March Holiday to Brisbane

We have been going to Japan to ski in the last 2 years during our March school holiday as it was cheaper and less crowded compared to December. However, Daddy decided it was time to check out Brisbane and the Gold Coast this time instead. It was also partly because Daddy had to go settle his HSBC bank account and also to take a look at our Brisbane property. 

On the first day after we arrived in Brisbane, we headed straight to the HSBC branch in Sunnybank. It was amazing how many chinese live around there and we didn't feel like we were in Australia. Daddy quickly settled the bank stuff and we headed to Logan Street where our condo is located. We looked up Allie who has been assisting Daddy with managing the property and she was very happy to show us around. We had fun running around the rooftop where there is a nice pool and also good views of the city. 

We spent the next few days checking out Brisbane City and went to places like South Bank Parkland where we spent some time at the man made Streets Beach in the city. It felt exactly like a beach with sand and all but the water is not salty so that was kinda strange. We also had lunch at The Charming Squire which served pretty good food and Daddy had his much awaited craft beer. We then walked around the river sidewalk and took many pictures. We also checked out Kangaroo Cliff which overlooks the Brisbane City Centre from the other side. In the evening, we headed to Eat Street Northshore Market where there is a large variety of delicious food and desserts and the shops are actual shipping containers. Atmosphere there was electrifying as there were bands playing and families having a good time. 

After Brisbane, Daddy drove us to Gold Coast where the real action begins! Daddy was pretty disappointed that the drive from Brisbane to Gold Coast took only an hour as he was looking forward to a long drive. We checked into QT Gold Coast which is only about 300m from the beach. We wasted no time after checking in and headed straight for the beach for our maiden surf lesson. I must say it was tiring fighting the waves and keeping balance on the board but we sure had lots of fun. As Gold Coast is famous for it's theme parks, we also checked out Wet n Wild and I must say it was more fun than the one in Phu Quoc because we got to try out all the different rides there.

Daddy felt it won't be complete if we didn't see any animals while in Australia so we checked out Sea World and also Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Sea World was a real disappointment but we tried to make the best of our visit there and tried out all the rides and fed the manta rays. Currumbin was ok but not as good compared to Caversham Wildlife in Perth. The one thing that stood out though was the Tree Top Challenge which we totally enjoyed. 

Although we had a lot of fun in Queensland, Daddy felt we won't be back anytime soon as there isn't much for us to do here. We need to look for greener pastures!

Meomi Cat Cafe

After my class with Teacher Joy this morning, Mummy and Daddy decided to bring us to Meomi Cat Cafe. It has been a while since we last visited this place and it seems there are no new additions to the family. The guy who runs the place recognised us and welcomed us to play with the cats. We were told that Coo the mainecoon might be retired soon as she seems to be suffering from some kind of illness, so it is best that she gets her rest at home. Hope Coo gets well soon.

Vietnam 2018

We started our year end holiday to Vietnam with a 2 hour flight to HCMC this morning at 11am. After getting back very late last night from Genting, Mummy and Daddy had very little time to unpack and pack again so they must be very tired. When we arrived in HCMC, we drove straight to the hotel to check in first and then to lunch at Cuc Gach Quan. It is supposedly very good and even Angelina and Brad had dinner there before when they were in HCMC. Daddy got overly excited and over ordered too. Took them a while to finish what he ordered.

Our first hotel in Phu Quoc was Novotel. Daddy planned that we stay here because it is nearer to the attractions in the bottom half of Phu Quoc. We visited the peppercorn farm, fish sauce farm, and Sao Beach which is supposed to be one of the more popular beach. We had a blast at Sao Beach cos even though the wave was choppy, the water was shallow until quite far out. We also managed to go for a sunset cruise with squid fishing thrown in. Unfortunately none of us caught any squid but it was fun nonetheless. Our highlight was the island hoping tour which Daddy paid extra to get us a private charter so we can decide when to go and where to go. We had uncle Cong as our tour manager and he spoke with the boatman about what to do. I think the most fun part so far was the fishing which I managed to catch about 4 rockfish. It was really fun to reel them in and feel the excitement of tugging with the fish. We were supposed to go snorkeling but unfortunately the corals were mostly dead and we didn't get to see that many fish, very disappointing.

The second hotel we stayed at was Vinpearl Villa. I must say this
has to be the best hotel we stayed in all my life! The villa was so big and Andrea and I had one room to ourselves and Daddy and Mummy another room. There was even a pool at the back of the villa. The buffet spreads at the hotel was also amazing! There was so much food I couldn't decide what to eat. At Vinpearl, there was a Safari Zoo and we were pretty impressed with it. We also spent a day at the Vinpearl Amusement Land where there was also a water park. And of course the beach was wonderful and we spent many hours just digging away and looking for hermit crabs. Caught some but not sure they will survive the flight back home.

It was another good trip and we certainly enjoyed ourselves.

Father & Son Camp 2018

10th Birthday Bash!

In view that my birthday is in December and no one will be around during that holiday season, Mummy and Daddy agreed to celebrate my birthday early with my friends while they are still in Singapore. Mummy contacted all my friends' mummies and they consented to them joining me for my birthday celebration. After school that day, we changed into our outside clothes and Daddy came to get us. We went to Peperoni at Frankel for lunch and ordered the largest pizza for all 5 of us. We hurried through lunch so that we will not be late for our session at Clip 'n Climb HomeTeamNS at Tampines Sports Hub. And after our climbing session, we headed down to Koi and had bubble tea, before we spent a little time at the bouncy castle and then parted ways.

The Great Moscow Circus

Aunty Mou and Uncle Som wanted to check out The Great Moscow Circus and they bought extra tickets for us as well. It was really nice of them to share this experience with us.

Unfortunately it wasn't a great start for our first visit to the circus as it poured so heavily this afternoon just before the show so everyone were kinda delayed getting in. Daddy thought it will be nearer for us if he parked at the open space car park next to the circus but it turned out being a longer walk. Our shoes were kinda soaked by the time we got to the circus but that didn't dampened our excitement and bought pop corns and candy floss to entertain ourselves. 

It was a 2 hour long show and not all the performances were great but the entertainment in between the performances was what we really enjoyed. Daddy like the last performance where they had a huge metal ball where amazingly 5 motor bikes were able to ride inside at really fast speed without colliding into each other. The precision was just entertaining. 

After the show, we walked over to Asia Square where we had chinese food at Imperial Treasures because Aunty Mou and Uncle Som like chinese food and mummy wanted to get them something different instead of their usual indian food. We had a fun time playing hide and seek with Elan after dinner. And after dinner, we walked back to the car and stopped to play a while near the bay before heading to Nai Nai's place to spend the night. 

Rifle Range Nature Park

Mummy found out that the Rifle Range Nature Park will be closed on the 29th Sept 2018 for 2 years for structural enhancement. So we decided to go check it out before it closes. That Saturday morning, we drove and parked somewhere near Temasek Club and walked to the entrance to the park. However, as there were 2 entrances at each side of the road, we had to make a guess which one will lead us to the more interesting walk. As it looked like the one closer to the residential area was blocked, we decided to try the one on the side of the Temasek Club.

As it turned out, we picked the wrong route and ended up on the paved track which finally led us to Bukit Timah Reserve Park.

We walked through the park and passed by interesting plants but unfortunately not that many animals or insects. I spotted a skink even as it was well camouflaged from the rest. We also stopped by a little stream and tried to scope up some "longkang" fish with a container. Caught a few but of course we knew better than to bring it home so we let it back into the stream.

After the exciting and eye opening walk, we headed to Rider's Cafe for our brunch. Daddy and Mummy reminded me that the last time we were there was many years back when I was still busy stacking animals. Unfortunately we didn't see that many horses this time so we just enjoyed our food and the peaceful surrounding.