2012 RECAP!! \(^^)/

I say, 2012 was awesome!!!!! So I'm welcoming 2013 WITH ARMS WIDE OPEN *dengan sora garau ala2 Creed*.. So before I start with my resolutions.. Lets just do some recap.. I do expect this to be a lengthy post heeee

TRAVELS

I guess 2011 was tough for me; trying to adapt to new responsibilities at work.. So I needed a quick getaway as a start and one evening, I just sort of merajuk because my dad only bought nasi ayam for my brother and that actually triggered the idea for the expensive 1 night stay in Gayana Resort in Gaya Island.. Duh! Spoilt brat!!! (-_-") But really.. I think it was not solely because of the nasi ayam incident.. I just want  to clear my mind and start anew.

Gayana Getaway

Then.. in February was my Beijing trip which is currently at the bottom of my 2012 best moments list.. I don't like to remember about it much because I didn't really enjoy it. Since I was joining a tour group, so I'd to follow the tight schedule and have to bear with all the shopping centres instead of enjoying my time at the main attractions.. Anyway,  I still enjoyed my time walking along one of the world wonders; The Great Wall of China yaw! And I learnt something new about myself too.. HAZIAH SALLEH HATES WINTER!

And in April, I finally conquered Mount Kinabalu \(^^)/ and I also walked the world highest via ferrata .. AWESOMENESS

And a week after that, I went climbing in Batu Caves. HH said, "Aku baru je jumpe ko last week kt Sabah,G" hikhik Actually, I didn't realize that both trips were so close together hehe maen join jak kan ;p

Then comes my first white water rafting experience in Padas River. Happy that I repeated it last weekend, 29 December; gave me a different experience altogether. Will blog about it later (^^)

Then comes our Sandakan trip to visit this fella hehe And we cruised along the Kinabatangan river and spent a night in a budget lodging there (^^)

Then comes our long-awaited trip to Korea.. This sure was a long wait. HH and I bought the tickets in October 2012, and suddenly it just passed... Korea is actually not in my wishlist but I did enjoy this trip very much. Will come back to Korea but maybe in 6-7 years time.. Still too many countries to explore! \(^^)/

And finally comes our Downunder trip. A long wait also; bought the tickets in December 2011!!! Australia has always been on the top of my wishlist. What allured me?? Everything about the continent; the wildlife, the nature and the people \(^^)/ and I love the trip so much that I know I'll be back soon.. Yeah.. soon! (^^)

And finally, as a closure for my 2012 travels was my family trip to Bandung (^^)/ Will blog about this after I finish my Melbourne trip.. Adeh! Slow btol la blogging di hujung tahun ni

EVENTS

One of the most important event for year 2012 is....

of course HH's wedding heee

Then Ricci and Fega's visit to my home in Labuan is also considered important. we had BBQ at the beach with my family and the two of them shopped bags of chocolates! And kalo dengan jijiyana, pastilah ada sesi bersukan! haha We played badminton too \(^^)/

 And one more thing that I consider one of the best blessings for year 2012 is watching my brother stand up again after a year full of turmoil in 2011 (^^) An event that taught me; every person deserve a chance.. Some things are worth praying hard for and worth waiting for.. while I'd been given the opportunity to witness the beauty of Allah's creation in different parts of the world this year, the best sight was when I saw my brother spread the prayer mat on the floor one evening, stood facing the qiblat and  started praying... 

Career

Though I'm very much into exploring and doing outdoor sports, but when it comes to career, I actually prefer to be in my comfort zone. But, in August, there was some sort of twist of fate and I was posted to another place to replace a colleague who'd  resigned. At that time, I was actually at a plateau. Where everything was in order and were under good control and suddenly I've to start all over again.. I was depressed for a few weeks but when I've adapted to it, I think this is how it is suppose to be (^^)

Currently, I'm feeling so lucky that I was chosen to be posted there. I'm learning a lot in daily basis and I'm lovin' it!

Pharmacist mode (^^)

Others..

Love..  I said I want to keep it for another year and I did haha New people keep coming in my life but it seems that I just haven't met him yet. Or maybe we've met, but it's still not the right time... So, for year 2013, my calendar is full until December; all are for my travels yah! So do not expect any wedding invitation for this year heee (^^)v


RESOLUTION

I want to keep this year's resolution simple and concise..

I want to make 2013 an even greater year for me than 2012! 
\(^^)/

yah! But first.. Kasi habis la post 2012 ko tu Haziah!!!!

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Melbourne Trip: Queenscliff (^^)

Wo0o0p! My Aussie post got into a halt for a bit there.. Was on vacation with family in Bandung.. Had a shopping and food galore and badan seperti di pam pam skarang (-_-") anyway, lets continue with the Queenscliff post.. I can't believe it took me 3 weeks from my last post to actually get this started..

So.. From Sorrento, we took the Searoadferries to cross from the Mornington Peninsula to the Bellarine Peninsula. We took the 6 pm ferry; the last ferry. The fare was $59 for the car plus the driver and $10 for each of the passenger. It's kind of like the ferry we use for Menumbok-Labuan but this one was more cozy and luxurious-looking.

We enjoyed the cruise. SJ and I kept our eyes vigilant for we really wish to see dolphins but there were none hehe It was too cold when we got to Queenscliff, checked in at Queenscliff Inn and spent the night chatting. There was not much to do at small towns but we really enjoy the relaxing atmosphere at night since we could all recharge for the next day.

Suka kan ambil gambar begini?? Nanti kalo teda orang dalam gambar, 

orang bilang ambil dari Google image :p

The initial plan was to spend some time in Geelong before we head to Melbourne but then when we were at the tourist centre, I sort of overheard an old chap telling a worker there of how amazing the boat tour was so I thought maybe we should at least check it out at the port and later decide whether we should go for it or not.

I say, the port itself is a very scenic place. On the right side of this pic, there's actually a block of diving shops, boat tour companies and restaurants.You can go up the light house and get a  360 degree view of Queenscliff and the Mornigton Peninsula too!

Satu lagi gambar bajet~

This pic was taken as we were climbing the stairs to the top of the light house.

So after looking at what they are offering for the tour at the price of $65, we decided to have a go. I already watched dolphins last time in Bali but then an extra for this boat tour package was the seal watching.

So we suit up! My jacket was obviously too big for me. I was wondering, why do we have to wear such a thick jacket and not just a life jacket alone like we use to in Malaysia.. Na kau... Dalam boat, ombak dia.. OMG OMG OMG!! Besar betol!

At first, we just cruise along the coast to watch the lighthouses; black and white. We were told about their history and functions back during the gold rush era. The channel is narrow and the rapid and high water is a big challenge to the skill of ship navigators so these lighthouses assisted the navigation through. Even nowadays, there are still Pilot boats hovering around the coast, helping ships and boats to navigate into the channel.

So we went to the deeper side of the ocean when searching for the dolphins and seals. This was when my butt got lifted from the seat when the boat got hit by the waves. 

"Ni tak payah gi theme park ni!!!"

Then the boatman told us we were actually on top of an underwater canyon and that was why the wave is so huge though the land is still in sight. We were still close to the land but yup, the wave was treacherous!

I couldn't get any pic of the dolphins since they passed us too quickly, but to me this was a closer encounter compare to the one in Bali. They even jumped! And for the seals... when we were on the rough sea, we saw something floating. From a distant, it looked like a shark fin.. But it was actually a seal's flipper! It was lazing, staying afloat on the surface. Sangat santai!

Then we went to watch the Gannets' nesting place! I've never been a fan of birds, but since my Kinabatangan trip, I seem to be more fond of them. And in Australia, it seems that they have lots of different species and they are surprisingly tame.. So I was somewhat intrigued by the behaviour of the Gannets though I was only watching them for a few minutes. One thing that amazed me most was when they dive into the water to catch fish! 

And after that we crossed over to Mornington Peninsula to watch the Fort Napean and The Quarantine station

The Quarantine Station.. o0o0o0 seagull.. Mula2 aku cam excited nampak seagull but after a few days, I found them annoying because they like to disturb human and steal food!

The port view from the boat

And finally, on our way to Melbourne, I got to be the passenger and not the driver. Just lepas tu tension sangat drive dalam city because the traffic is soooo confusing!! It took MR and I more than an hour to get us into the right street to return the car!! 

Next will be Melbourne CBD post.. And that should be after my new year's resolutions post :p

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Melbourne Trip: Sorrento (^^)

So from Phillip Island, we drove straight to Sorrento. It was almost dark when we got there and most of the shops were closing. We head straight to the YHA hostel that we've just booked that afternoon, Sorrento Beach House. The check in process was, I say, unique where I have to call a number for check in. A woman with a friendly voice answered the call from the other end. Then comes the myriad of instructions..

"The security code of the front door is xxxx.. Now enter the house... Your key is at the counter where there's heaps of green bags. Your room is the first one on your right with number one on the door... Now go to the toilet... The switch is on your left... The sheets and blankets are inside the lockers.. There is kitchen and the common area on the left side of the counter... bla bla bla"

So I walked around, holding the phone to my ear, following each and every instruction.. 

"Aku rase macam dalam citer Saw weyh..."

Our room was a 6-bed dorm with washroom and a heater. It was very cozy and we agreed that it was our favourite room among all. We didn't do much that night. I retired early and skipped dinner. The rest spent the night chatting in the kitchen with the other guests; 2 Italians, one Asian guy who lives in Canada and an Australian who came to Sorrento for scuba diving. 

Early shopping at Coles. 

Definisi BAHAGIA. Chocolates!!!!!!!!!

It was difficult to decide where to go because the Mornington Peninsula area is so big and the attractions are quite far from each other. So that morning we finally agree to go to the Aschombe maze and lavender garden. It was about 45 minutes drive from our lodging and we have to drive back northward. I love the landscape along the way and the GPS actually directed us to a gravel road surrounded by tall pine trees..  So masa tu perasan brada di hutan Twilight sekejap :p

The garden is quite big. I don't think we covered everything. I got lost inside the maze.. It was a scary experience. I just can't find my way out! I almost scream for help actually. But I'm such a big ego that I tried to find my way out anyway hahaha

This garden is a pure sight seeing and picture taking place. So, yup, my camera battery was severely depleted by the time we left for Point Napean. 

Lepas tu bole ambil gambar bajet begini kan.. :p

So after strolling around, captured loads of pictures, we head to Portsea, the most southern part of the peninsular to visit the Point Napean National Park. The park is actually a  mixture of nature and history. The coastal area gives a very scenic view with giant waves crashing on the cliffs. While for the historical part, there are cemeteries, war memorials, forts, gun emplacement and a Quarantine Station where immigrants from Europe will be quarantined after their long voyage on the sea. 

This is the view at the ending of one of the walkways. SJ, RA and I decided to check out the Fort Napean which is about 30 minutes walk from this point of the park.. It was quite tiring to walk under the blazing afternoon sun.. So actually you can take a scheduled tour bus that cost $7 at the park's info centre to send you there. 

Paling bikin panas, masa ni la all my cameras batteries run out! Luckily I had my videocam inside my bag so it was our savior yaw! We were walking on graveled path surrounded by shrubs at first then exited the path to an asphalt road that leads to Fort Napean. 

We were hoping to see some animals and saw a lizard whose scales looked exactly like that of a crocodile! It's like a tiny crocodile living on land. haha sukahati!

The coast

This was where one of Australia's Prime Minister went missing when he went for a swim. Seriously, the waves were extremely huge that I wont even dare to go down to the beach apa lagi mau swim!

As we walk towards the fort, there were fenced areas with warning signs like this. So kami terasa awesome sekejap sebab berada berdekatan area unexploded bombs :p hahaha

Scenic background. Sila abaikan posing yang burok itu (-_-") I don't have the pic of the scenery alone so please bare with this huhu masa ni shawl ditiup angin dengan dahsyatnya...

Well, actually we didn't make it to the fort because we were running out of time. Need to catch the ferry to Queenscliff.. So, we actually hopped on the tour bus and went back to the info centre to pay and then returned to our car hehe tapi ada hikmah juga kami hopped on the bus. We encountered an Echidna!

Cumil2!!!!

After that we head towards Sorrento. Actually, we tried to find the artist trail in Sorrento but we couldn't find it so we just stroll along the Sorrento Historic Precinct. Sangat cantik ok!!!

Searoad Ferry (^^)

A wooden playground!!

we didn't explore the town area much but the town is quiet yet the beauty of the buildings' architecure was stunning. It was a mixture of modern and historical designs. This place is obviously a getaway place for the affluent since there were also lots of holiday mansions along the beach. 

Kalo aku diberi peluang untuk memilih, pasti Sorrento tempat aku mo settle down. I'll be back!

Next.. Queenscliff!

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