Monday Following our evening arrival we only had time for a short exploratory walk through Chinatown. With the Chinese New Year approaching the neighborhood was decorated with lots of red, gold and citrus. year of the snake! festive … [Continue reading]
Asia/Australia 2013: Singapore food & lodging
February 27, 2013
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Hotel We landed in Singapore around 7:30pm and after negotiating the inner airport transportation to catch the MRT, we managed to buy tickets and grab a seat. I was glad I went to an ATM before arriving at the train station since the ticket machines … [Continue reading]
Asia/Australia 2013: Brisbane
February 25, 2013
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Our time in Brisbane unfortunately overlapped with the rather-strong remnants of Tropical Cyclone Oswald. Rain came and went on the first evening but Eric was able to get some interesting shots of the CBD from our apartment balcony. The next … [Continue reading]
Asia/Australia 2013: Great Ocean Road parks
February 24, 2013
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Though we spent a considerable portion of our time driving along the coast there were several inland parks that we stopped at as well. On day one we headed inland from Lorne in search of several waterfalls. Unfortunately, our luck wasn't great, … [Continue reading]
Asia/Australia 2013: Great Ocean Road coastal sights
February 23, 2013
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From Melbourne we drove about an hour south through dry countryside before hitting the first views around Torquay. With a beautifully sunny day we had views in every direction. Along the road we followed signs to the Split Point … [Continue reading]
Asia/Australia 2013: Great Ocean Road food & lodging
February 20, 2013
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Hotel I originally booked us into a hotel closer to the beach, but thinking a B&B would be a nice change, I switched the reservation a few months back. Best decision of the trip. Nelson's Perch B&B was a nice respite in a town overrun with … [Continue reading]
Asia/Australia 2013: Melbourne sights
February 19, 2013
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While tennis was our main objective in Melbourne, we still planned to explore the city in our off-time. Unfortunately my 36 hour fever/cold coincided with most of our time in Melbourne so we didn't experience as much of the city as we had … [Continue reading]
Asia/Australia 2013: the tennis
February 18, 2013
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The Australian Open, known locally as 'the tennis,' was a motivating factor for our trip. However, tickets didn't go on sale until October, so we had to wait 7 months after reserving our flights before we would know if we'd have seats in the main … [Continue reading]
Asia/Australia 2013: Melbourne lodging & food
February 16, 2013
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Hotel The main purpose of staying in Melbourne's CBD was to attend the Australian Open, so location factored highly in our decision for the Punthill Manhattan Apartments. Though not inexpensive, the fact that we could walk to Rod Laver arena in … [Continue reading]
Asia/Australia 2013: Yarra Valley hikes & sights
February 15, 2013
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While the area around the Yarra Valley is well known for its wines there are also a number of nice nature spots in the neighboring hills too. We started out our first morning with a curvy drive to Marysville featuring lots of tall gum/eucalyptus … [Continue reading]