I always want to blog and i have loads of things that I want to type out, pictures I want to share, but somehow, when I get home, aside from rushing with emails and inventory and whatever else for Hungover Sundays, i have often found myself seeking the much needed comfort from the TV.
I could survive with no internet, no computer, no phone, if i just had the TV.
Anyway, I just got back from a 8 day holiday break down under. It was part of a 7 year long promise i had kept to one of my best friends, Ju-Anne to visit. She's been in Brisbane for 9 years, and she's one of those friends where the awkwardness of being miles apart, across continents, in time zones of daylight savings or not, surviving in vastly different social circles and having lifestyles worlds apart have never been excuses to keep us apart. Thus, you see why she's one of my best friends.
 |
| Bribane I Farmers' Market I Ju-Anne & Me |
I arrived at midnight, on a Friday morning, welcomed and greeted by 19 degrees of fucking awesome weather but looking like the bottom most level of hell. It was an almost 8 hour flight, where instead of sleeping, I indulged in on-air entertainment. This is really sad but the truth is I haven't watched a movie for maybe a year? Hence, the indulging.
And I highly suspect I was in some kind of mood. So, first it was "The Vow" and then this Chinese movie "Love You You" with Angela Baby as the lead actress. From the first movie to the next, I CRIED LIKE MY DOG DIED IN AN ACCIDENT. Or rather, i wept, on the plane, until my eyelash extensions became wonky and my eyes were all swollen.
So there I was at the pick-up point at the Brisbane airport, 12am, 17degrees, pink lojel & ready to conquer Australian soil, not realizing how these 8 days would eventually impact how i see life, friendships, work and love.
My first meal was Maccas!! So I have this thing, where no matter where I am in the world, I have to eat McDonald's. It's one of my favorite things in the world. I'm serious. If I didn't put on weight eating it, I could do it every night. There was one time, I did 4 nights in a row, and i felt so sick after. I can finish an entire upsize meal with milkshake and apple pie. The Aussie Maccas are No. 2 on my list after Japan's. =D The milkshake is really DOPE!!
 |
| Brisbane I McDonald's I Beef Burger something meal & Fillet O Fish |
And then, I completely knocked out for 10 hours. I don't remember the last time I slept for 10 hours in Singapore.
The plan was that we were flying to Sydney on Saturday for 4 days. I haven't been back to Sydney for many years now, maybe 4 or 5. And i missed the place terribly, I had lived there before for 9 months before when I did my internship for Uni in 2004.
What i love most about Australia has always been the simplicity and randomness of how a cup of damn good latte can be sipped and enjoyed over a conversation with a complete stranger for 2 hours. I will always compare this to Singapore. It will NEVER happen.
On a larger scale of things, I define this as the quality of life.
 |
| Brisbane I Campos Coffee I Skinny Latte |
 |
| Brisbane I Campos I Exterior |
Now, I just have to say that the next paragraph is just my own personal opinion, it's not that I'm imposing my views on anyone.
Singapore's quality of life is zilch. I don't mean the cleanliness of our roads, the variety of food, the convenience of going places or the safety of our country. But essentially, Singapore has no soul. There isn't the spontaneity of the moment, of finding peace in chaos and creativity in the mess. Everything's too clean, too neat, too governed, too sheltered, too restricted. This hit me very hard.
We were at one of the hotel bars along Bondi Beach in Sydney one night, having a beer, post Hurricanes ribs. And we ended up chatting with a bunch of Aussies, of whom one of the girls just got back from Singapore. So the usual small talk went about how Singapore was, it's funny how the first thing she said was, Oh i went to this club, Zouk, and it was Groove Armada playing. It was good fun! Then she said, other than that, I didn't like Singapore, it has no soul.
You will never find the random cafe tucked in a corner or a vintage shop run by 2 generations with mum and daughter just chilling and chatting about a tourist's tattoos.
And the flea markets <3 what else can i say? Raw, real people, home grown lettuce, happy children.
 |
| Brisbane I Farmers' Market I Book store |
 |
| Brisbane I Farmers' Market I "Looking through you" |
 |
| Brisbane I Farmers' Market |
 |
| Brisbane I Farmers' Market I Ju-Anne & Me |
 |
| Brisbane I Farmers' Market I "Vegetables grown to Classical Music" |
 |
| Brisbane I Farmers' Market I Fresh Fruits |
 |
| Brisbane I Farmers' Market I Live Performances |
 |
| Brisbane I Farmers' Market I "The kids are happier" |
 |
| Brisbane I Farmers' Market I Freshly-Made Churros |
 |
| Brisbane I Farmers' Market I Divine Doughnuts |
 |
| Brisbane I Farmers' Market I Hot Spanish Sausages |
 |
| Brisbane I Farmers' Market I "An Apple a day" |
 |
| Brisbane I Farmers' Market I "Lettuce Loving" |
I took pictures of all the fresh produce to show my mum! And i hand-carried the sausages back home, it can last for 3 years, and mould would grow around it but you just need to scrub it away and apparently it's fine to eat it! HAHA.
There was just way too much food, and i realize that each time when I think back fondly about any one of my favorite countries, or memories of any unforgettable trip, it always links back to a restaurant, a dish, a cake, a drink that is the best ever in the world, to me. So, please let me indulge on what took my breath away this time.
 |
| Brisbane I I forget the name of the restaurant! I Big Breakfast |
|
|
This was really good, but i can't believe I forgot the name of the cafe! I loved the sweet potato and the polenta sticks were crazily good! It went perfectly with the beetroot & caramelized onions sauce.
 |
| Sydney I Hurricanes I Pork Ribs |
 |
| Sydney I Korean Cafe in the city I Chocolate & Cinnamon Waffles |
Oh no, I'm terrible, I don't remember the names of the cafes I went to. This one was next to Lumiere apartments in the city center. Had gone to meet up with Cindy, and she stays just round the corner. Cindy is my brother's friend, and she's doing her Masters in Sydney. Our conversation ended up being about how to attain our Aussie PR, how she ended up in Sydney and tonnes of other stuff.
 |
| Sydney I Cindy & me |
|
I ended up having this chat with Ju-Anne about how it is so different overseas, where when you meet up with Singaporeans and make new friends, it seems easier. I'm not sure if its because we are all overseas in a foreign land, so the need to be part of a community becomes stronger and we become more acceptable and flexible on expectations, choices and preferences.
Back to the food, strangely enough, I ended up eating a lot more Asian food than Aussie food. Generally, my palette prefers Asian food, in order of sequence- Japanese, Chinese, Thai...
 |
| Sydney I Chat Thai I Boat Noodle Soup |
This is potentially the best beef based Thai noodle soup i have ever had in my life. And we went at 3PM, it was only AUD$5! It is part of a chain of eateries, Chat Thai (
www.chatthai.com.au) So damn fucking amazingly good. I have to swear to describe the extent of how good it was. I go to Bangkok quite often, but I've never had anything close to this even. I miss it already.
 |
| Sydney I Black Star Pastry I Strawberry & Watermelon Cake |
This was the highlight of trip. The Strawberry & Watermelon cake from Black Star Pastry (
www.blackstarpastry.com.au), Charlene (one of Ju-Anne's friends who just got married and moved to Sydney) took us there, and her husband had bought her this cake on one of their first dates. Obviously it worked, it was a done deal!! =D But this cake was absolutely delightful- light, refreshing yet full of flavor. I have a favourite cake from The Patissier here in Singapore- The Passionfruit Meringue Cake, but this one tops that for sure.
At my wedding in future, I will have this cake.
 |
| Brisbane I Northern Thai Beef Noodles |
 |
| Brisbane I Thai Papaya Salad with Salted Egg |
I did Thai quite a bit this trip, this was back in Brisbane. The Northern Thai noodle soup- never had anything like this before. It felt very home-cooked, like comfort food. I even sent the picture via BBM to my Dad, and his only reply way: Sofie, you're going to get fat. My dad never calls me by my full name, so it must have meant something.
 |
| Brisbane I Campos I Chocolate & Beetroot Cake- I don't even like beetroot, but it was hell good!! |
|
 |
| Brisbane I Bubble Tea from Sunnybank- look at how big the cup is!!! I laughed so much! |
 |
| Brisbane I Some beer place |
I really liked the beer, it was fruity and easy to go down.
 |
| Brisbane I the same beer place I Mussels |
 |
| Brisbane I $1 Mussels!! |
|
 |
| Brisbane I University of Queensland I Pizza & Boost |
 |
| Brisbane I Korean Char Siew & Jellyfish |
 |
| Brisbane I Korean Hot Pot |
This blog entry is getting too long.
Ok see the summary of my trip via pictures as below:
1. Tried to buy chips & Golden Gaytime (my favorite Aussie ice cream) from the petrol kiosk really late one night. Not realizing that because of security and recent shootings, you have to order from a hole in the glass and the guy picks out all the items for you, you can't even step into the store at all. It was freezing as hell. (and i was cursing like there was going to be no tomorrow)
 |
| Sydney I Some petrol kiosk I 2 girls in need of Honey Mustard Chicken Rock Deli Chips & Golden Gaytime |
2. Walking by Chinatown in Sydney, and when I saw this shop, i walked in because I thought of Ghetto (all the sneakers and limited edition shoes- but has to be Nikes) and Leyla- rabbits & foxes (hell yeah!)
 |
| Sydney I Chinatown I Hell Yeah Rabbits & Nikes |
3. In search of animals and pets living it up and being extraordinary to take pictures of! This cat was indeed "Like A Boss". Cat walking owner, while the 3 dogs gathered for brunch.
 |
| Sydney I Bondi Market I "I am Boss- said the Cat" |
 |
| Sydney I The Grounds I Brunch with the girlies |
4. Being awed and remembering why life is more than Singapore and we need to search for that light at the end of the tunnel. Vivid Sydney (
www.vividsydney.com) - a festival of lights, music and ideas.
 |
| Sydney I Vivid Sydney I Video Mapping- Museum of Contemporary Art |
|
5. Indulging in cereal and milk every day because the milk in Australia is just so darn good, creamy and doesn't get non-cold (that temp. between fridge & post fridge- like how it gets in Singapore and totally sucks)
 |
| Brisbane I Just Right & me |
6. Having very carefully and meticulously planned for a next tattoo, going down for a consultation, only to be told the wait list is 3 months, so I have to fly back to Brisbane in August- MEH!! My inspiration for the ink is below.
 |
| Brisbane I Lust for Life Tattoo |
 |
| Tattoo Inspiration I Source: weheartit.com |
7. Being completely amused by every small thing in sight and view- in today's context, nothing surprises me anymore, but anyone up for hire as a Badminton companion? It's AUD$6.50 an hour, pay is better than retail in Singapore.
 |
| Brisbane I Sunnybank I Badminton Companion for Hire? |
8. Appreciating the finer things in life like home made cold pressed iced latte served out of a vintage VW van and then being completely Asian and making the owners take a picture with us.
 |
| Brisbane I Outside Farmers Market I Coffee please? |
|
9. Having all the patience in the world and queuing for 2 hours to have brunch which later became lunch/tea. It was at this cafe at Alexandria called The Grounds. Apparently, it's this crowded every weekend. But this also brings me back to my point on the quality of life- how much of our time do we actually spend in enjoyment? in good company? having deep conversations? or appreciating the simpler moments?
 |
| Sydney I The Grounds |
 |
| Sydney I The Grounds I Coffee on drip |
 |
| Sydney I The Grounds I BURGER |
10. Focusing so hard and taking what feels like a million pictures to try to capture the perfect rainbow picture but it didn't turn out great...at all. I did however see another rainbow in Brisbane, it was beyond my wildest imaginations-- I can't even describe it.
 |
| Sydney I Bondi Beach |
11. Taking random pictures of life's tiniest yet most previous moments...
12. Meeting up with friends and new friends, no pretenses, no frills. We met Melba at a vintage store in Newtown, and became friends. The randomness of how people meet people and the coincidences of how things fall together are the moments that make up life itself.
 |
| Sydney I Baxton's Inn I Ju-Anne, me & Charisse (this picture was taken with an iPhone- it SUCKS) |
 |
| Sydney I Bondi Beach I Ju-Anne, Menreet & me |
 |
| Sydney I Newtown I Ju-Anne, Melba & me |
 |
| Sydney I Ju-Anne, me & Cindy |
 |
| Sydney I Chinatown I Menreet & Ju-Anne |
 |
| Brisbane I Josia & the giant bubble tea |
 |
| Sydney I Charlene & Ju-Anne |
13. Doing all the non-tourist things simply because I didn't want to be labelled a tourist. Steven studied in Brisbane so he said since I insisted on trying to be a local, i had to visit UQ, eat pizza and sit on the grass.
In Australia, sitting on the grass is the norm. Bible studies are held at the grass patch in school, and they sing hymns. In Singapore, you go try to sit on the grass patch. JUST TRY.
 |
| Brisbane I University of Queensland |
14. And of course, cam-whoring =)
Too long a blog post!
But thank you Australia for reminding me how much of life I'm missing out. xx
