Day Seventy-Two: Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk

Besides Bondi Beach, there is also Coogee Beach. It is smaller and less populated. Between these two beaches is a beautiful coastal walk. Lots of water, lots of rocks, lots of waves, and lots of breezes.

This coastal walk is my second favorite place in Australia. Bring your sunglasses, grab a book, and head down to the water, there are plenty of benches for you to sit and enjoy a relaxing afternoon. The place is just too sweet!

My housemate and I head down to Bondi Beach @ 5:45am because we want to catch the first light.
The sun is finally up...
Let the walk begin..
Around the corner...


My housemate and I take about 400+ pictures. What I put on here is just a small fraction of what this place is really like. If people ask me what would I miss from Australia, Bondi beach and this coastal walk will definitely be on the list.

It is a long walk but it is definitely worth it. It is sweet treat!

Day Sixty-Five: Malabar Horse Riding

I am on a horse marathon! =)

Malabar Beach is a beach south of Sydney. It is surrounded by bush lands. Quite peaceful and away from the chaotic pace of city life. There is a horse riding school (of course). Horse riding along the beach and in the bush land, not a bad idea eh =)

Me! on my horse, Simbad (pronounce with a British "a"). He is huge and tall. He doesn't like to listen to me and just does whatever he likes. He takes me whereever and doesn't follow my command when I want him to stop. He yanks on the rein. But he is good with beginners. Super tame and patient. He eats a lot. On our walk, he will munch every time we stop. And oh, he was the first horse to poop on the walk >.<" heading out...
The beach...

The ride was about an hour, but my butt hurt like hell man!!! Riding horse can really work your butt muscle...very effective!

Some pictures:
Pony! so cute >.<
Our guide:
eating from Shamika's mouth:
mission completed!

Day Sixty-four: Randwick Horse Race

My first horse race, and probably the last one.

I have seen many horse races in tv or movies, but never really understand the actual excitement that is involved, because after all they are just horses..right?! How exciting could that be.

Now I know.
When you are betting thousands of dollars in one round, yeah you better be more excited.

So....how to win?
Two ways,
You can either bet which horse will be the first, or which ones will be in the top three. Of course, later method yields less rewards.
Before every run, the jockeys will bring out their horses, and we can take a look at a distance. This time, you can see if the horses are in a good mood, does it look confidence or what not. You have about 30 mins to place your bet before the race.

The gate opens, the whip cracks, and the horses out they run. You never know which horse is going to win until the finish line. Some jockeys hold back their horses until the last leg of the race and win the race unexpectedly.

We both bet on a horse that the return is 100x for every dollar you invest. The horse was ahead ever since the beginning, and just went it was going to finish (we are super excited..as you can tell..lol), the other horse overtook it. It was a close race!

My first and last betting experience.
I bet on 3 races. I only won the first one...beginner's luck probably.
Net gain: $5.

Day Fifty-Eight: Melbourne: Great Ocean Road

When my parents visit Melbourne, the travel agent told them that there are three things that you have to see while in Melbourne.

The Gold Rush,
The Penguins,
and the Great Ocean Road.

The name suggests exactly what it is. It is 5.5 hour coastal drive (nonstop) from Geelong to Warrnambool in Melbourne. Vast water scene on the left, rugged mountains on the right, with a cliff drop in between. This place is absolutely breathtaking!! Everything you see there is something you would see on a postcard, but it is real. When you stand on one of the edge, you feel free and light. The wind can carry you away. It is a great escape from the city life...just drive down that winding road and you will forget everything.

No other place sticks to my mind like this place.
Here are some pictures:


The most famous Twelve Apostles. The Twelve Apostles are sandstone towers that were once part of the coastal line. Over the years, the ocean water washed up the shore and gauged out arches. The arches became thinner and thinner and eventually broke, left behind the individual towers. There are now only eleven towers, because one of the towers collapsed. This area is still an active environment, constantly changing.

The area is quite misty, and that gives it a heavenly feel to it. It just appears so unreal like in a dream. Everything with a touch of your finger, and it will be gone.


Warrnambool. What if the sun rises in between??


Five steps from the Ocean:

Day Fifty-Seven: Melbourne-AFL Game

If you come to Melbourne, you have to go to an AFL game.

AFL originated in Melbourne. Also known as Aussie Rules. It is kind of like a combination of American football with Rugby, but you really have to watch it yourself to know what it is about exactly.

It looks like they don't have any game plan, and that they are just running here and there playing blindly. The game is really really fast paced; you can hardly keep up.



The field is in the shape of a circle, with 4 posts on each end. If the ball goes through the inner posts, then that is 6 points, if it goes through the outer posts, then it is one point. The player can use any part of their body. They can climb on each other and ram each other down. It is quite violent actually, and they have no paddings. I am surprised that no one got injured when they all just running into each other, falling, tumbling, tripping...all without any protection.

AFL is big in Australia. It is like the Super Bowl of the US. People go crazy for their teams. It definitely is an experience. One thing when visiting Melbourne is that, there aren't much buildings, museums, or signature architecture to see like in Sydney...Melbourne is all about experience. AFL is it.

Day Fifty-Six: Melbourne @ 4am

What were we thinking when we booked our flight at 7am?!!!! Obviously we didn't think about wake up time =(

We all got up at 4am and left the house at 5:10am to catch our train to the airport....I was having headache already..bad start =(

JetStar airline:
Nice seats neh :D
We arrived around 9:30 am @ Avalon airport. As we were landing, I looked out the window, and I saw sheep along the runway munching grass. I wondered...where am I? Stepping into the terminal...I swear my house is bigger than that. Avalon is a very interesting airport to say the least....small and cute...middle of nowhere...with sheep. Nonetheless, I arrived safe but still with a headache.

My hostel: The Nomads
It looked pretty decent. I lived with 7 girls in a room with 4 bunk beds. The beds squeaked like no other..so annoying. The bathrooms and the showers are separated and everything seem to be mini-sized. I guess I paid for what I get, although I would never live in another hostel any more, not after this one. =) So yeah..my first and last experience of a hostel.

We were suppose to meet our group at 3pm..so we had some time to kill. We went to the Queen Victoria Market:
This market dwarfs any market in Sydney. It is HUMONGOUS!!! It sells anything from a boomerang, to postcards, to shirts, to shoes, to kangaroo skins, to handmade soap, to mini cacti, to lip balm, to fruits, to dry foods, to livestocks, to candies....just about anything you want for souvenirs.

I had to post this picture, because it says American on it =)
This candy store makes the most delicious and fun candy ever. All their candies are handmade and some even have writings in them....like Thank you, It is a Girl, and I love you.
They are making a banana flavored rock candy with banana designs in the middle (the white stuff are the banana designs, they are wrapping them in a colored coating).
All rolled up
And then he pulls...
Tahda~~~~end product..delicious!!!
Check out their website, http://www.suga.com.au/, it is quite entertaining!

Then we toured the alleys of Melbourne..where the true culture lies...
Often it is hidden in these allies that you get to experience what Melbourne is all about. These are the places where only locals will know. We happened to stop in this one:
Madame Brussels. As described by one of my study australia people: plush and slightly naughty, this bar is named after a brothel keeper. Expect indoor fake grass, an outdoor terrace and a hostess called Miss Pearls. They have the most refreshing drinks ever:

A mix of citrus fruits with a hint of peppermint ♥

We concluded the day with a dinner at a traditional Chinese dumpling restaurant. It was really nice and homelike for me. This trip already looked better =)

First impression of Melbourne....it is a place to relax, if you want to work go to Sydney.