We made it to Oz

A 7 hour flight from Singapore saw us safely into Melbourne and having landed at a respectable hour we were able to hop on the Skybus transfer to the city centre where we are hostelling for our first week. Once we remembered where we were staying at least. Note to self: write these things down!

Our hostel, Discovery Melbourne is hard to describe. All we can really say is that we are glad to have our own room as from what we've heard, the 16 bed dorm rooms are something to behold. Indeed, in the kitchen there really are Discoveries to be made (of the live and crawling kind) and in the bathrooms, although those things don't crawl around as much, it's only a matter of time I'm sure.

So far we have explored much of the CBD (translation: Central Business District) on foot and located some great coffee on the way. Certainly something to rely on in Melbourne as the coffee is taken very seriously, it's always great if not always cheap. Sunday was a lazy day with a much needed lie in and then a visit to the famous Queen Victoria Market. A market that has both food and general retail areas so a brilliant way to while away some time and get some provisions for dinner and any other essentials you might need. And by essentials I mean cheese, chocolate and booze. If a market's been around for a century, you know it's going to be good and it didn't disappoint. It did however make us long for a kitchen to call our own. The aforementioned hostel kitchen is no place for serious cooking - it's more a get in, get out don't look at that thing that might be crawling on the floor type situation.

Today (Monday) we went on an important search of some serious brunch and found it in the form of Cumulus Inc. on Flinders Lane.  After a bit of searching, we found this popular resto/café and settled in for a brilliant brekkie. Though my full English lacked some good ol'  baked beans, the smoked tomato and blood sausage were both pretty special, not to mention the delicious thick bacon and just-runny eggs. Tom's baked eggs were also brilliant as was the coffee and the service, I'm sure we will be back there before too long. We worked off our breakfast with a walk across the Yarra to the beautiful Royal Botanic Garden, free entry and amazing plants - some of the indigenous plants are like something from another planet.

As we are here on a Working Holiday and though our visas state that the primary purpose of our trip is to holiday, not work, we are trying to set ourselves up for work sooner rather than later. So a list (or two) has been made and today we were able to tick our first bit of life admin off as we have now applied for a Tax File number. Easy and free to do online, it means we get taxed correctly but also importantly means we can claim our tax back when we leave. Kerching! Hopefully.

x Annie

Singapore Summary

So, as you would have gathered from Tom's musing on food courts / hawker centres below, food has been quite a theme during our time in Singapore. Quite literally, the world is at your feet here and you can eat whatever you fancy. So here's a bit of a summary of the past few days in Singapore.

Day 1: 18 September

An early start (thanks jet lag) and it was up and off to explore Little India, the district closest to our hotel. It was so early, that nothing was really open apart from the Mustafa Centre an incredible department store that sells absolutely everything, and lots of it. A good amount of time was spent here and we made the important purchase of a new camera as it's a bit cheaper than at home and we can get the tax back when we get to the airport.

Then on to China Town for an explore and to search out our first Hawker Centre. The hawkers were once street vendors who sold their food wherever there were customers from the back of a cart. Nowadays, the city keeps them contained in these amazing centres which have an array of food and people and their own code of conduct which makes it so interesting to visit. China Town was lovely and decorated with lanterns for the Mooncake festival which takes place this month.

After a longish nap (try three hours.. is that a nap or a full on sleep?) we headed out for some more Hawker Centre food next to the night market around Bugis Street accompanied this time with some beer served over ice, essential in this climate! 

Day 2: 19 September
The Zoo. We spent hours here and it is an incredible place to go. The zoo is very open with no cages or anything so you feel that you can get really up close and personal with the animals. Best of all, it wasn't at all crowded so at times we felt like we had the place to ourselves which was amazing. Worst of all, it's possible that a bat weed on me, but currently I'm opting to believe that it dropped/squirted some fruit in my general direction. Thankfully some alcohol gel was on hand to tide me over until the nearest bathroom. New favourite creatures include the Mouse Deer and numerous monkeys but also loved the White Tigers, especially when one of them went for a swim. We also managed to see some feeding times which was entertaining, even if the Warthogs (as in Pumba from the Lion King) couldn't have been less interested in the food they were being thrown! We will try to add some pictures from our visit there very soon.
In the afternoon/evening it was a visit to the Orchard Road area which has 20 shopping malls in the space of about 2.5 miles. Needless to say, we only managed about two of these before getting lost/confused/overwhelmed. 

Day 3: 20 September
A visit to the Asian Civilisations Museum was very interesting in giving an overview of the development of Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia. Particularly in terms of how the cultures have influenced one another over the centuries. A very worthwhile place to visit.
A true Singaporean experience came next in the shape of Sinaporean Chili Crab. Thanks to Jess for the amazing recommendation of Jumbo, one of the best places to have it in Singapore. We shared a whole 1kg crab between us with a huge bowl of rice and I am still full some 6 hours later! It was messy, we had to wear bibs and a good thing too. The crab arrives at the table swimming in a pot of tasty crabby chili sauce so you have to fish it out to crack the claws and get at some of the meat but it was worth the effort - certainly one of the most delicious things on the trip so far.
Then to Fort Canning Park for some exploration, including seeing Singapore's former lighthouse and a nifty spice garden. Now obscured by tall buildings, it once was a guiding light to help ships make safe passage into Singapore harbour. On the way back to the hotel, we bought some beers to enjoy on the roof terrace which was lovely as there's a nice breeze up there only to be greeted with the screeches of the Formula 1 cars practicing for the race this weekend. The whole of the city will enjoy that for the next few days!

Currently steeling ourselves for an early flight which means a 4am wake up call. Next stop: Melbourne

xx Annie

Food courts

Food courts haven't featured much in  my life so far; they're crowded, noisy, and generally serve low-quality fast food that will only just about give me enough to allow for more shopping, but not enough to put me off the extra pack of iced buns at Tesco when buying food for tonight's tea. I'll admit that I'm not the best of shoppers, so my experiences may be dated, but the only decent food court I can think of is that in Stratford Westfields, and most of that food is just as expensive as GBK / Wagamamas / Nandos, which kind of misses the point of being a food court in my book.

 So why am I writing about food courts? For sure, some are better than others, but none come close to the quality, variety and value of food from hawker markets as exist in Singapore. It's clear from the number of eateries around town that food is important here, from high class right through to (the omnipresent) toast shops (which have amazing coffee carriers too...)..., and they even have normal food courts in their malls too (which are pretty good to be fair). Hawker Markets are distinct however, and probably wouldn't be on my itinerary but for the rave reviews in guide books and numerous mentions from friends. They're basically a whole load of stalls (i.e. hundreds) in one hall / square /market building, each selling freshly cooked food to order for a song.

 Tonight we went to the Tekka Centre. The Tekka Centre is a hawker market / mall / food market in Little India, which was incredible for number of Indian stalls selling traditionally Chinese food, and switching it around, also listing the traditionally Indian food names in Chinese!. We shared a mutton murtabak for $5 (£2.75), whicih was delicious with the side pot of curry, and washed it down with freshly made strawberry / mango lassis, each $2.50, meaning we ate out for 2 for just over five pounds. Yesterday we had two lots of hawker market food; lunch in Chinatown was charsiu pork, green veg with oyster sauce, steamed dumplings and noodles (total for two $12 / ~£6.50), dinner in Bugis Street was mee goreng, sweet & sour pork rice, and we  washed down with beer (total for two $13 / £7).


Food this good, this fresh, this cheap is amazing!

And so it begins

So, we spent much of Sunday blitzing the flat to the extreme to make sure it was all clear for the new tenants who moved in the day we caught our plane. A final caffeinated catch up with friends and we then took the train to Kent for some much needed rest and a last catch up with my family. My Mum cooked a fabulous roast chicken, we had some wine and crashed out for a great night's sleep before the big day.
Monday, flight day, involved last minute life admin (probably a good idea to letthe council tax peolple know you're off) and an extensive bag re-pack. It seems that as much as you try to tell yourself otherwise, if you have a big ass backpack, you're probably going to fill it. My parents drove us to the airport, where we said last goodbyes and roughly 12 hours later, after a somewhat bumpy flight, we landed in Singapore.

Thankfully, our transfer was pre-arranged, thanks to the kind people at STA Travel and for the first time, I had someone at the airport with my name on a sign, it felt good!
Stepping outside what can only be described as a strangely serene airport, it was like a warm blanket of heat and humidity, but it seems everywhere has air con, which is a relief. Our hostel, The Hangout, means we are neighbours with the president, our driver informed us! After check in and  a quick refresh we went in search of food and opted for a nice Japanese place a short walk away. A huge bowl of rice and ramen later and a little explore, it was bed time already. So, here we are. We made it and the adventure begins.
x Annie

T-2: Packing done... almost

Saturday, T-2, 12:10 pm

We're on the tube heading to Hammersmith for our friends' wedding. It's now two days to go until we fly, and everything (*almost) is pretty much done: packing, cleaning, drinking our alcohol collection. Tomorrow morning we'll take the last charity donations and chuck the remaining rubbish, then decamp to Kent to stay with A's parents. A free lift to the airport is always welcome!

I'm in split minds about my packing; to take my pre-WWII rolleicord box camera or not to take it. It takes up a decent amount of room in my bag and film costs are staggering in these days of digital cameras, but it's such a nice toy. Similarly we've an abundance of guide books, and I keep on downsizing my clothes selection. Let's face it, clothes aren't going to win this battle.

T-8: The day after the leaving party

Some things about today: - Today was less busy than the last few, and involved the most food. So much food. It was lovely, and just as enjoyable as drowning my All American breakfast in maple syrup was being able to talk to a bunch of my good friends while doing so. Food is going to be an important part of this blog. Possibly even more than the travelling we've got planned. - Fun was had by all at the leaving party, and the parents / grandparents got on admirably with their opposite numbers (this being the first occasion of their meeting). We've some specifics planned (London -> Singapore -> Melbourne -> ... -> Perth -> ...?), but this is primarily just about travelling for fun. - We sent another batch of things to storage: some to family, some to charity. We're travelling light, or so most of our friends seem to think; one hiking bag apiece. - The plan for tomorrow was formed: sand and paint the window frames, pack excess things into boxes, sort and first-run-pack my stuff. A is well ahead of me at this point, having sorted the majority of her things. I'd better get on with it! Current location: London (8 days to le départ)