14. Mooloolaba (Sunshine Coast), Australia

Helloooo....Sunshine Coast time!!

DAY ONE

We caught the bus at 10.15am (just!) and we due to arrive at Sunshine Coast (Mooloolaba) at 11.45am. Due to traffic we only got there about 12.30pm. Upon arrival we realised the hostel was absolutely literally over the road from the bus station. 

 

We got to reception to check in and saw that it was closed 12-1!! And it was half past 12! Oh well, we hung around in the lobby waiting for it to open. There was a ping pong table, a pool table and a tv area so we were happy enough. 

It got to 1pm and so we checked in! We got to our room and were really pleased with it :) our next few places are private rooms so abit of a rest from dorms. We won't complain but it is true you meet a lot of new friends in dorms which is a huge bonus. The meeting-people-potential is high. Obviously you don't have that privacy to just relax and not worry about talking level. But obviously dorms are cheaper.

Yes we were flicking and found bargain hunt.

 

We found out they had free bike hire, bodyboard and surf board hire so was really excited to try surfing!! But the weather was awful. Due to the cyclone lingering along the east coast it was really cloudy. Not living up to SUNSHINE coast!

We thought, 'Why should the weather stop us?!', so we decided to hire some bikes! They were similar to Byron Bay's bikes but a lot more rickety so weren't as comfortable! We called them Orangalina (me - due to it being orange of course!) and Nat called hers Johnson. 

 

We headed off, again with helmets, towards the beach front and the esplanade! The receptionist wasn't really pushy about wearing helmets but again good job we were sensible, literally 50 meters down the road there was a police station and JUST as we passed a policewoman was getting out of her vehicle! $150 fine right there if hadn't worn then!

 

We got to the beach and it was lovely!! Minus the weather if course! We sat at a lookout, partly for shelter from the rain, and let our bikes and our legs dry out! The lookout was called 'The Loo With A View'. Brilliant name!! Also I was shocked due to plenty of surfers still surfing regardless of the weather. But thinking about it, the waves were quite good so that brings them all out!!

 

 

We also found the lifeguard boat and grabbed a photo! And grabbed a couple of small shells for souvenirs, not sure they'll fit in the bag though!! :(

 

 

 On the way we had seen a 'Coles', a major supermarket here so decided to head there! Again, we ACCIDENTALLY bought some chocolate and toiletries!

 

We then got sick of the rain and went back to the hostel. Before we did though we nipped into a convenience shop and saw these massive pepper or capsicums as Australians call them. They were gigantic!!

We grabbed a shower and then, due to our hostel being silly (again!) and not having FREE wifi, we headed out on a search for free wifi!! We seriously don't agree with having to pay Australia! I love this country but that's one thing that gets us! :S haha!

We headed towards some big hotels and on the corner we found a wifi hotspot, free! Thank you unnamed restaurant! But the catch was, the restaurant was above a shop so we were next to a smelly bin and a carpark! Oh the things you do for wifi!
 

 

We then headed towards the esplanade and hit the jackpot. A restaurant providing free wifi, with a outdoor seating area so meant it had good coverage (seriously wifi searching talk now haha!!). In payment for the wifi, we show a picture of Bellissimo Bar & Restaurant. Thank you very much hehe!

 

After some jobs were done and emails sent we went back to the hostel. It's great, our hostel was very safe due to after 9.30pm the gates going across at the entrance so had to use room key to get in. Very good :)

We then enjoyed a comedy gala which was on tv and then went to Z Land!!

DAY TWO

Due to the program only finishing at 1am we slept in until 10am! The weather was very muggy again, not as much rain but still very cloudy! :( Sunshine Coast still hasn't arrived yet!

 There wasn't a toaster in the kitchen area so enjoyed a lovely breakfast of bread and jam!

It was nice though due to having a balcony where you can eat! Obviously it was cloudy but tomorrow (when it was sunny) it was a great place to sit and eat your meal!

I really wanted to surf but it's just not the weather for it. It's also really rough so quite big waves and for me, someone who hasn't even surfed before, it wasn't a good decision to go in!! Especially when the flags weren't out so no swimming, meaning no lifeguard!!

 

We walked towards the beach, went to our favourite restaurant for free wifi! We've got tours coming up so have to email company's so got that done. Then headed for an adventure!  On the way we went into a souvenir shop when I bought some secret souvenirs for certain people!! :D NO, NO PICTURES!! haha!

We also spotted a novelty toy which was amazing! We were so tempted to buy it but thought it wasn't probably the best use of our money ($30!). Was so funny, it copied everything you said and said it back to you in a high pitch time. Was hilarious listening to an Australian kangaroo repeat the Yorkshire accent!!

We then walked north up the coast towards Alexandria Headlands and on the way had abit of a gym session!

 

When getting to Alexandria Headlands we spotted a nice lookout spot. Due to the big waves there were loads of surfers out, including a paddle boarder too!

 

We also ran into some really cute dogs having an absolute whale of a time! Bless then, so cute!

AND we then saw the biggest lens we've ever seen in our lives! He was taking pictures of the surfers so with that equipment must be quite good at it!!

 

Half way down the beach, we settled at the side of a skatepark, so random and watched some cute little kids on their scooter and some skateboarders. One of which had no shoes on, and just whilst watching got a grazed knee, cut toe, sprained wrist and pulled shoulder. And he still never gave up!! Hardcore!! 

 

After getting abit bored of people falling over we headed back to where we were sitting before, at the bottom of the beach.

We watched the surfers again and also saw this surf code!

  

I then grabbed a shower and had noodles again! Remember 20 cents a meal!

Due to leaving tomorrow we then packed our bags and I sewed my Byron Bay badge onto my bag!

Headed for free Internet again at our favourite restaurant and the went to bed!!

It was very windy!!

 

DAY THREE

Can you believe the morning we leave, the clouds clear, the sun comes out and the heat rises! It was a gorgeous morning and so typical of our luck. We got up and had breakfast in the lobby. We had packed already so checked out and put our bags in luggage storage until we get the bus at 11.45am.

We then went to actually look around the place with the sun out and blue skies! Went to the beach and changed the sun status haha!

 

We saw a statue commemorating Steve Urwin which we thought was lovely!

 

 Then we asked at an information desk for some maps of the area for souvenirs and also other places. He was so helpful. A little too helpful as he told us about places we aren't going to but he was so lovely and SO informative!! Thank you Peter!!

 

We then grabbed some lunch! We splashed out on a lovely sandwich (me chicken, nat egg - she'll enjoy eating that on the bus later haha!) and I got some white chocolate cookies and nat got a blueberry muffin! The lady was so lovely, chatty and so sweet bless her! And made a hell of a sandwich for us both :)

 

We then got our bags and caught the bus!! On to Hervey Bay and for the 3 day Fraser Island tour! Can't wait!! Thankfully the cyclone has gone so hopefully no more cloud and rain!! Sun sun sun please :)

 

:D See you there!!
 

Rach xx

9. Singapore

HELLOOO...

We started our bus journey at 12 midnight and we were loving the seats (recliners/plenty of leg room). We had a great sleep until we were woken by people getting off the bus. Nat thought it was a stop but turns out it was immigration. We got up and took our passports with us, and after getting back on the bus, we got settled again, only to find that we were getting off again!! This time to check our luggage! Obviously it's necessary but we wanted to sleep :(

We got dropped off at Beach Road, outside 7/11 of course! And we already knew the reception for our hostel didn't open until 8am and it was only 5am, so we had to go somewhere! Across the street was a big hotel which we thought...why not! We asked if we could stay in their lobby for a few hours and thankfully they said yes, but that we couldn't sleep!! Impossible! We made it until 8am and checked in to our hostel. The beds weren't going to be ready until 10am so we went for breakfast. We ordered scrambled egg on toast, and what came was a very peppery omelette and a bread bun with a really weird texture. Sour tasting too - not to our taste buds! The man was lovely though!!
 

It was 10am so we headed back and slept!! And we slept for a long time, a very long time haha, from 10am - 7pm!! Went out for dinner after our sleep and went to bed again for night sleep! We love our sleep so much!!

Day Two

In the morning we went to Bugis Junction, which is a shopping centre which was really close to where we're staying. 

We grabbed a bite to eat at Swensen's (where we got ice cream sundaes at Samui Airport!) and ordered from the lunch menu. Then to our surprise he said we could have a ice cream free as part of an offer!! Brilliant start!

 

We then went to Suntec City and saw the Fountain of Wealth, the largest fountain in the world, officially! Well in 2008. It was a shame though due to the water not being on full level but lovely all the same!

 

 

 

We then headed over to Marina Bay and instantly we saw the beautiful skyline, consisting of the building with the ship on top of it (that's its proper name haha), the helix bridge, the Singapore Flyer (rotating eye) and the amazing buildings surrounding it all. It is stunning!! In the distance also you can see the Gardens by the Bay which is amazing too!

                           

                           

 

We then went to a shopping centre within Marina Bay which had all the fancy designer shops and we had a cheeky look in them :) may have tried on a basic (BASIC!) bracelet from Louis Vuitton for a measly 900 pounds....900 POUNDS!!! Unfortunately I had to say no due to me forgetting my card... of course this was true...

 

There was also a casino there but was for Singaporeans only and there was a 100 S$ entry fee (£50!)

...and also an ice rink!!
 

 

At the front of the centre there was a beautiful lily pond where Nat went wild and took some lovely pictures :)

 

On the way back we came across a few nifty little statues and a few photo opportunities.

 

 

The Raffles Hospital!!

 

We also visited the world famous Raffles Hotel! It was exquisite. Outside people aren't usually allowed in but we were asking about high tea and he took us inside. It smelt so nice, air con amazing, every wall white so very clean, just lovely! Unfortunately high tea is fully booked until 2 days after we leave but if I'm honest the prices were crazy. And I don't even drink tea and Nat doesn't like fish so no fish sandwiches based on the choices! So really would have been a waste of money!

 

We had planned to go to the Night Safari at some point and decided to head there tonight! After shopping around we decided they were cheapest to buy from the hostel so we did that. 

The night safari was amazing! So good! All the animals were fantastic, and so many different types of areas and animals. My personal favourite was the Sloth Bear, they were so cute, I'd never seen anything like them before. They would still kill you probably but they looked so sweet! There were giraffes, hippos, bears, lizards, reptiles, hyenas, lions, tigers, the list goes on and on. Here are a few pictures, obviously with the darkness and with flash not allowed it's hard to get a great picture but here are some good ones. :)

 

And then the adventures begun...we had left the safari far too late to catch the last train back to the hostel...very clever!! We caught the correct bus and made it to the train station but the man said the last train had left 15 minutes previous. There was another guy there who we got talking to and he was going to the exact same stop and after working it out he was going to Arab Street, the same street the hostel was on!! Scary or what!! We decided to get a taxi due to it being cheaper with three of us!!

 

 

He then paid all of the taxi fare and said he wanted no money!! He was called Ronnie and he was the most amazing, genuine man we've met on our trip so far! THANK YOU SO MUCH RONNIE!!

 

Day Three

 

This day involved going to a beautiful place, Gardens by the Bay. We started the day by buying tickets for it and then made our way there!

 

The place was lovely and so beautiful. We went into the two domes that were there and both were very different. The first one was all about flowers and here are some pictures of this one. 

 

And the other, Cloud Forest, was all about the environment. It showed a very shocking video about climate change and had a giant waterfall in there. This was really lovely as could walk about and look down at all the people below.

 

We stayed around for the lights show at 7.45pm and that was lovely. The lights shone as the music played, all with the beat and was a lovely background with the Singapore Flyer and the ship building straight behind it :) it was very busy but made sure we got there early to get a good seat!

 

We then headed over to Marina Bay on the other side to see the lightshow there which was good. Maybe not as good as the Gardens one we'd just seen but still good otherwise. 

 

After this we headed back and got a early night due to leaving tomorrow :(

Day Four

We got up and grabbed breakfast at our hostel, then we checked out and went to the airport! Our flight was at 3.30pm so we caught a metro over there, firstly getting a wrong train, then correcting haha!

We made it to Singapore Changi Airport and it was beautiful. The airport has won over 450 awards, it has over 800 plug sockets for charging your electricals, hundreds of free internet terminals to use, it has a roof top swimming pool, and also a butterfly garden. The airport is amazing!! Highly recommend flying out of there and make sure you get there very early!! I myself enjoyed a rather interesting calf and foot massage which at points was pretty painful, hence the expression!!

 

 

We also saw an airbus A380, one of the absolutely gigantic planes, sadly on this occasion we weren't on such a big plane!

                           

Singapore was fun and a really gorgeous place. Big buildings and lovely weather. However we did find it quite spread out and more of a walk to the main attractions and so expensive! If you are going, you may have heard people say it's expensive. Well it's a case of managing your money and you'll be just fine. But in my opinion certain things are very overpriced and I think that made it less of a attractive place to go back to. However, still a fantastic place and seeing Marina Bay is an absolutely must on anybodies travel plans!!

Now it's time for Australia and I cannot wait!!! Bring on Brisbane!!

 

 

P.S I LOVE AUSTRALIA ALREADY!!

 

P.P.S Sorry about the delay in blog posts, Australia only has internet that you need to pay for and so we are doing our best to find free wifi!!