... part 4.
So we land. And The Warden begins her analysis and voices her dissatisfaction with 'our' (our being a term loosely 
referring to the rest of the world, and not just the LimKlan in particular) understanding of the Australians Customs Department's requirements of declaring everything, including the dirt on your shoes (no kidding. seriously, if you have caked on mud on the soles of your shoes, you'd better declare it). So she goes on and on ... in particular about this brand of cough lollies that we get here in Malaysia - Hacks. (Thank Redd for starting the whole thing by handing it out to her in the first place LOL) So she raises her voice and talks over the crowd and doing my best to remain calm, I just took it as another one her quirky quirks. She IS a lovely person and a nice Aunty after all ... :)
Now the nice thing about the Perth International Airport is this - unlike Changi and LCCT in Malaysia, they don't have like a budget 
terminal to further reinforce that you're on a budget :) he he ... so we arrived the plush carpeting, disembarking on a real airplane walkway, into the main terminal, where again, I got flagged because of my Visa. And no, I didn't experience the horrible Immigration experience that everyone seemed to complain about. If anything, the Immigration Officers who initially took my passport and the gentleman who handled my case was more than polite and courteous, he made me feel at ease, seeing as how I was a little antsy that I'm being red-flagged in a foreign country. :) So thank you Immigration Australia! :) (passport image courtesy of Immigration Malaysia's website)
Then we proceeded 
to pick up our luggage, which was my biggest surprise for Australia - the baggage guys took the same time that KLIA / LCCT people take close to an hour!!! Holy Cow boys! What's going on! :) But we had a totally good time chatting and napping and chatting amongst the Aussies returning from various parts of Asia via Singapore. So we cleared Customs, or at least most of us did without much of a hiccup. Uncle Jeff kinda g
ot caught up, for a 'random' bag inspection, but he insists it's because of his face ke apa ke ... and of course The Warden had her theories on that issue as well. Mostly uneventful all the way to City Stay Apartments, where we will spend a whole week at. It was a very, very comfortable stay in a self contained unit, with a complete kitchen and laundry facilities and heating and cooling, clean bathroom and comfortable beds. Although, I may be a little biased on the beds as I've been sleeping on a couch the past 2 months ... so anything not resembling a couch is heaven to me. :) ha ha ... we actually arrived at about 11:45pm at night and the place was deserted, I was however happy to note that we were located directly opposite a shopping mall. HA HA! :)
After 
we unloaded both bags and people into the apartments (we took 5 units with 4 people to a unit), and after consulting with the apartment manager (his name's Zaki or something like that - looks Malaysian, but didn't ask) we trekked about ... 5 blocks, to this great eatery called Fast Eddy's, a 24 hour old school diner. I loved their decor and their menu was definitely very, very creative, however, they didn't have a 
new one that I could bring back and frame up ... the waiter serving us ... was a little nervous I guess about such a big group (18 in all, Godpa and Godma wanted to zzz) and he kept breaking plates and glasses LOL ... but he got every single order correct! Amazing! :) Thumbs up to him for sure! They were a little pricey, but the helpings were generous, the atmosphere lovely and the company loving. It was indeed a perfect ending to a long, long day!!!
... to be continued.
... part 3.
So we finally get to the check - in counter right, and how often do you see a family of 20 (that's right folks, there's 20 of us - and that doesn't include the 4 non-attending family members) all gearing up to check in. Needless to say, the dude behind me whom I asked to go ahead (he was traveling alone) was relieved beyond measure he didn't have to wait. :) he he ...
ANYWAY, we get all checked in and lo and behold, thinking that I had done everything right, my passport 
and red-flagged as was my aunt's. So we were side-lined whilst Tiger's manager went to do some clarification via PC & Phone with the Australian Embassy people. SO in the meantime, some of the family (pic left) get all upset and antsy that 2 of us won't be able to go and I'm telling my aunty - think of all the extra shopping we could do in Singapore, PLUS free accommodation, (of course inside, I was crushed that the Aussies didn't want me :( *sniff* and to think I was thinking of migrating there and being a useful citizen to them blek :P). After a LONG 25 minutes (boarding time approaching people!) the manager beckons us to the counter and winks and goes,
"All set folks, you're good to go! Have a good one!"
So we line up, budget terminal style (no pics allowed) to board ... and the plane FINALLY arrives (I still don't get the "Let's get everyone all lined up and standing for 45 minutes, but the plane hasn't arrived yet policy that Tiger Airways has") and we board the plane according to seat allocations, YAY, the LimKlan is all in one area LOL. There were some grumblings amongst those seated close to The Warden due to the sudden 'uncoolness' emanating from her LOL ... and she made loads of funny comments (funny embarrassing, not funny ha ha) like when she kept on asking about ... what was it guys ... coffee beans or some kinda food that she insisted on checking with the Customs of Australia, who are positively relentlessly STRICT about. Seriously.
Back to the plane ... wouldn't the picture on the left be lovely ... for economy class that is ... of the picture on the left is the lovely Korean Air (lovely service on board, sucky service on ground). Spacious and airy. That would be a description that I wouldn't use for Tiger Airways ... being 6' 1", I had to erm ... sit ... kinda like a cross between a sit and a stand just to stretch the legs under the chair in front. Talk about a 5 hour journey of agony ha ha ... but it was fun la ...
... to be continued.
... part 2.
We then drove to Ben's place which took a total of nearly 1/2 an hour because we weren't all that sure of the route ... but we made it there eventually. It's a LOVELY building ... and like a New York apartment building it had that intercom thing and 
the residents were able to 'buzz' their guests in, unlike here in Malaysia where we're still ... depending on 'security guards' to screen and that's pretty much it. :P
Ben's place is lovely ... and imagine about 14 of us crashing in his 2 rooms and 
living room. Ange and her crew arrived at *gasp* 3 
something in the morning geez and was making a racket moving about :P. Ben, being Ben, has an Xbox360, which has fairly decent games, played only 2 on them and was totally pwned by Jonathan. He totally kicked my ass around in that shoot em up game, but I wasn't too bad on that racing game. Lo & behold, I learned how to play another game from Jonathan that was played on *ahem* a Playstation 3!!!
The boy has made it good in this world.
Girlfriend after only 3 days in Singapore. Check.
Big paying job. Check.
Great apartment. Check.
Loving family. Check.
What else could he want eh? ;) Proud of you bro! :)
Anyways, we then woke up got all packed and took the MTR to Changi Terminal. Had to switch trains 
and I must say, I still love the public transportation in Singapore. No wonder they're such smug and 'better-than-thou-in-Malaysia'. LOL. 
The train ride was comfortable and fun chatting with Redd, 
which I don't get to do very often, so that was nice. Oh yeah, the night before, Dad and I went hunting @ Sim Lim Tower for the iPod Nano and iTouch for both Ash and myself. Yay! :) Lovely Christmas pressie from Dad for my lovely sister and the iTouch is for me yippee!!! Unfortunately though, not a single store was open in Sim Lim and neither were any open in Lucky Plaza. Well, one was open, but bloody expensive. :P Damn Tourist Cut Throats.
But I must say one thing. Singaporeans know how to throw a street party. Orchard was PACKED 
with HUMANS. It was already a muggy night. Add thousands of bodies all over Orchard Road and the innumerable malls dotting the Road, Holy Cow ... there was a human traffic jam wherever you went ... I think if Mom was here, she'd be out of it in like 3 minutes. It was that humid, sticky, jammed ... and there were a ton of vendors, fairs, picture opportunities ... 
The Singapore Tourism Board really outdid themselves this year, there were blinking fairy lights in all the trees along the whole road and lighted wreaths all over the place ... lovely la! :)
So 
anyways, we got to the Changi Terminal 
... and it was a few more hours wait ... and this was Su Yee's reaction when she heard that she had to wait for another erm, 2 hours before she could board the plane. He he ... The Lee's amazingly were there for hours and hours before that and were entertaining themselves with game after game of Scrabble.
... to be continued
referring to the rest of the world, and not just the LimKlan in particular) understanding of the Australians Customs Department's requirements of declaring everything, including the dirt on your shoes (no kidding. seriously, if you have caked on mud on the soles of your shoes, you'd better declare it). So she goes on and on ... in particular about this brand of cough lollies that we get here in Malaysia - Hacks. (Thank Redd for starting the whole thing by handing it out to her in the first place LOL) So she raises her voice and talks over the crowd and doing my best to remain calm, I just took it as another one her quirky quirks. She IS a lovely person and a nice Aunty after all ... :)
terminal to further reinforce that you're on a budget :) he he ... so we arrived the plush carpeting, disembarking on a real airplane walkway, into the main terminal, where again, I got flagged because of my Visa. And no, I didn't experience the horrible Immigration experience that everyone seemed to complain about. If anything, the Immigration Officers who initially took my passport and the gentleman who handled my case was more than polite and courteous, he made me feel at ease, seeing as how I was a little antsy that I'm being red-flagged in a foreign country. :) So thank you Immigration Australia! :) (passport image courtesy of Immigration Malaysia's website)
to pick up our luggage, which was my biggest surprise for Australia - the baggage guys took the same time that KLIA / LCCT people take close to an hour!!! Holy Cow boys! What's going on! :) But we had a totally good time chatting and napping and chatting amongst the Aussies returning from various parts of Asia via Singapore. So we cleared Customs, or at least most of us did without much of a hiccup. Uncle Jeff kinda g
ot caught up, for a 'random' bag inspection, but he insists it's because of his face ke apa ke ... and of course The Warden had her theories on that issue as well. Mostly uneventful all the way to City Stay Apartments, where we will spend a whole week at. It was a very, very comfortable stay in a self contained unit, with a complete kitchen and laundry facilities and heating and cooling, clean bathroom and comfortable beds. Although, I may be a little biased on the beds as I've been sleeping on a couch the past 2 months ... so anything not resembling a couch is heaven to me. :) ha ha ... we actually arrived at about 11:45pm at night and the place was deserted, I was however happy to note that we were located directly opposite a shopping mall. HA HA! :)
we unloaded both bags and people into the apartments (we took 5 units with 4 people to a unit), and after consulting with the apartment manager (his name's Zaki or something like that - looks Malaysian, but didn't ask) we trekked about ... 5 blocks, to this great eatery called Fast Eddy's, a 24 hour old school diner. I loved their decor and their menu was definitely very, very creative, however, they didn't have a 
new one that I could bring back and frame up ... the waiter serving us ... was a little nervous I guess about such a big group (18 in all, Godpa and Godma wanted to zzz) and he kept breaking plates and glasses LOL ... but he got every single order correct! Amazing! :) Thumbs up to him for sure! They were a little pricey, but the helpings were generous, the atmosphere lovely and the company loving. It was indeed a perfect ending to a long, long day!!!
