Updating from where MYVIs and Protons are no longer rare sights. I think it's safe to say that we're all having some kind of withdrawal syndrome. As much as it must've pained us to wake up to each other while on the trip, we're all probably now in a weird, odd way missing each other's presence. How odd is that, right? Hahaha. We'll try to keep up with the videos and photos but I'm sure it's safe to say we all appreciate each and everyone of you who watched the videos and shared our experience with us. :) have a great day!

So here we are - or rather, here I am - back in good ol Adelaide, one day after the conclusion of what was an incredible trip. As much as I was ready to come home and ease back into reality, I'm currently being attacked by pangs of post holiday blues. I hope the other 3 trippers are easing back into Klang while missing Australia at the same time!

We haven't really updated much aside from Adrian's faithfully-edited videos, but in our defense we were having too much fun at the Worlds in Gold Coast and the internet at our temporary abode was as bad as TMnet 10 years ago, no kidding.

So now that we're all back to civilization, we'll attempt to rehash all that we've been through in the last few weeks at Gold Coast. I reckon Sam gave a really good day-to-day account of our road trip leg, so look that up a few posts below this to find out what we did and where we went.

Gold Coast itself was a breath of fresh air for us, not least because we actually returned home each night to a real family with proper home-cooked meals which were mouthwatering to say the least, and it didn't hurt that Sam's aunt's family was entertaining as! It was refreshing to be able to catch proper sleep each night after tiring days at Dream World, Movie World and swimming/bodyboarding at the different beaches.

The first day at GC was spent at the Dream World White Water park, which was real good fun and really relaxing as well. You guys should have seen Zlwin morph into a 5-year-old kid again. He got excited at every ride and was smiling and skipping along like a little monkey the whole day. Good times!

The next day, we just chilled out at Surfers Paradise, hung out on the beach, did some window shopping, and just took in the beach vibe. Zlwin bought a new bodyboard and we each took a turn at it. The waves at Surfers was so incredible strong apparently a few people have drowned in just the last few weeks over the Christmas period. Scary! There were a number of times when we ourselves were dragged into the waves and flipped over underwater mercilessly. Thank goodness we all survived! Always remember to swim between the flags no matter which Aussie beach you're at. That way, if you drown at least you know someone can come rescue you.

The third day, our friend Ivan from Brisbane met us and we headed to Dream World, which was a veritable ocean of adrenaline waiting to wash over you with its waves of excitement. We went on all these incredible rides, the most "chi kek" being the Buzz Saw, which spins you up and down left right and centre at a mind-numbing speed multiple times, to the point where you think you're going to die. But then again, don't most roller-coasters. A little trivia for you: this Buzz Saw is one of the only three of its kind across the world, so if you have the chance you shouldn't miss it. Once in a day was enough for me though. Brrrr. Another really notable ride was the Giant Drop, which is a chair lift that propels you up a 36-storey (i think its 36 storey but don't quote me on this) tower, and then drops you so quick you think your neck is going to snap and your heart going to stop. The worst part is that you're dangled at the top of the tower for about more than 1 minuite, and just when you're easing into the views across the Gold Coast and think it's never going to happen, it flippin DROPS! It's crazy and magical and achingly scary all at the same time! Bes!!!

After that massive flood of adrenaline, we took it a notch down at Movie World, which was lovely and had a real family vibe about it. Sam skipped this day to spend time with her aunt and because she thinks Movie World is boring. It is definitely less exciting than DreamWorld obviously, but still good fun and a great place to visit to relive some of your childhood heroes (think Scooby Doo and Batman)

Our very last day at Gold Coast was spent at Burleigh Heads beach, where a World Junior Pro surfing compeitition was taking place. It was my dream come true honestly, to end our trip on such a note. I couldn't help sitting around on the grass with other surfing aficionados just looking out into the far waters, watching the surfers work the waves. One day before I die, I will get to at least 1/3 of their level - now that's something to look forward to! Sam hung around with her cousin Melissa who graciously spent the whole day with us, Adrian wandered off to take pictures and videos, and Zlwin headed off to body board, and I joined him to attempt some fun in the waves after having had enough of watching the surfers. Burleigh Heads is seriously a gorgeous place with such an amazing vibe, so try not to miss it if you go to Gold Coast.

Oh here comes the crappy bit. We ended the night with dinner at some crap Italian place which looked legitimately Italian, but I can't recall a worse Aussie dining experience seriously. The service was unbelievably slow (even to hand us the cheque!) the food was terribly bad and salty, and the price was unnecessarily steep. It's too bad none of us bothered to remember the name of the place or we would have posted it here.

The next morning we woke up bright and early (or at least most of us did! One of us overslept and couldn't even believe we had to head to the airport NOW becuase said person's brain wasn't awake yet haha. Guess who!), and headed for home sadly. 

It is now back to real life and to what will be a good year with many more experiences ahead of us. Definitely looking forward and not back!

The trip has ended, but the videos and stories have not! We will continue to update this site and Adrian is still working on editing the massive amount of footage he took, so definitely stay tuned to this space!!

A special mention needs to go out to Auntie Rosie and Uncle Bob and the Tan siblings for their amazing hospitality, yummlicious food and the ROFLMAO-standard entertainment that they provided for the duration of our stay in the Gold Coast. You guys are amazing!

And thank you to all our faithful #ausroadtrip12 followers! Ciao for Nao!

 

x,

Slinga

 

Catch up with us as we kayak in the Tea Gardens and show you the traditional Muttonbird Island dance. Also, Zlwin's potential father-in-laws should not miss watching him manhandle Su Ling in the epic onetenjus bed grab challenge. Just to ensure your daughters are safe in the future. We're kidding, he's really a softie. Enjoy!

#AusRoadTrip12 Episode 4 :

So I reckon we've not updated since we actually started roadtripping from sydney to Brisbane and the main reason is because we really have no much Internet access so fret not, we are back in civilisation and Adrian has a bunch of videos ready to go. All he needs is WIFI. Hahaha.

Day 6, Port Stephens:
So we started off with heading towards Port Stephens and we stayed at Jimmy's Beach Caravan Park. It was not only cheap but also worth the money. We rented a powered site for the night and it only costed us $37. It was there that we visited Hawk's nest beach which was absolutely lovely. It really hit off the roadtrip to a great start.

Day 7, Tea gardens:
We got up early, made ourselves some baked beans and toasted bread on our mini stove and headed up further north. Pretty much shopped for groceries, took a shower and slept up to get ready for the next morning's activities. (the same routine everyday on the roadtrip) we did however arise the next morning early and headed to Lazy Paddles where we rented kayaks and kayaked in the Tea Gardens. From the moment we mentioned kayaking, Su Ling and Adrian partnered up leaving Zlwin and I to be the very much underdog team. The underdog team however did win the final race to the finish! And that was pretty much my highlight.

Day 8, Port Macquarie:
It had already started drizzling in the Tea Gardens after we had finished kayaking and it continued to pour as we drove up. When we got to our new campervan park, it was rather bright and sunny but little did we know rain was going to pour down on us all day, all through the night and all morning the next day. The boys powered through and set up as well as broke down the tent in the rain. Kudos to them. Especially Zlwin!

Day 9, Coff's Harbour:
Leaving Port Macquarie in quite a hurry due to the rain, we were in a rather gloomy as well as under-rested mood. We headed to the harbour and visited Muttonbird Island. It was a rather pretty sight and there we feasted on our chicken-avacado sandwiches. We did manage to get a pretty great campervan park "Malaleuca" and since the boys had just had a very tough day before, we got a cabin instead. The cabin came with a 'winner' queen sized bed and a 'loser' 3 person bunk bed. In the most ungentlemen fashion, they challenged myself and suling to a battle of rock paper scissors. Prize of course being the comfort of a nice warm soft bed with fluffy pillows and double comforters. The boys ended up winning. :( it did rain that night again and we were all very pleased with our decision to get the cabin over a campervan site.

Day 10, Yamba:
Heading off towards Byron, we decided to skip Stanthrope which was on our initial list of places to visit because that would probably mean a campsite and unsure of the weather, we played it safe and headed towards this small surf town instead on a whim. Also on a whim, we ended up eating at this Turkish-Mediterranean cafe which ended up to really cheer us up from all the bad weather we had been having. Later that night after getting a powered site at the best campervan park, by far-Blue Dolphin, we cooked up Indian food and lots of rice to satisfy Zlwin's insatiable craving for it's starchy goodness. It was very much a breath of fresh air for us as well as we were greeted with calm weather and that little spice gave us all a taste of home.

Day 11, Byron Bay:
We left early for Byron Bay the next day stopping by hippie town, Nimbin. The town itself was rather interesting but I did not feel particularly safe being the only few Asians and everyone stating at us like we would look good on a barbecue. Haha. But it was definitely an experience. We lounged around the main beach in Byron and eventually settled for a campervan park and marked the end of our ausroadtrip with a huge meat barbecue. At the end of it, and even till now, no one really wants anymore meat. It was way too much! We woke up the next morning at 5 a.m. to try and catch the sunrise. It was however, not as pretty a sight as we had hoped. The rising sun was blocked by a huge cloud and we could barely see any rays. Had a quick breakfast and headed to The Valley which was absolutely gorgeous. It was more of a surfing area but we all just enjoyed soaking up the experience and the vibe we were getting from the surfers, the ocean and the scenery. Eventually headed back to the main beach to lie around because after many days of dark clouds, we finally had a bright sun shiny day of pretty much Joy.

Day 12, Brisbane:
Let Byron half heartedly because we all really wanted to spend more time there and headed up to Brisbane. On the way we had Yatala Pies which were okay interns of filling and mushy peas but the gravy and pastry did salvage the meal. We were greeted by Chris and Beverly, who are the nicest, and dropped off our wicked campercar. It was honestly odd seeing the car so empty and clean for the first time in almost a week! We then headed into the city to meet Ivan. Hitting the city we set out for good food. Headed to a small French patisserie to wait for dinner. Eventually headed to Funny Funny, which is a Korean restaurant, for dinner. There we feasted on so much food each of us could almost explode (even Zlwin!)

As I'm typing this, we're heading back to Ps. Chris' home and I can't wait to shower and to get a good night's sleep on a BED! I doubt you've really read the entire post but of you did, yay and good on you. Drop a comment if you like and we'll update you soon enough. :)

SAMOEUMIN

After us saying that Su Ling is not graceful enough to do synchronized swimming, she decides to prove us wrong with a graceful dancemove. She may not be able to cook but she is able to pose gracefully. - SAMOEM (Samantha Ong Eu Min)

LAST NIGHT.

So the girls took 45 minutes to cook a complicated dinner meal. The boys were smart, we bought CANned food. And we had our dinner ready in just 5 minutes. The girls came and teased us. We let them try our food, they dropped dead and said, "Wow it's very tasty. Can I have more?"

#win ! =)

- Zlwin Chew and Adrian Yap