Phi Phi Island

I took the ferry from Phuket to Phi Phi island and stayed there for a night.

It took about 2 hours to reach the island but the journey was scenically beautiful.

Upon the arrival of the island, we need to pay 20 Baht entrance fee.

Besides hotels, there are also backpackers, bungalows and lodges in the island.

In the evening, there are fire entertainments near the beach.

Newcastle 纽卡斯尔

I took a coach from Canberra to Sydney and from Sydney I travelled to Newcastle (about 3 hours). I only stayed 2 days in Newcastle and went back to Sydney for another 5 days.

Newcastle is not a tourist area but I still have the chance to visit the Mt Sugarloaf and the Blackbutt Reserve where I saw koala bears and kangaroos. I also went to taste the wine in Tempus Two, visited the beach and the shopping centre.

While I was in the shopping centre I saw secondary school students wondering around in school uniform. Later I realised that teachers went on strike and schools were closed on that day. I cannot Imagine what will happen if teachers in Singapore went on strike.

Canberra 堪培拉

I hesitated. I was trying to find out the cheapest way to travel from Melbourne to Canberra as I couldn’t decide whether I should travel by plane, bus or train. I only came to notice that the price for the train ticket has increased gradually and was almost the same as the price for the air ticket when I made up my mind. Hesitation comes with a price.

Canberra is the Capital of Australia but the place is unexpectedly quiet when I was there. I could hardly see more than 100 people during my 3 days and 2 nights visit. The city is rather small and I could tour the whole place within an hour. I visited the park, the lake, the city, the Museum, the old and new Parliament House, the Australian National University and even went up to the Black Mountain to have an aerial view.

Shenzhen 深圳

The hotels in Zhenshen are rather cheap, as compared to Singapore and Hong Kong. You could get a double-bed room in a 4 star hotel for about S$30. If you like massage, spa or healthcare centres, there are many in Shenzhen. East Gate is a good place for you to get cheap goods but be careful of the pickpockets. It is very easy to visit the attractions by taking the train.

I did not visit the The Window of the World 世界之窗 but I went to the Folk Culture Village and Splendid China 锦绣中华民俗村. These 2 attractions are in one place and you just need to pay for one entry (about S$20). Do not miss the horse back battle show as it is worth watching.

Melbourne 墨尔本

While I was resting on the bench along the Yarra River in a lazy afternoon, this Greece man from Athens approached me. He said he was doing a survey and asked whether I could answer some questions. I agreed to his request.

He started by talking about Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad and I told him I have read that book. After talking for a while, I realized that he was trying to persuade me to get into some sort of pyramids investment. I have read about this type of investment in Singapore before. It goes something like this – when a person invested $1,000 and he will get 5% interest provided that he introduces another 10 people to invest $1,000 each. These 10 people will have to further each get another 10 people to invest.

Sydney 悉尼

Sydney is the last stop for my backpacking trip as I have to leave the best for the last. Unfortunately it was raining for 3 days (on and off) during my 5 days of stay. Despite the bad weather, I continued to walk to the Darling Habour, Maritime Museum, Chinatown and the famous Sydney Opera Theatre. I even took the ferry (I think it is less than A$5) and had a tour of the magnificent habour.

It was during the Chinese New Year season when I was in Sydney but I did not feel the festival mood. People still go to work and the shops were still open as usual. I could only see a small performance in Chinatown.

I passed by the Universities, the Daring Harbour, get a closer look at the Maritime Museum and reached the Domain.