Singapore

Fun/interesting/shocking facts:

• NO CHEWING GUM - they don’t even sell it!
• People here finish high school at 16 and then go to Junior College
• They wash tractors/ cranes before they go on the road
• When it rains, they dry up the streets with a huge machine
• When boys turn 18, they are drafted in the military - no exceptions
• No eating/drinking on public transport
• 24 hour Starbucks
• MCDONALDS DELIVERS 24/7!!! ****

Anyways, on that note: Singapore is really cool; apparently the must things to do are shop and eat! On the first day i went to all the malls ( i didn’t buy anything) but i just looked around; it was very expensive compared to Florida and ALOT of their restaurants are 24 hours (i’m not sure if thats a good thing lol). The food is yummy but i rather not see how their food is made... i’m used to just ordering at a restaurant and the chefs do their business behind the scenes and then it’s presented to you, but not in Singapore. They make everything in front of you, which is good in a way since you know exactly what’s in it, but seeing it being prepared, sometimes you rather not know.!

I came at the right time to these Asian countries because its the Chinese New Year on the 23rd of Jan! People go crazy decorating everything, and it’s really big - year of the dragon! Chinatown was decked out in decorations, and people were selling gifts, cookies, fruit, other traditional items for the new year. I went to China town twice: the day I arrived and a few days before new years. There was a huge difference! IT was soooo busy towards new years - literally chocoblock! If you’re claustrophobic, i suggest that you go earlier in the year haha!
But anyways, I met my friend, Cathleen, from GYLS camp, in Singapore and stayed with her for a few days! It had been 2 years since i last saw her so there was so much to catch up on and talk about. We hung out, went to the Night Safari, dinners, shopping etc. The Night Safari was SOO cool - I’ve only been to the zoo during the day but this was on a whole new level. It was a separate park thats only open during the night - you got to be so close to the animals, walk the trails, be attacked by squirrels, & ride the tram. Our tour guide person who provided commentary on on the tram was from the Philippines and he said the funniest things ever, i think it was his accent.!
OH, and I can officially live in Singapore and be considered a “local” because i tried DURIAN. It is by far the most disgusting fruit I’ve tasted in my life... no joke. I’ve been told that it smells so bad and tastes so bad, but i was like nahh it can’t be that bad, BOY I WAS WRONG. This was just to a whole new level, seriously. The smell lingers, and the taste is unbearable. But since i tried it, I’m considered to be a brave soldier. Never again, i learned my lesson. 

When you go to these Asian countries, you just have to visit the local zoo - its just a necessity. No matter how many zoo’s you’ve visited in your life, nothing beats the asian zoo’s. I got to feed an elephant... it was so cool! I watched the rainforest show, took pictures with the animals, and watched the white tigers swim in the water. After a couple of hours, I got to the giraffes. I took a picture and all of a sudden it started POURING down with rain... random as ever! There was no shelter around so i found a tree and went underneath. A couple minutes go by and I decided to just walk in the rain but then this guy came up to me and gave me his umbrella and told me that i could have it - it was the nicest thing ever. I still have the umbrella (great way to block the sun). The rain continued for a few hours but i made my way back to my hotel where I then went to the gym and ate dinner. 

SENTOSA ISLAND :D it was kinda lonely going alone to an island/beach but there was nothing I could do. It was absolutely stunning! There was so much to do there: explore the gardens, luge riding, gondola rides, universal studios, underwater world, butterfly exhibits, indoor sky diving, walking etc. I swear I walked for miles and miles, my feet hurt so bad by the end of the day. It was funny seeing so many ‘American’ things; There was a TGIF, Chili’s, and Universal Studios - I felt like i was back home again!

I took loads of pictures of the flowers; shaped hedges; the marine life; and the merlion. Thank god it rained towards the end of my visit there otherwise it wouldn’t of been enjoyable; the humidity level sky rockets here as soon as it rains and it just makes everything unpleasant.

I remember that night coming home was a mission and a half. I had decided to go to the local bar to eat and watch the tennis match, the Australian Open. I didn’t even look at the time or anything, and once I was done it was already 10PM... which meant that I had missed the last shuttle bus that took me to my hotel. So instead i took a train back, but i didn’t have enough money on my travel card so i had to top up, since i was only there for one more day i knew i wasn’t going to need an extra $10 so i topped up $5, but there was no $5 top up, $10 it was. Then i took a train back to the closest station (orchard) to my hotel, and was just going to take a taxi from there instead of walking late at night alone. Then I realized that i had no cash on me since i just topped up, and taxi’s don’t take credit card, so i went searching for an ATM machine. I found one but they only had $50 and $100 bills left, and they only gave me an option to take out $100, so i was like oh this is just great. I got out some money, and before i went into the taxi, i asked if he had change for a 50, and he said no. So i walked to the closest service area (7-11) to get change but they said they couldn’t open the til. At that point i swear i was going to punch someone haha, but she said if i buy something then it’ll be okay. So i bought some candy and she broke my 50... i got into the taxi and arrived at my hotel. Keep in mind, that i’m walking back and forth from the station to the taxi stand in the rain! That was my adventure for the night.

Overall I really enjoyed my stay in Singapore, i tried new foods that i wouldn’t of even imagined eating back in Florida. Cathleen, my friend from GYLS was absolutely amazing, it was really great seeing her again after a few years and she took care of me for the first few days of my stay! Also, coming during Chinese New Year was cooool! Besides the overcrowded streets, it was really nice to see all the decorations and see how other cultures celebrate events.

New Zealand in a nut shell

Okay, where to begin! So much has happened over these last couple of days. There was so much to see and very little time but I managed to still do a lot. I am currently staying with some platinum partners, Robyn and Tony Grinter! They are absolutely amazing; they took me around to all the sites and showed me the touristy and local areas. While in Auckland, we went to One Tree Hill which is a volcanic area. From the top you could see the entire city and of course sheep in the local field. I really wanted to go here because my favorite and pretty much only tv show that i watch is called One Tree Hill, so it just seemed appropriate.
Apparently on the west side of New Zealand, they have black sand. I’ve never seen this before; I’m used to the brownish/white sand in Florida so it was soo cool seeing something different. Since it was later in the evening, the sky was gray and the water seemed cold, it gave the place an eerie feel. In addition, for the FIRST TIME ever, i saw a horse ride across the sand. I thought this only happened in movies but no, it was reality. The horse just galloped across the sand jumping over the logs that were lying there. 

Paradise Valley Springs: This is basically a wilflife park where you can feel NZ’s wild animals: wild pigs, alpacas, horses, donkeys, ducks, trout, and sheep. But the really cool part was being able to pat the cubs! They had two which you could pat, each 5-6 months of age. It was kinda scary being in the same pen as them because normally they are trained really well and they kinda just stay in one place, but these ones were different. They would walk around, brush past your legs, try and go for your ankles/sandals, and jump up on you! One of the other baby cubs was in this cage and it had big holes in it, enough for its paw to fit through and a human hand. I was kinda impatient to wait my turn so i stuck my hand in the cage and touched it, nothing happened for a little while until it just snapped at me and i quickly pulled my hand back. My heart was beating so fast! Don’t worry i still have 10 fingers! 

Skyline Rotorua: Basically, this is an attraction for people of all ages; those who like rides, enjoy a pleasant meal, and/or like a great view. I liked all of the above and had the opportunity to experience it all. We took the gondola ride up the side of Mt. Tarawera  which overlooked Rotorua and then stopped at the entrance of gravity thrill ride, the luge. Its basically a 3 wheel cart that you steer down a hill on different courses, beginner, intermediate, and advanced. You can adjust your speed according to your comfort level; the first time I went, I went extremely slow around the corners just because there was a huge chance that i would fall out, let go of the steers and go flying off. The second time around, I had way more confidence and went faster - I even went up to the intermediate level :D. Since i was holding on so strong, my hands were hurting so bad afterwards, i felt some blisters forming. 

Rainbow Springs Kiwi Wildlife Park: Kiwi, what New Zealanders are usually called, are the native birds of NZ. At this place you could see kiwi’s in the conservation area; since they are nocturnal animals, they are put into a really dark room; unfortunately, i didn’t see many, most of them were sleeping but i did see one or two. NZ doesn’t have any snakes, alligators, or pretty much anything dangerous so the only reptiles they had were lizards! 

Te Puia: This is where the bubbling mud pools and geysers are located. Besides the fact that it rained while we were walking around, it was really cool to see it all. You could feel the heat given off from the geysers from the top of the pathway! The Pohutu Geyser is one of the famous active geysers that erupts to about 30 meters tall; normally you have to wait a while for it to erupt but while i was there, i saw it erupt 3-4 times! I guess it was my lucky day :] 

Waitomo Caves: GLOWWORMS! haha. There were three caves: Waitomo Glowworm, Ruakuri, and Aranui. In all three of the caves we learned about the worms, and then learned about the caves itself (stalagmites, stalactites). As we walked around, we weren’t allowed to touch anything since the oil on our fingers/hands would disrupt the growth of everything, and we couldn’t take pictures in the first cave because it disturbs the worms. Apparently it’s good luck if water drips on you.... i got a lot of water on me! Hopefully it follows through... so far so good :D 

Waiheke Island: One of many islands in NZ, we went for the day. It was a 1 1/2 hour drive from Hamilton and then a 45 minute ferry ride to the actual island. We did the car ferry which was really cool because we drove right on the ferry and parked... you can probably tell that this was my first time doing this :P Anyways, arriving on the island, it was lunch time so we drove to this huge vineyard and italian food; the pizza was sooo good! Driving around the island to the different bays; walking on the beach; walking through the forest pretty much sums up the day! The water was so calm at the beach as we walked along - a little hot but the wind was blowing quite strongly so it wasn’t too bad! Time seemed to fly by so quickly while being on the island; it was absolutely beautiful though! It literally had everything there, you didn’t need to leave and since it’s secluded, it was even cooler; a great getaway. 

 

Stepping out of my comfort zone

Seriously, that’s pretty much all I’ve done while traveling. I’ve had my fears and complications but it’s something I had to stick through and make the most of.
Traveling alone can be boring... in fact, most of the time it is boring. But i’ve reached that stage where I know that I’m alone and i’ve accepted it... it just makes me more independent i feel. Also you meet some really cool people when you travel alone cuz you have no choice but to be random and talk to strangers.

Anyways, back to my adventures recently:

Sydney Harbor Bridge (Australia) = you know that really tall bridge in Australia that cars go on??? Well i kinda climbed that. 1,439 steps, 134 meters tall; It was on my bucket list so i kinda had to do it... I was super scared at first because i didn’t know what to expect, oh & because I’m scared of heights. Being at the top was just spectacular, it was a 360 degree view of the entire city! While being at the top, i told myself not to look down since it wouldn’t help with the whole fear thing.. but that idea kinda got thrown out the window. At that point i started looking for sharks in the water. I didn’t see any but i did spot out a stingray minding its own business swimming along the edge of the harbor. 3 1/2 hours later I was down at the bottom, taking off all the gear and purchasing my photos at the store.... wow! what an experience. Definitely mind blowing and worth it, its something i can cross off my bucket list and something i can tell my kids when i’m older!

Auckland Sky Walk (New Zealand) = I hear that all tourists must either do the Sky Jump or Sky walk! I’ve always wanted to sky dive so i thought this would be the perfect opportunity, except for the fact that i have a concious and all i could hear in the back was my mum’s voice saying “DONT YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT IT”. Instead i did the sky walk which is where you go all the way to the top of the tower and walk along the edge with only a harness on... scary stuff right there! After doing the bridge, i thought i was kinda unstoppable... that was until i reached the top of the tower. At least on the bridge if you fell, you would fall on stairs, this time if you fell, you’re a dead man/women. But all was successful, i got to see the volcanos, islands, yachts and buildings.

Mountain Biking (Woodhill - New Zealand) = I went with a Platinum Partner, Sue who lives in Auckland. She had asked me if I liked biking and i thought about it and was like, of course, i bike all the time (this was around celebration type of biking - nothing harcore but i thought i could handle it). Anyways, we went to the mountain range and it was a little wet from the rain but nothing stopped us. We rented some bikes, helmet and gloves and started the adventure. They always said the first 10 minutes would be the worst... they were right! I was literally out of breathe as i biked up and down hills in the forest! You know when you’re running and people say they “hit the wall”, well thats how i felt but to a lower level. I managed to only fall off my bike 4 times! got some cuts and bruises but no broken bones.... SUCCESS! Anyways, by the end of it, i felt like a pro. I was quicker at pedaling, a professional at changing gears and semi good at making the jumps. It was a lot of exercise and calories burned but definitely worth it! I’m so glad I did it. 

Kayaking (Hamilton - New Zealand) = Basically, kiwi’s (new zealanders) are known for their outdoor activities. I’ve never kayaked before so i thought why not. Mind you, my biggest fear are sharks. I know that there aren’t any sharks in the river or lake but i think it’s just the water in general, there’s a SLIGHT chance. And also, you can’t really see in the water so you don’t know whats swimming underneath you. Besides that, i got on the water and kayaked. I didn’t know what to do or how to turn, stop, go faster until i was actually on the water heading towards a bunch of lilypads. I didn’t want to get stuck, and panicking would just make everything worst so i just prayed to god that nothing would happen. I’m alive and writing this now... so all was good! I got the hang of it after 5-10 minutes and it was extremely peaceful on the lake; there were ducks swimming around hoping that you would feed them. & now i would like to think that i’m a pro kayaker with super arm strength :]

Melbourne to Sydney

Unfortunately I left Melbourne, and i feel upset :/ I met absolutely amazing people that i KNOW that i can never forget. I went there knowing one person, and left knowing like 15!! They all took care of me and took me out all the time - I had time to relax, have fun, and try outrageous things!
-I’ll remember when i talked to the taxi driver and got him to sing in the car - I told him that i wouldn’t leave the car unless he did
-I’ll remember trying to push Jassi in the water at the beach but instead i fell in
-Walking around Kmart at 2AM

-Jumping on the trampoline and falling all over the place

On the bright side, I got to reunite with Katie :] my high school friend! It felt so weird seeing somebody I knew from back home... I could talk to her about friends back home without having to explain everything since she knew everyone. It’s the small things that make the biggest difference. I arrived in Sydney late at night, no dinner, extremely thirsty, and traveling to the middle of nowhere: Formula 1 hotel at Olympic Park. Anyways, we got to the hotel and was obviously hungry because it was around 11pm, since it was in the middle of nowhere, nothing was open, and i mean nothing. NOT EVEN MCDONALDS (The branch in this area closes at 5pm - WTF). So what do Katie and I do..... Wander the streets looking for food (no luck); instead we just took pictures and strolled back into the hotel lobby.
The following morning/afternoon (by the time we woke up & got ready), we tried to make a plan but became quite indecisive. Instead of planning that day, we started to plan the next couple of days. We literally sat at McDonalds for a few hours stealing their wifi (checking e-mails, facebook, researching, flights etc). Yes, at that point, we had no life. We got our act together and decided to actually do something so we wandered the streets of Sydney and came to the conclusion that WE HAD to go to Outback Steakhouse while being in the outback, it was just something that had to be done. Arriving at the restaurant super excited to eat, we saw that it was closed!!! “ONE MORE HOUR UNTIL OPENING”. -__- In the mean time we went to some chocolate cafe called “Cheeky Chocolate” - wish i highly recommend - and got some “thickshakes” and played monopoly on the ipad... we were truly living the life.
That night, we had plans to go out with a friends friend (so many connections), so we headed back to the hotel to get ready/freshen up a little, and then headed out to a middle eastern restaurant (don’t remember what it was called because it was all a dream). At first I was a bit skeptical of the place, but its the smaller restaurants that always have the best food. BOY WAS I RIGHT, that was some goood foood!

Day two of the adventures with my other american half - I had to sort out my Chinese visa by going to the consulate and handing them my paperwork and passport before 12 o clock, which obviously meant an early morninggg! Getting up was the hardest part ever because it felt like you only just got comfortable and there just wasn’t enough sleep happening. Besides the point, there were some complications on the way with trains (got off wrong station, walked, went back, finding the place - the usual) but we got there on time with 10 minutes to spare!! - the added pressure helped. A huge sigh of relief as that was finally over and done with - slurpees from 7-11 to relax? I THINK YES <3

Next stop was the Sydney harbor bridge and Opera house - along the walk we found fellow Americans; not just any though, black and yellow’s! They were literally decked out in their steeler’s gear: hat, shirt, shorts, towel, everything! We talked to them for a little and it turns out that they were planning to buy a property in Celebration... small world or what?! All the sight seeing was finally over, my feet were aching, we were cranky, so we got some fooooood! We found a place called “Star Bar” near Town Hall train station; IT WAS DELICIOUS. The ambiance made you feel like you were at MGM studios with the famous people and decorations hanging. Anywhooo, that night was loads of fun! Went out with some friends again but this time we went to eat, and played some Aqua Golf - and no this isn’t golf underwater LOL! What an experienceee - similar to Top Golf in England! You literally get a bucket of golf balls and you hit them into the water but you have to try and hit specific targets (all represent different things - you can win prizes). I learned that I’m not good at golf... I think i’ll stick to tennis!

Anyways, time flew by and before you knew it, it was the 5th of Jan.... Katie had to return back to Melbourne :[ but what would i possibly do in Sydney alone for a few days.... NOTHING, so i booked a ticket to Melbourne back with her :D We ended up being on the same flight coincidently, & because I had such great luck, our flight was delayed due to “engine problems” - not exactly the first thing you want to hear before getting on the flight.!

& the adventures continue

Where do I begin??

• MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground)
• Cinema's
• Parties
• City / sight seeing
• Christmas / New Years
• Shopping

Let's work backwards and refresh my memory! NEW YEARS! I felt like I was living in the future, experiencing new years before everyone! A group of us went to this Desi night at the club where we danced bhangra, met people, and had fun. We had two outcomes for the night, well three actually...
1. Watch the fireworks
2. Go to the beach
3. HAVE FUN!!! :]
It was approximately 11:40, only 20 minutes til the new years fireworks, we were walking towards federation square, 5 of us. Along the way we had some complications (funny) and had to sort out some things (witnessed some fights etc), and then the clock struck midnight. We were on some random street in the city, BUT we still saw the fireworks :] Number one - CHECK.
Anyways, after that, for some reason, we were tired. We walked around, went back to the club, got something to eat, and walked some more. Walking with heels = hard. We took a bus all the way back home (30-40 minutes). We were going to go to the beach but it didn’t make sense to go since the boys were wearing jeans and dress shoes so it would be inconvenient, but don’t worry, we still got to check it off the list.

 That morning when we woke up, we got ready and headed down to the beach! Spent a couple of hours there and had lunch at the local cafe - it was so much fun!! Of course a beach trip is not successful without burying someone in the sand ;)
OF course #3 was easily swiped of the list!

It’s offical... I’m moving to melbourne. The place is amazing along with the people, I don’t want to leave :[

Today is the 29th of December, a little bit after Christmas, and just before New Years. It's a day where India lost the test match at the MCG :[ Day 4 of the match, the day that I attended the game. 

The crowd was going wild as India was bowling and the Aussie's were batting; all the indians waiting patiently to hear the ball hit the wicket. Rivals up roared in the crowds as the Aussie's chanted and the Indian's sung, so much patriotism. As for me, I sat there in the freezing cold, waiting for the sun to come out! I didn't know anything about cricket, I just wanted to go for the experience, but after a few hours of being there, my mood changed. I had a new value for the sport, so much dedication and patience was involved in this match. I sat there for 6 hours watching ball after ball and fight after fight. I didn't know anybody there so of course I talked to the randomers around me; most were Aussie but I finally came to find a few Indians! In the section next to me though, it was filled with Indians. All of them had their face painted, carried the India flag, and shouted out chants. There were the occasional fights between the two countries but it was all fun and games. Unfortunately, India lost at the end... :[ But the overall experience was amazing, I’m glad that I went!