Universal Studio

Saturday 14 April 2012  -A day on Sentosa Island

Day 2 and 156 to go

With a relaxing evening and decent sleep behind us we were up and in search of breakfast by 830am. We wandered through the Bugis Street markets before heading into a food market for a traditional breakfast of coconut rice with egg and chicken. On our return to our hotel we finalised our things and caught the MRT to Harbour Front before a walk to the cable car and we were hoisted into the air and over the harbour and cruise liners. 

 

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Sentosa beckoned and she didn’t disappoint. She has changed considerably in the ten years since our first visit in which we went to see the Merlion and laser light show. Now Universal studios and Hard Rock have a strong hold, all part of the Resorts World.  There is a large maritime museum and aquarium, which will soon be joined by the largest oceanarium in the world.

Universal Studios was our destination of choice for today. 

The crowds were immense the weather stifling but it wasn’t going to stop us. I had bought our tickets online before we left and made the choice to fork out for the express version. This was the best choice I could have made knowing Paul’s patience level is about nil. 
Basically it meant we skipped the cue and headed straight on to the attractions. Our first stop was the duelling roller coasters of Battlestar Gallactica. OMG. The acceleration, corkscrews, drops and tilts. It was nuts! Any ride like that and my eyes are shut the whole way round. Paul on the other hand is in his element as he is a speed freak.  The coasters remind him of riding a fast bike at the top end of the speedo.  We did the two coasters back to back. The second one in which your seat is connected at the top so your legs hang down was by far the more exhilarating and I managed to keep one eye half open for some of it. Paul still wasn’t impressed. I on the other hand thought it was a huge achievement.

 

Our next stop was The Mummy. This was an indoor roller coaster with some interaction connected to the movie of the same name.  Most of the ride was in the dark except when characters popped up along the way.  I didn’t need to have my eyes shut for this one! 

 

Leaving the world of Cairo we found ourselves in Jurassic Park where we rode two rides, both were tamer than what we had come from and more suited to families. The first was an overhead loop that was not quite a roller coaster and not quiet a cable car ride and the second was a rapids water coaster that was lots of fun. You end up soaked as you splashdown a large incline at the end. 

Exiting Jurassic Park we bypassed Waterworld and headed for the kingdom of Far Far Away. We jumped the cue again and went to check out the Shrek 4d Show. With gorgeous green 3d glasses in hand we entered the theatre and were seated in special seats. The next 15 min was spent being thrown around in our seats as we rode a horse, a dragon and dropped over a waterfall with Shrek and the gang. Every now and then we were sprayed with water and air and even furry things across the back of the legs as spiders were dropped by Lord Farqhuar. Ahhhh! It was a great laugh. Shrek world also had a roller coaster for us to try out. This one was an eyes open all the way round type.

From Shrek castle to Madagascar and a cruisey boat ride into a large ship to keep an eye on the NY zoo escapees, penguins and Lemurs. A little bit of fun.

After this ride we were forced to dodge the rain that had finally settled in, but it wasn’t going to stop us enjoying our last hour.

We watched a sound stage presentation, called “Lights. Camera. Action”. It showed how a movie set is set up to capture, in this case, a category 5 hurricane ripping through a New York boat yard.  This was really cool.

Our last ride was the Transformers 3d which was awesome. A cross between a roller coaster and a simulator we were part of the movie fighting for our life against the other bots. Woo Hoo. 

 

So with all the rides under our belt is was time to head back on the cable car, MRT and back home for a spa to soothe the aching feet. Ahhhhh!

FRIDAY 13 April 2012

1 day down 157 days to go.

Well it is hard to believe that the day Paul and I have been planning for over the past 4 years has finally arrived. We have spent much time in the past month catching up with so many of our friends and family knowing that it would be 6 months before we would see them again. 

We spent our final night in Perth with our great friends Damon, Katie and their two kids. Damon had offered to take us to the airport which was greatly appreciated, though I think he may have had second thoughts when he found out we would need to be out of bed at 4.45am JOY!  Who books flights at such ridiculous hours? Having been on holidays since mid December I have been lucky to see the day before 8am. 

So after a night of “Singstar” with Pip, and by the way I am a SINGSTAR. (I can hear “The Voice” calling.) Drinks, a BBQ and lots of catch up for the boys (Read MANY drinks and cigars) we called it a night waiting the hours out.

At 5.15am we woke the Atthowe household to say our goodbyes and for Paul to give Aiden the goodbye slobbery kiss he’d promised him.  Cue the screaming and cowering for the hairy 13 year old. No sign of Pip, so we will say goodbye to her now. Sleeping beauty would sleep through a cyclone.

At 5.30am the city was alive with early morning commuters. Things were beginning to awaken and another day was beginning to unfold. Damon dropped us safely at the airport, thanks again, and in we lugged our bags and headed for check-in. The red tape rigmarole that is international flying, was extremely smooth, despite 5 other flights leaving in quick succession.  

We tried for an upgrade with no avail. We could have it if we wanted to pay for it we were told. Thanks Singapore air!

Paul set the metal detectors off when going through x-ray, as expected with an artificial hip. I wonder how many other times it will happen?  Then on to border protection and passport control and my first gripe. NO passport stamps. How do they expect me to keep track of the holidays I go on and to look back on the stamps collected bringing back memories of the exotic places I have ventured to if they don’t stamp my passport? It really does make my 32 page passport redundant. I can see passports being like drivers licences in the future.

By now there was 1 hour to fill in with duty free shopping, and checking Facebook and email, though not on the mac as the wireless within the airport is crap. At least they have some free booths to use.

The view of the plane and the city from the departure lounge, was distorted by the low, thick cloud cover, but by the time we were called to board it was already dissipating. The clouds however did delay our flight not reaching the skies until 8am. 

 

The take off was uneventful, but the view was the best I have had on any flight. Clear views of the City, Swan River, Subiaco Oval, Herdsman Lake and UWA. We then headed north along the coast from Cottesloe to beyond Moore River.  It was spectacular. 

 

We settled into the flight and chose our entertainment, George Clooney looked good to meJ so I checked out “The Descendants”.

Breakfast arrived at 9.15am Omelette for me and chicken noodles for Paul. We are the strange people that actually look forward to airline food and ate all with gusto YUM!  And on it went for the following 5 hours. Finally touching down on the tarmac again at 1pm.

It was a swift escape through Changi airport and into a taxi on our way to the Albert Court Hotel in the little India Quarter. After the check-in we settled into our room before venturing out to explore the nearby block of shops.

We stopped first for lunch in a food court which I found amusing when I read one of the food stalls “Pig Organ Soup” it read, can give that a miss was my reaction and settled on a mundane fried noodle dish. 

 

Fuelled up we wandered through the tech shopping quarter. You could buy basically anything you wanted in cameras, mobiles and tablets. 

Feeling weary, we made our way to a 711 to stock up on mixers & beer, passing the new arts school. This looked like a great place to hang out.  We then enjoyed some rest time in the room before hitting the streets again.

We took the MRT to Clarke Quay where we had wandered 10 years earlier. It has changed dramatically in that time. We walked around to Marina Bay for great views of the Marina Bay hotel, the Lotus Flower Museum, Singapore Flyer and Merlion. The whole area was vibrant and alive with Friday afternoon drinkers. I think Perth could learn a lot about waterfront development from Singapore. 

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We continued our walk to Boat Quay where we ate a seafood dinner by the river and watched the laser light show from the Marina Bay Hotel. 

Our night finished with a final lap of Clarke Quay and a return journey on the MRT.

Singapore is still a super sanitised city that lacks the earthiness of its Asian neighbours. The streets are spotless and you can still be fined for just about everything but it has developed a fun side that it was calling out for and I thoroughly enjoyed every second.

Checking this for you Fruitbat!

Now that you are online let's see what happens when I post something new.
This is Paul hiking up Castle rock in the Porongorups. A terrific walk to a really great lookout. Definitely worth a look if you are ever in the area.

Paul's secret fishing spot. He did catch dinner for 4 one night, including a crab, so it is pretty special:)

This is us at the top of Castle Rock at the look out and just one of the splendid wrens at the folks place in Denmark.

Days out and about

So here we are with only 2 weeks to go and we are attempting to cram everything in to the days remaining. On a selfish note I have had two great days with Paul and my nephew Jack int the past 2 weeks. In an attempt to give Laura a break while she settles in with the latest edition Darcy and while her FIFO husband and my brother Brad is away at work Paul and I have taken 2 adventures with Jack, an inquisitive about everything two year old, who is finding joy and wonder in everything around him. Like his Dad when he was a tot, Jack has a penchant for all things mechanical and as such our 2 adventures have been vehicle natured. Our first day out was to the new airport look out on Dunreath Drive

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If you haven't been out there then Jack and I both give it full endorsement. You can wave to your heart's content as the planes take flight and make shooming noises in front of complete strangers, just make sure you have a small child with you or this will be weird.
Following this we went in search of Helicopters at Burswood but it was no where to be seen so we had to be satisfied checking out a cool orange and black motorbike and the big lawnmover cutting the grass, this was a hit.


So this week what were we to do to top this? Paul's suggestion using the dodgy Perth public transport. So we hopped on a Thomas the Tank Engine in Joondalup only after we had a friendly worker show us how to pay for our ticket. She obviously watched us for 5 min have no success and Paul getting more and more frustrated with the ticket machine that has NO info for Zones or which way the credit card goes in.

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Jack's excitement at all the new noises and movements was priceless. Tunnel ... more... stopped at a station...more...close doors...more He didn't want it to end. Toot toot!!

We ventured into the city. Jack happily being pushed around as he took in the sights the city has on offer and for someone who hasn't been there before there was a lot to take in. Bus...truck...crane...crocodile

Instead of staying in the city for lunch we decided to take more public transport this time the ferry across the river to South Perth. Water...beach...fish. It was all smooth sailing as we bobbed along.


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Time in South Perth was limited to the ferry making a return trip so we shoveled our salad roll in tomato, cheese and ham flying with the baby bird making sure he got more than his fair share. We had time for a quick play on the playground dodging a small school group, ask us if we miss it?? NO

Back on the ferry telling Jack we were going back to the train and going home to Mummy and Darcy.
Train...Train...Train just in case we forgot that was what we were doing.

So on the train trip back Jack sets his spot standing on the chair for prime vantage views of the city, alive with new building and as such more big vehicles than you can poke a stick at. That is until he realises there is a pretty young girl sitting behind him who he can flirt with using his pickup line. Train toot toot! It will get them every time.

On the countdown

So it's now less than 4 weeks before we high tail it out of Perth and begin our 5 month long adventure to many new lands and some old favourites. We are now starting to get serious about those last minute things, travel money card, contact details, bills to be paid, catching up with friends the list goes on. I am so glad I wrote a list and put it on the fridge. I am sure something would have been left out if I didn't!
It is also starting to get a little daunting as the day draws near. 5 months is a long time to be away from home and Yogi. How will we cope? I am sure Yogi will enjoy his farm life, ( joining the chooks that have already taken up their new accommodation) and will hardly notice we have gone as he will no doubt be spoiled rotten by the grandparents, us however will be a little more likely to fret and going by previous short holidays, we will do our best to hunt out other dogs to smother with attention.

Today was spent spoiling Yogi with a morning run at the dog beach. I am loading video to see if it works now so I can load more when we are galavanting. So here goes! NO luck BUGGER Will have to try again!

Two tourists in Perth

We have continued our touring of Perth over the past few days started with our favoured wander along North Beach. Unfortunately this time the view of the water was not as picturesque but it was still lovely wandering along the walkway and then down on the beach with the dog chasing the ball into the surf.


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After our walk the dog had more than earned his walk along the sand. He has become a "Salty Sea Dog" in the last 12 months and can't be kept out of the water even with the waves crashing around his ears. It is always good for a laugh taking him to the beach.

Today we wandered along the Swan River in Middle Swan. We parked up near Bandyup ("Bandy Legs") Women's prison and then walked along Reid Hwy before heading past Swan Leigh Residential College and St Mary's Church on Yule Road.

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There are some beautiful old buildings looking out over the Swan River and a gorgeous old church with a cool graveyard of old family plots that we wandered around and checked out the headstones.   

 Paul liked the above Headstone as the person was born on the 10 June 1863. Only 100 years  and 1 day before him!!

On Yule Road there is an Alpaca farm. The alpacas were out in the paddock and particularly interested in Yogi. They weren't game to get close but their heads followed Yogi's movements like Mona Lisa's eyes follow the art critics. Was very amusing. 

Paul Can I have an Alpaca?? PLEASE
Where to next? 

Welcome 2012

So the year of us has finally arrived, only 4 years in the making, but I am sure it will be well worth the wait. I have almost finished booking everything now adding to my giant file yesterday; accommodation in Liverpool and Glasgow and a hire car for Scotland. Paul is busy reading through the New York City travel guide and telling me all the places we can visit. I think the hotel choice was an accidental winner:) In the Theater District, it is close to Broadway and Central Park and the underground train system is only a short walk and will whisk us away to all the New York essentials. I can't wait.

So enough dreaming of the months to come and lets finish of 2011. We walked Carine open space Friday morning with the dog in tow. (Couldn't possibly leave him behind, the video is testament to his fondness of the word WALK)

Carine open space is home to Rainbow Bee Eater birds. They have beautifully coloured feathers and burrow in the sand. Certain areas are marked off to protect the nests. I didn't even know these birds existed, but there seems to be quite a colony of them at the park. 

Of course Yogi was run off his feet as usual. If we didn't stop throwing the ball I am sure he would keep going til he fell down!

Last night's New Year celebrations were low key though it did start well with a yummo Cooke cocktail. We saw in the Sydney New Year and watched the fireworks on the TV before calling it a night. Gawd how old are we!

So the 1st of January 2012 is now here and we have spent much of it in the kitchen. With a surplus of zucchini we have had to become creative with recipes. Today we cooked up Picalilli, fancy Jamie Oliver term we learned on Friday night for  a spicy vegetable pickle mix.  There were plenty of jars made that I am sure they will become offerings from the Cooke's Kitchen. I also put together a zucchini slice and a zucchini chocolate cake. Yes a cake and we have just eaten our fist slice which was delicious, even if the middle was underdone and sloppy. The outside was crusty. All round thumbs up on that one.

We spent time in the yard wih the crazy chickens. Unfortunately Honey is now a moody cow (broody chook) and has taken to attacking poor old Yogi, who is just not sure how he should handle the menacing chicken. He seeks refuge with us which doesn't always pay off. 

We now also have a flock of red tail black cockatoos in the neighbourhood park. I have only ever seen them in the zoo before, so it is great to seem them in the suburbs, tho I am not sure why they have chosen to take up residence round here.

and on that note, it is time to sign off on this 1st day of January 2012. Looking forward to seeing you all soon :)