2 days in Chengdu

The third city we've been to during our China trip is Chengdu. This is the capital of the Sichuan Province and we came via the high speed train. It took about 5 hours for the trip. We have booked the train tickets from Trip.com and we exchanged our voucher at Xi'an North train station the day before our departure.

I thought that Chengdu would not be as big but I was wrong. It has a very organised metro line and lots of tall buildings at what I think is their downtown area. For this leg, we decided to splurge with our hotel accommodation. We stayed in a hotel that I did not know was a 5 star one LOL. It was called Dorsett Grand Chengdu and was very near the train station. We were assigned to a room in the 33rd floor and this was our view.

We arrived at around 3pm and just decided to go to People's Park. It was so easy to get to as it is right beside the People's Park station. Entry was free. It was a Saturday afternoon and so it was packed. It was nice to see families with their kids playing and just enjoying the atmosphere. The park was huge.There was a bonsai garden and a fish pond.

I think it is the only park I have seen that has a mini kid's carnival. There were rides like bumper cars and roller coasters. This was the busiest part of the park. Also, we found out about a food cart that sells of sugary lollies that can be customized to different characters. 

The kids love it!

Chengdu is known for their spicy food and abundance of hot pot. We are not really adventorous with food but I tried to eat dumplings with a little bit of spice. It was surprisingly not too bad! I would not hesitate to have it again. 

The main goal why we headed to Chengdu was to catch a glimpse of how their pandas are being taken cared of. We went to the Panda Research Base and I have written all about it here.

Some tips we have compiled for your upcoming Chengdu trip:

1. The Panda Research Base opens at 7:30am. We got to it at 8am and there was a long line at the entrance already. You can choose to come in really early and buy tickets right there at the entrance.

2. Taxi rates can vary from time of day, taxi companies and etc. We paid 60 RMB going to the panda base on an early morning but only 40 RMB coming back to the hotel after. This was even though there was heavier traffic going back.

3. Souvenir costs are pretty much the same whichever store you go.

4. Heading to or from the Chengdu airport? Easier to take the subway line whichever way.

5. Be specific when ordering food. Some establishments might forget you can't only tolerate a spicy meal.

6. It was a good decision to just pay for a subway ticket everytime we would ride a subway line. Saved us time from searching how or where we can have a permanent subway card refunded. Although it takes time to line up at the ticket counter but we did not mind.

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

Mornings with the Pandas in Chengdu

I have not blogged for a long time because me and Joel went for a 3 week holiday to Japan and China. After coming back to Australia, I spent a few weeks getting back to my daily grind and now that I have settled I will try and write about our amazing trip. I might not be able to write it in order of the itinerary but here we go..

On our last 2 days in China, we were in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. We arrived in Chengdu via the high speed train from Xi'an. I planned for us to go and see the pandas at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding or Panda Base for short. It has been created to imitate the natural habitat of pandas for their rearing and breeding. This base takes care of other endangered animals such as black necked cranes, white storks and etc. There are other panda bases in Chengdu but I chose this because it is the nearest (because of its location, it is the most crowded!)

I've read a lot of blogs and one of them suggested not to go with the group tours as they leave the city late and when you arrive at the base, there will be tons of people and most probably the pandas are asleep already. It is said that giant pandas generally spend most of their time sleeping. Therefore, I did not bother to look for tours.

We woke up early and tried to get there by 9am. We asked the hotel staff's help to hail us a taxi. We paid about 60 RMB for the 10km journey and upon arriving, saw heaps of crowd already! Talk about trying to beat the crowd LOL. As with all tourist attractions in China, we had to line up to buy the tickets. Adult ticket is 58 RMB.

Upon entering, some people were lining up to ride the free shuttle that would take you directly to where most of the giant pandas are. We ignored that and just followed the general crowd. The map of the base makes it look huge but walking through the area is not that bad.

There were bamboos on the sides that kept the area cool and shady anyway. I even felt that I was back in Japan!

The first pandas we saw were the red pandas. They were so cute! We had the right timing when the carer came to their area and fed them. They were eating and getting food from the bucket while the carer cleaned their space.

We also saw pandas sleeping on top of the tree which was cute!

Also, a panda playing while his mum is sleeping. The young panda was so playful that it climbed up and down their tree house which made for a great crowd entertainment.

The crowd was becoming thick as the tour groups have arrived. We decided to do a bit of people watching by sitting on the benches that are on the sides. I saw people were selling panda headbands or accessories inside the base.

We would have stayed longer but we had to go back to our hotel to check out. Before we left, we didn't forget to check their gift shop for a souvenir.

Goal achieved for our last day in China! We then headed to the airport via the metro line for our flight bound for Australia. Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

Sunday Afternoon at Artvo

Been bugging Joel to come with me to see what Artvo was about. It is a "trick-art gallery" and boasts as the first of its kind in Australia. I have been to one in Phuket about 5 years ago and thought he might like it too. So, on one Sunday afternoon we headed down to Docklands to check the place out. 

We got there at around 3 pm and went straight to Artvo. Ticket price was $28 for one adult. The attendant was happy to instruct us of what to do and here I am doing the first ever pose.

At first we found it difficult to understand how to pose so we were quite awkward.

Or the photos we took were quite blurry.

Then we warmed up and got the idea.

I swear this smile would be my biggest if I can afford to shop like this!

It also tested our acting skills such as being afraid of giant creatures. 

Or almost falling off a wooden bridge. 

And trying to hide from a one eyed green moster. 

We also got a chance to visit famous tourist spots like a canal in Venice.

Or just sitting near Trevi Fountain. 

Indulged in red wine.. 

and him with a giant sushi

I must say, our acting skills were tested. Joel liked it as much as I did. It's a great way to spend an afternoon with friends and family. I'd recommend you all try one near your area, if there are any.

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

My Cousin's Graduation

29 April 2019 - My cousin, Paolo, graduated Bachelor of Nursing at Australian College of Nursing. I was so fortunate to have been able to attend as they had an extra ticket. It was the first time I attended a commencement ceremony outside of my country. As wilth the previous ceremonies I've been to, the families were afforded seats but the graduates were already in their seats before us. The stage was very simple as well.

The usual speeches were there and every graduate was able to come up to the stage to receive their diploma. After the ceremony we all filed outside for some afternoon tea (coffee, tea and pastry) for everyone. The graduates also had to buy their portrait photos of the time they were on stage. 

There's only a few things that we in the Philippines have during the special occasion. One thing is that they didn't have the flower garlands that we give to graduates and there were only one or two official photographers. 

After the ceremony, we celebrated with afternoon drinks at the nearby pub. Paolo's hardwork has paid off and now he is an inch closer to the world of employment. I wish him all the best!

Thanks for reading and 'til next blog :)

Air Supply Live in Concert

I was very excited when I read that Air Supply was going to perform in Melbourne. The tickets were pretty expensive and I felt I could not afford it. But then, I found a really good deal online and I snapped it up! 

I'm very pleased to know that they are an Australian Band. I grew up listening to their music. I remember listening to most of their songs from the radio and the tunes take me back to memories of being in my childhood home on a weekend.

Me and Joel had a really good time in the concert. They played most, if not all, of their hit songs and I could sing most of them, too! I love that they sound almost the same as their recordings, legit music artists of their generation. I only have a few clips as I wanted to enjoy the moment and also a staff of the convention centre was going around asking not to take videos (?).

Here's one short clip that I got from last night's concert.

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

Easter Sunday in Sydney

We went to Sydney last Easter weekend to catch up with friends and get a bag that I left with them back in 2017. On Easter Sunday, me and Joel decided to make full use of our day before our late night flight back to Melbourne. 

After checking out from our hotel, we headed to CBD Storage to leave our luggage. For luggage left until 5pm, the price was $11. But we decided we will get our bag after 5pm, so we paid $24. I saw a Starbucks Coffee place on the way and got my sister a Starbucks tumbler as she loves to collect these. I'm pleased that with my purchase I was given free coffee :)

image from http://gramha.com/explore-hashtag/starbucksaussie

Going around Sydney is very easy with Opal Card. Much like Melbourne's Myki card, I just have to tap on and tap off every time I ride the public transport. On Sundays, it's more cost effective because there is a travel cap of $2.70. This means one can travel all day with train, bus, ferry or light rail and pay no more than $2.70. I believe this makes Sundays a busy day for families wanting to bond and sight see around Sydney. 

With this travel cap in mind, we started our journey from Town Hall Station to Circular Quay Station to see the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Getting off the train, we immediately saw the 2 iconic landmarks from beyond. We were really lucky that the weather was really nice that day!

We got off the train platform and was greeted with throngs of people lining up to ride the ferries to neighboring bays and beaches. The lines were really long and the sun was unforgiving. We decided to walk towards the Opera House. It was lined with a lot of food joints and restaurants, there were lots to choose from and the view was amazing!

After filling our hungry stomachs, we headed to see the Opera House up close. Since it was around noon time, there were parts of the steps leading to the Opera House that did not have a crowd. The crowd was concentrated in the shaded area and we were able to get quite a good shot.

Walking back to Circular Quay, we were debating if we should take the bus or the ferry to Watson's Bay and get a bus from there to Bondi. The bus from Circular Quay to Bondi was Bus 333 and we can see it from Stand B. Although the bus is easier because there is not much of a crowd, we opted to line up for the ferry. We wanted to experience the ferry ride and lined up for almost an hour. 

waiting for the ferry. We were first in the queue :)

.

The ferry ride was not so bad, it is a different way to travel and we saw the Opera House while cruising through the waters.

We arrived in Watson's Bay after about 25 minutes ferry journey. I've never been to Watson's Bay and it looked cool. Lots of restaurants, nice beach and this gorgeous view.

Our main goal was to head to Bondi beach so we headed to the bus stop and waited for bus 380 to Bondi. 

Finally arrived in Bondi Beach! Time to enjoy the sea, sun and sand :)

getting some sun before winter comes!

I can say we saw a lot of Sydney in one day and our public transport fares could have easily cost us around $20 but because it was a Sunday, we got it cheap. We chose to fly from Sydney to Melbourne on a Sunday night so that we could still rest  and recuperate on Easter Monday at home. Also, we chose to get away from the crowd that is expected to get back to Melbourne after the Easter weekend. 

My goal when I come back to Sydney in the future is to afford the Bridge Climb. Hopefully I can save up for it! Thank you for reading and 'til the next blog!

A Day in Healesville

On a rare Saturday that I am not working, we decided to head to Healesville, Victoria. It is a town 52 km northeast of Melbourne CBD and about an hours drive. It was a long drive but a scenic one. I had fun watching the plains and valleys and wineries along the way.

Our first agenda was to visit a colleague/friend's cafe. She has set this up with her husband who was a chef. We found them at Black Spur Nursery and Cafe. While waiting for our orders, we looked around the nursery. It would have been nice to buy one but there is no space and time to take care of it so we dropped the idea. Finally our orders arrived and it was delish!

Next on our list was to visit Hedgend Maze. I found a Groupon voucher with about $4 discount for this attraction. Regular adult price was $18. Joel always wanted to try a maze and it was the perfect time to try it. We went to Hedgend and just presented our voucher. The attendants then gave each of us a wristband, a map of the place which also contains the things we can do and a pencil.

First we headed off to the mini golf. The last time we had one was months ago and because the last one was my very first one, I lost the game. There were 18 holes on this mini golf and even though Joel had a hole in one, I beat him by 6 points! Haha

The next thing we did was the native maze. I had a lot of fun with this. It's a trust maze and one person has to be blindfolded and another person directs with his voice. I was blind folded first and Joel successfully guided me without running over a bush. Of course, when it was my turn to blurt out the directions, I wasn't as good as him.

The famous hedge maze was next on our list, I felt quite claustrophobic going into it. We had to find a secret message from the encircled letters of a statement made by a famous person. It was difficult and we gave up after finding 7 letters LOL. The maze had parts that are not yet fully grown so some people would cut to them. I also was kind of feeling dizzy from walking within the walls so we headed out of it.

We then headed out to the look out tower wherein we saw how vast the land area was, the top view of the Hedge Maze and we can also see another maze called the Rainbow Maze.

It is a colour pathway with 4 levels of difficulty. Level 1 was easy - The aim was to go from start to end staying on the red pathway.

There were other activities such as Tangled web, Mural Eyespy, Frisbee Golf, Fossil Dig, Lawn Games and etc.

There was also a picnic and BBQ area for family gatherings. It was a productive Saturday for us and we headed back to Melbourne happily. There is another attraction there called the Healesville Sanctuary that we might visit in the future.

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!