I will go nowhere without you

Yes i will spend my days at home, or i might call my Farez for directions every time i plan to go somewhere or every time i get lost on my way back home if it wasn't for this brilliant invention. At least by having this i know ill be safe home wherever i am : )... oh and not to forget i can also use it when i travel hehe ... rent a car, save your preferred destinations on the GPS and whohoooo you will be there in no time, no maps needed.

Gym for dummies

Thats my gym in Kota Damansara, Malaysia.

My first ever gym, which will hopefully help me with my Mount Kinabalu climb in April. My 3 times a week training started just 3 weeks back, sometimes i do feel lazy but my determination to reach the peak and not let myself be left behind kept me out of bed some mornings. the three very helpful girls are Yee Mei, sheila and Una working at this ladies only gym, truthfully , i wouldn't know what i should be doing in the gym if it wasn't for them.

I paid RM480 for 3 months, not sure if that was a good deal but because i was two months away from my adventure trip,i just enrolled. Ill share some points i learned along the way

1. Stretching

I always thought i should do a little stretching before i start running, jog, etc, but yee mei said i should have 5 or 10 minutes walk on the treadmill , stop and stretch, after which you can continue jogging or running to prevent tearing your muscles.


2. Duration

For beginners like me, i started with walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes, cycle for 10 minutes and just tried all the leg crunch provided at the gym. make sure after using the treadmill you lower the speed and walk slowly for another 2 minutes or so because if you get off the treadmill right away you will get dizzy ....thats what happened to me on my first try : )

on my third week , i started using the treadmill for 30 mins (speed 4.5 , incline to 11 ) .... as suggested by yee mei, do some running for 2 minutes and walk for 8 mins. when running ill use the speed of 6.5.... remember to monitor your fitness level and see if i can gradually increase your treadmill time instead of just 30 mins try 35 or 40mins.

as you can see, im not that fit.. thats about what i can do for now : )....

Jalan Pju 5/11
Dataran Sunway,
Kota Damansara
Selangor, Malaysia

03-61416733

Camera

A few days ago I went with my friend to search for a digital camera, canon PowerShot G10 to be exact. This camera hunting is only a comparison between these two stores :-

1st :- One Utama shopping center new wing (canon shop)
2nd :- Pertama Complex Camera store – ground floor

Our first store in One Utama for the camera, table tripod, battery, charger and a 4 gig memory stick costs RM 1830 as of February 2009 and RM 750 for the underwater casing…….. like what every salesperson would say “This is a special price”

On top of that special price, we went to Pertama complex in Kuala Lumpur to find not a special rice but extraordinary price for the camera. At first this shop gave us a slightly higher price of RM1850, and RM800 for the underwater casing. we told her that we have no intention of buying it now but was just curious on the price she could offer. having done our survey of the price in one utama we mentioned that the store at one utama gave us a better deal and because of that , this lady started to reduce the price…

even with the price reduction we were not that happy and give her this "dont think i want to purchase this camera look" . with her given price and our budget we sat there thinking ........ looking at us that we were not that eager to buy with her reduced price , she reduced it to RM1700 for the camera inclusive of the camera casing, battery, battery charger , 8gig memory stick and RM700 for the underwater casing.

she then pushed us to buy a screen protector which we ended up buying for RM25 and an additional battery which original cost was RM199 but we ended up paying RM75.

All and all we went back paying RM2500 for the camera, camera casing, battery and battery charger, 8 gig memory stick, screen protector and an additional battery.

I personally think it’s a good buy, maybe to those who have an exceptional bargaining skill you would get it at a better discounted price.

I need a long break

Hi all

I will be taking a break for a few months and im sorry i wont be able to share my ever so wonderful New Zealand trip just yet because i have 4 months to plan for a really big thing! so hopefully ill spit a whole lot of stories after April!! : )

thank you for reading my blog and i do hope ill share other stories soon : ).

Gold Coast

Gold coast is just south of Brisbane which will take you around 30min by car from Brisbane central. For accurate driving directions, approximate time and distance for your destination try using morzilla firefox and enter the web address “whereis.com.au”

shopping

1. Harbor town

Harbor Town is the ultimate shopping heaven in Gold Coast apart from surfers paradise, Cheap branded shopping outlets can be found here as well as Souvenirs shops. You can go by car which is the easiest way to travel around or by public transport. ( check my previous blog post on using public transport in Brisbane)

2. Surfers paradise

This is a popular destination for tourists because of the beautiful sandy beach and a long stretch of shops opposite the beach which includes souvenir shops and luxury brands. You might even spot a couple of golden bikini ladies called meter maids who in history, feed coins into expired parking tickets around surfers paradise to beat the bad image to tourist caused by installation of parking meters . A gold coin donation is necessary if you would like to take a picture with them.

Attractions

1. Movie world” , sea world “, dream world and wet and wild

For all these attractions, you would get all the information you need on the address, ticket prices and opening hours on this website http://www.tourismgoldcoast.com/tours_themeparks.html#sea. Be mindful that you will require a whole day for each attraction and eat some food to refuel. 

The ticket prices are rather expensive but you should get discounts like double pass discount or if you have an Australian friend, ask them if they have any discount dockets for any of this world. You can also purchase something from Woolworth and if you are luck, you will get the discounts at the back of your receipts. This docket entitles adult to enter using the kids price which is a save up to 24aud each.


          A) Movie World 

To plan a trip for movie world I would say it is a whole day trip which you should start from the time it’s opened till it closes. Better to go on weekdays as there won’t be that many people and you can get on the rides easily without having to get in a long queue. Your time will be spent on rides, shows and strolling around shops and restaurants. For Muslims, you can find a halal restaurant to take a rest and refuel as well as a prayer room. 

Most important is to watch the parade where all the characters will come out and present themselves at usually 3.30pm ( the white printed sheet of paper you get when entering will give you the information). And don’t forget the shrek 4d adventure (I think this is just so great) and any other shows that you might think is fun for you to watch, make sure organize a little of your time to stroll at the kids section too as I find it rather cute : ). 


  general admission for Adults :- 69.00aud
  general admission for Kids:- 45aud
  opening hours : :- RIDES & ATTRACTIONS OPEN 10:00am
                                         RIDES & ATTRACTIONS CLOSE 5:00pm
                                         GATES CLOSE 5:30pm
  Website: http://korean.movieworld.com.au/visitor_info/hours.cfm
  http://movieworld.myfun.com.au/


          B) Wet and wild

I thought wet and wild is just another amusement park in Brisbane but I was wrong indeed. We had super duper fun!!!! Getting on the rides : ). 4 in a group is the exact number you will needed because some rides are for 2, and some are for 5 which made our day so fun and exciting. The closing times vary throughout the year so we were lucky as some rides are open till 9.pm so we saved the night rides till we got bored with the other rides that close at 5pm.  

Ticket price:- General Admission 
Adult $49.00
Child $32.00
Website:- http://wetnwild.myfun.com.au/Attractions.htm
Opening Hours: opens at 10.00am every day, closing times vary throughout the year - as follows:

27 December - 25 January: 9.00pm
26 January - 30 April: 5.00pm*
01 May - 31 August: 4.00pm
01 September - 26 December: 5.00pm*

*On Saturday nights - Dive-in-movie nights - the movie screens at dusk and the park closes at the end of the movie

             C) Sea world 

A perfect day for kids to spend watching marine animals up-close, Watch the dolphin show , pet a starfish, some rides and a chance to meet cartoon characters like the power puff girls. It will be a fun filled experience for kids.

General Admission: - Adult $69.00
                                   :- Child $45.00 (3-13 years)
Children: under 3 years are free of charge
Website:- http://seaworld.myfun.com.au/Attractions.htm
Opening hours:- 10am - 5.00pm all year round.

              D) Dream world

My memory on Dream World is quite vague since the last time I went there was 4 years ago and at that time I find it rather dull. So instead of spending my money at dream world I will go to movie world but if you are rides enthusiast dream world is your preferable choice. If you have to make a choice between movie world and dream world I would suggest movie world.

Website:- http://www.dreamworld.com.au/content/drw_2008_home.asp?
Ticket price:- Adults $69.00
                     : - Children (4-13yrs inclusive) $45.00


2. Super Bee Honey world

You will get the chance to taste different types of honey for free as well as the chance to learn some insights about honey making process, how honey is extracted and interesting facts on bees.

Entrance: - free
Live Bee Show: - aud5.00 
Shows held from 10am to 4pm - duration 30min
Address: - 35 Tomewin Street, Currumbin on the Gold Coast, Australia
Website: - http://www.superbee.com.au/

3. Whale watching

It was a memorable experience indeed to get to see whales swimming in front of your eyes but you do need great patience of course to wait for the whale to suddenly emerge from under the water.

This trip was sometime in august 2007 I think. I can’t remember the companies name or any other extra information because I didn’t have in mind that I will be writing a blog. From what I know whales can be spotted in the gold coast between June and end of October, although my trip was on of the last because whales are migrating back we were lucky to spot a few although they were quite a distance away.  

Price: I paid 50aud but the price has increased now
Website:http://www.about-australia.com/travel-guides/queensland/gold-coast/tours-cruises/half-day/spirit-of-gold-coast-whale-watching/
What to bring:- A hat, sunglass, drinking water and have some sunscreen on

4. Orileys

Lamington national park, I wanted to go to this park so much because I came to know there is a history behind this park when I did my prac where I had to teach about rainforest to year 7 kids. 

Basically in 1937 an airline called the stinson airline disappeared from a flight from Brisbane to Sydney. This disapearence was the talk of the country where search and rescue went on for days. a week after the plane went missing, a man called Bernard O’Reily decided to investigate where he soon found 2 men alive after 10 days on the top of a mountain.

Out of the 7 men on the plane, 3 survived the crash and they were Jim Westrey, Joe Binstead and John Proud. One of the survivor, Jim Westrey who had the least injury as result to the crash volunteered to find help which in the end he himself died at was buried next to a creek in the rain forest. 

Its an amazing story because they had survived for many days injured, with very little to no food and water.

You will have the choice to hike to the crash site or just spent a day walking on some path in the rainforest and climb the canopy ! really scary , not for the faint hearted : ). 

on your way down heading back to the city, dont forget to stop over Kamarun lookout... they have a very nice view of mountains and trees.

Website: - http://www.oreillys.com.au/lamington-national-park/

Others that I have not been to but would love to:-

1. Currambin wildlife sanctuary

Just opposite Honey wworld is the currambin wildlife sanctuary. Have not been there, but will hopefull get the chance to go. Better go with my nieces and nephews.

Website:- http://www.currumbin-sanctuary.org.au/content/home.asp?

2. Tropical Fruit world farm

Website:- http://www.tropicalfruitworld.com.au/

My absence

Hi 

I am aware that it has been a month... probably a little more than a month that i have not been updating this blog. Its because i have been away on a long holiday to a place very beautiful, fantastic views and filled with activities none other than New zealand : ). 

Ill update on the stuff i did in New zealand soon enough once i finish on the stuff you can do in Gold Coast. 

Will post something on pretty soon : P

Brisbane Shopping and Transport

Shopping in Brisbane 

1- Brisbane city (Queen street mall) 

In Brisbane a popular spot for shopping is the Myer centre and queen street which is located in the city centre. If you are a shopaholic Easter sale, Christmas sale or boxing day will be heaven for you.  

Souvenirs can also be found at Queen Street and I find some souvenirs here are cheaper compared to surfers paradise especially the souvenir shop right opposite hungry jacks. But you have to keep in mind some stuff can be found in one shop but it is not available in other stores. 

• Opening hours for shops are from 9am – 5.30 during the week.
• Close at 5.00 on Saturday and 4 on Sundays 
• Late night hours for Brisbane city is on Friday where shops open till 9pm 
• Late night shopping for shopping malls in the Suburbs is on Thursday where shops are open till 9pm

2- DFO (Direct Factory Outlets)

DFO has 100 individual factory outlet stores offering discounts up to 70%. You may get some good bargains here but I do prefer harbourtown in Gold Coast better

Transport

The transportation system here in Brisbane is pretty good and I wouldn’t call it excellent because various places will require you to walk some distance before you can catch a bus to your destination. Busses operate using timetables so you can estimate the time you need to reach your destination as well as knowing the time for the last bus so you won’t be stranded wherever you are.  

Tickets are sold on single, daily, weakly or concession fare. If you buy a daily ticket on the bus, that will allow you to use the ticket for the train, bus and city cat (ferry) for that day. Off-peak tickets are sold from 9am-3pm and from 7pm onwards. Off peak is cheaper by a dollar I think from the normal ticket price.

There are 3 main public transports which are the City cat, bus and train. For visitors, try get on the City cat, different to the ordinary on road transport. The train will also take you to gold coast, but you might need to hop on a bus or two to your preferred destination.

Also a train from the international airport at night you can catch the coach train which last stop is the city. 

More information on the public transport in Brisbane can be found on http://www.transinfo.qld.gov.au/

Hire a car – Brisbane 

To rent a car in Brisbane, I would suggest Alpha, Budget or Avis car rental as they are considered to be among the cheapest. Do a Google search for the best bargain you can get and most of the car rental companies will allow you to rent from Brisbane Airport. 

Some important information that you need to know when renting a car is that the price shown is without insurance cover. The Insurance you have to pay differs from one company to another and this insurance is optional. Without the Insurance cover, you will need to pay aud2000-3000 for any damaged done to the car but the liability is reduced to aud200-300 if you are insured. 

I would suggest you to know (1). How many KMs per day (2).How much will it cost for any extra KMs when deciding the best deal a company can offer.