Arugono's Thoughts

IAN'S TRIP TO AUSSIE LAND!!!!!!

Mood: Happy
Music: Bloody Cold by James Blunt

The longest description blog ever written by myself about myself. For all the mountain tortoise/turtles who didnt know, I was in Melbourne for 8 days.

DAY 0 (the 0 looks like an o!!!!!): I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane, I be Back on the 13th

The day started like any other weekday in my life. Wake up, rush to work and talk with work mates during break times. The difference was I was going to leave office at 3pm and go home. I reached home at 1530 so began my pre-flight preparations: bathe, change, check luggage and pack my carry-ons. Felt very weird to wear like 2 layers of clothes in Singapore but it would be a good decision later when the plane landed. As i prepped my last stuff, Chris mum called from Melbourne to give last min instructions. Well, nothing new but never hurts to listen again.

At the airport, my parents sent me off and bought some Begawan Solo cakes for me because they felt I could not eat such good stuff in Melbourne. Of course being seasoned travellers, they were right. As i entered the gates, I thought of the fun I was gonna have and the independence i needed for the trip. The first independant decision I made was to buy a book to read on the boring plane ride. I ended up buying Hardship Posting by Stu Lloyd. I would have preferred Final Notes from a Great Island by Neil Humphreys but I wont be out till next week. Wondered around Changi Airport since i dun go into the departure centre often. ( I hate sitting in airplanes and I prefer to find entertain in Singapore.) Called my mei Wan Ting and Selene to say bye and went into the departure lounge. The main reason i went in early was that the lounge tv was showing England vs Portugal replay. Saw the famous Rooney (Looney) stomp on you know who (if you dun then your not a soccer fan) and the Cris Ron act. Well, the gate finally opened and I went into the plane.

My firs reaction to the plane was: Man, Quantas has been using this layout since I was 7 (14 years ago). Its a giant screen in the middle of the cabin for all to enjoy. The audio output hs only 1 video station and like 5 radio stations. In other words: Boring...... Read my book and had the meal before landing in Denpasar, Bali. What kind of place is a Den and a Market?????? Well, it was dubious but i survived to get back into the plane and off we were. This time i ate my meal then KOed till we landed in Melbourne.

DAY 1: Welcome to Melbourne

It was a welcome sight as I was seating next to a native Aussie who was large and I hate the crampness of planes and the bad air. Being a NOOB!!!!, i wondered around looking for the customs counters and found them in good time. Then came the weirdest thing, the customs officer couldnt scna my passport!!!!! I was told to go to another booth to get it scanned. The guy there was tried like 10 times and couldnt get done. After scanning many other passports, his collegue got fed up and scanned my passport successfully on the first try. OMG!!!!!

I then went on my merry way to collect my suitcase and proceed to the declaration aisle to show them my Singapore-made Cafe 21. Got out, went to the bus stop and took the 15 AUS to spencer street where my best friend Chris was waiting. Finally, away from the immigration thieves and with friends. We took a train which was 10 AUS to Boxhill his suburb.

A little note about the tickets in Australia is that they are dailies so you pay 10 bucks in the morn the ticket lasts you till the next day. While a weekly lasts 7 days costs 45+ bucks. Do the math.

Now that I arrived at my accommodation aka Chris' place after his mum fetched me and him to their place. I unpacked my stuff at went back out into the 15 degree C weather to explore Melbourne.

Chris and I were fetched once again by his kind mum to Melbourne city where we went to Myers. I thought of getting some clothes there but the prices were ex and the designs not suitable.

The next stop was random exploration of Melbourne city while me and Chris updated our common database. In other words, me and Chris were chatting about life. Stuff in Australia is more ex than sg not factoring in the exchange rate.

Our lunch decision was to go to Crown for buffet. Food wasnt fantastic but at least it was filling. The mustard was quite a surprise. Ended up coughing and scaring the neighbouring tables.

Went ard crown complex looking for souveniurs and made some bets. After which we took a detour to the aquarium to see the prices and then went back via train. the both of us nearly fell asleep in the train as we were both very tired.

We walked back to his place since we were too tired to sit at a bus stop and wait for the bus. You know, wait for the bus and then fall asleep and wake up a few hours later.... Yeah, that kind of tired. Anyway, we went back to his place. worked out our sleeping arrangements then slept. The time we went to sleep was 6pm.....

Day 2: Meet my friends!

I awoke the next morning at 8am. Yes i slept for 14 hours. I was that tired. Chris too but then again thats his normal sleeping duration. Woke up, had cereal i think.... too tired to remember what i was stuffing into my mouth.

Anyway, me and my best fren took a bus to Chadstone ( pronounced Chad's tun). For a moment it look like we were going to Chaos tone!!!!!

Walked around Melbourne's largest shopping mall which is 2 storeys high and filled with ex shops and ex food places. Me and Chris went to play in the arcade. I didnt play the games well so got less coupons though the PK game was very dubious. The GK was impossible to score against. Well..... money wasted.....

Being cheap and simple, we went to coles to buy canned food and muffins plus a 2.25 litre of drink. Total was 10 bucks or 5 bucks per person. The drink cost 1 buck!!!!! 2litres for a dollar. Thats cheap.

After which, we went around looking for computer games and check out prices. On our way to the bus stop we saw a couple of cute ABC chicks. Really sweet gals in uniform. Of course, me and Chris looked and then went on our business mainly going to Monash to see it. Chau showed me around the school and boy was it fun (and cold).

After wondering around Monash for half an hour +++, we blunder our way to the hostels. There we waited for a guy called Chris. Yip, Chris or should I say Chris Yip. This guy is Chau's JC classmate and rather funny fellow. Funny as in hahaha not weird. Fine, he got a gf after 10 days in Australia, no real biggie. HAHAHA!!!!!

Back to the wait..... We wait for alomst fifteen minutes before Yip and his gf appeared and we were on our merry way. Yip brought his stay over stuff with him and Chau had to call home and tell his mum about the extra person. Fortunately, Chau's bro was out of the house on a church camp and Yip could sleep over.

We took a bus to the nearest train station and then a train to flinders street to meet Chau's local frens: the Aussie-born Chinese. Anyway, we were very late but hey it was a educational. So, now me, Chris, Chris and Min Chee (hope i spelt it right) went around Chinatown looking for some guy called Gary. We found him and proceeded to dinner at some weird resturant called Red Silk. Ordered a Hokkien Mee with Satay Sauce. What i got was SFI food made with the finest ingredients and a 10 Aussie price. Nice but could be better and cheaper. Anyway, Chau introduced me to his friends: Darryl, Zoe and Gary. We had a great meal though it was very expensive and not very worth it.

After dinner, the six of us (Yip's gf went to catch a movie or something) went to play pool at some pool area. We had fun though I couldnt really play very well. Chris' luck got bad and I was joking that if he lost to me in a game, it would be a sign that he was jinxed that night. Thankfully for his morale, he didnt take that offer. Would have been a very tense situation. HAHAHA. Kidding Chau!

After our pool game, we went to Flinders Street via tram. Got onto the train and then went to Chris' place. On the way, we met Gary who took the train from the nearby train station which was 5 mins walk from the pool place. So i was quite lame for me and the Chrises to take a tram to Flinders. Well, at least we had weeklies. HAAHAHA

Upon reaching Chris' place, we settled down to play Warcraft and DOTA. Okay, they did. I hit the sack immediately. It seems Chris' com needed a reformat and thats what they did while I was sleeping.

Day 4: Victoria Market, Freezing, Lost and Germany

(If you are wonder what happened to day 3, just say it didnt really exist) :)

Me and the boys woke up at 3 am to watch the Germany vs Portugal Match. I was so bored of the first half that i fell asleep. I woke up in time for the 2nd and more exciting half. Bastien scored three goals and Figo assisted 1. The funny thing is Petit spoilt one of the goals by being in the way.
HAHAHA!!!!

Chris Yip slept through the whole match and missed all the action. He of course didnt follow soccer so was okay for him to miss the match.

Then we slept till 12 noon. Ate lunch and went to Victoria Market. Due to bad timing and really screwy stuff, most of the shops were closed so didnt really do much.

We walked around Vic Mart and saw a sports shop but it was closing so didnt buy much. We then went into a fish/reptile shop. Inside we saw many cool fish and reptiles. Pity the fishes were super expensive, like 5-10 times sg prices. The snakes were cool especially the rock pythin. The fighting fish looked dead and the oscar was very nice. HAHA! Miss my aquarium!

After the animal show, we wondered aimlessly around Melbourne City. Actually we did but Chris Chau keep getting lost. In the end, we arrived at Princess Park, famous place for sunday afternoon games and general socialising. Being almost dark, we decided to go back to Lygon Street on foot. That was a bad idea as we had to pass by a cemetery.

We survived the walk (duh!) and ended up at a five way junction with a vague sign pointing at 2 roads as Lygon Street. Yip called his girlfriend ask which street to take but got the answer south. The retort he used was funny but I wil not repeat it here. Thankfully, I had a compass and we went south to Starbucks to get a warm mug of coffee while waiting for Yip's girlfriend and her friends.

When they arrived, I would say I was quite shocked. I'd seen Yip's girlfriend before but her friend Li Yan looked a lot like my ex-classmate Airine. cute and spoke English with a fascinating Asian accent. HAHA!!!!! Anway, they came with this guy called Wong. I dunno what Wong or Wong what but they calll him Wong.

The next stop was some dubious Malaysian resturant owned by a Singaporean. The food was okay, the company was priceless so it was worth it.

We had to send Wong and Li Yan back to International House or something like that so we did. The irony was that the placewas opoosite Princess Park. Talk about coincidence! There we chatted about WOW (which i dun play), Singapore and general crap.

Some guy called Bowen appeared out of nowhere and started to join in the conversation. He then proceeded to be a clown and try some stunt which won the intital reaction of me, Yip and Chau as diving. (yeah too much soccer, too little rest, hahaha). Then he was lying on the ground, Wong wanted to 'jack' (whatever that meant) Bowen or said he was in a good postion. Whatever it was, we were so caught up with the action that we missed the bus and had to walk to Melbourne Central Station.

I carried Yip's bag and Chris led. Good news was Chau knew the way and we arrived at the Station before the next tram. We said good bye to Yip and Min Chee then went in search of a toilet. It was hidden in the platform at some dubious corner but was cleaner than some I've seen in Singapore.

We took the train back to Boxhill and walked back to Chris; place. Cant reall recall what happened but I think we hit the sack quickly as there was the World Cup Finals the next day.

Day 5: Boxhill

Then the comedy of error ensued. I set my alarm clock wrongly and woke up after the first goal. I dozed off and woke up in time to see the second goal. Then slept through the res of the match including the Zidane Matezerreti incident. Italy won on penalties as Trezegol failed to score.

Went back to sleep and woke up later to go explore Boxhill. We took a bus to Boxhill Central. Shopped around the area for prezzies for my friends and stuff. It was there i spent almost 150 bucks on candy, soft toys and oother stuff. Lunch was a huge bowl of beef noodles which was high in beef. About 10 Sing but quite worth the cash.


We explored Boxhill Central for the afternoon, seeing lotsa cool stuff like earrings for Sel, candies, bizarre signs, etc....

The trip back was uneventful and we dropped our stuff off at his place before going to the nearby field for a bit of soccer.

We re-enacted the WC finals which France/Chris won because the last penalty shot was shot in the dark so I couldnt save it. Anyway, we went back for dinner and then hit the sack as we were tired.

Day 6: Return of the Queen.

The day started like always.... I wake Chris up and Chris takes 45mins-1 hour to do so. The difference is tha he has to go pick up his princess from Spencer Street. So we took the bus to Boxhill and then the train to Southern Cross Station just in time to pick up Selene from the big red bus called Skybus. After the inital hellos and how ya beens, we took the train and then bus to Vic Mart. The main reason was to find some fun stuff to buy after Sunday's fiasco.

The first stop was the famous German sausage shop where the sausages are nicer. Well, they were. And the mustard wasnt so spicy.

We walked around, bought nothing except a boomerang, a teddy bear and a name tag. On the way, we met Jaime, Chris Yeo and a host of ex-SJI guys our age. The funny thing was that they were on Holiday too!!!! What a coincidence!

Then we adjourned to Macs for a McOz and a rest. There Sel wanted to buy a cappacino but 'got something in her eye' so I had to get it for her.

Due to her sudden outburst and escalating fever, we went back to her place to let her rest. Of course that was after i got my Barca jersey.

While Sel rested, me and Chris went to play with our new toy: the boomerang. I managed to throw it better than Chris due to some bizarre and dubious reason. Chris managed to lose the bommerang in the trees. Well, once Sel graduates, our lost boomerang will return or so me and Chris joked.

Dinner was pizza and soda. We chose the best place for the pizza and a cheap but good soda. Then we happily sat in Sel's room to eat. After that we watched the Cool Guy. Okay the first disc. We had to go back early as Sel needed to rest.

Walking back was an experience. We cut through Deakin and ended up somewhere near his place. After that was sleep time.

Day 7: Final full day.

Selene magically recovered from her fever on when we got up early to meet her at McDonald's in Burwood. The Macs was quite quiet, then again it was Wednesday so who eats Macs early in the morning when they should be working. As usual the princess was late, so we were chilling with our burgers and fruit smoothie and chatting up while waiting for her to arrival. When she finally did, we snacked and chatted some more before taking a tram down to the city.

Unfortunately for us, tram sickness struck Chris, so we got off at Bridge Road to walk to the city. Bridge Road is just on the outskirts of the city, it contains branded clothes going on cheap. Not as cheap as non-branded clothes, but cheaper than should you buy from the city itself. The walk wasn't that far, I enjoyed the fresh air and company while we were blowing bubble gum ermm... bubbles. I reckoned I couldn't get bubble gum in Singapore readily, so that was the time to try it. My attempts were best pathetic but Chris managed to blow a nice one then sel ran around like a lunatic holding a heart. Okay, not that bad but clse. HAHAA!!!

After we got to the city, we walked around looking for some more gifts for me to buy for my friends.

Next, we went to Pancake Parlour. There isnt something similar (or the same) in Singapore, so Chris thought it would be nice to bring me (and Selene) there. Though Selene is the 'local', she's never been there before. Anyway, we had some buy-one-get-one-free vouchers so we bought altogether 4 dishes of 2 pancakes. That was 8 pancakes in all!! We had a few photos of them, and seriously they taste excellent. Nothing dubious about the food this time. The snack was thoroughly worth it as it worked out to be only about $5 a person.

After walking around somemore, Chris got a call from Jaime to meet them for dinner at this famous Vietnamese restaurant. Supposedly Bill Clinton used to eat there all the time. The call came in while Chris and I were chick watching next to some demonstrators - who one turned out to be one of Chris' coursemates (bizarre!... I mean dubious!). They were getting people to sign a pettition to stop the Israelites from attacking the Palestinians. Seriously, would they really stop the war if we signed it?

We eventually met Jaime, Junwen and co at the Vietnamese restuarant. Having had a heavy snack already, the three of us didn't eat much, but the little was enough to know why that restaurant was so well-known. I caught up with Jaime quite a bit, and chatted with Junwen and the rest.

After a chatter of a time over dinner, Junwen and co made their seperate ways as Selene, Chris
and I went to Crown Casino. I must have looked pretty dubious because the staff kept checking my ID to make sure we were of legal age to enter (18 and above). And somehow, Selene and I made it through without being checked. I swear Selene looks alot younger, but I guess she doesn't have a dubious face. Ironically, Chris is the only one with proper identification as only Australian driving licenses are recognized form of age verification. Me and Sel could only use their passports - but needless to say they didn't have it. Chris had the ' I dare you to check me' face, so the guards happily obliged. Chris kept going on about Sel not beoing checked except once when she went in with Chris.

We didn't play any games in the end. We just played a bit of Pokies with the free credits Chris got while signing up for a free Crown membership. Needless to say, we didn't win any money though. The Blackjack and Roulette tables looked interesting though, but they played really big and some how the dealers kept winning. For blackjack, it was quite insane really. I was watching this table, where some dude thought he got lucky when he had a split, then got 2 blackjacks! And guess what? he still lost money because the dealer got 5-cards totalling 21. It must be rigged somehow.

After Crown, we ended the day like how we started with a snack at McDonalds. We then took a tram back to Selene's place where Chris and I had to walk home from. The buses had long ended their service, and we walked the whole 40minutes again. It was great company though. I'd miss the chats while walking on the days I need to walk home alone.

Day 8: Bye Melbourne, Thanks For Everything Chris!!!

The day I had to go home came. It seemed such a short 1 week holiday, but all good things must come to an end. My final day in Melbourne started with an early trip to BoxHill central again to buy some of Australia's finest fruits like Navy Oranges and strawberries and some Tim-Tams from the supermarket Safeway as well. We then took a train down to the all-too-familiar bus depot where I first arrived to meet Chris after a long 4+ month, 10,000+ km chasm between us. I boarded the bus and said gooodbye to my tour guides. As I left in the bus, Chris told me 'something flew into Selene's eye' again. Dubious.

I'll miss my best bud, and it would be another 4 months before we can hang out, play soccer or go dubious places again. I thank my friend of 12 years for the great visit and I'll be looking forward to many more good memories. All the best Chris!

The future ahead is uncertain..

The Phrase of the trip:
Dubious... highly dubious..