My 1st Brisbane Australia Holiday Trip

The flight to Gold Coast was uneventful except for this baby (see picture) that didn’t stop crying from the moment the air craft took off. The poor parents looked rather harassed. They seemed to try everything possible to calm the child but it was relentless. Since this is the red eye flight, most of the passengers were prepared to sleep thru the flight so the crying baby was not a welcome sight. By mid flight all the passengers were giving them the glaring look. Relief only came when the flight attendant finally took action by taking the parent and her child to the back of the plane. There was an audible sigh of relief from all my fellow passengers when there was no longer any sound from the baby.

Worried that I might be bored during my flight, I had prebooked for an entertainment unit from the airline. It came in a form of a Samsung note pad. The unit contained a number of games and movies. Luckily there was one movie that I have not watched yet so that kept me entertained for 2 hours. For the rest of the time, I tried sleeping. Even with my arsenal of blanket, neck pillow, back pillow, eye mask, and ear plug and minus baby crying it was very difficult to sleep. The seat was too upright and the engine sound was louder since I was sitting at the tail section.  Or maybe I am just not the type who can sleep on the move. As I sat there looking around with my tired sleep deprived eyes, I envy those who can.

After hours of tossing and turning on that tight cramped seat, we finally arrived in Gold Coast. The excitement of being in Australia more or less temporarily overcame all my grievances for the flight. It was a very strange feeling to see so many Mat Sallehs for the first time in my life.

There was a long queue which I took a picture at illegally as I didn’t notice the big sign that says no camera. Luckily the officers lurking around didn’t notice me snapping and confiscate my tiny camera away.

Going thru customs was not as bad as I thought it would be considering we were carrying so many goodies such as ikan masin, ikan bilis, udang kering, spices, sotong kering, mooncake and nuts. The Australian custom officers were thorough in their checking and they checked everything. The mooncakes had to go thru the Xray machine to verify that it does not contain any yolk. They were the only item that I was hesitant to carry after hearing horrific tales of Australian customer officers dumping ringgits worth of yummy cakes into the bins. You could imagine how relieved I was when everything was given the ok from the officers.

After the initial greeting from my brother and his wife, we rode in his car for another 1 and half hour drive to his house in Brisbane. I tried listening to the description of each area that we passed, given by my sis in law but the drowsiness was catching up with me. I nodded off a few times while noticing how the surroundings along the road looked so much like the area, as you drive up Beaufort road.

The temperature for the next 10 days while I was there were cold. An average of 22C at mid day. It was just approaching spring and according to the local aka my brother, this is actually a good time to visit. For me, it was pretty freezing. I bundled up with 3 layers of clothing plus a scarf and even that was not enough for me. I miss the hot climate in KK.

Nevertheless even the cold could not stop me from visiting all the tourist spot in Brisbane to Gold Coast.

In the city I visited the Treasury Casino where I won A$50.00 on black at the roulette table. Then we head down Queen Street Mall main shopping area where you can just about get everything. Perfume is super cheap but don’t buy from the 1^st shop. Just like Watson and guardian, sometimes they have the same item but price differently.

I took a ride to the City on Brisbane Rive with the City Cat then hop on the City Hopper for a free ride along the rest of the river. I also drop by the Brisbane museum to the see Mummy Exhibition & visited their Science Centre which was similar to our Green Connection Science Centre but so much cooler.

Underwater World was a big spoiler as the main show of the underwater cave tunnel was under renovation. We took a drive around the neighborhood surrounding Underwater World and got a glimpsed of what life could be like if you had lots of money.

I enjoy my visit to Australian Zoo where I touch a real kangaroo. The unique thing about this zoo is how you can find many lizards running loose all around the ground.

Movieworld can’t beat Universal Studio Singapore but seeing batman real live in action was very exciting.

On Sunday I visited Brisbane market which is almost like our local tamu. There were lots of fresh produce on sale.The smell of cooking and baking cakes whiffing all around was enough to get your appetite going.

A visit to Tamborine Mountain is a must as their picturesque shops is very unique and interesting. Most of the shops sell their own handmade goods from chocolates to art crafts. Heaven for art lovers.

After we finished touring the mountain, we head down to Harbour Town which is a shopping mall for premuim outlets. It housed many famous names such as Guess, Adidas, Elle, etc and also cost a hell lot too.

On my 2^nd last day I visited Stradbroke Island. Something of a last minute plan as originally I have never intended to put island tour as part of my itinerary because in KK we already have so many and I thought I have seen enough. However, the visit to Stradbroke Island was definitely different and worth going.  The view is breathtaking and much better than gaya island.  I even got a chance to catch a far glimpse of a whale and some dolphins. I would say that visiting Stradbroke Island was the highlight of my whole trip in Australia.