My Travel Blog

SIL is going to Melbourne in August but we can’t join them this time. Hubby doesn’t have day off and the kids have got to go to school.

This is quite disappointing as our plan to go to Australia has been delayed for more than 2 years. It’s like it’s not going to happen any sooner, either due to work or due to $$$. Sigh…

Anyway, I hope that next year will be an easier year for us. We really need a break. Maybe we can just break our health savings account for a nice holiday! But that is a stupid move. It’s best to work on it and save up separately.

I have only been to Ashcombe Maze & Water Gardens once but it’s one of the nicest place in Victoria that I want to visit again. My boy likes maze a lot and I told him that one day we will bring him to a real maze where he has to find his way out, instead of playing maze on papers.

The Ashcombe Maze and Water Gardens is famous of its Hedge Maze. It’s really tall but we managed to find our ways out after a while. It’s not too hard though. There is a pretty Circular Rose Maze too but when I was there, the roses started falling off. We missed the blooming season. What a pity…

If you are there, don’t forget to snap more photos at the water gardens. I love the scenery but too bad I don’t have soft copies of the photos. If not, I’m willing to share!

Let’s see when will hubby and I have more money in our savings accounts and we can afford to have a family vacation in Melbourne. We supposed to go there this June but I guess our plan is canceled again due to our business in Bangkok. But never mind,  Ashcombe Maze and Water Gardens will always be around.

Hubby postponed our trip to Australia last year, and he said he will make it come true this year. Frankly, I don’t have confident in him this time as I’m pretty sure that he’s going to be busier than ever. We are moving away, and there is so much to do and a lot of money is involved. I’m not sure a family vacation to Australia is a good idea, but hopefully, he will materialize it as promised.

If we are going, I hope that we can make a shop at Sydney before flying to Melbourne. There are a few places which are great for my kids such as the Taronga Park Zoo, Luna Park, Maritime Museum , Powerhouse Museum and I would love to take a ferry rides around Sydney Harbour!

There are a few Darling Harbour Hotels to choose from such as Four Points Sheraton Darling Harbour Sydney, Star City Hotel as well as Ibis Hotel. I’m not worried much about the hotels because it’s not hard to book the rooms online as long as we can afford one! But then again, hubby is so busy, he can’t give me the exact date that we will be going on this trip. In fact, I really doubt he can squeeze this in his schedule this year.

I wonder why there was no digital camera when I have more time for traveling? I’m too lazy to scan those photos though. LOL!

But one of the nicest places in Melbourne is Carlton Garden. It’s a nice garden which is very near to the Royal Exhibition Building. This historical building is very nice and I took some shots of the building. But the best thing was sitting and chatting on the grass with my friend. I hardly do this when I’m back to Malaysia. Who has the time to sit on the grass except the one at the playground? But please don’t bring along your canvas tent and camp at the garden ok? It’s illegal.

Gee…I really miss Melbourne.

Picture Source

Do you know why I would like to blog about Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne? It’s not that I went there to do my grocery shopping, but I found that is definitely the biggest market I have ever been too. There are a few sections, and I remembered that I did a lot of shopping there for stuffs like clothes, accessories, souvenirs and some T-shirts. But what reminded me the most about this place is they sell meats from kangaroo and crocodile, and I was like, “Yikes! You eat that?” LOL! So suai tu.

BTW, there was a live band performing outside the market, and oh boy, they were good! Too bad I didn’t snap any photos. Gee…

I can’t remember well how I got there from St Kilda. I think we must have taken the tram or bus. Mmm….I really need to visit Australia again, I really miss Melbourne. Let me ask hubby to hire the commercial collection agency to help him to get back his money, then we can go liao!

Actually, I didn’t go to Australia just of holiday. I was there to attend the graduation of my best friend as I promised him before that I would try my best to make it. So, what else can a best friend do forgraduation announcements? I flew all the way there!

He was a law student, and the first impression I had about the university was it’s old, very very old. LOL!

Picture Source

But it’s a nice place for photo shots as it looks totally different from our local universities. Mmm…how come I can’t find the photos of the university in my album? I must have lost them.

It has been a few years since my trip to Australia. I wanted to bring my kids there this December, but the plan didn’t work out. Hubby is postponing the trip to next year, and hopefully he’s keeping his promise this time.

One of the best places in Victoria is the Great Ocean Road. We drove there from Melbourne and it took a few hours for us to reach there. If you are interested to drive there as well, here are some suggestions:

You can drive to the Great Ocean Road region from interstate on excellent highways and freeways. From Sydney, you can take the Hume Freeway and then travel to Geelong via the Western Ring Road and Princes Freeway, making your connection with the Great Ocean Road. (This trip takes around 12 hours. Most travellers break their journey with an overnight stop.) From Melbourne, Geelong is a 55-minute drive via the West Gate and Princes freeways. A network of highways also link regional centres to Geelong and various other points along the Great Ocean Road. The western gateway to the region is at Nelson, near the South Australian border. Excellent roads connect with the South Australian capital of Adelaide, 490km away. Cars and mobile homes are readily available for hire in the major cities.

Even if the journey is quite long, but you will enjoy the breathtaking views of the nice beaches and coastlines. When you are there, don’t miss the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, London Bridge, Maritime Heritage, waterfalls and the rainforest of Cape Otway.

12 Apostles

I wanted to show my photos of the scenery and a funny car spoiler we saw on the road, but I don’t have the soft copies. I’m too lazy to do the scanning as well. LOL! But I will try to take some photos if we are going there again. I just have to convince hubby to drive all the way there or get a bus tour from Melbourne.

Cohunu Koala Park 

My kids love to watch Animal Planet and they have been watching a lot of kangaroos and koala bears lately. My boy was asking us to bring him to see the marsupials in real, but hubby cannot promise him a trip yet. My initial plan was going to Australia in December, and it’s only 2 months away and we still don’t have any confirmation from hubby.

But it will not be too hard to plan for a trip at the very last minute as long as we have the flight tickets and visa ready. It’s easy to book for any Perth accommodation from the Hotel Club which is a directory of lots of hotels available in Perth as well as other parts of the world. If you would like to look for any discount hotels, you better check out their official sites. They have lists of hotels which are having some seasonal promotions here.

However, I’m very picky when it comes to hotels or rental homes. I only want to have the best that I can afford. If we are going to Perth, I would like to stay in Sheraton Perth Hotel.

Sheraton is one of my favorite hotels, no matter where they are.

My friends had just asked me if our trip to Australia is confirmed. For the time being, I can’t give them a definite answer because it is depending on hubby’s schedule. He is always unsure about his work which may come in without further notice. So, if we book the flight now, I’m afraid we may cancel the tickets if he has something going on.

Anyway, it will be a free and easy trip, so what we need is just the flight tickets. As for the places to be visited, we can decide them later. It’s not easy to get a car rental to get around, but I’m not sure if they will always be available.

Besides, we may just stay at hubby’s uncle’s place. So, accommodation should not be a problem. This trip can be carried out as long as the tickets and visas are ready.