Three

My third visit to Australia, as far as I can accurately remember. All to celebrate Chinese New Year too. Short of being critized as one of those who are … to spend CNY at home in SG, all I can say is that it sure was enjoyable, and I’d readily do it again if given the choice.

For one, there’s none of the ackward situation of meeting up with relatives whom you only see for what, two hours every year? It would have been just the same like any other year, like anybody elses.

Questions such as:

• “Are you attached?”
• “When are you tying the knot” (for those who happen to be attached)
• “Why don’t you find a girlfriend” (for those whom like me, happen to find ourselves without a significant other)

It’s always the same, and I’m moderately tired of repeating the same phrase over and over again. That I much prefer travelling, that I’m not at all interested in the rat race and that I’ll find myself a girlfriend when the time is right.

So this year, same as the past two years, we decided to avoid the heat of it all by spending our time overseas. Also, the fact that this year, simply by applying for three days of leave and getting ten days in return was a deal which was simply hard to be beaten. It’s not a big deal that I won’t have much opportunities to collect red packets. I haven’t been collecting that many anyway, so it doesn’t make that much of a difference anyway. I occasionally hear of others receiving hundreds of dollars in a single red packet, usually from a favourite relative or grandpa / grandma. I used to feel that they were rather lucky to be in that position, since what they receive in that one red pack is just about one half to two thirds of my festive collection. That was then. Now, it doesn’t affect me as much any more. I guess it just so happens that I prefer to be travelling around in a foreign country than in my own backyard 😉

And I must say that it has most definitely been a very meaningful trip, and one which has started me thinking too. The only difference this time however, was the unfortunate situation which prevented my bro from touring with us, due to work commitments. As usual, we had the luxury of touring Australia with our relatives, in the comfort of our own chartered MPV. It sure was great, and I think I’m sold to the enjoyment of long roadtrips. A group of close companions all travelling together in a vehicle, sharing all the laughs and silly anticts. The only roadtrip I have yet to sample so far, are that of a caravan journey and a biker trip, both of which I’ll have to try and fit into my travel plans for the future. Both of which will have it’s fair share of interesting experiences and drawbacks.

This year’s itinerary was to explore the state of Victoria, and to drive along the Great Ocean Road, part of which was to take in the sights along the way, and another part which was for me to have a visual of how it would be like, terrain wise. I’ve an intention to cycle the Great Ocean Road come 2007 year end, and what better way than to drive along it first! The drive also brought to my attention to the importance of training, which is self explainatory and preparation. During the drive, we experienced both summer and authum like conditions, with misty roads having a visibility of barely 10 meters. That’s gotta be chilly.

Overall, the trip was great. We managed to cover quite a number of places, which were new to all of us, my Aussie relatives included! 😆 We didn’t get much time to spend in Melbourne itself, but that wasn’t exactly the highlight of the trip anyway. The only setback I had was the unfortunate forgetfulness of leaving behind the DIY monstepod which I made. This trip was supposed to be a proof-of-concept for me, in testing out the feasibility of the tripod, which didn’t happen. In the end, I think I may well purchase the travel-sized tripod which I saw at the shops a few weeks ago. I’ll definitely have to see how things turn out, and if I’ll have another opportunity to give it a test run.

Another missed opportunity for me was to get the free upgrade Apparently SIA had overbooked the flight, and they were looking for volunteers to take the next later flight, which would presumably be tomorrow. The compensation would be an upgrade to business class, and SG$500 cash upfront. Unfortunately for me, the flight was on a Sunday, which didn’t allow for such freeplay, and I wasn’t too keen on spending another one of my precious leave. On hindsight, it probably would have been a good idea to take up that offer. It utterly sucks to not be able to get on a flight, and I almost ended up in such a situation. Anyway, a regret is a missed opportunity and I should not brood over it.

Will start posting photos once I’m done processing them!