Halloween is a celebration that’s usually celebrated within closed doors, in Kl that is. With our ever rising crime rate, Trick-or-Treating is still considered dangerous. Even the kids are not spared. I was afraid my neighbours’ kids might come ringing my apartment door, when I’ve no candies in hand. I’ll just switch off all the lights & pretend no ones home.   I decided to visit the Manly Harbour Village to check out the Halloween Parade, since I’ve never been to one before. Manly is just 20mins drive away from the city, towards the eastern side of Brisbane.

October 31 – Halloween Day. The Western version of “kwai-chit”. I think I’ll be more afraid of “keong-si” chinese vampires than Ghost. Mainly because Casper just gives me a different prospective of the term. Ok…till this day, I’m still afraid of the bloody clown in Stephen King’s movie “It”. As for Freddy Krueger’s Elm Street, no comments.

The parade was actually down the street, then it spans off. But I guess it just gives a feeling of priority to the kids.

I got into the feeling as well with my tiny devil horns & tail. I actually took the public transportation with them on. I received smiles by passerby(s) but at least I wasn’t laughed at.

There were floats & decorated cars as well. Not to be missed were foods & rides with stalls selling knick-knacks e.g. costumes. Anything to make a business off.

Of course we were provided entertainment. Everyone in the audience was awe at the fire show. After learning the secrets of playing with fire (read http://purrjen.wordpress.com/2008/08/03/jotr-vulcana-women-circus-aug-1/), this is “sup-sup-water”. Hey, I ate fire. Don’t play play.

The bestdress competition would put us to shame. There’s this girl who walks round with a dining table on her shoulders. I guess it’s supposed to be a head on platter. Also were 2 angelic little girls with pink tutus & black leather jacket. The adult category was pure gore. I could help but laugh & admire this purple guy for his effort. The technician who’s controlling the spotlight kept missing the purple guy, mainly I guess coz from afar, he’s difficult to notice.

 

Roma Street Parkland was full of colour and people on Sunday 12 October at the annual Queensland Multicultural Festival.   The diverse program of activities and entertainment attracted 65,000 people to the parkland throughout the day – 20,000 more than last year – to experience the myriad of cultures existing within the community. - www.ourbrisbane.com.au-

 

  

After a morning of cycling 60km, I decided to paparazzi the Multicultural Festival happening the same day in the city. The Roma Street Parkland is 2x bigger than Subang Park. It even has its own website www.romastreetparkland.com. The park was divided into areas such as Celebration Lawn, Dance stage, Lake Stage, Children Stage, Amphitheatre, Rhythm City stage with Lantern & Drumming Procession.

  

 

 

Australia being a very multicultural country consist of many different races eg. French, Japanese, Chinese, Indians, Sri Lankans etc but only 1 ruling government ; Australians. I guess maybe it’s a good thing too. Look at Malaysia. Enough said.

 

 

 

I know one thing when I came here, expect to have food in every single tent from different countries; sushi-Japan sausages-Germany,  curry-India etc. And you know what, I didn’t even spend a single cent. I actually brought my own lunch box. Boring aren’t I….kekeke..ikat wallet.

 

 

 

Not only food can be found here but also fun filled activities for the family. I find the Children area more alive. Adults just kinda sit on the grass & chit chat while listening to stage performances. Lovebirds would go rolling on their mats, running from tree to tree singing their own personal love songs. Kids have their inflatable climb, soccer game, drums playing etc.

 

 

 

I picked a spot underneath a tree in the shade for my free lunch while waiting for a err..I think Nigerian drums performance. 5, 10, 15mins still no movement. They were just standing there. At last, the MC made their introduction and suddenly sounds of numerous drums was heard. It was a procession heading towards the stage. It was so funny. The procession stole the thunder, consisting about 5 different diversity of drums. Fun & an eye-opener to a Sunday of activities.

 

I’ve learnt to swim when I was young. Survival skill. I’ve inherited my running legs from my mom, ex-state runner. Also a survival skill. But cycling is a different matter. It has wheels, so like a car, it’s just to get me from 1 place to another, fast. I would have never expected to race in a bike before (err…only when I was kid racing against the kid next door).

 

 

 

Anyway, the Wilson HTM Brisbane to Gold Coast Cycle Challenge (geez, what a mouthful) wasn’t a race, but just a mental / fun event of 2 distances : 60km (Beenleigh to Southport) and 100km (Southbank to Southport). Southport is located in Gold Goast. Since I’ve never rode >20km before, I guess I’ll stick to 60km instead.

 

The night before the race, I had my housemate helped me adjust my bike seat & pump up the tires. To my horror, the tire bust, and I didn’t have a spare. In agony, I called my training mate, Hannah asking for help. Thankfully she had a friend who is able to lend me a bike.

 

 

 

 

The event at Beenleigh starts at 8am and it takes about 45mins to get there by train. Yes, it was another early morning. I was “kiasu” thinking that I might need to fight for a space, so I was at the train station about 15mins early. No-bo-dy also. Celaka!! My kiasu-ness got the better of me.

 

 

 

The starting line was pretty pathetic. Not as glamorous as the 100km at Southbank. It cost $1 to keep your belongings at the Clock Room. Well, better than carrying it. We joined the main road where the 100km riders were zooming along. It was a pretty joyful ride, eventhough I didn’t know anyone. Passed a few riders who had their little mishaps eg. tire puncture etc. I was thankful that I was in a fairly new bike, so lady luck was on my side.

 

 

 

Well, the route seemed somewhat familiar as I was here only a week ago doing my Gold Coast Triathlon. It was a scenic ride surrounded by greenery. Oh, I remembered encountering a few riders with antennas sticking from their helmets. I thought it was to receive radio transmission. Seriously! Hannah said it was to prevent crows from pecking. Ahh…so-des-ka.

 

 

I didn’t think I was required to carbo load. So at around 28km, my stomach started growling. Good thing the pitstop was only a few KMs away. A few cyclist passed by me started talking about scrambled eggs with toast. Guess I wasn’t the only one looking forward to the food. It was a casual event. Cyclist lay their bikes on the ground, slowly walking to tents & resting to recollect themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

I didn’t stay long at the pitstop coz I didn’t want to leave Gold Coast too late. I popped my precious items (like computer game only) into my bikepouch and went on my merry way. Once we were out from the country side into the city, I knew I made it. The weather was cloudy so it wasn’t glaring to my eyes.

 

 

 

Too bad I couldn’t lift up my arms as I cross the finish line or else I’ll fall off the bike. I enjoyed riding the hybrid bike. A hybrid bicycle is a bicycle designed for use on roads and bike paths. The upright seating position was a bliss to my back and I felt more secure when going over rough terrains.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 60km ride took me 2hrs 57mins leisure trip to the coast. On the trip home, I took the bus while the bike rode the truck. I can’t express how much I love this ride. Maybe just cause Australia has got better & flatter road conditions compared to Malaysia. But I know our Malaysian riders always love a challenge.

 

 

  

My 1st official triathlon event. Yes, I did participated in the A’Famosa Sprint Triathlon in Melaka this year, but since I got disqualified from that, not considered official mah.

 

My training mate, Hannah & I drove down to Calypso Bay (near Gold Coast) on Saturday to check-in our bikes. Since we weren’t staying at venue, we had to also time ourselves on travel duration coz we’ll need to drive down again on Sunday morning. Nearly 45mins drive.

 

 

 

The weather for the weekend was predicted hot and windy, hitting 32deg. We’re gonna burn!!! Calypso Bay is an waterfront development marina with expensive boats & houses waiting to be built. No wonder the race was here. Normal public wouldn’t even come here. So no interruptions.

 

  

 Upon registration, I was told that I had registered under the Open Category, do I wish to change to Age Group instead. The difference would be; Open Category not allow to wear wetsuit while the Age Groupers were optional. Open Category consist of Elite athletes. Well, pros & cons. I wanna wear my wetsuit coz water was at 22° so it’s still cold and I don’t wanna “paiseh” swim with the Elites.  So Age Group it is.

 

 

Loitering around, we met up with the other Croc members to check-in our bikes in the Transition Area. I was turned away as I didn’t have handlebar plugs. I panicked. The “lubang” at the handlebar has to be covered to avoid accidents such as penetration/“kena cucuk” into any body part. The Expo bike tent sold out of the item. Panicked again. If I don’t get this in, I can’t race.

  

Drewe offered to take the plugs out from his bike for me to check-in my bike, then replace it tomolo morning. Good idea but problem. By the time I get back to the city, the bike shop close liau. So we taped it up instead. As long as it’s covered. Thankfully it went thru. Thank god for friends.

  

 

 Hannah & Annee decided to go for a short swim to test the water. From what I see is zero visibility and water was still too cold. I hate having the hot sun burning on my back while the water is freaking cold. I rekkie the site hopefully I don’t get lost along the way. Good thing the route was only 1 circle. I wouldn’t wanna make the same mistake again.

 

 

 

The big day came. I slept at the ungodly hour of 9pm and woke up at 2am. Both of my housemates were out partying while I’m preparing to leave. Well, at least I can make as much noise as I like. Met up with Hannah at 3am & arrived at Calypso Bay in darkness. We were like the 4^th car there. It was a good thing too that we were early coz I heard later there was a massive jam getting in.

 

Morning check-in was our bike helmets & setting of transition stuff. Bike stuff : helmet, sunnies, pump tires, taping powergels. Run stuff : cap, powergels, shoes & socks.

 

 

I followed advice from a fellow mate spraying Canola Oil all over my body for easy on-off wetsuit. This will be the only time I would consider it without 2^nd thoughts. The water was still cold but the buoyancy was magnificent. I didn’t even need to thread water to float.

 

 

Swim (1km)

My wave started at 6.10am. After 400m, I floated on my back to unzip my wetsuit. I was hyperventilating. I waved to a lifeguard whom calmed me down. I wanna continue but I was afraid. I went on, with good comfortable strokes. Water started to fill up in the wetsuit, loosening it. 1km came & went pretty quickly but loosing out at least 5mins due to panic.

 

 

Cycle (33km)

I made a mistake of hooking my handlebars rather than my seat. So I had trouble getting it off the rack. Lost a few precious seconds there. This sport was my worst. Always with the excuse of lack of practice plus the seat was extremely uncomfortable. I didn’t wanna invest too much on the bike as I intend to get a new one in the future.

 

Now I understand why cyclist love hills. What goes up, must come down. You suffer cycling up, but cherish the speed on downhill. It gets kinda boring on flat road coz all you do is cycle cycle cycle. My bike comp went “gila” showed 18km when I cycled 33km.

 

Run (7km)

Running had always been my forte. I’m not fast, but I’ve confidence in it. Sufficient water stations to go around, to drink & also pour over your head. At this time, the sun was already up-high. The sunscreen I applied would have been wiped out during the swim. An extremely flat route around the empty land of Calypso Bay. 7km worth of roads & 5 U-turns. I was able to “cut” a few of the athletes who passed me during the cycle.

 

 

I was glad that I didn’t give up. I wasn’t worry too much on the time, just completing it. I was just sore that we didn’t get anything out from it, other than the experience. No finisher medals nor shirt. No certificate also. Sigh….for such an expensive race.

 

 

Quite a number of my team members, the Croc Squad received placing for their Age Group category. There was even a Weight Category. I found out that there were only 2 ladies in the Open Category. Damnit!!! Should have remained in the Open, then no matter how slow I was, I would have taken 3^rd placing. I went for a 10minute massage ($1 per min, only $10 in my pockets). The cycle took its toll on my knees & butt.

 

Hannah & I stayed till around noon to give support to the Half Ironman participants. I slept on the way back, recuperating for a Raya lunch waiting for me (see JOTR-Raya in Brisbane).

 

P/S : It has its advantages being the only Asian in the squad. I can dubbed myself as tourist, being the only unofficial photographer around.

I was so sore when I found out that all my friends in Malaysia had 5 days off (including weekends) for the Raya celebrations while I was stuck working in the office. Sniff sniff…. During this time, I could imagine eating the lemangs, rendang, ketupat etc. Slurp slurp…. So I decided to surf online to see if there were any Raya celebration in Brisbane. Well, we’ve lots of students here. I’m sure something might come up, even if I have to raid a Malay house. YOUR FOOD OR YOUR LIFE!!!

 

 

 

Behold I came across the Malaysian Students Department Australia website. Open house…woohoo!!! Semua dijemput hadir. Even better. Rendang, ketupat..here I come!!!

 

 

 

Well, the only problem was I had a race on the same day that morning. In desperation, I dragged my aching body with 2 heavy bags on a bicycle to the Wooloongabba Darul Uloom (its actually a mosque, I believe). I looked really odd in my slippers & bermudas, made sure I wore a proper top rather than singlet. I didn’t know anyone here. My main objective was eat & absorb in the Raya feeling. It was a joyful event.

 

 

 

Tents were setup outside with food such as satay, ketupat, rendang, mee, roti jala served. To my “shyness”, I refilled my plate 4 times, especially with roti jala. Sirap as drinks made it even better. Too bad no nasi lemak.

 

People mingled in a small hall, where I sat with a bunch of Uni students who were from Sabah, Penang, KL & Brunei. There was also a best dress award for both female & male. Male won by Kwai Loh. Kekekek Standard sudah jatuh.

 

 

I was told that the Malaysian government actually sponsored this event. At least for once they did something good here. With a full stomach, I reluctantly left the venue with satay, ketupat & roti jala still floating in my head and digesting in my tummy.

 

 

 My first interstate marathon. Not like driving up to Penang (KL to Penang 369km). Imagine driving from Brisbane to Sydney 950km. I rather pay for my flight tix of $300 to spare my butt (sitting in car). I wanted to surprise my friends when I decided to run my maiden 42km, but I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut :p

 

I would rather run it in Australia rather than KL. Lots of reason why. Early registration receive a free running vest. Woohoo!! About time I got something for my money. I studied the route thoroughly to mentally prepare myself. Ohmmmm……

 

 

 

I had travelled on Friday night to give myself time to explore Sydney on Saturday. This includes heading to the Event Expo to collect my event pack. It was a rather small expo compared to Gold Coast Marathon. I applaud the volunteers who helped out for the event such as distributing numbers, packing event pack etc.

 

 Distributors such as GU, Skins, Asics and Injinjin were not to be missed. Phiten surprised me though. I know its kinda big in Malaysia but not in Australia. Anyway, since it’s a Japanese product, it might be difficult to hit the market. I’ve so many ppl who ask me what’s that around my neck. My explaining would be “u know those magnet bracelet to help blood circulation? Works nearly the same way just more fashionable”. Well, its somewhat true.

  

 

 

D-day came. My event starts at 7.15am, so I was up at 5.30am to “bangun pagi, gosok gigi, cuci muka, pakai baju” walau…haven’t sang that like…ages. Anyway, the motel kitchen was locked, thankfully I took a bowl & spoon out the night before, for my breakfast usage. Weetbix & choco milk. Bad girl! The sun was already up when I started walking towards the train station. Music from nearby nightclubs were still playing (at 6.15am) with drunks wondering around.

  

Starting line was at Milsons Point, a station after the Harbour Bridge. 1^st point of direction was the toilets. Better queue now than later. Wondered around coz I heard that Elaine Daly was here. Noticed a few young M’sian press (holding M’sian flag). How patriotic.

 

  

 

It was great how the runners were categorized according to their speed. Errr….what’s slower than Medium – Slow Runners? Slow – Snail? I fall in that category. Runners weren’t suppose to wear anything new when u go for a run. Here I was testing my new prescript sunnies. I hope I don’t fall on my face.

  

Marathon Man aka Superman stood in front of me at the starting point and started taking pictures. So I took one with him as well. He asked me if I was Jap, I said no. Then he answered “Alright, then I won’t do the peace sign”. I could have answered that I didn’t mind. Kekekke my trademark pose mah…

  

The run towards the bridge was great especially the view as it slowly emerges in front of u. At least I can brag that I ran on the Sydney Harbour Bridge since it only opens to public once a year.

 

  

Around the Botanical Garden and passing the Art Gallery of NSW, thru the city and down south towards the Centennial Park (which shapes like a human lung. See map above). Australia parks are really big. I would say somewhat like a resort, where in the middle of nowhere, u could come across a Kiosk. Ice cream anyone?

 

 

Iwas enjoying the run until I hit the 28km mark, where we ran beside the Old Glebe Island Bridge. In front, I noticed a big building with the words “Unbamboozle, Unfreakout, Unhassle, Uncomplicate, Unproblem, Unstress” painted on it. Even looked like it had pillars. Very creative artist.  

I can’t say much about other than it felt really long zigzagging thru the roads, hoping to see the last U-turn. At last it came at 38km. The run back, of course seemed faster. At this point, my legs & back was starting to give out. I had to stop to stretch/walk every 400m.

  

  

Once we reached back, beneath the Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, the finish line, was within sight. Running thru Circular Quay, we had a lane gated just for runners (w/o pedestrian interruption). Supporters cheering both left & right side, congratulating us for making this far. I knew that this was not the time to slow down.

  

Like usual, I started talking to myself “Just another 400m, that’s all. Lift up legs. Can u see it? Its right in front of you!” I cut a few runners along the way, sprinting, with a huge smile on my face. I lifted my arms as I cross the finish like, with my face up towards the hot sun. My objective wasn’t so much of the time, but completing it.

  

Note : when crossing finish line, always make sure u are away from others. That way you don’t share the glory with others (picture).

 

  

What do u do right after you finish a race? No, u don’t crash to the ground. U need to walk off ur “tiredness”. U’re already getting a bloodrush. U need to slow ur heartrate, so take slow deep breaths and calmly walk around. I went to collect my well-deserved finisher shirt, but only M-size left. Bugger!! Another pajamas to add to the collection.

 

The organisers were so kind enuff to place our luggage 200m away from the finish line. We just ran 42km, what’s another 200m, right? Wrong!!! I was grumbling the whole way. I didn’t get my free massage, I got a crappy breakfast which I paid for. Regretted coz I arrived back about noon, so it was lunch time.

 

 

Anyway, the secret to how I was able to bear with the distance, was comparing the cut-off time provided, against my own time. I shocked myself when I noticed that I timed 2.01hrs at 21.5km. I beat my own personal best (PB) by 25mins. With my finisher shirt & medal and not forgetting my certificate, I’ve just lost my marathon virginity to Sydney. Yeah baby!!!

I recently travelled to Sydney to participate in the Sydney Marathon 2008 run. My flight with Virgin Blue on Friday night was pretty pleasant. I just didn’t like paying $14 by train to the airport. Check-in was instant with a free selection of seats. The airplane was pretty spacious with a tv screen provided. Just swipe your credit card to watch HBO, SBS etc. I had my notebook to accompany me during the 2.5hr flight.

 

 

Arriving in Sydney Airport, I took a train to the city costing me another $12 *grrr* The difference between Sydney & Brisbane would be even at 11pm, Sydney is still alive. Look left & right, u’ll see Asians ; Korean, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Indonesian etc. Not that I’m complaining but once u’ve westernized an asian, they turn…er…Ozzie.

 

 

 

After much research, I decided to stay at The George Budget & Backpackers accommodation. As a lone traveller, I’m not picky with my facilities, as long as the location & price is right. Train stations were just a block away with plenty of eateries & shops around the corner. $61 a night and a room to myself, I don’t mind.

 

 

 

Toilet & shower is a share concept. Don’t worry, not like school cubicles. There was a kitchen/dining/tv area and a reading/internet area as well. Everywhere was secure with 2 keys provided : Room key & an access key. U forget to bring ur key out, u get locked out. 

 

 

With a brand new morning, I only had a day of touring, so I planned to just hit the city. First stop was the Circular Quay to visit the Harbour Bridge & Sydney Opera House.

 

Circular Quay is a major Sydney transport hub, with a large ferry, rail and bus interchange. Ferry tours are offered to take you around the river. Don’t go for the night ride. Take my advice. I fell asleep & wasted $$$ from it.

 

As for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, its just bridge that takes you from the north side to the main city. I believe climbs are offered as well. If you wanna appreciate the views & height adventure, go for it.

 

Sydney Opera House was designed based on the competition winning entry and is one of the world’s most distinctive 20th century buildings. It was among the 20 selected finalists in the 2007 New Seven Wonders of the World project. Its located opposite the Harbour Bridge.

 

Darling Harbour to me is just a place to walk, look, appreciate & walk somemore. Labelled as “Darling Harbour is a locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia with a large recreational, pedestrian precinct.” See pedestrian = walk. Lots of cruises offered and the Sydney Aquarium is nearby.

 

 

I visited the Chinese Garden 3yrs ago so I didn’t go in. The Chinese Garden of Friendship is located at the southern end of Darling Harbour, near the Sydney Entertainment Centre and adjacent to Chinatown (entry $6 adult). It’s a peaceful & beautiful environment with a teahouse inside. Also providing costume hire ($10 adult) during times like the Ming Dynasty.  So wanna be an Emperor? Pay, dress up & get your camera ready. The venue is also suitable for great photography sessions with bridges, furniture & surrounding gardens.

 

 

The favourite part of my city tour would be Paddy’s Market. Rows and rows of stalls with items majority imported from China. Located in the ‘Market City’ site, beside Chinatown and is more like a traditional flea market, specialising in cheap imported clothes, giftware and also has a small section for fruit, vegetables and seafood. I reserved 2.5hrs just to shop here.

 

Chinatown during the nite is more entertaining. With Spring around the corner, tables & chairs from restaurants were set outside for a more open concept. I bought an original Chinese series DVD for only $5. Even after converting to RM, its still cheaper.

 

 Met with my ex-colleagues :-

Wendy : During my days in Merck, Sharpe & Dohme (MSD) moved to Sydney about 3-4yrs ago (I think) and has loved it ever since. She brought me to the suburb Newtown with a long stretch of restaurants. We ate at the Italian Bowl with pasta to die for. 

 

Max is a joyful character who made me feel right at home. He moved last year from Deloitte Malaysia to Deloitte Sydney. Too bad we didn’t chat long but many thanks for keeping me company during this short time.

 

My advice for transportation to & fro the Airport would be the Airport Shuttle. Costing me about $12 from my hotel to the airport was most convenient as I didn’t have to haul my bags to the train station.

 

While Malaysians were about to countdown to our country’s Independence Day, Brisbane had their fair share of fireworks as well. The reason? None whatsoever. Cool leh…

 

Featuring Brisbane’s biggest and most spectacular fireworks display, QBE Riverfire transforms our city into a massive celebration, as hundreds of thousands of people pack the banks of the Brisbane River and come together in backyards across the suburbs. -http://www.riverfestival.com.au-

 

Rock climbing venue was not spared	Ozzies always being community concious

The event only starts at 7pm and I could already see RAAF F1-11* strike jets zooming the skies from my balcony. The bus stop was packed with people trying to get to the venue last minute, like me. By the time I got to my location, it was 10mins to 7pm. Gotta find a spot quickly….

My ice cream suxed. Bad investment	Sate house. Is this the english spelling for Satay?

 

 

See the map above. That’s the Brisbane River. Those dot dot u see are where fireworks were lit. So you can be anywhere along the river to entertain yourself. I was at the cuckoo head. I’ve got like 180 view. Actually I climb over a prohibited fence and sat at riverbank. Kids don’t try that at home :p

 

 

There’s no theme. Just light and fire. It started with a jet zooming across the sky then upwards towards heaven. Then, boom. The skies was bright with colours. How to describe? Like that loh. Various colour & patterns. I could even see fireworks being lit off from building’s roof in the city. The whole thing lasted 30mins and at the same time eating my romantically-lonely-homemade-pasta dinner.

 

These were the best pictures. Totally reminds me of Hong Kong (except w/o the sails)

 

We were told tat the main location to watch the fireworks was at Southbank. But anyone with the right mind would avoid that place. Well, we’ve got ½ the river stretch to watch it. Its like tempting someone to bomb tat place (opps…touch wood). Plus once a quota was reached, people were stopped from entering. Ok lah…safety first.

Anyway, all the public transportation eg. trains & busses were packed with people. I had to walk to another station to catch my bus.

 

I would like to thank all the public servants & volunteers who helped out that nite. I was only there for an hour, but since it’s a once a year event. Ok lah..i gip u face :p

 

p/s : sorry pics not so nice. My camera not keng enuff for night shots

 

 

 

 

“For 131 years, the city and country have come together for Queensland’s biggest and best loved annual family event – the Ekka. From the dazzling lights of Sideshow Alley to the unique sight of cattle in the CBD; for ten days each year Brisbane really comes alive.” -http://www.ekka.com.au-

I guess for me a festival that actually gives us a public holiday deserves a celebration. Ekka lasted for 10days, just fun fun fun. So being “kiasu” me, I went on the very last day. Entrance fee was $22 per person.

I somehow convince my housemate, Dean to go along with me. So free transport. We parked at my office basement, as it was a walking distance away from the showground, plus we save $19 on parking fee. From a distance, I could see a hugggeee arena just filled with people, noises & rides.

 

The 1^st venue I went to was the Animal Nursery & Milking Barn. I was greeted with “beeehhh”. Lambs!! Sheeps!! My favourite toy, I mean animal. Different types, shapes, colours etc. I passed my camera to Dean and started chasing them. These buggers are so greedy. They only come to u if you have food. And me, being kiamsap, I didn’t buy any :p  I caught hold of a baby lamb, at the same time shooing Dean to quickly take a picture. When I let it go, it behhh all the way back to its mommy. Gome lammu…

 

Around the corner was the fleece competition. Not quite sure how they judge it. Feel it, smell it, rub it on ur face, put ur feet over it kuaaaa. There was also the Sheep shearing demo on. But I didn’t stick around to see naked lamb.

 

Next up was the horse demo. Nothing much here. Just seeing the horse run around, being obedient to instructions & not be distracted or causing havoc with strange sounds. There was the Cat, Fish & Dog area. I was laughing when I saw this. How can you put all these together!! They are mortal enemies. But ok lah..they fall in the same category. Home Pets. The Poultry , Pigeons & Birds Pavillion was actually what it said. I’m only a fan of Poultry on my dining table.

 

A few sights as I was walking around the place. Of course the cow was a great angle for a picture. I was “sandwiched” by 2 slices of bread. Get it?!! The scary guy was soooo intimidating in his sweat pants & sneakers. And Shrek would just scare me to sleep.

 

 

The other side of the showground was “Side Show Alley”. I wish I understood the true meaning of this. Maybe coz as we walk around the place, you are surrounded by rides & games both left & right side. So its an Alley providing you side shows? Anyway, I was tempted to play the games, but what the heck will I do with the big teddies (if I win it)? The rides looked “whoa” but Dean didn’t look like a great company to sit with. So decided to skip it. Neither do I intend to go into the Haunted House.

 

When you spend time in a festival, there’s also food for all ages. High class – ribs, Low class – hamburger. Guess what class I fall in? Anyway, since this was a place to make money. Of course everything had a price hike to it. I paid $6.50 for my burger, but it was filling though. Took me nearly 30mins to finish it. Sorry lah my mouth too small to gulp it down fast.

One of the biggest thing in Ekka is the Showbag. It’s a bag (duh!) filled with all sorts of stuff at a fixed price. For example Cadbury showbag will contain all sorts of items from Cadbury selling at $10 (original price $30). This warehouse was filled with booths of all sorts of brands. All you need is $$$.

 

When I caught sight of the International Food Village banner, I was going slurp slurp. German sausages, sushi, satay etc. All I bought was a cup of lemonade. I was thirsty ok. Dean and I went to looked at doggies competion but they were already packing up. I wanted to take a picture of a great big black dog but the owner didn’t let. Blekkk!!!

 

Then suddenly I heard the sound of drums. Wahh!! Got lion dance here woh. Tengok kejap only. See too often already. There was an incident where a booth was selling candles shaped as a cake. Took picture of it, then the seller was like…”You took a picture?” I answered “Yes”. She said “Pay $100 or delete it.” I’m like “Nah!!!!” delete. Chisin poh!!! Her ah not me. I rather use $100 to buy me a new bike seat.

 

Anyway, of course if you come across a sign that says “Female Firefighters Calendar for only $10” You’ll definitely think whom of your guy friends birthday is coming up.

 

Dean and I conquered the whole place in 2.5hrs. We started at 2.30pm and had wanted to stay till late to see the fireworks. Guess that didn’t happen. Would have loved it if my friends was here with me though. Miss you all!!!!