Tagged!

I've just been tagged by Ling (who was tagged by Brenda) to write about 5 things people don't know about me. Tagging is so narcissistic... I like!

1. Weirdest Nickname
Cockles : PF calls me this because... because... (you gotta promise to still be my friend after this) a char kuay teow uncle actually wrote 'no cockles' on my styrofoam box becoz I don't eat the bloody things and it tickled us so much that the name just stuck. It's not funny now, but it sure was funny then. Really!

2. Childhood Ambition
Computer Programmer : Back in the day when starting up your computer involved a cassette tape, I wanted to be one even though I had no idea what a Computer Programmer did. It just sounded really good to a 7 year old.

3. Secret Talents
Sorry, I'm breaking the rules by listing 2 things here, but I'm so proud of both, it's tough to choose.
Discount Calculator : I'm so good at calculating discounts at sales, it's not funny. Really! 30% off $195?
*dormant brain cells kick into high gear and dust starts flying out of my ears*
$136.50! (7 x $20 - 7 x $0.50) NEXT!
Eyelid Flipper : Haha! Funny Bee absolutely hates it when I do this, so when she reminds me about it, I do it for 5 minutes straight until her skin crawls off her body.

4. Insecurities
Short legs : I am only 1.53m tall short. PF is about 1.78m tall. When I stand next to him, I look like a hobbit. -_- In pri school, I used to be in the middle of the line when my class lined up. Over the years, I slowly moved forward. Drat!

5. Fav Sports
Rock-climbing : I LOVE IT! (Must be my strong monkey genes, LOL) Funny Bee and I used to climb all the time. We've even climbed in the UK. *sigh* I miss climbing. I need to start climbing again, but I'm so terrified to try because I've gotten so fat and wobbly.

Okay, that's it. Now I have to tag 5 people : Dawn, Funny Bee (just try la!), Josh, Buttons and JRT Joanne.

Dish the dirt, come on. ;)

We're back!

Total distance travelled within Western Australia : 1,200 km
Total pieces of unworn clothes : 15-20 (overpacked again!)
Total number of meltdowns : 1.5 per day (average)
Total number of IT gadgets PF brought over : 1 mini-laptop, 1 baby monitor, 1 DSLR camera, 3 SD cards, 1 portable harddisk, 1 emergency handphone charger, 1 battery charger unit, 8 rechargable batteries (he's a walking, talking IT Show)
Total number of photos taken : Don't know... too many to count! 800???
Total number of family photos taken : ONE.

And this is it. Humph.


Taken on the last day of our holiday... sunset at Bathers Bay, Fremantle








I'll blog about our holiday, but I'll backdate all the posts so make sure you scroll down. :)

Yes, I'm anal that way... and proud of it! (Funny Bee will understand.)

Last Day :: Fremantle - Perth City - Singapore
Wow. That's it. 8 days gone just like that. It me longer to blog about the holiday, LOL.

0800 :: All of us are up and we scramble to down breakfast, do some last minute packing and check out by 10am.
1045 :: Drive to the Fremantle Chocolate Factory nearby to pick up some souvenirs. (We're 100% Singaporean la!)
1130 :: We're back at Harbour Town again. (Sorry, 110% Singaporean!) PF and I shop with a vengeance.
1415 :: We rush to the airport for our 4.30pm flight. Somehow, we manage to squeeze 5 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of slippers, 2 shirts and 1 hoodie (Harbour Town spoils) into the bursting bags.
1630 :: Ta-ta Perth!
2130 :: Touch down, we're home. :)

There was an apple on DN's Kid's Tray and he ate the whole thing with gusto. Ah-hahaha! His face is so funny.






Plane rides are boring for me, what more a toddler?! We walk up and down the aisle, go say hi to the stewardesses, go say hi to other kids, look out the window at the emergency exit and...

...take goofy pictures!



Not surprisingly, DN enjoyed his fish fingers and chips.



Except for the apple bits, I think this is quite a nice picture, heh.

DN : "But Dad, I AM smiling!"

Day 7 :: Fremantle - Subiaco - Whiteman Park

0830 :: Up!
1030 :: Drive to Subiaco for a walk around. Dang! Everything is shut. -_- The Singaporeans are flummoxed. Holland Village is extra busy on Sundays! Mustafa is open 24 hours a day!
1145 :: We're back in the apartment and DN naps.
1400 :: On a whim, we head to Whiteman Park for the Classic Car Show.
1530 :: The Ongs are hungry so we wander around and we find this! I also find a cafe and buy an iced chocolate (yum!) and am tempted to buy a kangaroo burger. (Goodness! I can't believe I actually thought of it, they're so cute.) Anyway, DN has a swell time at the playground.
1700 :: We manage to peel DN away from the playground and head back to Fremantle. He naps in the car.
1815 :: After feeding DN dinner, we walk to the Fremantle Harbour in search of some fish & chips and stumble upon Bathers Bay. :)
19oo :: Dinner at Cicerello's.
2030 :: Story time & bed for DN. PF and I then try to squeeze 3 bags full of stuff into 2 bags. -_-

We met someone at the car show who collects these vintage toy cars. He buys them and restores them. Sweet.

The playground had a huge tent over it. So even thought it was blazing hot, the kids could still play comfortably and safely.



Hee hee!

The seagulls were swooping in on leftover fries.

DN doesn't like to wear hats, but he's okay with his hoodie. Funny!

I like this pic. :)
At Bathers Bay, we hung around and waited for the sunset (which DN is pretending to admire).

We took off his shoes and let him run around in the sand. He loved it! The sand is so soft and fine. Not like the mucky, clumpy sand we have here.


One of the basins in our apartment is massive.

Day 6 :: Fremantle - Perth City

0830 :: Up! (and I don't know how, but we manage to flop about in the apartment for 3 hours!)
1130 :: Walk to the Fremantle Markets. We buy some peaches, plums, nectarines, a smoothie and a hotdog. Hmm... turns out less than what we expected. More like a pasar malam with tacky souvenirs than a place for independent artists/craftsmen to sell their wares. (Honestly speaking, I have more fun at Daiso.)
1500 :: Drive to Harbour Town and DN naps for half an hour on the way. The nap's long overdue (his first of the day) and he's super cranky when we get there. DN is a light sleeper and we've never been able to transfer him from car seat to stroller successfully without waking him up. The poor guy's tummy is also not well and he pukes in 2 stores. On the carpet. In front of other shoppers. Oh.
1700 :: Back in the apartment. DN takes his (long-deserved) 2nd nap from 5-630pm. We cook his dinner and stay in tonight. DN feels much better.
2100 :: Story time & bed for DN.

Lunch :: AU$11.50 (smoothie, hot dog)
Dinner :: AU$13 (subway, chips)

* we're really eating junk on this trip. we miss our rice & noodles. :(

How does a bored tot entertain himself in a boring apartment? He plays with the pots and pans of course! The first thing we had to do was remove all sharp items and cleaning agents from the lower cupboards and drawers.

The act of childproofing is now second nature to me. When I visit friends' houses, I feel like Bionic Woman. My eye becomes a "power eye" you know? I see those red circles that zoom in on toddler hazards (mobile phones on coffee tables, wine glasses on floors, and in DN's case, opened containers of biscuits) and a teh-teh-teh sounds off in my brain.

ps : can you see his furry feet? they are actually socks! (from his grand-aunt in shanghai) i love them. it's a lion's face and the furry bits is the lion's mane. haha!

Day 5 :: Margaret River - Bunbury - Fremantle

0800 :: DN is up and again, starts terrorising his parents and egging them to wake up.
0945 :: Check out of cottage and visit Sunflowers Farm for the last time.
1130 :: We drop by Margaret River Nuts and Cereal and Margaret River Chocolate Factory.
1230 :: The night before, PF comes up with a brilliant idea of visiting one more winery before we leave Margaret River and buy a bottle of wine for us to enjoy after DN sleeps! So we go to Ashbrook Estate and buy a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. *hic*
1300 :: Start drive up to Fremantle. DN naps from 1 - 2pm in the car.
1400 :: Lunch at Bunbury. On our way out of Bunbury, we spot a Sheridan outlet and we happily traipse in and spend AU$250 on bedsheets!!! The sales lady knew we were Singaporean when we walked in! Aiyoh.
1600 :: DN naps in the car for 1 hour.
1900 :: Arrive in Fremantle. The apartment is GREAT!
2100 :: Story time and bed for DN.

Farm Entry & Animal Feed :: AU$19
Lunch :: AU$20
Shopping :: AU$60 (nuts & cereal), AU$60 (chocolate), AU$27 (red wine)
Groceries :: AU$47.50 (chicken steaks, water, chocolate, broccoli, onions, potatoes, sausages)
Petrol :: AU$36

That's Alf the Alpaca. He's now eating the remains in the bucket - oats and grain meant for our feathered friends. Alf's a greedy pig!



I forgot what this guy's name was. But he's also a pig in alpaca's clothing.


Look at his funny face! Heh heh.




DN met a kamikaze sheep. *bleat*


"We are orphaned lambs (baby sheeps) (sic). We are too big for milk now. So you can feed us if you like but please don't feed us lettuce! It makes our tummies sick."

I love how every pen had signs like these. Nice that they gave the animals voices. :) Most of the animals had names too. The rabbits didn't have names. Go think about that. ;)

Rabbit with no name. Maybe if he and his friends thought about family planning, the farm will start giving them names. Haha!

The sign on this guy's pen said, "We are Chinese Geese. Our wings didn't come out that right, but it's okay, we don't fly anyway."

I'm thinking, "Why Chinese???" -_-

DN was afraid of this pony. He only got 1 carrot then DN scurried away. I like him. He's got short little legs. (I understand his insecurities.)

Another one of my favourite pics of the trip. :)

I like this one too. :)














That's our apartment in Fremantle.











There were foldable doors at the bedroom so we could close it off after DN slept. It was like an Ikea showflat. Everything was spanking new! Even the floor felt newly waxed. (We confirmed that when we checked out. We were the 2nd ones to rent the place!)















Except for the 1st night at Hillarys, we rented self-contained units all the way. This way, we could still cook some of DN's meals and eat in on some nights. This kitchen had everything - pots, pans, microwave containers, cutlery, cooking utensils, dish cloths, oven mitts, cooker & hood, microwave, kettle, toaster, detergent and sponges. EVERYTHING.

Day 4 : Margaret River - Dunsborough - Gracetown

0800 :: DN is up. (ugh... so early)
1030 :: After a breakfast of toast and some porridge, we drive to Mammoth Cave.
1230 :: We drive about an hour to Dunsborough and DN naps in the car seat all the way. So far we've been planning our day such that we start driving when it's about his nap time. That's really easier
1400 :: Lunch at a cafe at Dunsborough. On hindsight, we should have just driven to Busselton and checked out the Busselton Jetty Underwater Observatory. Except for the beach (which we didn't go to), there wasn't very much else in Dunsborough.
1500 :: We drop by Yallingup Shearing Shed and bought a pair of Uggs for DN. Perfect for winter in UK. :)
1600 :: Since it was nearby, we dropped by The Natural Olive Oil Soap Factory. I love all these cottage industries! We bought 3 room diffusers - bottles of essential oil for fragrancing rooms.
1700 :: DN naps in the car again, until 6pm.
1830 :: We drive to Gracetown and have dinner at Sea Bar Beach Cafe, which overlooks the bay. Very pretty! Don't know what comes over us, but we decide to share a milkshake. A bad idea for 2 people with problems digesting dairy. We were "exploding" all the way back to the cottage. Thank goodness DN still cannot talk! If he could, he'd be cursing his parents.
2100 :: Story time & bed for DN. PF and I pack up coz we're driving to Fremantle the next day.

Lunch :: AU$16 (fish & chips, burger)
Dinner :: AU$52 (scallops, chicken filo, milkshake)
Cave entry :: AU$38 (free for DN)
Shopping :: AU$65 (Uggs), AU$128 (room diffusers)
Petrol :: AU$31 (AU$1.4 per litre)

We chose to visit Mammoth Cave and not the rest because it has the least number of steps. Plus, it's self-guiding so we could go anytime. The other caves have timed guided tours. The cave was interesting. Mother nature makes beautiful things.

DN wasn't a very happy koala bear in the carrier.






DN and me at the Sea Bar Beach Cafe.


Seared scallops with dunno what dunno what dunno what...


Chicken in filo pastry with pink peppercorn cream sauce and raisin chutney.

Phwoargh.

DN's new boots. Note to self : Avoid fashion faux pas! Remove all tags and stickers!

Day 3 : Margaret River

0800 :: As usual, DN is up before us and he bugs us to get up by (trying to) lift our heads and saying "Up! Up! Up!"
0845 :: Bussells Bushland Cottages is actually a group of 8 cottages on a big (ish) piece of land, so there are little walk trails around the estate. We decide to try one out and we saw... 2 kangaroos bounce past us! The city mice are very excited. (especially the female one who almost dropped the camera when trying to take a photo of them and took pictures of trees instead)
1000 :: DN naps in the cottage.
1300 :: Lunch at Xanadu Winery and the city mice are very satisfied. (now we can tell people we visited a winery!)
1500 :: Visit Sunflowers Farm. DN is so excited about the whole thing, he misses his 2nd nap totally.
1730 :: We drop by Margaret River Town and pick up some groceries.
2100 :: Story time and bed for DN.

Lunch (at Xanadu) :: AU$47.50
Farm Entry & Animal Feed :: AU$19
Groceries :: AU$12 (cheerios, eclair, pear tart, water, baby toothbrush)

That's DN on the trail. He's strangely dressed coz we didn't change him out of his pajamas, haha!



I swear the kangaroos are somewhere in the picture!

That's us at Cottage 2. :)



I put some bird food into the bird house and they came! While DN was napping. -_-

PF and I shared this sampler plate (AU$33). It was so good, it's not funny.








(clockwise from top left)
Coriander crusted lamb rump, chickpea salad, minted yoghurt :: Miso marinated king george whiting, sushi rice, tukudani (the best!) :: Spiced curry tofu, broccolini, black bean sauce :: Sheep's feta tiropita, beetroot, pear & rocket salad ::

That's the Xanadu Restaurant. It won a "Gold Plate Best Restaurant within a Winery" award in 2007.

PF took this as we were leaving. One of my fav pics of the holiday. Wish DN didn't have the "tutu" in his mouth though.

DN carrying the bucket of feed at the farm. It was filled with carrot sticks, lettuce, wholemeal bread and oats. He LOVED the farm so we went there again on our last day at Margaret River.

He liked feeding the alpacas best, we don't know why. Their pen was our first stop and DN gave away a third of his bucket there. It was also our last stop and the alpacas came running when they saw DN. I'm serious.

PF took this pic as we left their pen. I think DN overfed him. (the alpaca, not PF)

DN and a joey. :)














DN : "Geez you stink. Go take a shower NOW."

(that's a rabbit btw)

Day 2 : Sorrento - Bunbury - Margaret River

0800 :: DN's up! His breakfast - raisin bread.
1030 :: Check out of motel and drive over to the Aquarium of Western Australia. These are the people who came over and helped build Sentosa's Underwater World. DN has a swell time there.
1330 :: Start drive to Margaret River. DN takes his first nap, until 3pm.
1630 :: Take break at Bunbury and do some grocery shopping (for dinner).
1800 :: Continue drive to Margaret River. DN naps again, for 1 hour.
1900 :: Arrive at Bussells Bushland Cottages, Margaret River. It turns out exactly like what we saw on the internet, complete with bird house.
1930 :: Dinner - roast chicken for us, Pigeon instant porridge and a chicken drumstick (he nicked that from us) for DN.

Groceries :: AU$35 (pork, rice, stock, butternut pumpkin, juice, iced tea, coke, dried fruits, chocolate, instant pasta, salad, grapes, pears)
Shopping :: AU$8 (hat & slippers for me)
Lunch at AQWA :: AU$26 (tuna melt, turkey sandwich)
AQWA entry :: AU$52 (free for DN)
Accomodation :: AU$240 (for 3 nights)

DN really liked AQWA. His favourite bit was the touch pool. He didn't last long in the Ergo though... about 10 minutes.

What's the first thing DN does when we spill out of the car? Pick up dirt.















"Your complimentary starter breakfast includes: (per person) 2 coffee, 2 tea and 4 sugar sachets / 1 small packet of cereal / Orange Juice and Hi Lo Milk"

There was also bread in the fridge and butter and jam in the basket.

I like!















"Some oats to feed the birds. Sprinkle some on your verandah. Enjoy your stay."

Now this thrilled me to bits. Birds on my verandah! So cool! (this from a Singaporean who sees pigeons, crows and sparrows every day. Jakun is jakun, I say!)


DN ate his drumstick like a neanderthal. He grabbed it like a club, haha.