Author archive
25 July 2009
Above: Our accommodation at Paradise Palms. This turned out to be a lazy day. We didn’t feel obliged to be sucked into any of the other tourist traps around Cairns. The warm weather was enough reason for coming over! As it turned out, it rained … but the temperature was still nice. Throughout our stay, […]
24 July 2009
Today we went for a long drive to explore some of the recommended sights out of Cairns. We stopped briefly at some of the suburban beaches. They are nice but not great. The sand wasn’t golden and the sea wasn’t quite blue or green; but somehow the pictures look better than the reality. Having said […]
23 July 2009
Our Air New Zealand hotel purchase came with an optional NZD$1 add-on (normally worth AUD$180) for an excursion to the Great Barrier Reef, specifically Moore Reef. Naturally we took up this offer. Our Sunlover catamaran departed Cairns at 1000 bound for Moore Reef. The 90 minute journey proved bumpy and I felt a bit sick but […]
23 July 2009
Our Air New Zealand hotel purchase came with an optional NZD$1 add-on (normally worth AUD$180) for an excursion to the Great Barrier Reef, specifically Moore Reef. Naturally we took up this offer. Our Sunlover Cruises catamaran departed Cairns at 1000 bound for Moore Reef. The 90 minute journey proved bumpy and I felt a bit sick […]
22 July 2009
Upon arrival we headed to our accommodation at Paradise Palms Resort, in our small Hyundai vehicle from Avis. After some rest, we hit town and went into Cairns. Our impressions were really positive! We couldn’t figure out why we’ve been given the thumbs down by most of our friends who always recommend Port Douglas instead. […]
22 July 2009
I was meant to be jobless by now. So I booked a winter escape to Cairns and the Barrier Reef. But as it turned out, I got extended in my contract rather unexpectedly. So I get to keep a job and go on a short holiday. Having my cake and eating it too 🙂 Is […]
21 June 2009
Remember when the satay man would come round on his bicycle with a charcoal stove on the back? Or the ice-cream man… Posted by Alex Chan on Sunday, June 21, 2009
7 June 2009
I made dinner for Pat’s 81st birthday, comprising Ayam Pongteh, Sambal Seafood, pickles and other accompaniments. I’m not much of a baker so the cake came from a shop. Posted by Alex Chan on Friday, June 5, 2009
17 May 2009
Onboard the Malaysia Airlines B777, the 2-5-2 layout of the aircraft seating worked well for us. We were lucky to get a block of five seats to share between the both of us. It was possible for both of us to lie down at the same time, heads at either aisle and our legs pointing […]
16 May 2009
Visiting Putra Jaya Today we visited the city of Putrajaya, conceived as the administrative centre for the government. It is packed with many buildings housing various government departments, mostly in very stylish Islamic and modern style. The city is reachable by rail from both KL Sentral and the airport where were putting up. Having worked […]