Melbourne the Melbournite way

Right, first off, I'm not sure if that's how you call Melbourne people but Melbournites sound way cooler than Melbournians.  So this is my entry on my 3rd visit to Melbourne, this time following the paths of friends living in Melbourne - yes, no more the very touristy sight seeing of visiting Federation Square, or great ocean road or St Kilda's beach or Botanic Gardens - All those been there done that.  This time I wanted to do something different - be active, adventurous - so that was kinda what I did, although mother nature wasn't too kind to me most of the time but she was good enough. 

 

What I did - cycling tour, diving trip, surfing trip, hiking trip! And of course ate ate ate.  And I loved it!  People always compare Melbourne and Sydney and which do you like best.  Of course each has its own merits.  I like Melbourne because it offers much more culture, nature and adventure.  Of course, maybe I didn't explore Sydney as much as I did Melbourne so maybe I'm not the best person to ask.  But to each his/her own.  Sydney feels much more vibrant at times while Melbourne has a laid-back charm and of course wicked weather.  Oh weather - you gota hate it or love it.  I arrived with great weather, sunny and not cold through the week while I was working, only to be greeted with rain over the weekends, then sunny again on weekdays, to rain on weekends.  You can't really have the best of both worlds can you? Still I got some pretty good weather on weekends intermittenly which was good enough for me.  And food.  Yum food.  That'll come later in the post.

 

Lilydale-to-Warburton-Rail-Trail (click on the link to learn more about the trail)

This is a 27km one-way trail, you can either bike through or walk.  And along the way, you'll pass by wineyards and farms.  It's a nice trail to enjoy!  Wineyards are at the start of the Lilydale trail so drink up while you can, cos further down, there are none.  The trail follows an abandoned old rail track, so it's mostly flat, on gravel road.  Good for beginners and people with not much cycling experience - like me!  We stopped at one wineyard and had our fill of wine!  Weather was fantastic! 

Wild Cattle Creek Wineyard

Wine tasting at Wild Cattle Creek

 

Took us about 4-5 hours (stopping and cycling along the way) to get to Warburton, by then we didn't have time to cycle back again.  So we left the bikes for pickup by the bike shop.  Full day rental + pick up cost AUD55.  Not cheap man, not cheap! 

 

Diving in Melbourne

Granted, nobody really goes to melbourne to dive. It's not a touristy thing to do.  But I had to do it - for experience of diving in temperate waters.  Renting gears in Melbourne is a hassle though - i warn you.  They mostly DO NOT rent masks, fins, hoods, booties - as they say these are personal items.  So luckily for me, I brought my own masks and booties, and I kinda convinced the shop to throw in the hood (thank god for hood!) and borrowed fins from my friend.  Diving in Melbourne without your own gear is VERY EXPENSIVE!  Rental for BCD, regulator, wetsuit (7mm thank god) and tank cost you AUD80 per day - minimum, depending on the shop.  So imagine if you are going on a boat dive, that'll easy be upwards of AUD100.  That's why people in Melbourne lug their own gear and even TANKS! Yes, tanks!  You get refills for like AUD7. 

7mm wetsuit and hood and all

Spider Crab!

How was the diving in Melbourne? Maybe I was unlucky.  We went Blairgowrie Pier and it wasn't much to shout about.  Yes the experience of diving in 16 degree celsius water is something to announce but there wasn't much to see.  And if not for the hood, I would not have lasted more than 20mins.  I lasted 60mins.  Proud of myself.  And to be honest, the water wasn't as cold as I imagined it to be.  Was cold after 40mins, but not like you have to jump 5mins into the dive.  And we were lucky cos the sun came out when we surfaced and that immediately warmed you up!

 

Surfing in Melbourne

I told myself, and my friend (thanks Coralie!) that I wanted to try surfing in Melbourne.  Like I've only surfed once (and 1 hour at that) but I really really wanted to try it again.  And finally we did!  4 surfing mermaids - Kristina + Smitha.  We drove to Torquay for our morning surf!  The weather was good - raining and a little chilly but the waves were pretty alright, good for me as a beginner.  Rented the wetsuit and board (we paid a discounted price thanks to Kristina AUD30) and off we went.  I got a soft board, which was supposedly good for beginners.  Probably should have gone for a hardboard and a smaller one.  I used a hardboard when I learnt in Philippines.  So it went, was hard for me to balance and straighten the board cos it was pretty light, and just got bumped around by the windy conditions and waves.  Was kinda disastrous first half of the surf trip as I tried to get used to the soft board, but eventually I did it!  I surfed, I stood, I rode the waves and white wash.  It was bloody hell fun!  No, there was no 5m high waves, but I'm glad for that too cos it gave me the opportunity to surf.  And how I wish I have the opportunity to surf more often, but nope, not in Singapore. Darn!  Surfing is a kind of sport where you need constant practice to improve, else you lose the skills.

Hiking in Melbourne

We were supposed to do the Wilsons Promontory - camping overnight for a 2D1N trip.  And that place is really awesome and beautiful.  But as I said, weather was against me.  So that was cancelled, but we still did a day hike at Werribee Gorge.  A nice 8km (though advertised as 10km) walk in the park!  It's not a hard hike, with some up and down hills.  And weather was great!  This is an easy to do hike with great views and not too far out from Melbourne (about 1H drive) so I recommend this if you're thinking of doing a short hike.  We took about 2H to complete, with stops along the way.

My partners in crime!!

A really short section where we had to grab cables.  Really really short

Food in Melbourne

How can you not talk about food?  I did my research and found great restaurants to try out in Melbourne and not disappointed with the choices!  It's better to let the pictures do the talking. 

Mamasita:

Crispy Plaintain - these are amazing!

Corn on cob with spice and cheese - I really love this

Fish tacos - they're good but still not the best I've had

Gazi (Greek):

The beetroot dip is the BEST

Too much food!

I love cheese, and this grilled cheese is just  unbelievable!

400 Gradi (best margherita pizza in the world!!):

This is IT! But I give it a 7

The gnocchi is really really good! Melts in your mouth

Death by chocolate??

Cumulus:

Dumplings with ricotta cheese is so delicious and the skin just melts in your mouth!

Seafood medley is also really good!

Movita next door

Prawns! They're good but portion is too small

Bomba - Pork and potato croquette

Ice cream stack!

The meat and wine co:

Kangaroo steak!

Lemon meringue - which is too sweet for my liking

Chokolait:

This place has amazing thick hot chocolate!!! And I had one with spice in it

 

Wish I had more time in Melbourne, or went during another month with better weather.  So much to do so little time!  That is my kinda city - where you have the city, and also surrounded by nature and ocean where you can do so much!  Just like San Diego, where you have the ocean and mountains within reach, but Melbourne may be just slightly more expensive in certain aspects - Food mainly.  Did I mention we went chestnut picking (FOC) in Dandenong area! So fucking cool - 6.5kg in total in less than 1H of picking!!

Me and the chestnuts!!

 

All Aboard! It's Sailing Time!

Sure took me that long to finally post my sailing experience - Right well technically speaking, that sailing race I was on in San Diego was my first sailing experience but I was more a spectator than a participant.  But I knew I had it in my blood that I wanted to try sailing.  Heck I took my PPCDL (power boat) 2 years ago and have been talking about taking up sailing courses since then!  Finally, I decided not to wait anymore and went at it on my own.

 

There are so many sailing courses on offer at all the marine centers in Singapore but most, if not all, of them are offering their own kinda in-house courses that are just a 2 day event - each a half day of theory and half day of practical and you go away upon completion being kinda 'certified'.  After much searching, I finally found one that offers RYA certified courses! Keppel Bay Sailing Academy is the only one I've found that offers RYA courses and it is so much more worth it than those 2 Day ones elsewhere.  On this competent crew course (which I took), you spent 5 days onboard the sailing boat, really experiencing life on a boat. You eat, sleep, and live on the boat, even having to use the potty (called head) when out at sea (which is most of the day).  The course outline is such that we spend half the time in Singapore waters and the other half in Batam waters, and anchor at night at the marina - which means shower and proper toilet facilities when we are anchored at the marina.  Food are all prepared onboard - so we had provisions kept in the boat, except for the 2 nights in Batam where we ate out (mostly due to lack of portable clean water to cook with).

Our sailing boat Venture with Nicky

So how was the course?  I really enjoyed it very much! It was labour-intensive - so whoever said sailing is relaxing, you are soo wrong! Ok, well I mean when you are on course or racing, it is obviously more intensive than leisurely sailing.  And I really think this course is very informative and teaches you by practice instead of purely classroom based theory lessons.  You get to feel, touch and be in sailing conditions, you get to helm the boat and practice everyday tacking and gybing and reefing and winching.  Everything you need.  And with 5 days out in the sea, that translates to plenty of practice time!  The course takes in maximum 5 people onboard each time, and there are 3 bunkers in the boat.  Note that the day skipper course is also conducted together with competent crew course, like mine did, which is kinda good if you happen to be on one with skippers onboard.  You get to learn what skippers have to learn, though the condensed version. 

 

And given the really hot Singapore weather, be weather prepared!  I was really sunburnt at the end of the 2nd day.  It was just sooo hot!  Long sleeves are recommended unless you really want a T-shirt tan.  Long pants too if you don't want your legs to look amputated.  Mine did at the end of the course, and I ended up with sunglasses tan too! 

 

Exhausted after 2 long days

Anyway back to the course.  It was more of a knowledge course than just teaching you the theoretical stuff about sailing.  Of course there are theories but more of application of the theories to actual situations.  So our theory lessons were kept to a minimum with a lot of practice out in the open sea.  In Singapore, it is more theoretical in terms of the navigation signs and rules as we are an open port with a lot of heavy traffic due to container ships and such.  I got to helm the boat several times and for long and that was fun!  I was a pro at it.  And let me tell you, helming is no easy task.  It is not just standing pretty and steering the wheel.  It requires a lot of concentration and core strength to steady yourself at the helm and handle the wheel, and especially when the tides/currents/wind are strong, you need some strength to control the wheel.  We learnt about rope knotting as well, and that was good knowledge!  Now I can tie knots a dozen different ways!

Just before the night sailing

 

We did a lot of tacking (when the wind is coming from the bow and you turn into the wind) and gybing (when sailing downwind - wind coming from stern).  It was pretty fun getting into the groove of things, shouting the commands or just basically winching it.  Of course, we did MOB (man over board), was not much fun but we learnt how to completely stop the sailing boat and I did it twice!  And we had one night sailing - that was so tiring.  The day was so long, we ended at 1am!  Night sailing is something of an experience.  So quiet and peaceful, but you become kinda blinded by all the lights from the ships and they sometimes mesh into one big beam of light that it becomes difficult to identify the different lights and the type of vessels.  It was a little stressful for me sometimes to clearly identify the vessels.  And when the wind kinda really picked up,  it was kinda exciting and strangely nerve-wrecking as well.  I didn't skipper at night but I guess it must be quite something to skipper at night, especially in unchartered waters.  I would love to sailing at night in the open seas without so many obstacles just to experience a truly purely sailing experience.  I think I would love it a lot more.  I like night sailing, but with less obstacles.

 

There are no tests at the end of the course.  It is just a competent crew course for us, and our instructor would kinda 'score' us at the end of the course.  Our instructor was Nicky, she's British and really great instructor.  She has her own way of helping us remember things easier and it was a lot of fun learning from her!  I loved it.  It was a huge expense burning my pocket but no regrets!  I would love to go on more sailing trips, and real sailing trips outside as well!  No doubt about it, I and water have a tight relationship.  I'm attracted to anything water-based/associated, and I just want to do it all!  Canoeing, kayaking, sailing, wakeboard, windsurf, surfing, swimming, diving etc.  I need to try SUP soon. 

Oh we have to do a dingy test at the end of the course

Standing proud with our certificates

 

And did I mention this course is a very effective weight loss programme?  I lost 2kg at the end of the 5 Day.  And I think my course mates too.  Why?  The exertion over the 5 Days, the extreme sun, and well we didn't eat as much or as well onboard the boat actually.   

 

Check out the website for more information on the courses and also other sailing activities they have on offer - twilight sailing, corporate sailing, and Simply sailing etc.

A Brand New Year

It's been a month into the new year, and frankly it doesn't quite feel any different.  No new vibes, new aspirations or new directions.  It feels just like the old 2014.  Where is that "It's a new year, time for a change" shout-out? Nadda.  Maybe it's a case of coming back from an awesome vacation over Christmas and New Year to this same old life.  Like becoming sober after a long wonderful night of being high on weed.  You suddenly feel a sense of loss, a sense of nonchalant and nothingness.  Where's my life heading revelation.  Sure, you would say "Snap out of it!", "It was just a vacation. Everything that came with it is OVER!". Isn't it the sad truth? Cruel, sad truth.  One that you (I) very much do not want to face with.  The "Whatever happened during vacation stays within the vacation".  What if life is just a vacation that never ends?  Wouldn't that be fucking awesome!?

 

Looking back to the past year, it had been pretty good.  I've travelled to 6 different countries, I felt appreciated at work, I've worked with awesome, fun people and had plenty of fun, gotten darn drunk and made a fool out of myself.  I've embarked on a brand new fitness program and I'm seeing results - a stronger, leaner body and am liking the toned look on my body, the muscles that peeked out when flexed.  I'm liking the fact that I'm finally putting more effort in yoga, in attempting and practicing the tough poses though much more could be done on my flexibility.  Re-establishing contact with someone I thought was long lost and forgotten, slightly re-igniting that flutter which I guessed is just me.

 

If I could travel back in time, I would so go back to re-do some of the things I had done, right the wrong, did something different, did something more, spout more punch lines in response to a joke, be more proactive than reactive in some situations, with someone, and maybe, just maybe, the results would be different, more what I had hoped it would turn out to be.  But life does not have a rewind button.  What was done is done, what happened already did.  Suck it up and move forward, sulk a little and pick it up.  What is life without regrets?  A fucking irritating one!  But inevitable.

 

Had a talk with my insurance/financial agent on what my goals are, what do I want in life so she can help to plan.  And my mind blanked out.  What do I want?  A house when I am 35? Sure, if that's what's the norm.  But do I really want that? Heck no idea.  Put it in plan to start a savings/investment plan sounds like a good idea.  Maybe I'll need the money to buy a fucking sail boat!  Deep down, I think I want an adventure, but my heart seems to be slowing down when that idea is to do it alone.  I like an adventure, but to do it with someone, a partner, a similar minded adventurer.  To set sail and wander around the world, going as we please, stopping when we want.  The world is out oyster.  Would I give up everything I have right now (not that I have much) for the adventurer to take me away? Yes.  The question is if the adventurer will take me away. 

 

It's just the start of the new year.  Who knows what will happen, or what will come next.  Yea, the world could disappear the next day. Yup if the world were to end, that would be my preference - for it to just disappear in an instant. Poof! Gone! No need to worry or fear or run.  I'll let life take me wherever it wants to take me.  Cruising, that's what I'm good at.  It's a gamble for sure.  I could be going for a great ride or a ride to hell.  Risks! It's all about taking risks!  I took one big risk with that trip (nope didn't get kidnapped in Mexico), and look where that took me!  Interpret that yourself.  And I'm really not a big risk-taker.  Gosh, what was I thinking!  Need to work on myself.

 

2015, I've known my best mates for 20 years! Getting old.  It's scary when you get to the age when all your friends are married and with kids.  And you suddenly realized you're surrounded by baby pictures and pregnant women.  Them envious of your single carefree life travelling around the world, and me looking in and thinking "at least you always have someone to go back to when life gets shitty, and a shoulder to cry over".  Grass is always greener on the other side.  So much to do but no one to do it with.  Maybe a change in environment will spice things up.  Giddy-up! Another 11 months to go to another new fucking year!  Happy 50th anniversary my country!

Speaking of which, after 1 year of telling myself I'm not gonna colour my hair, I couldn't resist it anymore.  Purple is the new black! Didn't want to go too far as this already took me 3H, but after seeing the effect, darn should have gone further and bolder.  Then again, I'll have to camp at the salon.

 

Road Tripping Baja, Mexico - From Tijuana to Ensenada to San Quintin

Another country visited, another flag to add to the count list.  Really fun road tripping filled with food glorious food and adventure!

It should be a shame that I didn't cross the border to Tijuana when I was in San Diego in 2007 - afterall it's only 30 minutes away and so easy to step over!  But this time I was not to be denied!  We drove in from San Diego and hit the so called border without any problems - fast and easy.  Hey, if you want to come to Mexico, just come, we welcome you!

 

With no plans in mind, we drove straight for food - as recommended for its creative tacos (my god, my taco journey really hit its mark in Mexico!).  Taco Kokopelli was the place we hit first.  Though not exactly hungry we had to try their brand of tacos - octopus, shrimp and someone was being adventurous for cricket tacos.  And their array of sauces to go with.  Their tacos are different, its creative and actually ain't bad! Didn't try their fish tacos so couldn't really compare to Oscars, but I think I still find Oscars a lot better.  But if you are in Tijuana, do hit Kokopelli for tacos!  We had 5 tacos for just under $13!

Taco Kokopelli



Pulpo = Octopus taco

Which salsa do you want

Camaron = Shrimp taco

Cricket! Not for me

We also hit the Centro Cultural Center for a bit of art and cultural infusion.  We took the long walk to get there and acquainted ourselves with Tijuana.  It reminds me of the less developed side of Malaysia in JB, the houses and the streets, and also speaks of Philippines in certain way.  A vast difference stepping in from San Diego to take myself back in time, kinda like a kampung feeling but not exactly kampung.  Along the way, we also passed by Kitchen Boulevard, where several food trucks were parked to serve customers.  Was gonna check this place out for food but we got distracted by other food places after - Too many good food to choose from, something's gotta give!

And of course we took a walk along the tourist street in Centro - Av Revolucion where you will see the big Arch and a lot of tourist shops and bars.  As it was winter, the streets though busy were not as busy as in summer.  Still interesting to walk along the streets and be called out by the shop hawkers.  And also make time to visit Caesar restaurant and bar - apparently where the Caesar salad was invited and magic happens!  Walking into the bar, you get a rather old school feel about the bar, yet new.  They have old machines around the bar, refitted to look old but the machines are pretty new.  And an order or two of margaritas is a must!  The food menu is pretty interesting and according to my partner in crime pretty old school stuff.  But we were not planning on dinner as yet.  Dinner was somewhere else - a check on google and a toss of coin brought us to La Querencia - it was a tough choice as there were a lot of restaurants to pick from.  And we were happy with our final choice!  We stuffed our faces with the seafood selection - scallop cerviche, grilled scallops and grilled octopus!  Portions were huge and the price paid for worth the food.  And with wine to go with, and the mariachi man serenading me.  All in all a great dinner with great food and company.

Callo = scallop cerviche

We didn't know what callo meant and when we realized it was scallop, that was immediately the one we went for

Grilled octopus

 

And the night doesn't end without a visit to a bar or 2!  Where I tried for the first time Beer mixed with spice - it has a weird taste but ain't bad.  Gotta try something new eh?  The 2nd bar turned out to be a bar-cum-karaoke place, where we just drank pretty good sparkling wine and listened to the locals sing in spanish and some english songs.  Was a night of a lot of drinking and fun and laughter, where the partner in crime probably doesn't remember much of the night :).  It was a fantastic night, one of the best nights of my trip and in Mexico, a great night to remember for me.

Beer with spice, not bad

Karaoke in Mexico

 

Is Tijuana dangerous? Apparently they cleaned up A LOT and while there I didn't fear for my life, I didn't feel threatened walking down the streets.  Drop by for a visit if you are near!

 

Next morning, we continued our road trip down to Ensenada, both a little hungover from the night before.  The drive is smooth, going through just pretty much one straight road through a couple of tolls along the coast.  Stopping by one of the beaches for an afternoon nap before continuing down to Ensenada for the night.  Ensenada, upon reaching, seemed pretty tame as compared to Tijuana.  It was winter afterall and not many people were there.  Streets were pretty quiet and the popular bars pretty much empty.  It's huge for cruise ships to stop over at, and when they do, you see more people on the streets.  We settled for Ryerson 51 for our dinner of yet again some tacos.  The deco of the restaurant is pretty cool, and finding the toilet is a matter of "Follow the finger".  And I must comment about the churros we had from a small window shop along the way of the tourist street - Yum Yum, you can choose from a variety of fillings to be pumped into the hollow churro and I chose chocolate.  Which I absolutely loved. 

Follow the hand

Our road trip continued on a coastal drive to La Bufadora where we stopped in the middle of the journey to venture down the canyons and basically look around.  The drive along the coast is amazing with the amazing view of the coastline and the blue blue sea.  At La Bufadora, the main attraction is the blowhole, of course you have to pay to see it from the viewpoint, but we hiked the canyons and viewed it from the other side for free.  And we continued the hike over to the further out canyons, where no one hiked and were rewarded with an amazing view of the coast line and ocean and a perfect place for some peaceful meditation.  And onwards drive to San Quintin was through inland road passing through mountains and deep canyon/valley.  The view is amazing with all the mountains surrounding the road, and the drive is easy till it wound around the mountain road.  However, San Quintin was a disappointment. Maybe because we arrived at night and we had no information whatsoever about San Quintin.  The town is small and pretty much dead and we could not find a paved road to the beach - had planned to camp on the beach but that pretty much fell through and we drove all the way back to Ensenada again.

I felt like I was back in Australia

I love rock formations, canyons and mountains

Blowhole at La Bufadora

 

How amazing is this view!

Our next day itinerary was supposed to be heading to Guadalupe hot springs and canyon but the weather was rejecting us and we decided against it.  Wanted to head to the sand dunes to do some ATV riding but again the weather was against us (the sand dunes we spotted on our drive from TJ to Ensenada).  So it was back to San Diego where the road signs frustrated us to the extreme.  And the wait at the customs took about 2H. Easy to go into Mexico but as usual with the US, getting in requires long interrogation and checks because that's what they do! 

 

Baja, Mexico road trip was fun!  Wish we could have gone to the hot springs but sometimes in life you can't have everything!  I really liked the drive along the coast and through the mountains and food in Mexico is really something else.  And I would like to believe that the waters there should be really awesome for diving.  And I mean the food? I'm pretty sure I had maxed out my calorie intake for a week just in one day in Mexico.  Yet my fat pants got looser while my partner in crime got fatter

Fish and prawn taco from a random roadside stall. Awesome cos we get to put any toppings we like though I wished the fish/prawn weren't deep fried

He ordered Mexican coffee turned out it's spiked with 3 types of alcohol and burnt with flame! Almost 3 min prep for a glass

Typical Mexican breakfast  HUGE portions, CHEESE and sauces and beans