Gold Coast - 1 to 8 March 2008

Its a week since I returned to Singapore. Am trying hard to return to my routine life but it seems a bit difficult.

Lately, I have been feeling sleepy at 11pm plus and wake up in the mornings at 5am plus. I gather its becoz I have gotten used to being 2 hours ahead of Singapore time when I was in Gold Coast. So my body probably tuned itself to wake up at 7am plus (Brisbane time) and retire at 1am plus (Brisbane time). I also feel rather lethargic and restless...missing Australia a lot...think I am suffering from some withdrawal symptons :P

But finally this morning, I managed to sleep till 9am plus. Its either coz I was really tired from going out last night or my body is finally relaxing and falling back to routine.

Now, a little recap on my Gold Coast trip - theme parks, beach, sunshine and babes!

Much as I like my trip there, think I prefer Perth's serenity. Gold Coast is a tourist hotspot and so u pretty much see holiday makers and tourists everywhere. And everything is expensive there...coz they are catering their products and services for tourists. Its really typical tat they think tourists can and will afford to pay higher prices....seems like 砍菜头.


Reached Brisbane International Airport at 9.30am (Brisbane time) on 1 March, met up with my fren P and headed straight for Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast via the pre-booked shuttle service: http://www.viator.com/

First incident we encountered for our trip - Flat Tyre! Haha...actually its the first time in my life that I encountered a flat tyre. Its kinda funny coz we din know there was a flat until some pedestrians started waving at us and pointing at the tyre. Then all of us got out of the shuttle and the driver called to get a backup shuttle...which unfortunately was not available. So, some of the guys helped the driver changed the tyre. I think the driver was really lucky that there were guys on board...imagine a whole shuttle full of ladies....


By the time we reached the apartment, it was already past noon and a good half day gone by. We chose the Condor Ocean View Apartment in Surfers Paradise which is economical and located fairly near to the Main Beach of Gold Coast and where most of the activities and shops are.

www.condorapartments.com.au/

"Condor Ocean View Apartment"



Am not going into day-to-day details of my trip (will probably bore all of u to tears) but will just write on some memorable stuff and places.


Architecture and buildings in Surfers Paradise are relatively new and not as pretty as in Perth but I was still captivated while walking along the streets. Check out the scenery:

"Surfers Paradise Streets"



Some way down along the coast, there is the Q1 Tower which is a well known 80-storey high 5 star luxury apartment in Gold Coast (website says tat its the tallest building in the world). From the side, it kinda resembles the Bell Tower in Perth but I forgot to take a picture from tat angle. You can pay a fee to go up the QDeck at level 77 & 78 to the highest point above Gold Coast for a stunning 360 degree view.

http://www.q1.com.au/

I remember a joke I heard in Dracula's (will mention abt this place later) abt the Q1 Tower. Tourists would pay the exhorbitant fee to go up the tower just to take a bird's eye view of Gold Coast...its pretty and breath-taking from up there. Then they decided to insert some coins into the binoculars machine (ok, I admit I dun know wat are those call) and look all the way down exclaiming "Hey, I can see the ground area from here!".....HELLO?!!!...."you" was just down there!!! (hahaha...I love this joke)

"Q1 Tower"



I took some photos of the Clock Hotel in Surfers coz it reminds me of the Clock Tower in Perth City...yeah yeah, I kept mentioning abt Perth...but well, I cant help comparing k. Anyway, the building is real pretty in night light.

"Clock Hotel - reminds of the Clock Tower in Perth"



An attraction in Surfers tat u gotta go if u visit is the INFINITY. Its located in the Chevron Renaissance Centre at the heart of Surfers.

"Chevron Renaissance"


http://www.infinitygc.com.au/

Infinity is a sort of fun house which brings u on a journey through a maze with 20 environments filled with special effects, lightings, sounds and music. Other than amazing, I dun know how to describe the experience. There was a picture taken of us but I din wana buy tat pic coz I looked rather fat in it....T_T such a waste...a wonderful experience with no pics for memory sake.

"Infinity"



Besides buying grocery from Woolsworth and cooking in our apartment, we had our occasional meals outside...kebab wraps, sandwiches, pasta, japanese food, ice cream, etc. Also went to this Hog's Breath Cafe which serves tasty Western food in hearty portions.

"Hog's Breath Cafe"


The interior of the cafe is decorated with interesting posters, banners and other stuffs. And wat caught my attention was their Salt & Pepper containers...in Corona bottles! Haha...great idea huh ^^

"Salt & Pepper in Corona?"



The BEACH! Yeah, its pretty just like those in shows...with fine sands, clear water, blue sky and plenty of sunshine. And of coz babes and hunks in their skimpy bikinis and swimmers, if u are interested to look ard.

"Surfers Paradise's Beach Scenery"


I got a little "bo liao" at the beach and started burying my legs in the fine sand and slowly extracting them...LOL! Yah lah...bo liao mah.

"Feet In Sand"



Then of coz, we went to the theme parks! There are 5 theme parks in Gold Coast: Dreamworld, WhiteWater World, Movie World, Wet N Wild and Sea World. I din wana go to all 4 as tat will be a total waste of money. So, we chose the affiliated Dreamworld and WhiteWater World. Got a package to enter both of them, so its cheaper than the single fare. Check out the rides!

http://www.dreamworld.com.au/

http://www.whitewaterworld.com.au/

"Dreamworld"


As I din wana bring my camera along on the rides, I only took 1 pic at the entrance of Dreamworld. Yah, its pathetic...but at least I had fun inside and din have to keep a lookout on my belongings which were safely kept in the locker.


Now the best part of my visit has got to be at Dracula's!

Dracula's is a FAMOUS Cabaret Restaurant in Gold Coast. It is situated near Pacific Fair (a nice shopping arcade which we went twice during our stay) and is a HOT FAVOURITE for both locals and tourists. Heard tat their performances are changed/updated quite regularly to keep audiences entertained by their new ideas and jokes (abt 3 to 4 months once). This is to attract customers to revisit the establishment.

http://www.draculas.com.au/

"Dracula's - Cabaret Restaurant"


Dracula's is a MUST MUST if u are into fancy dining filled with entertainment, making u burst with laughters and smiles...maybe occasional scares too. Photography is not allowed inside, so no pics to show here.

What u must note though is tat...it is rather pricey to dine at Dracula's...costs abt A$70+ per pax for entry (which includes appetizer, main course & desert) and drinks are excluded and chargeable...and since the show/performance is from 6pm plus to 10pm plus...think u will be filling up tat glass of urs quite often.


Last note before I end this entry (this entry took me 3 days to complete as I kept putting it on hold...lazy lah).

Here is a pic of the spray on tattoo I got there! Its all for the fun of it but sadly it only lasted 2 days coz I dun have any powder to put on it after bathing.

"My First Tattoo"



Well, tats all folks! Till the next time I travel....which I think will be in May on my firm's trip to Hanoi! Yeah!!!