Saturday, June 30, 2012

Melbourne 2012 : Flinders Street Station

Flinders Street Station is the central railway station of the suburban railway network of Melbourne. It is a cultural icon, and is used in imagery to represent the city.

It is one of my favourite buildings in Melbourne. It gives me a wave of familiarity when I see it.
It was the station I always get off the tram when I reached the city, back then when I was studying in Melbourne in 2003.

I managed to snapI photos of the building during the day, just after sunset, and at dusk. Although just using my point-and-shoot, I think they came out very pretty.

Flinders Street Station - During The Day
Flinders Street Station - Just After Sunset
Flinders Street Station - At Dusk


When Melbournians tell you "I'll meet you under the clocks', they mean here - the rows of clocks below the main entrance.
In fact, we did actually used this as a meeting place when we met up with friends in Melbourne.

 This is the side of the Station, with the Elizabeth Street Clock Tower near the end of the building.

Another photo of the building at night.

Isn't this iconic building beautiful?

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Genting Highlands Trip - June 2012

The last time we went to Genting Highlands was about 2 years ago when Shern was not even a year old. That time, Shern was still very much a baby and was unaware of his surroundings. This trip, Shern is very much more aware and he enjoyed this trip the most.

We reached Genting Skyway after lunch time around 3pm. 3 of us and Min took the Skyway while Dad drove the rest up to Genting Highlands.
16 June 2012 - Shern with Daddy posing with Transformers

Shern and Daddy at the Genting Skyway Station

This time, Shern was aware of him being inside the cable car and was smiling while it whooshed us up the hill.
3 of us on the actual Genting Skyway

Upon reaching Genting Highlands, we had to walk to our rented Ria Apartment which was quite a walk, but it was well shaded all the way.
Shern with his cheeky smile and pose

We chose to stay in Ria Apartment because there were 6 of us + 1 kid and it wouldn't be nice to stay in 2 or 3 different hotel rooms. We used to stay in Awana Resort down the hill but we found that a hassle because we need to take the Skyway or drive up the hill every time we wanted to go up or eat.

But bear in mind, Ria Apartment is not very clean. It is very old and furniture are shabby looking. It is not very dirty either but not as clean as a hotel. Shern is a big boy now and does not pick things up to put into his mouth, so we were not so worried about cleanliness.
If you are very particular about cleanliness, then Ria Apartment is not for you.  

Shern was happy of the big floor space in our unit. He was playing with the toy cars I brought there, wheeling them here and there and showing us his cheeky smiles!

Then we could feel it getting colder. Genting's weather is very much colder compared to Penang Island. Initially I thought it wouldn't be this cold considering Penang was having a hot spell at that time and Genting would be in a hot spell as well. But I was wrong. It was chilly up there. So I changed Shern into long tights and top. He looks so cute wearing those.

 This is Shern and my big tummy!

Then we walked out to the hotels. My tummy looks SO HUGE here. It's the angle and the top.
*Note to self, dont wear this gigantic top again. It looks ugly on me* haha.
Mum & me - nearby Hotel Theme Park

Hey, my tummy looks smaller here. Haha. Told you it is the angle, right?
3 of us taking a photo with the Freeze mascot. Shern was looking at him curiously all the time.
Shern also took a photo with the huge skeletal dinasour!

Up in Genting, I found out that Shern loves bowling. He was very fascinated with it and asked for us to bring him up to the Bowling Alley a few times to watch people bowl. So he was very happy to see the big bowling pins on the entrance and he took a photo with them.
*note to self: buy toy bowling pins and balls for Shern to play*
Shern with Popo hugging the Bowling Pins

I super love this photo. Saw this at the entrance of Ripley's Believe It Or Not and 3 of us posed to the camera showing our big tummies as well! ;)
3 of us showing our big tummies!

We didnt take any rides because it was after dinner and we were all tired. We promised Shern that we would let him sit the rides the next day. Shern was a good boy and did not make a fuss.

The next day, it was a very misty morning. Look at the mist even thought it was already 10am.

Shern was above 90cm so he needed a Child Ticket to sit the rides.
For Indoor Theme Park only, it was RM28 for child, and RM30 for adults. Quite reasonably priced I think considering that they charge RM8 for per ride.

 3 of us bought tickets to accompany Shern. The rest went shopping at First World!
3 of us having our tickets tagged in our wrists

First Ride was the Monorail because Shern wanted to sit the 'long long slow train'.
Big mistake coz we waited for nearly an hour just for that ride! One hour was very long for a 3 year old and luckily I bought snacks for him to nibble, and Shern played with his Daddy's iPhone. Thank God for gadgets!

At last it was our turn and Shern was excited and happy to sit inside the monorail. This Caterpillar-shaped Monorail will travel all around the indoor theme park and also the outdoor theme park.
The whole ride was 20 minutes which I found was far too long. Shern was getting restless after about 10 minutes and wanted to get out.
And furthermore, it was very misty outside so we couldn't see much at the outdoors.
Monorail

After that, the queues to all other rides were not long. About 10 minutes max, so it was alright.
Shern drove an Ambulance in the Ride De Paris. He was happy.

Next was the Carousel. Hubby went with him only because I don't like Merry-Go-Rounds, they make me dizzy.
Carousel Ride

Then we took the Reindeer Cruiser, which is a Family Ride. Shern sat in front, while hubby & I sat behind.
Reindeer Cruiser Ride


This is another of Shern's favourite ride, the Mini Train. This is a Family Ride so we could all sit together.  
Mini Train Ride

You can see why he is so happy. There is a bell for each carriage and so Shern could ring the bell during the whole ride!

Then we saw the M&Ms World Shop selling all M&Ms Chocolates. I was like 'oh no, Shern is gonna pester us to buy him M&Ms.' But luckily, all Shern saw was the Red and Yellow M&Ms mascots and all he wanted was to take photos with them! Phew!

 Then we went over to Theme Park Hotel and he sat on another Merry Go Round with Min-yee...

and the Safari Cruise for 3 times....

After that we went back to the apartment for a nap and then came out again in the evening for Dinner.
It was Father's Day as well, so below the photos of the guys. 


Min &I took a photo with our Daddy in Genting Hotel.

 A photo of me alone and another one together with hubby.

We had a nice dinner at Good Friends Restaurant. Shern ate a lot as well.

Shern with his Daddy ;)

Then we took the Rio Float Ride together.
Rio Float Ride

The last ride Shern took was the Junior Bumper Car. Here's Shern queuing up for his turn. Luckily I sent Shern to Playschool. If not, I don't think he has the patient to actually queue for 15 mins alone for his turn.

And Shern was quite the smallest sized queuing up for the ride. The other younger ones all sat with their elder bro or sis. Shern was all alone and the attendant taught him how to step on the pedal for the car to move. Shern's legs were just long enough to reach the pedal. And Shern was maneuvering his car quite well.

These kids don't really bump into each other, but avoid bumping, so it was very nice for them to actually ride a car. I'm so very proud of my son! ;)

After that, he was all tired and after an ice-cream, we all walked back to our apartment.
We left for home the next morning.

Shern was the happiest among us on this Genting Highlands Trip! :)

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