Of Food, Fun, and Friends

Right after what was arguably the most depressing paper that i've ever taken in my life, i left for home, went right into my room, plunged into my bed and stared blank at the ceiling. I dread to think of what i've done for the paper, and so decided once and for all that i wouldn't think about it anymore, ever. That evening, i went to the city for dinner with a few friends. It was good fun, but then even though i've tried to not think about the paper, i couldn't help but feel depressed. I was even beginning to doubt of the trip that i am supposed to go on the next day. It was not until about 12 that i went to bed, with plenty of dreadful thoughts lingering in my mind. We(me and the missus) took the 9am flight on the following morning. Things went smooth, we boarded the plane, we flew, and we landed. Daniel picked us up from the airport and we went straight to Ethan's workplace to wait for him. Adelaide gave us a warm welcome in the sky.



I felt special.

Anyway, for the one week plus that we were in Adelaide, Ethan kindly took us in, even slept on the floor to make way for me and the missus on his bed. Where else can you find such a friend? Only in Penang :P Apart from providing us with shelter, he took us around, bringing us to famous places as well as trying out the better places to eat in Adelaide. Daniel was our other guide, alternating with Ethan when he is required to work. Over the first few days of our trip, we went to Port Adelaide to visit its market and went on its dolphin cruise,



Glenelg to have a look see,



Mount Lofty for its view of Adelaide,



Hahndorf the German Village for its German food,



a tour around my sister and all my close friends' university, Adelaide University,



and tried out different types of food, of which my favourite is Mexican at Montezuma's,



this weird duck meat pizza at Good Life,



and this absolutely fantastic pancake called I.T at Old Pancake House,



Entering the second week of the trip, we rented an estima and drove down to Melbourne. We wanted to pass by the famous Great Ocean Road on our way down so we drove along the coast, taking the longer route estimated to take about 12 hours instead of the short inland one which would have taken 9. It rained intermittently throughout the journey, and unfortunately, it poured when we actually reached Port Campbell where the 12 apostles are located. It was dark, it was raining, it was cold, it was miserable. All the effort, wasted. I couldn't even get a decent photo.



Since our plan was ruined by the weather, we decided to cut straight back onto the inland highway to shorten the journey. It was the first time i felt car sick as the interior of the car was stuffy, the road was winding, and the fact that knowing Ethan was pedal to the metal even though being surrounded by fog. I tried to sleep while having the separated air conditioning system saving my life by providing me with fresh air. We reached Melbourne at around 9, after a whopping 15 hours drive. Moral of the story? Work hard, earn more money, fly to your destinations rather than drive :P



In Melbourne, we put up at Beng Seong's place, all 7 of us squeezing in his living room with the missus getting the couch and the rest of us the floor. Nothing much was done in Melbourne since there wasn't any particularly famous sights to be seen, just a lot of shopping at different places. What i loved most was the Direct Factory Outlet (DFO) warehouses, places where labels like ralph lauren, tommy hilfiger, french connection, and a whole lot more set up outlets selling their items at rejects prices. We went to a few of those, and surprisingly to me those were the best that Melbourne has to offer. We also made trips down to Little Collins, Bourke Street, Chapel Street, QV, and many other streets known for shopping.









We also made a few trips down to Crown since its just across the road from where we were staying, but the trips weren't to donate money, they were just for food.



After 4 days in Melbourne, we headed back to Adelaide. We packed at night, and reluctantly left in the afternoon after having dim sum lunch with the guys. After we reached Perth and was fetched to the missus' place by my housemate Casey, the sight of my car with a fresh coat of paint over its injured panels welcomed me. Ahhhhh home :)

I have to thank the missus for taking time off making money to go on the trip with me, plus doing the wife chore of packing the bags, keeping the heavy camera in her bag which made her gain like 2243 extra muscle strands, as well as putting up with me conversing in hokkien with my friends. Lots of love baby :D



The other person that made this trip possible was Ethan, the best friend one could ever ask for for providing us with shelter, ferried us around in his car, bringing us to places that we wouldn't have known of, and of course, keeping us company.



Then there is Daniel, another great friend that kept me laughing all the way, taking us around town when Ethan is occupied with work, as well as sharing the blanket with me in Melbourne. It was kinda gay, but who cares? I still love you XD



The missus and I would also like to thank Yee Shyang for putting us on the guest list for Distil, the first bar that the missus has ever gone to, and for suggesting Irish pub, the first pub that the missus has gone to, as well as F4, again the first bloody damn club that the missus has ever gone to :P And thanks for acting like my girlfriend because when i am harassed by homosexuals, i can point them to you.



Finally, TJ, appreciate it that you purposely came down to Australia so that our group can be complete again. I still have the picture of you pissing by the road, you can get it from me any time you want.



Looking forward to whence the group will meet up again :)