freakzspeaks

freakzspeaks

Tuesday 30 July 2013

5D4N Western Australia (Part 3)

It was an early start as well on Day 3 ( early as in 8 am, :O). Today's itinerary included a drive (about 42km) down south to Augusta, a town on the south-west coast of Western Australia. Cape Leeuwin is located at the tip (or the farthest point) of the south-west corner of Australia. The main attraction here would be the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse. It was a fairly easy drive and we reached our destination within 40 minutes. 
The point where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean
And thats Antartica ( thousands of miles away )
Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse : Set up a tripod and clicked away !
A picturesque view of the lighthouse
On our drive back to Margaret River, we decided to use a different route, the Caves Road where we drove through the Boranup Forest. The road winds its way through the majestic Karri Trees, the third tallest tree in the world. The view by the roadside was just breathtaking. Along the way, we pit-stopped at Hamelin Bay; with its clear blue-turqoise water, one may actually be able to see a sting-ray or two.

Hamelin Bay beach ! Loved this photo ! 
Panda posing for the Karri trees !
Look at how small the car was vs the Karri Trees !
We checked out of Riverview Tourist Park, and started our journey back to Perth. We stopped at Busselton , 45 minutes tops to Margaret River. A must see would be the Busselton Jetty. Hop on the Jetty train to the Underwater Observatory for a fee! Do visit their website for the train schedule. We were slightly out of luck as we happened to miss the train and to wait for the next train would mean arriving late to Perth to return or rental car :( We compensated this with Simmo's Ice Cream though :)) (happy face again)
Busselton Jetty on a beautiful sunny day
Simmo's Ice Cream for the sweet-tooths

You might be interested with :
5D4N Western Australia (Part 1)
5D4N Western Australia (Part 2)
5D4N Western Australia (Part 4) - Coming soon!

Monday 29 July 2013

5D4N Western Australia (Part 2)

Whale-watching at Dunsborough
All the while when we were in Margaret River, the weather was cloudy and slightly chilly since it was still late spring. Day 2 started with a 45 minutes drive to Dunsborough for whale watching with Naturaliste Charters ! We paid $80/person and the experience was totally worth it ! Advice : DO remember to bring a light jacket ( it was sooo cold at sea, silly me for not bringing one!) and travel pills (sea gets rough). We did not managed to get photos of the whales as it happened so fast and we were busy looking out for it instead !

Onboard 'Cetacean Explorer'. 
Looking-out for whales....
Brunch : Evviva

After a couple of hours, we drove to Dunsborough town for brunch ! Found a little cafe Evviva which served a variety of all-day breakfast items! Food was good and fresh ! Breakfast items were quite a 'thing' over here apparently. 

Bacon on toast
Big breakfast
Evviva Cafe on Urbanspoon
Attractions :
After our morning adventure, we drove back to Margaret River and explore the many wineries and attractions at the area! If you are a wine fanatic, you could probably stay here a couple of days and explore the beautiful estates. We only managed to visit a few but since we are not much of a wine drinker, we were fine with it. Bare in mind that the estates (with vineyards, yes) are mostly in secluded spots; so it is advisable to rent a car with a GPS. Thank to Tomtom ( our gps) our drives were so smooth.

Cape Lavender : From jams, soaps, salts, etc...all lavender-ish~
The Margaret River Chocolate Co. : A MUST if you are here ! A variety of chocolate bars, chocolate coated delights, hand made truffles, novelty chocolates, chocolate sauces and much more.
Oils, sauces, novelties....
Blinded by the variety of chocolate bars, truffles and everything chocolate !
Superb superb ! Honeycomb chocolate was awesome-ly good!
A satisfactory face :O
Look at the back shelves of chocolates !
Bettenay's Margaret River Nougat Company 
A random photo that came out so beautiful!
We saw sheeps and decided to stop our car and use the tripod ! Randomness ~ 
Knotting Hill Estate ( free wine tasting!) and bought a bottle of splendid dessert wine
Marvellous view of the grape vineyard
Dinner : Settlers Tavern
After a long day, we drove back to our cabin, took a shower and rest for a little bit before heading to Settlers Tavern for dinner. A local pub with nice ambience and good pub food. Definitely worth the visit !

Chicken Burger Royale ($18): House-crumbed free range chicken breast, tomato, red onion, lettuce, beetroot with chip guacamole and aioli
Fish & Chips ($19) : Lager battered WA spanish mackerel, chips, housemade tartare sauce
Nice pub at the heart of Margaret River
Settlers Tavern on Urbanspoon

5D4N Western Australia

Panda and I had this trip some time ago but I just thought that I should blog out our travel experience! At that time, it was between a flight to Taiwan or Perth but since the price were almost similar, we decided to visit Australia ! It was a totally memorable 5D4Ns trip as it was planned from the scratch ! I daresay I totally enjoyed the planning session which started like, 6 months before the real travel date ! :0 We touchdown at Perth Airport at the wee hours of the morning. Straight for a light snack and coffee ; as we had almost a 3-4 hours drive immediately to our first destination; Margaret River! 
Muffins and coffee at arrival hall
Booked a car through Redspot.
Our designated drive, Panda !! Look at our cute, new, (rented) car ! 
We pit-stopped at Mandurah, a lovely coastal town 72km south of Perth
Breakfast at Jesters Jaffle Pies, Mandurah
Sausage roll and pie ! Yummy and very homemade-style
Margaret River is about 277km south of Perth. This area is famous for its wine production and tourism. Upon reaching, we headed straight to Riverview Tourist Park at the resort town of Margaret River. This place is located in a green, secluded forest clearing just by Margaret River! There are cabins and caravan sites ( if you have a caravan/trailer, that is! ) to choose; all providing a safe and relaxing environment.
Riverview Tourist Park
Our Cabin with a side parking !
A short walk to the riverside
Margaret River! 
A simple dinner of roasted chicken and sides from Coles at our patio! 
Next : 5D4N Western Australia (Part 2)

Sunday 21 July 2013

Shrimp/Chicken Vermicelli Noodle @ Thien Vietnam Restaurant, Saskatoon, SK


I came here as it was voted as one of the best Vietnamese Restaurant in Saskatoon. This restaurant is located at Downtown Saskatoon and its quite easily spotted. The restaurant does not really look attractive from the outside. But internally, even though a bit dated, it had quite a good ambience and seats as well. Their menu has quite a range of Vietnamese cuisines but I was only eyeing on their famous ones which is the vermicelli bowl ( its quite a 'thing' over here apparently). I ordered the jumbo combo : BBQ shrimp and chicken with 2 spring rolls vermicelli noodles while my roommate ordered just the chicken. For an extra $1, you get 2 pieces of shrimp in the jumbo combo which I felt rather pathetic. My advice is, just stick to the chicken only bowl. The serving which came with fish sauce is rather huge and we had quite a hard time finishing it:P Spring rolls were really good and tasted even better with the fish sauce. Overall, for $7.95, it was totally worth eating. The dish was rather dry though, so perhaps you may want to pay a little bit more for some extra fish sauce. Add the spicy chilli flakes and oil for the extra 'oomph' ! 

Address : 123, 3rd Avenue South, Saskatoon SK
Website : http://www.thienvietnam.com
Phone : 306-6532288 ( Call for takeout and delivery) Thien Vietnam Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Dumplings & Pancakes @ Jin Jin Cuisine Dumpling, Saskatoon, SK


I've heard of this place a couple of times and how good were their dumplings; so my roommate and I decided to give it a try. The shop is not attractive inside out and is ran by a Chinese couple who speaks Mandarin; but luckily there's English menu. We ordered pan-fried dumplings ($7) with cabbage and pork stuffings. They came in a plate of 15 bite-sized dumplings. I felt that it was pretty good compared to those I have eaten in Canada ( be it restaurants or commercial-packed). They were fresh, juicy and no 'porky' taste. It went well with the spicy chilli flakes and oil , soy sauce and vinegar :). The fried scallion pancakes ($2 for 4 pieces) were abit oily, taste wise acceptable but felt that I can make it myself at home.

     As our main, we ordered a plate of Fried Pork Vegetable Chow Mein ($9). Having bad experience with chow meins in Canada ( not even close to what I can get in Malaysia) , I had quite low expectations for it. Surprisingly, it came out pretty tasty ( not sure how much MSG is inside though!) but abit tad too oily.

     For dessert, we ordered a bowl of hot Tianjin-style red bean soup ($1) which tasted something like the usual red bean dessert but with a different type of beans. Overall, this place is worth coming for its dumplings. You can even buy frozen dumplings from them and bring home !

Address : 418, 20th Street West, Saskatoon, SK

Jin Jin Cuisine Dumpling on Urbanspoon

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Ottawa Touch N' Go

A spring-ny weather in Downtown Ottawa!
I must have been mad enough to actually fly all the way from Saskatoon to Ottawa to make my US visa. Well, Ottawa is where the US Embassy Headquarter is and it provided the earliest date possible for an appointment ( since I desperately needed my US visa ASAP). No kidding, 5 + hours flight (with transits and you think its within Canada, LOL) and over $700 , I must be mad! Just mad !
A portion of the Parliamentary Building
 I booked a room at Capital Hill Hotel & Suites in Downtown Ottawa. This hotel is only a 1.6km walk to the US Embassy and its right at the heart of downtown ! Just a couple of minutes walk, you will reach the famous parliamentary building and hill, cathedral, Rideau Centre and Byward Market. Absolutely convenient ! You can easily get a good deal on hotel websites.

Maman the Spider vs Notre-Dame Cathedral Bassilica
When I finally arrived, I was totally famished. I quickly checked-in and started food hunting thereafter. Many cafes around the financial district but I needed real food ! So, I decided to have my late lunch at a cute little pizza shop called Gabriel Pizza. Ordered a bacon-topped pizza (huge but felt that they are too stingy with toppings ) and some buffalo wings (super good!)

A huge Bacon-topped pizza slice (can't remember the name!)
Buffalo wings ! (punyele sedap)
Double room at Capital Hill Hotel & Suites
Don't forget to check out Byward Market ( within proximity of US Embassy and Rideau Centre), one of Canadian's oldest and largest public markets. It comprised roughly a four block square with indoor and outdoor shops and stalls. Lots of things to see and a variety of dining options. Had bento set lunch at a Japanese shop. For about $11 (inclusive of a choice of tea or miso), I thought it was pretty decent.


All in all, Ottawa being the capital of Canada has its own charm and attractions. I wouldn't say it is a must-visit place but if you happen to be in Ontario, this city is worth visiting !