Love is Crazy

I was reading a post by one of my favourite blogger and it got me smiling. She is humorous and holds back no punches on what she wants and wants to say. I always love someone with a little wicked humour and a bit “siaw”.

Anyway it got me drifting back to my teenage years. I am like her every now and then wondering or should I say dreaming about my future life partner. You wonder what she will be like, when will she come into my life and how will we get along?

I do have many "girlfriends" but not steady ones. While schooling, I get to know my sister’s classmates but they don’t seems to attract me and I was shy to get to know them better anyway.

After I left school and went out to work, living with my Aunty in Klang, I got to meet more girls in the church youth group. But I was rather shy to get to know them better. I would blushed if one of the girls would speak to me, I would be lost for words and stammered in my reply. That was how shy I was.

My friends used to tell me “faint heart wins no fair lady”. To overcome my shyness, my friends would organize outing in groups and slowly my shyness begin to dissipate. Slowly, I overcame my fear. Going out in a group had it advantage. People tends to lose their guards when they are relax and among their peers. It gives you opportunities to gauge their real behaviour and see the real person when their guards were down.

Going out in group is one thing but going out steady is another story. Trying to get the girl you like out on a date is a different story. There was always a “no” and it hurts. My house mates use to tease each other when there is a rejection. It was a standing joke to say “Long Piak” (hitting a brick wall). The irony was, we live in a rented double storey house opposite a retaining wall divided by the road, making it easy to “Long Piak”.

Slowly my confidence began to ebb away and began to wonder whether you will slowly withered away alone. Off course, I, being a Christian began to seek divine help. Every night, I would pray to God to give me a wonderful girl. As I pass 25 I began to wonder whether God heard my prayer or whether he is so busy doing other more important things than to hear pittance request. One of my house mates chided me for wasting God’s time. By then, I was pissed off and told my house mate about Abraham sending his servant back to his kampong to look for a wife for his son, Isaac. It was a tall order trying to find a good wife for the Master’s son. What if he is unable to find a wife or manage to find a “Chair Kai” woman for his master’s son, surely his master will punished him. The servant prayed and turned to God for help and asked for a sign. God heard him and found Isaac a wonderful wife.

By then, after a few broken, shattered heart, especially by the Girl from Kampar, I was resigned to live a single life and decide to live my life to the fullest as possible without a life partner. Hey, was I choosy? I don’t think so. I don’t like girls who are loud, smokes, swears, rough and selfish. I want my future partner to be humorous yet can be serious, sweet and serene, soft spoken yet confident, kind and gentle, who will accept me wart and all for who I am. And most all she must be a Christian and love the Lord with all her heart. Was that too much to ask? Oh, if she is beautiful, that will be an asset!

So merrily I went my way but the good Lord seems to have a good sense of humour. He moved me to another job and it was at this new place I found a girl of my dream. She is what I wanted her to be and she is beautiful, too. With his wicked sense of humour, the good Lord added a twist to this love story but I won’t be telling you. It has to wait for another day. After 2 years of “Pak Tor” we got married. The moral of the story is don’t look too hard, do not worry about tomorrow, live each day and out of the blue your dream partner will appear when the time is right.

Here is another irony. When I got married, some of the girls from my church which I used to be interested complained to my friend’s wife, why do all our young men from the church marrying girls from other churches? My friend’s wife later confide in me. These very same girls who complained, rejected my approach because I was poor, not a uni graduate and was not holding a highly paid post, got no car and see no future in me.

It was in the later years I asked my wife, a secretary to the managing director, why she married me, a poor design draftman, when she could have married someone with higher position and offered her security. She replied, “It is because I see a good man in you and that was all it mattered to me.” That was enough for me, after all love is crazy, isn’t it?

Salamanca Market, Tesellated Pavement,Port Arthur, Eaglehawk Neck, Richmond, Pontville and Sorell market – Tasmanian Trip Day 7 and 8

The initial plan was to visit Port Arthur in the early morning. It was agreed we will give Salamanca the miss but my SIL changed her mind and wanted to visit the Salamanca Market. It was supposed to be a quick visit. There was no much to see and even with quick browse here and there, we were there for 2 hours.

There were so much hand craft work in glass and timber, antiques, books, food – hot baked spuds, organic vegetables, fresh fruits, coffee, croissants, and buskers singing the blue, jazz, classical music or lively folk songs. We have to drag ourselves away from the “evil” place so we will not miss Port Arthur.

As we drove to Port Arthur, we made a stop at Pirated Bay to see the Tesselated Pavement.

This intriguing geological feature is a natural rock platform with an appearance remarkably like paving stones. We then headed to Port Arthur.

Port Arthur has an intriguing history. It has a sad story to tell. The impressive architecture, delightful gardens and chilling prison facilities were created with convicts labour.

Do not be fooled by the serenity of this place. As you walk through each building there are always sad story of pain, misery, torture and death. It was through discipline, punishment, religious and moral instruction, classification and separation, training and education to set the prisoners honest. By today standard, it will be deem cruel.

On entry you will received a playing card which gives you the identity of a real convict. You find your convict and trace his life at Port Arthur.

You have the option to take the introductory walking tour or walk around by yourself. If time is an essence walk around by yourself. The introductory tour takes about 45 minutes.

The entry ticket includes a boat tour passing the Dockyards, Point Puer Boy’s Prison and the Isle of the Dead Cemetery. We were there for 3 hours and you could spend the entire day there reading and reflecting the hard life of this poor people and what hardship they have to endure.

We had a quick cup of coffee and we headed back to Eaglehawk Neck to see the Tasman Blowhole. The blowhole was not the highlight. It was the fishing competition that enthralled us. Boats were coming in with their catches and we have never seen such large fish before. The heaviest fish we saw was a 75Kg yellow fin Tuna caught by a young boy on the fishing trip with his father.

We stopped at Donelley for some food, turning off at Sorell and headed to Richmond, a small historic village, before heading back to the Motor Inn.

The next day we dropped in at Pointville and Sorell Market before heading off to the airport to catch the flight back to Melbourne.

Ok folk, this is the end of my Tasmanian's trip. I have used up my quota for uploading pictures and until I work out how else I can post more pictures in future posting, you have to excuse me if there are no pictures in future posting. Any readers with good suggestion are welcome.

Hobart and Huon Trail – Tasmanian Trip Day 6

The next morning after breakfast, we decided to move closer to Hobart, the Airport and Port Arthur. So we checked out and found a nice little motor inn in Lindisfarne. It is about 5 minutes to Hobart city, 15 minutes to the airport, 30 minutes to Huon Valley and an hour to Port Arthur.

After checking in we cross the Tasman Bridge to Hobart City towards Kingston... Just after Kingston we stopped at the Apple & Heritage Museum.

Apple & Heritage Museum

There was nothing much to see here and disappointing, too. The sceneries along Huon River were scenic.

We passed Hounville, Port Huon, turning into Geeveston for the Tahune Airwalk in Southern Forest.

Tahune Airwalk, a walk in the treetops 40 meter above the ground. It is a 600 meter walk that is gentle with unforgettable views. You get close and learn to identify some Tasmanians; Celery, Top Pine, Sassafrass, King Billy, Leatherwood, Myrtle, Blackwood and the towering Stringybarks.

When we arrived at Tahune Airwalk it was raining and we braved the rain to do this walk.

Yes, we will do anything to bring you the great adventure.

The Cantilever

Braving ourselves, we walked onto the cantilever through the rain for an eagle-eye view of the Picton and Huon Rivers.

The howling wind blowing at the cantilever, swaying it, makes the walk a little frightening. In the end it was worth the scare.

We back tracked to Geeveston and back to Port Huon for lunch. We hope to get some fresh sea foods but were disappointed. There were no sea foods and we landed up in Port Huon Trading Post.

Port Huon Trading Post.

The food served here was fresh and good. It was not only good, the prices were reasonable and the service was superb. If you ever pass there drop in and give them your support.

Abalone Shell

Fresh Tasmanian Apples

After the hearty lunch, we headed south to Hasting Caves and Thermal Springs. By the time we reach there, it was almost closing time and the person in charge told us by the time we walked to the springs, we have to turn back. Well, there will be another time. Again we back track and headed for Southport.

It was here we decided to head back for Hobart since it was dark and there was not much point driving to Cockle Creek to see Whale Sculpture.

We reach Hobart and decided to stop here for dinner. After a few turn here and there we landed up at Salamanca Place.


After walking around we finished up at La Porchetta for dinner. Dining here is so much expensive than La Porchettas’ in Melbourne. I would say it is about 1½ more expensive and it was not as good as the Melbourne’s outlets. After walking around for a while we decided to call it for a night.

Zeehan, Strahan, Queenstown, Glenorchy - Tasmanian Trip Day 5

After the lunch we headed for Zeehan known as “Silver City”. It is the home to Pioneer’s Memorial Museum which features material from west coast and the numerous ships that have been wrecked in the treacherous seas off the coast. We push on to Strahan as there was nothing much to see or do at Zeehan.

Strahan is a coastal town founded in 1883 for prospectors, miners, piners, millers, fisherman, for railway ships and sailors and today for tourists and travelers. This town carries the smell of Huon pine. This great pines is still a bit of mystery due to its oil, Methyl Eugenol, which impregnates the timber.

The oil protects the timber from insect attack and resists rot and insect attack for 10 thousands of years. Strahan do have places of interest like the fish farm and Sarah Island and all required boat cruises or helicopter ride.

We did a short quick round of the town and could not find suitable accommodations; we gave it a miss and headed for Queenstown.

Queenstown is renowned for its mining heritage. Gold and copper deposit was discovered in 1880’s. Copper are still mined at Mount Lyell. There is an underground mine tour and we were late for the tour. We did drive to the mine and no photography was allowed. Other than the copper mine, the town is a quiet town and mainly tourists on tour were put up a night here before heading for Strahan the next day because of its cheap accommodations and bringing tourists' dollars to this town.

There was not much point putting a night here and we decided to drive to Hobart which was 3½ hour drive away. The road out of the town was through high, steep and winding road with no petrol station for the next 100kms or so. The ladies were scared of the deep gorges and narrow winding road.

When we reach the town of Taraleah, we decided to put up a night here in one of the hotel. But my SIL was put off having to share a common toilet and bathroom with the rest of the lodgers. So we were on the road once again in the dark, wet, scary night for Hobart. We reach Glenorchy at 8.30 and booked into a 2 bedroom lodging. It was late and the restaurant was closed and we have no choice but to survive on instance noodles (which we bought along), cheese, bread, coffee and tea for a night.

Cradle Mountain - Tasmanian Trip Day 5

The morning was bright and pleasant when we got up. We took a short walk from the lodge to the main building for a buffet breakfast which was included. After a hearty breakfast, we went back to the lodge, packed and stuff the luggage into the car. Drove to the reception and checked out.


Then we drove to Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre. To get up to Cradle Mountain you must purchase park passes. You have the choice to drive up, which they discourages because of the narrow roads and limited parking facilities or take the shuttle bus up there. The pass cost $20 for a maximum of 8 persons. We opt for the shuttle bus which runs regularly every 10 minutes and the cost of the shuttle is included in the pass. There are 3 stops along the way and you can hop on and off anytime. The ride to the top takes about 20 minutes.

By the time we reach up there, the weather changed from clear sky to grey sky and started drizzling. The weather is always unpredictable and changes frequently. It can have 4 seasons in a day with condition that include burning sun, driving winds, heavy rain and snow within a single hour.



There are many walks ranging from 10 minutes, overnight and overland walks. We did not walk round the dove lake because of the changing weather condition and the walk is 2 hour long. We did short walk before the cold, windy and wet send us scuttling for cover. We return to the car park just about 1 pm and drove back to Cradle Mountain Lodge and had lunch at the bistro.

Cradle Mountain Lodge

Situated at the base of Cradle Mountain with more than 20 walking tracks from 20 minute walk to all day trek. Try your hand at fly fishing, canoeing, mountain biking or just relax with a massage or sauna.
Front of Main Building housing the main office, restaurant, bistro and reading room.

View of some of the lodgings

Inside our lodge for a night

Outside the front of the Lodge

Another View of the lodge

The bistro where you get good and reasonable meals with a nice warm fireplace

Tasmanian oyster for dinner

Maracoopa Cave

Age old underground cave with lavish colours, rushing water, sparkling crystals and spectacular glow worms display.

Elizabeth Town, Raspberry Farm, Ashgrove Cheese

Christmas Hill Raspberry Farm Cafe

Ashgrove Cheese

Making Cheese

Cheese Tasting

Deloraine

A small historic town situated on the Meander River. it is a great base from which to explore Liffey falls, Meander falls and the Great Western tiers Sculpture Trail. The town is also a major arts and craft centre.

Stainless Steel Urinal Bowl at the Information Centre. Quite an art, isn't it?

Display at every corner of the town

Chillies?

Tasmanian Trip Day 4

We checked out of Motel early and headed North and turning East on a small country road heading for the town of Deloraine. This bypasses Launceston and the heavy morning traffic. It is always pleasant to drive in the countryside with plenty of fresh air and green sceneries. The ever changing landscape keeps you alive and entertained.

We stopped at Deloraine Visitor Information Center to pick up some maps and tips on where to stop and look see. After a few enquiries, we walked around the town of Deloraine. Then as we headed north to Elizabeth Town, we stopped at the outskirt of Deloraine for some fuel.

So what is there up in Elizabeth Town? There was a Raspberry Farm and Cheese factory along the way. There was nothing much to see at the raspberry farm and there is a little café serving Raspberry muffins, ice cream, jam, milkshake etc. We had raspberry muffins, coffee and milkshake. There was nothing really to shout about, I think I can bake better muffins.

After a full tummy, we drop into the Ashgrove Cheese factory. There we sample their cheese and we love the Wasabi and Red Chilli cheese. At the same time we can see how cheeses were made.

We then backtracked back to Deloraine and turn south east stopping at a Salmon farm. You have to pay an entrance fees, I think it was about $12 a person to see how Salmon are farmed. We gave it a miss. The owner also was experimenting growing Korean Ginseng on his property.

Next stop was the honey place at Chudleigh. There was nothing much to see, so we left and passed the town Mole Creek to see the Marakoopa and King Solomons Cave. We did see the Marakoopa Caves and gave Solomons Cave a miss. Solomons Cave is smaller but more spectacular. If you have seen a cave, I guess all caves will look the same.

It was raining lightly as we headed for Cradle Mountains. It is a must if you are in Tasmania, well that what everyone says. We use the smaller country road to Moina and then to Cradle Mountain.

We stopped at the information centre. It was raining and cold and we decided to stay a night at Cradle Mountain Lodge. It cost a whopping $350 a night to stay at in of the lodge. After some negotiating we got a bulk discount knocking down to $240 a night. It was still expensive and we decided to take it since it was wet and dark.

Changing the World

Luke 41"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

"Change the world
Begins with You"

This morning a friend email this site to me (http://www.makeadifferencemovie.com/) and it was so touching and I hope it touches you as well as me. Hopefully we can make a difference and change the world by beginning with ourself.

St. Helens

St. Helens is the game fishing capital of Tasmania with picturesque fishing port on the shores of George Bay.

North of St. Helens is the white beaches of Binalong Bay with red lichen covered rocks.

Pyengana

There are others many falls near Pyengana namely Halls Falls, Mathinna Falls and Lilydale Falls. After seeing two falls and with the drought, I guess another one is just too many. So we headed in to the small town of Pyengana. When I say it is small, it is really small. Guess you could say it is smaller than a cowboy town. But, hey, we were told we could get a good lunch here. It is called Pub in the Paddock.


Yes, the lunch was good and reasonable.


Just a stone throw we were told there was a cheese factory. It was disapponting. It was not a large cheese factory. I guess it is more of a cottage industry. The so called "cheese factory" was not running but the gift and retail shop was opened.

P/S: It is pass midnight and I need my beauty sleep. I will continue this tomorrow. Good night and sweet dreams.

St. Columbia Falls

St. Columbia Falls is near the township of Pyengana and are the tallest falls in the state, supposedly with a high volume multi-tiered waterfall down 90 metre off the side of Mt. Victoria.


Viewing platform at the base of the falls is an easy 10 minute walk from the road. The falls can also be seen from the road.
Because of the drought, the falls is not as dramatic as shown in the brochure.

Ralph Fall

The road to Ralph Fall is narrow and winding dirt road. Ralph Fall is situated in Mt. Victoria Forest Reserve.



It is about 10 minute walk through Myrtle forest to the fall and is one of Tasmania's 60 great short walk.
It is the longest single drop waterfall in Australia.

Legerwood

At the Information Center, we were told we must drop in to see Ralph Fall in Ringarooma. To get to Ringarooma we have to pass the town of Legerwood. We had a pleasant surprised when we reach Legerwood.


We saw larger than life chainsaw carving along the road. It was carvings of magnificent wood sculptures of war heroes.

Scottsdale

Scottsdale, a small town established in 1860, the heartland of NE's rich agriculture, dairying and forestry region.


Here we visited the Forest EcoCentre, an award winning building showcasing Tasmania's finest timber, forest ecology and history of the North east.


The information Centre is also housed in the EcoCentre.




A short drive out of the is a small park. Here we were told if we are lucky we may spot some platypus follicking in the stream. We did try but no luck. One local we met while walking her dog told us it have to be in early morning or late in the evening to see this creatures.

Nabowla - Bridgestone Estate Lavender Farm

This lavender is the oldest and largest lavender plantation in the southern hemisphere. It is about 52km form Launceston.


All the flower were already harvested in December and January and we did not get to see how it was harvested and processed for its fragrant oils. So we did a quick simple browse in the gift shop and the plantation. But we have to be careful because there are bees buzzing in the plantation.

Tasmanian Trip – Day 3

I got up early at 6am this morning and went down the road to the Bakery and got some fresh dinner roll for breakfast. The motel do have coffee, tea, cookies, vegemite and jam included in the room, so we decided to have a simple breakfast before we hit the road. Today we decided to do the North East trail.

We headed south for Launceston and hit the A3 to take us North East. The traffic was heavy into the city. After yesterday long ride, the car was low in fuel and needed a refill. So we turn into a small town to top up the fuel tank. The initial plan was to drive north to George Town and then head east to St. Helen. After a quick look at the map, we decided to give George Town a miss due to time constraints and headed for Scottsdale and St. Helens instead.

Along this route we stop at Bridgestone Estate Lavender Farm in Nabowla, Scottsdale, turning into Legerwood, Ringarooma, St. Columbia Fall, Pyengana and then to St. Helens.

From St. Helens we headed home via south passing Scamander, St. Marys, Fingal, Conara and up north to Longford, Perth and Launceston. Again we reach back to the motel late in the night.

Like the day before driving in the night is dangerous with the wild animals darting across the road. It seems they love taking chances and playing “I dare you game”. After my first kill, I was very careful not to make notch to my kill list.

Friday's Humour

P/s: If I get the time tonight I will try to post Part 3 & 4 of my Tasmanian trip.

Cat catches bus to fish 'n chip shop

I read this in the news this morning and I am still chuckling over it.

A LONDON cat has spent the past three months jumping on a bus and riding it two stops down the road before leaping off near a fish and chip shop.

The mystery cat, which jumps on the no 331 service in Wolverhampton, has stunned bus drivers who have since nicknamed it Macavity.

Driver Bill Khunkhun, 49, said Macavity caught the bus three times a week and always got on and off at the same spot along the busy route.

“As soon as I open the doors he jumps on. He seems to like it,” he said.

Passenger Paul Brennan, 19, said Macavity sat at the front of the bus and waited patiently for the right stop.

“It was quite strange at first but now seems normal. He is the perfect passenger. The only problem is he never pays,” Mr Brennan said.

Travel West Midlands, which operates the service, said: “The cat certainly knows how to use buses and is a regular traveller on the 311.”

Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21538005-13762,00.html

Assam Laksa Party

Maureen’s bible study group, today held an Assam Laksa Party at lunch time with plenty of food as usual.

The Laksa spiciness was tone down a little to cater for a few angmohs.

Other than that everything was yummy.

The laksa was cooked by Serena who hails from Pulau Pinang.

Someone brought back Coca Cola from South Korea for Serena. She collects Coca Cola memorabilia.

My New Toy

It is almost 4 week since my Nikon Coolpix 5000 being away for repair by Nikon Australia. I am really disappointed by their service. The last time I called they told me they were waiting for a part or parts to fix the camera. This part or parts is only available in early April and I may get my camera back somewhere in mid April that is subjecting they get the part or parts on time.
My friend who had a Nikon Coolpix 5700 also had the same problem. He bought his camera from KL and send it back via his BIL who was here on holiday. Within a week Nikon Malaysia fixed his problem.
In between I was without a camera and decided to get another replacement. After some research, I wanted a Nikon D200. I have always been a Nikon fan and having own a few Nikon cameras, I was really turned off with Nikon poor service.
It was time for a change. It was time to break off with loyalty. Loyalty did not get me anywhere. So I decided to opt out of Nikon and went for a Canon instead. I got myself a Canon 350D. It was not my loss, it was Nikon loss.

Tasmania Trip – Day 2

We left early for Launceston to have McDonald Breakfast. Entering the city was heavily congested with traffic and after circling the city we cannot find McDonald and decided to head back to the motel for a simple breakfast and collected our walking shoes.

Rather than heading back to the city and hitching on the main highway to Devonport, we opt for the country road up to Exeter and turn west to Devonport. Following the travel brochure we picked up yesterday, we stop at Narawntapu National park and we were disappointed. It was bare and dry with nothing much to see. We then headed to Port Sorell which was on the other side of the National park divided by an inlet.

Port Sorell is a small coastal town with a few homes and a jetty. People come here for fishing, skiing and sailing. At the jetty we met a man unloading his boat. He just arrived home after sailing from Darwin, north east of Australia mainland. He told us he had sailed as far as Indonesia, Sarawak and Sabah. It will be a while before he sails again because he is having his boat repainted, some minor repair and the engine serviced.

Port Sorell

Leaving Port Sorell we arrived at Devonport. Devonport is a nice town and if you take the ferry from Port Melbourne, the ferry will dock at East Devonport. We had a quick lunch at Devonport.

Ferry from Port Melbourne In East Devonport

Between Devonport and Latrobe we popped into Anvers Confectionery. This confectionery makes chocolates and has a beautiful small garden, where you can sit and savor ice cream, hot chocolate drink and chocolate.

Anvers Confectionery

After this we headed east to Ulverstone and Burnie. Burnie is a coastal town and over 100 years Burnie port shipped out timber, minerals and produce from this region. This place makes world class cheese from perfect milk, make malt whiskey from pure rain water and make paper by hand from local fibres. We manage to visit the cheese tasting centre and missing out some places as it was almost closing time.

Cheese tasting Centre

We hit the road once again heading west and this time we headed straight for Arthur River which at the western end of Tasmania. The ladies wanted to watch the sunset at a place called Edge of the World. The sound from the sea rushing against the rock with a whish whish sound that sounds like a washing machine. This place is more of a holiday place.

Edge Of The World

After watching the sunset, it was time for diner and we headed to Smithon. We were told we could find good seafood in this town. How disappointed we were! The town was dark and all the shops were closed. Remember this golden rule, unless you are in big towns or cities, all eating place closed at 7.30pm.

Having no choice we headed for the next town, Burnie, and keeping our finger crossed we could find food there. The road was pitched dark and as I took a corner, I saw two eyes in the middle of the road, slammed my brake and before I knew it, I felt a thud with my wife screaming at the back of the car did not help at all. It was my first kill, I killed a possum. The number plate was dented with a cracked grill. It was fortunate that there were no major damage.

Because of this ordeal, we decided to turn into an off road town of Stanley for a breather. It was a good call. As we reach the town, we saw a restaurant opened with diners. Quickly we made buzz into the restaurant and order our meals. There were 2 crayfish left and the ladies took them.

Stanley

After dinner, we took a quick look at Stanley and headed back to Launceston via Devonport through the freeway to Deloraine and Launceston. It was almost midnight when we reach the motel.

Tasmanian Holiday Day 1

The West Tamar Highway runs almost parallel with the Tamar River.

Tamar River

Along this highway there are many wineries but most of it are a few kilometer off the main road. It is unlike the wineries in Victoria, NSW where it is on the main road. Because it was late most wineries were closed.

Wineries

Driving up North we passed the town of Legana and Exeter before we stopped at Beaconsfield.

Beaconfield Town

Beaconsfield Mine

Beaconsfield General Store

This town came to the world attention in April 2006, after the collapse of the Beaconsfield mine when a minor earthquake rocked the small town of Beaconsfield, collapsing one of the tunnels in a local gold mine and trapping miners Larry Knight, Todd Russell and Brant Webb. Visit http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200604/s1627094.htm to read more of this tragedy.

It is a small town, nothing much to see except for the gold mine which was closed. We continue up North and stop at Tamar Cove Restaurant along the way to check what they had to offer. After checking the menu we find the prices were expensive. Half a crayfish approx. 250gm cost A$45.

Tamar Cove Restaurant

So we move on and arrived at Beauty Point. Here you can find the Sea Horse Centre but it was closed. We stopped at Tamar Yacht Club for a quick look before heading to Clarence Point. It was a cowboy town and we stopped and have a look at café cum pub. It was an untidy place and with a few rough people and it turned us off completely and got out of the town immediately. We drove back to the yacht club and had dinner there. The food was good and the pricing were reasonable. There were not much people, only 4 of us and another table of 4.

Tamar Yacht Club

Then we drove back into Lauceston and had a quick peep in the town. It was practically dead with no or little activities. After a few round of the town, we went back to the motel for an early night.

The Much Needed Holiday

It was by chance this holiday came about. During the Christmas Holidays in one of the dinner conversation, my SIL from Sydney was planning a holiday trip and asked us if we were interested in joining her and her hubby. My wife was quick to say “yes”. They quickly decided on a date and where to go for a holiday. It was decided we all will go for a short oversea trip. Yes, a short trip over the Bass Strait to Tasmania. We been here for almost 20 years and have not visited Tasmania and I think it is time we drop in for a visit.

Initially it was decided my wife and I will take the ferry from Melbourne Port to Devonport bringing the car with us. My SIL and hubby will fly from Sydney and meet us there. But there was one problem, I get seasick and I do not want to arrive in Devonport sick as a dog and unable to drive or enjoy the holiday. After working out the sums it would cost the same to fly or take the ferry to Tasmania. The only extra cost would be a rental car. So we decide to fly and rent a car. It was a good decision.

The holiday could not come any better in the last week of March. After returning to work after the New Year, it was a hard slog, keeping up with demands from customers. I was totally drained and needed to get away from the office. It was a much needed holiday. We left Melbourne for Launceston on the 25^th of March at 1.25pm. The flight was delayed for about 15mins due to some hitch up in paperwork over some goods consignment. The pilot made up for the lost time arriving on time.

Launceston Airport is a small airport. Once the plane landed, you need to take a short walk to the terminal. There is no carousal for you to retrieve your luggage. To retrieve your luggage, you walked in a glass room and wait. After a while, a little truck towing a few carriages with your luggage entered this room and you collect your luggage off the carriages.

Outside Lauceston Airport

Maureen collected the luggage while I collected the rental car. It was a almost new Mitsubishi 380 sedan. While we were doing our part of the duty, my SIL and hubby plane landed. After collecting our luggage and doing all the necessary paperwork for the car, we pick up the car loaded the luggage and headed to our lodging in West Tamar. It was about 10mins North of Launceston. It was almost 4pm after checking into the motel and we took a drive up further North on West Tamar Highway.

To be continued.

Did You Missed Me?

Did you missed me? I don't think so! The mail box and the blog comment box is empty except for bulk of junk mails trying to sell me Viagra, loans, fake degree, software, watches etc.
The good news is I am still alive and in extreme good health. I was happy except for today. Why? Because I have to come back to work. The last whole week, I was on holiday having fun, eating good food, hiking, driving around in a rental car chalking up 2800Kms in a week, soaking in the sunshine, smelling the nice clean and fresh air and watching the world go by. It was so nice to be away from the computer and work. But I must admit I do missed reading some of my favorite blogs.
So where did I go for my holiday? Somewhere oversea and I will tell you all about as soon I catch up with this stupid workload on my table. No one does my work when I am away. Now you know why I am unhappy. I need another holiday after this week. Oh, I nearly forgot this weekend is a long weekend, Easter weekend, damn shiok!
In the meantime, keeping dropping by to catch my holiday posts. I will post it up as soon as I get the time. I have not decided how I want to post it. It will be a very long post with plenty of pictures. It is just I do not want to bore the crap out of you.
Ahem, if you do miss me, drop me a line. I will really appreciate it.