Phi Phi Island
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Category Archives: Travel
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.
Adelaide 阿德莱德
In Adelaide, I stayed in the Backpacker for 3 days. I walked around the city, passed by the famous University of Adelaide, went to Chinatown and had a bowl of noodle soup and took the public bus to Glenelg, which is the beach area.
Gold Coast 黄金海岸
I took the train from Brisbane to the Gold Coast for A$18. It was about 50 minutes ride. As compared to Australia, the fare for our MRT is still very cheap. The theme parks in Gold Coast are near to each other. I got a 2-day ticket to visit 2 theme parks.
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.
Beijing 北京
在北京看到了长城的雄气, 颐和园的秀气, 故宫的霸气和寺庙的灵气, 果然名不虚传!
Suzhou 苏州
From Shanghai Hongqiao railway station I took the train to Suzhou. It is just 2 stops and the journey is about 30 minutes. The ticket costs S$8.
Suzhou is known as the Eastern Venice (Water City of the East). There is no train service in the city and people have to take the buses and occasionally the boats. The bus fare is 20 cents per trip. I have no problem traveling alone in Suzhou as I am able to read the signs and take the buses to those places I wanted to visit. I stayed 3 days and 2 nights in Suzhou but I do not mind visiting the place again as it is really worth visiting twice.
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.
I told this Greece man that this type of investment is illegal in Singapore. He asked for my contact number in Singapore and said he will get someone from Network 21 will contact me when I am back in Singapore. I did a search in the Internet and found that there is in fact such an institution known as Network 21 that trains people to be their own boss. But I am not interested in this.
I continued with my sightseeing in this second largest city in Australia. I think I need at least 2 days to tour the whole city. If I am to visit the museums, art galleries and other tourist attractions, I will need another 2 more days.
I went to the Queen Victoria Market and found that it is very interested. I bought 5 tomatoes for 50 cents and 3 big bananas for $1.45. I ate them for lunch. This market is one of the places you will have to visit if you are coming to Melbourne.
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.
