After a month's planning, our group had another get-together last Saturday. We had a day trip to Philip Island. There were 30 of us divided into ten cars. I had three passengers including hubby who was the designated driver but unfortunately got sick the day before.

Labels: Australia, Travel

Backgrounder:
I went back to the Philippines on the 18th of April to visit a sick relative. I stayed for 18 days. Boy was it hot in there. Not the best time to visit the country. It was a scorching 36 degrees everyday and humidity was, as always, very high.

Melbourne-Sydney-Manila

Melbourne
I took Qantas Airways. Since my first flight would be domestic, I didn't have to be at the airport at least three hours prior to the flight. Shane took me. We got there at more than an hour before my flight. I checked in ok.

We boarded the plane at 10:40 am but half an hour had passed, we are still on the ground. Something was holding us up. A few moments later, the captain announced that we are running late because there are two passengers who have not boarded the plane and that the ground staff are already looking for them at the terminal.

Shane was still at the boarding gate then and was listening to the radio communications between ground staffers. He overheard the staff saying, a Qantas ticket operator had made a mistake and put a couple in our flight without the couple knowing it. Ha! We all thought it was the passengers' fault that we are delayed.

I only had one hour transit time in Sydney. I assumed I should make it to my connecting flight to Manila easy since I do not have to collect my luggage in Sydney and check it in again for the next flight. It used to be that, since Melbourne to Sydney is a domestic flight, and passengers exit in the domestic terminal, luggages have to be collected and checked-in again at the transfer desk. It was such a hassle since Sydney's domestic terminal is separated from the international terminal and you have to take a bus to transfer from one terminal to the other.

Sydney
We landed in Sydney just before 1:00 pm. I was literally running the moment I entered the terminal to get to the transfer desk quickly. But the transfer bus was slow. Passengers transferrring to the international terminal had to wait for 10-15 minutes for the bus. There were three of us going on the same connecting flight to Manila. We had to clear immigration at the international terminal. When we get to the immigration counter, a Qantas ground staff was already there waiting for us. We were the last to board the plane. We made it, thankfully.

Manila
Flight was well and good. I read a book and slept a bit so it felt like time flew so quickly. Excited about seeing Manila again after almost two years, I can't wait to get out of the airport. At the baggage claim, I waited and waited for my luggage to show up, wondering why it's taking so long. It was only when the luggage conveyor was practically empty that I realised mine went missing. Well, I wasn't alone. There were a few of us left standing with confused look on our faces.

We were approached by a Qantas ground staff to inform us that if we came from Melbourne our luggages didn’t make it to the plane in Sydney because the carousel carrying them went faulty. Sydney has arranged for them to be in Manila at 11:00 am the next day. D’oh! What an inconvenience for me as I have a connecting flight to Bacolod at 8:00 am the next day. If the flight from Melbourne wasn’t delayed, maybe our luggages would have made it even with the carousel becoming faulty. There would still have time to move them to another carousel.

It was a case of a bad chain of events which started with Qantas’ mistake of the transfer of a couple to a wrong plane in Melbourne, thus delaying the flight, and so no room for error in Sydney connection and there ended up an error with the faulty equipment. So, the bags had no chance to make it in time to Manila plane. We had to fill out forms for baggage re-direction and we were promised in a day or two we would already have them. Since I gave a provincial address, I was expecting to have them in two-three days.

Since I did not have much to carry, I didn’t have to take a cab going to where I was staying in Makati. Two of my friends met me at the airport and we decided to take the bus instead. I thought that was fun. I actually missed taking the bus. And with no clothes to wear for the next few days, it was one reason to go shopping.

When in Bacolod, I got an SMS update from the staff informing me that luggage has now been redirected to Bacolod. Good, now I just have to wait. A day passed and no sign of luggage coming in, so I called Qantas Manila. After a few minutes of being on hold, I was told that the person in-charge is out in the toilet somewhere and that they would check and call me back to update me of my bag’s whereabouts. I was already starting to get angry. Yeah, I was cool all this time. I reasoned it happens to the best of us. In two hours I called again, this time the supervisor named Benjie promised to call me back in a few minutes. What else can I do? I had to believe him. True enough, he called back but I wasn’t too happy with his news. My luggage is already in Bacolod airport but I had to collect it myself. Grrrrrrr…….

Manila-Bacolod-Manila
The Manila-Bacolod trip wasn't good either. Another looong delay. One of the runways in NAIA was being repaired/renovated apparently, so there was only one runway operating and the arrivals and international flights departing are given priority. We waited an hour to take off.

The same thing happened when I was leaving Bacolod for Manila. The same delay, the same reason.

The worst is yet to come.

Manila-Sydney-Melbourne
I left Manila on the 6th of May. The 8:40 pm flight became 10:45. At about 9:00 pm, the ground staff announce that there is a short delay and that we would be boarding in about 15 minutes. Almost an hour had passed, no call for boarding yet. Everyone is now jittery. When I enquired what was the delay about, the ground staff said they are waiting for a transformer and when that arrives, the place will leave right away. Hmmm, I was thinking, maybe there was something faulty in the plane. It's good that we are not leaving until everything is fixed and working well. At 10:30 pm, we were finally called to board the plane. Seat from 1-50 were all called. As my seat number was 53, I waited for another boarding call. There were a few of us left on the lounge and we're all wondering now what the hell is happening, why are we not called to board yet. No explanation from the staff either. We were told to just wait.

When we finally boarded the plane after several odd minutes, all our questioned were answered. We have a sick person ( an Australian citizen) on board and he is situated in a stretcher at the end part of the plane. That explains why seat number beyond 50 were not called to board right away. The staff and crew had to make sure the patient is secure and comfortable before letting everyone else in. The transformer was for the suction machine for use with the patient.

We took off at 10:45 PM.

At 3:30 am (Manila time), lights turned on followed by the captain's announcement that we are going to be landing soon in Darwin. The flight is diverted because of medical emergency on board. Everyone turned to look at the back see the patient.

All this time I was awake as I too was feeling sick. I have a throat infection and was coughing non-stop. I kept my seatmates awake too. It was a bit embarrassing.

We all thought that we would take off for Sydney the moment the patient has disembarked. How wrong. The captain announced (this is the nth time the captain has spoken to the passengers, felt like he's been talking all night!) that the staff and crew has operated beyond their allowable operating hours and that they can not go on to the continuing flight, and that they are making the necessary adjustments and doing negotiations for a new set of staff and crew for the continuance of the flight. We may be booked in separate flights to our next destination. We have to wait for further announcements. Meantime, we have to disembark and clear customs and immigration.

I checked the flight schedule from Darwin for that day and surprise, surprise, there was no flight direct to Melbourne. I had to go to Sydney and fly out to Melbourne from there. By this time, I was already exhausted from lack of sleep and not having enough food because of my sore throat.

When I checked in, only then did I realise that they have booked us again on the same flight which is to leave at 2:40 in the bloody afternoon. It was 7:00ish am then. That meant another 8-hour wait. Also, the check-in officer was handing us out a food voucher and a memo from Qantas explaining what happened in the flight from Manila.

While being stucked in Darwin, we were all put in an airport hotel for breakfast but unfortunately, as was explained in the letter, we all can't be accommodated as it was peak season in Darwin. Apparently, hotels are busy. Instead, they have arranged for two rooms for us to freshen up.

After breakfast, you can see everyone sprawling around the lobby and the poolside trying to find a place to rest. With two other women, we found a cool place in the poolside with banana lounges. The moment my back hit the lounge, I was asleep. I must have been in deep sleep that my new found companions didn't to wake me up to get some lunch. I didn't feel like eating anyway, my throat was killing me.

At 2:00 pm, we all took turns taking the bus to the airport. It came as no surprise anymore when our flight was once again delayed. We are taking the same plane, so it's already there. The crew for the flight was the reason for the delay.

On board, the captain announced that we would get to Sydney at 7:30 PM. Good because I was booked on a flight to Melbourne at 8:30 pm. One hour should be enough to collect my luggage and transfer from the international to the domestic terminal. Though Darwin to Sydney is a domestic flight, we would still have to exit at the internatinal terminal because the flight was a continuation of the interrrupted flight from Manila.

We did get to Sydney on time. The problem was, we can not land because of a strong turbulence. We needed to wait to get a clearance from the airport authorities so we circled on air for an hour before finally landing.

By then, it was too late for my 8:30 connecting flight to Melbourne. Have to wait again for the 10:20 flight. This was the last flight to Melbourne form Sydney. Imagine if I didn't makeit to this flight. I would have to stay in Sydney overnight. That is just too much.

We finally get to Melbourne at 11:30 and I was home at about 1:00 in the morning.

What a trip.

Labels: Life et al, Travel

Labels: Australia, Family, Life et al, Travel

Shane’s father owns and operates Euroa Motel in country Victoria. Every now and then, we go to see him so I thought I’d put up the motel info in this site.

As per the Monash website, Euroa is a substantial township and rural district on the route between Melbourne and Albury. It is 130 km. north-north-east of Melbourne.

Euroa is situated on Seven Creeks, a tributary of the Goulburn River. Seven Creeks has its headwaters in the Strathbogie Ranges south-east of Euroa. The headwaters comprise seven streams - hence the name.

Below are the Motel details:

EUROA MOTEL

Contact details:

Ph: +61 3 5795 2211
Email: euroamotel@yahoo.com.au
Hosts: Humphreys Family

Location: 2 minutes North end of Euroa CBD off the Hume Freeway

Rating : 3-Star

Room Features and Amenities:

• Non-smoking
• Reverse Cycle Air-conditioning System
• Colour Television
• Refrigerator
• Tea & Coffee Making Facilities
• Queen Size Beds with Electric Blankets

Other Features:

• Outdoor Pool
• Barbeque
• Cot
• Trailer & Truck Parking

Nearby Attractions:

• Heritage Trail Walks
• Wineries
• Golf Course/Tennis/Bowls
• Strathbogie Ranges Scenic Drive
• Ned Kelly Trails
• Museums
  

Labels: Australia, Family, Travel

((Moved from Friendster blogs, created on 19th December 2005)

Day Two: Seaworld Day (Sunday, 11th December 2005)

We woke up to a beautiful morning. The sun was up before 5:00 o'clock! Had a cup of coffee, then went down to the beach for a walk, a loooong walk. Shane loves to walk in the beach. Me? Well....

Back to the hotel, we had a swim in the pool for a few minutes then back to the room again to have breaky and prepare for our Seaworld trip. I was looking forward to see the seals, dolphins, and the new residents of Seaworld, a pair of orphaned Polar Bears. Wonder how they survive in a subtropical place.

Time to catch the bus to Seaworld. It's not very far from Surfers Paradise at all. When we get there, it was already hot.

Below are some of the photos we have taken.

At the entrance.

A man-made volcano.
This one erupts but I wasn't able to catch the fire on camera.

The Flume ride.

The Polar bear. This is only six months old and it's already massive.

A Queensland Grouper. The second ugliest fish I have ever seen.Wait till you see the ugliest one. The size of this fish is massive. The photo does not justify it.

One of the seals doing acrobatics during the Seal Show. Seals are funny creatures.

The Stone Fish.The ugliest fish I have ever seen. If it is not moving, you wouldn't say it's a fish. It blends itself with the rocks.

The dolphins in the Dolphins Show.

At the entrance of the Dolphin Cove where the Dolphin Show is staged.

Stingrays in captivity.

One of the many rides.

One of the many species of starfish.

A view from the chairlift.

This is a lion fish. Another interesting specie.

Shark residents of the aquarium. Another shark specie.

Labels: Australia, Travel

(Moved from Friendster blogs, created on18th December 2005)

We have been invited to the wedding of my friends Janine and Ramille on the 17th of December 2005 in Brisbane, Queensland. Since we haven't had a time off work since I got here in August lastyear, we turned this trip into a holiday too.

We went to Gold Coast, Queensland a week before the wedding. Gold Coast is only about an hour travel (to the south) by train from Brisbane.

Below is my travel journal. This is just day one. I will be posting my other journals in separate blogs.

Day One : 10th December 2005

The Drive : We left home (Cheltenham) at about eight-thirty-ish in the morning for the airport with me on the wheels. We used my car and left it in the long term open car park at the airport. It costed us $75. It was more economical than taking a cab as we would have to pay at least $140 for the cab in coming to and from the airport.

We arrived alive !

The Flight : Check-in was a breeze (Virgin Blue) and the flight to Coolangatta, Gold Coast wasn't much of a drama. I didnt' notice the time passing by as I was busy squeezing my brain with Soduku puzzles. The travel time was about two hours.

The Bus Trip : We decided to take the airport shuttle bus instead of hailing a cab from Coolangatta to get to Surfers Paradise where we have booked a hotel. The bus trip was a bit of a nightmare. No, actually, just hilarious :). The 30-minute or so ride turned out to be two hours! First, one tire at the left rear side of the bus blew. We had to disembark and move to another bus. That is after looong minutes of waiting. The second bus arrived, thought we'd already be ok. Alas! the bus has its own problems- transmission. Apparently, it has troubles on its second gear. D'oh ! Ah well, we'll get there one day.

The Hotel : After a few phone calls by the driver, we moved yet again to another bus. The third one! Thankfully, no more dramas. We finally got to our hotel, the gorgeous Crowne Plaza in Surfers Paradise. (It is actually located in the border of Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.) We were given an ocean view room in the 21st floor as was requested during booking. Cool.

The view from our hotel room was spectacular. We were able to see the ocean, (hence, the ocean view) and all other sights around us. The beach looked so inviting.

The Beach : After af ew moments of rest, we changed and headed for the beach. The long stretch of creamy white sand was simply beautiful. The surf though was always up (at least for me) so it is difficult to just float and play in the water. You could always get slapped by the big waves.

The Weather : Reportedly, it was 26 degrees C. It was just fine except for the high humidity. It was not as humid as Manila but you can certainly feel the change especially if you came from Melbourne where the weather maybe a bit unpredictable, but it seldom gets humid.

T'was a very good day. We were exhausted when we finally retired to bed.

Labels: Australia, Travel

(Moved from Yahoo 360, created on 24th August 2005)

I went to my first snow adventure in Mt. Bawbaw on Saturday, the 20^th of August 2005 with my friend Janine, her fiancé Ramille and Ramille’s cousin Jun. Shane was supposed to drive us up there but unfortunately he caught a flu on Friday night. He was sick as a dog. So Ramille ended up driving.

Mt. Bawbaw is about 2.5 hours drive to the east from Melbourne CBD . It is the closest downhill ski resort from the city.

We took the Princes Highway route as it seemed easier. We left our house in Cheltenham at about 7:00 in the morning. Took Nepean Highway, then Lower Dandenong Road en route to Princes Highway. As Shane mentioned before we left, there is tricky part in Dandenong and we might get lost in there. Alas! He was right. Instead of going straight to Foster Street to get into Princes Highway, we turned right and ended up in Stud Road. I am bad in directions and I can’t read maps so I wasn’t any help at all. Ramille has to pull over to check the Melway with Janine helping him.

After a few Melway pages and u-turns, we managed to get to t highway. From there, the trip went on smoothly.

Janine was a revelation, she can read maps and she doesn’t get carsick!

We got to the top (Mt. Bawbaw Alpine Ski Resort & Village) at around 10:30ish after stopping a few minutes to hire snow chains. The place was already starting to get busy it took us a while to rent walking boots, waterproof pants (which turned out to be not so waterproof) and toboggans.
I expected to see everything in white but this did not happen. The snow was not that much to cover the entire area in white. I wasn’t really overwhelmed or anything but was still happy to finally experience snow. You see, I came from the Philippines where it is always 30 degrees any day of the year.

We rented two toboggans. A toboggan is a long, narrow, runnerless sled constructed of thin boards curled upward at the front end. What we had was made of plastic and there were strings attached in front and at the sides which you can hold when you are sliding.

The tobogganing area was already busy with kids and adults alike enjoying sliding in the snow with their toboggans. After a few minutes of playing with the snow, I had my first toboggan ride or should I say slide. Whoa! I didn’t fall. I made it all the way down. Ang saya-saya! LOL..

We later moved and explored other areas and took lots of photos, went to the café for some chips and tea ( tamang pares ba ‘to? ) and finally headed home at 5:00 PM.

We had a great time.

Labels: Australia, Travel

Isn't Taz cute? This was taken at the Looney Tunes Village in Movieworld Theme Park, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Labels: Australia, Travel

No, it's not my husband. It's Batman at the Movieworld Theme Park in Gold Coast, Queensland.

Labels: Australia, Life et al, Travel