

Taken with my repaired, 6-year-old, trustworthy Sony W1 digicompact, it lasted as long as it could for that day. My DSLR was left in hostel for the chance we could be snorkeling.

By lunchtime, we almost covered the whole of the island on 2 wheels. Going back to where we started was another hunger torture. Not only were the roads hilly, the chilly wind resistance cut our efficiencies as well as dehydrating us. The included lunch in our package was worthwhile though. AD$15-AD$18+ course of meals to choose from for each of us. Chips would always be inside the course, so heatiness was already building up inside me.

It was really cold after our meals. We were too sleazy to complete the last fraction of the cycling routes. So the afternoon was spent walking around the visitors regions with markets, souvenirs shops, museums etc being our destinations. Pardon us for that since the night before was practically sleepless. 4.30pm was when our ferry departed for Perth.

When the cold wind blows, we missed our homeland food. Piping hot kuay teow soup was the sheer delight for my evening. Never mind the AD$10 price tag. A thorough-bred Asian, just a day eating westernised food had me crying out for rice and noodles. I seek your understanding.

Day 2 was a day of Own Time Own Target (OTOT) self exploration at Perth region. Of course destinations had been plotted in advance. It was also a day of meeting Keyuan’s friend, Lester, as well as my friend, Baoqi. Both of them are currently studying there in University of Western Australia in Architecture. With such coincidence, a meet up was imminent!

Lester and Baoqi were our tour guides to Harbour Town for some shopping. Scheduled only at 2pm, we set off early in the morning touring Perth CBD in CAT bus, as a result. It was a free service shuttling around Perth City. How nice! Swan River and King’s Park were our original destinations, the morning rain just ruined that. Going ahead with plan, we followed the direction printed on its brochure to Aquarium Western Australia, AQWA.

Taking the train for the first time in Perth was an amazing experience, with some embarrassment. They do have a kind of system similar to our Ez-Link. So as tourists, we instead will buy those day trip tickets. At AD$8.80, that ticket allows one, or more depends on types selected, to travel around and within Perth in unlimited trips for that day. That privilege extends to the bus services operated under the same company as the train, which really became the only transportation fee you could be paying for the broad networks they operate.

The train waiting time might be long, but the system of their stopping patterns would not result you in running late actually. They got a few train trips, that only stopped at major busy stations, slotted in between regular train trips, which I thought that was an efficient and productive move. For the embarrassment, we waited for the train door to open which it did not. In Perth, train doors are to be manually pre-pressed for them to open. Well, taking things for granted in Singapore probably.

AQWA was quite near to the place we departed for Rottnest Island the day before, close to Hillary Harbour. Sky had turned great prior to our arrival. That made the mood cheerier for AQWA was one anticipated stop for this trip. At a concession price of AD$19.50, it promised to allow you to view through the aquatic animals within the Australian Coastline in a day. As I have not been to Underwater World in Sentosa, so to me the trip there was fine ultimately. My D80 was a poor contender in noise control, so upping the ISO to capture the surrealistic beauty presented in the aquarium was not in favour for the results would be grainy. Some examples shown are courtesy of Keyuan’s Finepix F200 EXR.

Lunch was fantastic. Because Lester brought us to a Chinese restaurant for dim sum! With a Cantonese flavour, I felt so much closer to home, especially meeting up with local friends abroad.

What would be a holiday without some shopping spree?! We went Harbour Town near City West Station where we shopped around shops of sports and casual brandings with wholesale prices. So you would expect to see “factory outlets” being the common shop names. I did not take many pictures as well. How could I when I am busy shopping? Anyway, it was just window shopping in the end.

Our dinner was Hungry Jacks. Make no mistakes, it was no much different from Burger King. Even the logo. Day 2 seemed short, for we gonna have a long day ahead the next day. Evening was spent at our friends’ apartment, as it would be a night of home stay scheduled in the coming days.

More photos for Day 1 & 2 are here in my Facebook album.

I was fumbling for my wallet already in the cab. Things were not looking so rosy for the beginning of a holiday trip. Called back and checked, but mum said it was not at home. Then found it lying below the seat of the cab. Well, just let that be the last of those scary moments for the rest of the 8 days, I thought.

Maybe it did end there. Because I saw rainbow from inside the plane. A good sign. Call me “bandang” (superstitious in local slang), I am Cantonese anyway! Nonetheless, it was a big, full circular one. Maybe it is common to see that in planes, but it was my first time seeing that.What was not my first sighting out from the plane was the night lightings of the cities. I had reminiscences of landing in Hanoi! That is the similarity between this 2 great cities. Unlike Singapore being flooded with lights from above, Western Australia (W.A) is untypical of what you would expect from a developed country. Well, the stats of having just over 2 millions in population within a state already bigger than some of European countries means I will get more surprises out of this city/state in the coming days.

Rainbow on the left

Rainbow on the right

Arriving close to midnight at Perth International Airport was a hunger torture. We were looking for filling meals for dinner, only to find confectioneries as the only food source. Sweet stuffs are not exactly my likings, especially it was meant to be dinner. Worse, at that hour. So it was AD$6 for a pie, AD$3.50 for a coke! Tell me how much food I can get here in Singapore with that amount! Perfect introduction to Australia standard of living.

Anyway, with me were my poly buddies, Keyuan and Vincent. This trip was initiated in February when I happen to see the return trip to Perth by Jetstar was only S$220! What a steal! So for the next 5 months, extensive research and bookings were made to allow the sharing of another expensive chocolate muffin with Tanqueray Gin at 12.30am in Perth International Airport a reality.

Trip Fellas (from left to right: Vincent, Keyuan, Me)

"Mother" of all Energy

Arrangements were made so we can check in at 6am to our hostel accommodation we booked. That prior night was designated at the airport. I blamed my hunger for my insomnia in the plane. I had to blame the chair (or my chronic slip disc) for another insomnia at the airport “lodging”. Caffeine introduction had to be sought. Coke, “Mother” and Nescafe. All for the coming Rottnest Island adventure.

The reading for coming days to come soon!

I will be leaving for Singapore Changi Airport to Perth for 8 days in 5 minutes time! This is what I called true holidays!

Will update if there’s any chance of internet usage along the tour. For now, bye!

Blogs will come fast and furious now, before I left for Perth for 8 days without my Mac. But one thing I really hope for is to have a nice and enjoyable trip. Things have been going bad in some ways or another.

Setting up of PC took me a week in total. Troubleshooting the hardware problems was time-wasting. I do not wish to push any blame to the Biostar board I bought. I thought it was a great budget board with such capabilities. Many people were complaining about unstable unlocked version of the CPU as well. To me, it seems OK altogether. All in all, the main problem I see is the integrated graphics card driver which is causing all the trouble. More days have passed, and errors are seen less frequent. Good. Keep it that way. If not, then I have to expect the worse scenarios to happen.

In the process of clearing my table and TV cabinet for the HTPC to be installed, the junks accumulated were horrendous. What was more horrifying was my Mum mixed my actual pile of thrash (they seemed useful to her), with my useful stuffs, despite me categorising them (probably in a thrashy manner). I should not have ask her to help out. That fatal move involved the act of acknowledging my student transportation card, Ez-Link, as part of those “my junks”, or her “useful stuffs”. What happened next should be easy to guess. With most of what I deemed as junks being in the bag, I did not bother to look through much and finally, there goes my Ez-Link card.� $18 replacement card fees has to be factored into my next expenditure. If not, then I have to expect the worse scenarios to happen.

3rd July was another important date, registration of my modules for next semester. I spent so much time planning my timetable in order to fully utilise the days to minimise my days. Sounds complicated? In short, my aim is to go to school in as few days as possible by planning as much subject modules as possible within a day. A travelling time of close to 2 hours one way is no joke. Not only is it time consuming, but also unproductive.

Anyway, I did not get the time slots I craved. Totally. All screwed up. I admit I sux in these kind of administrative procedures for academic matters. I did not know the “fastest finger first” (first come first served) policy still applies, after the whole procedure of modules registration was given a facelift. And too, I did not know that the particular date was only registration for Core modules, and not electives. Still,� a thanks to Audrey, my classmate, for reminding me of the registration timing.

So, since the timings were not as planned, instead of having 4 days now, most of which are long days, I shall make it a full week of school with shorter days in most days. That is provided I managed to get the electives slots I want. If not, then I have to expect the worse scenarios to happen.

UPDATE: I found my Ez-Link card! It’s in my jeans pocket! I wronged my mum.

It has been so long since I last blogged. Why? I am intoxicated.

I am a Mac through and through. Although that’s what I always thought. But there’s always a reason for PC to have the lion share in the computer market. Games and wide software availabilty aside, customisation is another factor of fascination to the fans at the PC camp.

Anyway, my old PC lying at home is really old. 15″ LCD Monitor is 8 years old now, but still going strong and components are mainly 3 years younger. Booting up can take close to 5 minutes. Surfing internet can never be more frustrating.

So, with the holidays still left with some days before leaving for Perth, re-rigging (in geeks term) the PC seems feasible. It will also be a good chance to upgrade it with some HD-capability since I intend to make it a Home Theatre PC (HTPC).

With budget kept to as low as possible, choosing the components for best bang for values is top priority. Shopping from Newegg.com for RAMs and Blu-ray ROM was the biggest saver, despite the heavy shipping fees. Most of the other essentials, except Hard disks which I recycled from the current PC, were bought from Sim Lim Square.

At a little over $600, the whole PC was revamped. Blu ray can now be played, RAMs are blazing, casing is sleek. What the best part was for the price of a duo core AMD processor,Phenom II X2 550BE, it became a quad core one, through unlocking the disabled cores. Some risks have to be taken, and so far so good.

From shopping and reviewing of parts, to buying, and finally installing all the components, it was exciting and self-satisfying. So much time were spent on all the different processing, I simply just got hooked. All these tech gadgets, to most guys, are toys. We just love to fiddle around with all these indulgences, if and when time and some budget permits! If not for my Perth trip edging closer, I will spend some more time making the playing of my Blu-ray more friendly!