Sunshine coast-Emundi Market,Strawberry Farm,Winery

I woke up as early as 5.45am. I have not wake up this early ever since i was here. I met Jocelyne at the Uni bus stop to collect the pre-booked car from the city. Yup, there was this struggle between excitement for being in new places and being worried that i might not be able to drive safely as the roads were different from this in singapore. Singapore has a real good road plan.

We managed to reach there early as the branch just started. 7am, we waited for the administrator to pass us the keys. That moment of wait felt the longest as i had been longing to drive since i didn't touch the steering wheel ever since July. My hands felt itchy and i have gotten sick of been driven around and i want to drive people around instead.

I started to feel 'gan chiong' as we got the car late (7.40am) and we were behind time. And as soon as i step on the gas and set my hands on the steering, i realised that i had been lost. Worse, we didn't remember to collect the street directory from the car agent. After turning a few rounds in the city and Chinatown area(still zone 1), with much effort we managed to find our way to Toowong where we were suppose to meet up with the rest. Its 9.00am and we were 1 and a half hours behind schedule.

'Never mind' we thought, as we left for Emundi market which is our furthest and first destination.
It was 180-200km drive and i was driving at 120-135km/hr, its slow for most driver but not for a safe van driver. Emundi market was crowded, it only serves people in the day(from 8-1pm) but i am not too sure about the timing though. The market is quite interesting where you could ride camels. You could also buy stuff like chocolate fudge.They do come in other flavours like caramel, various fruits and nuts. In Eumandi, people sell what they hand made and some aboriginal art pieces. The fashion part didn't really attract us. The girls didn't get much stuff too...As for me, i just spent 15bucks on my really late breakfast with a cuppa flat white. Nice...

Next Destination, Winery... It did took us a couple of wrong turns and at least 50 km of unwanted travel as we got lost again. Oh, there were 3 cars and the first one as the tour leader had an in built GPRS and we all depended on that GPRS... But when it gave way or became faulty... its a real hassle. In the end we had to stop by the high ways to re-navigate . Jocyce made a call to the winery and we follow the lady's instruction to the winery. Okie, it took us at least an hour instead of 30mins to get there... everyone just insist and persist on going to that particular winery which we had decided to. In the end, its great wine that we have gotten that pays off. Yup, should i keep it for mum or savour it?

When we got to our next destination-Strawberry farm, it was almost dawn as sun set at 5pm.
We forgo the idea of plucking our own strawberries, instead, we just purchase it from the retail house. $5.50 for 500 grams of premium grade for my housemates (i don't really fancy strawberries). Our last stop, Morgan seafood restaurant at Moreton' Bay(zone 6). We were so tired that we just wanted a good meal and rest. I ordered "Taste of the bay" which offer a variety of seafood such as calamari, fillets, half Moreton bug(crayfish) and prawn...Though that dish was quite pricey, it is my best meal here so far... ...

Winery
The dummy strawberry called PYO

Close up

Eumandi market-a shop that looks good
We got lost
Me and the vines

Awesome layout...everything is so strawberry...

4 of us in one car
Camel riding
Retro petrol kiosk
Wine tasting at 2dollars

I hope you were here...then you wouldn't feel left out ....

Moon Cake n Latern Festival

Its September 25, St Lucia or UQ did not organise any moon cake or lantern festival, it was us college folks who took up our own initiative to celebrate.

Yin Yin was the core host of this event... she had simply invited everyone and shared her moon cakes with us... how good ?!

If a pictures speaks a thousand words, just look at the pictures and you should get the idea...

Getaway to GoldCoast

My tools

A lot of anxiety were involve for its the first time that i journey more than 5 zones away. Just like other cities, zone1 is usually the city and the bus start off point; school is in zone 2 and a usual day pass(unlimited) rides would have caused me $2.10. The destination chosen was Gold Coast-Surfers Paradise. Zone 15 which cause us 7.70 on a off-peak daily.

Prior to day that we set off, a lot of work and coordination had been put up with the help of a few friends. Since most of us had been new to Brisbane, amongst us there were many whom merely follows. By involuntary behaviour of members and common 'it-should-be-easy' perception, I had been appointed the core planner and the tour leader. This includes finding accommodation and looking for the best route to take using Brisbane's' public transport. There were attempts to book cars for 8 person, yet it had been budget constraint of some members and the high rental volume which put us out on this. The core job of a tour leader includes holding on to map and walking in front of every one else just to see whats in front and bus schedules.

Itineraries-getting there!

Day1

1 hr-Roma station to Helensvale(train,Robina Line)

20mins-Helensvale to Harbourtown(bus 715, Shopping)

1hr-Harbourtown to surfers paradise(bus709, Surf City Motel)

Day 2

20mins-Surf City(zone14) to Broadbeach(zone 15)-two way

Day 3

3hr- shopping at Pacificfair(zone 15) in the heart of broad beach

40mins- Pacific Fair to Robina Station(zone 15)

1hr 15mins- Robina to Central Station(zone1)

Getting the fun out of a road trip is like reaping what you sow! As for me, i really learnt something from the trip like planning. It feels really good to be independent and plan for others instead of the other way.

Overall, i like shopping in the suburbs as there were real discounts as compared to shopping in the city. The beach was average as i had been expecting to see more sea sports and activities going on. It's the low budget accommodation that we had fought for that we managed to keep our cost low.

That's a picture of all the members
In the heart of surfers where you get to shop, surf and suntan...
One of the few shots that i have gotten as my cam ran out of power.
A common sight and colourful buildings around.
Look at the background... we are heading there...

whose the photographer?

Surfers version of duck tours.
Cross road
Our motel view

Its a Saturday getaway...

Its been a quite a long wait for a day of rest... I think i did generally well and so i decided to give myself a day off. I hope i didn't sound like a control freak. Well actually i wouldn't deny that i am to a certain extend. I am the kind of student who dedicate all his free time to books and assignments . I wasn't that hardworking ever since army had slacken to brain rust. Yet i didn't overcome the my ambitious side. Going into second year straight after 2 years without practise. Worse, I am taking the toughest subject of the entire course... you just have to beat my guts... Well, i think doing well means time management and stress management but not academically yet. I am at the stage of leaping gaps... polishing my mathematics which is a fundamental in finance.

For the past week, my papers are all disastrous in the sense that i didn't get the time to complete my papers as the time given were pathetically insufficient. We were expected to complete a 100 marks paper in 1 hr; the statistic paper which require calculations after calculation had been quite thick... almost a stack that comes with tables and formulae... My corporate finance paper had been a nigh mare too. Lecturer Jason Hall whose infamous for setting tough questions is teaching it. Its him that got people's GPA down. Before the paper, i did witnessed some brainiacs being defeated by his 30MCQ paper. It was anxiety but hard work all the way till the day i stepped in the exam room to face the "killer" paper. I am still bothered by it now... and waiting for my result as my computer load on the school's network... waiting and waiting ... "But whats done can't be undone" as clique as "i have done my best and i have no regrets",so i looked forward to an indeed happy Saturday at City where we lunch before heading to Roma Parkland which is not too far away from the city...




Funny Aaron with his comical look didn't fail to cheer me up with his extreme expression... Yup, his a bud...
It call the Lookout where i am standing... You could picnic here on a holiday and look at bubbly kids running around. Definitely not exciting, but is a good way of getting things off ya mind. Agree?
Oh... we were at this "tree top walk" bridge where i got inspired, so i asked Teresa, Yin, Aaron to be my model...

Roma Parkland its definitely recommended since its located within walking proximity from city. Its place where people chill out and gather... where you look at native people doing the most common things . Its a 3 star area which i will definitely come back for a picnic the next time round...

Take care my fellow Singapore friends... i hope i didn't miss out too much!!!