Oh Snap!!: Melbourne - Great Ocean Road

It all started somewhere in the middle of October 2009 when Wai Seng sent us an email to tell us about a promotion from AirAsia. One look at the list of destinations and Melbourne immediately caught our attention - it was dirt cheap flying there in June 2010!! The promotion was going to end very soon so we sprung into action right away and promptly booked the tickets, figuring that even if we end up not going there the losses would have been minimal.

What followed were a few months of procrastination and some frantic last minute planning as June approached. We managed to finalize everything and do all the necessary bookings just a few days before the trip started.

Without further ado, the characters:

The two girls - Elaine and Yen Ping

Yi Wang

Wai Seng

and yours truly

On 3rd June 1.10am we boarded the plane and flew to Melbourne. There were of course people who were fast asleep...

and then there were 3 of us.

We couldn't sleep for the most part of the journey because the seats were uncomfortable. Then again we paid very little for the airfare so this was a form of compromise. For all the lack of sleep I was rewarded with this:

First of the many stunning views that I would get throughout this journey.

We touched down at Tullamarine Airport at about 11.20am(Australian time),

rented a car,

and hit the road right away.

Little did we know then that we were witnessing the rise of Queen of Snooze rivaling even Nobita:

As the trip went on, we got progressively amazed at the amount of sleep Yen Ping was clocking in. At one point we were betting on how many minutes it took for her to fall asleep right from the moment she entered the car - we got even more amazed at the actual result.

Regardless, the coastal drive was awesome - we were feasting on the scenery along the way:

which was a very very refreshing change from all the trees and hills you get when you drive long distance in Malaysia.

We stopped along the way to camwhore a bit...

and found time to play with some random dog.

But the Great Ocean Road was a VERY LONG drive so we had to stop at Apollo Bay to spend the night. The sun set at around 5.30pm so we were basically driving in the dark for about 2 hours before we reached the backpacker hostel in Apollo Bay. Apparently many suburbans and small towns in Australia were so safe that they didn't feel the need to install street lamps in their residential areas, resulting in dodgy looking residential areas at night. When we first arrived at the hostel, we felt that the place was ultra dodgy and were wondering if we made the wrong choice choosing that hostel.

Fortunately we were directed to another branch within the same town, which was closer to the coast and rather well-lit. This was the first of the many backpacker hostels we stayed in:

The shops in Australia generally close earlier(compared to Malaysia and Singapore at least) so we quickly went for dinner after checking into the hostel.

That was our first proper meal in Australia(McDonald's Cheese & Bacon burger and water DO NOT count as a proper meal). After dinner we retreated to our hostel to shower and get some well deserved rest.

Then we set off again the next morning. First stop: The Twelve Apostles.

Breath taking... we stood there awe-stricken, taking in as much of the scenic view as we could. The chilly breeze was forgotten, the morning sleepiness was driven away and we did what we do best:

A proper one with a proper background.

A proper one with a proper background using PHONE.

A proper one with a not-so-proper background.

A classic sunglasses reflection shot.

And then entropy kicked in for some of us:

That's when we realized that we had exhausted all the scenic views available to us there. So we moved on to the next stop: The Arch.

But we took a wrong turn along the way and ended up in a town - as a result we were semi-lost. No need to worry, we resumed once again to what we do best: